Baby Nora!

Welcome to our world, Eleanor Keziah Bongorno! We are SO happy to have you!

Naomi kicked butt during 16 hours of labor (she just said it didn't seem that long, which is good!), starting at 2:30 AM on October 23rd and moving into active labor around 6 in the morning. She was an angel and didn't wake me up until that point, despite not being able to sleep herself. She told me she wanted me to be well-rested. So sweet!

We were alone until around 9:00, when Melissa (Doula #1) arrived. Naomi got in the tub and Molly (Doula #2), Will (Molly's 2-year-old son) and Kim (midwife) arrived shortly thereafter. Time of day was pretty much a blur the rest of the way, so you'll have to forgive me on that detail. Naomi was much more comfortable in the water and we were able to massage her back and keep warm water running over her, which was very soothing during and in between contractions.

We moved around a bit more and ended up in the guest bedroom, which we'd envisioned as an ideal birth room. Linda (Grandma Sikes) arrived from Yellow Springs, OH and Hilary arrived from Cincinnati around noon. Hilary took up a three-camera attack and Linda worked through some contractions with Naomi. Bobbie (Grandma Bongorno) arrived a short time later and worked with Linda, Molly & Will on some baking and soup-making.

Kim stayed in the background and eventually asked if we'd like to be checked, estimating from the contractions and length of labor that Naomi was probably around 5 cm dilated and that we'd be in labor into the night. Naomi decided to get checked and it turned out that she was 7 cm!

Soon after, we all buckled down and got into the serious business of active labor, which is where the heavy-duty pushing takes place. Naomi was a total rock star and pushed like hell for FOUR HOURS (that's really long) until finally, while sitting on my lap, Naomi helped little Nora find her way out and into the world at 6:23 PM! We held her to Naomi's chest and laid down on the bed, just taking it all in, her little cone head, her warm wet body, her wrinkled up face, the whole deal... it was amazing! It was about 2 minutes before anyone realized that we hadn't checked the sex! Everyone was all around, soaking it up with us. We wrapped her in blankets and weighed her a short while later: 20" long, 7 lbs 6 ounces. She's got blue eyes like her parents and a little bit of hair. Her ears don't stick out... yet. (though if it was a boy, we're pretty sure he would've had a soul patch and sideburns!)

As you'll see in pictures to come, her head has already returned to round form and she's enjoying some of her fresh new outfits! Naomi is laughing and walking around, tired & sore but feeling really good. Me? Thanks for asking! I'm well-rested, but my hip hurts for some reason...

We've had lots of visitors already and more are on the way. Stop by sometime!