Introducing Harley Noel Penrod

baby harley right after her bath... cute green bow!

mommy and harley bonding a little bit... (she kept pulling on my IV- did NOT feel good)

Pretty sure she spent the first 4 weeks of her life with her mouth open CONSTANTLY

the penrod clan (arent we so cute?!)

6 pounds 7.7 oz- (they just rounded it up to 6.8)

proud daddy

she had a rough day

sooooooo tired! over 36 hours of contractions and no sleep, i was ready for a NAP! (that didnt come for another hour and a half or so...)

thanks for the oxygen dr, i can take it from here!

ummmm.... i looked and felt like crap, so i needed something to help me feel a little bit better.




OKAY!!!! the story behind it all....

it was saturday march 12, and i was feeling a little crampy. my friend courtney hundley was in town from colorado, so i met her for lunch at rumbi grill (mmmmmmmm...)
i got home and decided to take a little nap because i wasnt feeling too well and i was exhausted (both at 9 months pregnant are a common and daily occurence). i went home and took a nap at about 4. at 6:30 i woke up with a stomach ache, but i didnt really think anything of it because i was HUNGRY. (again, at 9 months pregnant this is a common occurence.)

just at that moment, my friend becca called (who was also visiting from out of town for the weekend). she is also pregnant and due in less than a week from now (congrats becca!), so she was HUNGRY just like me! we decided to get some mexican food at a new restaurant thats right down the street from our house called milagros. it was very very good (aside from the nasty onion ball that bryce got- woof) anyways, i was getting more cramps then too, so i decided to start timing them. they were about 45-60 mons apart, so very staggered and nothing to caus concern. (heck, that happens to some people WEEKS before they give birth.)

************REWIND**********

i forgot to include that wednesday of the prior week, i was told that i was at a zero percent effaced and dilated to a zero. most women will be a one or two for WEEKS before giving birth. my dr. told me that i was at a 1-10 odds with lady luck. i had a 10% chance of delivering on time (march 19th) and i would likely go well over my due date.



okay, back to the story... so we had a delicious dinner and went back to becca and bryces hotel room to play games. we played partini with beccas brother brad and his girlfriend andrea. (very fun game) that night, taylor had an indoor soccer game at MIDNIGHT! what the random time? and it was daylight savings time, AND we had church at 9...ugh -(not to church, just to the combo of the game/daylight savings time/early church...) so at the hotel we got some yummy chocolate cake and creme brule (my favorite dessert!) from maglebys right accross the parking lot. my cramps were coming every 30-45 mins by the time we left to taylors game.

we get to tays game at 11:15 ish. he plays. they win. im hurting. the hurting was now coming every 20 mins or so. we got home at 2 am... (no church for us!) but luckily we had an excuse to not feel bad about missing church...

i layed down and tried to sleep and that was just NOT gonna happen. these cramps were hurting! i got out of bed and went to watch tv at about 2:30 in the morning. eventually at about 6, i was getting these things every 8-10 mins. i felt bad calling the on-call nurse because it really felt like 5am to her because of the time change, so naturally i called my mom in california... which felt like 4am to her.. she was happy to hear from me. anyways, we talked and she told me i was feeling normal things and i was probably in early labor. she told me to call the nurse anyways, its her job right?

SO, i still felt bad and decided to take a bath. i learned the best way to help labor progress is to relax. i took a nice long bath and the contractions subsided. i was getting them every 15-20 mins again. well, over the next couple of hours, they got closer and closer again, so i finally called the nurse. i told her everything and about how i was at a zero 4 days before, so i wasnt sure if i should go to the hospital, only to do the walk of shame to find out it was only braxton hicks or something... she told me to wait until the contractions are either really really painful, or until they were every 2-3 mins apart.

over the course of the day, my contractions would be about 5-6 mins apart. they were pretty painful, and i was getting A LOT of back pain. i kept saying "okay, if it keeps going like this for one more hour, i will go get checked..." only to find that of course a quarter to the hour, they would subside again. SO FRUSTRATING! at this point, my mom and taylors mom julie were driving up from california together. they decided they would rather be a little early, then miss it all together. at about 8 pm on sunday march 13, we went to the hospital. the contractions were still only 5-6 mins apart, but they were killing me and my back felt like it was breaking. i wanted to see if i was even progressing because as far as i knew, i could still be a zero.

we got to the hospital and they checked me.... OWWWWWW!!!! that crap HURTS! taylor said he had never seen me look like i was in that much pain in my life. it felt like a cramp, with a knife.. not pleasant. so she checked me.. i was dilated to a 3 and 80% effaced. she said it could take a really long time to get to a four especially as a first time mom and since i was only 80% effaced, she wouldnt check me in (DANG IT! i wanted that epidural so stinkin bad!) so she gave me a shot of morphine, and told me to come back when it wore off, or when i started to really feel the contractions... (REALLY feel them?! WASNT I ALREADY?!?!?!? hahaha, if i only knew...)

we went home just as my mom and julie (taylors mom) arrived. i was soooo out of it. that shot was amazing! i could still feel them, but i was loopy and falling asleep between them (about every 3 mins, only to be woken up again in another 3 mins with another contraction...) so i was out of commission on the couch, taylor was on the couch next to me sleeping (with his earplugs in, dont worry!) about 2 am, my mom came downstairs because she could hear my breathing. i was breathing through each one and apparently it was very very loud because it woke her up. i never yelled once, and i never said i word, JUST BREATHED, and had a death grip on the couch with occasional kicks to it as well... it helped!) about 2 am, my mom told me that she didnt think she was ever in as much pain as i was, and it was time for me to go back in. we got our bags and headed to the hospital again...

we got there, they checked me, it hurt, LIKE A MOTHER. i was at a 5 and 100%!!! YAY!!! this was about 2:30, by 3am, i had my epidural and was one happy camper... however, i didnt sleep after i got it like most people do. i was too excited about having this baby! they checked me at 6:30 and i was at a 7, progressing quickly. they checked me again at 8, and i was still a 7... lame! the dr came and broke my water and they put me on pitocin to get things going again. the dr had to go into the office at 9, so they told me i was probably gonna have the baby at noon which was his lunch break. WELL, right before he left the hospital, he said "lets just check her before i go because im already here, so i may as well deliver if shes ready." at 8:40, just 40 mins later, i was 100% ready to go! it all happened sooo fast!

i looked around the room and all of the sudden it was full of people! me, taylor, my mom, julie, the nurse, another nurse in training, a paramedic that needed to see a birth for training (awesome), a respiratory therapist, another nurse that handed the dr his tools, becca and her husband bryce (dont worry people i told him i really didnt care if he wanted to watch if i went into labor while they were at the hospital. hes about to have a baby in a month, so why not get some practice so he wont pass out right?)

the nurse grabbed one leg, taylor grabbed the other, and it was go time. i pushed three times for about 10 seconds each and then i would rest. i did about 4 sets of these and then the dr just said "okay stop pushing and just breathe." as i did this, he pushed on my stomach and there was the baby! he pushed her out for me! it was the most amazing, joyous, spiritual experience of my life. the tears flowed between me and my preggo friend becca. everyone followed the baby naturally, but becca came straight to me, we had a little cry and she asked me how i was doing. i was so grateful to have her there!

well, thats the story. isnt it great? she was born at 9:08, 6 pounds 8 oz, 18 1/2 inches long and absolutely perfect.