November 29^th, 2009 4:47am 7lbs 14oz 20.5”

Another baby update from intrepid labor and delivery reporter Auntsie:

I am so glad that we are through with pregnancies for awhile – especially after witnessing labor pains. I now fully understand what Chris was trying to communicate about Jenn being so unbelievably incredible for enduring natural labor. Rayna began experiencing contractions Friday the 27^th around 4 or 5 pm. They spaced 10-15 minutes apart and continued through the night. Saturday morning she went into the hospital around 11 am. Unfortunately, she was only dilated 1.5cm and so they sent her home. The contractions continued at 10 minutes all day while they finished packing up their old house. Noah had to go to work 3:30pm and I first started monitoring contractions with her at 8:00pm. By now they were getting increasingly painful and were anywhere from 3min – 12mins apart. However, after calling the doctor, he  not to come in until they were consistently 5 mins apart for at least an hour. So, we tried to expedite the process by having her walk around and so forth and after an hour they were 5 minutes apart. Because they began to get more painful she wanted to take a break and sit down. Well, that allowed them to space back to 15 mins apart so Noah thought it might be false labor. However, whenever she did have one it was BEYOND unbearable. It was heart wrenching watching her start one knowing it would only get increasingly more painful. Finally, pain made the decision to go to the hospital ASAP. By the time we made it to the hospital (1:00am), contractions were 2-5 minutes apart and she was able to make it under the wire for getting an epidural. This is when everything takes a lovely turn, as oppose to Jenn’s story, without an epidural, that continues on a path of pain. Originally, Rayna’s doctor was out of town for a week, but luckily someone called him and he just so happened to be back and able to come in to deliver the baby. Thank goodness, because between him and the world’s greatest nurse everything went smoothly from there on out. Noah said it was the most surreal moment of his life to be in a room with 3 people and then magically have 4 people in the room – he said it was the best trick he had ever seen. Rayna was able to have her immediately placed on her chest for snuggles and then Noah cut the umbilical cord. After cleaning and clothing, she latched right on for nursing and is perfectly healthy. Although her hair initially looked black, it now seems to be blonde. Everyone will be curious to see what she looks like (I did notice that she has a precious dimple!). One thing for certain is that she will have gigantic feet and hands – just like her Auntsie!