Ike Alexander Nelson joined our family Thursday, November 12th at 5:45 am. All my doctors and several nurses kept telling me that Ike would not be as big as Nora (9pounds 3 ounces, which is why we were shocked when we found out he was 9 pounds 8 ounces!!! He was 22 1/2 inches long and the first thing Branden said to me when Ike came out was "whoa - he's big." 
Labor was a beast. (This account is mostly for my personal history. Skip over this part if you don't like labor stories or if you are currently pregnant. I know others have had worse labors, but with nothing to compare it to for myself, I thought it was rough! ) I went into a prenatal appointment Tuesday morning - Ike was a week and a day overdue. They put me on the fetal monitors and found some irregulaties and the doctor said there was probably already plenty of meconium in my fluid. So he sent me up to the hospital, Branden met me there, and our wonderful Relief Society President drove up to take Nora. After monitoring the baby there, they found him to be perfectly healthy. I was not dilated at all, my cervix was closed and very thick - definitely not ready for labor. So my choices were 1) go home and come back in a few days to be induced (or hope that somehow my body would go into labor on its own) 2) be induced immediately, or 3) have a c-section later that evening. It was a REALLY tough decision, but for the sake of future pregnancies I finally decided to go with the VBAC induction. They started the pitocin at about 2 pm on Tuesday. By 10 pm absoutely NOTHING had changed, except that I had been through a lot of painful contractions. We got to sleep that night and they restarted the pitocin at 5 am. By noon, my cervix had softened just enough for the doctor to strip my membranes and dilate me to a 2. I started taking some pain medication in the afternoon and got an epidural in the early evening. By about midnight I was dilated to about 9 1/2 and my water had broken or atleast started to leak. The epidural was definitely starting to wear off and was completely ineffective by 2:30 when I started to actively push. The second dose they put in did not work, I guess my system was already too used to the phentinol. My nurse and Branden were superheros in helping me stay on track with concentrating and pushing because otherwise I think I would have passed out or given up or something. I really didn't think I was going to make it. Towards the end, the nurse said "do you want to feel his head?" And I was so tired at that point that I said" No. I just want to get him out!" But after just over three hours of pushing, I got an episiotomy and Ike popped out. And then I thought I was going to die again when the doctor started pumping up and down on my stomach. That was intense. I guess I was bleeding ALOT and the doctor was trying get more out to prevent clotting from all the pitocin. Recovery in the hospital was pretty rough with all the sore muscles and the really sore belly from all the pit. One of my nurses asked me if I was glad I went VBAC and she was probably surprised when I told her I wasn't sure. I am not sure if a longer recovery is worse than induced labor pains. There have also been some very embarrassing post-partum side-effects that definitely did not occur with a c-section. Not going to elaborate on that one! But I have a wonderful husband and both my parents here to help out and I felt a great deal better this morning after getting full rest in my own extremely soft bed. Hopefully in another week I will be very glad that I went VBAC. At this point, it's still iffy. And immediately after Ike came out, I turned to Branden and said "I'm not doing that again!" Obviously women forget about how tortuous labor is though, so that statement will probably be null and void in another two years or so. :) 
Nora has been THRILLED to have a little brother around. With swine flu risks everywhere, she was not allowed to come into the hospital to see Ike. Thursday my mom brought her to the hospital and Branden held her outside our room window so she could at least see him in person. She was SO excited - she was even trying to tickle his little feet from the other side of the glass! :) As soon as we got home yesterday she wanted to hold him and play with him and give him tons of sweet kisses on his head. When he cries, she says "oh! Dass okay, dass okay. (That's okay.)" in a very motherly voice. She's been constantly bringing out toys and baby equipment for him. The only thing worrisome is that she has started to mimic his cries sometimes and tries to climb up on daddy, claiming she is a baby. Hmmm... :)
Nora opening her present from Baby Ike.
Nora wanting to share the view with her brother. 
Ike is a great little guy. Very chill and a great cuddler. So glad he's here! Here is the amazingly beautiful and creative quilt my mom came up with for little Ike. Isn't she great?!
