Nora Jane Sterner, born 12/4/2008 @ 10:23 pm. Weighing in at 8 pounds .5 ounces, she’s a pretty fair compromise between Mommy and Daddy. Good thing, too, because Daddy’s a giant and Mommy isn’t.

This entire experience has, for us, been utterly surreal. We’ve cried uncontrollable tears of joy, felt the snowballing anxiety of concern over out daughter’s future in an uncertain world and enjoyed countless minutes and hours (going on days!) staring into our new family member’s eyes. I wouldn’t waste my breath trying to explain this emotion to anyone who hasn’t experienced it for themselves. It swipes the air from your lungs.

It all started at 3:30 am on 12/4/2008. Trish woke up with contractions that felt like Braxton Hicks contractions with some extra kick. She decided to take a long hot shower to try to help relax, then laid back down to rest her eyes. Something about the sensations told her that this was going to be a long day!

We went into the hospital at around 9 am on the recommendation of the OB’s office. After being admitted Trish was given a quick examination to determine if her water had already broken. Much to our surprise—it did! This was it, we collectively had the realization that we weren’t going home without a child in our arms. Next stop:

Trish’s labor was an amazing experience to watch from my perspective. I was able to observe how the contractions consumed her entire being in her body’s reaction to its own attempt to push our child out from its home for the previous 39 weeks. It was, at times, a nerve wracking experience. I would’ve taken a bullet or voluntarily lost a limb to take away her pain. My concern for her health and for that of the baby was always in the back of my head; thankfully both of them made it through the process with zero complications or concerns from any of the excellent medical staff. At 10:23 pm we were greeted by this beautiful face:

Since then, she’s been visited by many of our family and friends. Her Mimi and Grandma Peg were the most important, of course. Her Mimi:

and her Grandma:

Things are moving so quickly right now that it’s difficult to find the time to make updates here, but we’re going to try our best. Little Nora has already changed so much, I feel like I’ve got a full time job trying to keep up with her. This is just the beginning! Some more pics: TBD.