Nora Blue Pictures

Nora Blue Kleczka

Nora Blue Kleczka is laying contently in her mother's arms as I write this. She and her mother are healthy and happy, with more than a fair bit of tired thrown in for mom. Nora is just shy of four days old and already holds her mother's and I's hearts in her little soul. Her big sister Lucy can't stop hugging her, kissing her, and "beeping" her nose. We're all adjusting to the changes, but we realize even the more difficult adjustments can be more aptly described as blessings.

Nora Blue decided to come into the world by scaring the be-jeezus out of her parents. On Saturday I was just getting out of bed when I heard Carrie yelling for me from downstairs. A second yell qualified as a full-fledged scream. I ran downstairs to find Carrie standing in the kitchen, blood pooling around her feet, her pants soaked completely through with blood. She thought her water had broken, but it was not water. I had never been so scared in my life.

Lucy, bless her heart, had grabbed a paper towel and was trying to help clean it up. Amazing that even in a moment of complete dread that her two-and-a-half year old response could warm my heart.

Fortunately, Carrie's dad was already on his way over and so we were able to rush to the Lakeview hospital which is only a mile or so from our home. It was not the hospital we were planning on going to, but we decided speed was critical. In fact, Carrie said I was going 60 mph down the Stillwater side streets, although everything seemed slow-motion to me. I should have gone faster.

The first few hours in the hospital didn't bring too many answers. The doctor's and nurses weren't telling us much. One option was that the placenta had torn slightly. They didn't tell us the other option until well after Nora was born healthy- namely, that it was Nora's blood in which case a stillbirth was likely.

In fact, we found out afterwards they had prepped for an emergency c-section and our nurse was so nervous about what was going on that the doctor had to calm her down. They ran a battery of tests, and the one that was most reassuring was the "poke" test. The doctor literally poked Nora in the head with his finger (still in the womb) and watched her reaction. If she hadn't reacted positively they would have rushed us for an emergency c-section. Nora's reaction was active, so the doctor decided we should help jump-start labor.

The broke Carrie's water around 11 a.m. and the rest of the birth was thankfully routine and natural (a routine labor of course being deeply moving.) Carrie pushed only 4 times and Nora Blue popped out with her thumb in her mouth, a full head of dark hair, and a wonderful hawk-like cry. She was beautiful!

We don't know the reason for the blood, and it sounds like at this point we never will. The doctor assured us several times we don't need to worry about any resulting danger to Carrie's health.

Lucy loves her baby sister dearly, and can't get enough of her. For some reason she likes to poke Nora's nose and say "Beep." Every time she does I am reminded of the doctor's "poke" that helped reassure us Nora was doing okay in the womb.

Maybe Nora just thought Halloween was a good time of year for scares. With two girls, I know I have a lot more scares ahead of me (please don't even mention the teenage years) but hopefully none of them come even close to the scare that morning. Considering how it turned out though, I'll take any scare that comes with even a tenth-as-happy a result.