Apple of my eye: The birth of Nora

The story should start with the struggle we had to have her. We battled infertility for two years and endured multiple IUI's, major surgery to remove a large cyst and ended up losing a Fallopian tube in the process. We were two months away from turning to IVF when we moved and I told my reproductive endocrinologist we needed a break from infertility. We ended up conceiving naturally the next month on Memorial Day.

We decided to not find out our baby's sex. At our 20 week scan we found out our baby had Hydronephrosis and Choroid Plexus Cysts. This was a very scary time not knowing if something else could be wrong. Needless to say my pregnancy was very easy and I glowed the whole time with almost zero pregnancy symptoms and I felt great.

Fast forward to February 9th, 2012: I was 38 weeks and went for a routine check and was noted to be 5 cm and 100 percent effaced, so my high risk obstetrician asked if I wanted to have a baby that day since we lived an hour away and it was winter with snow projected soon. I was not contracting and felt fabulous. I even sent my husband to Whole Foods during my appointment. I called him to let him know I needed a ride to the hospital. He left his basket of groceries and came quick.

We arrived at hospital around 2 p.m. and I received an IV and an epidural even though I was in zero pain and had not felt a contraction I wanted to remain blissful. My husband had to leave and go home to board the dog and get clothes for himself. I was laughing and smiling the whole time with my two best friends at my side. My husband returned around 4:30 p.m. I progressed nicely after a Pitocin drip was started and my water was broken around 6 p.m. We told the nurses the names we had picked out for either sex. Everyone was getting excited! My labor was very easy until the very end when I developed a fever of 100.6 degrees right before I was about to push around 2 a.m. on February 10, 2012. I was very tired at this point and a little scared. The pediatrician was called for delivery due to my fever. I pushed for 44 minutes and my epidural was great because I felt zero pain! At 2:44 a.m. my beautiful daughter was born weighing 5 pounds 8 ounces. My husband and I were overjoyed and could not believe we were finally parents of something other than a dog!

Our daughter, Nora Avery Fischer, was born with a fever and is blind in one eye, which we found out later that night in the NICU, but I knew right when our eyes met that one of her eyes was cloudy and very light blue. She turned out to be one of the easiest, happiest babies and you would never know she can't see out of her right eye. It has not slowed her down! Thank you Nora for choosing us as your parents. You are amazing.