Emmy was born on Monday March 9, 2009at 2:15 pm weighing
7 pounds 1/2 ounce, 18 3/4" long
(37 weeks, 2 days)
We are of course so excited to have her join our family! And as most of you know I am also just as excited to no longer be pregnant!
So here is Emmy's birth story, maybe to much information for some of you guys but us women like to know the details! And besides that it's a great place for me to keep the memories!
3:00 a.m. ish - I woke up to go to the bathroom... nothing unusual as this had been happening for months sometime between the hours of 2 and 4... a typical annoyance of pregnancy. When I got back in bed my stomach started contracting. Again nothing terribly unusual, this had been happening on and off since my first trip to the hospital at 34 weeks... the pleasures of pre-term labor. I wasn't terribly tired so I sat there for a while and timed them. They were about 9 minutes apart... something that also had been happening frequently. I had been having contractions at intervals like that and would get 3 or 4 and then they would die off.
4 a.m. ish - When they were still coming regularly I told Jeremy that maybe he should call his parents to come over and stay with Adie. I was supposed to go to the hospital at 7 minutes apart, partly because the hospital is about 30 to 45 minutes away and partly because I was already so dilated. Jeremy and I had agreed we would call Granjan & Grandpa at 9 minutes since they tend to be a little slow (sorry guys). Of course my husband being who he is had to analyze all of it and try to have a conversation with me mid contractions which wasn't going over well! He was concerned that is was another "false alarm" and he had clients in from out of town both Monday and Tuesday and feared a false alarm wouldn't look so good. I on the other hand could have given a shit less! Anyone surprised by this part of the story? Didn't think so. Anyway as I threatened to call Kristin to take me to the hospital he changed his ways.
5:40 am - Jeremy's parents arrive, after what seriously seemed like an eternity (only 25 mins, I timed it) they arrived.
6:03 am - We were in route to the hospital... contractions 3 to 4 minutes apart. Yikes, how the hell did that happen. I kinda started to freak at this point. I felt like the contractions had picked up quickly! They were really starting to hurt and I was really afraid of the pain. I was so afraid that I was going to miss the epidural and I just wasn't sure how I was going to get through labor without it! And to make it all that more fun Jeremy decides to take a slightly different route to the hospital and ends up having to circle the block a few times! I could have freaking killed him. I know he felt bad and he apologized a lot but it wasn't making the pain go away any quicker!
6:30 am - we arrive at the hospital and check in to the "baby center" a triage area where they make sure you are in labor before admitting you to labor and delivery. I was dilated to a 5 1/2, 90 % effaced and having contractions every 2 minutes. After 50 billion questions and an assessment they decided I was in labor and admitted me. I didn't need them to tell me this, by that point ... the pain was "bitting" as my Dr. so nicely worded it! I wanted the epidural NOW! By now it's about 7 am, I'm ready to go upstairs and they are having a "shift change". I could have screamed! So I waited patiently (right!) for someone to take me upstairs! (and give me drugs!)
6:50 am - We arrive at our room. The nurse already knew I wanted the epidural so she was moving quickly to get me all prepped and ready. The one hang up we had was that you have to have I.V. fluids before they will give the epidural and they couldn't find a vein. They worked very hard at warming up my arms and desperately searching for somewhere to stick the needle. They finally settled for the top of my hand. I was fine with this but in reality it's not really a good place to put it. But by this point I was hurting so bad that they could have put it anywhere. I also had the worst "labor shakes" something I had no experience with when I had Adie. Jeremy was really concerned about these so much that he kept asking me if I was OK and asking the nurse if it was normal which apparently it is. But it was very bizarre feeling and a little uncomfortable.
8:06 a.m. - I finally get my epidural! Thank you God! But not before the anesteoligist came into the room and snapped at the nurse that I didn't have enough fluids yet. I panicked and told him I was not waiting. He snapped back at me and I very nicely in my Jamie sort of way was quick to respond to him with a "you don't have to be such an asshole about it". Something that continued to be the topic of conversation all day... apparently even out in the hallway with the nurses. Of course Kristin and Jeremy were not surprised by the comment or how rapidly I responded with it. Another "Jamie" kinda moment! :) I'm not necessarily proud of it but I guess it is what it is. He paid me back later with a quick "flush" of my IV that made me scream and cry in pain and that was about the end of my semi-calmness. I really hurt and that didn't help. But moments later all was well and the pain was nothing but a blip on the contraction monitor. Now that's my kind of labor!!! 
From here I just waited for labor to run it's course. I enjoyed Kristin and Jeremy's company and we all took guesses as to when Emmy would arrive. Kristin and Jeremy really seemed to enjoy the contraction monitor and made jokes like "look at all those peaks and troughs, you could surf on them". If I could have felt the pain they would have died, but it's amazing what good pain meds can do to your state of mind!
11:08 am - The Dr.'s decided that the only thing holding up Emmy's arrival was her sac of water. I guess every time she would try to push down on my cervix it would just bounce her back up. So with my permission they broke my water. This was something I remember well when Adie was being born. It is a really gross feeling! It didn't hurt when they broke the sac, but the gush that follows makes me squirm just thinking about it! And every time you move you get another gush! Yuck! As my nurse so kindly tells me... "here's a depends, something to look forward to when you get older" ha! One of the many lovely things of child birth!!!
12:05 pm - Dilated 8 cm
12:57 pm - Dilated 9 1/2 cm
1:15 pm - Dilated 10 cm - Yippee! The Dr. decided that because I was not feeling the need to push that I could wait until I did... natural progression they called it. I was fine with this however I was starting to feel the contractions in terms of pressure and some pain on my right side. I could definitely feel them coming and going.
1:53 pm - Pushing! I hate pushing! First of all I had an excruciating headache by this point and the thought of any sort of strain made it worse. I still didn't feel the need to push but for some reason they decided now was the time. We are not sure if they saw something they didn't like or what, but the decision was immediate and they didn't ask me what I thought this time. The other interesting part was that they needed a special nursing team in the room at the time of birth because they had seen some meconium when they broke my water. But despite all that they had me push before the nursing team arrived. I pushed a few times and they could see Emery's head and they did the dreaded don't push just hold it! Ahhhhhhh! That hurts! Her head was pushing on some bone and it was excruciating! No longer was the peace of the epidural present. I was crying and begging them to get her out. I have a picture of me at that point (don't worry I won't share) but I swear it's going to be my birth control as I never want to experience that again! I pushed maybe 12 times total and Emery was here! That brings about a whole ton of different emotions. She was taken over to the baby warmer and they did whatever it is they needed to do because of the meconium. The special baby nurses were still not in the room so my Dr. took care of her. I will be very curious to see the medical records to see what that was all about. They said she was healthy and after they did whatever they do to new babies they handed her over to a very proud Daddy!
So that's Emmy's birth story! We are so excited to have her here and feel truly blessed to have happy and healthy children. They are a blessing that can not be explained but only felt.
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