Emma's Birth Story

I'm officially on the other side of labor and delivery now! Whew! :) So glad about that. I am sad to be done being pregnant, though. Of course I'm DELIGHTED to see my old un-swollen hands & feet, and feel "skinny" (after being 9 months & almost 2 weeks pregnant, even an after-preggo pooch feels "skinny"!!!) but I'm sad to be done being pregnant, and done carrying Emma inside me. It's such a special time. But now were on to a new phase, which is so sweet, too!
We are SO grateful to the Lord for bringing Emma safely to us. I had a lot of concerns about her and her birth, but the Lord took care of everything, and she is as "perfect" as a human can be ;)
I wasn't sure what to expect as far as labor. Nicolas' birth was so "easy" and quick - I had a hard time imagining that another labor could go so easily.
As it turned out, Emma's birth was much more intense than Nicolas'. Right after going through it, I thought "I sure don't want to do that again!" but just a few days later it seemed like yes, it was an extremely painful & difficult thing, but maybe just maybe I could do it again.
But, I must say, as all mothers know - any amount of pain that is gone through is totally and completely worth it in the end!
So without further ado - here is Emma's story! The day of our daughter's birth!

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When I first discovered I was pregnant with Emma (Feb. 19th) my original due date was October 30th.
After visiting with my midwife, I got an adjusted date of Nov. 1st, 2010. I thought I'd probably go late (as late as the 7th) but I still hoped for an early or on time baby!
But November 1st rolled around, and no Emma! I was actually quite surprised to be showing up at my 41 week appointment a week later. My midwife, Dinah, checked me for dilation on that day, and discovered that I was at a 1, and my cervix was very soft.
We discussed things and decided to basically just wait, but schedule a biophysical profile for Friday or Monday.
Thursday the 12th was a nice typical day. The boys and I even created works of art with watercolors. James got home around 8, and I discovered he was in a lot of pain from complications he has been dealing with for 2 weeks, due to an allergic reaction. He had been trying to deal with this on his own, but had been in extreme pain for so long, that I was fed up, and really just forced him to go to either CareNow or the hospital. It was a long night for both of us. James ended up getting a mega shot of antibiotic, and it didn't sit very well with him. He got home around midnight, but was again in extreme pain, this time from the shot. We were concerned also about some of the side affects he was experiencing. All that, combined with discomfort from being so pregnant, left both James and I with only a few hours of sleep.
My mom arrived around 6 that morning to spend the day, and I was up around 7:15 to get ready for the biophysical appointment at 9:30. James had taken the morning off work in order to come along.
I noticed that morning I was even more "uncomfortable" and that I was also getting some small, irregular contractions from time to time.
Emma's biophysical went well enough. She scored a 10 out of 10, but the doctor was still pretty concerned that she be born ASAP. He told me she was probably a 10 1/2 lb. baby!
After all that, James went off to work & my mom and the boys and I headed off to chick-fil-a for lunch. By the end of lunch I was very uncomfortable & thinking this might be the day. The contractions weren't very strong, but they continued throughout the day, which hadn't been happening up to this point.
We headed home for nap time around 2:30.
Around 4:00 Patrick and I got up and I put a movie on for him, and sat on my ball. I noticed that I was having some other indications that today could be "the day".
I started to feel emotional, and wished that James was with me. Contractions were still light, but coming sometimes every 5 min.
Around 4:30 or 5 I decided I should call James, as he had already told me that he wanted to know when I even felt "different" not just "in labor". So I called him, and he said he was going to leave early and come home!
I don't like to feel like a "watched pot" during labor, so I hadn't mentioned to my mom about the contractions, although she probably figured something was up, due to the many phone calls exchanged between James and I. :)
As I went about duties that evening, I noticed that my contractions seemed to stop, or become more irregular when I was up moving about.
My dad & Patrick vacuumed out the couch, which was a nice treat, then I sat down to feed the boys dinner & my parents left. By this point James had already called our midwife, who wanted another report after he had seen me. James also ran a quick errand, since we were completely out of toilet paper!
He arrived home around 6;30 bringing me some beautiful flowers! He then went and shaved, (he knows I like him shaved! :) ) and then took over getting the boys their bath & to bed. I sat on my ball some more, and surfed the web. I also talked with our midwife, and we agreed to talk again around 8 after the boys were in bed.
It seemed every time I sat on my ball (and bounced or moved about) the contractions would come again (about 5-10 min. apart, 20 or 30 seconds long) but sometimes they would go away, too - especially if I got up for a long period of time.
After the boys were in bed, James and I started to settle in and get something to eat. We talked with Dinah, and decided to just wait & talk again in an hour or two.
We then proceeded to watch lots of "Leave it to Beaver" while I bounced on my ball. The contractions picked up some, but still were quite manageable, and not much longer than 30 seconds each.
We would occasionally take a break from Beaver. I packed a few last min. things, James loaded the car, we talked, I took a few showers, since that helps so much with pain for me.
About 10:30 or 11 I was getting tired, and things didn't seem to be picking up much. I was starting to wonder if this was NOT the night, and I should just go to bed. I tried laying down, and still got a few contractions, so we decided to keep encouraging things along instead of going to bed.
About midnight I started timing the contractions better, and writing them down. James was still starving, since we hadn't really had a full dinner, so I encouraged him to go get something at McDonalds right down the street.
I was still struggling a lot with knowing when to go in to the birth center. I didn't want to go in if it was going to be hours, but I also didn't want to wait too long like last time (we arrived about 20 min before Nicolas was born!) It was especially important to me that we arrive with enough time, since I was positive for Strep B and had decided to go ahead with the antibiotics.
When James left, things changed for me. I'm such a strange person, I think I felt like when he was there, that I couldn't really show how I felt - or that I couldn't really figure out how I felt. I think I was afraid I might just be "trying" to be at a certain stage, and wasn't able to discern really where I was at.
BUT, when he was gone, and I was there googling "when to go to the hospital" and feeling the contractions all by myself I got a wake up call!
The contractions started to become much more uncomfortable, and were now about every 3 min. lasting 40 seconds or longer. James called me and said McDonalds had a REALLY long line, and he had left before even paying, and was now going to Wendy's. I didn't mention how I was feeling, but soon I called him back and said "I think you can call the babysitters now! I think it's time to go in!" Needless to say he HURRIED home! We waited about 15 min. for the babysitters to arrive. James called Dinah. I walked about, continuing to get stronger contractions.
Around 12:30 we left for the birth center.
In between contractions I was still able to laugh & smile & carry on a normal conversation. They did start to become a bit stronger as we neared the center. Thankfully we were able to drive at normal speed this time around, and arrived around 1 am at the birth center. My sweet hubby helped me out of the car, and we made our way into the beautiful "blue room" where already one of our precious 3 children had been born, and another was soon to be.
We were still chatting with Dinah and getting settled in when James' phone rang. He went out of the room, and much to my concern I heard him calling the POLICE! Soon he came back in and told us that a neighbor had seen our door open, then seen the babysitters coming in, so they called the police. When the police knocked at the door, the sitters called James, who then called the police - who then told James that it was an OFFICER who was at the door. So that drama seemed to be fine, and we went back to getting settled in for Emma's debut!
Dinah checked me between contractions, and much to my relief said I was dilated to a 6! I got on the ball again, and we all chatted between contractions. Dinah gave me my antibiotics (ouch! that hurt - and I had to get pricked twice due to my difficult veins!)
Awhile after this I started to feel like a change would be nice, so I got in the shower.
Soon after that (probably around 2 am now) I felt a funny pop, and realized that my water had probably broken! I've never had that before (We had P's water broken as a way to speed labor along and I never knew when Nicolas' water broke) I told James, who went and told Dinah, who hurried in to check on Emma. The water was rather discolored, but Emma's heart rate was great, so we continued on. Eventually James came and stood by the shower door and held my hand. I was so glad to have him there with me, as contractions were really picking up in intensity now.
At some point the assistant, Rose Marie arrived.
My contractions were getting much more intense, and I found moaning through them very helpful.
After awhile It became apparent that I was moving more into the pushing stage - the moans I as making were "pushing" types.
I felt that, and the midwives heard it, but I did not have any urge to push.
Probably around 3 am things really changed. I said I needed to get in the tub. I was feeling a big change towards pushing, yet I still didn't have that strong "urge" I'd had last time. The tub felt really good, and I thought I was about to settle in to a good position and push Emma out. I tried pushing through a contraction or two, but something wasn't clicking.
Dinah checked me, and said there was a small lip of the cervix still there. She suggested I try blowing through some contractions, which I did try, but found very difficult. They were SO strong, and the only thing I wanted to do was PUSH HER OUT with them. I knew though that the pushing really wasn't doing anything. It felt like she wasn't coming, and she never would. I started to freak out and say "I can't do it! She's too big! She's not going to come!" At this point everyone was going into high gear. They were all encouraging me that it WAS going to be ok. James was looking me in the eyes and telling me I COULD do it. Dinah suggested I come lay on the bed to be checked out, so I did.
I was in soooo much pain at this point, I couldn't imagine going on. I wasn't sure how much longer it needed to go on, and I feared the worst. I was very vocal during the contractions.
I laid down & Dinah told me she was going to try stretching the cervix while I pushed. She did this, and I pushed and pushed. It was about the worst pain I've even been in. I felt like I couldn't do it. If I did do it, I was going to die - but If I didn't do it, I was going to never get Emma out - so I decided to "give in" to the pain, and let it feel like it was going to kill me. James was right by my side encouraging me, as were Dinah & Rose Marie. I yelled & yelled throughout each contraction & pushing.
Soon Emma started to come. I felt her head, the burning, then the head was out. There was a slight wait between her head and the rest of her, which was a strange and uncomfortable feeling. From the time I really started pushing until the time she was born though, were only 3 minutes. They felt much longer! :)
At 3:48, out Emma flew, and after Dinah removed the cord that was wrapped once around her neck, our beautiful daughter was handed to me and brought up to my chest. I'll never forget the way James sounded right before/as she was being born. His voice was so full of emotion! We were both SO overjoyed as we saw her for the first time. We were amazed to see a head of DARK hair, too! We both talked to her and stroked her sweet little head. I asked what time she was born and if she really was a girl! :)
She was SO quiet and calm, right from the start. We hope this is a trait she keeps up ;) There was nothing quite like seeing her open her little eyes & look up into mine.
Everything went so well after that. Emma weighed in at 10 lbs. 3 oz. 21 & 3/4 inches long, We headed home from the birth center a few hours later, with our precious bundle of PINK! Emma's brothers love her, and promptly brought her several dinosaurs and other toys as tokens of affection!
(and as a side note, when I was no longer in labor, my hubby told me another detail of the midnight police visit to our babysitters - apparently they were looking for a suspect! ACK! Glad he waited to tell me that, and glad that God was protecting our sitters and kiddos! God is so good!!!)