This post is a little belated as I'm sure you can all understand that a newborn takes up quite a bit of time and energy--and even if she didn't, we'd still be spending our time snuggling our baby girl.
Emmelina Lyn arrived at 7:05am on Thursday, October 27th--a week and a half before her November 5th due date. She weighed in at 7 pounds, 13 ounces and was 20 inches long. Both Raul and I were overcome with joy upon Emme's arrival.
I would love to say it was an easy and uneventful labor, but it certainly wasn't. I was blessed with a very easy pregnancy (although I had my share of complaints). I think she made up for taking it so easy on me during pregnancy by creating quite the challenging delivery.
Without dragging out her birth story, I'll try to recap it in a few paragraphs. I have begun writing out her full birth story to keep as part of her Baby Book and for me to look back on...
Tuesday the 25th I went into work feeling "off". My walk into work was much more difficult than normal, my hips ached, and I just wasn't feeling my "normal" pregnant self. When I got home from work that evening, I decided to take a warm bath to relax and hopefully feel a bit better for work the next day. Within minutes of getting out of the bath, the contractions started. At first I didn't know they were contractions, but they were definitely a different pain than I'd felt before and were occurring regularly at 8 minute intervals and lasting 30 seconds or so. I decided to go to sleep as I usually would. I was awoken throughout the night by the contractions, but they weren't getting closer together or stronger in intensity.
When my alarm went off at 5:30am for work on Wednesday morning, I got up, showered, and debated whether I should head into work. The contractions (which I still wasn't sure were really contractions) were still about 8 minutes apart. I decided not to chance it and work from home instead. By 1:00pm, the contractions still continued, but again, they weren't closer or stronger. I decided to give my midwives' office a call to see what they suggested. Lee offered to have me come in so they could monitor and examine me. By 1:30, I was in their office. Sure enough, I was having contractions and was 2cm dilated. Lee decided to stretch my cervix a bit to see if that would jumpstart things rather than having me endure the 8 minute interval contractions for who knows how long (she thought it could be days).
Well, whatever she did worked. On my drive home from their office, my contractions immediately came quicker at about 5 minute intervals and were noticeably stronger. I gave Raul a call to give him the heads up that Baby C was likely on her way, and I'd call him if I needed him to come home early. Sure enough, within a half hour, I was calling him telling him that things were progressing quickly and I needed him to come home. I called the midwives' office again and spoke to Shari who was on call that day. Knowing that I wanted as natural of a childbirth as I could endure, she suggested I labor at home until the contractions were 3 minutes apart before going to the hospital.
A last minute email to work, last minute packing and cleaning, an hour and a half spent laboring in our bathtub, and a quick dinner later, Raul and I were on our way to the hospital at 8pm. The contractions were about 2 and a half to 3 minutes apart at that point. Shari met us at the hospital and I quickly learned I was 5 cm dilated.
The next hour or so was a blur. The contractions were coming one on top of the other and my attempts to cope with breathing techniques, movement, and even a warm shower were not working. The pain was intense. A quick check and I learned I was 9cm dilated. It was amazing how fast I went from 5cm to 9cm. At that point, the pain was too much for me to endure and an epidural was on the way. It took quite awhile for the anesthesiologist to arrive and place the epidural, but once she did, I immediately felt relieved. That's not to say that I was pain free. The epidural only worked on the left side of my body for the first hour before we were able to balance it.
While I was fully dilated at that point, Baby was still high up. Around midnight, Shari suggested that Raul and I try to get a snooze in and let the contractions do their work to bring the baby down. A little before 3am, I let the nurse know that I was feeling the urge to push and Shari agreed that it was time to start pushing. And push I did. For hours.
After two hours of pushing, Shari shared that she believed that Baby was posterior, that is facing up rather than down which was impending her from making progress past a certain point. After three hours of pushing, she said it was time to call in backup, the OB/Gyn on call.
The next hour or so was intense. It involved confirmation that Baby was "sunny side up" and would not be coming out without some help. The help involved pushing her back up into my uterus, flipping her, me pushing her back down, and finally the use of the vacuum to get her out.
While the labor didn't progress as "naturally" as I would have liked, I know that all the decisions that were made were best for me and baby. I feel lucky that I was still able to give birth vaginally, as both the doctor and my midwife Shari assured me that most women would have had to have a c-section in that situation. Because my pelvis was a "good" size and I was a "good" pusher, they were able to deliver her without surgical intervention.
Once she was out, the emotions overtook me. I couldn't help but cry and cry, both at the fact that she was here and healthy, and out of relief that it was over. I was exhausted and all I wanted to do was hold my baby girl. Soon enough, I was able to.
Raul was such a trooper throughout my labor. He was supportive and said just the right things (or knew when to stay silent). It was such an emotional roller coaster for us both.
Once Emme was given the once over by the staff, Raul invited my parents in, who had been at the hospital for hours and hours waiting for her arrival.
Welcome to the world Emmelina Lyn!
I have lots more to share about our first week and half with our little girl. I'll try to post as I am able. It's definitely a challenge finding the time and energy, but I want to share with our family and friends who are far away.
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