One Week & One Day

Well, Emma Grace did finally come in her own sweet time.  Thursday was my last day of work because we planned to be induced on Monday.  That night I got in bed and was trying to fall asleep when I felt a pain that I hadn't felt before.  Labor pain crossed my mind, but I was pretty doubtful.  It was about 11 p.m. at this point. In a few minutes, I felt another pain like the first.  I still didn't really think I was in labor, but I stayed awake to pay attention to the pains.  Jacob came and got in bed and started falling asleep. Around 11:15, I told him I thought I was in labor.  I made sure the pains kept coming and called my mom a few minutes later.  She advised us to start timing the contractions.  Because I expected labor to be long and slow-going, I was surprised to find that my contractions were averaging 2 minutes apart.  The doctor had told us to go to the hospital if we got to contractions that were 5 minutes apart, but he hadn't said what to do if they started out faster than that!

Because I didn't want to go too early, we timed contractions for an hour and a half before Jacob and my mom convinced me we should go to the hospital. The contractions were getting more intense and staying approximately 2 minutes apart. We checked in at the hospital and got sent to the assessment room, where we stayed for a long time. At first, they weren't registering my contractions on the equipment and they said I had 0 dilation, but a lot of effacement. I knew that meant I was about to get sent home. They left us in assessment for 45 minutes or so, and finally my contractions started registering on the monitor. The nurse came back to check me again, and this time I was at 3 cm and almost fully effaced. They told me I was in labor and got to stay!

We were put in a room around 2:45. Things started happening pretty quickly. Because I had dilated so much so fast, they immediately put in my epidural request and started my IV.  I was getting nervous at this point, and my contractions were very strong.  Jacob called my mother to come to the hospital and went to get our bags from the car.  While he was gone, the anesthesiologist came.  For the next 30 minutes, they administered my epidural and made sure it was working.  It was wonderful.  Once it set in, I felt no pain for the rest of delivery.

After the epidural, my dilation slowed down considerably.  I should have taken this time to sleep and rest, but I was too excited.  I sat and talked to my mom while Jacob took a nap.  I stayed at 3 cm for about 4 hours.  Finally, the nurse said the doctor was going to break my water and start Pitocin.  They started the Pitocin before the doctor came, and my water broke after a few minutes.  I immediately went to 4 cm.  At this point, something went amok with Emma Grace and her heart rate plummeted.  The nurse removed my Pitocin and started rolling me from one side to the other, attempting to bring up the baby's heartbeat.  She told me if this failed, we would have to have a c-section.

Thankfully, Emma Grace's heart rate rebounded once I was laid on my right side.  They put me on oxygen for awhile to make sure it remained steady.  After awhile, the nurse said we were going to try Pitocin again.  This time Emma Grace handled it well and my labor really started progressing.  I went from 4 to 6 to 9 1/2 in about an hour and a half.  We started pushing around 10:45, and Emma Grace was born at 11:25 a.m.  She weighed 7 lbs., 6 oz. and was 20 inches long.  My mother cut the cord, and I got to be the first to hold my sweet baby. 

Emma Grace didn't like her transition into this world at first; she screamed her lungs out while getting weighed and measured and cleaned.  But when Jacob went over to her and talked to her, she settled down.  She remembered his voice and responded to it like she used to in the womb.  It was neat to see.  Then she got handed back to me and we tried breastfeeding.  She latched on well and has been doing pretty good since then, when I can wake her up enough to be interested in eating.

Our little family is doing well now, enjoying our recovery together.  We will go home from the hospital either today or tomorrow, depending on what the doctor says today.  We are so thankful to the Lord for our relatively easy labor and delivery that came on naturally and for our healthy baby girl who is already such a joy in our lives. 

Here are some pictures from Emma Grace's birth day: