Emerson's Birth Story

This is my entry about my birthing experience... no need to read if you are bored by that stuff... it's just for my journaling fun. :)

So, I went into work after a crappy night of sleeping on Friday, the 4th of December. I wore my slippers and a big sweater of David's because I just didn't feel like doing anything else special. I knew my due date was just two days away but I thought I was going to be pregnant forever. I had a meltdown at work and decided at 10am to just take the rest of the day off. I had already gotten a my membranes stripped and a pedicure earlier in the week and was now going to get a massage, anything to further the progress of this delivery. So, home I went... napped for a bit and then headed to my massage. It was WONDERFUL! But, still no contractions. David got off of work a little bit early and we walked around some stores, then headed to Salsa Ledos for a spicy Mexican burrito... another trick to get labor started. Then we walked around Winco as well. I was feeling the baby's weight down on my pelvis, but still no contractions. I got on the computer when I got home and wrote an email to someone at my church asking them to pray for patience for me as I was just sure this baby was never going to come. To my room I went and changed into my pj's... this was now 9:30pm. As soon as I laid down I felt some tightening in my stomach... what was that!? then a few mins later I felt it again... We immediately got out the stopwatch on David's phone and started to time them. 10 mins, 8 mins, 15 mins... nothing consistent. I fell asleep around midnight and woke up about 45mins later... no more contractions. So, I walked up and down the stairs a few times trying to get them started again... that worked. They started to get pretty consistent aroun 2am and by 2:30am we were in the car with our stuff and headed to the hospital. I was having them every 4 mins by then...this could be it!
There they checked me and I was still at a 2 and only 80% effaced, exactly what I was on that Monday at my Dr appt. So, they monitored me for an hour to see if anything would change. The contractions had now moved to my back and caused me so much pain I wasn't able to see straight during them. They said this was probably because the baby's head was up and not down. After an hour I prayed that they wouldn't send me home because I couldn't take too many more of those contractions. The Dr on call decided I should be admitted because i was making some small progress... and up to our room we were taken. I opted for an epidural almost immediately and felt so much better once that finally kicked in. SUPER STRANGE feeling to have your legs numb and not be able to move them no matter how you tried. But, I was no longer in so much pain. A few more hours of monitoring and I wasn't making huge progress. So, in went the Pitocin. We were expecting it to take hours for me to get to a 10 but it ended up being MUCH faster than that! I went from a 4 to a 9 in about 45 mins and was at a 10 not much longer after that. The nurse had checked and the baby was now head down and ready to come out!!
I started to push after about 30 mins at a 10 and they called the Dr to come after only 4 pushes, he was already crowning. Well... the Dr. was in an Emergency with someone else and couldn't come right away. No problem, I've got the Epidural, right?? Well that doesn't stop the feeling of pressure from his head on my pelvis. I was like that for an hour and the nurse finally paged the dr saying that if he didn't get there soon she was going to deliver the baby herself.
In the meantime, we knew that Emerson had had a BM in the womb and would need the care of the NICU right after delivery because they wanted to make sure none of that had gone into his lungs after his first breath. So, David knew he wouldn't be able to cut the umbilical cord for the sake of speed, from Dr to nurse. The NICU people were setting up their station and the Dr. station had already been set and each time the door opened I just prayed it was actually the Dr that would walk in. FINALLY, he showed up and got right to work. Thankfully my own Dr was on call for the weekend and was able to be there for us...even if he was a little bit behind.
I start to push a few times and in less than 30mins out came our perfectly beautiful little man! He breathed and started screaming right away, before getting to the NICU nurses. David went over and watched as they got him cleaned up and checked out. I was crying from relief, joy, fatigue, excitement... you name it! He was perfectly healthy, nothing wrong with his lungs, no need for further NICU support. He started to eat right away once they laid him on me and our lives as we knew it had changed forever.
David was so wonderful throughout the entire experience. He held my leg while I pushed (even while I wasn't cause he'd forget to put it down :) ) and got me whatever I needed/wanted. He stayed on that uncomfortable and cold bed each night as well. The next few days went by so fast and I remember people coming in out and checking me and Emerson all the time, but I hope I never forget the first time he looked up at me with those dark blue eyes... I cried because i was completely in love!!
One part of the process that I didn't care for at all was his circumcision. It was only the next morning and the pediatrician was there to check on him... she was available to do it right then and so off he and David went... I cried the entire time they were gone. Even had to call my mom to come and sit with me while we waited. I just didn't like giving my new little man away to go and have surgery. David said he did just fine and when they came back he wasn't crying at all, and hasn't been since the numbing shot went in. I do think we made a good decision to get it done, but to have it done so fast was very unnerving to this new mom!!
On our way home that Monday we stopped at the Pharmacy to fill my prescriptions. Turns out that my name wasn't written on my pain med one though... and the hospital couldn't have it filled over the phone. My Dr. office was closed for another for lunch and even then they could only call in the generic/less effective stuff. David was frantic to get it filled, while I was just frantic to get our son home finally. He did all the calling the talking with everyone to get me what I needed and finally I was out of pain later that afternoon. :)

The entire process of pregnancy and birth was amazing! I loved being pregnant and feeling his body move inside of me... even on that last day it was wonderful to still feel him. I was never too stick to work or do most things, I rested when I needed to and put on a healthy number of pounds, even though I would sometimes eat everything in sight! :) It was a beautiful experience being the pregnant woman, one I hope to repeat one day.
It's been three weeks now since Emerson David Lloyd has been in our lives/house and things are slowly coming together. I know he is healthy and happy and I'm getting more adjusted to my new sleep schedule. As Emerson eats every 2 hours there isn't a lot of down time. David has offered to give me whatever rest I need from breastfeeding on the weekends and weeknights before midnight, with formula. This has helped me get a few extra hours of rest in and it is a blessing. I love my husband so very much and he truly is a natural father! We've been learning that parenthood is hard and that we have to make sacrifices, but we both understand how much it is truly worth it! I'm amazed that I'm actually a mom sometimes, but am so happy that I am, I can't even explain it!