Now only one day past her due date, but actually twenty-two days since her arrival! Emmalyn Grace entered this world at 8:26 pm on October 11. She surprised us all a little; not with her arrival (since it was a scheduled induction) but with the details. Everyone (doctor included) expected her to come sooner (shorter labor) and to arrive larger! Yet, she let me labor from about 9 am until 8:26 pm, just one measly hour less than her older brother. I thought the second child was supposed to come a little quicker!? Labor wasn’t bad at all for me, though; the epidural really does the trick! Impatience and hunger were the worst parts of waiting for me.
The whole day was rather smooth- everything was looking great on the monitors for both Emmy and me, we were steadily, somewhat slowly progressing, Jackson was being well entertained by family in the waiting room (and I also got to distract myself by getting to spend some time with him in our delivery room while waiting for Emmalyn’s arrival). Around 7:30, I began to get really impatient. I was ready for her to get here and I was needing to eat. Around 8:10, my doctor came through the door as my mom was walking out. She had been watching the monitors from the nurses’ station. Emmalyn’s heartrate was dropping dangerously low. She said we needed to get her out immediately. Dr. P rotated me from side to side and rocked me back and forth trying to reposition Emmy to see if her heartrate would speed up. Once on my right side in a specific position, her heartrate improved. At the time, the doctor and nurses got everything ready so that I could push as soon as I was rolled back over. They gave me oxygen as an effort to get more oxygen to her. It didn’t take very long once I started pushing. She was born at 8:26 pm. The cord had been wrapped around her neck and my body was continually contracting which was putting pressure around the cord and her neck, causing her oxygen to drop. She was so ghostly white, pale when she came out. They let me hold her right away. She was so lethargic, though, she had no interest in eating at all. They took her and cleaned her, checked her out, etc and then wanted her to have time to rest in her bed.
Meanwhile, I had received some additional medication during labor (via shots) to try to stop the contractions to relieve the pressure on the cord and after labor to stop my bleeding (which was apparently excessive). The medications made me sick. I was shaking, shivering, freezing, and vomiting. I had envisioned a sweet family picture of the moment that Jackson first saw Emmy. I remember a sweet sweet moment when he first came in, but soon after that I was unable to hold him. He was interested in her, and gentle with her. My heart was melted and tears were flowing! This amazing, wonderful, beautiful sweet little family I had always dreamed of was a reality. And it was with Jackson too, it just kept getting better.
We got moved into our post-partum room close to midnight. Emmy finally nursed a little at 1:30 am. She was still having such labored breathing. The nurse wanted me to watch her and if her breathing did not settle down after about 30 minutes, I needed to call for a nurse. Unfortunately, it did not improve. After a few opinions, the nurses decided she needed to go to the NICU for monitoring the rest of the night. At the time, we were told she was not being admitted, just monitored. When we woke the next morning, we asked to go see her. I was quite shocked to walk in to find our little girl with an IV, a nasal cannula, and a tube going through her mouth down her throat, in addition to the other monitors. She had in fact been admitted to the NICU through the night. I do wish the nurses would have informed us before we found her that way. I was glad that they did what she needed, though.
We spent 5 days in the NICU. Thankfully, there was room for us to stay at the hospital even after I had been discharged. We also were provided with one plate for each meal, which helped save some money. Of course, it is really all covered in our bill- which has recently arrived- WOAH!
We were released to take her home on Monday, October 16. Little girl was down to 6lb 1 oz when we left the hospital. She was 6 lb 6 oz at birth, dropped to 6lb even and regained to 6 lb 1 oz. Within minutes of getting home, she was greeted with a slap to the head by big brother. Frightened Momma, Daddy, and Mimi more than it did her! She slept right through it. She remained very lethargic for a few weeks. The first two nights I sat up with her alot, just listening to her breathing. She sounded so labored, gasping for air. The doctors assured us that she was ok. I then was hit with some sickness- some a result of giving birth and some seasonal allergy related. The first couple of days home were a little rough for me, but things quickly became easier- the new normal.
Life with 2 under 2 has been much more manageable than I had expected. Of course, Emmy is so calm and super easy going. If she was more demanding, things would be a lot more hectic around here. Jackson has come a long way in his affection toward her. The first week or two at home was a major adjustment for him, but now he loves on her and likes to hold her. We still are on guard because he doesn’t know his strength. He also doesn’t understand that we can throw the ball to Daddy or to the basketball goal but not at sister’s face. 😀
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