Emma's Birth Story!

     "Your second baby will be so much easier and faster to deliver," I was told multiple times by so many different people. I had a HORRIFIC 31 hour labor with complications and craziness with my first. (but that is another story for another time) I didn't believe what people told me. Labor was horrible plain and simple and I dreaded the day that I would go through such pain again. But they were right, it was a lot easier the second time around...

Friday morning November 13th around 5:00 a.m Brandon got from work and I had been having contractions  through out the day but nothing too intense. Once he got home the contractions were five minutes apart but I could still talk through them even though they were kind of painful. They were all front contractions which I had none of the last time around so they weren't painful to me. I told Brandon there was no way I was in labor and if I was then this was easy! He convinced me we should go to the hospital, so off we went. Once we got to the hospital I was checked and I had progressed some since my last appointment but not much. I was 3 cm and effaced. After being in the hospital for hours, walking up and down the halls the doctor gave me two options.

1. I could stay, get pitocin and get the labor going or... 2. Go home and wait until labor started for real. I didn't want to leave the hospital without my baby in my arms so I said we should do the pitocin. I just didn't feel right about it so we asked the doctor what she thought and she said that since we wanted a natural birth without any intervention then we should just go home. I asked to get my membranes stripped which she did and we left. She told us not to come back until contractions were five minutes apart for one hour. 

I got home and took castor oil in root beer because I was told that it worked the best in getting your membranes stripped and doing the castor oil, not to do one without the other for getting labor started. The castor oil worked like a charm, good heavens that stuff is powerful. haha 

5:00 A.M I sat up in bed and gasped with a strong contraction in my back. Ugh back labor again! I got in the shower to slow it down if it wasn't the real deal. I was breathing hard and leaning against the wall through contractions but they weren't consistently five minutes apart so I didn't want to go to the hospital and get yelled at for being there again. I used up our hot water so I woke up Brandon and told him I needed to go to Mom and Dad's to use there huge tub to help with the contractions. The contractions kept getting stronger and I could no longer talk through them. It helped a lot with the pain being in the tub, but I wasn't in there long before Brandon said that Mom told him he should take me to the hospital. So off we went again. During the ride (which is an hour away) Brandon asked me if I wanted to get an epidural. I told him I didn't want to but then after a few more contractions I told him to call the doctor and have the epidural ready once I got there. The pain was so intense and I had this pain for 24 hours last time and I didn't want to do that again. We were 30 minutes from the hospital and my water broke. I'm thinking to myself "well maybe I am further along then I think." so I told Brandon that I would get checked before I had the epidural just in case I was almost there. About 5 minutes later I had the urge to push and Oh my word that is crazy! I'm freaking out that I am going to have the baby in the car and I am yelling to Brandon "I have to push!" and he is yelling back "YOU CAN'T PUSH! DON'T YOU DARE PUSH!!!!" He calls mom in a panic and tells her that I have to push so Mom tells him to tell me to blow. So he is yelling "BLOW BLOW!" So I am blowing for all I'm worth and it is helping a lot but I know the baby is coming and not pushing when you have to has got to be the worst feeling ever! We FINALLY get to the hospital I'm yelling that I'm going to have the baby in the car and Brandon is yelling that I'm not allowed and I need to blow and that I can't push! He parks in a staff parking spot (we found this out later) and he asks me if I can walk inside. I was like "No, she will fall out if I walk!" So he is carrying me and I'm telling him to run faster so he is trying to run with me and we get in the doors and he puts me in a wheelchair and says "SHE'S HAVING A BABY!" So a nurse comes up and asks "Are you feeling any pressure?" I tell her, "the baby is coming right now!!" She was like "OH" and she wheeled me into Emergency and Brandon picks me up and puts me on the table and the doctor comes in and is freaking out because he has to deliver my baby so he's calling for his gloves and his coat and asking where the other doctors were. One of the nurses told him he was the only one on the floor so he is going crazy. He did not want to be there. There were about 20 people in that room and everyone is talking at once and yelling this and that and the next contraction hit and out my baby girl came yelling and screaming. It happened so fast I couldn't believe it. From start to finish 2 hrs and 48 minutes. I finally had my precious baby and she was healthy and fine! They immediately cut the cord and wheeled me out. My doctor showed up right after she was born and commented "So much for the epidural!" We met mom in the elevator and I can't stop crying as I hold my baby. She weighed 6 pounds 13 ounces and was 20.5 inches long with lungs that will make your hair stand up. :) 

I have been told that shorter labors and delivery are harder and that the longer ones are better but I disagree. I have had both and while the labor is so incredibly intense it was fast and EASY! Delivery was painless which was a HUGE blessing! Recovery took me a week instead of 3 months. 

 So glad that it is over with and we have our miracle! 

Until next time... ~Janel~