...:The Birth of Emma:...

Wow, what an ordeal it’s been! Currently, I am feeling very fortunate that I am here and our baby girl is here and healthy now. My birth plan was to go a natural as possible, but I was open to all possibilities in order to have this child. Of course, frowning upon those other options. Still, I read it all, watched it all and thought of all the possible scenarios that could happen to us.

I started having contractions Thursday night into Friday. I didn’t experience any BH or contractions throughout the pregnancy, so I knew they had to be real contractions and that I was close to labor. Friday night, we went to bed with few contractions every hour. I actually fell asleep until 12:30 AM ish Saturday. I noticed my contraction got worse and closer together. I timed the contractions until they were about 5-6 mins apart and called the doctor. The doctor advised me to gather my things and check into the hospital. He said since I didn't have contractions before this that these were most likely real labor contractions. We got ready and checked into the hospital around 5 AM. Five minutes into the assessment, my water broke.

To keep this story shorter, I labored with contractions from 5 AM to about 3 PM. By 3 PM, my contractions were bad, but I barely dilated. I barely advanced from 2CM to 3 CM during those 10 hours… So I decided to take the Pitocin to increase the intensity of my contractions, hoping to dilate. The Pitocin made my contractions so fast and intense that I was literally crying and it was the worst pain I have ever felt in my life. I was offered epidural, so I can rest, but I resisted until 6 PM. I still had not made much progress by 6 PM, so I decided to take the epidural. I was extremely tired from the lack of sleep and also the pain. I was so relieved when I got the epidural. I finally got to catch my breath and relax. My poor husband also got to take a quick nap.

From 6-8 PM, several nurses came in along with my doctor to check on the progress and informed me that baby’s heart beat had been dropping significantly for the past hour off and on. My doctor then said that I needed to have an emergency c-section. OMG, my worst fear and last and final resort…. My husband woke up around this time and was completely lost as to what was happening. At that moment, I bursted into tears causing my oxygen mask to fall off. I cried not because I was scared for myself, but scared for my baby. I accepted and just want to get it done with so I can meet my baby girl.

I was prepped for surgery and it turned out that the cord was wrapped around baby’s neck twice. Then there were other complications with infections and other unfortunate mishaps, so my daughter was put into Special Care and I ended up being pricked and poked at all night. I only got to see and meet her once that night. I was “fixed” and brought back into my room to recover. I felt like such a bad mother because I only got to see her for 1-2 minutes.

The next morning, I woke up early and prepared myself to visit my daughter. I was not allowed to leave the bed unless I could show the nurse that I can get up from the bed and walk to the bathroom all by myself. I took tiny baby steps. I sat on the side of the bed for over 30 minutes, ate breakfast and stood for 5 minutes before attempting to walk to the bathroom. It was so beautiful seeing our girl and talking to her. The rest of the hospital stay consisted of being in Special care and resting in bed. I felt terrible and sad for our baby girl. She had to stay an extra night for testing and medication. It was like I left my heart at the hospital.

It’s been almost a week now since Emma came into this world. My husband and I are so in love. This love is REALLY beyond words. We admire everything about her and giggle at her every move. We have barely slept because all we want to do is stare at her and talk to her. Although my labor was not what I desired, I am very THANKFUL I live here and there was this alternative of a c-section to save our baby girl. The recovery after having a c-section is no fun… This is really the most miserable and vulnerable I have ever felt in my life. I am still in alot of pain and just starting to feel like I have my body back. I am also THANKFUL to have such a kind and loving husband. He’s done it all from picking up things I drop on the floor to cooking and cleaning.

Emma is one week old today

She was WORTH it