Emma's Here!!!

I'm sure by now everyone has heard that Emma was born on Sunday, the 14th. I woke up about 2 a.m. and noticed that my water was leaking. It didn't officially break, but broke in bits. Then I started having contractions that were 7 minutes apart for the first hour and then 5 minutes about for the 2nd hour. We called my doctor who told us to come to the hospital. I got to the hospital about 5:50 a.m. and got checked out by the nurse in triage. By this time, my contractions were coming 3 minutes apart and registering 60-80% on the monitor. Most of my contractions were in my lower back. They decided to admit me as soon as she was done examining me. I was still 3 cm dilated at this point (same since my last appt on Tuesday). I got up to the room and the contractions continued to get stronger. By about 11, I was ready for my epidural. The contractions were coming quick. I dilated from a 3-7 from 7 a.m. until 11 a.m. They were shocked at how fast things were happening. Once I reached an 8 though, I stayed that way for 2 1/2 hours. We had a few scares in the hospital room. One time Emma's heartbeat started dropping with the contractions, which was very scary because we already knew the cord was around her neck. However the nurses turned me and her heartbeat went back to normal. However, that was the end of Tom and I trying to relax. We watched that monitor like hawks. Then my blood pressure got very low and I felt really hot and dizzy. The nurses had to give me a bag of fluids. I hadn't eaten since dinner the night before or drank anything. My doctor decided that I needed some pitocin to get me to a 10. She gave me 2 drops, which quickly got me to a ten. I pushed for 50 minutes. Emma was born with the cord around her neck, but it didn't cause any problems--thank goodness. What a long last 10 weeks it's been since the 4-D ultrasound lady told us that. She was born with no problems, thank goodness. She is absolutely adorable! She got a 9 on her first exam (out of 10). She was 7 pounds and 7 ounces. She measured 19 1/2 inches. She has so much hair and the cutest chubby cheeks.

It was a fantastic experience and not at all as bad as I thought it would be :)

Here she is right after being born.