On Sunday, June 7th, Jarred and I offered to take his brother Josh and this family out for an evening ride on the boat. I was days away from my due date and thought maybe bouncing around on the river would get things moving! We drove around for a while and then let the kids play in the water at boat city. Like any very pregnant woman, I eventually had to use the bathroom so they dropped me off at the dock to use the lovely port-a-potty. I made record time (you don't mess around when you're 9 months pregnant and you're in a rental toilet!) but by the time I made it back onto the boat, I was starting to feel really uncomfortable. We decided to head in and call it a night. We said our goodbyes and headed home to take an evening walk. Jarred and I had been going on regular walks for several weeks to help with labor and it had been working! At 37 weeks I was already dilated 1.5cm and 50% effaced. We didn't make it far up the road before I was ready to turn around. Swollen feet and contractions made it difficult to enjoy the walk! I asked Jarred to time my contractions while I took a relaxing bath. At this point I still didn't think anything was going to happen. Much to my surprise, my contractions were 2 minutes apart! We debated what to do...I wasn't in much pain and didn't want to go into the hospital yet but I knew if I told the doctor that my contractions were that close together, I'd be sent in. After a quick call to Yolanda and the doctor, we headed into the hospital around 10. I laugh now looking back as I remember doing my hair and makeup before we left.
Although my contractions were consistent, I hadn't dilated anymore than I had been previously so they gave us a choice. Either stay and walk for an hour to try to get things moving or go home and rest. We decided to go home and they gave me a sleeping pill to help me rest. I don't remember much for the rest of the night. The sleeping pill made me extremely loopy! Jarred had to carry me up the stairs (not an easy task when you are very pregnant!) and I knew that the things I was saying didn't make sense. Around 4:30 we decided to head back into the hospital and this time we were admitted. I had dilated more and we were definitely on our way to having a baby!
I labored hard for the next several hours and the nurse and midwife were in awe of how well I managed the pain. At one point they both just stood and stared as I breathed through a contraction. It was painful, but I felt confident and took them one at a time. I tried the shower, the birth ball, a jacuzzi, a rocking chair, walking....we gave everything a try to see what I liked best. I ended up on the birth ball, with my head resting on the edge of the bed, sleeping between contractions. Jarred was an amazing help, always by my side reminding me to breath deeply through each painful contraction. The midwife was scheduled to come around 11am to break my water and get us ready to deliver. Shortly before that, the nurse checked me and told us that I was 9cm and doing great! I was so excited to be getting close to meeting our little girl! After what seemed like ages (but was really only 2 hours), the midwife finally came to break my water, but upon checking me exclaimed, "Oh, you're only 5cm!" She did break my water and told us that now the contractions would become much more intense and harder. My heart sank. After laboring hard for 17 hours and thinking that I was so close, I was devastated to find out that it could be several more hours. Mentally I was drained. The uncertainty of not knowing how much longer it would be led me to decide to get an epidural. Trying to stay very still through hard contractions for the anesthesiologist was a feat in and of itself, but very soon after he left, I felt relief! Literally the pain was gone! We watched TV and I was able to get a 3 hour nap. It was such a strange feeling to watch the monitors and see that I was having off the chart contractions one on top of the other and yet feel nothing! For the first time since we had arrived at the hospital, Jarred and I were able to take a breath and really take in what was going on. It was at this point that my wonderful husband began to cry. The reality of knowing his wife was about to give birth to his first daughter sank in.
After my nap the nurse checked me again (this time swearing she wouldn't make a mistake...poor thing felt awful!) and I was ready to push! My epidural had worn off enough that I was able to feel my legs and move. The nurse set up the birth bar on my bed and we started pushing through each contraction. We were excited as the baby seemed to be responding really well and the nurse hurried to call in the midwife. This little girl was on her way! After a short 45 minutes of pushing, little Miss Emma arrived! The cord was wrapped around her neck several times, but very calmly and quickly our midwife untangled it and we delivered the rest of her! Her little head was slightly blue so they quickly checked her vitals and called in someone from the NICU to make sure she was doing well. As I lay on the bed getting stitched up, my arms ached to hold my daughter. Rationally I knew that the doctors needed to check her thoroughly, but I wanted so badly to hold her and kiss her. Emma Faith VanderPlate weighed in at 6lbs 3oz, just a little peanut. She was perfect and everyone in the room kept commenting on how adorable she was. For all I know they may say that for every baby, but I ate it up and knew it was true. She was the most precious thing I had ever seen. After a long 21 hour labor, we had our little girl. She was well worth all the pain and energy! We are so in love with her and in awe of the goodness of our God. What a Creator!!!
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