Emily Rose is here!

She is already 2 weeks old and I can't believe it!

Emily's birth story... it was the night before my due date and I went to my prenatal aquafit class (the last one of the semester).  Earlier that day, I had an appointment with the midwife and I was already 2 cm dilated and 50% effaced, so she was able to do a stretch and sweep.  We joked saying that with Julie, I went into labour the same day they did that, so the pressure was on!

At about 10pm, I started having contractions.  They were about a half hour apart and very mild, so I was able to go to sleep.  By about 2am, they were much closer together (about 10 minutes) and I could no longer sleep through them.  So, I decided to get up and watch Private Practice (which I had PVR'd) and start timing the contractions.  Oddly enough, the episode was the one where Charlotte had the first of her triplets, so that was interesting to watch WHILE I was in labour!  By about 3am, the contractions were coming closer, so I decided to have a shower since I thought we'd be calling the midwife soon.

After my warm shower, the contractions slowed down quite a bit.  So much so that I was beginning to wonder if this was all a false alarm.  So, Carlos and I decided to try to get some more rest.  We were able to sleep some more.  Then, at about 7am, I woke up again with contractions and they were closer together again (about 10 minutes).  As the morning progressed, they got more intense and closer together.  By 11:30am, they were 5 to 8 minutes apart, so we called the midwife.  She came to our house just before noon to check me.  I was 3 cm dilated and 75% effaced.  So, not quite in active labour yet, but getting there!  Midwife left and told me to page her again once contractions were 5 minutes or less apart for an hour.

By 2:15pm, the contractions were 4-5 minutes apart for an hour, so we called the midwife again.  She suggested we meet her at the hospital.  So, we loaded up the car and were at the hospital by 2:45pm.  She checked me again and I was 4-5 cm dilated and officially in active labour!  At this point, I decided to labour in the tub for awhile, so I got into the tub around 3pm.  I laboured in the tub for about 2 hours until I started bleeding, so I had to get out of the tub to be checked again.  My water broke just as I got out of the tub and then things started to change.

I was 6 cm dilated at this point and I was starting to bleed... a lot.  The midwife suspected it was a problem with the placenta, but she suggested consulting the OB on call.  So, he came to the room and checked on things.  I needed to be hooked up to a continuous monitor for the baby to check the heartrate and contractions.  The OB told me that it appeared I either had a tear in my plaenta or it was detatching early (at least part of it).  So, to prepare me, he said I can continue with a vaginal birth as long as the baby is still doing okay.  If the baby starts to show signs of distress, I would need a C-section in a hurry, so they hooked me up to an IV just to be prepared for that scenario.

I was very worried at this point.  I did not want to have a C-section, but ultimately, I would do whatever it took to have a healthy baby.

By 6pm, I was 7 cm dilated.  The contractions were fast and furious!  Way more intense that with Julie.  And much closer together.  By 6:45pm, I was 8 cm dilated and still bleeding an awful lot.  Baby was still doing fine, so the blood was obviously from me then.  Huge relief.  I went from 8cm dilated to fully dilated in less than a half hour.  Most painful half hour of my life!  At this point, I was more focused on the welfare of my baby than my own pain.  At 7:10pm, I was fully dilated and it was time to push!

Emily Rose was born after only 31 minutes of pushing at 7:41pm.  When she was born, they laid her on the bed to be assessed and at that point, I could only see her head and shoulders, so I could not see if she was a boy or girl.  Carlos checked and then said "It's a girl!"  We were so surprised!  We thought I was carrying a boy for sure!  She is in perfect health!  Turns out I had a placental abruption, which means the edge of the placenta had detached.  Another surprise: she was born in the posterior (i.e. face up) position!

There were no beds on the floor, so initially, my midwife said we may be able to go home later that night.  Then, she changed her mind saying I needed to stay for observation because of all my blood loss.  We stayed in the delivery room overnight.  They put me on oxytocin overnight to help control the bleeding.  By the next morning, I was fine and ready to go home!

Emily Rose's stats at birth:

Born (on her due date): December 5, 2012
Weight: 8 pounds, 9 ounces
Length: 54 cm (21.25 inches)
Head circumference: 36.5 cm

So, Emily weighed 2 ounces less at birth than Julie did, but Emily's head was 3 cm larger and she was 3 cm longer than Julie.

I can't believe I went through another labour and delivery completely drug free!  That's 2 for 2!  :)