Emery's Birth Story

Sweet little Emery holds the record for longest labor of my children...sorta. Allow me to explain.

August 19th I had a regular prenatal visit with my OB, she checked my cervix and said, "Wow, you're at a 4. Would you like me to strip your membranes?" She knew I was miserable and ready to be done, so stripping the membranes would have sped things up a little, or a lot.

I was taken aback by this "at a 4" news. I hadn't even packed a hospital bag yet. Not to mention, after making it through kids camp, my one last pregnancy goal was to send my baby girl off to kindergarten before welcoming the new baby girl into my arms. School was to begin the next day, the 20th. I also had scheduled a pampering for myself at the local salon, after sending the kids off to school for their first day. Hair, toes, a day to myself before turning things upside down again with a newborn.

So, I politely declined the membrane stripping. Dr. Blake told me not to wait around too long to come in, being as I was already nearly halfway to delivered. I went home, packed that hospital bag, and did all the night before first day of school type stuff with the big kids. Went to bed around ten and was woken up with contractions around 1 am. I was certain they were just Braxton Hicks, until I wasn't certain they were. So after a couple hours, I began timing them with a contraction app (there really is an app for everything these days). After the fifth contraction the app recommended getting my things around to head to the hospital. By this time, it was around 4 am, and I thought well I've made it this far and there isn't any pain yet, I think I'll risk it and get these kids off to school. I woke Casey up and informed him of my plans, so he stayed home instead of going in to work.

I showered, came downstairs and worked quickly on some last minute work emails getting things set for maternity leave. I emailed the kids' teachers and office managers and canceled my salon pampering appointment. Soon enough it was time for the kids to get up for their big first day of the new school year. I was still having regular contractions. We took our first day photos of everybody on the porch and what I just knew would be my last baby bump photo.

The kids went on down the sidewalk from the front porch to the start of their new school years and Casey and I walked through the back door and loaded the van for the hospital. We arrived around 8 am to the hospital, checked into labor and delivery, had monitors put on and then all contractions stopped. The floor was extremely busy, and the nurse in my room made it clear to me they were very busy and I was not having contractions. After three hours of monitoring she checked me again and declared me dilated to a 5, so a little further than the day before, but obviously no longer having contractions, so we were sent home. After a lecture about what to look for in contractions. I made the walk of shame back out of labor and delivery feeling like a complete fool for coming in with "false" labor. I was mad. Before we left, the nurse lectured me on what to look for in actual contractions. This is my fourth child I know what contractions feel like and I was having them all night long, and I was advised not to wait too long to come in by my OB. It's not my fault my body abruptly stopped when I finally decided to go in. I didn't have to see that nurse again, thank goodness.

The next day, after some prodding from my friends, I rescheduled my pampering appointment for Thursday, August 22nd. I was hesitant to take up a slot on her calendar and then have to cancel again. She was more than happy to take on risky me, she was very understanding. I was also craving fried chicken something fierce. My dad kindly offered to take me out to Green Acres for some chicken after my salon appointment. I had a great day while the kids were at school. No more signs of consistent contractions, just plenty of Braxton Hicks.

Hair and toes all done.

It was so tasty.

You better believe it was buffet style,

and yes, I did partake in a second helping of chicken.

Fast forward one week and I was still waddling around miserable and wondering why on earth she hadn't arrived yet. Every night I would sit through more Braxton Hicks watching my belly grow a little lop sided rump on the right with each one. 

I had my 39 weeks OB appointment on August 29. Casey decided to go to the appointment with me. He even packed all the things for the hospital in to the van when we went. He was ready for me to be out of misery more than I was and he planned to ask Dr. Blake if we could induce that afternoon/night. She did a cervix check and I had moved along to a 6. A FREAKING SIX. She asked if I wanted to schedule an induction, I said yes, please, and just as he planned, this opened a window for Casey to ask if we could go over to the hospital right then and there and get it started. She went to check the status of the unit and came back with instructions for a 6:00 am induction the next morning.

We went home with more pep in our step. There was a light at the end of this pregnancy tunnel! We arranged for the big kids to stay the night with Grami and ride her bus to school since we'd be leaving home at 5 am to get to the hospital. We packed them a suitcase for the next couple days and Casey took them over to her house at bed time. I flat ironed my hair and did some last minute tidying up of the house. Randomly I would stop and breathe deep through a particularly hard Braxton Hicks contraction. At one point Casey said you've done quite a bit of those. I reassured him they weren't consistent. I may have also said, "I'll be damned if I have to do that walk of shame back out of labor and delivery for "false" labor again." I was determined to be sure it was the real thing before going in.

He and I went to bed around 10. I was texting with my friends Nikki and Renana before bed and Nikki joked about the storms we were to see that night bringing on labor early. I woke up at 1:20 am to pee. I rolled myself out of bed with quite a lot of effort, which was nothing new. I struggled to get in and out of bed the last few months of my pregnancy. By 1:40 am I knew we were in trouble. 

Contractions came out of nowhere fast and strong, one right after the other. The line of storms had just hit the house. We hurried around getting dressed, he pulled out the van from the garage, and I got soaked the seven steps from deck to door of van. It was raining so hard we couldn't see more than thirty yards in front of us. Casey kept his eye on the white line to keep us on the highway. When we should have been traveling at speeds of 70 mph, 55 was about as fast as we could go safely. I was in pain, so much pain with every contraction. I focused on calming myself down in between contractions. Casey kept his white knuckles on the steering wheel and his sight laser focused on the road.

This, this is when Emery thought it a good idea to be born.

It takes 45 minutes from door to door getting from home to hospital. It's highway most of the way, but then 40 mph city blocks from 33rd to 6th Street. Casey was cruising up Gage Blvd, lights were green and we were making better time with the rain finally letting up. Brakes were applied hard at a green light at the 29th St intersection and maybe I yelled at my husband for not paying attention to the green light. He claims he was just slowing down to the speed limit because there was a police car at the same intersection. He was so nervous I'm not sure he even really knew what speed he was traveling at. 

We arrived at the ER entrance, where you have to enter after hours, at 2:45 am. I'm having virtually no rest between contractions and the goobers behind the glass wall want all kinds of information before calling up to L&D to get me an escort. I'm sure they were just doing their job. I'm also sure I didn't want to have that baby on the floor of the ER entrance. Mercifully we were the only souls there besides the police officer and registration ladies so there were no wide eyed witnesses to my surviving contractions. 

FINALLY, a chair from L&D came for me and we made our way upstairs. In case you were wondering, yes, it does take an eternity to get from the ER to L&D. The tech pushing me in the chair radioed up to get the room ready when I informed her this was my fourth and in the office earlier in the day I was dilated to a six. We wheeled into the room, I immediately got in the bed and more questions were fired at me while one of the nurses did her best to put an IV in my arm. It wasn't the best IV experience I've had, but she got the job done. I couldn't answer some of the questions, not enough concentration to go around when you're in labor. The IV nurse did a quick check, 9 was her vocalized determination. Secretly I think the only reason she didn't say 10 was to give the on call OB time to get in the room. 

Casey was in the room, but he wasn't saying much. I love that man with all my heart, but being present and comforting during childbirth isn't one of his strengths. Too much pressure and worry for me and baby to know what to do. The storm picked back up outside, I could see the rain blowing into the window and flashes of lightning streaking the sky. 

The on call OB waltzed in, had one look at me and said, "I'm going to break your water now." He broke the water, I was going to have another meconium baby. Then he asked, "Do you feel like pushing? There's nothing in your way now." I actually didn't feel like pushing, I actually felt like getting a FREAKING EPIDURAL, but they informed me it was too late for that. Dang it. The doctor said going drug free is the best, things move along faster and it's all over sooner that way. I informed him, "No, sir, you are wrong. I did this the other way three times with an epidural and I much prefer it over this mess."

I pushed with the next contraction. And nothing happened. And again, and again, and it hurt like no pain I've ever felt before. Screw civility and decency, I screamed on those pushes like my body was being torn to shreds...oh wait, it was. Someone asked me my blood type. I couldn't remember, I knew it was O, but was it positive or negative? I yelled (because you can't talk normal while in the middle of a contraction), "I'm the opposite of him!" and gestured across the room at Casey. 

While I was pushing there was also this reoccurring bark in the room. After I could take not knowing what it was any more I asked, and not so kindly, "What the heck is that noise?" The room of people turned to look at one nurse and she apologized sheepishly, "Sorry, I have the hiccups." My response? Oh, just as kind as the demanding ask, "It sounds like there's a yorkie barking in the room!" and then it was time to push again. I honestly don't know how many pushes there were, more than with any previous child of mine that's for sure. 

My brain sort of has an out of body experience while in active labor. I think and process things in my brain, but the rest of every inch of my body is laboring so words are never formed. I hit a turning point on one of the pushes, thinking to myself simultaneously, "I can't push any more." and "Push like your life depends on it so we can get this part over with." I spent the next couple contractions pushing like that and with each one the OB said, "There, that's moving the baby, the baby's moving." The nurses helping me hold my legs were saying really nice things, like good work, keep going, you're doing a great job. I felt like I was doing anything but a great job. I'm sure they're trained to say whatever it takes to keep momma motivated to get baby out. And at 3:27 AM, she moved on out.

Less than 45 minutes from arriving at the hospital. While the doctor cleaned things up and stitched we learned she was face up in the canal and he added, "It's a good thing too, if she had been face down, the optimal way to deliver a baby, she wouldn't have made it to the hospital." I just wanted to know one thing, "When do I get my blue ribbon for going drug free?"

Her first photo outside the womb.

Emery Adeline Smith

Born 08/30/2019 at 03:27AM

Weighing 7 lbs 14 oz, measuring 20" in length

The morning sickness, the aches and pains, the way back corner of the mind fear waiting for something to go wrong, the sleepless nights, the pain of labor and delivery all...well, not wiped away...but all very well worth holding that sweet babe on my chest and meeting her face to face. 

Casey got to cut the cord, which had a knot in it. Emery and I laid skin to skin for an hour before they took her for a little sponge bath and warm up under the heat lamp. After the nurses and technicians left the room Casey took a seat on the couch and cried like a baby. Turns out he had some pent up fears too. 

Nothing about Emery's arrival was easy. Nothing. I was so glad to have it behind me. After she was born there were still more questions to answer for registration. One of the questions was, "Have you ever experienced a traumatic event?" I looked straight at the nurse and replied, "Does what I just went through count? Because that was pretty traumatic for me." She laughed, no, no it didn't count. Figures.

Post delivery I spent the next 24 hours staring at her in awe of how beautiful and perfect her every feature was. Glory to God for creating her and bringing her safely into this world for us to raise. May He continue to protect her and guide us in raising her. 

There are many more photos to share. Next post.