Welcome Emma!

Emma Adaline Watson was born August 6, 2010, at 3:51 p.m., in Bellevue Washington.  She came in at 8 pounds 9 ounces and measured 20 inches long.

 

 

Short version of the birth story:

I started feeling real contractions around 7 p.m. on the 5^th but I didn’t realize they were contractions until 4:00 the next morning.  We arrived at the birthing center around 12:15 p.m. on August 6^th.  (Funny story: At the very moment we were leaving our house, two police cars, an ambulance and a fire truck pulled up outside of our complex for some sort of emergency and the light wouldn’t turn green.  Ben thought of going out there and explaining that a woman was in labor there, but just decided to make a right and do a U-turn). 

I found out later that I came in at 8 centimeters.  I labored for four hours, most of it in the big tub.  I didn’t feel any pain, only real discomfort – sort of like a really bad period.  I was really thankful for the breaks in between the contractions. I loved having Paula, my doula there, and the relaxation scripts Ben recorded for me really helped to prepare.

Now we’re home and I’m feeling a lot more rested.  My mom arrived last Saturday.  She would have come earlier, but I honestly didn’t think I was going to have the baby the day after my due date!  I thought the baby would come the next week.  That would have given Ben and me a week together and then we would have been ready for the help.

Postpartum has big adjustment and I wish I would have prepared more for that, or at least studied what it might be like.  Breastfeeding started off well, then it didn’t go so well, and the baby wasn’t gaining enough weight.  I’ve seen a lactation consultant and things have improved a lot.

Emma is as sweet as can be and things are improving as we’re figuring out what we’re doing. We’re so blessed to have her.

The long version of the birth story:

Thursday morning, August 5 (her due date) – I felt a little trickle of water and wondered if it was my water breaking.  It wasn’t a lot though, but I thought I’d call the midwife anyway.  She didn’t think it was my water breaking, but ask me to come in to take a test to make sure.  By the time I got to the birth center, I started seeing a “bloody show” so I couldn’t take the test.  The midwife said it was my cervix ripening up. 

1:00 p.m. – I started feeling cramps but I wrote them off as Braxton Hicks. 

7:00 p.m. – The cramps started feeling stronger, enough for me to need to concentrate on them.

9:00 p.m. – Ben and I decided to go to bed around 9:00.  I put in headphones to listen to the relaxation scripts Ben recorded for me to prepare for childbirth.  They didn’t put me to sleep right away like they usually did, but they did help me keep my mind off the cramps that were persisting. 

11:00 p.m. – The relaxation scripts started to annoy me so I took the headphones out.  I wasn’t feeling comfortable so went to the couch.  The cramps were coming more frequently.  I was mostly annoyed because all I wanted to do was go to sleep.  I kept switching positions and leaning over the couch.  They didn’t stop, but the relaxation techniques I had been practicing helped me feel more comfortable.

Friday, August 6, 3:00 a.m. – I went back to bed to get some rest, but the cramps continued.  I started hugging the biggest pillow I had to feel more comfortable.  Then I moved back to the Pilates ball.  I kept moving back and forth between them.

4:00 a.m. – Ben woke up at this point and I realized I was having contractions.  Ben kept track of them in his head.  They were coming every five minutes and lasting 30 to 45 seconds.

7:00 a.m. – Ben downloaded a program to keep track of the contractions on the computer.  We tracked them for an hour and discovered that I was having one-minute contractions every four minutes.

8:30 a.m. (?) – I called the midwife and she talked me through a few contractions.  She didn’t think the contractions sounded intense enough but that that would be a good time to call my doula.  She said to call back when things started picking up more.

9:30 a.m. – I felt the need to go to the bathroom.  I wasn’t feeling comfortable at all and expected things to get worse.

10:15 a.m. – Paula my doula arrived.  She assured me that everything was fine, that I was doing great and that I was doing everything I should be doing.  She wondered why I didn’t call earlier, though.  She rubbed me on the back and gave me water.  She put a wash cloth on my neck.  Immediately, I knew that I would be able to do this.

I don’t think she could tell how far along I was in labor because I was able to stay so relaxed.  But later she told me that she started to sense things were further along than I thought.  She noticed that at the beginning of the contractions I would grunt or do something that would show they were really intense.  But then I would confuse her because I would make myself relax very quickly.

11:30 a.m. – I really needed to go to go to the bathroom.  I felt everything would be better if I went to the bathroom.  Paula gave Loren a call to tell her that she thought I was further along and I needed to go to the birth center.  Ben gathered everything and put them in the car.  I got in the car.  We were waiting at the stop light to turn left out of our condo complex when three police cars pulled up, then an ambulance, then a fire truck.  And the light wouldn’t turn green.  There was some sort of emergency right outside our complex, right then.  Ben considered telling the firemen about our situation (woman in labor here!) so they could turn the light green for us, but then we decided to take a right and do a U-turn.

Miraculously I only experienced one slight pang on the way to the birth center. 

12:15 p.m. – We arrived at the birth center.  I didn’t feel any cramping immediately.  Loren checked me out.  She didn’t tell me this at the time, but I was at 8 centimeters.  She told Ben and Paula this though. I’m glad she didn’t tell me. I didn’t want to know and I wasn’t going to ask.

Paula encouraged me to get in the tub.  I thought it was a little early to get in the tub, but I thought to myself, well, I’ll try the tub, then the birth ball, then the bed.  I got in the tub and sat there for a few hours, laboring. Then they told me I was supposed to push.  I was a bit surprised by this.  I sort of felt like pushing but mostly I just wanted to go to the bathroom.  I fully expected to have a huge bowel movement in the tub.  I remember what a friend said.  She said – it’s just like going poop.  So I focused on that.  I felt I was having the biggest bowel movement of my entire life.  Ben was holding both my hands.  Poor Ben’s hands were about to break off I was squeezing them so tight.  They said I pushed for two hours.

Then she was in my arms! This beautiful baby girl, with the biggest cheeks I have ever seen and inky black hair.  Her lips looked so small sandwiched between her two checks.  I couldn’t believe she was so big.  I was even more surprised to learn that she weighed 8 pounds 9 ounces.  She gave out the most beautiful cry and looked into my eyes.  She has the most beautiful eyes ever.  She recognized Ben’s voice and I thought she recognized mine too.  Loren gave her to Ben so I could push the placenta out, which was relieving.