October 7th, 2012

The next morning came super quick. We spent the early morning hours cuddling our Emma and trying to take little cat naps. The morning was also filled with more vital checks and another visit from the lactation specialist. Emma was latching perfectly (painfully, but successfully).

 Around 12:30 we got a knock on the door...and it was my parents! Such an amazing moment. I still can't believe they got there soo fast! They had taken a 5AM flight out of Manchester, NH and now here they were in Columbus, GA! It was so special because they were Emma's first visitors.

What an incredible moment that was. Introducing your baby to your parents, who at that moment became grandparents. I am so thankful they came right away to share all those special first moments with us.

The rest of the day was spent relaxing, taking little naps, more vital checks, and of course just falling even more in love with Emma. Later in the day my Dad and Jeff left to get some food, the hospital food was just not cutting it for us. Emma also had many visitors that came throughout the day.

October 6th, 2012 ~ Part 5

The next few hours we spent admiring our new obsession. We called/texted our family and friends to let them know the good news. While Jeff was on the phone with my parents Emma was crying and they could hear her cry over the phone. I'm sure that was a surreal moment for them.

We couldn't be released to the 'mother & baby' wing until I was able to walk and pee. When I felt my legs again and felt strong enough to stand I gathered up the courage to go to the bathroom. It might sound crazy, but this was the moment I was most scared of. Thinking about anything else coming out of that area was petrifying to me. The nurse helping me advised me it might be best not to look down because obviously there was going to be a lot of blood. Thank goodness for her, because she gave me so many good tips on how to accomplish this horrific act.

Once I was done and showed them I was able to walk around we were ready to make our way to our next room. In this hospital they make you walk to your next room while pushing your baby in the bassinet. It seemed kind of ridiculous at the moment. Like you want me to walk to another wing....in a hospital gown...after I just pushed out a human being..really? But really it was to show them you were doing good and didn't have any bad reactions or complications from the epidural.

When we were settled into our new room it was about 3AM and we were exhausted. Emma was sleeping soundly, Jeff looked like he was about to pass out, and I was still in shock of the events of the day. Was my beautiful baby really sleeping next to me? Was she really here safe and sound, and healthy and perfect?! The nurses told me to try and get some rest, even though I was exhausted it was hard to sleep because of the million thoughts going through my head and the overwhelming joy that was bursting from my heart. Plus it was hard to sleep when the nurses would come in every few hours to take Emma's and my vitals.

We also had a lactation specialist come in to see how the first latches were going. Emma was more interested in sleeping then eating, so it was going really slow.  When Emma woke up a little, she did successfully latch so the lactation specialist wasn't concerned we would have any issues.

October 6th was an amazing, amazing day. It will be a day we will never forget because God gave us our perfect angel.

October 6th, 2012 ~ Part 4

I began pushing about 9:30ish and thankfully I couldn't feel anything. I could feel pressure, but no pain. It was also a very calm and peaceful time, nothing you see in movies haha. I was so focused I didn't realize the increase of people in the room. It was my doctor, 2 other doctors, my nurse, and 2 other nurses....I quickly realized that something was probably wrong. Basically, Emma was stuck and it seemed her heart rate was decreasing. It got to the point where they told me I had a couple more pushes or they would have to go in and get her. They were also prepped and ready incase she didn't come out breathing. They also said they would take her right away to the warmer instead of putting her on my chest like I originally wanted.

I had my own cheering squad in the delivery room. It was awesome. All the doctors, nurses, and Jeff were so encouraging. When I had one push left, I gave it my all. I realized I had to give it everything I had in me to get her out so she was safe...and one more push was all we needed. I pushed so hard that she and my placenta (sorry TMI) came flying out (literally). And she came out kicking and SCREAMING. When I first heard her cry my heart melted and it was the most amazing feeling of relief. My baby girl was here, she was healthy, and had the sweetest cry. The doctors still brought her straight to the warmer to check her out, and she was 100% perfect. While they were fixing me up, Jeff went over to see her, since I couldn't see her from my bed, I asked Jeff how she was. Jeff turned to me and barely choked out "shes perfect." Writing this still brings tears to my eyes. The man didn't cry at our wedding, he never cries, but here he was so emotional. This is hands down the most incredible moment of my entire life. There are no words. It was the best day of our lives. Yes your wedding day is special and amazing...but the day your first child is born blows your wedding day out of the water. How incredible a moment to meet part of you, and part of the one you love the most. And just the sheer fact that you created a life. A tiny, perfect, healthy life. Babies are nothing short of a miracle. How can you not believe in God as you hold a baby?

The doctors asked Jeff if he wanted to cut the cord. Jeff doesn't do well with anything 'gross' and has an awful gag reflex. We had talked beforehand and he decided he wasn't going to cut the cord, which was completely ok with me. However, at that moment he said "Yes." I was shocked, and brought more tears to my eyes. I was so incredibly proud of him. So yes, Jeff cut her cord :) 

When they were done doing what they needed to do with me, done cleaning up Emma, they finally handed her to me. Instant love and joy is an understatement. Looking into my baby's eyes for the first time is a moment I will never forget. Her perfect, beautiful eyes. She was perfect. She was healthy. Up until this point she was still screaming, testing out her little lungs, but as soon as she was in my arms and our eyes locked, she stopped. It was incredible. She knew that I was her mommy and that I would do absolutely anything for her.

After awhile I handed her over to Jeff. Seeing Jeff hold our daughter brought more tears to my eyes. It was such a beautiful moment and if it was possible, I fell even more in love with him. He was holding OUR baby, our miracle, our Emma.

So the stats - Emma Lynn Bender. Born at 9:56PM. 6 pounds 15 ounces and 20 inches long. PERFECT!

Emma's first picture

Daddy cutting Emma's cord

There are no words....

Happy Birthday baby girl!

So incredibly happy

October 6th, 2012 ~ Part 3

From about 6:30PM-until now...has been a complete blur.

After I was finally admitted I walked (yes, I was still able to walk, it wasn't fun, but I made it) to my delivery room. It was strange walking into that room because I knew I was going to walk out of it with my baby. I put on my "stylish" gown and hopped into the bed. They hooked up my IV (I took it like a champ) and drew some blood. The blood was 1. for labs and 2. incase I needed blood after the delivery. I thought this was a good idea that they do this so you don't have to get someone elses blood.

My contractions were getting stronger and coming quickly. The Doctors and nurses kept saying that it could be awhile because it was my first baby and she would probably have a October 7th birthday. They called my doctor right when they admitted me to let her know I was in labor, but she apparently thought it could be awhile too because she took her sweet time getting there.

By 8:00 it was obvious I was in full-blown labor and I was in SO much pain. It felt like I was having a contraction every minute. The nurse was like lets check you out and see how far you've progressed. To all of our surprise I was already at 9cm. The nurse was like "this baby is coming!" This kicked everyone in a higher gear.

At this point I was begging for my epidural. They were still waiting for my labs to come back. Side note- I had no idea there was a chance you could not get an epidural, all your levels and platelets had to be good in order for you to receive one. That made me a little nervous because I had no idea. They called down to the lab and requested to have those labs rushed. They offered me IV drugs until I could get my epi, but I stuck to my birth plan and through tears and gritted teeth I said no. IV drugs are a narcotic and I didn't want that for my baby. I'm still so proud of myself I said no! Go me! Another side note- I realized that when I am in that amount of pain...I cry....I don't scream or get angry....I whimper and cry haha.

Finally- when I was fully dilated, and almost ready to push- I got my epidural. Praise the lord. However, let me just tell you, that getting a HUGE needle stuck in your spine while having extreme contractions every other minute was NOT fun. You have to remain extremely still and sit straight up...um yeah near impossible at that point. Thank goodness for Jeff. I sat at the edge of the bed, and Jeff was right in front of me encouraging me, stroking my hair, and letting me cry into him. Even though getting an epidural is painful, scary, and just plain awful, at that point you just don't care. When the anesthesiologist was done doing what he needed to do, he ran a series of tests to see if it had worked. My entire right side, waist down was numb,....but to my horror, my entire left side was not. I could feel everything. And every contraction felt 10x more intense because it felt like it was concentrated to my left side. It literally felt like someone was stabbing me over and over again. The anesthesiologist and my nurse decided to roll me on my left side to see if it would help the medicine flow. Thankfully, after another 10-15 minutes I was finally completely numb waist down. It was SO nice to take a nice, calm, deep breath.

I realized at this point that maybe we should update some family and friends of what was going on. Thankfully, Jeff had been in constant contact with my parents, and sent my siblings a text.

At 9:30 the nurse and my doctor decided I was good to go to start pushing. Jeff & I were both shocked, we were so surprised with how fast everything was going! Literately, it felt like we hadn't had time to process anything. At this point I was starting to get nervous because 1. the thought of pushing a baby out was terrifying 2. being the hypochondriac I am, I was so nervous to see how she was, like if she was healthy and perfect.

Fully dilated, just got my epidural, freezing to death....and ready to go!

October 6th, 2012 ~ Part 2

The ride to the hospital was calm. Well, I was at least. It was a beautiful day, I wasn't in pain...yet, and I was so excited to find out if this was really it! Jeff on the other hand was anxious. So anxious. It was so cute and so funny. Traffic for some reason was pretty heavy for a Saturday afternoon and the roads seemed to be filled with slow and 'dumb' drivers. I kept thinking to myself thank goodness I wasn't having insane contractions because I probably would be freaking out too.

On the way I thought I would text my parents, even though I knew they were in church, to just let them know that maybe something was happening.

We arrived at the hospital around 5:15. I still was leaking and still wasn't having contractions. I walked calmly up to Labor & Delivery and was just like "Hi, I think my water just broke." The nurses I think didn't take me completely seriously because I was calm and it was obvious I wasn't in insane labor pain.

After about 15 minutes they finally led me to an examination room and we waited for what seemed like forever. Around 6PM I finally started having contractions. I was hooked up to a machine to monitor if I was contracting or not and Jeff had a blast watching the lines go up and down. He would get so excited if it was a "big one." He kept saying "oh my god, you just had a big one!!!" Really Jeff? I had no idea, haha. I have never seen him SO excited. When it was obvious I was having regular, strong contractions he was bursting at the seams with excitement. It makes me smile thinking back on it.

Finally, a Dr came in and said he was going to do a series of tests to confirm if it was my water that had broke. The first test he started to do was to just take a peek and see if I was dilated. And a peek was all he needed. After about 30 seconds he was like, that was definitely your water that broke because you are already 4cm dilated and I can see your daughters head. He said there was no need to run the other tests and he was going to admit me. OH. MY. GOD. We are having a baby!!!!

In the exam room...starting to have contractions!

October 6th, 2012 ~ Part 1

It was a gorgeous day. I woke up feeling EXTRA exhausted which was strange because I actually slept pretty decent. Best night of sleep I've had in months because I didn't have any contractions. I stayed in bed until about noon and finally got up and showered. Jeff was busy running errands. He had his own 'nesting' list he was trying to accomplish before Emma showed up.

Around 2PM Jeff came home with new rose bushes for our front bed that he wanted to plant. He also brought me home a bagel for a very late breakfast (what a guy!). Around 3PM I decided I needed some fresh air so I went outside to hang out with him and decided to help him out. While he planted the roses I swept the front patio. Obviously, after 15 minutes of 'helping out' I was exhausted so I went back inside to relax and have a popsicle.

At 3:45PM Jeff came inside and decided he needed to reward himself for all his hard work with some xbox time.

4:00PM Still felt exhausted so I laid on the couch with Lex and decided to catch up on all my DVR'd shows...first up was Real Housewives of Miami.

4:15PM UM....what was that? I felt a slight gush....and thought either I just peed myself, I'm leaking fluids, or my water just broke. I was a bit confused because I wasn't having any contractions. I felt pretty good, other then being tired.

4:17PM I walked upstairs to Jeff's man room still a little surprised and was like "Jeff....I think my water just broke..." The look on Jeff's face was priceless. I'm actually surprised he believed me and wasn't like "are you serious...are you joking!?" He automatically jumped up, turned off his TV and xbox and was like ok I need to hop in the shower really quick (he was covered in dirt) and lets go!

I still was in a state of shock, but completely calm. I wasn't 100% sure if it was my water that had just broken so I didn't know what to think. I called Labor & Delivery and asked if I should come in, and they of course said yes, come in! This put Jeff in a complete frantic mode. I on the other hand was still calm. I decided I wanted to freshen up my hair and make up, and do a bit of touching up around the house. While running around getting ready, I was still 'gushing' fluids....and I kept thinking to myself....I think this is it.

I felt like I was in such a surreal moment. You try to envision this moment for 9 months, and it was so hard to believe that the moment we had so wished for, was actually here.

I guess I was taking my sweet time because Jeff kept trying to rush me out the door. After the house was tidy, I was put together, Lexi had many hugs and kisses we were on our way to the hospital.

I posted this on the door to our garage a few weeks ago, very thankful I did!

39 Weeks!

On Thursday, October 4th, we had my 39 week check-up. Baby was sounding great, her position was still perfect, and my vitals were still perfect. My Dr asked if we wanted to see if I was dilated at all, and I decided against it. It was so painful the first time, and hey, she will come when shes ready.

At the end of our appointment Jeff, our Dr, and I joked how we hope she comes on Tuesday so we could all enjoy the long weekend.

WELL . . . !

The last belly pic I took...38 weeks and 4 days! My Dad and sister requested a belly pic, and thank goodness I actually took one!