The princess arrives!!

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

By royal decree (Sir Dr. semi-doom of castle Geisinger), wifey is to be induced and Princess Emma's arrival is imminent. Festivities are prepared (we pack) and the long journey to castle Geisinger begins.

The story of Princess Emma's emergence upon this land actually takes place in the early morn of Tuesday, the 11th of October, in the year of our Lord, 2011.

OK, enough with the renaissancy talk...

We were to be at the hospital by 8 a.m. By 9:45 a.m., they checked to see how far wifey was dialated. She barely was. So, they inserted a gel to help soften the cervix. Basically, they told us they could give us medication to induce the contractions, but it would be like pushing Princess Emma up against a brick wall. We didn't think she'd like that. Apparently, neither did the nurse.
Thus began the waiting game. The gel would need to work for 12 hours. During this time, Jenn discovered what a contraction felt like. Due to having excess amniotic fluid (polyhydramnios), she couldn't really feel them prior to this. What I found interesting is how they had her hooked up to a machine that was monitoring this. Everytime the graph started to spike, we could see and she could feel a contraction coming on.
Technology.
Amazing, huh?
By the early afternoon, she would be well acquainted with what contractions felt like...

Time passed along slowly. It felt like we were waiting all day. Oh wait, we WERE waiting all day. Jenn tried to relax, but found herself having to breathe through the contractions. Some of them would come every 1-2 minutes, yet the nurse didn' t seem concerned by these.
After patiently waiting half the day for something to happen, I couldn't help but think this whole birthing thing was rather uneventful.

It was the calm before the storm.

5-6 p.m.

The contractions were starting to bother Jenn. The nurse said there was a certain medication that could be administered via IV that would really help with the pain. Unfortunately, there was a shortage of this medication and the hospital didn't have any. In fact, they made it sound like it could be at least a statewide shortage. So, they offered her a shot of morphine instead. They could give her an IV of morphine, but they said that wouldn't last long at all. So, they gave Jenn the shot. If she knew how painful it would have been beforehand, I think she would have opted to just deal with the contractions. But, the medication did it's job and she started to have some relief from the contractions...

9:45 p.m.

It was time to remove the gel and check her cervix. Jenn was very tentative about this. In fact, that is an understatement. It petrified her. The insertion did not go well at all. Unfortunately, her fears turned out to be justified. This turned out to be the single most painful experience of the entire delivery. They had real trouble removing it and it felt excrutiating to Jenn. In fact, they weren't even able to check her cervix due to the pain. It was definitely the low point of the day thus far....

10-10:15 p.m.

The decision is made to give Jenn an epidural, so they could check her cervix. We raised the concern that if she isn't very far dialated, is there a chance that it would run out before the actual delivery? They explained that it would be controlled via an IV, so they could control when and how much was delivered.

11:50 p.m.

Jenn's water breaks naturally! Due to her polyhydramnios, I thought the nurse was going to shout "We got a gusher here!" Our nurse was very positive and almost, dare I say, excited for this! It looked like things were progressing quite nicely!

12:15 a.m.

The epidural is administered to Jenn. She was worried about this as well. But, it actually turned out to be not bad. This was quite the relief to both her and me! Now that she was numb, it would be smooth sailing from this point on, right?

1:15 a.m.

They finally are able to check her cervix. It's amazing that when you're in the hospital, everything seems to take so long and get so drawn out. Anyway, this went very well from a pain aspect, but not so well from a result aspect. After all this, she is only 2 cm dilated!!! Looks like the waiting game continues...

1:30-2 a.m.

Due to Jenn's water breaking, the contractions begin to get stronger. Jenn is able to breathe through them and is tolerating them well. However, Emma is not. Every time a contraction would hit, her heart rate would drop. Not good. Unbeknownst to us, this was a red flag. It would return to normal between the contractions, but it definitely would drop during the contractions themselves. A doctor and our nurse talked to us. It was starting to sound like a natural delivery was becoming less and less likely.

2:30 a.m.

We are given the consent form for a C-section. There was a mix of relief and disappointment. Relief at the thought of being spared the pain of natural delivery, but disappointment at the idea of missing the experience of it.

Now, they explained something important regarding the C-section. There were two ways this could go down. Since they were expecting Jenn to have a natural birth, they gave her an epidural. If this were a scheduled C-section, they would have given her a spinal block. Apparently, they are the same shot, just in different locations.
So, their concern was that the epidural wouldn't be enough to completely numb her for the C-section procedure. They said they would use additional pain medication, but if she wasn't completely numb, they would have to put her to sleep. That also meant that I wouldn't be allowed to be in there with her. So, we were hoping the additional medication would be enough...

3:30 a.m.

Jenn is taken back to the operating room to be prepped for the C-section. I eagerly await word on whether I will be allowed back or not. I had to put scrubs over my clothes and wear a cap and surgical mask just in case.

4 a.m.

I am given the word that I am to come back to the operating room. I follow the nurse back and am seated beside my wife. There is a sheet up so all that I can see is her face and hold her hand. She was nervous, as she could still feel some pinching as they were prepping her. So, the anastesiologist gave her some "good stuff". Yep, that's how he put it. It sent her on a trip. She was seeing colors and everything as it really put her out of it.

4:20 a.m.

The moment finally arrives! They lift baby princess Emma up and show her to the world! It was very Lion King-esque. Well, not quite, but that's how I have it built up in my mind.
They take her over to a separate station in the room to clean her up. When they felt she was presentable enough, they allowed me to go over and see her.
All I could think was, what a tiny, adorable little girl! And, that this beautiful little sweet pea is my daughter! I was overwhelmed!

They scooped her up and said that they were going to take her to be weighed and measured. Within a few moments they came back and gave the official measurements.
Our daughter, Emma Rose, born at 37 weeks...

Weight: 3 lbs, 13 ounces

Length: 16 1/2"

She was a tiny girl, but they said she looked good and healthy!
They showed her to Jenn, but she was still so out of it, I don't think she fully comprehended that this was her new baby daughter.

After that, they said they were going to take her over to the NICU (Neo-natal Intensive Care Unit). They told me not to be alarmed. They didn't see any cause for concern. Their standard procedure is to take any baby under 5 lbs over there for a full evaluation and also to help maintain their body temperature.

I felt bad that Jenn didn't get to hold her right away, but I was just overwhelmed with relief. For the first time in several weeks, I felt like I could truly relax. We had been given so many potentially scary scenarios three weeks ago. It finally looked like the doctors' fears would go unrealized.

Our dreams were coming true. Our baby girl was here and everything was fine! She was just little like her mommy and daddy!


Emma Rose Straub
Born: Wednesday, October 12th, 2011
Weight: 3 lbs, 13 ounces
Length: 16 1/2"

Unbeknownst to us, in a few hours, our world would come crashing down around us. But, one thing was certain...

With just one glance, I felt a love for this little girl greater than I ever thought imaginable. She was my daughter and I would do whatever it takes for her...