Welcome Baby Emory - Birth Story

Wow...the last few days have been an incredible whirlwind!  I don't really know how to start writing the birth story of our second daughter...I guess I'll just start at the very beginning!  HA!

Last Friday, September 13, I had my 38 (almost 39 week) doctor appointment.  At my appointment I had progressed to being dilated to a four and being about 80 percent effaced.  I told my doctor that we didn't want to be induced yet, and that we were hoping it happened naturally in the next week or so.  She said she was on call all weekend so maybe she'd see me!  

Early Saturday morning around 1:50 am I woke up with my first real contraction.  I had been having tons of Braxton-Hicks and a lot of crampy feelings over the last several weeks, but no REAL painful contractions.  I made a note on my phone and just laid in bed.  About 20 minutes later I had another contraction, and then again maybe 15 minutes later I had another one.  I finally woke Ryan up and just told him that it may be nothing but that I had had several contractions.  He said "oh, okay" and I kid you not, fell back asleep about a minute later!  HA!  My doctor had said that if my water broke to come to the hospital immediately, but if I was just having contractions, I should wait until they were about five minutes apart.  So I just laid there wondering "is this the beginning of labor or are they just going to stop?"  I continued having them for the next hour or so and they got to be about ten and then about seven minutes apart, so we showered and loaded the car and called my parents.  (I actually called them probably three different times...first to say that I had had some contractions and to just be on stand-by to come to our house, then to say I didn't know if they needed to come, and then about five minutes later I called again and said "come now!") My parents drove over separately and my Dad stayed here while Brynn was sleeping and my mom drove over to the hospital awhile later.  BOY AM I GLAD SHE DID!

When we got to the hospital around 5 am my contractions were around five minutes apart and when they checked me I was dilated to a five.  I immediately told them I DID NOT want to miss my epidural window and could they start getting that stuff ready.  They said they would, but they had to monitor me for about an hour just to make sure my contractions were consistent and that my body was progressing and dilating.  They also had to then bring in a bag of IV fluids and get some blood work.  I was seriously worried that I was going to miss my epidural so I kept telling them about that.  My mom was laughing and saying "oh great, you are already being high-maintenance!" HA!

My water still hadn't broken, but my contractions were getting consistently stronger and more frequent and I told Ryan "you need to have them come in here and check me!  I'm going to miss my epidural if they don't get this started!"  When they came in around 6 am I was dilated to a 7 or 8 and I was internally freaking out because I knew I was progressing fast.  On the outside I was just trying to breathe to make it through my contractions and attempting to be semi-nice even though I wanted to scream "bring me my epidural!"  

I then heard one of the nurses tell Ryan "I'm going to be honest...there isn't going to be enough time for an epidural.  She's going to be ready to push soon."  AHHHH!  I don't even really remember what I was thinking at that point...it felt really surreal, like "this isn't really about to happen to me, is it?"  I think maybe at this point it was around 6:45 am and I think I was seriously at almost a 10.  I felt like I needed to pee and poop (sorry if that's TMI) SO BAD and the nurse checked me and said "no, it's not that it's just the baby's head is putting pressure where it feels like that.  Don't push yet, Dr. Carns isn't here but we've called her and she's on her way."  Oh my gosh...that was not a real fun 15 minutes...I was squeezing my mom's hand LIKE CRAZY.  And side note - I hadn't really intended on my mom being in the room while I delivered (I thought we'd hang out after my epidural while I was feeling really good and then when I started pushing she'd go out and it would just be me and Ryan).  Well I am so glad she was there because I had no clue how to breathe through the hard contractions and she was reliving her Lamaze classes from 30 years ago!  She kept saying "Ryan, do you want to come over here and take over?" And Ryan would say "uh, no, I think Whitney would kill me if I try to hold her hand right now."  HA!  But he's probably right...I'm not a super touchy person and especially when I'm in pain, I didn't want him saying "oh, you are doing great, yada yada" and I want to bite his head off and scream "YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THIS FEELS LIKE SO DON'T TELL ME I'M DOING GOOD!"  But I think that knowing my mom had actually been there and done that made it okay.

Around 7 am Dr. Carns arrived and just like that they were getting me ready to push.  She actually had to break my water first, which I still think is crazy.  With Brynn my water broke on it's own when I was probably dilated to a 2, and this time I was at a 10 and it still hadn't broken on its own.  It was still a crazy feeling...painful and surreal, etc.  I just remember thinking so many times (when I had a break from the pain) "this IS NOT really happening, is it?"  I AM NOT the kind of person that can give birth naturally!  But then every contraction I started pushing and WHEW...the first couple I thought I wasn't going to make it.  Not necessarily that it was so painful, but just that I had trouble pushing Brynn out and I didn't think I could do it.  More than once I looked at everyone in the room and said in a half-yell half-panicked voice "Guys I don't think I can do this.  I don't think I can do it!"  Several pushes later and I'll be honest...the WORST pain was when I feel like her head was about halfway out but not all the way out and I had to stop and wait for another contraction.  I don't really know what was going on but I do remember thinking that was the worst pain.  At the same time that I was pushing, the girl next door was being told to wait until Dr. Carns got there.  I said (I don't think it was a yell, but it was kind of a cry?? HA!) "Dr. CARNS, YOU ARE NOT LEAVING ME.  YOU CAN NOT LEAVE THIS ROOM UNTIL SHE IS BORN!"  She was like "I'm not going anywhere Whitney.  And she has an epidural anyway, so you have first dibbs!"  HA!  Then several pushes later and it was like "oh my gosh, she is almost out and I'm pushing her out!"  I know this is going to sound gross, but it seriously felt like I pushed her out my rear end instead of the other!  (Side note - Ryan has been doing impressions of me pushing and they are hilarious.  I guess I just had to push a lot harder and differently than last time.  I remember thinking my face probably look ridiculous as I was pushing because I was trying so hard, but I didn't even care!)  

At 7:19 she was born!  It was an incredible feeling to know she was here safe and sound, and that I DID IT!  Obviously all the praise and glory goes to the Lord, because there is no way I could have done it without Him. I remember in the middle of the contractions thinking constantly "I can do all things through Christ, I can do all things through Christ", etc.  WHEW!

With Brynn I had an episiotomy and they had to use forceps to help her come out.  I also pushed for about two and a half hours.  This time I had NO MEDS and I had a small tear.  Last time I had magnesium for my blood pressure and I passed out twice about six hours after Brynn was born (trying to go to the bathroom).  This time I had gone to the bathroom twice within a couple of hours and I took a warm bath a little while later in the day.  I had no IVs or anything after just a few hours.  Needless to say, recovery has been SO MUCH EASIER this time around, not that I'm saying I wouldn't have enjoyed the epidural.  But now that it's over I'm really glad the way everything happened.  DID I JUST SAY THAT?  (Don't tell Ryan...he already said "if we ever have a third, don't you think that was so much easier than last time?"  I'm like "YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THAT WAS LIKE!"  HA!)  Truthfully, it was very hard but I don't think it was AS TERRIBLE as I had envisioned it to be.  And I didn't yell or scream or anything so that's good!  HA!  My mom even said later "wow, you did awesome.  I take back my high-maintenance comment from earlier!"  HA!  Thanks Mom!

Here are some pictures from her birth!  I'll post more pictures in a separate post with Brynn and our family and friends seeing Emory in the hospital, but this post is too long already!  

I guess I got fanned a lot?  I don't really remember!

These next few pictures look so painful...I really was so excited for them to lay her on me...I think I was just worn out!  HA!

SPITTING IMAGE OF BRYNN AS A NEWBORN!

7 pounds, 6 ounces.

My awesome OB!

This was right after her birth so Brynn wasn't there yet.  I'll have some family pictures up soon.

Emory Blair Bandermann

Born on Saturday, September 14

7 pounds, 6 oz.

19.5 inches long

7:19 AM

What an amazing birth!  We are so thankful to have Emory with us safe and sound and pray that God would help us be the best parents we can be!