Good Things Come In Small Packages???

This one didn't!

Emery Rowan Johnson

February 3rd, 9:48 pm

9 lbs. 3 oz. 20 in.

His birth story:

We planned a homebirth with a great midwife, but Emery wouldn't come on his own. We didn't want to go over 8 or 9 days past his due date because he was already measuring large for me. So we met w a doctor (whom we know from church and we're SO thankful for his willingness to take us on at the last minute!), that was on Wednesday. Emery was measuring so big they couldn't even get a complete measurement on their ultrasound machine. There was also a scare of meconium in his fluid (turned out to be false alarm and our doctor said you can't really see that on ultrasound pics anyway). So the decision was made to go to the hospital the next day to be induced. It was a hard transition mentally and emotionally for me, especially since I was given less than 24 hours to go from hopes of a homebirth to a hospital induction. However, thru my entire pregnancy I told people, "We're planning a homebirth, but we all know things don't always go as planned, so we'll see!"

Anyway...on with his birth:

6:30 AM-Arrive at hospital, get checked in and hooked up to IVs and monitors (boy I've got a lousy attitude about all this!)

7 AM-notice there's no birthing tub or ball and wonder, "how can I even walk around during labor when I'm 'shackled' like this?? (starting to miss Gunnison Valley Hospital at this point, haha)

7:30-9:30 -Start the pitocin drip. I'd been hoping I could just have my water broken and progress naturally from there, just like with Adelaide. Easy peasy. Emery, however, was too high up so it posed a risk for a prolapsed cord. The pit wasn't bad at this point, just obnoxious. I spent the entire morning working on changing my attitude. Starting with reading God's word and listening to Matt Chandler sermons and worship music.

9:30- Water was broken. Turned off the pit. Was allowed to sit on a birthing ball! Contractions spaced out...booo. Mother in law arrived to offer support and breaks for Jordan, hurray for her!

11:30- A little more dialated, not much. I came in at a 3, I think I was a 4 by this point. Head still high. Upped the pitocin. Now I was just plain hungry and thirsty...didn't help my attitude at all.

11:30-4ish...Really really bored! My awesome father in law brought in his ipad and let me play around to pass the time. Nothing happening.

4 PM- Realized that this is the time I started pushing with Adelaide, got a little frustrated again and tried working on my perspective. Still no real progress. Maybe dilated to a 6? But I was stuck either on the birthing ball or in bed. Pitocin was upped and contractions started to hurt and were pretty close together. Jordan turned on"How He Loves Us" by David Crowder on repeat and listening to those words really helped me get through the pain! Especially the line "when all of sudden I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory"

8 PM- By now I've been checked about once every hour, whew! A nurse told me I was an 8 but my Dr said I was still a 6...things are looking like they're headed towards a c section. By now I'm shaking uncontrollably, I think from exhaustion, pain, hunger, and thirst. Pitocin was upped even more and it was at this point I decided to get an epidural, for a few specific reasons: 1) if it turned into an emergency c-section, without an epi in place, I'd be put under. I would rather go with an epi if it meant I could see my baby immediately. 2) They wanted to start putting me in a crazy position on my side called "chicken wing" and switch sides every 15 min to try to get the baby to drop. How was I supposed to deal with the pain of labor stuck in one position with 8 different cords coming out of me? and finally 3) I was really curious about what it was like to labor w an epidural, after having Adelaide completely natural, it sounded fun (at the time) to compare and contrast.

9 PM- After being rotated from side to side every 15 minutes and then sitting in a squat position (during which the contractions REALLY hurt my gallbladder!) and NOTHING happening, my dr arrived and said,"I think it's pretty much written on the wall, this baby is not coming down" I was just ready to be done with the entire experience. Emery's heart rate had been dropping a ton during contractions for the past 2 hours and I was extremely nervous for him and just wanted him safe and out. So we prepped for the c section. I had amazing nurses and Jordan was SO excited to see a c section (you should've seen him when I was getting the epidural! he was ecstatic! haha). Our doctor was great and after Emery was born at 9:48, I fell asleep while they were stitching me up.

All in all it was a long, exhausting day but so so worth it! I was very thankful for the nurses I had and my doctor and finally, for being able to hold sweet Emery in my arms. Unfortunately, the hospital experience turned out to be another nightmare in itself (at least in my opinion at the time). Remember, I was beyond exhausted and the hormones were kicking in and I found out I couldn't eat for another 24 hours (that meant 48 hours total! and I when I tried jello, I threw up, ouch). My doctor was ready to let me go Saturday morning, but Emery's circumcision was delayed another day so we had to stay put. Not a huge deal to me since I wasn't expecting to leave that early anyway. Sunday morning arrived and the hospital pediatrician said he wouldn't release Emery because he'd lost too much weight. Emery was a chunk, had VERY full bowels and pooped about 5-6 times a day since his birth (so I attribute that to some of the weight loss) and I found out he hadn't even lost a whole pound (which I was told he had). My milk hadn't come in yet so of course he's losing weight like all babies do and I was pretty upset. I felt that we weren't recovering well in the hospital and I was getting no sleep at all, now I was anxious about getting my milk in soon because the pedi mentioned Emery going to the NICU (which I thought was getting a little extreme and drastic at this point). We even called the pedi and argued about it alittle bit telling him that we could be doing the same thing at home and that we would be happy to come back and do a follow up and weigh the baby and anything else he needed and asked to be released. He said that would be too much hassle. We asked about us leaving on our own terms and a nurse (who was on our side) informed us that we could leave, however, our insurance could decide not to cover our expenses and a case could be opened up with CPS. I felt so trapped. I started drinking cups and cups of Mother's Milk tea to help bring my milk in and in order to get out ASAP, I agreed to give him a bit of formula in a syringe after feedings (Emery was nursing about 30 min every 2 hours at this point, which is really really good for a newborn). He wouldn't take much formula and my milk came in that night so I nursed like never before! The next morning they weighed him and he had gained some weight back so we were finally released!

(ps. he left the hospital at a healthy 8 lbs. 8 oz.)

(pps. I have my own strong opinions regarding the labor and delivery. however, I'll refrain from sharing them publicly, hehe...)

whew, what a long story! If you've made it this far, here are some pictures as a reward :D I'll post some more later!

Finally, sweet Emery

Adelaide adores her "baby brotha"

Jordan and Jordan Jr ;)