For PART 1 of this story, CLICK HERE.

So, we had decided we’d okay them breaking my water at 10:30 AM, but the doctor came in a little after 10 and was ready to do it then because I was still only like 6.5 cm. Like I said in the previous post with the first part of the story, I wasn’t a big fan of his communication style. I sort of felt like he was a bit inconvenienced by my preferences. Again, he was a great doctor, I’m sure. But there’s a reason he isn’t the one I regularly see.

But, in all honesty, he was right. I wasn’t really progressing, and I didn’t want to wait so long that baby got distressed and I was too tired to push. And, I knew thirty minutes wouldn’t make that much difference so I agreed it was okay to go ahead and do it, a bit reluctantly because I knew it would likely up the pain I was feeling. I was doubtful it would speed labor up that much, making it that much harder for me to get through it.

He had trouble getting any water to actually come out, which scared me into thinking something was wrong and there wasn’t enough left in there or something, but no, baby’s head was just super low and blocking it and everything was fine. We found out later, he ended up scratching baby’s head while he was trying to break the water. Not a big deal, but a little detail to remember.

I cried after he broke my water. I didn’t weep or anything, but I couldn’t stop the tears from falling down my cheeks. I was frustrated we had come to the hospital so early that they needed to do that to get things moving. I was concerned that my body wasn’t progressing on its own and I was honestly really scared because I knew when my water broke (on its own) with Will, the pain became unbearably hard in that moment and I knew I wouldn’t be able to stand that for very long if I still had hours to go to reach 10 cm.

The nurse was super sweet, and Wyatt came over and reassured me. I knew I was silly for crying, but I’d now been awake and basically in labor, although not active labor, for over 24 hours so I was very tired and it was hard to get the tears to stop.

Wyatt kissed me gently which made me cry harder, of course, and he squeezed my hand and I remember swaying through the pain to “Do it Again” by Elevation Worship. The lights in the room were off and it was still rainy and cloudy outside so the light coming in the window was sort of bright but mellow at the same time. It was actually a very beautiful moment in the midst of the pain.

“The promise still stands. Great is your faithfulness. Faithfulness! I’m still in your hand. This is my confidence. You’ve never failed me yet.”

However, despite my fears that I would have hours to go, a few minutes later, the contractions really, really picked up as baby moved into transition. I had Wyatt keep putting pressure on my lower back during contractions which helped a lot, but they were still hard. Really, really hard. This was the immense, unbearable pain I remembered from right before Will was born and I knew pushing was soon. I didn’t really care how far along they said I was. I was ready to push. NOW.

I struggled to move but had to get back in the bed and wait for them to check me one more time (OUCH!!) and get everything set up. I remember thinking this hurt a whole heck of a lot more than I remembered with Will. Selective memory? Maybe.

At just right after 11 AM, it was time to push.

I had Wyatt turn off the music because I was too cheap for the paid Pandora account and didn’t want a loud, annoying commercial to break through the silence and distract me.

I knew what I was doing this time around so there wasn’t a lot of instruction needed. However, with Will, my contractions and urges to push were constant with no break, and he was out in what felt like less than a minute with three or four pushes after the doctor told me I needed to get him out in a hurry because he wasn’t doing well. This time, my contractions still had breaks in between, and I found myself strangely with no urge to push right in the middle of the most intense part of birthing this baby as a contraction subsided and the next one was still a few seconds away. Is this what it was supposed to be like? Time to breathe and rest? It was weird. I was confused.

This lasted for about three contractions with five or six pushes. And then, at 11:16 AM, baby was born…a GIRL!

I remember looking down and thinking it looked like a girl in the quick glance I got as they pulled her to my chest, but asking Wyatt to be sure. After it stopped pulsing with blood, he cut the cord and she was officially earthside and the world seemed to stand still.

A girl.

A girl!

Our little Emma Lou.

We had a little girl. And a sweet big brother at home.

There was so much joy in those moments of meeting our daughter for the first time.

Placenta delivery and recovery were easier this time around. I only had a small tear this time (with Will, I’d had a 3rd degree) and while it was painful and unpleasant, it was quick and I was focused on other things. Procedures had changed at the hospital since Will was born and we got to stay in the delivery room a lot longer. Emma snuggled on my chest and nursed for over an hour.

Wyatt and I savored those moments, just the three of us. It seemed surreal to think we were actually a family a four, and that quiet moments like this would be rare. The lighting in the room made it seem like we were being bathed in grace and sweet morning sunlight. I soaked it up.

Eventually, they took Emma to get her weight and measurements and give her a little check up. She seemed a lot smaller than Will, but was actually 7 pounds, 4 ounces, and 19 1/4 inches long, so only slightly smaller than he was.

Around 12:30 or 1:00, we moved to our postpartum room and got settled in. I even got dressed instead of keeping the hospital gown on the entire time. I’m not sure why, but I was just less overwhelmed with exhaustion, even though labor had technically been longer. I guess I was just more used to being tired as a second-time mom, and maybe a little tougher, too.

Plus, I was anxious to see Will so I knew I’d want to be dressed.

Our nurse was awesome and grabbed Wyatt an extra meal voucher so we could both order lunch. I was so awake and excited, but knew I would crash as soon as we had some quiet moments so Wyatt got some snuggle time with Emma as I tried to rest and he watched the Sporting KC game on his phone. (They lost.)

Basically, we just soaked up the beauty of our new baby girl. I was so appreciative of the little bow hat the hospital had for her to wear. Not that she needed to be extra girly or anything, but I loved it.

At 4:10, big brother Will got to meet his baby sister for the first time when our parents brought him up to the hospital to see us. I already missed him and was so excited to hug him. He got to pick out a balloon from the gift shop and I had a chocolate chip cookie from my lunch to give him as a surprise when he walked in the room.

He climbed right up on my bed to give me a hug and I took Emma out of the bassinet so he could see her. He was just so sweet and curious.

He wanted to see her head, for some reason, so he took off her hat.

He was ready to climb down pretty soon and wanted to play with the buttons on my bed, of course. But the next day, when he came back to visit again, he did get to hold her with Wyatt’s help.

He was so sweet and proud. Giving her kisses without any prompting and basically just melting my heart.

He’s continued to be sweet to her since those first moments. Other than a few rough moments of dropping books on her, trying to explore her belly button with his toy screwdriver, and throwing balls at her head, he’s been the perfect big brother.

We did find out the second morning at the hospital that she had a fractured collar bone. Even though she hadn’t gotten stuck during delivery, something must have just pressed on her neck and shoulder in just the wrong place during a contraction, maybe when I was moving from standing into the bed. But, we’ll never know for sure, so Wyatt told me to stop trying to guess since it was making me feel guilty for moving around so much.

And, she wasn’t seeming to be bothered by it, or in pain. Our pediatrician told us they don’t even x-ray them or treat them, and we just needed to be extra careful holding her, picking her up, and getting her clothes on and off.

She’s pretty much healed now and this sweet girl has totally changed our world in so many wonderful, surprising ways.

Thanks for sharing in our excitement and gratitude over our daughter. She’s wonderful, and we’re not tackling many projects around the house these days, though we do have plans for some exciting things this year, so we appreciate you being patient with us and hanging out while we slowly, slowly get back in the groove with blogging. 

For PART 1 in this story, CLICK HERE.