Jackson and Emily's Journey Through Life: Emily's birth story

So, I appropriately changed the title of this blog since I will naturally include stories about Emily too. I have to say that I have learned a lot since that last post, in the middle of the night, before Emily was born. I now realize that there is indeed enough love in my heart to give both of my beautiful children. The smooth and safe delivery of our sweet baby girl also confirmed how blessed we truly are. Here's how it all went down...

That night before she was born I was experiencing my usual insomnia and that is when I decided to write that last post. I couldnt eat anything in prep for the c section so I had to keep myself busy somehow. Once I woke up at 3 a.m. I never did make it back to sleep. We were instructed to arrive at the hospital no later than 6 a.m. When we arrived things started happening almost immediately. I changed into a hospital gown and was placed in a "holding" bed where they strapped the monitor to my belly so they could watch Emily's heartbeat and repsirations. They started an IV and fluids on me. Then we just waited there and relaxed while several different staff members, the nurse, anesthesiologist, and OB doctor, came in to ask us some questions. I was starting to feel a bit anxious about being cut open. I was also having thoughts about Emily and whether she would be completely healthy or not. Surgery was scheduled to start at 7:15 a.m. and it appeared that everything was happening on time.

Around 7 a.m. or so they wheeled me to the O.R. Toby was asked to go to a waiting room while they performed my spinal and finished getting me prepped. I was nervous about the spinal because with Jackson I had the usual epidural and when they put that in I was contracting and in so much pain that it didnt even phase me. This time around I was pain free and well aware of what was going on. They did a beautiful job of inserting it, as the only pain that I felt was like a "bee sting" to my lower back. Within minutes I was numb from my rib cage and down. We were just about to get started. Other than feeling of extreme nausea (which they reversed with medication) right before they started, I was extremely comfortable the whole time. In fact, I think all the mediciations were making me feel a little bit too good:) Soon Toby was right by my side as they began the process of bringing Emily into the world.

It was precisely 7:45 a.m. when they pulled Emily out. I heard vigourous crying and comments from the staff, "look at those eye lashes!", "look at all of that hair!", and "look at those dimples!". I just knew she was absolutely adorable. The doctor held her up over the curtain to give us a quick glimpse. I remember thinking she looked like Jackson did when they first pulled him out. Within minutes they had wiped her down and put her in my arms. We got to hold our my daughter while they sewed me back up. We took some pictures and passed her back and forth. We both cried tears of joy as we took in the moment. I remember feeling extreme happiness that she was safe, healthy, and in my arms. She weighed in at 7 lbs 9 oz and 19.5 inches. She was PERFECT!!

About 45 minutes later we were wheeled to recovery with Emily still in my arms. Once we got settled in there I was able to feed Emily for the first time. I was a bit nervous because Jackson and I had some issues with breastfeeding at the beginning. Little Emily took right to it and once she started that morning, just hours after her birth, she has continued to eat like a champ. The pediatrician came in to examine her and we got a clean bill of health for our new baby girl. As I laid there holding her with Toby at my side all I could think is, life doesnt get any better than this!

Once we got settled in our room I was ready to call my parents and have them bring Jack to meet his new little sister. When he arrived he slowly walked over to the bedside to catch a glimpse of Emily. He got up on the bed next Emily and I.Jack was so sweet as he checked her out from head to toe. He was so gentle as he touched her hand. I believe it was love at first sight! It was during this moment that I thought, life DOES get better than that! I had my TWO beautiful and healthy children by my side. Jackson did become a bit worried about me when he noticed the IV and monitors that were hooked up to me. We told him about the "boo boo" on my belly so that he was careful not to jump on me. He kept asking Bobby and Pa if his mommy's tummy was ok and when I could come home. He definitely became a bit homesick during his stay with them. Lots of changes were occuring for the little guy. He handled it all so well!

We ended up only spending two nights at the hospital because I was recovering so smoothly and quickly. We had a great experience during our stay. I felt like there were minimal distractions and we had some good nurses. We ended up being discharged around 6 p.m. on Friday night. The doctor gave us the ok to go home since she could see I was doing so well. All of the staff were impressed though, as most c section patients stay 3 nights. We were off to pick up Jackson from Bobby and Pa's and start our life as a family of four. Toby put it well as we left the hospital that night...Our family is now complete! Welcome to the world Emily Margaret Timmons!!