Em is Here

Em  arrived Monday morning at 6:15 am. She was 7lbs 12oz and 20 3/4in long. Everyday since her arrival has been Christmas and we just really can't believe that we actually got to take this sweet baby home from the hospital. We love her so much!

It all started at 7pm Sunday night. We got in the car and dropped Jay off at the babysitters, and then made the drive up to Duke Medical Center. I was scheduled for an 8pm induction, but all 20 rooms in labor and delivery were full, so we had to wait in the waiting room until someone popped out a baby and a room would open for us.

We finally got into our room, but our nurse who was supposed to get things going for us got whisked off to another room and we didn't see her again for a while. Finally by 2am they got all my IV's in and the pitocin started. After the pitocin was in the Doctor came to talk to Derek and I about what our plans were for the baby if her heart rate started falling during labor. The doctor was preparing us to have a stillbirth because of the holoprosencephaly, and Derek and I agreed that we understood.

I was already at a 4 when the pitocin started (can we give a fist pump for being 4cm's without a single contraction?), and assumed hard labor was going to start instantly, but it didn't. We all slept for a couple hours when all of a sudden I started having super bad contractions. I woke up Derek and he helped me breathe through a couple strong ones when finally I decided I'd either peed myself, or my water had broken. We called in the doctor and she checked me. I was only 5cm, but sure enough my water had broken. I told her I wanted the epidural ASAP and she said that was fine, and she left to go work on that for me.

Once the doctor left, things got real bad real quick. I had a few more contractions that were by far the worse pain I'd ever felt in my life when the nurse came into tell me that there were currently 3 people all having c-sections right now in the OR and that the anesthesiologist was with them and that I would be able to get my epidural when she was done.

I asked to get something in my IV to take the pain away for a little bit, but sadly it didn't work to well. They also brought in a birthing ball for me to use, and helped me into some other positions but nothing was helping. After trying a few new positions in/on/around the bed for a while, I finally tried the birthing ball which DID. NOT. HELP. WOOF. The second contraction that I had on the birthing ball my body was automatically pushing the baby out. I had no control and screamed for someone to go get the doctor. I don't think Derek or Tracie thought that I really needed to push yet, but they obliged and got the doctor for me.

I threw myself up on the bed and the doctor checked me. Sure enough I was a 10 and the baby was already crowning. From the time I was a 5, to crowning, I had only had about 10 contractions, and it had only been an hour. I was still adamant about wanting my epidural, and they all pretty much told me it was too late, and that my only option was to push.I had three more contractions that I pushed/screamed through, and then Em was finally here!

Seeing Em was the greatest feeling in the world. She came out screaming, had a full head of hair, and no facial problems what so ever. This baby that no one had given us much hope for, even during labor, has been surprising everyone since the day she was born.

Em spent 32 hours in the NICU where they ran a bunch of tests and did another MRI. Her MRI confirmed that she does still have semilobar holoprosencephaly, but her body and health aren't showing any signs of it at all. She passed her hearing test in the NICU faster than any baby had ever done it before. She's been tracking our fingers since being home which is telling us that she's not blind like the doctor's told us she'd be. Everyday has been the biggest blessing and miracle. I have so much gratitude to our Heavenly Father who has blessed us with this perfect baby that is in our home.

We were told that she would most likely need to be on breathing tubes, and feeding tubes, so far she hasn't needed any medical support at all. She is doing everything on her own, and the doctors said aside from her brain abnormalities, she is just as healthy as any other baby. She's even been nursing like a complete champ! We just have so much gratitude over here. SO MUCH GRATITUDE. 

Looking forward Em could very well still have mental and developmental delays, but as of right now she is doing everything that she needs to be doing and is surprising us everyday! We are just totally smitten!