So a little bit more about Mather's birthday...
While Mather is perfect and healthy and beautiful, getting her out proved to be a little tricky. Not everything went according to plan.
We checked into the hospital early in the morning and got settled into her room. Emily was started on a dosage of pitocin, the synthetized equavilant of oxytocin, the body's natural labor inducing hormone.
Everything stayed calm through the most of the morning. It was a little difficult to break her water, so the contractions didn't really intensify. I read aloud to Emily -- the final tale in the sad, sad adventures of the
Baudelaire Orphans -- and we had a pleasant time.
It was after Emily's water was broken around 12:30 that the action started to intensify. Em did great, making it through the waves of contractions without narcotics, using movement, moaning, and focus to endure the pain. By mid-afternoon, Emily was dilated to six centimeters (that's the diameter opening of the cervix) and completely effaced. We thought things we going great.
But after that the contractions greatly intensified. Within an hour, Emily finished dilating all the way to 10 cm, but because things happened so quickly, Mather hadn't dropped low enough in Em's uterus for her to start pushing. With each powerful contraction Mather's heartrate was dropping.
The nurses and doctors tried to move Mather lower, switching Emily's positions around, supplying her with oxygen, and introducing drugs that would slow the contractions. But with the baby's heartrate still slow we didn't have much choice. Emily was taken to the operating room for an emergency c-section.
The c-section went quickly. It was only a few minutes later that a nurse wheeled Mather out into the hall where I was waiting!
They got her into the nursery and once I got my identifying wristband, I was able to walk in and pick her up for the very first time. The grandparents also stood by and got to see Mather wriggle in the crib and get her first bath!
She was cute and healthy and her heartbeat was just fine. They just needed to pull her out of the contracting uterus so she could breathe for herself! Mather is not expected to have any lingering issues from the labor difficulties -- in fact, she scored very highly on both her initial and secondary
APGAR scores (an 8 and a 9!), a simple but important test of her reflexes, heartrate and appearance. That was a big relief.
The second big relief was knowing that Emily was well. Shortly after Mather was taken to the nursery, Em was wheeled into the Intensive Recovery Unit for moms. I was able to visit her and hold her hand while she calmed down from the effects of the general anasthesia. Once Emily felt ready, I collected Mather from the nursery and brought her to her mom.
The picture at right is the first time Emily and Mather looked into each other's eyes, though they've known each other intimately for nine months. You can see the oxygen and other equipment still hooked up to Em, but she was awake, alert, and excited to finally hold her daughter. It was a special moment.
Since then, Emily's strength has returned bit by bit, day by day. Emily can now, gingerly at least, get herself out of bed and walk around. She's already on minimal pain medication and she's had plenty of time to bond with Mather -- they like to nap together, Mather nestled into the crook of Emily's arm.
After a c-section, the hospital keeps you for four days instead of two. We were assigned a private recovery room (with a nice view!), and we all three are living here together. I have a little cot, and I've kept busy by changing diapers and swaddling Mather for sleeping on a regular basis. We'll probably be discharged Sunday.
In the meantime, we'll be getting plenty of rest, mother and daughter are getting regular medical care, and family and friends have been coming by to keep us company.
We'll rest and recover, and soon be able to introduce Mather to the wider world.
