Emery Salem

Finally...the details! Julie woke up 1 in the morning on Friday with contractions. These ones were different from the ones she felt the week before, so she knew something was probably going on. She waited until 3:30 and woke Aaron, so he could hang out with her. By 6:30 the contractions had been 5 mins. apart for about 2 hours so Julie was pretty sure this was going to be the real deal. We wanted to keep busy and keep Julie moving. Aaron's mom was on her way down to take care of Joseph. Until she got here we went and had donuts at our community center, and started some laundry. By the time Diane arrived, the contractions had slowed down. Julie called the doctor and talked with him a bit about what was going on. He said if the contractions picked back up (we were planning on going for a walk now that Diane could stay with Joseph) and stayed consistent, to go to the hospital. So we went for a walk at a path right next to the hospital. After 45 mins. the contractions had picked back up a bit, but not significantly and we were feeling exhausted, so we headed back to the apartment to rest. Julie had accepted the her labor might just die down, and was okay with it at this point. After laying down for about 10 minutes or so, Julie's water broke. Once she was sure she hadn't just gone to the bathroom on herself, we headed off to the hospital. At this point, Julie was only 2 centimeters, but was fully effaced and Emery's head was very, very low. Once her IV was in and entrance questions answered, we headed off to the tub. Contractions were continuing to pick up since the water broke. Julie was only in the tub for maybe 30 minutes, but the contractions got intense really fast, so we headed back to the room for some pain assistance. Julie was a bit hesitant about an epidural possibly stalling labor, but she knew she needed some help. So, she got an intrathecal (sp?) which is a temporary epidural that wears off after a few hours as well as a catheter for the epidural so she could have it when the intrathecal wore off. At this point, she was dilated to 5. (maybe 2 hours have lapsed since getting to the hospital) After getting the pain meds, Julie was feeling super (As anyone who has had an epidural after enduring labor can attest to. You become one happy camper.) Her doctor came in, and checked her and she was dilated to 9. He had her do a practice push (Keep in mind, Julie had never pushed before, not getting that far in Joseph's labor) and the head started coming down. So he got ready, and we started pushing. It took less than 30 minutes and Emery was here! Pushing was by far the most satisfying part of the labor and delivery because Julie was able to endure it without pain, and her doctor said she did absolutely awesome for never having pushed before and of course that made Julie feel great. Emery was born at 5:47, 7 lbs. 7 oz. and 21 in. The cord was wrapped around her neck, but not tightly. She didn't cry. They roused her and got her woken up a bit more and she finally cried, but it was so soft. (and still is)

Emery is just an amazing baby. She's easy to please, sleeps great, has a soft cry, and is just so darn cute. Her birth was absolutely amazing to experience, and such a contrast to Julie's first experience. The recovery has also been night and day from last time. Julie feels absolutely great! Joseph has been doing fantastic with this change. Not once has he seemed surprised or out of sorts that we have this new person at home. The first thing he wanted to do was hold her and kiss her, and he still does. We're sure things will continue to change and we'll have adjustments to make, but for now things couldn't be better. Thanks for all your well wishes and congratulations. Here are some pictures of the newest addition!

At the hospital

First bath

She really likes to suck on fingers

Just too cute

Proud big brother

Well, hello there

Since she was sleeping on his bed, Joseph gave her his bedtime necessities: binky, towel, and two toys

Our precious lady