Esme's Birth

This blog is for Esme.

Esme Jean Bailey was born on December 20, 2009 at 9:39 am. She was 8 pounds 9 ounces and 20 inches long.

I arrived at the hospital (in the middle of a blizzard!) at 3:30 am after a day of sporadic contractions. We had to get to New York City from Bayonne, New Jersey which meant we had to go through the Holland tunnel. When we got to the tunnel...it was CLOSED! My mom (who was driving while Stephen was recording my contractions in the back seat) called 911 and told them that I was having contractions 4 minutes apart and that we had to get through the tunnel right away. I don't know if it was our call or dumb luck, but the tunnel was open in a matter of minutes and we were on our way!

I had been having random contractions for a few days and I expected them to tell me that I was having false labor and that I would have to go home. They checked me and discovered that I was already 4 cm dilated and in active labor...I had to stay! They hooked me up and put a monitor on my stomach so that they could keep an eye on Esme as well.

I never expected contractions to hurt so much! Everyone always says that labor is the most pain you will ever experience but I was skeptical. It's the truth! I don't handle pain very well in the best of circumstances and this was absolutely unbearable! When the Dr came in and told me that the anesthesiologist was on an emergency C-section and may be away for hours, I was horrified. My mom had to keep reminding me to breathe because I was holding my breath every time I had a contraction and it wasn't good for the baby. It turns out the anesthesiologist was done sooner than anticipated and in no time he was there to administer my epidural. He was an angel sent from heaven...and I told him as much! The pain was gone and I felt great.

I started to get worried when the doctor came in and told me that Esme's heart rate was high and they might have to put little monitoring caps on her head if it didn't slow down. The normal heart rate for babies when mom is in labor is 120-160. Esme's was running between 150-200. The doc told me that she may just be excited- that some babies just react differently to stress than others and not to worry. I was worried! As a result, my blood pressure, which is normally on the low side, shot up to the high end of normal.

Dr. Shulina, my doctor, was not on call the day that Ez was born. Instead, Dr. Huang, one of 4 doctors in the practice was there to deliver Esme. She was amazing! She decided to break my water and put me on petocin to get things moving. Within a few hours I was 8 cm and 100% effaced. I started feeling a lot of painful pressure to push shortly after they checked me and knew that the baby was coming at any minute! About 45 minutes later I told Dr Huang that I was ready to push. She checked me and, sure enough, it was time! I pushed for around 30 minutes and there she was! Absolutely PERFECT.

My mom and Stephen were both in the room with me and were a lot of help during the delivery. I wasn't sure how Stephen would react to the blood, etc. but he did extremely well and even cut the umbilical cord!

I can't even explain the wave of amazement that hit me when they placed her little body on my chest. I always assumed I would cry because I am such an emotional person but the truth is that I was too amazed to cry. I couldn't stop looking at her. She is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. It wasn't until I could see that Stephen was getting emotional (he would be horrified to learn that wrote that!) that I started to cry. We did it. We brought a little life into this world and we instantly knew that our lives were going to be better for it.

The rest of the stay in the hospital was pretty uneventful. I had to stay two nights and was pretty bored. The nurses were great help and taught me a lot about how to care for a newborn and even took her for an hour or two each night so that I could get some sleep. Stephen, my mom, Grandma Marcia, Grandpa Glen and Grant all came for a visit at the hospital.

Grandma Marcia Jean and baby Esme Jean

Grandpa Glen singing Esme a dutch lullaby

The hospital had a lady come in (optional) and take pictures of Esme when she was one day old. They turned out beautifully and we are thankful we had them done...even if they charged us an arm and a leg for 7 pictures!!!

Before we left the hospital, Esme had to have blood taken for her PKU tests. Stephen and I wanted to be with her so we followed her into the nursery. This was a mistake for me! They started poking her feet with what looked like a staple gun and squeezed her blood out. She was crying violently and it really upset me. Seeing her little chin quiver broke my heart. I was sobbing uncontrollably and had to leave her with Stephen. This was the first time my mothering instinct kicked in. Seeing someone (even if it was just a nurse doing her job and even though I knew it was for Esme's benefit) hurt my baby was the most painful thing I have ever witnessed. I just want to protect her.

We were discharged from the hospital on December 22. Stephen and my Mom picked us up and we set off to start our new life as a happy little family!