Emma Jane’s Arrival

By midnight my water had broke and the contractions were becoming more and more uncomfortable.  The gave me some fentanyl to take the edge off until I could get an epidural.  It was a busy night at the hospital so they was actually a line of people waiting for epidurals.  By the time I got one, it was 1:00 in the morning and I was dilated to 7cms.  The doctor recommended I get some sleep at that point and that is just what Harley did. The room had a couch that made into bed and he snored for few hours straight.  Due to issues with my blood pressure being too low, they put me on oxygen.  It caused  The irritation from the mask made it impossible to sleep.  By three o’clock the nurse said I was dilated to a 10 and soon would be ready to push.  Three more hours past and no one even entered the room to check on me.  By 6:00 the baby heart rate was dropping and the urge to push was there.  I made Harley go find a nurse to get the doctor.  A new nurse came in and checked me and agreed it was time.  Dr. Cohen and the NICU staff arrived and prepared for the delivery.  When my water broke there was meconium in it so they were prepared in case you have ingested it into your lungs.  After pushing about 10-12 times, Emma Jane was born at 7:01 am and placed in my arms.  She was perfect!   Emma Jane’s weighed 7lbs and 3 oz.  She was measured at 20.25 inches long and surprisingly had brown hair. One of the first things Harley and I noticed were her long toes and fingers.   She also has big beautiful lips! Harley was a great support through all of it. He watched the whole birth in amazement and was able to cut the umbilical cord.   As soon as he set his eyes upon her he was in love.  The first visitor arrived at 11:00 and somehow avoided the camera.   Grandma Kent was in love too!  She brought Harley and I some snacks to eat and a diet coke!  She relieved Harley so he could go pick up Adam and Luke to meet their sister for the first time.  Adam was particularly eager to hold Emma but Luke was a little more reserved.   But Harley was happy not to have to share also.    

As soon as my Dad and Krissy finished work, the rest of the crew came to visit.  I think Elle was the most excited of everyone!  Even before Emma was born, Elle was her biggest fan.   Uncle Howard dropped by that evening also.  We spent the night in the hospital since Emma was born in the morning.  The hospital was so busy we stayed in a delivery room until we were discharged. It was a large spacious room but the bed was for deliveries not recoveries.  Not that I would have slept well that night anyways.   Harley stayed in a hotel because he was in desperate need of a good nights rest.

During the night Emma started choking and spitting up brown mucus.  It scared me which made it difficult to sleep.  Around 3:00 in the morning the nurse offered to watch Emma for a few hours so I could sleep.  Those few hours of sleep truly helped me get through the night.

The following day we spent working with the lactation nurses.  One was from England and Harley made friends with her immediately.   Some would say they spoke the same language and loved joking with one another.  The staff pediatrician and the on call doctor were slow in getting us released so we didn’t arrive home until 4:00 that evening.  Aunt Krissy had decorated the outside of the house with pink balloons and Aunt Kelly had made a sign announcing Emma’s birth.  It was wonderful to bring Emma home. 

Is this really happening??

 

Tuesday, September 4th was a busy day for this soon to be Momma.   I started the morning early by returning your brothers Adam and Luke to school.  After that I went have fetal monitoring done which the doctors had me doing twice a week to check up on your development.  They were concerned that you weren’t growing and that had me scared.  I had to have two ultrasounds done at 37 and 38 weeks to compare your size.    Then I had a doctors appointment to check to see if I was progressing.   Dr. Reddy said I was dilated 2cms and that it could be a week or two or any day.   Following that I ran a few errands before attending a counseling appointment with Charree Kashwer.  By the time I left Bakersfield to drive home I was exhausted and not feeling very well.  The contractions seemed to be more consistent and uncomfortable but I wasn’t sure if I was just tired and less tolerant or they were the real thing.  I got home by 4:00, unloaded the car, and went straight to lie down. 

Unfortunately, I couldn’t sleep and just became more and more agitated.  Harley was working at Vons until 6:00 so I decided I better start timing the contractions.    They were about 7 minutes apart and consistent!  Yiks!!!   When Harley arrived home at 6:30 they were about five minutes apart and we debated what to do.   I didn’t want to drive to Bakersfield unless it was the real thing though.  So we took a walk to the church and hospital and back home.  Still no change.   I got in the pool and swam around for a half hour.  Still no change.  I called my Mom and she came down and started timing the contractions.   At 8:30 she agreed that we better head to Bakersfield.   The ride to Bakersfield wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be and we arrived at San Joaquin Hospital at 9:30. 

The nurse who examined me informed me that I hadn’t progressed enough and that they probably wouldn’t admit me.   Wrong thing to tell a pregnant woman!!!   Luckily  Dr. Cohen agreed to wait and monitor me for an hour and at 11:00 they admitted me.  He said baby Emma would be born on the 5th of September. 

Emma’s Blessing Day

On Sunday, October 14th, Harley Luke Alfred gave Emma Jane Alfred a name and a blessing in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  Present in the Priesthood circle were  Daniel Schultz, Howard Kent, Grandpa Maughan Kent, and Ron Stingel.   Emma was as cooperative as could be!  Emma wore a little hat especially made for her from an old dear friend Linda Hedrick. What a wonderful blessing we have received from our Father in Heaven!