We got home and I laid in bed and watched my trashy court tv and took a nap. When I woke up the contractions were coming a bit more regularly and seemed stronger. I tried to get up and walk around a bit and see if they would go away. We wanted to make sure that I was in REAL labor since I had been in fake labor before. Well they still didn't go away, but I had Jason go out and try to finish mowing the lawn. The last resort was to try and take a shower to see if they would go away. Again no such luck. I called Jason in and suggested he take a shower just in case. Well right after he got out as I was sitting on the couch it happened. I yelled to Jason, "Uh, my water just broke." Thanks to my Aunt Sandy who I inherited my nervous laugh from I also was laughing uncontrollably. So we headed to the car and made our way on our 40 minute trip to the hospital. My seat was covered with a trash bag and two towels. I soaked them the entire way to the hospital. Needless to say I had a condition - unknown to me - about having two much fluid. I had to go to the doctor office first so they could confirm my water broke. People are you crazy it was like Noah's Ark. Anyways went to the doctor's office and flooded the office twice before the doctor came back to check me. She checked me and I was at a 6. This was all at 3 o clock. Quite a change from my 11 am visit.
Went to the hospital and got settled in. Decided to go without drugs - later this would be the best decision I made in my life. About 6 pm or so I was checked again and was already at an 8. They had told me that since I was a first time Mom labor would take hours. Next thing I knew when I had chickened out and decided that I wanted an epidural it was too late and time to push. Again I am so thankful I couldn't get one. I pushed for about an hour and she came out. I was so proud I did it drug free and was not mean to Jason at all.
After birth things got increasingly scary. I held Emma for a brief minute and they realized that she was having a hard time breathing. They went to work on her in the room and she was still having a hard time breathing. They decided to take her to the nursery. It seemed like forever before we heard anything. Next thing we knew our lives were about to change drastically. The pediatrician came in to tell us that Emma had a diaphragmatic hernia. To explain what happened the best is that she has a hole in her diaphragm which caused her bowels to travel into her chest and that compromised her lung growth and shifted her heart over. This was all very hard to take on all the sudden for Jason and I. I was having a very hard time because my Mom and Dad were trying to get to Virginia from New York, but I delivered so fast they were unable. It was determined that she would be headed to the University of Virginia NICU. Jason and I were upset and our minds didn't know what or where to go. We did get to go back to the nursery and visit with her for a bit before the transport team arrived.
The transport team arrived and were great with explaining to us what would go on. A doctor came over with the team and it was wonderful to have some explain the situation to us again. Thankfully since I opted out of having any drugs during delivery I was able to be discharged. So it was almost midnight she was born at 7:16 pm and I was discharged. Pretty sure I have the record for shortest hospital stay - haha. The transport team brought Emma in to our room before taking her and thankfully my Mom and Dad arrived just in time to see her before she was transported.
Emma arrived at UVA and the doctors and nurses here are amazing! They got her stabilized, but it was hours before we got to go back and see her. Two of my great friends were waiting in the waiting room when we arrived. Travis thank you for the humor to let our minds go elsewhere and Jen thank you for the support. It was funny that Emma's first night here Emma's nurses name was Emma. We ended up staying at UVA in the waiting room all night. The NICU has 24 hour visiting hours so we were able to go in and check on her regularly.
Our journey as parents with a baby in the NICU had begun and we were getting ready to become regulars at UVA.
