Well, at least one Davis is early!

I know it has been 9 days since it all went down in a blaze of midnight glory, but I have to share the wonders of Blueberry's latest adventure- BIRTH!

Announcing our wonderful, adorable, lovable, and perfect little man-

Emerson Ryder Davis!

Born October 16, 2013 at 6:07 a.m.

Weighing in at 7 pounds, 3 ounces

19 inches long

Here is the REST of the story! (It is rather long, but I really don't want to forget all these details!)

Having already planned to give birth at Mercy Gilbert Hospital, we had luckily toured, registered, and taken our classes (as you already read about), but other than that, we really weren't ready for our little bundle to decide to join us nearly 3 weeks early! I was at 37 weeks, 3 days, and had no indication of early labor at all throughout the pregnancy, much less the day he decided to arrive!

At about 11:00 p.m. on October 15, after returning to work following my 2-week fall break, I had just finished a really productive day after the best sleep I had had in days. I got most of my work done in a timely manner that Tuesday, feeling really confident in my ability to finish the rest of it in the following 2 weeks until my maternity leave was set to start. I always spend Tuesday nights on my own, since it is Kyle's guys' night out, and so I had attended prenatal yoga, had dinner on my own (a salad), talked to my mom about my last blog post and her concerns about my mental health after reading it, and settled in for the night. I was feeling restless, which is not uncommon for me on the night before going back to work. I sent Kyle a text and asked him when he was planning on heading home. He joked that he was going to the casino, but showed up about 11:30. By this point, I had a terrible back ache, and politely begged him for a tennis ball massage of my lower back. Again, this is not uncommon to me by this point, as my back has hurt more and more throughout the third trimester.

And then... I turned over in bed and felt the pop. That indescribable, but undeniable popping sound and sensation that told me things were about to change for the rest of my life! I remember just laying there, wondering when I'd feel the gush of my water breaking. Baby Blue was still moving about, but it took about 5 minutes before I felt the warm sensation like I had just peed. But I didn't pee. I started to call out Kyle's name. I called, and called, and then finally, I called. No, I mean, like picked up my cell phone and called him. He was just downstairs, in a zone of video games and TV. I feel the need to revisit one of my popular wedding blog post's genre at this point to depict the six hours that followed more accurately.

Kyle: Hello? What's up hon? (probably expecting me to whine about needing another back rub or some water.)
Erica: Honey, my water just broke. I need you to come up here and bring me a towel.
Kyle: Like, your water broke, like this is labor. Like this is the real thing?

[10 seconds later, Kyle arrives at the door, runs in the bathroom closet and grabs a grubby old towel, hands it to me]

Erica: Ok, I am going to head to the bathroom to check this out.
Kyle: (already beginning to get frantic) Ok, well, this is really happening, huh? Are you having contractions?
Erica: No, not really contracting, but feeling the adrenaline and now I'm wide awake.

[In the bathroom, I'll spare you the details, but the decision is made that my water has most definitely broken. 4 towels and some time later:]

Kyle: Should we call the doctor?
Erica: Yes, probably, who else can we call. Oh wait, it is 12:30, your brother is just getting home from work. Call him!
Kyle: (calling his brother) Casey, so lets just say someone's water just broke. What should we do now?
(not sure what happened at this point as I was distracted and only heard Kyle talking about getting stuff together).
Erica: I should probably call the doctor.

[Dials the doctor, pushes 0 to get the doctor on call, gets transferred to an answer service, waits to get transferred to doctor, doctor is not answering, gets answer service to leave doctor a message. 5 minutes later, the phone rings in a call back from the doctor. Doctor tells me it is ok to wait a little bit, to pack up and take a shower, but that once your water breaks, you should try to get to the hospital pretty quickly.]

And the rest of the play looks a little like one of those sketch comedy segments that they run in fast forward to emphasize the chaos of the situation. I get in the shower, while my water continues to "break", and Kyle runs around getting things together to bring to the hospital. The following list includes all that we did in that hour before getting in the car to head to the hospital:
-Packed clothes for Kyle, and some PJs and robe for me.
-I showered and then had to change about 3 times due to the mess. Finally settled on a tank, sweater, and sweats that I didn't care about, and grabbed an extra towel.
-Started laundry as we hadn't washed any of the baby's clothes.
-Called Casey and Karen and sent texts to the rest of the family that "It was time!"
-Called my mom (for the following 3 hours) until she finally realizes that a phone has been ringing and calls Kyle back
-Downloaded a contraction tracking app for our phones
-Started contractions that weren't too painful or frequent at first, for about 25 minutes, but progressed to 5 minutes apart by the time we got in the car

I know this is a lot of information by this time. Thank you if you are still reading.

We arrived at Mercy at about 2:00. By this point, I had 3-4 painful contractions. I wanted to be on all fours or standing, so the car ride was excruciating. In the ER, no one is at the check in desk. No one is in the waiting area. Kyle finally calls out to get an answer. As we are checked in, I am standing with my head down on the counter. Luckily Kyle thrusts my ID and insurance card at the clerk. A wheelchair arrives. My contractions are about 3 minutes apart by now. WHAT IS HAPPENING?!

I get to triage. They tell me to put on the robe and then leave a urine sample. I could have given them a sample of amniotic fluid, it was all over the floor (sorry for the over-share), but not urine as I was then in a lot of pain and contractions were pretty much constant. I was in triage for about 3 minutes and they moved to admit me into a labor room.

The nurse came in, all I remember is requesting an epidural. They made me lay down to get my IV and to draw my blood, which I don't even remember. I remember gripping onto the sides of the bed and pulling while I fought through the pain. I had some serious back labor, so laying down was the LAST thing I wanted to do. I got hooked up to the contraction and fetal heart monitors. Then the nurse checked my dilation.

8.5 centimeters!!! WHAT THE CRAP!? It was only 2 hours since my water broke and I was about ready to push out a baby?! This is my first pregnancy, right? The one where labor is supposed to last 24 hours and move at a snail's pace. My only concern was that I was too late to get the epidural. I almost panicked.

Then my best friend arrived. The anesthesiologist. I love him. Somehow, by some miracle, he was available, and arrived by 3:00 a.m. to administer my epidural. Even though watching a video of one had previously freaked me out, at that moment, I didn't care as all I wanted was the pain to stop. I somehow fought through one last strong contraction sitting perfectly still (most likely because Kyle whispered to me that it was the last one I had to feel), and then PURE HEAVEN! I felt nothing. I made the comment "Why doesn't everyone get one of these?!" I lay down, completely relaxed. This was the point where Kyle finally got a hold of my mom and she headed on her way to the hospital. I had also made Kyle log in to my computer and get a sub for the following school day for me. The nurse came back and told me I was too numb to push, but was at 9 centimeters. I took a nap.

Mom and Kyle were great to assist me during labor pushes, which I started sometime after 4:00 a.m. I think I only had to bear down about 7-8 times (sets of 3 pushes during contractions) and I had Emerson Ryder on my chest. Being a little early, he didn't want to take his big breaths, and he had to spend a little time in the nursery with some oxygen, but he was here, and I couldn't believe it was all over after only 6 hours.

So, in the grand scheme of labor stories, I had a pretty great one. The rest of the 48 hours in the hospital are for another post, but now you all know about Blueberry's latest adventure... his whirlwind appearance into this wonderful world.

And henceforth, Blueberry shall be referred to as Emerson!

Pictures:

Pre-birth, post epidural

Emerson's first photo- not too bad for a new, newborn!

Weighing the little man

The cutest little feet- he got his dad's!

First mother-son picture (his eyes are gunky from the solution they put in them at birth!)

Stats

First picture of father and son!

Our "professional" hospital shot

Getting our Learn On

I had heard mixed reviews about my friends' experiences with the classes offered for first-time parents. From the start, I knew that I was going to take them despite any negative feedback I had heard about them, and I knew that I was going to drag Kyle along with me so that I could feel totally supported and prepared. After all, I am kind of a "planner", so after the books, the phone app, and the classes, I don't know if there is really anything I'm not anticipating. Kyle says this has just caused me to have a case of "the worst-case scenarios" worrying mentality, although I, on the other hand, feel rather calm in spite of what I could be feeling giving the impending finale to this pregnancy.

Well, here is my take on our classes (in case you were pregnant and planning to ignore whatever I have to say about classes, too).

Class 1: (we went a little out of order here) "Baby your Baby"
This class taught us all the basics of what happens after we leave the hospital, except it started with what happens at the hospital. Having extensive experience as a babysitter, nanny, and older sister, I felt that I didn't really learn all that much (that I hadn't already, in a fit of paranoia perhaps, read in a book) that was useful. I did learn the difference between newborn pacifiers and other pacifiers, what my baby's poop will look like each day of his first week, and what rashes to ignore vs. rush to the doctor over.

Pros: A little bit of hands-on work with a plastic doll to practice swaddling and diapering, burping holds, and some useful information about how many diapers I'll be expected to need in stock for the first year or so of baby's life.

Cons: This class is subtitled "100 Ways to Kill Your Baby". From hanging pictures on the wall, to crib bumpers, from pacifiers with loops, to husbands with plastic bags at their disposal, we covered all the safety hazards you knew about and some your  never imagined. It was also repetitive to the labor and delivery class (as we found out later) in that it covered the hospital procedures as well.

Memorable moment: Kyle decided to swaddle the plastic baby like a ninja, and then since the baby's legs were molded in a bent position, thought swaddling the head was easier. The neighboring couple only egged him on. I was, at that point, dreading the full-on labor and delivery class.

Class 2: Labor and Delivery Class (expedited- we did it in 1 shot on a Saturday instead of spread out)
This class,  I was told, would be awkward, and feel useless when you aren't actually planning a natural birth. On the contrary, I wound up really enjoying the class! I think our presenter was just really dynamic and listened to and answered our questions. Then, I reverted back to my biology obsession of high school and sat through the videos and graphic illustrations with fascination about the human body.  I think that being knowledgeable about the process biologically will actually help to calm me when I want to be freaking out during labor. It was a bit long to be sitting in uncomfortable chairs, though.

Pros: Biology is freaking cool. And I got a massage with a tennis ball that felt SO good during the practice relaxation and visualization exercises.

Cons: Graphic videos of natural childbirth are disturbing. Preparing for a C-section when I really don't want to have to is not pleasant. Practice visualization in a group of people is awkward.

Memorable moment: I was SO glad that my mom didn't decide to accompany us, as one woman's mom was there and she asked innumerable questions. She even commented at one point that she "just doesn't feel prepared for this" after learning her daughter wants a natural birth. Um, not you having to be prepared, lady. Kyle and I was also center of attention when he insisted I give HIM a massage after he gave me mine. Then we had to demonstrate a wall-supported labor position that was a bit inappropriate!

Class 3: Breastfeeding class (and yes, many men were there!)
This class was pretty dry (no pun intended). It could be that I was just worn down from the end of the quarter. Either way, I did find the tips useful. Will I remember them when it comes down to it, not sure.

Pros: I really want to breastfeed, so it will hopefully help me be more successful. I now know what to do to "start" the process in the hospital.

Cons: It really focused on women who would be able to breastfeed solely because they are not going to be working moms. Unfortunately, many of us will be pumping and feeding with both boobs and bottles. The class really didn't ease any of my worries about achieving this balance.

Memorable moment: When they split the dads up into their own group and made them brainstorm ways they could help moms out. Nothing makes Kyle more comfortable than having to contribute to a group in an academic way.

Final thoughts on this whole experience: I have always been one to try to get the most out of classes and trainings, no matter what the subject matter. I think I approached my pregnancy classes with the same mentality, and I think that I came away with some valuable information. Hopefully the more I know, the more I'll feel relaxed during the process of labor, delivery, and bringing baby home, all the way through the first year.

Kyle proving to me he could diaper a baby.

A proud papa after his actual swaddle- not the ninja!