The Story

The past week has been a bit busy around our household. I guess that makes sense considering we recently brought home our third child. I finally have the chance this evening, and the energy, to get some things done on the computer. Many people have been asking to hear more about Emma's arrival. As a warning, this may be a long and somewhat boring story, although for our family it's been a pretty exciting time.

One of the main characters in this story is our hero "super-dad". Jared has been a very busy dad and husband this past couple weeks.

Monday, the 25th, was a very busy day for me, I had three different doctor appointments and spent much of my day at the hospital for these appointments. I was also very, very tired. That evening, I was telling Jared that we were really going to have figure something different out. I was so worn out, I was not sure how I was going to make it the next couple weeks until the baby arrived. That night at 10:00pm, I suddenly starting leaking fluid, and assumed that it must be amniotic fluid. I was not having any strong or building contractions so we decided, after packing a hospital bag, to go to bed. The next morning I was still leaking small amounts of fluid but still was not having any building contractions. Jared and I decided we would go ahead and make our way to the hospital to see my doctor. We got the boys up, packed into a taxi, and headed to a bagel place at the hospital to eat breakfast. After breakfast we all went up to the doctor's office. He immediately sent me down to the labor area, where they monitored the baby and signs of contractions for a half hour and then tested the fluid. Yes, indeed my water had broken but still no contractions. During this time Jared took the boys to a play area at the hospital and waited for news from me. I quickly sent Jared a text and said "water broken, come now". The doctor decided to go ahead and induce labor. We talked through it all, Jared, doctor, and I, with boys in tow. Then Jared took boys home for lunch and naps while I was hooked up and contractions started (around 1:00 pm). Once Jared was home he began the search for a caregiver for the boys. There was a couple staying next door to us who also recently had a baby, thankfully they were able to also take on our boys. At 3:00pm Jared headed back to the hospital to join me. While he was gone, I found out that I would not be able to get an epidural because of some medication I had been on. It was a bit of a surprise. I had always wanted to go natural, and found out this was my chance, if I wanted to or not. My first labor was over 24 hours long, and second (also induced) was 12 hours. Jared and I assumed this labor would be similar and we had quite a bit of time before I actually delivered. At 4:30pm Jared headed to the cafeteria for dinner and came back about 15 minutes later. Labor was definitely building, however we continued to assume we had hours to go. Wow were we surprised when I was ready to push, pushed three times, and our daughter arrived just after 6:00 pm. (6:08pm to be exact). Funny part of labor - When I was ready to push, all I could say was push, had a hard time getting out that Jared needed to call a nurse. Jared was then amazed when he said the single word "push" to a nurse and within moments there were half a dozen people in our transformed room and I was ready to deliver. It was pretty exciting for both of us. Both of us were pretty quick to ask if it was a boy or a girl. Wow, were we surprised to find out I had just given birth to a daughter. We are still trying to get used to saying she instead of he. After she was born, Jared called the friend who was caring for the boys. He was able to stay with the boys overnight so Jared stayed with Emma and I. We had time to begin to get used to her and also a bit of time to spend together, knowing the upcoming days were going to be a bit crazy. The next morning, early, Jared headed back to the apartment to be there when the boys woke up. This day, Wednesday, was crazy for Jared. While I was at the hospital with Emma, Jared was home caring for the boys and also preparing for the arrival of his parents who would come at midnight that night. At noon he brought the boys to the hospital so they could meet their new baby sister. It sure was good to see them. Jacob, especially, is still so little and is a mama's boy. That evening he brought them again to eat dinner with me and give me a bit of company. I definitely got lonely being in the hospital, spending so many hours awake with a newborn. That night at midnight, Jared's parents arrived from the states. Jared ended up sending someone, with a sign, to pick them up since he needed to be home with the boys. The next morning, Thursday, Jared came to the hospital to pick up Emma and I and bring us back home. We were so thankful to now have some help, in the form of two very excited grandparents. The next couple days we all spent time resting. Jared's parents were experiencing jet-lag, Jared was suffering from a lack of sleep and very busy few days, the boys had a couple of out-of-the-ordinary days, and I was now caring for a newborn. We definitely had an unexpected arrival of our little girl, I guess like many others' stories. We are so thankful for the many blessings of this past couple weeks, the first one being our new healthy daughter. We also had a great experience at the hospital with the entire process, are staying in a fun and comfortable place during this 'have baby' time, and also are now enjoying the company of some greatly missed family members. What more could we ask for!