Kinley and Emery's birth story begins on Friday, November 2, 2012. We were scheduled for an ultrasound at the specialists office and a regular appointment at the OB's office that morning, but all of that changed when we got a call from my OB around 8:15am.
She was on her way out of town but she had gotten the results of some of my lab work and wanted us to head to labor and delivery triage to be monitored. They had been watching me closely for signs of preeclampsia for a couple of weeks. My blood pressure was only slightly elevated, but the protein in my urine continued to increase. She had me do a 24 hour urine capture a couple of days before and the results of that were what made her want us to go straight to the hospital. The protein in my urine was over 1100 when normal range is under 300!
We were seen in triage and then told that we would not be leaving the hospital without delivering our little bundles! After being checked out and more labs run, the on call doctor told us that the plan would be to admit us to a room then she would break my water and the induction would begin. We were excited, anxious and just a little overwhelmed that this would all be happening so soon! The hospital was pretty busy and we waited for hours to get a room. We finally got settled in a little after 3:00pm and were ready to go!
We were ready to go, but it turned out that the on call doctor thought it would be best to not start an induction that late in the day. She was afraid it would turn out to be a long labor into the middle of the night and she thought it would be best to let me eat and get some sleep that night and be ready to go first thing the next morning. She checked me around 4:30 or 5:00pm and said that I was 3-4 cm dilated but not in "active labor."
I knew that I wouldn't be able to sleep, but I was pretty happy about the eating part. Chad went down to the cafeteria to grab some dinner and came back with a ginormous turkey leg. Never in a million years did I think he would come back with that when I said "surprise me" but it was actually pretty good. It gave us all a good laugh =)
I had been having regular contractions, but they weren't really anymore intense than the ones I had been feeling for weeks. The doctor came back around 8:00pm to check me again. She said that I had progressed a "little more" but still didn't seem to think that anything would be happening before the next morning. She again encouraged us all to get some rest so my mom and sister decided to go home and be back the next morning. Around 8:30pm they gave me some pain medicine to help make me more comfortable but it made me feel awful. I was so nauseous and was honestly scared to fall asleep because I was afraid I wouldn't wake up. I've never felt that way before and it scared me. I didn't move an inch because I was so afraid I was going to be sick. They even gave me anti-nausea medicine but it didn't do a thing.
I laid there for the next few hours and grew more and more uncomfortable. My contractions were not coming that close together, maybe every 5-8 minutes, but they were a little more intense than they had been. When they would ask me on a scale of 1 to 10 how painful they were I told them a 5-6, but that I'd never done this and I really didn't know what to compare it to. At one point the nurse came in and I was in tears because they were hurting more than they had been and I could not get comfortable, much less sleep like they were wanting me to. She helped adjust my pillows to see if that would help me get more comfortable and help with some of the back pain I was having. It didn't.
I continued to lay there in misery when all of the sudden I felt a "pop" and then a gush of something. I woke Chad up and said "something just happened. I think my water broke!" It was 1:55am. At that point the contractions became majorly intense and very painful. I honestly felt like the babies were going to come out right then! He ran down the hall to get a nurse to let them know what was going on. A nurse came in and confirmed that my water had broken. She then checked me and quickly called for the charge nurse. When the charge nurse came in my nurse told her that I was 9cm dilated! The charge nurse then checked me herself and said "no, she's at 10 and there's no lip." I looked at my nurse and said "am I going to be able to get an epidural?" She looked at me like "bless your heart" and said "probably not." Chad said the look on my face was priceless. He quickly called my mom to let her know what was going on so they could make their way to the hospital.
It was at that point that pandemonium broke out. They were unhooking everything, telling me to keep my knees together and not to bear down. I was in so much pain and so afraid. I asked them to please hurry and told them that they were getting ready to come out. They kept telling me just to breathe and not push. Chad said they ran my bed down the hall to the OR. I felt like nobody knew what they were doing, although I know they did. It was just a fire drill though. Nothing was ready and they were not prepared, but these babies were coming!
They kept Chad out of the OR for what seemed like forever. They moved me from my bed to the table in the OR and were telling me all sorts of things. I just kept saying "please hurry, they are coming out!" Chad was finally able to come back in the room and I was so thankful to see him. I remember the doctor trying to do an ultrasound to make sure that Baby B was still head down. I don't know that she could tell for sure but she finally gave up and then told me that when I felt the urge to push I could go ahead.
I didn't even know how to push but they talked me through it all. I just kept my eyes closed and pushed as hard as I could. I had no idea if I was doing it correctly and if we were making any progress, so I just kept my eyes closed. At 2:22am I heard the sweetest sound ever, Baby A, Emery Grace, was out and she was crying! I opened my eyes to see them take her straight to the team of nurses that would check her out. Chad whispered in my ear "you did it, honey!" and I thought "now I've got to do it again!"
They broke the water for Baby B and it seemed like forever before I felt another contraction and the urge to push. In all actuality it wasn't that long and I was ready to push again. At 2:25am our precious Kinley Pearce was born! They laid her on my stomach for just a few moments before taking her to the nurses. I was never more thankful to hear those sweet cries and know that both girls were here safely!
The doctor continued to work on me and the nurses came out to tell us that both girls were doing beautifully. Emery's apgar score was 9.5 and Kinley's was 9 and they did not need to go to the NICU! They told us that Emery Grace weighed 4lb 12oz and was 18.5" long and that Kinley Pearce was 4lb 13oz and was 18.75" long.
It wasn't long before we were back in our room and my mom and sister were there waiting on us. It was such a special moment being able to introduce our girls to their MiMi and GG!
Our two miracles!
The proud grandparents with the newest additions!
I just could not get over how beautiful and perfect they were! And, they were all mine!
If you had told me that I would deliver them naturally without an epidural I would have laughed in your face! Although their birth was nothing like we had planned or thought it would be, God's hand was all over it. They are here safe and healthy, and my recovery has been so smooth. I'm so thankful for my doctor being on top of things and having us go to the hospital that day. I've thought many times about whether or not I would have gone to the hospital with the contractions that I was having that night and I don't know that I would have. I very well could have been at home in my bed when my water broke and we would never have made it to the hospital in time. When I think about how things could have gone so differently it terrifies me. But God knew and He was in control all along!
We could not be more thankful for these amazing blessings the Lord has entrusted us with. We just stare at them with tears in our eyes and hearts about to burst. We never knew love like this before!
