Meet Emmett James.
Born March 2nd, 2018.
6 lbs 9 oz 18 1/2 in
Here's how that day went down.
I woke up around 6:45 that morning in LOTS of pain. Up to this point I had not experienced any real contractions, so I didn't really know what to expect pain-wise. But when they came, they came HARD. I truly thought I was going to have the baby right then and there. Keep in mind, I had been 5 cm dilated for a couple of days prior to this - so the possibility of not making it to the hospital in time was actually pretty realistic. Thankfully we already had the hospital bag ready to go in the car, so it only took us about five minutes to freak out, get dressed, and head out the door.
As you can imagine, the car ride was m i s e r a b l e. Those labor contractions are no joke! We ended up getting to the Riverton hospital around 7:15 and my water broke on the drive over. I was surprised that the nurses were moving at such a leisurely pace when we first got there. Jason and I waited and waited in a tiny room for someone to come assure that this was the real deal before I could go on to labor and delivery. I'm sure they were thinking - Oh first time mom? No need to rush. I was obviously freaking out with tears running down my face thinking the baby was coming any minute, so I had Jason run out to the hall multiple times to speed things along. That annoyed me. I was in so much pain!!!
Once we finally got to labor and delivery everything ran smoothly and quickly. There were multiple {different} nurses getting me hooked up at once and the anesthesiologist came in almost immediately to get me going on the epidural. I give major props to any woman willing to give birth without an epidural. That thing is heavenly. Once it kicked in I was happy, calm, relaxed, and as excited as ever! I was in awe as I watched my oh so painful contractions come and go on the monitor while feeling nothing at all. I am so grateful for modern medicine!
^^ Our short wait before baby Emmett's arrival. I was loving life and relaxed as ever hooked up to that epidural. We were at this point when we called and told our family that we were in the hospital and that baby boy was on his way.
Maudi was our delivery nurse and we LOVED her. She talked to me as if we were friends and made me feel so comfortable and confident. She was blown away with how fast I was progressing as a first time mom and kept telling me I was a super mama meant to have a hundred babies haha. It didn't take long before I was fully dilated and ready to push. I pushed through one contraction... two... three... andddd the baby was almost out! Dr. England had a c-section scheduled with another patient at 11:00 am... it was 10:50. Maudi made sure he came to deliver our babe before the c-section because she was positive he'd be out in a couple more pushes. I looked at the clock and thought she was crazy! I kept thinking, That's it?! My baby is going to be here in ten minutes?! There's no way. Dr. England came in around 10:55, and sure enough, Emmett James Paull was born at exactly 11:00 am.
He is absolutely perfect.
Jason's reaction was so sweet when he saw our son for the first time. He was teary-eyed and the happiest I have ever seen him. I am so in love with that man and I love that he was so involved with the whole process. He calmly helped me through the delivery, gave me many words of encouragement, witnessed the birth of our baby, and he cut the umbilical cord. He is so sure that he can deliver our next baby after watching Emmett's birth. We'll see about that haha.
They placed Emmett on my chest for some skin to skin while I got stitched up. The nurses noticed he was gurgling and grunting a bit, so it wasn't long before he was rushed off to a care unit for extra monitoring. They ended up draining some fluid from his lungs and stomach. He was placed on oxygen and monitored until about 9 pm that night. Again, so thankful for modern medicine and a knowledgeable hospital staff.
Jason stayed with Emmett in the care unit while Maudi took me to the recovery room to have my vitals checked. She congratulated me, told me she bragged about her 'super mama' to all of the other nurses, and gave me a hug before passing me off to a new nurse.
It was pure torture being away from my husband and baby right after giving birth!!! I don't recommend it. I had to wait over two hours before I could be back with my boys. Once I was, it was a very happy reunion.
My Utah sisters made sure to stop by that night to meet their baby nephew. They were in love!
^^ Jason's first diaper change EVER.
Emmett's first bath! His daddy is a natural.
My sweet parents drove out from Colorado the next day to meet their newest grandson. I am so glad they were able and willing to come all the way to Utah for a super quick trip. It sure meant a lot to me.
^^ Absolutely in love with these pictures of my grandpas, my dad, my husband, and my son. Four generations & the best dads EVER.
I was amazed at how many family members and friends stopped by the hospital to meet and snuggle our brand new babe. It makes me incredibly happy to know that he is already loved by so many.
My parents stopped by the hospital one more time before they started their long drive back to Colorado. They were so sweet and brought me these beautiful roses. They definitely brightened up that tiny hospital room that I spent way too many hours in!
Emmett had high jaundice levels, so he needed to spend some time on the lights. We kept referring to it as his own little tanning bed haha. Lucky for us, we were able to have a bilirubin machine dropped off at our house so we didn't need to extend our hospital stay. HALLELUJAH.
Heading home! Best feeling ever.
Poor babe had to spend about a week on the lights. We were only supposed to take him off for diaper changes and nursing. He was not a fan, and it didn't help that we had to strap a light pad on his chest as well {which was not the easiest thing to do}. We spent that first looooong week sleeping next to him on the couch.
We sure do love our Emmett babe! He is perfection. It continues to amaze me that Heavenly Father has allowed us to raise and teach one of His children. Although, let's be real, he's going to teach us far more than we can teach him. He is such a perfect little spirit so fresh out of heaven - Jason and I don't feel adequate! But we are going to try our very best to be the very best parents for this boy.
Welcome to our family Emmett!
