The whole story

Since so many of you have asked, I thought I would post the official details of Emi's birth so as not to forget the deatails (yeah right) and to not have to recreate it multiple times via e-mail. So be warned, this might be long. I personally have a hard time with really long blog posts, so I will not be offended if you just skim it. :)

Here goes...

Contractions started sometime after 5:33am (I remember seeing this specific time on my alarm clock) on a very early Wednesday morning. I started timing the contractions at 6:03 after I woke Jacob up (in a panic, I might add, because these contractions HURT)and they quickly went from 4-5 minutes apart to 3 minutes apart. I called my Dr. (who was still out of town) at 6:30, and the on-call doctor told me to come to the hopsital Emergency Room and they would "check me out." It seemed to me that Jacob took FOREVER to get dressed and out the door, by the way, but we got on those icy roads and to the hospital by shortly after 7am. Jacob admitted later that he thought this was false labor, and that they would be sending us home after a brief visit to the hospital. He did have the foresight to bring his camera, however, but left out the memory card! The NICU was nice enough to provide us with a couple of pictures, though, so that was nice.

We left Miya at home (sleeping soundly) with Jacob's sister, in case any of you were wondering if we left our firstborn home alone. Deborah had some time off work, and had decided to come down for a few days...fortunately for us! If we had waited even 10 minutes longer trying to find someone to watch Miya for us, I might have had our baby in the car or in my front room - scary! Thank you, Deborah, for being in tune enough to decide to visit us that week - I don't know what we would have done without you!

So...by the time they got me up to labor and delivery, I was already 7cm dilated. The next thing I know, several minutes later, they say I'm "complete", and I hear them telling each other that there won't be time for any pain medication because this baby is on the way out. (Let it be known that the scariest moment for Jacob was hearing them say that I wouldn't get any pain meds...I thought that was pretty funny. And I had my own little surge of panic since Miya's birth was induced and I was saved by my epidural). By the time they delivered the information about no pain meds, I already knew this baby was coming, and then they have the nerve to tell me to "try not to push yet" because the doctor is still a few minutes out. Yeah right...I tried "not pushing" for a long time (it was probably more like a minute, but who really knows...at which point they reminded me to breathe because I was hyperventilating...great). It was over from there... and our little girl was born before the doctor could make an appearance. She was born at 7:49am - 5 lbs 9 oz and beautiful!

Yes, I experienced natural childbirth! Not really by choice, but if having a baby could always be this fast, I think it might not be such a bad thing. Don't think for a minute that I won't consider pain meds next time if I get a choice and a chance...having a baby still HURTS, HURTS, HURTS, and I haven't forgotten that yet. But I am so grateful it was relatively fast, and that I did it! And so grateful that Emi is healthy and doing so well. 5 days in the NICU, 2 weeks at home, and doing great so far!

There it is. The official story. Oh...no, we don't know why I went into labor at 35 weeks, though it seems unconnected to the reason Miya came at 34 weeks (preeclampsia) and it's difficult to say if the next time will be similar. Perhaps my body just gets tired of being pregnant...I don't know what I'd do if I had to go 5more weeks and get really huge like every other pregnant woman. I'm blessed for so many reasons. :)

Emi's Name

We neglected to post Emi's full name, so let me do that. We named her Emi Kate. Emi is a Japanese name meaning "beautiful, blessed ", and it's pronounced "em-ee" like the Em in Emily. In fact, we chose the name because of the Japanese meaning, and in honor of one of our favorite people whom we lovingly refer to as Emmy (a.k.a. Emily Chaffin...now Belnap). Kate came from...well, we just liked the sound of it next to Emi. It fits beautifully, don't you think?



Incidentally, Miya is also a Japanese name meaning "temple/sacred house", and her middle name Mae is in honor of Michelle's grandma Miller, Della Mae, the best grandma in the world. Really.

Emi Update

Our little Emi is home and is doing very well! She was born at 5 lbs. 9 oz., went home at 5 lbs. 3 oz., and was 5 lbs. 8 oz. at her one week check-up. She is eating like a champion and consequently pooing like champion as well. We have had lots of help with meals (thanks dinner swap group and our ward) and we have had family come and help too (thanks Deborah, Mom Miller, and Dad Nishida). Miya is adjusting well and is our little helper. We are just so happy! Here are some pictures that we snapped yesterday.

Miya discovered "forts" today

We just got a package today and it was packed with a long crumpled sheet of brown paper. Miya had fun playing with it and when we twirled it around her, she didn't want to get out. She wanted her Dada to come inside with her, but as you can see from the pictures there wasn't room for him. (Please note that the sticker that is on her forehead was placed there by Miya. She likes to accessorize.)

She just couldn't wait!

This is Jacob. I just wanted to share a little bit of our excitement and surprise with you. Rather unexpectedly, Michelle delivered little Emi to the world this morning. After two hours of contractions and no time for pain medication, it has been a whirlwind morning (I am sure that Michelle would have a different adjective). Michelle is doing well and so is Emi. Since the birth came so early we expect to be at the hospital for a minimum of several days and a maximum of...well, we are really not sure. Here is our precious baby girl: