Today marks one month since our daughter, Emilia Mae, was brought into this world – and we have learned so much about our little bundle! To celebrate her first month, we are sharing her birth story!

Emilia Mae’s Birth Story

People had often asked me, “What’s your birth plan?” To be honest, my only plan was to have our daughter in the hospital and eventually get an epidural. Keep it simple. So much of labor is unpredictable, and I wanted minimal expectations except to do what was safest for our baby.

Leading up to a few weeks before her arrival, I was very ready to meet her but also wanted her to arrive on her own schedule. Overall third trimester was pretty kind to me – my back pain had decreased and I was napping like a champ. However, I was incredibly swollen! Despite compression socks, my legs would become about twice their normal size by the end of the day. Thankfully and most importantly, we were both healthy.

Did My Water Break?

Michael and I had a routine that we would walk around the park to get a little bit of exercise in the final stage of pregnancy. On the day before her arrival, our usual walk (or waddle at this point, haha) was cut short significantly because I felt really fatigued. We picked up some take-out dinner and I laid down on the couch for a little while after eating. When I stood up, I felt a little trickle. A mix of thoughts flooded my mind – from wondering if my water broke to thinking I went to the bathroom on myself. (Third trimester woes!) It was such a small amount of fluid, so surely it couldn’t be my water breaking? Right?! That’s not how it happens in the movies. Or could it be my water breaking?

Things got a little humorous at this point. Unsure of what had happened, I tried various tactics to see if it would happen again. I laid down, and then stood up thinking I might feel another little trickle of fluid. Nothing. I did lunges. Nothing. I laughed at myself and how strange all of this appeared. Nothing.

Just to err on the side of caution, I called the ObGyn. She instructed me to lay down for 30 minutes and then stand up. If my water did in fact break, I would likely feel it again. After laying down for awhile, I stood up. Another trickle of fluid! We called her back and she advised us to check into the hospital.

We took our time getting ready to leave for the hospital and I began having cramping. The pain was not intense but it was occurring every 3 minutes. We checked into labor and delivery and by the time registration saw us in the triage room, my cramping had progressed into painful contractions about every 2.5 minutes. The nurse confirmed right away that my water had broke and that I was only 1 cm dilated. Because my water broke, we wanted to deliver soon to reduce any risk of infection.

Getting Closer to Meeting Her

I was not dilated significantly, so the plan was to have me walk around the floor to help labor progress. Unfortunately, my blood pressure had spiked so they wanted me to stay in the hospital bed. We tried for a few hours to get my blood pressure down, but meanwhile the contractions and pain were intensifying. A few hours later when my contractions were about two minutes apart, I decided to go ahead with an epidural. Over the next couple hours, they also gave Cervidil and Pitocin, two medications to help speed labor along.

About an hour had gone by since the epidural was placed but I still had full sensation on the right side of my body. The anesthesiologist administered more medication to help. Still, there was no change in sensation so the anesthesiologist returned again to place a new epidural. The nurse also added higher doses of Pitocin to help continue dilating further. Unfortunately the second epidural was worse – it was completely ineffective and I could feel everything. I respect anyone who can have their baby naturally, because you are a champion! Whew!

The contractions and nausea were very intense at this point. Between the pain and surge of hormones, my muscles were trembling and I was getting tired. This was the most challenging point, as I had been awake for about 30 hours, strained a few muscles and was getting dehydrated despite several liters of IV fluids. Luckily the end was in sight and I was now almost fully dilated!

It’s Baby Time!

After a few practice pushes, we decided to call the anesthesiologist back to see if I could get some pain relief because I had full sensation without an effective epidural. A new anesthesiologist was covering the shift now and he advised I get a third epidural. He assured me that labor should be an enjoyable experience to welcome our baby into the world. As crazy as it sounded at the time, he was correct! A few minutes after he placed a new epidural, I felt like a new person. The epidural was effective and I had so much relief!

Now it was time to push! Our sweet nurse was the coach on my left side, and Michael was the coach on my right side. We laughed, told stories and embraced the special occasion. It truly was a wonderful experience! My pain was controlled, we were making significant progress and I was so eager to meet our daughter. About an hour into pushing, she was crowning and the ObGyn came in for delivery. With just a couple more pushes, EMILIA ARRIVED!!

It was the most beautiful, powerful cry I had ever heard. Behind the drape I saw a couple hands rise up with tiny fingers. They handed her to me and I could not take my eyes off her! I wanted to study every little detail on her – the eyelashes, toes and squishy baby belly. She was perfect!

After they cleaned her up, they laid her on my chest for awhile and it was the most precious moment. She went from crying to being quiet and staring into my eyes. Best. Feeling. EVER!

Our little peanut was born one day before her due date, at nearly 7 lbs and 19.5 inches.

Welcoming Our Emilia Mae

We took a day of getting to know our baby girl before settling on a name. She is sweet, mighty and determined. Emilia Mae was the perfect fit! Emilia means “to excel”. We have given her the nickname Emmy for now, and will likely call her Emma as she gets older. Mae is a middle name that we both love and was my Grandma’s middle name.

I can honestly say, the days surrounding her birth were some of the best days of my life. We feel so blessed to be entrusted to be her parents. Already, she has started to show her personality and is a charmer. And it has been so fun to see my husband transition into the role of a father.

Joyfully So will remain a lifestyle blog with fashion, wellness and home content as the core. I do not plan on this becoming a baby blog, but will incorporate more family fun into the mix. We are so thankful for this new addition to our lives!

Live your life joyfully so,

Ashley, Michael and Emilia Mae