He was born on a chilly September
afternoon in Des Moines, Iowa and he was absolutely perfect in every way.
Everyone has a birth story, but his was extra special. You see, he was dreamed
of, even prayed for, years before his birth. I knew I was missing something in life. When he was born, a place in my heart was filled
that no one else could fill. He is beyond special to me – and his name is Emmett James.
Let’s rewind six days before
Emmett was born. It was my due date and my belly was as round as a basketball.
As I waddled back and forth across the living room, I thought to myself, “When
are you ever going to come out and meet us, little boy?” Emmett must have
wanted to teach me to have more patience, because he did not come that day. Or
the next day...or the next day...or the next day.
Me on my due date. It came and went...
It was five days after my due
date, a Saturday, and of course all I could think about was when this baby was
going to make his arrival. My parents had planned to be with me after I had the
baby, but since he was late, they arrived that night. My parents came all the
way from California and they were ready to meet their newest grandson.
“Hi Mom! Hi Dad!” I said as I tried my best to embrace them
with my protruding belly.
My dad replied, “Hi Stace! So where is this baby? He better
make his debut before we go back home!” We joked about how I was learning
patience by waiting for him, but I was actually getting pretty worried he was
just stuck inside of me forever.
My husband, Nate, and I spent the
rest of the day with my parents, and we even went on a steady walk to try and
get things moving. I did not feel any differently by the end of the night. With
a sigh, I said good night to my parents and headed to bed. It was 11 pm and as
I lay in bed, I felt it. My very first contraction. Ouch! It was unlike
anything I had felt before. It lasted for about one minute.
“Nate, I think I just had a real contraction!” I said
excitedly as my husband entered our bedroom.
“Are you sure?” Nate replied. He was a little skeptical it
was ever going to happen himself.
“I’m pretty sure. It was about ten minutes ago, so let’s see
if – Ahhh!” I shouted through gritted teeth. Sure enough, it was another contraction.
The pain was not something that I ever wanted to feel again, but it meant that
I would get to meet my son very soon.
The contractions persisted
throughout the night. I continued to feel that horrible pain, but I knew I
couldn’t go to the hospital until my contractions were closer together. They
soon began to get stronger, and more painful. When they got to be about four
minutes apart, Nate and I went on a walk outside. It was about 4 am at this
point. It was still dark outside and quiet enough that I could hear the wind
blowing softly through the trees. Even though I was in a lot of pain, I felt a
sense of peace that everything was going to be ok.
My contractions got closer, about
two to three minutes apart. My husband and I grabbed our hospital bags, gave my
parents a hug, and were on our way to the hospital. When we arrived, we nervously walked to the
third floor where labor and delivery was located. As we waited to be admitted,
I noticed that my contractions had slowed down and weren’t as strong.
“Oh no,” I thought to myself, “they
better not send me home!” All I could think was that somehow my mind was
playing tricks on me and that I wasn’t actually in labor. Surely I hadn’t made
this all up. I was in real pain! I had been up ALL night! This baby better be coming
TODAY!
The nurse began monitoring my
contractions and noticed they weren’t as frequent. She said that this was
normal and that we would wait and see what happened. I began to worry because I did not want to be sent home. We waited, and we waited, but
finally my contractions began to speed up. Soon, I was in excruciating pain.
People always talk about how painful having a baby is, and let me tell you,
they are correct! I was in so much pain that I asked for an epidural (pain
medication) as soon as I could get it.
After I received the epidural, I
was feeling much better. I was able to rest in bed and enjoy a few minutes
alone with my husband.
“Can you believe this is actually happening?” my husband
asked me.
“I know, pretty soon we will be a family of three,” I
replied. “Our lives will never be the same.”
I looked at Nate and was so
thankful to have him with me at my side. I knew he was a great husband, and I
couldn’t wait to see him as a father.
My nurse came back into my room and
checked to see how things were moving along. “Well my dear,” she said, “it
looks like it’s time to push! Let’s get ready!”
My heart was about to beat out of
my chest as I heard these words. Was I ready for what was about to happen?
Would I really be able to go through with this? Just then Nate grabbed my hand
and looked at me with a huge smile. I took a deep breath and smiled back at
him. “Let’s meet our son,” I said.
I had been pushing for about thirty
minutes when I heard the most beautiful sound in the world, the cry of my new
baby boy. Tears streamed down my face as he was placed on my chest. In that
moment, all I could see was him. Everything and everyone else in the room were
a blur. It was just us in the room, and I began to feel an intense love that I
had never felt before. He was worth the wait; he was the most amazing thing I
had ever laid my eyes on.
The doctors took him away to clean
him up, and my husband went with him. Nate soon brought our baby back in his arms
and I knew in that moment that I was the luckiest girl in the world. I was
still in a lot of pain, but I knew this was the best day of my life so far.
As I held my baby again, I took
notice about every little thing about him. He had ten perfect fingers, and ten
perfect toes. Two of his toes were even crooked like his Daddy’s. He had
reddish blonde hair that was soft to the touch. His blue eyes remained open for
hours as he took in this new world he had entered. He had been through a lot
this day too, and I was so grateful that we were both healthy and happy.
As the nurses and doctor congratulated us, a nurse asked,
“What’s his name?”
I looked at her and smiled and replied, “His name is Emmett
James Marsden”.
