Emily Alese's birth story

Emily Alese Jaggi


Having two kids you can grab each one by the hand and walk or drag. With three, what do you do with the extra kid? Do you pray they are a very good listener and will walk beside you? Yell or scream or threaten they stay near you as you go out into the world? I have been very blessed with my children. Matthew is very sensitive and if you raise your voice to scold, he can very well cry (he will hate that I said that in the coming years), Izzie, has always been my little buddy and will always stay right beside me. As I got pregnant for the third time, I worried about this. Do I have what it takes to have one more? Will this child be as good as her brother and sister? Well the worry was on my mind, as I continued to grow sicker and sicker with this pregnancy.

As soon as I saw that double line on that pregnancy stick, I would go from my bed to the couch the first few months. I would turn pale and run to the bathroom. I never had to deal with this with my other two. I had a few weeks of morning sickness, but nothing like this! I lived on saltines, ginger ale and yogurt for the first couple months. Finally around month 5 I felt better, I got off my morning sickness drugs and was able to be me again. Then month 7 I started having Braxton Hicks. Month 8 I was having contractions every so often. By month 9, I was having contractions 5 minutes apart for hours then it would stop. We had the induction date set, March 15, 2012 since I have big babies and I would rather have a newborn and not a month old baby. (Matthew 9 lbs 9 oz and Izzie 7 lbs 13 oz (2 weeks early)).

My parents arrived a few days before to hang out with us and to watch the kids. I kept thinking with all my contractions and how this pregnancy has been, I would go early. My body was preparing but no early baby. We arrived at Southern Hills Hospital, in the wee morning, got all set up and was set to go. I was already dilated to a 4 when I arrived. By 9:30 am I had an epidural and my water had been broken. My doctor (J. Pollock) came to visit and we thought we would have a baby by 1 or 2pm. Time came and went, I was stuck at a 6 for hours, at 4:30pm I started feeling all my contractions, however I was still numb from the waist down. We couldn’t figure it out. So we called in the anthologist and we had to redo my epidural. The pain was so bad I cried and screamed. I thought this baby was hanging out of me. Of course as we finished my new epidural I had progressed to a 10 and was ready to deliver. Thank heavens my new epidural had kicked in and I was feeling somewhat better. As I got ready to push, my nurse called my doctor and told him that she thinks she just poked the baby’s eye. With meant the baby was “sunny-side up”. Yes, facing up and that is why I had been in labor for so long. She was stuck, a little. I pushed and pushed, one hour later out came the vacuum to help get this little baby out. By then I was asking the doc to just pull her out! Out came our little baby girl, all slimy and one funky looking head (which went back to normal in a few hours). I cried for relief and joy. My poor John, watching this roller coaster of a ride, I think he even cried for same thing. My mother, who stayed in the room with me (cause at this time, I really didn’t care who was there) was a mess, was praying and crying for me. But we had our sweet girl, our number 3. She weighed in at 7 lbs 14 oz and 18.5 inches long. Perfect. She had a smashed nostril (right side) which all my babies have had, so I know she is one of mine.

My baby girl looks like a Jaggi to me and my heart has already been taken. She is so perfect, so precious, such a gift that all my thoughts of how can I take care of three kids has been lifted away. My love has grown so much in such a short time that it has amazed me. I always have loved the special bond that I have with my wonderful husband when we have a child. I feel Heaven has opened up for a short time and I feel the love that our eternal family has created. We named her Emily Alese, both family names, Emily for a great grandmother and Alese after my niece. She has been a wonderful baby. Only cries when hungry or very poopy. Her siblings are her biggest fans. Matthew can’t get enough of her and thinks she is the cutest baby alive and Izzie just watches her with awe. So far life as a mama with three kids has been pretty great, I don’t think I would trade it for anything.

(I hope this makes sense, writing this with a kid on my lap and lack of sleep causes run-ons and grammar mistakes!)