I’m so excited to share Scout’s birth story with you today! I was so grateful that the restrictions at the hospital had changed and we were able to have a photographer there for birth photos. Madie with Belle’s Creek Photography photographed Wynn’s birth for us, and I was so happy she was able to photograph Scout’s as well! There’s something so special about birth photos.

The Birth of Scout Emma Mae

We woke up early on the morning of Thursday, July 7 to be at the hospital before 5:30 a.m. My dad came over to stay with Wynn, and my mom then took him to school that morning. We were checked in and had to do a bunch of labs, get an IV, and make sure everything was set to head to the operating room by 7:30.

This was a completely different experience from being induced for Wynn. For one thing, it was so fast, and for another, I walked to the OR versus riding in the bed after getting an epidural. The spinal block caused me to panic a bit as my shoulder and upper back muscles went into a full flex for a bit, but that calmed down before the procedure started. Mainly thanks to my husband and amazing doctor (who happens to be my older cousin 🙂 ).

Scout Emma Mae joined us at 8:15 a.m. that morning and it was incredible. I feel like I was definitely more aware of how long we were in the OR with Scout, because with Wynn I legit thought it was 15 minutes. When we got back to our room we had a couple hours to wait while they checked on Scout and I before heading to a recovery room.

Once in the recovery room we had the all clear for Wynn to come meet his little sister. He did such a great job of coming to see her and has been incredible with her since we brought her home. When we gave my family the all clear to come in, we had them guess while our sweet little babe was all wrapped up, and everyone kept guessing boy. But after 8 boys on the Alumbaugh side in Wynn’s generation and 3 on the Davenport side it was an understandable guess.

The most stressful day of my life

The next day started normal but with a bit of a scare when Wynn took a tumble at home. He was okay and Justin was on his way to the hospital when he pulled into Casey’s for a soda and because I FaceTimed him. Then, over the PA system at the hospital I heard the most terrifying words ever – active shooter at the main lobby.

The next 3.5 hours were terrifying. My cousin is also my OBGYN and she had just checked on me before the lockdown started, so we locked down together. She did everything she could to keep me calm, help with Scout and make sure we were safe. There was a lot of confusion surrounding the incident, but by the end of the day they realized the suspect had not been in the hospital and there was a call made to the main lobby implying there was a gunman in the building. However, for all of us in lockdown, it was very much a terrifying experience and for all we knew someone was roaming the hospital with a gun. I am beyond grateful for the way the hospital and local first responders reacted to the incident and for the way it all turned out.

Because of the situation at the hospital, Justin picked Wynn up from school right after we got off the phone and took him to my cousin’s house to play with their kids while we waited to see what happened with the lockdown. Wynn had a blast and was oblivious to anything else happening, as preferred. When he woke up from his nap, I could not wait for Justin and Wynn to get to the hospital so I could hug them.

Saturday was a much calmer day, and we were able to head home around 1 p.m. that day – which was amazing. Scout had a bit of jaundice so we had to keep an eye on that for a few days, but it resolved itself. We loved getting to head home during the day and spend the afternoon acclimating to our new reality.

Enjoy this little peek into the birth of our sweet Scout!

Our birth story | Scout Emma Mae