Amelia's Arrival

Well many of you are eager to know miss Amelia's birth story so here are the details as promised. Last Sunday after church I started feeling like I was leaking some amniotic fluid so Nathan and I debated whether or not we should go to the hospital to get it checked out. The debate lasted all afternoon and we finally decided around 8 pm to go to the hospital, better to be safe then sorry. By that time I had convinced myself it was a false alarm, Nathan reassured me that everyone has false alarms and this could be our trial run giving us a chance to familiarize ourself with the hospital in preparation for Tuesday. He packed our hospital bag in the truck just in case though and on the way over he said "Wouldn't it be funny if they just decided to induce you just because you were already there?" to which I told him that they never do that and Tuesday is our day. Blast him for being right.

At the hospital upon arrival I was at 4 cm. The amniotic fluid test came back negative and I had a deep sigh of relief, I had mentally prepared myself for Tuesday and I was glad I still had time. Turns out my doctor was on call that evening and she said that if I had any progress that they would admit me. Apparently I was having contractions every 5-7 min and sometimes 3-5 min but I could only feel them in my back so I had no idea they were coming that close. After an hour of monitoring I had progressed to a 4.5 cm and I was told I was staying put and having a baby. Enter emotional breakdown here, Nathan and I were both in shock. I began to shake and I didn't stop shaking until mid morning on monday.

They admitted us around 11 pm and we moved into our room where I received the epidural. The plan was to begin pitocin to help my contractions, and getting the epidural before the pitocin contractions started seemed like the smartest way to go. However the epidural's side effect is shaking- adding to my already existing shakes made me shake even more. Labor went pretty smoothly after that, Nathan was able to get a few hours of sleep and I tried to rest but I mostly just stared at the machines in shock. Six hours later it was time to push and about ten minutes later Amelia joined our family. Pretty speedy for a first time delivery. Thank goodness she turned and was no longer sunny side up- I was afraid I'd be pushing for hours. Amelia has a two little stork bites, one on her nose and forehead, we call them her rug burns because she came out so fast. Recovery has been the hardest part of labor and due to some complications that arose we are formula feeding, she is a very good eater and sleeper and is a very mellow baby.

Even though it was a huge shock that the hospital kept us and we had our baby a day earlier then planned, we are glad that Amelia is here and healthy. We are enjoying getting to know her likes and dislikes and she is constantly making us laugh. We are truly blessed to have her in our family.