Amberly's birth was a textbook case of a first time birth. The doctor made sure of that and I was too naive to know any different.
I had been having braxton hicks contractions since the 6 month mark of my pregnancy (just as I should). My doctor however used these contractions to scare me into thinking that I was going into preterm labor. I didn't know the difference so I listened to my doctor and started bed rest. I was even put into the hospital for a couple of weeks near the end because of these contractions. They didn't even hurt that bad now that I think about it. They just really freaked me out.
At 37 weeks and 2 days I called my doctor because I was contracting and I was so tired of not knowing if this was it! She returned my call and told me to come in the next morning and that she would induce me. I was all for it! I was so ready to hold my baby and see her. :-)
So we woke up at 5am the next morning and headed into the hospital. We arrived there around 5:45am and the ball started rolling. The nurses did all of the paperwork and took all my vitals and before I knew it, I was lying in bed hooked up to monitors and an IV drip of pitocin. My doctor came in, broke my water, and said I could have my epidural any time after 3cm dilated. Labor officially started at 6:30am.
So we waited. And waited. And waited.
Then it hit me! The first real contraction took hold of me and all of the sudden all of this baby making business got real! At first I tried the Lamaze breathing techniques, I tried moving around. I even tried throwing a stuffed animal at Daniel. Nothing was helping!!!
After about 2 hours of active labor I decided to throw in the towel. I opted for the epidural. This was around 11:30am. (Later I found out that I hate epidurals) After that I decided to lay back and relax. I chatted on the phone, I watched TV, Daniel and I joked about changing the baby's name (something we always seem to do).
I relaxed this way until 5:15ish. Then it happened. You know on TV and in movies when the pregnant lady suddenly screams out, "I have to push, NOW!!!"? I had always thought the actresses were being overly dramatic during that scene. Let's just say, I was schooled very quickly. That is just how it happened to me. I was sitting there in my bed, as happy as a lark when all of the sudden it felt like a sumo wrestler was trying to make his way out of my posterior. "Daniel!!! I have to push!!! Go get someone NOW!!!". Of course, my nurses were very nonchalant about the whole thing. They checked me and of course, this being my first baby, it was going to take a little bit longer. So the nurse instructed me on what to do and how to push. (What women ever did before proper pushing instructions from a qualified hospital nurse is beyond me.) Then I got to the point in which the nurse felt like I had earned the presence of the doctor so she called my obstetrician. Then the room got very crowded and from my point of view started to look a lot like Monty Pythons "The Meaning of Life" movie. There were people everywhere. Upon my review of the birth video, I saw one person there that was sitting in a rocking chair and reading a magazine!!! Pushing was the easy part so I will skip ahead to 5:05pm when Amberly made her first sounds on planet Earth. Born with her eyes wide open and squalling at the top of her lungs, Ms. Amberly Ann was born. The first of 6 children. I was instantly in love and so was Daniel. We had a lot to learn and Amberly has been a great child to learn from. I don't know what I would do without her.
She'll be 13 this April and I can't believe that the time has flown by so fast. She's growing into a beautiful young woman. I love you Amberly!!!
I'll probably write Seth's birth story soon. It was my easiest birth of all.
Until then.....
God Bless!!!
