This might get a little long but I wanted to record the details of Amelia's birth before I forget! We were much anticipating Amelia to come early because she was measuring a little big at each appointment. When my due date came and went I was definitely a bit disappointed. We previously scheduled an induction for several days after my due date just in case she didn't arrive on her own in time. I was afraid she would get to big for me to have her naturally. Well, the due date came and went and it was apparent I would need to be induced. This worked great for my parents and Dan's parents- they were already planning on coming and having a set time did make things easier. Monday night, before we went into the hospital for the induction at midnight, Dan and I had dinner with my parents and his parents. It was such a fun time to have both sides of the family all there together celebrating! They even had the restaurant bring a birthday dessert for me and the baby! That night before they headed off to bed and Dan and I off to the hospital- they gathered around me and prayed- what a special time! Now I was really getting nervous and anxious- I really didn't want to be induced because I knew it made labor harder and the contractions faster and I had wanted to try to go without an epidural. Dan and I spent some time talking- dreaming about the future. He was such an encouragement to me- kept me focused.
Dan and I arrived at the hospital at 12:01am that Tuesday morning and by about 1am I was all hooked up and the pitocin was started. When they hooked up the monitors I was already having regular, strong contractions- ironic that my labor was starting naturally when we arrived at the hospital. (Earlier at dinner- I was not having contractions at all!) At this point I was about 3cm dilated. Several hours later in the morning, after several viewings of While You Were Sleeping, the contractions were coming hard and fast- about every 2-3 minutes. I would switch from the bed, to the rocking chair to the birthing ball. The birthing ball was by far the most comfortable so I planted myself there and debated getting an epidural. The nurse checked me and confirmed I was 4cm at this point so I could get one anytime. I put it off several times really trying to endure and hold out as long as I could. The Dr. would be coming soon to break my water and I knew things would only get harder after that. Finally, I decided to get the epidural- I did not think I could handle that intense pain every 2-3 minutes for who knows how many more hours. It's a good thing I did get the epidural since Amelia just took her sweet time. The epidural was started and the Dr. broke my water. The nurse told us to get some sleep while we could. So Dan and I slept/rested for about 2 hours.
The Dr. came back at lunch to check me again and I was at 6cm. He came back again in the late afternoon and I was at 8cm! My parents and Dan's parents were not going far at this point. Problem was only half my cervix was gone- so they tried to turn me to get the baby's head to press on the other part and baby girl didn't like me being on that side. So they sat me straight up in bed, increased the pitocin and we waited. Finally around 7:30 or so they said I was ready to start pushing. My Mom was on one side of me and Dan was on the other. I pushed for about an hour which the nurse said was really good for a first time Mom. They brought in a mirror so I could see the "progress" since I couldn't feel anything. You could already see she had a head full of dark hair (that is one thing I was hoping for!) Once the Dr. got there I only pushed once and then a small push and she was born at 8:49pm! She was 8lb 3oz and 20.5 inches long. Dan was yelling something about our baby girl and her name. My Dad and Dan's parents were waiting right outside the door and had cracked the door open to hear everything. They could hear Dan yelling and they heard him say Amelia's name. A nurse soon discovered them all crowed outside the door and fussed at them. All I remember was Amelia's strong cry when they placed her on my chest and I just cried. They took her over to the side to clean her up and check her out while I was stitched up (just a small tear). Dan went out to tell the new grandparents Amelia's name and discovered they had already heard it :)
Once Amelia and I were all cleaned up, the grandparents flooded the room. They passed her from one person to the other- all admiring her head full of hair and commenting on who she looked like. It was such a special time to share with all of them! Then they took some pictures of Dan and I with our sweet baby girl. After so much excitement, a wave of exhaustion overcame me when the room was quiet a little while later. Amelia and I had our first lesson in breastfeeding (we did well by the way) and then they gave her a bath.
She was finally here! All I could do was stare at her in wonder and praise God for this special miracle he blessed Dan and I with.
Our first family photo
Amazing husband, father, & coach!
Grammy & Pa Pa Thomas
Grandma & Grandpa Aleshire
She is finally here!
Proud Daddy!
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