Ammely

As many of you already know, Ammon and I (somewhat) recently welcomed our little sweetheart into our family. At last. And I (at last) am here to document the event (I guess being a new mommy is a bit time demanding, better late than never though!).

Ammely Baysinger

April 3, 2012

8:50 a.m.

7lbs 1oz

20 inches

The beginning of the end commenced on Monday, April 2nd. I was scheduled to be induced that afternoon - mostly due to my impatience and my doctor's compassion to a very pregnant lady. However, my blood pressure had gone up the last week or two of my pregnancy - not crazy high, but higher than my usual. Thus, he did have a medical reason to allow me to induce on my due date instead of waiting another week or two. He is a wonderful man and I pray he is blessed enormously for allowing the pains of pregnancy to cease.

Anyhow, as my induction was no emergency, we received a call earlier in the day saying that my induction was being bumped back until further notice. I was to hang tight and await their phone call. So we waited.

Ammon came home from work early.

And we waited.

We got dinner.

We waited.

We went shopping.

We waited.

We called the hospital.

We waited some more.

We almost called the hospital...and at last the phone rang!

They were ready for us.

So we grabbed our things and headed out to the car. It's somewhere between 9 and 10 o'clock here. This is also my last pregnant picture. Don't I look like I'm smuggling something under my shirt...like a beach ball, perhaps?

And we were off to Banner Gateway!

We filled out the necessary paperwork, they took me to the room where I would labor and deliver, and I put on my very stylish hospital gown, as seen below.

It was then another couple of hours of waiting as we waited for various tests to come back - they took all kinds of bodily fluids and had to make sure I was as healthy as could be expected.

And I was. Whew.

Also, good news was that I was already dilated a LITTLE tiny bit and was having regular contractions that I just couldn't feel. Awesome.

So around 1 in the morning they finally put me on Pitocin and told me I could have the epidural whenever I wanted it.

Things weren't too bad so I waited.

Then things got uncomfortable.

Then things got downright painful.

And I wasn't dilating fast at all. A few hours went by and I dilated maybe 2 centimeters.

It was about 4 a.m. when they told me that at my current pace I would probably deliver sometime that afternoon. So I wasn't sure if I should hold out and do the epidural later in the process (maybe it wasn't hurting as bad as I thought, afterall, I had HOURS to go still and much much dilating to do) -- or maybe I should just go ahead and get the epidural.

And then I felt a little *pop* inside. And then a tiny trickle. I remembered reading several books that said labor pains tend to get much worse, much faster after the water breaks. So I called the nurse in and told her that...ummm...I think my water broke.

Indeed it had. Tiny trickle was a tiny trickle no more. And contractions were already getting more intense. At this point, Ammon so kindly asked the nurse if we could get the epidural quickly. I love this husband of mine. I didn't even have to ask for it - he just knew it was time. No argument from me.

Epidurals are beautiful.

And once the epidural was effective I was much happier. Much more patient. Much more restful. In fact, I think we all were...

Around 7:15 my nurse came in and said it was time to switch shifts and she would update the nurse that would be taking over. At this point I was dilated to about a four. *sigh* She predicted I'd be pushing around noon or 1 o'clock. She left the room and I tried to go back to sleep and just let my body do its thing.
The next nurse came in around 8:00 and checked me - she said I was about a nine and was ready to start pushing.

Ummm...excuse me?!?

Well, that required a change of mindset in a rather big hurry. In fact, the quick change in "plans" really scared me. Nevermind that I had nine months to prepare for this moment or that I had practically begged the doctor to induce me - the fact that I got shorted a couple hours of labor slapped me into a terrified realization that this was REALLY going to happen. There REALLY was a person inside and she was coming out. Now. Whether or not I was ready.

As I tried to deal with this sudden fear of mine, Ammon got on the phone and made sure his mom was on her way - I really wanted her to be there and she too thought she had many hours to go.

By 8:20 I was pushing, Ammon holding one leg, my mom holding the other, Ammon's mom offering head massages and other comfort as needed.

I pushed and looked at the others' faces - all excited/nervous, mostly smiling.

Me, I'm thinking that they shouldn't be smiling. This is hard work. This is scary. This is serious. Nothing to smile about.
Soon enough they're telling me that her head is out...again, they're all smiles. They're looking at the face of my daughter and seeing her breathe and cry for the first time. Me, I remember very little of this. Possibly because I was still scared. Possibly because I still had the rest of her body to evict from my own body.

A few short moments later, at 8:50 a.m., she was fully born.

They put her on my chest and just like that we were a family.

It's amazing how quick life can change. All I could see was her beautiful little face.

And when I could tear my gaze away from her precious face, all I could see was Ammon's face. Was he happy? Did he love her as much as I did? Was he okay with this new addition?

Of course.

And sure, the fear was still there. From what I'm told that never really goes away - moms are always scared they won't do a good job, that they're not ready for what their little ones are getting them into. But the fear just wasn't the only thing anymore.

I was happy. And excited. And tired. And overwhelmed. And overjoyed. And thankful. And prayerful. And so in love.

Oh so in love.

I was a mom. I am a mom.

And the two of us became the three of us.

It just doesn't get better than this.

And so we gladly welcomed Liliya, Laramie, Lydia, Lynnley, Brooklynn, Sierra, Rebecca, Ammely into our family (the naming took longer than the pregnancy/labor/delivery - but it suits her just right. Worth the wait).