The Full Story --- Amelia Claire


Amelia's birth process was absolutely amazing! We had such a wonderful experience --- our hospital, doctors, nurses, friends, and my parents were awesome the entire weekend.


I was scheduled to be induced on Saturday, December 11, 2010, and I was to go to the hospital on Friday night for some observation and meds. I wasn't terribly excited about spending an extra night in the hospital, but that's the way it was. We captured some pictures before we left Friday evening. Madeline stayed behind with my sister-in-law, Kim, and she had a blast with her Aunt Kim!

Mommy and Madeline
December 10, 2010 --- 40 weeks pregnant exactly

The Big Day --- Saturday, December 11, 2010

I was moved to the labor and delivery room pretty early, and the doctor that was on call happened to be a longtime family friend of ours. He is not my primary doctor in the practice, but he and his family and my family go way back to my oldest brother's high school wrestling days. The quick back story --- Dr. S's boys and my older brothers wrestled together in high school, and our parents became fast friends. Me being the little sister, I was just along for the ride all the time, and Dr. S has known me since I was an elementary kid. It was kind of cool that he not only would deliver my second little girl, but he also delivered my oldest brother's son, Ryan, 15 years ago.

Anyway, my oldest and dearest friend, Steph, blocked off her entire weekend to be with us. She's so great like that. Eric and I told our families that don't live in our area and Columbia friends to not worry about coming to the hospital since Christmas was around the corner. We would rather have people come to us when we were home and visit with us over the Christmas holiday. It actually made for a really relaxing atmosphere not having people in and out of the room. You know how it is in the hospital --- friends/family can visit the room but then the nurses shoo everyone out to check me/do things to me/etc., so it's a constant shuffling of people in and out. Not relaxing nor a good way to really visit with people who we care about in our opinion. We didn't want people to travel during such a busy time of year to not really get a good visit with us. So as strange as it sounds, it was nice to have just Eric, Steph, and myself. My parents were manning the house and Madeline all weekend, so they certainly had their hands full.

I was started on the pitocin early in the morning, and it basically dripped most of the day. I was pretty comfortable working through most of the contractions. Of course, I'm no hero, so I received an epidural when it got to be too much. As if my OB doctor being a family friend wasn't enough, the anesthesiologist on call happened to be my parents' neighbor. Such a small world. The only snaffu we encountered was my platelet count which dropped way too low for anyone's comfort, so Dr. S ordered some steroids for my IVs. I still have the cankles to prove it!

Steph and I

The best husband in the world and I

As the day wore on, I could tell through my epidural that things were getting close to show time. I was getting so excited! My epidural was so awesome --- no pain but I could still feel enough to know when it was time. (I didn't have that experience with Madeline.) At 2:59 PM, I gave my first push, and Dr. S was sitting on the sofa talking to Eric about deer hunting and watching the Army vs. Navy football game on TV. My labor and delivery nurse was so perfect for my personality. The first thing she said to me when she took over for the night nurse was, "I hear you are not a fan of pain." She kept me really calm when things got a little hairy with my boodwork. She also kept me laughing with her stories. So, this nurse was also hilarious because she walked over to Dr. S and my husband and told them to cut the chit chat because I was about to have this baby. At 3:05 PM, Amelia popped out. It was awesome! Six minutes is my kind of delivery! My friend, Steph, had barely gotten out of the room and into the waiting room before Eric was walking out there to tell her that Amelia was born. It was pretty funny. So much for all the books she downloaded on her Kindle.

Amelia Claire

6 pounds 9 ounces

19 3/4 inches long

Mommy and Amelia

Happy Parents

Ahhh, the power of technology --- Daddy sending out the emails and texts that Amelia has arrived safely AND in six minutes!

Auntie Steph with Amelia

Dr. S chatting it up with my parents. My parents were able to bring Madeline up on Saturday evening after she woke up from her nap. Grandma was sure to get Madeline a good nap, so she'd be in a good mood to meet her baby sister! We didn't want to get started off on the wrong foot with a cranky two year old.

Madeline immediately wanted to climb up in the bed with us to hug me and meet Amelia. Madeline did really well considering she was a little overwhelmed by the whole process. It was a lot for her to take in, and she was really sweet to Amelia.

A Madeline funny --- Since it's Christmas time, there are many manger scenes out and about with the Baby Jesus all swaddled up in his bed. What does Madeline say when she meets Amelia? Yes, indeed, she declared that the baby I was holding was THE Baby Jesus! She started calling Amelia Baby Jesus! Eric, of course, chimed in with, "Wow! That's a tall order for your little sister." Perhaps funnier in person when it happened, but trust me, it was funny.

Madeline's entrance into the room to meet Amelia.

Grandma holding Amelia for the first time

Madeline was pretty excited about a new Fancy Nancy book from Amelia. Madeline was also pretty stoked about getting big sister presents.

Family photo

Such a sweet Big Sister

Family Photo

Daddy's Girls

Hearing Test --- Amelia passed!

Ready to Go Home! --- Monday, December 13, 2010