Amelia Adeline Williams

I had been having contractions off and on last week, building up to my induction date. They increased in intensity and frequency Wednesday morning, but I didn't go to the hospital because I was being admitted that night anyway. And I was perfectly happy to "suffer" through some minor contractions than lay in bed in the hospital on IV fluids and not be able to eat real food.

I checked into the hospital around 10:15, and what an experience that was. I've always been a pretty private person, but that all goes out the window when you are about to have a baby. People you have never met before and who you had no say in choosing for your care are now telling you to get completely undressed and poking and prodding you in places that, in some cases, no one was ever meant to touch. Any kind of modesty you might have had has no place in the labor and delivery wing.

Amelia must have known that she was about to be rudely thrust into this world cause she kicked up her contractions a lot more once we were in the hospital. At midnight, a prostaglandin tablet was inserted into me, down there. They told me it was just supposed to "prime" me for labor, but it did more than that. I was having contractions that lasted for what seemed like a minute every 3-4 minutes. I wsa able to tolerate the contractions, but they were just coming so close together. If I had had a little more time between contractions, it wouldn't have been so bad, but I wasn't really given a chance to rest between them which was really painful.

My nurses were trying to check my dilation, but they were unable to get it because I was "really high," whatever that means. Probably the most painful experience I had through the whole thing was when they tried to check me. I would go from laying in the middle of the bed to having my head pushed against the top of the bed because I was trying to get away from the pain. They were finally able to determine my dilation which was great news because I couldn't receive my epidural until I was dilated a certain amount. Well lucky for me, my nurses seemed to take pity on me and the fact that it was hard to check me, so my doctor told them that it was close enough and to go ahead and give me the epidural. It was hard to get it at first because I kept having contractions. The anesthetist was finally able to get it started between contractions, and I immediately felt better. They gave me the epidural at 2:45, and I was asleep by 3:15. It was so nice.

They moved me into the delivery room at 7 Thursday morning, and my doctor came in to check me around 7:30 or 8. I was at 6 cm, completely thinned, and at station 0. About 20 minutes later my nurse checked me, and I was at 8 cm. At 9 they started preparing the room for Amelia's arrival. My doctor had to go into an emergency c-section, so I was put on the back burner for the moment. But I was told that I would be next to deliver and that Amelia would be here before 10. At 10:15 she still hadn't made her arrival and another woman was put before me again. After pushing for about 1 - 1 1/2 hours, my nurse left to tell my doctor that I would probably have to have a c-section because I just wasn't making any progress. When she came back, Amelia decided that she could come out, finally. She was born at 12:56 pm on Thursday, August 6. She weighed 8 lbs 8 oz and was 21 inches long. She scored a 9.9 on her Apgar, but I've heard that doesn't really mean anything because some babies can score a 10 and then end up having mental problems. But I'm still gonna brag about it because she is perfect.

She did a lot of damage on the way out, and my doctor had to work on me for 45 minutes repairing her damage. I went into shock and had to receive 3 units of blood. I finally saw my daughter 5 hours after she was born, and she couldn't have been more beautiful.

I saw pictures of her when she was fresh, and she had really chubby cheeks. But when I saw her, her swelling had gone down and she didn't have as chubby cheeks as when she was fresh. I wish I had some pictures to post, but I haven't been moving around very well, obviously. I kind of limp around the house. I'm not allowed to do anything except hold the baby and go to the bathroom. I can't stand up while holding her. I can't go up or down the stairs while holding her. But everyone, including my doctor, is very surprised by how well I am doing. I've never been in this condition before so I don't know how I'm supposed to be doing. But the people who are telling me this would know, so I trust their judgment. I'm still trying to not do a lot though because I want the small amount of pain I'm in to go away very fast so I can start doing more with Amelia. Hopefully I'll get a little better soon and will be able to take some pictures of her so everyone can see.