April's water broke at 1:50 a.m. on Thursday, March 10th. Once we had gone through the hospital check-in process we were finally taken to the labor and delivery room at 4 a.m. The L&D nurse determined that Amelia's heart rate and my contractions needed a better monitor than the external straps. While she placed the internal heart rate and contraction monitor she informed us that April was four centimeters dilated. At 4:50 a.m. the anesthesiologist administered the epidural. At noon the nurses determined that we were ready to start pushing. April powered her way through the first hour and a half. With very little progress the nurse found that Amelia was "sunny-side up" which made pushing more difficult. Normally, the baby is both head down AND face down. The face down position is easier for the baby to clear the pelvic bone. With Amelia face up we were worried that pushing wouldn't be enough to get her out. Finally, at 2:24 p.m. and after April's temperature spiked to 101, Amelia decided it was time to make her arrival.
Amelia came out with wide-eyes, looking at everyone as if to say, "Hello, I'm here!" The nurses rushed Amelia to the side to clear the meconium from her mouth and lungs. All her hard work during the 2.5 hours of pushing resulted in a temperature of 100.5. Though the doctor and nurses weren't too concerned with the higher temperatures they made sure to keep April on antibiotics for another 24 hours and monitored both Mommy and Baby until they left the hospital.
It's hard to sum up an incredibly special experience with a few paragraphs. There are no combination of words to express how blessed we feel to have a beautiful and healthy baby girl. There were many visitors during our two-day stay. We are so thankful to our mothers who stayed with us during the labor process and to Mama Helen who fed us through the next two days. We look forward to watching Amelia grow and sharing her growth with all of you.
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