Welcome to the World!

Ambry Eileen Baker entered the world at 10:22am on Wednesday August 25, 2010. She weighed 7lbs 12oz. and was 19 inches long. She was born with a head full of dark brown hair, bright alert eyes and a beautiful sweet smile. Here is her birth story:

After going to work on Tuesday the 24th, I was completely frustrated. Our oldest son, Taylor, had come a week early and I was losing my patience. Doctors had estimated Ambry's due date on either the 24th or 25th and I was beginning to think she would never come! I had already had pretty bad back labor for nearly a month and I had honestly never envisioned myself starting the first day of school with my new students. Well, it's a good thing God is in control and knew what was best for us.

On the evening of the 24th, I had a complete break down. Brandon was gone at a church meeting and after putting Taylor to bed, I began to sob. I prayed and prayed that I would have the strength and patience to continue for as long as I needed to ensure we had a happy, healthy baby. One hour later, the contractions started.

At first I wasn't sure it was really labor. The contractions didn't feel the same as they did with Taylor. They were very low and the pain was sharp and specific (not all over). When I went to bed that night, contractions were coming every 30-35 minutes and were more annoying than anything. (I was still assuming this wasn't labor and was my payback for crying)

Around 11:30pm, I woke up in extreme discomfort. I started to get a little excited, but didn't want to over-analyze the situation. As much as I wanted to start my relaxation and breathing, I didn't want to wake Brandon up with my music, so I headed for the couch. I spent several hours going back and forth between the couch, the bathroom floor and warm baths. I just couldn't relax. However, I knew I was going to need as much sleep as possible.

At 4:30am Brandon woke up and checked on me. Contractions were around 7 minutes apart. He was wonderful! We brought me music, pillows and water. He even massaged my back. At that point things got very real and more intense. Brandon knew it was probably labor and started to clean our house with all the last minute duties (emptied the trash, packed Taylor's overnight bag, rinsed the dishes, prepared food for the animals, got dressed, etc.) Meanwhile, I fought to find a sense of deep relaxation, despite my back pain. It was at this point, that I starting to throw up with nearly every contraction. Yet again, Brandon was my knight in shining armor and sat by me (bowl in hand) and combed my hair with his hand. This helped immensely.

At 5:30am, we called Brandon's parents and asked if they could pick up Taylor in about an hour. Contractions and back pain continued. Brandon loaded the car for the hospital. Neither one of us wanted to leave "too soon" since our doctor had counseled us not to come until I was 4 minutes apart.

When George and Judy arrived, I could barely speak. George and Brandon gave me an incredible priesthood blessing that finally helped me to relax. Taylor was so sweet and kissed mommy and baby goodbye. He said "good luck mommy. I can't wait to see my baby sister." He even said a prayer for us. It was a precious moment. Right after that- I threw up!

Around 7:30am, we tried to get in the car. However I was so sick, I was scared to leave. I didn't want to throw up while having contractions in the car. Plus, my back hurt so bad, I didn't want Brandon to drive. That meant he couldn't put counter pressure on my spine. For a short moment, I wondered if we were going to have this baby at home.

Thirty minutes later we were driving. Brandon had downloaded all my hypnobirthing music to our I-pod. I was trying to relax and not panic in the car. With every contraction, I would yell "back" and Brandon would calmly release one hand from the steering wheel to help me through the pain. At one point, he was on the phone with the hospital, holding my back and driving with his knees. (I'm very grateful my eyes were closed) Contractions were now 2-3 minutes apart.

When we got to the hospital, I could barely walk. It was 8:15am. However, my back pain was so bad I didn't want to sit in a wheelchair either. Thus, we braved our way up the elevator to the nurse check-in station. No one was there! By the time we walked all the way around to the secondary check-in counter, I was exhausted. I nearly cussed when the nurse said "hi. Are you here to be induced?" Hello! Could she not see I was in labor? She sent us back to the original nurse's check-in for a preliminary evaluation. You know, just to make SURE....Arrr....

At this point, no one really seemed to care that I was having deep contractions every 2 minutes. I'm not sure they believed me. I guess I was calmer than most patients. They proceeded to have me pee in a cup (yeah right lady!) and check my blood pressure. I was taking deep breaths and slowly fighting each contractions. Finally the brilliant young nurse says, "you know, I think you might be in labor. I should probably check you before the doctor gets here" (You think?)

After the exam, I could tell she had a little faster sense of urgency. I was dilated to a NINE. They called the doctor, prepped the room and brought me back. The only problem was that everyone kept wanting me to lay down. I just wanted to stand! Once our doula got there, she was great to support me. They brought cool rags for my head, turned the lights down low and kept the bathroom door open just in case I had to throw up again.

I started to get a little nervous when there was a problem with Ambry's heart beat. It wasn't registering on the monitor properly. It was only indicating 80 beats per minute-when it should have been more like 150-160. Thus, I was quickly hooked up to the monitors and moved to all sorts of crazy positions to try and find an accurate beat. It never came. At this point, I caved and asked if I could please have a small amount of medicine to relieve my back pain. I had already said no to the epidural.

The doctor explained that if she gave me the relaxer, there was a possibility it would cause the baby's heart to stop and they would have to revive her after she was born. I panicked when I watched them bring in the oxygen equipment. I didn't know what to do. Her head was facing the wrong way and I couldn't bare the back pain anymore. (Ever tried to relax with a baby in your butt?) Thankfully, our doula spoke up and calmly said "Amy, the only reason this baby hasn’t come yet is because your muscles aren’t relaxed enough to let her through.” She assured us that a very small amount of the relaxer would not take away the pain, but would help me relax enough to begin the birthing process. Thus, with a prayer in our hearts we agreed. We are grateful that it was the right decision.

Thirty minutes later the nurse came in to break my water. Five minutes after that I began pushing. Never in my life have I had such a strong desire to push. It was VERY clearly this baby was ready to come. Although I was still a little nervous since I had to push for nearly forty-five minutes with Taylor. However, this time around, once the urge to push came there was no stopping it. Brandon yelled for the doctor and once she was ready- we pushed. It was amazing how easy it was. After the first push, we saw her hair. With the second push, the head came out. The third push brought our precious, healthy new baby into the world. (2 hours after entering the hospital)

Ambry was immediately placed in my arms and we both started to cry. It was a miracle and true gift from God. She was alert and wide-eyed. She had a full head of dark brown hair and was as calm as can be. We were in love! One of my favorite moments of the whole experience was when the nurses left the room and allowed us to have a full hour alone with our baby before they performed the regular routine (bathing, weighing, tests, etc.) It was a quiet hour filled with thanks and gratitude.

It’s amazing how quickly your pain fades once you are holding your baby. Other than a few stitches and the normal swelling, I felt great. I was much more prepared this time around for the recovery and after-birth. I knew what to expect and was able to stay calm and happy. My back pain was immediately lifted and I understood the changes that would happen to my body now that the difficult part was over. It was true bliss.

After our alone time, everyone came back into the room to care for her. I loved that all of the tests (and even the bath) were done right in front of us in the delivery room. It was so cute watching Brandon help sponge bath her. He was very nervous about getting the umbilical cord wet. Ambry was eventually swaddled and they ever turned her hospital-issued hat into a cute bow.

We were elated to find out that we would be staying in one of four VIP recovery rooms, since we were private insurance patients. Of course, it didn’t hurt that Brandon also had connections with one of the hospital VP’s. J The room was large and spacious with lots of windows. We had great food and even got to special order our first meal. We received several vases of flowers to decorate (from Judy and George, Jim Johnson and United Blood Services) and had short visits from our close friends and family.

It was so exciting to watch Taylor walk into the room for the first time. He instantly loved his new baby sister. He immediately wanted to hold and kiss her. In fact, he was pretty frustrated that she wouldn’t open her eyes. I also laughed when he asked to “see the hole in my tummy and see all my blood”. He was pretty confused when there was no hole. It was so sweet the way he looked at her. He was very careful when he held her and was sure to wash his hand extra times. We are so happy that the new princess has her own little guardian and protector.

Over the course of the next day and a half, we received many annoying visits from doctors and nurses who came to conduct their mandatory tests. Every two hours, they came to take my blood pressure and temperature. At one point, they even woke me up at 3am to draw blood. I was pretty upset. Why can’t they just leave you alone and let you sleep? We were discouraged to learn that Ambry failed her hearing test in her right ear. Although they assured us that due to fluid build-up, a lot of infants don’t pass the first time. (We will go back again this week for a re-test. We are pretty confident she’ll pass)

The most challenging aspect of the tests was learning that Ambry’s irregular breathing pattern during labor was still present. Even though it wasn’t an urgent emergency and Ambry still got to stay in the room with us, we started to get worried when they ordered an EKG and Echo test for her heart. No one wants their new fragile child to undergo tests that you know will be miserable and uncomfortable. The pediatrician also called for a pediatric cardiologist to perform an exam and analysis. We ended up waiting an extra 6-7 hours before we could be cleared to leave the hospital, while we waited for this appointment.

Ambry has what is known as a heart Arrhythmia. Apparently this condition is present in roughly 15-20% of newborns. The doctor indicated that most children grow out of it or show no adverse effects due to the condition. However, the tests showed that she also has three leaky heart valves. Again, two of these leaky valves are very common, even in adults.

This news was emotionally very difficult for me and I immediately prepared for the worst. The doctor scheduled a follow-up appointment (for September27th) and gave us counsel to “treat her as normal”. He said we shouldn’t do anything differently and that I should continue to nurse, hold and comfort her as if nothing was wrong. Despite my fear, Brandon reassured me that if it was something urgent, they would not have let us take her home. We are still praying.

After we received clearance from the cardiologist, OBGYN and nurses we began the discharge papers. I still think it’s funny; I had to attend a parenting class before I could leave, but I understood. Thus, with the help of our good friend Leslie Eyerly, we loaded Ambry, Taylor, 3 bags, 3 large flower arrangements and all our hospital “incidentals” into the car and headed home as a new family.

The last three weeks have been sweet, tiring and filled with life’s simple pleasures. Ambry is a good sleeper, a decent eater and a wonderful little sister. We love dressing her, bathing her and cuddling with her. Despite the fact that my body is not recovering as fast as I would like (I am ready to run, scrub and play soccer again); this time at home has been precious. I am actually starting to panic that I am already halfway through my maternity leave. I love my family so much and am blessed every moment I get to spend with them!