She's Here!

Amberlin Elizabeth made her debut at 10:55 in the evening on Saturday, February 7. She weighed 7 lb, 15 oz. and was 20.5 inches long. She finally arrived via C-Section after about 48 hours of attempting to induce labor. Here's her story...

Just before leaving

We checked into the hospital Thursday night/Friday morning at midnight and got the process started. They put me on an IV, started me on Cervadil, which is supposed to soften the cervix, and started monitoring my blood sugar as well as contractions and the baby's heart beat. Each dose of Cervadil was to last 12 hours. After about four hours, they came quickly into the room (waking us up just as we fell asleep) and said that they needed to remove it because the baby was having an adverse reaction and her heart rate was dropping a bit. As a cautionary measure, they were going to wait to administer another dose until 6:00 a.m. when the doctor arrived. They started the twelve hour procedure over again - which resulted in very little change to the cervix. Then we tried it AGAIN.

Twelve hours later there was still not as much change as they had hoped to see, but they thought that if we tried the pitocin (again, a twelve hour procedure) the contractions may get the labor rolling. So we tried it. Contractions started and it looked like we went into labor for a short time - then the contractions just stopped. They were happening slowly, according to the monitor - but my body just stopped responding. They increased the dose as far as they could and it just wasn't happening.

After all this time, we were given the option by our doctor to either break the water and see if it got things going any more or just go ahead with the C-Section. Since I was barely dilated at all, chances were slim that breaking the water would work quickly and there was no way to know if it would do anything at all. Andy and I both felt strongly that we had done what we could to induce labor and after 48 hours, we were tired and ready for her arrival! We had a peace about the decision and within minutes we found ourselves dressed in scrubs and being wheeled into the operating room.

The prep for the surgery was a little nerve-racking for both of us - particularly because Andy wasn't in the room for that part. They made him wait in the hallway and he was as anxious to get in to be with me as I was to have him there! The spinal was administered and I was quickly numb from the chest down (after a little hiccup when the anesthesiologist hit a nerve or something that made my whole body jump involuntarily - that was scary!). Before long Andy was at my side and my nerves calmed a bit once I knew he was there with me. It was a strange feeling to see the nurses working to clean the skin for the surgery and not being able to feel anything. Surely my body had to be moving from side to side, but it was almost as if there was nothing below my arm level.

The curtain was raised to hide the sight of the surgery and Dr. Gamm talked us through a little bit of what she was doing. Just before she was taken out Andy leaned over and said her name to me - "Amberlin Elizabeth?". We had a few names that we had narrowed it down to, but in that moment only the one felt right. And then we waited... All I could do was listen to my very loud heartbeat and focus on seeing and feeling Andy near me. It seemed like an eternity passed, although I know it was only a few minutes. Dr. Gamm told us that she was "way up there" (not dropped) and her umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck, which caused a rush of emotion to wash over me as I was reminded once again how closely God was orchestrating and monitoring her birth. Who knows what might have happened if we had tried to break the water and wait it out... it might have been a much more urgent situation. Instead, He didn't allow any of the methods of inducing labor to work and she was still safe and sound when she was taken from the womb.

Dr. Gamm told me I was going to feel a lot of pressure, which made me hold my breath in anticipation. I didn't feel the pressure, but it was hard to breathe until I heard it...

I wasn't positive what I was waiting for until I heard it, but it was that sweet little cry. Andy and I had been wondering what her cry would sound like and there it was - it was so beautiful. Dr. Gamm held Amberlin up for us to see and told us that she looks "just like her Daddy."

Those were the most heart-warming words I could have ever heard at that moment. What a miracle that she is part me and part Andy... and God breathed life into her and created a separate, independent little life. Our precious Amberlin.

Andy went with the baby as they cleaned her up and cut the umbilical cord, then accompanied them to the nursery to finish with her routine. On the way out, they brought her to my face so that I could kiss her and talk to her for a second before they had to go.

Andy had a very hard time leaving the operating room, as I was still being worked on on the table. He stayed with the baby and returned to me in the recovery room a few minutes later.

He had asked Mom, Dad and Staci to come in and be with me in recovery until he could get there. They had been at the hospital with us for a huge part of the labor process, along with Grandma Noani, Tanya, Mike, Becky and Joel.

It was nice to have them there with us to help pass the time at the beginning and their support was so helpful in the time leading up to her birth and just after.

It was strange coming out of the medicated state - one of the narcotics in the spinal made my face extremely itchy, so I couldn't stop scratching at it and the sudden change in hormones made my body shake convulsively. My parents stayed with me until Andy could return and then they left us to recover together. It was about three hours until they were able to get Amberlin back to me - again, it felt like forever and I wondered in the back of my mind if every minute she was away from me would result in us bonding a little less.

That fear didn't last long once they brought her in, though. The moment they laid her in my arms, everything felt so right. She instantly stopped crying and I know she knew who I was.

It was the most amazing moment and all I could think was how much I wanted to give to her and care for her. She instantly bonded with Daddy, too.

Being alone with her and Andy made our life feel so complete. She's like the piece of our life that we never knew was missing.

Amberlin had lots of visitors while we were in the hospital including everyone that was there for the delivery, Mary Lopez, Aunt Lisa, Aunt LeeAnn, Uncle Steve, Timothy and Pastor Johnny & Loleta. We also saw one of the couples from our lamaze class and we were able to introduce our Amberlin to their new son, Evan.

Four Generations

With Nana and Grandpa

Praise the Lord for His involvement in the process. I am convinced that God's hand was on us - and more importantly on Amberlin - every step of the way. He is good and Amberlin's middle name attests to that - Elizabeth means "My God is Bountiful". He has certainly provided more than we ever dreamed of in this precious little life and we are SO thankful and in awe at what He has given us.