It's been six months and a couple of weeks now and I HAVE to do it.....I have to tell the story of little Colby Pierce's birth.  I meant to do it when he first arrived but we all know how that goes.  Anyhow, I'm telling the birth story a little late but I'm hoping I remember all the details that were important to me.  (I'll also be backdating this so it will fall into place for chronological order).  Soooo, here we go!

Jan. 3, 2012
It all started as an ordinary day.  In fact, I had myself convinced that it was a completely ordinary day and would remain that way.  I in no way felt different.  Darren had the afternoon off and we were just getting things done around the house.  I was trying to get Colby's photo props done - a crocheted hat, a little hammock, a stork pouch, etc.  I remember getting online and looking for a lens to go with my new camera - something that would be perfect for taking newborn shots.  I called Cortney Smith that afternoon around 3 to ask her advice on taking pictures and different lenses that I should check into getting.  I even told her specifically that there was no way a baby was coming that day.  I felt completely normal. Ha, ha.  Jokes on me.
 I don't remember how long after I got off the phone with Cortney that I felt my first contraction. I know that it was around 4:00.  It is possible that I had a contraction or two during my conversation with Cortney but I don't remember for sure.  I know that I hadn't had one before our phone call started.  At any rate, I started taking notice of my contractions shortly thereafter because I was shocked that they were very consistent at 20 min. apart.  And they were getting stronger much more quickly than what happened with my other kids.  I called my mom at 5 or 5:30.  I told her I wasn't sounding the alarm but I thought it was quite possible that I could be calling her that night - maybe in the middle of the night to come over.  I just wanted to give her a heads up.  At 6:30 I was trying to stomach eating through my contractions ( I wanted to make sure I had energy.....ha).  All I got down was  a yogurt.  I remember telling Darren, "Man, this is really coming on FAST."  So I went I got my bag ready and just wandered the house for a while getting  a few thing done.  It wasn't long afterwards that my contractions started getting closer together, about 10 - 15 min. apart.  At 7:30, as I'm dawdling around the house, I hear Darren in the other room talking on the phone. 

Hmmm, I thought, I wonder who he's talking to.  I listened closer.  Huh? Is he talking to who I think he's talking to?  The hospital nurses?!! 

Seriously. 

He called the hospital just to make sure they had plenty of staff to take care of me.  I was annoyed.  But I shook it off.  You know, pregnancy hormones make you crazy. 

At 8:00 I get a phone call. 
"Amber, this is Sharon (my midwife).  I'm here at the hospital and I've been here for a half an hour and was just wondering if you had changed your mind about coming in."

What?!

Ahem, "Oh, Sharon.  Yes.  Ummmmm, well, I didn't know I was supposed to be coming in," (giving Darren the evil eye). " Um, but yes, I think I will eventually make it to the hospital.  Probably later tonight." I hung up and let Darren have it. 

In his defense, he told the nurses not to call Sharon but they did anyway.  Anyhooo, talk about embarrassing.

And yet, there is a possibility I should have just gone in at that point.  It could have been the fact that my blood pressure began rising as I was throwing fiery darts Darren's way or maybe Colby just decided to kick it into high gear.  Whatever it was after that my contractions were5 - 10 minutes apart and there were a few doozies.  I told Darren I wanted to get the kids to bed and then we'd go. I was worried about Jace not going to bed really well for my mom and knew it would just take a little bit for Darren to put him down.  No big deal.

Silly me.  Darren went to put him down and I went to call my mom to tell her to come on over.  Darren came out and told me Jace really wanted me to go lay by him.  What?  Really?  How unusual.  Figures. Well, I could barely stand up so maybe lying down would be best.  I got in the bedroom and got on the floor by his bed and gave him a hug and kiss goodnight and then I had to bolt.  To the bathroom.  Where my mother found me 5 minutes later.  Not wanting to move and a little panicky about having this baby.

So I managed to get out of th bathroom and somehow got to the Tahoe.  And the 2 minute ride to the hospital was not fun with my constant "Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy" and Darren's panicked glances thrown my way.  Darren doesn't really understand that I'm completely in control in my mind. 

Once Darren careened into the emergency parking lot I think he realized I would not be walking the distance it was to make it to the entrance so he screeched back around and pulled right up to the doors, ran in, and came back out with an ER nurse and a wheelchair. I didn't complain.

Once I got wheeled in to the hospital I amazingly felt fine.  Good enough to chit chat with the guy wheeling me in.  His name was Steve.  He was congratulating me about having the New Year's baby. Yay!  I was smiling. 

And then I got to my room.  And I had to get undressed by myself and I was nearly in tears.  I came out of the bathroom hunched over, telling the nurse thatI needed to get to a bed.  I was not smiling anymore.

That's when they needed to get my IV in and wanted to do more chit chat. I was all chit chatted out so I opted to ignore as much as possible.  But then I realized that the nurse was having some sort of problems with my IV and my hand was really hurting.  She stabbed me over and over and couldn't get it. This was after she complimented me over and over about my beautiful (read thick and bumpy) veins.  How she could have problems getting into one of those is beyond me.  But she did.  So much that my midwife (who  had just walked in the door and should have been delivering my baby) was having to do the nurses work and get my IV in. 

It was around this point that I realized something was happening down there.  I didn't think it was a baby, but for the life of me I couldn't figure out what else it could be. Sharon somehow understood from my fragmented sentences that someone needed to check out what was happening so she ran down that way (she had yet to even look at me what with the IV situation) and informed me that my water was bulging and about to break.  And then it did.  All over Sharon (sorry). 

And we were having a baby! He came pretty quickly and the only thing I can remember about that phase (other than the pushing and the pain...) was that one of my legs fell asleep. I knew that the baby would be coming soon but I also knew I had to move that leg.  So I took a quick break between contractions and worked my leg a little bit.  I'm not sure Sharon was on board with that.  She mentioned something about dislocating a hip if I pushed in that position (which I had no intention of doing, by the way).

And then finally we had a head pop out!  It is this moment that that every mother wants to scream halleluja because the end is near!!  Unfortunately, there would be no screaming (for joy that is) for a few more critical moments.  In fact, what happened was completely opposite from what I had been working on for the last, oh, 20 minutes (ok, so when it's time, it's time, and I do deliver quickly.  Thank goodness!) or so.  Sharon told me I had to stop pushing ( remember, the head is out.  Talk about uncomfortable.)

Immediately I start to sense a feeling of something is not right. I know that they have to do some things at this point, but I'm not really sure what (I usually have my eyes closed and refuse to open them until I have a baby to see.  Not really up to seeing everything else, if you know what I mean.).  That's when I mumble something like "I can't" (only to myself really, and mostly it was because that baby was sliding out  even without me pushing).  Then I got yelled at to really STOP - which I had stopped but Colby hadn't and yadda yadda.  The problem was that Colby had gotten the cord wrapped around his neck not once, not twice, not even three times.  But four times!  And Sharon couldn't get it unwrapped.  She finally had to just cut it, which is not ideal at that pointin the delivery.  But thankfully he never lost his oxygen supply and everything ended up being just fine.

I started crying (from relief mostly - I was glad Colby was fine and that the delivery was over).  It was 10:10 pm and I had been at the hospital for 25 minutes.  That's how you get it done. 

Colby looked different than any of my other kids and I kept saying he reminded me of an old man.  He had strong features and I didn't think he looked anything like a "baby".  He had a big nose and a wrinkly face.  One of his ears was especially concerning as it looked exactly like "cauliflower ear".  I was stressed out for a few days but it is now just fine.  Grandpa Sim kept telling us to leave him alone and just give him a chance and we should have listened because he was right!

I knew that this first night especially was not going to be fun ( why have 3 out of 4 of my kids decided to come at night?) with all the nurses visits and recovering.  But I obviously knew what I was in for with baby #4.

There was one thing that made my first night memorable from my other babies and I'll tell you what happened.  You might remember how when I first got admitted we had some problems with my IV.  You know 20 stabs and  a night of digging and still there was no IV in my hand.  In fact they eventually moved it to my arm.  No big deal.

Until they come into your room in the middle of the night to do their ritual "checks".  And they pull out the blood pressure cuff, put it on your arm on the side that used to have no problems but now must be considered your "bad side" because of all of the wounds from the needle (which you can't really see but you can definitely feel) ,and cut off all your circulation just to get your blood pressure which you know is fine because it is always fine.  And while the cuff is getting tighter and tighter and you notice something strange is happening in you bad hand.  In fact, it feels like a balloon that is getting blown up.  But that's weird. And you look down and notice that your hand is like a balloon and it is getting bigger.  And then you tell the nurse somthing is  not right and to please stop.  And she fumbles around in the dark to find a light switch while your hand continues to swell, and finally you yell at her to just get it off because you're afraid that your hand is going to pop.  Yes. Pop.

And that is what happened and it was my vein that was blowing up at a rapid rate and it was a huge swollen mass on my hand that was very grotesque and I didn't like it at all.  And it hurt really bad.  And I was really mad that I now had more places that hurt. 

But all in all it was a success.  We had a healthy a beautiful, healthy baby boy.  And that's all that really matters.