Grace's Birth Story

I've been promising to write up Grace's birth story for awhile now, and I finally got around to it. Here it is:

On Monday, May 21, 2007, Amber went to see her OB for her 35-week check-up. As she did at every appointment, she teared up when she heard her baby's heart beating. The doctor assured Amber after her exam that the baby wouldn't be arriving until June. This was welcome news since Martin was leaving that Saturday for a few days in Phoenix, and Amber's parents and brother, Billy, were also heading there for vacation.

On Thursday, May 24, 2007, Amber was at work when she started feeling pressure. She thought Baby Fogarty was “dropping,” which would mean he or she would be arriving within two or three weeks. Being just 36 weeks pregnant, she never imagined that labor was getting underway. After a short nap, Amber finished her work day and spent a relaxing evening at home with Martin. That night, Amber spent more time awake than asleep. She lost count after waking for the tenth time to go to the bathroom. The next morning Amber decided to work from home since she had gotten so little sleep the night before. A big thunderstorm blew in, and Amber spent the morning with Fred and Phoebe, the hound dogs, afoot. They seemed to know something big was about to happen. Fred spent much of the morning staring at Amber with a concerned hound dog look on his droopy face. By mid-afternoon, Amber was getting curious about the amount of pressure she was feeling and started to wonder if the pressure might be contractions. She decided to time the “pressure feeling” and was shocked to see that the pains were coming every five to seven minutes. She then checked out the book she got at childbirth class and started to actually think she might be in labor. The book said to call the doctor if you had more than four contractions in an hour and were less than 37 weeks pregnant. So around 5:00 PM, Amber called her OB and explained what was going on. Still in denial about being in labor, Amber was surprised when the doctor told her to come to the hospital to get checked out. But since Martin was leaving in the morning, she thought it was a good idea to make sure Baby Fogarty wasn’t on the way yet! Amber then started to pack her bag for the hospital, took a quick shower, and waited to call Martin when he finished work at 6:00 PM.

At 6:00 PM, Amber called Martin to tell him that they’d be heading to the hospital when he got home from work. Martin was really shocked, but Amber assured him that it was just a precaution and that he shouldn’t worry. After they got off the phone, she sent him a text message asking that he not tell anyone they were going to the hospital. In the back of her mind, she was sure she wasn't in labor and didn’t want to get anyone’s hopes up. By the time Martin arrived home, Amber was almost all packed and ready to go. Martin ran up the stairs and actually tripped on the way up because he was so anxious. When he got to the bedroom, Amber was standing there calmly, and Martin looked like he was about to have a heart attack. Amber attempted to calm him down by assuring him that they’d be coming home that night and that they were only going to the hospital to confirm that the baby was not on the way. Within fifteen minutes, they were driving to the hospital. On the way there, Amber said to Martin, “I can’t be in labor because this doesn’t hurt nearly as bad as I thought it would.” Martin laughed and replied, “I bet you’ll take back that statement later.”

After checking in to the hospital around 7:00 PM, Amber was wheeled up to the Labor and Delivery floor and introduced to Julia, the nurse who would confirm whether or not Amber was in labor. Amber got dressed in her hospital gown and was hooked up to the fetal monitor. When Julia checked for dilation, Martin and Amber were both surprised to learn that Amber was already 3 centimeters dilated. “You won’t be going home,” Julia said. “You’re having this baby sooner than you thought.” Amber was then moved to a birthing suite to settle in for the night. Martin called Amber’s brother, who was supposed to fly to Phoenix in the morning with Martin, and her parents, who were already in Phoenix, to tell them the news. They couldn’t believe it!

Amber labored through the night, and, as Martin predicted, retracted her statement about labor not hurting as much as she thought. She got an epidural around 2 AM, when she had reached 6 centimeters. Doctor’s orders were for Martin and Amber to get some rest, which neither did for the next few hours. At about 4 AM, the baby’s heart rate began to rise, and this continued for the next hour, when the doctor told Amber and Martin that she was 9 centimeters dilated and that the baby had not descended into the birth canal at all. With the increased heart rate, she told them that a C-section would be required if the baby didn’t drop within the next thirty minutes. They were terrified to hear that their child might be in danger, but were hopeful that the baby would drop, allowing vaginal childbirth. Thirty minutes later, the doctor told Martin and Amber that a C-section would be necessary since the baby had made no downward progress and the heart rate was reaching a concerning level. The doctor and nurse Julia prepared them for the possibility that the baby would need some help to breathe after birth and might have to be transferred to a hospital with a neonatal intensive care unit.

Amber was wheeled in to the operating room and prepped for surgery. She had never been so scared in her life. Within minutes, Martin was by Amber’s side, comforting her, and waiting to meet his son or daughter. At 6:09 AM, the anesthesiologist said, “The cord is around his neck.” Martin and Amber thought they had a son…but a few minutes later, they were introduced to their baby girl! As they laid eyes on her for the first time, tears streamed down both of their faces. Grace Calleigh Fogarty was absolutely perfect, the most beautiful baby they had ever seen!