She's Here!

I woke up Monday morning (October 11) at 9:30 because of contractions that were a bit stronger than my usual Braxton Hicks. Just as any other pregnant woman would do upon waking up, I went straight to the bathroom to pee. I found that I had bloody show and I took this as a sign that my labor was starting. 

I called my doctor to inform her, and the clinic advised me to go ahead to the hospital so they can check me. So I went over to my Aunt's room to inform her that I think I'm having the baby that day. Good thing it was Columbus Day, so all my 3 cousins were home from school. My Aunt took a holiday from work so she could be with me during labor. My Grandma drove all of us as fast as she could to JFK Medical Center and it was around 10:30 am when we arrived. 

By the time I was admitted, I was 4 cm dilated. Since my doctor was just next door delivering another baby, she came over to check on me and told me she was just going to wait in the hospital until I was ready. I think she didn't have all day though, which is why she decided to infuse Pitocin to my IVF to hasten my labor. 

My third delivery story isn't as colorful as my second one, but out of my three deliveries, this for some reason is the most painful of all. I blame it on the Pitocin, so I requested for pain medication to be infused to my Ivf, I chose that over getting an epidural. 

THe medicine made me really groggy but I was able to tell my Aunt to call the doctor when I felt that I was ready to push. I only pushed for a few minutes, and by 2:06 pm, Amber Felise Eustaquio was born. She weighed 7 lbs. 9 oz. and was 21 inches long. 

I was still pretty groggy the first time they handed her to me, so I couldn't really remember how she looked like and all. After the effects of the pain medications wore off, they brought her back to the room all clean and fresh. 

She was beautiful. 

I took it all in. The fresh baby smell that I love so much, the beautiful sight before me, the indescribable yet wonderful feeling of bringing new life into the world. 

Giving birth can be very painful, yes. But it is also exhilarating and fulfilling, among many others, all at once. 

All the shots during my labor and delivery was taken by my 15 year old cousin, Lianne. She did a wonderful job at capturing the moments, even Art was impressed. :) 

Only two people were allowed to be with me during my labor. So it was my Auntie Is, who held my hand when I pushed and my cousin Lianne, who took pictures. 

My Grandma and my cousin Lucy went home around lunch time, thinking that my delivery was not yet imminent. They just went back to meet the baby after I delivered. My other cousin Lauren, stayed in the waiting area the whole time. 

The rooms at JFK were nice and spacious. Lots of freebies too! 

They gave us a sweet little token from the hospital. I think it's cute. :) 

We were allowed to go home on Amber's second day. She was quite a sight in pink & red! 

I didn't pick her outfit to match her car seat because I packed for the hospital weeks before we got the car seat.  It was a pleasant surprise though that it did! She looked so cute! :) 

We went home to the Ona Residence and Amber even got a visit from my Auntie Reby and Auntie Ruby who brought her pretty gifts! 

Daddy couldn't be with us for Amber's birth day but he's going to be here in 5 days! We're very excited to see him. :)