Afton's Birth Story

Words can't express our gratitude that Afton is healthy and safe and home with us. Everyone knows that each pregnancy is different. Thankfully I have always had healthy pregnancies. So, the experience we will share was a unique and hard one-that ended beautifully.

My due date was May 22nd and I made the choice that I wanted the baby to come on her own. Riley came on her own and I wanted that surprise and thrill again. My due date came and went and I found myself more pregnant than I was before. It was hard to focus on anything but the baby coming, but I was at peace waiting.

On the morning of May 24th I woke up and went downstairs to see the girls and their Daddy having breakfast. I was going to join them when a thought came into my mind that I hadn't felt the baby move yet. I pushed on my tummy and waited for her to push back like she always did. But, she didn't. I tried not to panic right away. I went upstairs and laid back down on my bed. I could always feel her better laying on my side. I pushed and rubbed my stomach for a few minutes and still no response. I told Jake to come and he and I spent a while moving my stomach and waiting for movement. When I couldn't feel a thing I started sobbing uncontrollably.

We got ourselves and the girls dressed as quickly as we could and rushed to the hospital. It was a gloomy/rainy day and I let the tears flow. I couldn't help but think the worst. That we had lost her.

When we got to the hospital we went straight to the labor and delivery floor. They buzzed us in and made us wait what seemed like forever in the lobby. The entire time I'm trying to get the baby to move. I'd been trying for at least 40 minutes by now. They finally take me to a room and hooked me up to some monitors. A nurse brought me some apple juice to sugar the baby up. Slowly, I began to feel the slightest movements. The baby had a normal heart rate and the fear began to leave us. They said they wanted to monitor the baby for one hour.

It being a holiday weekend, my doctor was out of town at a family reunion. The doctor that was on-call at the hospital was named Dr. Broadbent. He came and spoke with me for a few minutes. Told me if I was his patient he would say it isn't worth the risk and we need to get the baby out. He suggested I be induced right away. He left and Jake and I decided pretty quickly that it was the right thing to do.

I was hooked up to pitocin around 10 am and began feeling hard consistent contractions right away. (I was already dilated to 3 cm for the last few weeks and was 75% effaced.) Jake took the girls home and waited for my Mom to drive down from Heber City to watch them. He got back to the hospital around 11:30 am and Dr. Broadbent broke my water at 12:00. My water was filled with meconium. The Dr. said that a respiratory specialist team would be present when the baby is born. My fears began to rise again. We were glad we had decided to go ahead and get the baby out. The contractions got much stronger and closer together. I received an epidural around 1:30 pm. At 2:45 I was at 10 cm and started pushing.

Our baby girl was born at 2:56 pm with the cord wrapped around her neck. She was blue and she wasn't crying. The Dr. suctioned her and gave her to the respiratory team. They worked on her for what seemed like forever and I finally heard that glorious sound. She was crying!

We named her Afton Jacqueline Fuller in honor of her Grandma Jackie Fuller. She weighed 6 lbs 12 oz and was 20 inches long. She is a beautiful combination of her siblings with Riley's dark hair. We thank our Heavenly Father that she is alive and thriving. We thank Him for the promptings we received to act on our concerns. We thank Him for the gift of life and allowing us to be parents once again. We are blessed. We love you, Afton.