Birth Story of Danielle Ashley

Danielle Ashley
August 1987
7 lbs 6 oz

My first baby was born in August of 1987. I was 19 years old and not quite ready to be a mom but it ended up being the best thing in the world. Even though it's been over 13 years ago I still remember most of the details quite vividly :)

I woke up early in the morning, I guess around 3am and was having some contractions. They weren't really strong and I wondered if *this was it* or not so I decided to stay in bed and try and relax and see what happened. My husband and I hadn't finished all our Lamaze classes yet and I felt unprepared but fortunately I'm normally calm and that took over so I was able to do okay with the surprise. A few hours later when he woke up to go to work I was feeling pretty sure it was time but not wanting to be embarrassed if I was wrong I told him maybe.

He decided he would go to work and if it were real I would call him home. After he left things picked up a bit and I decided to get ready to go. First I took a shower during which I had a killer contraction. At that point I knew we were having a baby that day. After getting out and dressed I called his office and told him it was the real thing. I can remember him asking me if it was time to go to the hospital. I told him no since it wasn't really regularly 5 minutes apart yet. The contractions were painful enough for me to stop what I was doing during them though. We agreed that I would call again when the time for us to go to the hospital was closer. Fortunately his coworkers convinced him to leave then.

When he came home I was so happy to see him. We sat around for a short while trying to decide what to do and finally decided that we would take our two dogs for a walk, just in case we didn't have a chance to later. We had only been out a few minutes when I wanted to go back home. I was feeling anxious and unsure of what to do. When we got home my water broke. This was around 11am. I was relieved to know this was it and to have some direction as to what to do. I changed my clothes, he mopped up the water (which had meconium in it) and we headed off for the hospital.

By the time we got there (and it was only a few blocks from our house) I was having contractions every couple minutes and I could barely make it in the door. We were taken right up to labor/delivery and I was given a gown and checked. The next hour or so was a real blur to me. I remember being moved from room to room, having horrible contractions that didn't seem to ever let up and hoping it would all end quickly. Finally I was complete and we moved to the delivery room where I got to start pushing. After a few pushes, I don't remember how many only that the pain went away when I pushed I felt the baby's head and then someone was saying it's a girl!! I cried and cried. She was 7lbs 6 ozs. Perfect. Who knew the joy that you could feel when your baby slips from God's hands into this world strong and healthy and beautiful (okay not actually beautiful but still miraculously!) I was handed my baby and marveled at her. All these years later I can't believe how lucky I am.

After her birth I was moved to a recovery room and she was taken to the nursery. After I was in my own room and my husband had gone back to work she was finally brought back to me and we started our life together. I named her Danielle Ashley (Dani for short.) Luckily I didn't know then all the things that could have gone better. I was just grateful to have it finished.