My Brave Amos | Second Baby Birth Story Part 1

The meaning of Amos is “Brave and Carried by God,” and this little boy has proven to be nothing short of his name.

I was a week late again.

Anxiously and uncomfortably awaiting the arrival of my baby boy. You get to the point with your second pregnancy of wanting to get on with life but also praying that they stay in there forever so you can live in denial that your life is rapidly changing.

Remembering The Trauma Of My First Labor & Delivery

I was pretty apprehensive about this delivery because of what I now refer to as trauma that I experienced from my daughter’s birth. I was unable to pee on my own after delivering her (funny, right? No, not really!) I was poked and prodded with catheter after catheter post delivery.

The pain and anxiety I experienced from that is something I will never forget. Not only was I incredibly swollen but I also had a 2-degree tear, so the last thing I needed was to be messed with down there. I was then sent home with a catheter for the first week of my daughter’s life.

This experience took away from me being able to connect fully with my daughter. All this to say, I’m sure you can understand why I was wary of labor and delivery again. (Go read my daughter’s birth story for more juicy details!)

Okay, moving on.

In Labor, Slowly

I had been dilated at 3cm for over two weeks, so at my 40-week appointment, I got my membranes stripped…nothing happened. So, we decided to schedule for induction the following Wednesday, June 6, at 7 am. 

I can still vividly remember waking up at 4 am (Wednesday, June 6) with contractions, but not the gradual “nice contractions.” Oh no, these were the full force contractions that make you stop and take your breath away. They came and they came fast. Right away they were 3 minutes apart. I woke Alex up immediately and said, “It’s time babe! We have to go, NOW!”

I hobbled to our guest bedroom where my parents were sleeping and gave them Millie’s monitor. I remember crying and hugging my mom as we left, realizing the time had come to finally meet my son.

Epidural Please! 

When we got to the hospital at 4:30, I was already at 8 cm. The contractions were one right on top of another. The pressure in my pelvis was strong and the contractions were more intense than ever; so Lord knows I wanted that epidural! 

Just like with Millie's birth, my goal was to go as long as I could without relief and this time around I thought it might be "cool" to feel him dropping into the birth canal. What the heck was I thinking!?

As I waited for what seemed like an eternity for the anesthesiologist to get there, I used the Nitro gas. That stuff is such a joke, just go straight for the epidural people! 

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, I got the epidural! The relief you get with an epidural is nothing short of what heaven must feel like. But, it only lasted for 5 minutes! Thankfully it was just enough to get me to the finish line. I felt everything. Him dropping into the birth canal (which was so not cool) and the pressure oh Lord the pressure. I remember before it was time to push, the nurse gave me oxygen. I thought nothing of it but later I would understand why.

It was finally time to push.

Here He Comes!

3 minutes later, Amos Lee Akin was here. But the cry you expect to hear right away didn’t happen. In fact, his tiny neck was wrapped with the cord, 3 times. He was a shade of purple that I will never forget.

Remember earlier in my story when I was given oxygen?

This was why.

Apparently, as I was pushing, the nurses could see that Amos's oxygen levels were decreasing. Praise the Lord for amazing nurses and doctors! My OB and nurses frantically unwrapped the slippery cord from his neck and began rubbing his back and sucking the liquid. What again seemed like an eternity but was only about 15 seconds, and I finally heard that cry.

This was #mybraveamos.

Love At First Sight

In just 3 hours of labor and my son was here! All 8lbs 7oz of him was born at 7:35am on Wednesday, June 6...just 30 minutes after I had been planned to be induced. He breastfed almost immediately and stole my heart instantly.

To be completely honest, I was so nervous about the connection I would have with my second child. But in the weeks to come, Amos would teach me about a deeper love, an unconditional and heartbreaking love that I had never allowed myself to experience.

Follow along for more in Part 2 of Amos’s Birth Story.

Abby is a Mom to two little ones and an amazing team member of Baja Baby. She lives in Colorado with her husband Alex, their beautiful daughter Amelia Grace, baby boy Amos Lee and Maple the dog. You can find Abby on Instagram by clicking here.

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