Ammon's Birth Story Part 1

Monday, December 26, 2011

Ammon's Birth Story Part 1

A few weeks before Christmas my sister called me in a panic - "Are you having this baby before Christmas or after? You have to decide now!" At the time it was really unknown, but I uncertainly replied, "Probably after." Good thing it worked out the way I told her. I don't know if she ever would have forgiven me otherwise...

I was born five weeks early. As I started thinking of pregnancy in my own life I kind of thought my mom did it right. I heard those last few weeks were brutal, and I ended up quite healthy, so why not have a baby way before the due date? It seemed brilliant and it is what I always hoped for. At least it was what I hoped for until I got pregnant and found out that my due date was January 11. Having a December birthday myself, I decided that I wanted to get that poor kid a birthday as far after Christmas as possible. In fact, there was a part of me willing to go LATE for the cause. Throughout my entire pregnancy, that was my goal - get as close to the due date as I can.

Other than anemia and sheer misery (haha), my pregnancy was uneventful until Thanksgiving. We ate dinner and were sitting around after visiting when my Aunt commented on my swollen ankles. We looked down to see my feet looking unbelievably HUGE. We went into the Women's Center where they had me take home a 24 hour urine sample over the weekend and go back for an appointment on the following Wednesday. On Saturday I went to work. I was the only person in my department trained on a certain responsibility and we were in the process of hiring two new people for me to train. After telling my co-workers about the holiday excitement my manager panicked and said that I need to teach the new people how to do my job before I got so sick that I couldn't work. I was shocked at the implication and naively said that I'd be there for several more weeks. That was my last day working for UPS.

When we had been in the Women's Center on Thanksgiving, I was told to take things easy, and to especially stay in bed if I had unusual headaches or other such symptoms. The headaches came, and I worried. I called in sick on Monday and Tuesday. On Wednesday I went to the doctor, and after reviewing test results he put me on an official bed rest for the remainder of my pregnancy. He started talking about the possibility of delivering early and prepared me for the idea that we would probably have the baby a week or two early.

As time went on, we decided to cash in on that tax break and scheduled an induction for the last week of December instead of the first week of January. Kara had just started dating Dale and didn't want us to have Ammon on the 27th, 30th or 31st because it would conflict with her birthday, her future husbands birthday, and her future sister-in-laws birthday. We settled on the 29th.

For these final weeks, I was going in to the doctor and getting non-stress tests done three times a week. Up to this point, Andy had been with me to every doctor appointment. We finally decided that these were coming too frequently and were too routine to worry about him coming with me. So on December 23rd I went alone.

Of course the one time I went without my husband would be the time they decide to worry. The nurse moved me into labor and delivery and we waited for the doctor to come review my information. They started talking about the idea that they might just keep me and deliver the baby right then and there! Ultimately the doctor explained that they had three options. The first was to deliver the baby immediately, but he was worried because the baby was a boy and boys lungs develop more slowly than girls. He said if I was having a girl, he would take that option. With a boy he said the second option was to give a steroid to help the lungs develop and then deliver the baby immediately. But he really didn't want to give a steroid if it wasn't absolutely necessary. And so he opted for the third option. Send me home for two more days and deliver on the third. He felt like those three days could make enough of a difference in the development of the baby that he would feel comfortable delivering without steroids.

On Christmas of 2003 we spent time at the homes of both of our parents. In the early evening we headed home and finished last minute preparations. Then, we headed to the hospital anticipating the arrival of our first child mid-morning the next day.

Read more about Ammon's Birth here.

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Family Proclamation

The First Presidency and Council of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

We, the First Presidency and the Council of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, solemnly proclaim that marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God and that the family is central to the Creator's plan for the eternal destiny of His children.All human beings—male and female—are created in the image of God. Each is a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents, and, as such, each has a divine nature and destiny. Gender is an essential characteristic of individual premortal, mortal, and eternal identity and purpose.In the premortal realm, spirit sons and daughters knew and worshiped God as their Eternal Father and accepted His plan by which His children could obtain a physical body and gain earthly experience to progress toward perfection and ultimately realize his or her divine destiny as an heir of eternal life. The divine plan of happiness enables family relationships to be perpetuated beyond the grave. Sacred ordinances and covenants available in holy temples make it possible for individuals to return to the presence of God and for families to be united eternally.The first commandment that God gave to Adam and Eve pertained to their potential for parenthood as husband and wife. We declare that God's commandment for His children to multiply and replenish the earth remains in force. We further declare that God has commanded that the sacred powers of procreation are to be employed only between man and woman, lawfully wedded as husband and wife.We declare the means by which mortal life is created to be divinely appointed. We affirm the sanctity of life and of its importance in God's eternal plan.Husband and wife have a solemn responsibility to love and care for each other and for their children. "Children are an heritage of the Lord" (Psalms 127:3). Parents have a sacred duty to rear their children in love and righteousness, to provide for their physical and spiritual needs, to teach them to love and serve one another, to observe the commandments of God and to be law-abiding citizens wherever they live. Husbands and wives—mothers and fathers—will be held accountable before God for the discharge of these obligations.The family is ordained of God. Marriage between man and woman is essential to His eternal plan. Children are entitled to birth within the bonds of matrimony, and to be reared by a father and a mother who honor marital vows with complete fidelity. Happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. Successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, and wholesome recreational activities. By divine design, fathers are to preside over their families in love and righteousness and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families. Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children. In these sacred responsibilities, fathers and mothers are obligated to help one another as equal partners. Disability, death, or other circumstances may necessitate individual adaptation. Extended families should lend support when needed.We warn that individuals who violate covenants of chastity, who abuse spouse or offspring, or who fail to fulfill family responsibilities will one day stand accountable before God. Further, we warn that the disintegration of the family will bring upon individuals, communities, and nations the calamities foretold by ancient and modern prophets.We call upon responsible citizens and officers of government everywhere to promote those measures designed to maintain and strengthen the family as the fundamental unit of society.

This proclamation was read by President Gordon B. Hinckley as part of his message at the General Relief Society Meeting held September 23, 1995, in Salt Lake City, Utah.