The morning of December 30th, 1998, I lay in bed and watched as the clock on my dresser clicked slowly toward 6:00. The past week had been the most stressful in my entire life. I was 37 weeks pregnant with my second child. While I was at work on the night of December 23rd, the phone rang. "Hello," I said. "Hey, Amy," my husband said on the other end."Your doctor just called here. He said he thinks there might be a problem with the baby. He wants to run some tests and schedule an induction as soon as possible." It was now 5:50 in the morning, a very long week after that phone call. I tiptoed past my husband Michael, who was sleeping on the couch, and picked up the portable phone. I went slowly back to my room and sat on the edge of my bed. I was so scared about the upcoming day that my heart was pounding and I could barely breathe. At 6:00, the previously appointed time, I dialed the number to the maternity ward. "Enloe Hospital Maternity Ward," the nurse answered."Hello, this is Amy....Dr. Schwabe wanted me to call and make sure there was room for me there today." I said."Come on in," the nurse stated, "We have plenty of room this morning." "Ok," I said, " I'll be there in a little while." The sun had not yet risen when I went to wake my daughter Kayla, and Michael. I dressed Kayla, and taking her and my suitcase to the car, I tried to explain to her what was going on. At 3 1/2 years old, she really didn't understand. "We are going to get the baby?" she asked. "Is it January? There was almost no traffic that early winter morning, and soon we pulled into the hospital parking lot. Entering the hospital was like walking into a different world. Doctors and nurses bustled by, going about their duties. Their hectic pace jostled my already frayed nerves. An ambulance wailed out of the parking lot. There were several sleepy-looking people sitting in the emergency room lobby. Walking through the halls of the hospital was like trying to negotiate a maze, wtih dead-ends and wrong turns everywhere. As we neared the maternity ward doors, Kayla said, " I want to come with you, Mommy." "I'm sorry, honey, you can't come with Mommy right now, but I'll call you as soon as I can." I told her. She cried over her Daddy's sholder as he carried her down the hall and out of sight. They had been remodeling the maternity ward for several weeks, now. There were workmen carrying doors, plywood, and cans of paint. The air smelled like saw-dust, fresh plaster, and paint. The intermittent wail of a saw was punctuated by the cries of newborn babies. I was scared and nervous as I carried my suitcase toward the nurses station. As I got closer, one of the nurses came forward. "Are you Amy?" she asked. "I sure am," I replied. "We have a room for you right down here," the nurse said, starting down a hallway. I followed her down the hallway to a room. There was a bed in the center of the room, flanked by monitors and an IV stand. There was a low table on one side of the room covered in a blue dropcloth. On the other side of the room was a padded table under a heatlamp. Beside these was a plastic basinette on a stainless steel cart. The nurse handed me a gown. "You will have to put this on," she said. My best friend Rachel came in as I was tying the last tie on the gown. She had been my coach when Kayla was born, and I wanted her here this time, too. "Did you get any sleep last night?" she asked."Of course not," I replied, "I haven't slept much all week." A new nurse, named Ronnalee, came in at 8:20 to start the pitocin drip. This is an IV medication used to induce labor. I don't like needles, so I was very tense as she inserted the IV into my arm. I had to turn my head away. My ob/gyn, Dr. Schwabe, a balding middle-aged man with a soft voice, came in ten minutes later with an amniohook to break my water. There was a warm gush as the doctor ruptured the membranes. "Now we'll definately have a baby today," he said with grin. I was in moderate pain for the first hour or so. Nurse Ronnalee came in periodically to increase the pitocin drip. Two more of my friends showed up to encourage me. Shelly is one of my best friends. She is also pregnant. Her baby is now a week overdue. Michelle is my manager at work, and has been a friend for several years. By 10:30 the pain is very intense. We walked through the halls of the maternity ward, trailing my IV stand behind me. We stopped every few minutes as another contraction coursed through my body. At 11:00, nurse Ronnalee came back to my room. "The hot tub is ready for you if you would like to use it." she said. "Yes....please..." I panted. I really wanted to go in the hot tub this time. I had not been able to the first time around. I was only in the tub for ten minutes when the pain got so bad, I knew it was time to push. Nurse Ronnalee called Dr. Shcwabe and he came right in. Rachel got on the phone to call Michael, but he wasn't at the house. I didn't think he would get there in time. I blocked out everything around me, I was so focused on pushing and weakened by pain. I had a fierce grip on Shelly's hand, and I did not intend to let go. Rachel and Michelle sat in a corner opposite the bed. Michael came in just as the baby was crowning. I saw him grimmace as he shuffled to the farthest back corner. He hates the sight of blood, but at least he was there. A few more pushes and the pain all but disappeared as Dr. Schwabe lifted my new daughter up and placed her on my stomach. After the umbilical cord was cut and clamped , nurse Ronnalee took the baby to weigh her and measure her, to test her blood sugar, and to warm her up. The doctor was surprised when he heard how much she weighed. He had decided to induce because he believed she was in danger or intra-uterine growth retardation.....he expected her to be around 4 lbs....she was 6 lbs 2ozs! There were a couple of minor problems, however. She had very low blood sugar, and was having trouble retaining her body heat. Nurse Ronnalee gave her a little bit of formula, and retested her blood several times, then placed her under the heat lamp for about half an hour. Nurse Ronnalee diapered the baby, swaddled her in a blanket, and brought her back to me, finally. I talked to her. I said, "Hello Natalie." I told her, "I am so relieved that you are ok. I am so happy to finally see you." She wan't due for almost 3 weeks, but I was so glad she was here. I had been so worried for the last week, needlessly, my doctor admitted later, fearing that there would be something seriously wrong. I felt so wonderful just to hold my little angel and know that she was alright. It seems silly now that I was so worried about her. She is such a tough little girl....healthy, thriving, and growing like a weed.