Baby Ethan

On the way to becoming a first time father, my wife was throwing idea's and things that she wanted to me at alarming speeds. One idea was to hire a Doula to help us with our labour  leading up to, during, and after the birth. I admit I was hesitant when first asked about it. My train of thought was " The nurses and doctors at the hospital will help us all that we need and that we could do this on our own." My opinion changed after the first time that we met Amber. Instantly, I knew that she was genuinely interested with our birth plan and would do everything that she could to help smooth out any hiccups that we would encounter in our uncertain path to come. My instincts were right. She was unbelievable though out the whole experience.
In the early days of the pregnancy, Amber gave us information and answered any questions that we had( and they were numerous). It was so nice to have a persons voice who you recognized and trusted when we had concerns or questions instead of calling the hospital and having a stranger give an answer.
Amber's dedication to us was proven many times though the pregnancy.  We had a scare with two months to go and it was Amber who was right there in the hospital room helping calm us down by interpreting the doctors and telling us it was going to be all right. And it was.
The next incident that we called upon Amber to help us though was a false labour, all though we didn't know it at the time. She quickly came over and was with us right up until we got dismissed from the hospital at 2 o'clock in the morning.
Her real test was the real labour and I don't know how we would have gotten though it without Amber. My wife started having contractions at 2:30 on a Wednesday morning. I called Amber at 6 and she came straight over. She couched my wife with methods that  helped relieve some of the pains that she was experiencing and at the same time help her progress faster. After my wife could no longer stand being at home, we left for the hospital. Upon arrival at 3 in the afternoon, she was 3CM dilated. Amber and my wife continued to do excesizes like the pregnancy ball  and walking in an attempt to get the cervix to dilate more but, at 8:30 it remained at 3CM. The doctor on call referred to the labour pains false and sent us home because there was no progression since our arrival. This news hit my wife extremely hard as she was in severe amounts of pain and could not believe that we were on our way home. I tried to console my upset wife as best as I could but could not have done it without Ambers reassurance that she was in fact in labour and that we would return to the hospital very soon. At this point I remember asking Amber if she wanted to go home and we could call her when we went back to the hospital but  she quickly answered "I'm not leaving her side, she is in labour" We got home and my wife's labour pains increased exponentially. Following the long emotional day I was drained of energy and could barely stay awake but, Amber was right by my wife's side encouraging and consoling her  through the worst of contractions. I don't know how she managed to stay so energetic. We departed for the hospital for the second time at 4 in the morning and my wife had dilated to 5 CM.  For the next eight hours, Amber never left my wife side. Her constant encouragement and positive attitude really aided my wife though the worst pains that she has ever encountered. She also suggested pushing positions that shortened the time that my wife had to push.
Finally at 3:22, our little Ethan was born. It was the greatest moment of my life and Amber was such a huge part of it.
There is no way to describe how truly amazing Amber was though the whole experience. When I lacked the knowledge or know how, she was right there to support my wife and give her the strength that she needed to get though to hardest of times. Her positive attitude and seemingly endless supply of energy kept me going as well. Amber was professional and at the same time casual. I strongly recommend her to anyone who is pregnant or planning a pregnancy. I know 20 years from now when I am telling Ethan about the day that he was born, Amber will be a huge part of the story.