Madeline's Birth Day

We moved to San Angelo when I was 8 months pregnant. We didn't make the wisest decision and bought a house only having seen it via pictures and videos. Our realtor who took the video conveniently left out a couple missing cabinets, black paint on the carpet, missing pieces on the bathroom and kitchen formica, and the most awful paint you can imagine, and more than a few holes in the walls from what appeared to be a very destructive dog. We knew we would have to paint some of the rooms eventually but when we got to the house Terry and I both wanted to cry. It needed SO much work...not to mention the yard of dirt and stickers. It was a complete disaster, but, hey, we got a good deal on it! haha Anyway, so we hired a contractor to fix the walls and paint them. Terry got about 20 minutes off work when we got here so I had to do pretty much all of the unpacking by myself. Needless to say I really thought Madeline was going to come early.

Her original due date was Christmas Eve but my doctor in Maryland bumped it up a week because of her measurements on ultrasound. Well, Christmas came and went and still NO baby! Terry's parents had come the week of Christmas thinking she would already be here. I didn't dilate at all and never had any real contractions on my own which made my doctor hesitant to induce me early. Apparently labor is better if your body starts it, and Madeline was face up so I had already been told to be ready for a rough labor. They also thought she was going to be big baby based on ultrasound. Anyway, on December 27th at my OB appt, I BEGGED my doctor to induce me. She said she would call the hospital and see if they could take me the next day. They told her to send me in that night at 6 to start the induction. So we came home and took a nap and I scarfed lasagna down as fast as I could at 5:50pm knowing I probably wouldn't eat again for a while! I packed my bag and hers (you know she had to have tights and matching bows for all 10 outfits I took to the hospital), and Terry and I got ready to go. We started to pull out of the driveway and I started bawling. I am crying right now remembering that feeling. I was more terrified and excited than I had ever been and I just really couldn't believe after all we had been through, we were on our way to meet our sweet girl.

We got to the hospital a little late (true to form for me) and they got us all checked in. Around 7:00pm they started my induction. It was a long night for a few reasons. I had to pee every 5 minutes it seemed like and you have to unhook all the monitors and take the IV thing with you -- good times! And Madeline wouldn't stay in one place so my monitor was constantly going off. They would get it back in place and about 30 minutes later she would move again. The next morning I had made almost no progress so around 8:30 my doctor broke my water -- I was about 3cm. Then I started having real contractions. Around 9:30 I asked for my epidural! I have heard horror stories about epidurals but mine was easy. He hit a nerve the first time and my right leg kicked a chair over but I didn't think it was all that painful compared to labor. I still tell people the best two things about my hospital stay was my epidural and catheter! I loved not having to get up to pee every 5 seconds! Shortly after my epidural I noticed my nurse in my room about every five minutes checking the print out of my contractions and Madeline's heart rate. She made a call to my doctor who came up and talked to me. She said things weren't going the way they wanted them to and to be prepared for a c-section if Madeline didn't settle down. Her heart rate was dropping too low with each contraction. They gave me oxygen to try to help but it didn't work. My nurse gave me a few pills to take and something for heart burn which I promptly threw up. Madeline only got worse and next thing I knew they were clearing my room out, throwing scrubs at Terry, and wheeling me into the operating room. I texted my Dad to update them and asked him not to call me because I knew I would lose it if I talked to him. I wouldn't let my in-laws hug me or kiss me either - I wanted to keep it together and I knew that would open the flood gate.

I went to the operating room by myself and looked behind me and saw this guy on a stool staring at me. It took me a second to realize it was Terry and I gave him a very enthusiastic "Hi!". He just laughed...he knew I was pretty doped up. I kept telling my anesthesiologist I was gonna puke so they were pumping anti-nausea medication into my IV. I remember feeling so cold and chattering. Before I knew it, my doctor was in there on the other side of the curtain. I asked my anesthesiologist if he was sure I wasn't going to feel anything to which he replied, "you're already filleted open, sweetheart!" haha Before we knew it, Madeline was here...a little purple but here. It took her a second to cry, but when she did, it was the sweetest sound I had ever heard. I got to kiss her on the cheek and they whisked her away. Terry followed her to the nursery while they sewed me up. I was SO nauseous and was terrified of puking while they were sewing me up. The anesthesiologist gave me a patch and continued to pump meds into my IV to try to get me sewed up first. Then they wheeled me into recovery where I immediately started vomiting. Then came the shakes and chills. My in-laws brought the baby to see me but I couldn't hold her because I was shaking so bad. I fell asleep and when they wheeled me into my post partum room, I got to hold my sweet girl. I'll never forget the surreal feeling I had when I looked at her. I was in awe that we had a baby now! She was the most beautiful, wonderful thing that I had ever seen...still is.

Our miracle



Meeting my sweet, sweet girl



Our first family picture

First turtle face

Holding onto Gannaw

So sweet!

Two of her favorite people

Daddy's little girl

First poopy diaper

Sweet baby

Ready to go home