Birth Story

So here is the story of how Madeline made her big entrance into the world. As for this part of her life I definitely did NOT want a pause button and was begging for the whole thing to just fast forward and be over. All I wanted was me to be out of pain and her to arrive healthy. I did indeed get this wish but not before 21 hours and 47 minutes of labor. So here is the time line of those 21 plus hours. All time is approximate as when you are in that much pain time is all relative it stretches and contracts at it's own pace.

The first 6-7 hours were pretty okay and time was pretty much in line with reality but after that time is of distortion and question.

July 6th

4:00 am wake up and think to myself this may be labor, can't really tell though and know that even if it is it is rather early in the process and decide to go back to sleep.

6:00 am wake up again with the same mild contaction feeling. Decide I may want to pay attention and start timing. Contractions are roughly 8-10 minutes apart and mild. Wake up Jordan to tell him I may be in labor and to go back to sleep since it will be a while.

7:00 am Water breaks. At first I am not sure so I call Laura, the only other person I know who's water has broken before active labor to compare symptoms. She says yeah it sounds like your water broke better call the Dr.

7:45 am Call the Dr and tell her my water broke. She asks me what color it is and I can't tell if it's clear or light yellow. She tells me to keep and eye on it and call her back in about an hour

8:00 am Jordan and I call our mom's and tell them to get ready to become grandparents. My mom gets into the car and begins the drive up to the hospital. She wants to make sure that she will be there in time (don't worry she got there with LOTS of time to spare)

8:45 am Call Dr. back and tell her I still can't tell color. She tells me to come into the hospital and get checked just to make sure.

9:15 am Jordan and I pack up the car and head to the hospital. We are both so excited that we will be meeting Madeline soon and hopeful it will be all over in a matter of hours.

10:00 am arrive at the hospital, get checked and admitted. Get all settled into our room. Get one of the big inside rooms with a bath tub. Soon learn the bathtub is off limits to me since my water broke but still like the increased space.

11:00 am contractions start to get worse and time now moves at a wierd space. Contractions are mostly in my hips and low back and make my legs hurt very bad. As they get more intense I have to make low noises and have Jordan press on my hips very hard to help get through them. The nurse seems to think that Madeline is posterior, something I realyl don't want to hear since I know a posterior position will cause a much more difficult labor and potential C-Section.

1:30 pm the Dr. arrives and checks me I am 3-4 centimeters and fully effaced. I am happy I am making progress but surprised that I am in this much pain with just the beginning of active labor starting. Getting a bit concerned about the pain level but decide I can keep going all natural for a little while longer. Really want to get to 5 cm before I get an epidural.

2:00-3:00pm Jordan's mom arrives and I am in bad shape. Really painful, throwing up, legs are spasiming and getting very weak. Thinking this is really really hard and how will I have the energy to push.

3:30 pm the pain wins I decide to throw in the towel and ask for the epidural. About this same time my mom comes in and is surprised I think to see me in such pain.

4:00 pm epidural takes effect and I am SO HAPPY!!!! The pain is gone and I return to the land of the living again. I can now actually converse with people and not make everyone silent etc. while I am getting through a contraction. I decide an epidural is the best thing ever and am SO happy that I decided to have one. I believe everyone else is happy too since it is hard to support someone in that much pain.

5:45 pm Dr checks me again and wants to start pitocin since I am now only at 4-5 cm and that is not alot of progress in 4 hours. I agree since I am in no pain and think it will make things go quickly because I am really wanting to meet Madeline and get to hold her. This was a bad, bad, choice. From here on out everything goes downhill fast.

7:30 pm pain starts to get BAD again. They give me more pain meds but it does't seem to help very much. Anesthesiologist believes that the epidural may be misplaced and wants to insert a new one to see if that helps. I agree and have to sit through yet another GIANT!!!! neddle going into my back. It helps for a little while but not nearly long enough and soon we are back to pain town.

9-12:30 am A blur of pain, people checking me, more and more interventions being used to no avail. The Anesthesiologist continue to return to give me more meds which only last for about 45 minutes before I am back in SERIOUS pain. My mom, Jordan and Diane are all having to help me get through this pain. The night on call Dr. CANNOT seem to make a decision and also seems to go back and forth on how dilated I am. I am begging or this to be over, for everything to be taken out, and for pain meds. I am really worried that I will have no energy to push and am getting scared. Also at this time I spike a fever have to get anti-biotics etc. Basically every intervention is being used. Everything is going NOT according to plans and all I want is a healthy baby to be born SOON. I am really wishing that I could fast forward thorough this process because I am hating life right about now and want it all to be done immediately.

July 7th

12:30 Madeline's heartrate spikes and I LOSE it. I am crying and screaming that something is wrong with my baby and that she has to get out of my RIGHT NOW!!!! any way possible. Some nurse, not mine (thank God mine was awful) comes in, assesses the situation, and gets the attending in there IMMEDIATELY. Thank God! That Dr comes in and makes decisions. She realizes that Madeline was indeed posterior, that I was not dilating any more, that the fever was a serious issue and that Madeline needed to come out NOW!!!

1:00 C- Section is decided and I could not be happier. Finally all the pain will be over and I finally get to meet her after all these hours. I do not care that I am getting cut open or will have an incision or that my delivery is not natural. I just want all of this to be over ASAP

1:47 am After almost 22 hours it is all over and Madeline is here. We get a quick glimpse of her as soon as she is out before she is wisked away for a clean up and check out which she passed with flying colors. After that she is swaddled and brought back to us where Jordan gets to hold that precious girl and she is placed on my chest.

After Birth- We both go to recovery where we get to start bonding as a family. We are tired but so happy that she is here and healthy that we can't even think about sleeping.

We cannot wait for the lifelong journey of being her parents to begin and feel up to the task.

It is so true as soon as that baby is placed into your arms all the hours of pain etc. become instantly worth it. The pain does not fade, I still remember how PAINFUL it was but I would do it all a million times over if it meant to have her. It is so beyond worthwhile and I feel so blessed to be given the privileged of being her mommy.

I can't wait for a lifetime of love, laughter, and pausing to take in the moments that can never be duplicated nor forgotten.