Madeline's Birth Story

Sorry for the lack of posts since Madeline's birth; things have been a little crazy and just getting through the couple hundred pictures we took last weekend took a while.

 

While we had planned for Madeline to be born sometime on Friday, September 7th, we assumed that she was going to be stubborn like Joseph and wait until we had to be induced Friday morning. Luckily, she decided to get the ball rolling early Thursday morning, so we didn't have to wait for the induction after all!

 

Thursday morning, around 7:30, I started feeling strong contractions. I'd been having contractions for weeks, so I didn't make too much of it, until I realized these were much stronger, and after spending a few hours timing them, noticed they were consistently 5-7 minutes apart. Joe started cancelling his morning appointments and got someone to cover a 341 hearing, and by 10:30am, we decided that they weren't getting any closer or stronger, so he went in to work to meet his 11am appointment, pick up his ipad and get a few issues resolved. I called the doctor, who confirmed that I should head to the hospital and get checked.

 

Of course, almost as soon as I hung up, the contractions slowed to almost every 20 minutes. sigh. I went around the house, cleaning the bathroom, kitchen, dining room and getting the guest room set up, as I realized even if I was sent home from the hospital, time to finish the last bits of cleaning was running out. Joe got home around 1pm, and we debated how we should proceed. I was still having contractions, but they still hadn't started getting closer, and it was time for Joseph's nap. We didn't want to be stuck walking the halls at the hospital with a cranky 2 year old, so we opted to go someplace where he could burn his energy, I could walk, and we would be close to the hospital and hopefully manage to keep Joseph in good, albeit tired, spirits.

 

Where did we end up? Chuck E Cheese, of all places! There's one less than 5 minutes from the hospital, and although we hadn't ever taken Joseph to one, we figured he'd have fun.

 

 

 

I didn't expect how much fun Joe would have playing the games with Joseph! All of the games were 25 cents, which amazed Joe, so they ran from one game to another, for a solid hour. We had made contact with Jill at this point, who left work early so she could meet us and take Joseph home.

 

While he didn't want to leave, we could tell he was getting really tired. My contractions had picked back up in intensity and were getting closer together, and I was really thankful that Jill was able to watch Joseph for us.

 

We parted ways and headed to the hospital around 3, and I was still convinced that they'd probably end up sending us home. The nurse didn't seem very optimistic that we'd get admitted either when she did an initial check, and we learned that I wasn't any more dilated than I had been at my appointment on Tuesday! Sigh. They still hooked me up to the monitors, and we waited for about an hour and a half. When the nurse came back in, I was ready to hear the news, head home, and get some lunch, as we had skipped it on our way to Chuck E Cheese. But low and behold, somehow I had dilated to 3 cm in the course of the hour! She called my doctor, who told them to admit me, and that she'd be by around 6pm to break my water.

 

I was nervously excited at that point, and really disappointed in myself for not stopping for lunch, as by this point I was really hungry and knew it could be a long night of crunching on ice chips. However, after the doctor stopped by and broke my water, my contractions picked right up and things started to progress quickly. I was at 4cm when she was there, and managed to tolerate the much more intense and closer contractions for an hour or so before requesting the epidural. Once it was placed, it took awhile to take effect, but I was thankful for the relief. And we didn't have to wait very long; by 11pm I was dilated to 9cm. The nurse called the doctor back around 11:30, we did one practice push, and when the doctor walked in at 11:50, we only had to do one push with the nurse before the doctor stepped in. Two more sets of pushes, and Madeline was born, at 12:12am!

 

 

 

 

The cord was loosely wrapped around her neck as she came out, and it took a while to convince her to cry. She laid on my tummy just blinking in amazement and confusion, and did an incredible job of tracking my voice, Joe's and the nurse as we all cooed at her. She was really alert for a long time, and finally started to pink up and cry after the doctor checked her out.

 

 

We made sure to accessorize her basic newborn hat as soon as possible!

 

 

Somehow, even though I gained a lot less weight and didn't measure big, this little girl was born weighing 9 lbs, 0.5 ozs and 19.5 inches long! Since she didn't stay wedged in the birth canal very long, she was born without the traditional cone head - I think she looks a little bit older and more substantial than many newborns you see. Her hands, wrists and feet are so little, and it looks like her eyes are going to look like Joe and Joseph's, with the starburst around the iris, which I'm excited about. We've already deduced that she has my feet and long toes, and detached earlobes. She definitely resembles Joseph as a baby, but has her own subtle traits.

 

 

 

 

 

Her first bath in the hospital did not go over very well. She tolerated her hair being washed, but really didn't like her sponge bath, even while laying under the heat lamp.

 

She even managed to wiggle her little hands out of one of her two id bracelets. Somehow later in the morning she did it again, and we never found it.

 

 

The nurse applied a couple of bows, which didn't last long as we tried to keep her head covered up. They did look so cute while they lasted!

We went to the hospital thinking we'd name baby sister Caroline, as that was the front runner name for months. We weren't quite ready to commit to the name, though, so we opted to wait until we met her to pick a name. After spending the first hour or so with her, both Joe and I had independently doubted the name choice, and felt that Madeline just seemed to fit her better. One name hurdle cleared, one to go! We had some middle name ideas if we had chosen Caroline, but never discussed anything else. After considering a few options, we settled on Rose, mainly because we thought it made for a pretty name. It definitely felt strange to hear ourselves answering "Madeline" when asked her name by the nurses, after calling her "baby sister," Babaloo" and "Henry" for so long!

 

We finally were transferred to our recovery room around 4am, where we attempted to get some rest.

 

Later in the morning, visitors started arriving to see the newest family member. Linda, Ethan and Benton brought Joseph up to the hospital to meet Madeline for a bit. Papa had brought a set of matchbox cars for Joseph, so he and Ethan both thought those were way more fun than the baby. They weren't able to stay too long, though, as it was getting to be lunch and naptime for the boys. We were so lucky to have things work out and have Linda in town for this first week of Madeline's life, as Joseph as really enjoyed getting to play with her boys! It definitely made our time in the hospital a lot less stressful knowing he was in good hands all weekend long and had lots to do with all of the family in town.

 

 

Friday night, Ashley, Mikael, Mason and Jennifer arrived to meet Madeline, and later in the evening the Bowlings and the Chrismans stopped by. I got to have my first glass of wine post baby with our friends, and it tasted great!

 

On Saturday, Mizzou was playing its first game in the SEC against Georgia, and we spent the day just relaxing and watching college football. Ashley, Mikael and Jennifer brought Joseph and Mason up to the hospital, and Joseph was a little more curious about Madeline. He found the buttons to raise and lower the various parts of the hospital bed way more fun, as well as pressing the nurses's call button! Typical for a 2 year old, I'm sure.

 

At lunch, Papa mentioned to Joseph that now that baby sister was here, he needed to learn the three most important words in his new role as big brother: "Maddie did it." Of course, when Joseph said it perfectly, everyone started laughing, so Joseph thought he was too funny and kept repeating the phrase, making us laugh even more.

 

 

 

Too bad he doesn't realize what it means yet!

 

 

The new cousins. Maddie and Mason are officially 10 weeks apart, and share an inadvertent family name - my mom's grandma's name was Maddie Mason. We actually hadn't planned (or even realized it!) it until my mom's dad brought it up when we were in town and told him it was an option for baby sister.

 

 

 

Joseph finally got to hold Maddie for a bit on Saturday, although he wasn't too sure about the experience. He was even more concerned when we put both Madeline and Mason on his lap.

 

 

 

He's held Mason more often, and seemed more comfortable hanging out with him. I'm sure it's also because Mason is able to hold his head up, and is getting much more stable too!

Since we had the choice, we opted to stay Saturday night to take advantage of one more night of help from the nurses. My recovery has been amazingly easy, and a night and day difference from how I felt with Joseph. Not sure if it's because I didn't have to be induced, because I didn't push for as long, she's the second, or some combination of factors, but I'm really thankful to be feeling so good already.

Joe opted to sleep at home so that he could get a good night's rest, so Madeline and I just hung out Sunday morning waiting for Joe and Joseph to come pick us up. They finally got to the hospital late morning, and we loaded Madeline up into her carseat.

Joseph was really excited about getting to take her home, at least, until she started fussing and making a variety of noises.

Then he just seemed a little concerned about the whole thing.

Luckily, he's been really good around her, and generally just wants to watch her, comment on what she's doing, and mainly, give her kisses.

And so begins the next chapter in our lives!