madison's story

(so tired... that's a yawn, not a scream!)

anyone who gets a little squeamish about the whole labor and delivery idea should probably skip this post... because we're going to tell madison's story!

it all started wednesday the 14th. mom called in the afternoon to ask if she and sarah could come spend the night, since dad was going to be in madison (what a coincidence...) for a farm show. her concern was that with the bitter cold and wind, if we should happen to go into labor and the driveway was drifted over, there would be no way of them getting out. they came over and with the bitter cold, we all stayed home from meeting. we'd planned on having our own little study at home, but by the time cole went to bed, other things had started happening. having contractions at 3-5 minutes apart for an hour, i was still hesitant to even ask if we should come in. after about an hour and a half, i called the on-call nurse and she said we should probably head in to see what was happening. we got to the hospital a little after 10 pm, where they told me i was about 2 cm and hooked me up to the monitors. dr houlihan was on call that night, which was lucky! he advised that we stay throught the night and see how things progressed. kelvin crashed on the couch and i just paced, trying to get things moving. at 4 am, i dozed a little, and that slowed things down. after that, from the way the nurse was talking, i thought for sure we'd be sent home, so then i got a little anxious. dr houlihan showed up a bit after 8 am, and said that he'd like to see the baby show up sooner than later and suggested a pitocin drip. that was something i was trying to avoid, and despite knowing i could refuse it if i wanted, i agreed. if my body and the baby weren't ready, the pitocin wouldn't work and we'd get sent home... so i figured it was worth a try. not long after being hooked up, the contractions got a little more intense, as they do on a pit drip, and when dr houlihan came back around 1 pm, he said we were 4 cm dilated and effaced to 50 %: enough to have an amniotomy. he broke my water and things REALLY picked up from there! within about a half hour, i could feel a big difference. i was able to get off the monitors and into the nice big tub (complete with jets) for about an hour and a half and even with the pitocin, the contractions were SO tolerable! i'd read "ina may's guide to natural childbirth" (thank you, elissa and audrey!) so i tried to use as much as i could from that. at the shift change, one nurse came in to review and catch up and was flabbergasted that i hadn't had an epidural yet... apparently, it's relatively rare that anyone tries to go without one on pitocin. anyway, the time in the tub got me to between 6 and 7 cm, and once i was out of the water, it was harder to relax through the contractions. by this time, mom was there- we'd have loved to share the experience with everyone, but decided it was best to keep the crowd to a minimum this time, and since mom had missed cole's birth (and being that she's my MOM), we decided that she'd be the one to be there should we want a little extra support. let me tell you, she was great- i don't think i could have made it as far as i did without her! once i hit 7 cm, i got the shakes and just couldn't relax enough to progress any further. i remember starting to panic every time another contraction started and even though i tried as hard as i could, it was too overwhelming. but, i can proudly say i made it to 7 cm before getting an epidural! once the line was in, it wasn't long before those contractions felt VERY different. i wasn't 100% numb this time (i never felt a thing with cole- i couldn't feel myself push), but i knew the urge to push as soon as i felt it. things happened pretty fast- i pushed through about 6 contractions and there she was!! a few minutes after 8 pm, our little madison was born. almost the instant her head was out, her eyes were wide open and she was alert... dr houlihan delivered her head and shoulders and then, like with cole, he told me to reach down and take my baby. it's the neatest thing, to be able to be so involved with your baby's arrival- there's nothing like reaching down and pulling that tiny body the rest of the way out of your own. she scored 9 and 10 on her apgars, and she pinked up immediately. not surprising, since she was unbelievably active all through the labor... up until i started pushing, she was moving around so much that one of the nurses had to manually shift the monitor almost constantly. they say every pregnancy, labor and delivery is unique, and now i know just how true that is. even though we ended up with pitocin and an epidural again, i'm happy with how things went. i know that i tried my best and our little girl is healthy, and that's all that matters. even though i'd wanted to go completely drug-free, i can honestly say that i'm satisfied with how things went.

so, that's madison's birth story... something we'll never forget!! her first cries will always echo in my heart... so different than her big brother's. cole was lusty and loud, she was more on the delicate side of lusty. plenty of enthusiasm, just not as "boyish"! oh, and for the record, i didn't puke this time!! i thought i was going to at one point, but managed to avoid it... yay!

cole trying to "help"- he gets a bit worried when his baby sister starts crying!

awwwwww!