Madalin Ann -- Arrival

Dan and I welcomed  Madalin Ann to our family on June 29, 2013 at 8:35am.  She weighed 8lbs 1 oz and was 21 1/4 inches long.  We are completely in love with her and we have many sweet nicknames for her that we forget to use her name some days.  You may here Madalin being called Peanut, Baby Girl, Sweetie, Sweet baby girl, or baby doll.  Dan and I remind each other that we should be using her name so that she knows her name is Madalin...not Sweetie.  At the end of the day, Madalin is completely loved and adored by her mommy and daddy. 

I wanted to dedicate a whole post to the labor and arrival of Madalin, but I am in the process of trying to forget the "pain" of childbirth and just enjoy the outcome, Madalin.  I will give you a quick overview of what 30 hours of labor looked like.  Yes...30 hours is not a typo. :)

• Thursday, June 27th:  I went to the hospital for a non-stress test.  I had this test done because of the fact my due date had changed a few times during my pregnancy.  This test would monitor both the baby and myself to make sure the baby was not under any type of stress.  The results were great!  Baby was doing fine and the test showed that I was having a few contractions. After my non-stress test, I had my doctor's apt.  As usual, the doctor checked me and reported that I was 1cm dilated.  YAY...that was progress! 
• Friday, June 28th 2:30 AM:  I woke up  not feeling very well.  It felt like cramping but not too hard.  
• 7:00am: I started monitoring the contractions and they started by getting closer together.   I called the doctor's office and they instructed me to come in based on my contractions and the lengthy drive we had. 
• 7:30am:  Dan and I left for the hospital with the hopes of bringing home a baby a few days later. The nurse checked me and I was only 1.5cm dialated.  We walked around the hopital delivery floor for 45 minutes and no change. I was still only 1.5 cm dilated and was having pre-labor contractions. The nurse informed me that I need to be having stronger contractions.  I should come back to the hospital when I can't talk through the contractions.
• 1:00pm:  We were home from the hospital.  We had a false alarm.    I labored the rest of Friday at home with contractions getting stronger every few hours. I tried sleeping but that was unsuccessful. 
• 7:30pm: Dan and I went to Sheldon later in the evening to get icecream because he though I needed to get out of the house.  I think he though that may take my mind off the fact we had been sent home and I was still having regular contractions.  I ordered a strawberry shake and took three bites.  I told Dan and I thought I was going to throw up if I took another bite.  We decided we should go home and rent a movie.  We stopped at Wal-Mart to get Unisome hoping that would help me get some sleep.  I had been up since 2:30am and was SO tired.  Needless to say, the Unisome did not help a whole lot.  So there Dan and I were, last night as a family of two...Lori on the couch and Dan on the floor beside me. 
• Saturday, June 29 12:00 am: I decided that I would try to lay in the bathtub.  It seemed as though my body would tense up when I would have a contraction.  I needed to figure out a way to relax and a bath always worked before.  I really think this helped me be able to labor as long as I did at home.  Contractions were coming every 4-5 minutes lasting 45sec. to a 1:15.  The pain kept getting stronger.  I kept saying to myself, "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strenght" through the contractions.  I believe that is the only thing that kept me from crying.  Earlier in the day my mom text me "be strong".  I was bound and determined not to cry, even though I wanted to.  I wanted to cry because it hurt so much.  I wanted to cry because I didn't envision this to be the last night of just Dan and I.  I wanted to cry because I was going to meet my little one soon.  I wanted to cry because I wasn't going to be pregnant anymore.  I wanted to cry because I was overwhelmed with love for this little baby.  I stayed strong and didn't cry! 
•  4:30am: I finally got to the point where I knew I couldn't labor on my own anymore.   woke Dan up and told him to call the hospital.  We needed to go. I started vomitting while Dan was putting together a few last minute items for the hospital. I thought something was wrong and I was hurting the baby. I thought that because I barely ate anything on Friday I hurt the baby. I did not remember hearing about vomiting in birthing class. At the hospital I would find out what was actually happening to me.  Contractions were 4 minutes apart and lasting 1-1:30 minutes. I Needless to say the ride to the hospital was not what I had envisioned, but we got there.  We didn't talk a whole lot because the contractions were coming so quickly that  I just wanted to rest in between them.  I remember telling Dan that they will not send me home.  I will demand them to admit me.  Other than that,  I don't remember a lot of the ride.  When we got to the hospital I was 7cm dilated and 90% effaced. 
• 6:30 am: We were admitted to the hospital and completed all the paper work and I asked for my epidural.  I was throwing up again and asked the nurse why this was happening!  She quitely told me that vomiting happens to some women when transitioning between active labor and delivery.  WHAT!!!  I was vomiting at home...Oh My!  By the time the anaesthesiologist got to the room I was 8/9cm dilated.  I still got my epidural but it only helped me through pushing.  I laid back in bed and the nurse told me she would give me 15 minutes to rest and I was ready to push.  I decided that I would try to sleep during those 15 minutes but I was so nervous and excited that I couldn't sleep.  Also, my water broke during that time as well, but it didn't really break.  The water sac actually came out whole.  Weird...I know.  The nurse and doctor informed me that they had never seen that before but it happens.  Interesting...huh?  
• 7:40 am:  I pushed for about 45/50 minutes, which went really fast!  (side note:  I had a great epidural...I could feel my legs and move my lower tousle, and could feel when I needed to push.  I couldn't feel my contractions...it was GREAT!) I can't agree more with women who told me labor is an experience...I can say there is nothing to compare it to!
• 8:35am: Madalin Ann was welcomed into this world.  When she arrived, Madalin made a few little squeaks and quietly looked around the room.  It was truly a miracle!

I am still not 100% sure what Dan thought of this whole experience. 

I can't believe she is going to be a month old tomorrow!  I don't know where the past four weeks went!  She makes us laugh every day and can pull some great faces.  She sleeps and eats well.  I will say that Dan and I should invest in Pampers based on all the diapers we go through! 

Dan and I have been so blessed to have Madalin be apart of our family!

Remember me at 20 weeks?

Few minutes old

Family of THREE!!

 

Mama's Little Princess

Daddy's Sweat heart...she has him wrapped around her finger already!

Our Favorite Sanford Doctor...Dr. Berg

Daddy is ready to drive us home...just need to get checked

Mama is ready to take her little girl home!

Madalin is ready to go home!

37-39 weeks

It has been over a month since I have looked at my blog.  Oh how our lives have changed since that last blog posting...at 36 weeks.  I will try to do the best that I can to recall what those last three weeks all consisted of.  Many of you are aware that June 13 was not my due date or was it??  Did I actually go 2 weeks over or was I two days early.  At this point I don't really care that much but it was something that was on my mind the last two weeks of my pregnancy. 

I also remember the dreaded question from everyone..."How are you doing?  Still no baby?"  For the most part everyone who asked me that question was very nice and genuinely was wondering how I was doing.  However, I do think it is interesting the comments that you receive from men/women who have had children of their own vs. the comments you receive from other men/ladies who have not had children of their own.  The tone is typically different...one is more concerning and empathetic (i know how you are feeling) and the other is more surprising (really?? I wonder why the baby hasn't come yet?).  Overall, everyone has been so kind and thoughtful throughout my whole pregnancy.  THANK YOU!!

What I remember most about the last two weeks of pregnancy was a lot of walking, doing squats, plyometrics, yoga, and cleaning the house.  I was bound and determined to walk this baby right out of me.  I believe it did benefit me in the long run but it did not make the baby come any quicker.  Throughout this pregnancy I have learned that I am not in control and everything has it's time.

Here is a quick run down of what all took place the last few weeks before the baby:

• Dan and I went  to Omaha for a quick get away.  We went to an art and food festival.  I liked the art...Dan liked the food.  We walked around the "Old Market" and found a great candy store for Dan.  We saw a cute little baby boutique and I could not resist going in.  I found lots of things but because we were unsure of the gender, I walked away with a cute little owl to set in the baby room chair.
• Nursery was finalized as much as possible.  Diapers, wipes, onsies, and spit up rags were ready to go.
• I started to pack Dan's bag as much as possible.
• I had an intern start at work and was given three weeks to transfer as much knowledge and process information to her prior to my leave.  As much as I was hoping the baby was coming, she was hoping the baby was staying in for a few more weeks. 
• Finalized my Leave of Absence plan at work and started handing things off :)
• Dan and I bought a new vehicle (got rid of my car).  This way we can all ride together in a vehicle as a family.  Dan didn't really fit in my car in the first place and if we put the car seat in my car then he really didn't fit (or the car seat didn't fit). We solved that issue a few weeks before the baby was born. 
• My cousin Kayla got married and Dan and I attended her wedding.  It was great to see not only my closest cousin but also a great friend, Christy Moeller (Kayla's Sister).  She is also expecting but she is a few weeks behind me...check out the picture below :)
• The baby has been moving a little differently the last few weeks.  It has been more of a rolling or shifting movement and not so much hard jabs.  My Doctor says this happens at the end because the baby doesn't have a ton of room to move like they use to.