Madelyn was born on a Friday night. I remember feeling my first contraction around 11:00 am and texting Robbie saying that I was feeling something different, but to not think too much of it. At this point I was 40 wks 1 day and so ready to have this baby. I went grocery shopping around 1:00 pm and the contractions kept coming. I remember having to stop a couple of times in the grocery store and catch my breath. But they weren’t anything crazy. We went on a walk in the afternoon and I had to stop and breathe with each contraction. I downloaded a contraction timing app and mine were 5-8 minutes apart, lasting 45-60 seconds each. Robbie was convinced we’d have the baby that day, but I wasn’t at all. We fed the girls dinner and the contractions just kept coming. We decided we should probably sleep the girls with Bob & Dayna that night, just in case. We packed them up and I called the midwife to get her opinion on everything. Carlie was the midwife on-call and it was a huge tender mercy because she was my #1 pick out of all the midwives at Alta View! She said to come to the hospital when my contractions were 2-3 apart for a few hours. We drove the girls to Bob & Dayna’s and put them to bed around 8:00 pm. I breathed through some intense contractions, but tried my best to relax. We got back home and things really picked up. We started watching the last 15 minutes of a Gilmore Girls episode and barely made it through. We’d pause each time I had a contraction and Robbie would put a ton of counter pressure on my back. They were getting super intense, I was not the happiest camper. We went upstairs and finished packing and Robbie gave me a blessing of healing and comfort. We came back downstairs and after a few more contractions, I was doubled over in so much pain. Robbie called the midwife and she said to go in and get checked. I was dreading the drive to the hospital because I knew how uncomfortable it was going to be. We drove and I yelled through contractions and ended up with my knees on the floor, bent over the passenger seat. So much for relaxing and breathing through contractions! Nausea overcame me and at a red light, I opened the car door to hurl. Robbie freaked out because he thought I was trying to get out of the car (where’s a contracting pregnant woman going to go?!), but then I found a tupperware in the car that I then proceeded to throw up in. 1300 east is now affectionately called "vomit road." After what felt like the longest drive of my life, we finally got to the hospital around 9:45 pm and there were two sets of automatic doors. We got through the first, but then had to call for them to open the second because it was so late. Robbie called up to them and they opened the door. Meanwhile, I was on my hands and knees having a contraction on the welcome mat of the hospital. By the time it ended, Robbie had to call back again and have them reopen it. They had seen my on my hands and knees in their camera and sent down a nurse and a wheelchair. This is so movie-like, right?! They wheeled me up and whisked me to a room, meanwhile we’re yelling information back and forth between the receptionist so they can get me checked in. The nurse checked me and said I was dilated to an 8 and super thinned out. WHAAAAT?! I was blown away and officially couldn’t deny that this was the real deal anymore! I clung to the hospital bed rails and was that pregnant woman yelling through contractions. “I can’t do this!” “It hurts!!” “I’m gonna swear!” It must have been pretty comical. The anesthesiologist came in and said it was now or never for an epidural. I couldn’t decide, but by the time the next contraction hit me I was yelling for an epidural. The worst part of this entire experience was having to sit up and hold still while he put the epidural in place. I was in so much pain. He had to numb me twice because I moved too much the first time. It was at this point that Carlie arrived and had me start counting down from 20. I was yelling out numbers “20! 19! 18! 17! What number am I on?” and that helped me a lot. My water broke while I was sitting up and I started pushing 15 minutes later. The epidural started kicking in as I was pushing, which provided some relief, hallelujah. I pushed for a good 20-30 minutes. We took things slow, which allowed for my body to stretch and not tear as much, and for the epidural to kick in. Madelyn came out at 10:57 pm with the cord wrapped around her neck, but not tightly. They put her right on my chest and that was THE BEST. I didn’t get that with the twins, it was such a privilege. I gave Robbie a huge smooch and we were both in awe. She was a little blue and purple, so they took her and sucked some fluid out of her tummy and pinked her up a bit. This was also when they told me her weight and it made me smile so big. I had a big baby!!! It felt like eternity before I got her back and all I wanted was to hold her. I finally got my baby back and it was so sweet to snuggle her while I got stitched and cleaned up. She was ready to nurse like 10-15 minutes after she was out and latched right on with the strongest suck. Robbie and I laughed at how no one in our family knew she was here. We hadn’t even updated the siblings about us going to the hospital. Everything happened so dang fast. We called our parents a while later and told them the wonderful news, and texted our siblings. We felt pretty confident with the name Madelyn. We slept on it (well, I didn’t sleep. Literally, not a wink) and still felt good about it in the morning. I remember feeling embarrassed the next morning when the anesthesiologist came in and said, "Well, it's nice to meet you under calmer circumstances." Sorry all those people had to see me as a crazy lady. "Just for future reference, you probably should get the epidural sooner, it'll probably work better for you." Oh, really? Haha, thanks doc. Madelyn Jo, we love you so!!!
^^The girls meeting baby sister for the first time. Olivia hated the noises Madelyn made (still working on this 2 months later) but they both gave her kisses! I'm beyond thankful these girls all have each other.
