Heading Home!

After our very nice stay at the hospital it was time for us to head home. Since we didn't know if the baby was going to be a boy or a girl we had a nice white outfit to go home it. Fortunately we also live about five minutes from the hospital so it wasn't a struggle to get home between feedings or anything. When we got home we were surprised to get tons of food (love it), balloons and fruit baskets. We also had the grandparents and great grandparents over to come say hi. They of course brought tons of little pink outfits to help stock up our closet. Maddie did a great job in her car seat and was a champ sleeping through most of the time that the visitors were here. We haven't quite opened our eyes up all the time yet, but there are some big baby blues in there!

It's a . . . . . girl!

It's true, she is here!


FYI - The following has ALL the details, just a warning!!


Here is how it all went down.... I came home from my doctors appointment feeling some cramping but just figured it was due to my exam that I had just had. So, I just went about my normal business and made dinner, watched tv, etc. I have to laugh because I talked to my friend Tammy that night and asked her what her contractions felt like, she said "oh you will know" when I told her I felt like I was having just period like cramps...little did we both know. So here is what happened:

- Went to bed after watching American Idol.

- Woke up at 11:45 with more "cramps".

- Through the night had these bad cramps, I would get up and walk around, not making them any better. I would go to the bathroom, watch some tv to try and pass some time. I also looked online to see what other peoples contractions felt like, didn't find much information there.

- Kept having these contractions through the night, still not fully realizing that they could be contractions - keep in mind all this time Donny is still passed out in bed.

- During one of my many trips to the bathroom while my contractions are about twenty minutes apart I think I pass some of my mucus plug, very exciting.

- Finally at 5 am Donny rolls over as I am curled up in a ball that I cannot get out of and asks if I am ok - I say no I think I am in labor we need to start timing these contractions! At this point Donny is very excited.

- I'm in the bathroom, yet again, and I decide that I need to call my mom since she is supposed to come tomorrow! I call her at 5:30 she answers, I tell her I think I am in labor and she needs to change her flight. I also have a contraction in the middle of conversation and practically throw the phone at Donny.

- At this point I tell Donny he needs to call the hospital and I am going to get in the shower to get ready and all cleaned up - what I was thinking - I do not know. Donny brings the phone into me because the nurse wants to talk to me. She asks me about the contractions, epidural if I wanted one, etc. At this time we had timed 8 contractions people, around 5ish minuted apart. The nurse tells me once they are 5 minutes apart, for 1 minute, for an hour then we can come in, and to call ahead of time, unless my water breaks and then to come in.

- Two contractions later, in the shower, the water balloon broke like the gush that we all think the breaking of your water will be like. Donny and I shift in to panic, hurry pack for the hospital mode. We pack up our stuff and get into the car.

- We park, it takes me I swear 20 minutes to get inside and up to the maternity floor.

- They strap me up to all the monitors and we try to get some IV in me. After 4 times, we finally have the IV in for fluids. Meanwhile I am just breathing through my contractions - 3 min apart - and having Donny give me ice chips.

- I finally tell the nurse that I really feel like I need to push, seriously. So, she checks me and well, I am 10cm dilated and she can touch the head! But, we have to wait because the doctor is not out of surgery yet. WAIT you say? Yes, just lay there with your legs together.

- When the doctor got there I was so excited to finally get this show on the road. She looked, could see hair and head. Donny dropped my leg that he was holding and moved to the foot of the bed where he stayed for the next couple minutes.

- I pushed once, and she was fully crowned and ready to go. Got my episiotomy and never looked back.

- Pushed again and out came the head plus some shoulder action, so I am told to "hold on" while they suction.

- Push again and out the baby comes and we hear "it's a girl! and she peed!"

And so, Madeline Grace Smith was born!!

After all that everything is a blur. Donny cut the cord and they put her on my stomach. I couldn't tell you what everyone else in the room was doing. They took her up and weighed her, measured her and cleaned her up. She was 8lbs 9oz and 20" long - a good sized baby girl! Everyone in the room was impressed with the speed and ease at which she came and my labor. We got to spend the next hour together before her and Donny went to the nursery for bath and tests.

In the end, we got to the hospital at 7:30am and she was born at 8:48am, which includes the 20 minutes I waited for the doctor to get there. No epidural, and pretty much 10cm by the time we got to the hospital.

We are all doing great and are healthy! Here are some pictures to enjoy of our new bundle of joy!!

Week 39 Visit

So today was our 39 week visit. Same old stuff at this point as far as the exam and everything goes. We saw Dr. Kelly again today who is surprised to see me every time we come because he thinks this baby is coming anytime now. I am officially 3cm dilated and still about 75% effaced. Donny of course is very excited about the "progress" that we are making. We reviewed the protocol as far as if I go into labor who I call during what hours, how long we get to stay in the hospital and all that stuff. I am also excited be soon-to-be-Gramma comes in from Boston Friday night so she will be here for when the baby gets here. Here is a belly picture of me at 39 weeks!

Week 38 Visit

Today was our 38 week doctors appointment. We did the usual - weight, blood pressure, exam, etc. The visit went great. I have gained a pound and my blood pressure was 100/68 - super low! I was surprised since I am taking some Sudafed for my cold I'm suffering through. Also, I have made progress! I am 2+ cm dilated and 75% effaced. Donny was very excited with the progress thinking surely the baby will be coming any second! Other than that, nothing really new. Still feeling good, I left the doctors office and went over the to gym. It is doing a good job of tiring me out, but, I still have some trouble sleeping through the night with this cold. We go back for our next visit next Wednesday, which I assume I will make it that far.....

Week 37 Visit

Today was our 37 week doctors appointment and I am officially "full term"!!. I gained a half pound since the week before and my blood pressure was 126/72, still doing well thanks to the gym. I measured a week ahead, 38cm, which is no surprise since I measure ahead a week about every time I go. The doctor said I was still about 1 cm dilated and 60% effaced. Donny was bummed that I have not made any progress since last week but is still with the any day now mentality. We got to see Dr. Smith today, my actual OB/GYN. We haven't seen her since 20 weeks so it had obviously been a while!! Also, in the comedy department, Donny tried to be funny and bring his own "tools" to the appointment to help out. Friday night we had had some dinner with friends and we were grilling out. The light around the grill was out so the boys had these hats that in the brim had two LED lights and an on/off switch. Well, the boys thought it would be funny for Donny to break this out during the visit and pretend like he was going to help out. So when Dr. Smith had her back turned Donny moved to the foot of the bed and turned on the light - she absolutely cracked up! It was so funny! Apparently she enjoyed it too because she told our friends who are also seeing her about it. So, we scheduled our next appointment for next week - 38 weeks!