All of the rib pain, bruising and back aches, all the restless/sleepless nights during pregnancy are not only worth it, but forgotten now.
Her birth story:
As you may know, I chose to give birth to Madelyn through c-section because of two previous shoulder dystocia births and God definitely revealed to me to go through with it by having her remain breech when deciding my birth plan at 32 weeks pregnant.
Ok- so Thursday, April 14th I was having contractions all day on and off and began to have them regular and more intense with a lot of cramping and "cervical pain". So when my husband came home from work at 5:30p, instead of having dinner we decided to head to the hospital. A friend of mine met us at the hospital to take Gracie and Lauren home for something to eat and then to head to bed while I was being checked out. It was a busy night in L&D; in fact my husband had just finished doing a c-section case before coming home and we actually talked to the new baby's great-grandparents while we waited. So they took me back and had me on the monitor for about two hours. I was contracting 4-5 minutes apart for the entire two hours. The nurse didn't come in but once the entire time and I felt blown off. I am thinking "can anyone else see I am contracting and uncomfortable?" Well by the 3rd hour, the nurse came in and checked and said my cervix was closed and the doctor would be in to give me discharge papers in a minute. I CRIED!! I was so uncomfortable and didn't want to be in labor if I was having a c-section and wasn't sure why my contractions were regular and painful-for nothing! So the doctor prescribed me Ambien to let me sleep through the contractions. I was so confused. When was I supposed to come in, my contractions were regular and as a c-section mommy (who had a Breech baby), I didn't want to be in full blown labor and cause the c-section to be emergency. Whatever, I literally put it in God's hands and left knowing I had a doctor's appointment the following afternoon.
At my appointment the next day, I shared these concerns with the doctor. Side note- I did take the Ambien and was able to sleep better, though I felt pain through the night. So I told the doctor I wanted an ultrasound to see her position and wanted her to check the status of my cervix regardless if I am having a c-section or not. She was such a great doctor and said she would do whatever it took to give me a peace of mind. Well, she put the ultrasound machine on my belly and Madelyn (through the night) was NO LONGER breech!! She had turned during all those contractions through the night. Little did I know she was preparing to be born. She was completely in position, making it more comfortable to carry her. Her head was not constantly pressing on my ribs, in fact I could feel her butt in between my ribs. The doctor checked my cervix, and still closed-no real progression just soft.
Although I'd rather have heard I was dilated, I had a peace about it all. Knowing she was head down made it less scary to be having contractions and knowing my cervix was closed helped put my mind at ease.
The next morning was a rainy windy dreary day. I was EXHAUSTED. The funny thing was I had SO much to do (nothing necessary, just invites). It was the only day on my calendar that I had anything going on. I was invited to an Easter egg hunt for the kids from 11-1p, a baby shower from 3:30-6:30p at a park (although the weather was awful), and a 31 party at 4:30p. I kind of was thinking I wasn't going to get to any of it and I needed to get some groceries when I had the energy to pull my rear off the couch. The night before was filled with contractions (irregular) and MAJOR rib aches. I kept waking up and I felt God tell me I wouldn't have to deal with this rib pain any more after this night. Well, as horrible as this sounds, I turned on the TV (though the wind/rain kept turning off our Netflix-internet access) and let the girls watch TV as often as the weather permitted. And I dosed in and out of sleep through them playing and watching movies. My body literally could not do anything more. Around 11am I felt recharged enough to get off the couch. I made the girls lunch and after eating I decided I NEEDED to scrub my shower/tub. It hadn't been SCRUBBED in a couple of months. I had just been spraying it with some shower stuff and rinsing because I couldn't get in good with my belly and scrub it thoroughly. But I felt like I needed to at this point. There was some grime that grossed me out and it was a nesting necessity. So I did. I was proud of it when it was sparkling too :-). Then Glenn woke up at about 4pm and I was beginning to get some strong contractions and really low tight cramping pain. Madelyn was getting lower and lower since she was now head down. My husband was convinced I needed to go to L&D. I really blew him off for about an hour or so, trying to remind him that just yesterday my cervix was closed and I cried when they sent me home and I didnt want to go through this whole thing again. Glenn had to leave for work at 6pm and be gone all night long and he kindly reminded me it would be a bad situation if my labor progressed and I was in labor and he was gone to work. So I jumped in the shower and thought, oh well if I have 100 false alarms, its better than being too far in labor and having to be rushed around for an emergency! So we called my friend, but she couldn't watch the kids. Glenn called his parents to be on their way and we just took the kids with us. I got to L&D and it was NOT busy. Praise God. They took me straight back and put me on the monitor. After 20 minutes they could clearly see I was contracting regularly at 4 minutes apart and they called for the doctor to check me as quickly as she could because I wasn't planning on going into full-blown labor. I finally felt like they were hearing me! The doctor checked me at 7:15p and I was 2 cm dilated. I had made progress from the day before. Normally a lady dilated 2cm delivering vaginally they would send home- you can stay 2-3cm for days or even weeks before delivering so they werent completely convinced I was "progressing". So they said they wanted me to stay for 2 hours and they would recheck me. If I made any progress during that time, they were going to do the c-section that night because I was in labor.
Hmm.. remember I still have my daughters with me and my in-laws were coming from northern Virginia/DC area in a storm so traffic was horrible and ETA was 10-11pm!! I was starting to stress and my heart rate was making the alarm on my monitor go off. Every time I even looked at the girls-"BING BING!" My husband took the girls down to get some food and I called my friend Gina, who I didn't want to have to call. She was the one who was having a that party at 4pm that day and she has two kids of her own and I mean it could have been yet another false alarm and I felt bad. So I called and she was like "are you crazy, you better give me your children, false alarm or not" :-) She is such a blessing and a great friend! At that point I called Glenn and told him to take the girls to Gina's house and I called his parents to tell them where to pick the kids up when they arrived.
All this time I am still contracting 3-4 min apart and they are getting tighter, stronger, a little more painful and not slowing down no matter what position I sat in or when I was standing. Glenn waited in traffic for a while to and from Gina's and arrived about ONE MINUTE before 9:15 (when the doctor was coming to re-check me). So doctor comes in and said I was more effaced and now 3 cm dilated. She left to discuss it with the head doctor to see what they were going to do. All this time I had been praying God's will be done. And MOST IMPORTANT Madelyn's safety. If she wasn't ready I was fine with going home, I didn't want to rush her coming over my discomfort. I wanted her to remain healthy! So a second doctor came in about 10 minutes later to check me for final call and I had progressed to a "loose" 4 cm! So labor was starting to jump off. Within minutes a team of doctors and nurses came to get my c-section started- IV's, 100 questions, gowns on, and all plans set for this to happen. So I got the "news" quickly and the process started pretty shortly after so I immediately used my phone to facebook out prayer requests and let everyone know I was having a baby that night. I didn't have much time during that to think about how I felt. When they started walking me to the OR I started to cry. I couldn't believe it happened so fast. I was scared of the pain. I was nervous it wouldn't "feel like" I had a baby or wouldn't be bonded with her (which by the way is NOT TRUE AT ALL- In fact I have bonded quicker with Madelyn-not to be comparative- than Grace or Lauren who I have vaginally) and I was anxious about the "unknown" of a c-section. I cried while getting the spinal. My husband was the greatest God send and comfort through the whole thing. He scrubs c-sections almost every night he works and he was walking me through it all. A very sweet guy named Mike who is a friend of my husband and works the same shift was my scrub tech- so that was comforting. At first I felt nauseous which scared me that I was going to be sick through the surgery and my BP went low and I felt like my chest was caving in.. I got very nervous but within seconds I felt fine! I shared my fear of the surgery hurting with Glenn and he shared with me "baby, they have already started and you haven't felt anything". So all my fears were wiped away and I just quietly prayed for Madelyn's safe arrival. Within moments I felt a lot of pressure and then the BIGGEST relief as she slid out of my belly. Same type of relief I felt with vaginal birth having an epidural. I heard the loudest little lungs calling out to me in her own baby way- "I'm ok". With Grace and Lauren, being that they got stuck, didn't have that ground breaking cry. So this scream, through the drape, reassured me that she was here and healthy. I asked Glenn to go see her and be with her! He did. They brought her to me after they cleaned her and I got to see her beautiful face. I kissed her head and they took her to the NICU to make sure she was fine. My 7lb 8oz, 19'' long miracle was born at 11:14pm on April 16, 2011 and was doing great (and off with daddy). They stitched me up NICELY and wheeled me to the PACU. I was there for an hour but so overjoyed and not in much pain at all. I was able to move my legs and lift my bottom after being there for about 20 minutes but they make you stay for 1 hour just to observe you. Glenn came in with pictures of my baby, and I was asking 100 questions. Does she have hair? What color? What color are her eyes (mind you my husband it color blind)? How is she doing? He reassured me that she was great, and they were ready to give her to me as soon as my hour was up! YAY!!! No reason to keep her in the NICU- praise God!!!!!!!! No complications!!!!!!! As soon as I saw Madelyn for the first time and got to hold her, I felt like she was mine. I felt like I had always known her and NOT because she looked like my other children, because I don't feel like she looks "just like" anyone except herself. I couldn't wait to breast feed her!! She latched on like she had done it for years and she was great about getting my milk to come in (as less than 48 hours later- I have a full supply of milk). She has been such a snuggly baby with minimal crying. She is very relaxed and very healthy. She has been pooping like a machine- after every feeding. I thought it might feel strange to have a newborn again, but it DOESN'T!
Grace and Lauren came both days we've been here and they are so excited and completely welcoming of their much anticipated and prayed for baby sister. They love her! They have helped me dress her, change her diaper and of course hold her. Grace came in close to me yesterday and told me "Thank you mommy for having a new baby sister for our family". Oh the love in that statement, melted my heart. I love my family! I am so incredibly blessed- I can't explain or express the love and joy I feel through all of this. God is good. He is perfect. He knows what we need and when we need it. He is the giver of all good gifts and maker of all things. I truly do not deserve His love and blessings but I will take them joyfully! If you have read all this- thank you for sharing in this special time in my life. I am running on little sleep so if I missed any details feel free to ask!
WELCOME Madelyn Claire Rhoades to our family and to this world. God has a plan and purpose for your life, precious child.
