Madigan Reese’s Birth Story

I had my 39 week check up scheduled for Thursday, June 13 at 11:30.  My last day of work was the Wednesday before, Doug was finished working at the hospital except for doing some out processing things, my Mom was in town for the long haul, and Ellen was on her way out from Atlanta for Doug’s residency graduation.  The stage was set for everyone to be here and the little princess could make her arrival. 

I decided that at this doctors appointment if they informed me that I had a favorable cervix that I would have them strip/sweep my membrane.  When they strip the membrane the doctor goes up into my cervix and separates the amniotic sac from the uterus.  I have heard mixed reviews about having this done.  For some people it works to start labor and for others it is just a painful 2 minutes that does nothing.  After the doc checked my cervix and said that I was dilated 3cm and 50 effaced I decided to go ahead and let her do the sweeping.  It was a painful 30 to 45 seconds, but the pain went away as soon as she was finished.  I sat up on the table and she told me that contractions should start soon and when to come back to the hospital.  She wanted me to get dressed and she would be back in the room shortly.  When I sat up on the table I noticed that I felt really wet where I was sitting, but wasn’t sure if it was normal.  I showed Doug what I was sitting in and he said that he thought my water just broke!  The OB returned and we showed her the table and she confirmed what Doug had suspected.  She told us to go and get something to eat and then we should go and be admitted to Labor and Delivery.

We headed across the street from the hospital to get a quick bite to eat and then headed back to L&D.  We were admitted and placed on the monitors.  I was starting to have a few contractions so we decided to hold off on the potocin and wait and see what my body could do on it’s own.  Doug had to run back to the house to drop Wrecks off and pick up a few things, so I didn’t want anything to begin without him.  The contractions were starting to pick up some and beginning to feel like bad period cramps instead of just an uncomfortable feeling.  They were about 2-3 minutes apart.  The doctor didn’t want to continue to check my cervix because since my water was already broken I was at a higher risk of infection, so I have no idea how dilated I was at this point.  Doug made it back to the hospital and we decided to start the potocin around 6 o’clock.  I knew that I wanted an epidural, but was super nervous about the actual injection.  The anesthesiologist came by and told me that they could do the initial injection and not start the meds until I needed them.  This way I wouldn’t be trying to time the injection in between contractions.  This was awesome!  I had the epidural placed and it didn’t hurt at all!  Once my contractions became closer together I decided to go ahead and get the epidural meds started.  After this happened my legs went a little limp and all the pain went away.  I was never in much pain to begin with, but I am so glad that  I got the epidural.  It made my labor seem like a breeze!  Doug’s mom, Ellen arrived at the hospital around 8pm so the whole gang was ready and waiting on Madigan! 

The doctor returned to the room around 10 to check my progress.  I had dilated to a 6 and was 90% effaced.  She told me to try and nap if I could and she would be back in a couple of hours.  I knew that I would only be able to nap if everyone left the room.  Everyone left to go and get something to eat.  I attempted to go to sleep, hoping to get some energy for all the pushing that was ahead of me.  About ten minutes after everyone had left I started feeling a lot of pressure and felt like I should push.  Since I am a first time mom, I wasn’t quite sure if the feeling I was feeling was my body telling me to push or if this is what getting closer and closer to go time feels like.  The nurse kept coming in every five minutes asking me if I still feel the pressure and if it goes away.  The pressure would come with the contractions and then go away when they were done.  She didn’t seemed concerned, so I was just continuing on the ride.  I called Doug a couple of times and he didn’t answer his phone.  I was so afraid that they weren’t going to make it back and I was the one that encouraged everyone to go and get something to eat.  I finally got a hold of my mom and she said they were in the elevator.  I was so relieved when Doug walked into the door.  I just wanted him there to hold my hand.  The doctor came in right after him to check me.  Doug says that she said that I was fully dilated, but all I heard her talking about was pushing.  I didn’t think that I was ready to push!  It all happened so fast.  In about 45 minutes I went from a 6 to a 10 and was about to deliver this little girl that I was dying to meet for the past 10 months!  Doug did awesome coaching me and both him and my mom stayed well behind my head so they didn’t see any of the gross things going on down south!  In about 20 minutes of pushing, little Madigan made her way into the world screaming at the top of her lungs!  They placed her on my chest and she was the sweetest thing ever.  I knew looking at Doug that he was completely in love with her and she had him wrapped around her finger right then and there! Our family of two became so much more in just a few seconds.

Madigan Reese was born at 11:28pm on June 13, 2013. She weighed 7lbs 6oz and was 19 1/2 inches long. She is a pretty chill laid back baby so far!

 

Almost 39 weeks (39 weeks 4 days)

*Total weight gain?: 24lbs

*How big is baby?: Likely she already measures about 20 inches and weighs a bit over 7 pounds

*Sleep: Sleeping when I can until I wake up with anxiety about going into labor.

*Sex: A sweet little GIRL!

*Maternity clothes: Not buying anymore!

*Showing yet?: Yes! And I am ready to pop!

*Stretch marks: No stretch marks at all!!!  Mission accomplished!!!

*Movement: She is not as active as she has been, maybe she is saving all her energy to use during her grand entrance.

*Food cravings: Still loving the ICE CREAM!!!

*Labor signs: Having some contractions on and off, but nothing to start keeping track of.

*Belly button in or out: Outie!!!

*Wedding ring on or off: It is on and I can’t believe that I made it this long without any major swelling!

*Worst pregnancy symptom of the week: The same thing that  I complain about every week…my horrible top of stomach numbing/stabbing/throbbing pain.  I don’t think that it has gotten any better, but I am just learning to tolerate it.

*What I miss: Nothing much since I am hopefully nearing the end of my pregnancy.

*What I'm looking forward to: Meeting this little girl!!!  I can’t wait to see this little being that has been taking over my body, mind, and all my thoughts for the past 10 months!  God is amazing!

*Best Moment of the Week: My mom arriving!  She was so nervous that she was going to miss the delivery.  She came into town on Tuesday, so Madigan now has permission to come any day now!!!!  Ellen comes on Thursday and would love for little miss prissy to come this weekend.

My last day of work was Wednesday.  So weird knowing that I don’t have a job that I have to show up for everyday.  I am going to miss all my patients.  Ok maybe not all, but most.

*Week 39: Baby is about the size of a mini watermelon!

38 Weeks

*Total weight gain?: 20lbs

*How big is baby?: She weighs about 6.8 pounds and she is over 19 1/2 inches long.

*Sleep: Sleeping like a baby!!!

*Sex: A sweet little GIRL!

*Maternity clothes: Still wearing all the ones that I have and refusing to buy more!

*Showing yet?: Yes! We think that she has dropped over the last few days.

*Stretch marks: None yet!  I am trying to avoid them like the plague.

*Movement: She is stretching her arms and legs out all the time!  Doug loves messing with her when she does it!  He will push on her and she will either kick him or push right back on his hand.

*Food cravings: Ice Cream, Ice Cream, Ice Cream and more Ice Cream!!!

*Labor signs: This past week we had a little scare where we thought that my water might be slowly leaking.  We went in and had everything checked out just to be on the safe side.  They did about 4 different test and one of the test came back positive that I was leaking amniotic fluid.  They were a little confused by these results and decided to send me home.  They wanted me to come back if the leaking continue or if I had any changes that worried me. 

*Belly button in or out: Lets just call it an outie!!!

*Wedding ring on or off: It is on during the day, but really hard to get off at the end of the day.

*Worst pregnancy symptom of the week: I have actually been feeling really great this week!  My hip hasn’t been bothering me and my stomach/rib pain has been tolerable.  I don’t have too much to complain about this week!

*What I miss: Nothing much since I am hopefully nearing the end of the my pregnancy.

*What I'm looking forward to: My mom comes into town on Tuesday and Doug’s mom comes in on Thursday.  Hopefully we can talk little Miss Madigan into coming this weekend since both of her grandmothers will be here! Oh and I only have two more working days until I a become a stay at home mom!!!!

*Best Moment of the Week: I had an ultrasound this week and they told me that Madigan is doing great.  She has a small head and big belly…so she averages out overall!

My maternity pictures came in this week and I love them.  I am so glad that we did them!

Doug had is Orthopedic graduation banquet this weekend and it was a ton of fun.  I can’t believe that he is actually graduating and finishing residency!  I can’t believe it has finally come to an end.  I am so excited about this next chapter in our lives!

*Week 38: Baby is about the size of a leek!

37 Weeks

*Total weight gain?: 18lbs(according to the doctor scale)

*How big is baby?: Baby girl is now considered "full term"!  She weighs around 6 1/3 pounds and measures a bit over 19 inches, head to heel.

*Sleep: Still sleeping pretty darn great considering the amount of times I get up to go to the bathroom.

*Sex: A sweet little GIRL!

*Maternity clothes: I am getting to wear the maternity dresses that I picked up months ago on clearance!  I am glad that they still fit.

*Showing yet?: Yes! Bump is present and growing more and more everyday!!!

*Stretch marks: I’m pretty sure I won’t be able to escape them much longer with the rate that my belly is growing. 

*Movement: She is getting the hiccups pretty regularly which is really annoying at times!  I don’t really feel too many kicks or punches, it is more just her stretching and trying to get comfy all crammed in my tummy.

*Food cravings: I have a huge appetite lately and want to eat everything in site!  I am trying to control myself by only having two bowls of cereal instead of three.

*Labor signs: Having more and more contractions, but nothing that I can start to time or monitor.  I went to the Doctor this past week and she is still head down.  My uterus is measuring smaller this week than it has in the past so they want to do an ultrasound sometime next week to check her size and my fluid levels.  Hopefully she is just really far down in my pelvis causing the measuring to be off. 

*Belly button in or out: Really, really, really, close to becoming an outie!!!

*Wedding ring on or off: It is getting really snug!  A couple of nights I have had to leave it on because I didn’t want to fool with taking it off.  When we go on walks after work I need to remember to leave my ring at home because that is when my hands swell the most.

*Worst pregnancy symptom of the week: My left hip has been killing me this past week.  I am walking like I have a broke hip.  It seems to be getting better over these past two days though!

*What I miss: Not being out of breath after doing simple tasks.  When I take xrays at work, going back and forth to press the button really gets me!  It makes me feel so pathetic! 

*What I'm looking forward to: Even though I am getting the ultrasound to check to make sure she is ok…I am really excited to see her on the screen!  I hope that the technician will switch on the 3d ultrasound because I have heard that you can see if the baby has any hair when you do the ultrasounds this late in the pregnancy. 

*Best Moment of the Week: The best moment this week was celebrating our 5th wedding anniversary.  These last five years have flown by and have been so easy considering that Doug was going through a very stressful and demanding residency program.  We both took Friday off of work and headed to Seattle to stay for Friday night.  We stayed at a pet friendly hotel so Wrecks could tag along.  Doug surprised me with a diamond tennis bracelet that is amazing!

After we exchanged gifts we headed to dinner.  I had no idea where we were going.  Doug had planned out the whole evening in secret.  We went to dinner on the water, the view and food were to die for.

After dinner we went to a comedy club and saw a few mediocre comedians and one really great one!  On Saturday morning we walked down to Pike Place Market, probably for the last time while living in the Pacific Northwest.  We strolled around with Wrecks, got breakfast, and bought some beautiful flowers before heading back home to go to Pavlina and John’s wedding.

John and Pavlina’s wedding ceremony was short and sweet (the best kind).

Pavilina did a great job with all the flowers and decorations!  I was very impressed with her floral arranging skills!

*Week 37: Baby is about the size of a bunch of Swiss chard!

36 Weeks

*Total weight gain?: 21lbs

*How big is baby?: She now weighs almost 6 pounds and is more than 18 1/2 inches long!

*Sleep: Since Doug has been gone all week I had the bed all to myself and I actually slept pretty well considering he wasn’t there.  I am getting up about 3 times during the night to go to the bathroom, but I can usually go right back to sleep unlike during the 2nd trimester when I had pregnancy insomnia.

*Sex: A sweet little GIRL!

*Maternity clothes: I am running out of clothes that I can fit into, so I am wearing the same thing over and over because I refuse to buy more this far in the game.

*Showing yet?: Yes! Bump is present!

*Stretch marks: They are staying away for now, but I am not sure how much longer I will be able to escape them.

*Movement: She is packed in my belly!  I can start to identify different body parts because she pokes them out all over my belly making it kinda lumpy at times which is really cool!

*Food cravings: Nothing crazy this week.  Just trying to eat sensible, but I also know that I only have a few more weeks to go crazy too.  So I might have a had a blizzard or two this week for lunch.

*Labor signs: A few contractions here and there but nothing crazy.  I think she is going to stay put until her due date…sigh ahhhhh.

*Belly button in or out: Not quite all the way out yet.

*Wedding ring on or off: on, but not for too much longer.  It is getting harder and harder to put it on and off.  I am waiting on the swelling to kick in too.

*Worst pregnancy symptom of the week:  I worked a full work week and was in pain the whole time!  Thank goodness the ice packs were around because they were the only thing that got me through the day!  This stomach/muscle/rib pain is really annoying!!!

*What I miss: Getting into my regular clothes.  I have some weekends coming up that I need to wear dresses/get all dressed up and I cannot find any cute maternity dresses that don’t make me feel like I am the size of a house!

*What I'm looking forward to: Celebrating our 5th wedding anniversary!  It is has been 5 fabulous years that have flown by and I can’t wait to become a family of 3!  We close on our house on Friday too, so I am looking forward to being done with that process!

*Best Moment of the Week:  Doug was gone all week and I was so excited to see him when he got home!  I think I just really missed him sharing in my pain with me.

*Week 36: Baby weighs as much as a crenshaw melon!