Monday, May 16, 2011

Madison's Arrival!

As I'm sure you know, our little miracle has arrived! What you may not know is what exactly we went through to get here here. Here is that story....

I started feeling my first contractions at 3am on Monday April 11th. They were very faint, didn't hurt too much, and more than anything just annoying. Regardless, we went to the hospital to get checked out. At 10am I was only 3cm dilated, and they had us walk around the hospital for an hour to see if that would help me dilate more. After an hour of walking in what felt like the desert, I was still only 3cm. The hospital sent me home and told me to come back when the contractions got so intense that I couldn't handle the pain, or if my water broke. So, we headed home. When our friends Shanna & JB found out that we were technically in labor they decided to stop by for a visit, and it kept my mind off of the impending pain I would be in later. Adam and I spent the rest of the day doing our favorite thing in the world -- watching a Giant's game. 

A little after midnight I crawled into bed to read and started doing my daily "kick counts". I was almost at ten (you want to feel ten kicks in two hours, and typically I'd feel all ten within a few minutes) when number nine happened, and suddenly I felt like I was laying in a puddle. Yes, my water broke. I panicked and didn't know whether or not to run down the stairs to tell Adam or to yell for him, so I picked up my cell phone and called the house phone. He answered.... "Hello?".... "My water just broke".... "OH MY GOD!!" Being the antsy person that I am, I was ready to go to the hospital right then. However Adam felt I should shower (and I later thanked him for forcing me to), so I did just that. By the end of my shower my contractions had gotten really intense, but the pain wasn't where I thought it would be... I felt it a little in my lower abdomen, but most of the excruciating pain was in my lower back. I felt like someone kept digging a knife into me, and it began to take my breath away. My wonderful husband decided that this would be the perfect time to take a picture of me.... (insert expletive here). Nonetheless, we got to the hospital around 3am and they took me right back to a triage room. It was in here that they had to determine if I was actually in active labor and if my water had actually broken. Between contractions I kept threatening the nurse, telling her she was more than welcome to drive to my house and view for herself the large puddle in the middle of my bed -- sadly, she didn't. You see they won't give you drugs until you're admitted, and they wouldn't admit me until they knew if I was in labor.... needless to say it was a miserable two hours of waiting, contracting, vomiting, and crying. My contractions were about two minutes apart and lasting for all of a minute and a half, which quickly became the longest minute and a half of my life. The rest of the triage room is somewhat of a blur (or perhaps I'm just choosing to block it all out), but it was unbelievably painful and I'm not sure how I managed to get out of that room alive. 

Around 5am they admitted me to the hospital and moved me to my own labor and delivery room. The nurse quickly had the anesthesiologist meet us in there and he provided my epidural (I would later refer to this man as Jesus.... what a wonderful man he was). And let me just point out that I don't know why I was ever scared of an epidural. When you're in labor (particularly back labor) and feeling pain like you've never felt before, a giant needle in your spine is nothing. And when your meds start wearing off? You push a little button and they bring you more liquid gold. Amazing! Anyhow, this is when the longest day of my life began. We could do nothing but sit and wait. And wait. And wait. At this point other than being sleep deprived I felt like a million bucks (thanks to Jesus), but I just wanted to get the show on the road so I could meet my daughter. We had a slough of visitors who camped out in the waiting room all day, and I can't even begin to tell you how much it meant to me to have them there for support. Adam hadn't been feeling too well (thanks to a sleep-deprived migraine), so Kristin and Jenn were amazingly helpful when it came to a head rub and a massage. I'm not too sure he would have survived without them. Around 5pm I started pushing, and I pushed and pushed and pushed for three hours. Nothing happened. Madison had made her way down but had managed to get stuck. It was at this time the doctor came in and gave us two options -- suction, or c-section. He suggested we try the suction first and said he was fairly confident he could get her out. Four suctions later and she just wouldn't budge. It was at this point that they discovered she was face up (hence the back labor) and that her head just seemed too large to fit. By this point Adam and I were beyond emotional, it had been one heck of a day and it seemed that nothing was going right. I had a little meltdown but knew I had to stay strong for this little one inside of me. 

Into the operating room we went.... and just a few minutes (and an amazing "cocktail" to calm my nerves -- also courtesy to Jesus) later and we heard her first screams. The doctor held her little head over the curtain above me so I could see her, and that was when I lost it. Adam and I were overcome with emotion, it was the sweetest face I had ever seen in my life. Madison Nicole Spoor was born at 8:56pm on Tuesday, April 12th (coincidentally, her due date), weighing in at 8lbs 8oz and 20.5 inches long. She has been such a blessing in our lives and we cannot imagine a life without her. I'd like to thank everyone who kept us in your prayers during this pregnancy and delivery, and for all of your continued support. We love you all so much and are so grateful for each and every one of you. To our families, thank you for always being here for us. We love you more than you could possibly know! I'd also like to personally thank Jenn and Shanna for feeding me ice chips, Shane for sneaking me water, and Brent for bringing me the most amazing sandwich I've ever had in my life.... you guys are awesome! And lastly, to Jesus... thanks for the drugs.


Below are some pictures from our stay in the hospital.... And keep in mind, momma wasn't allowed to shower for two days.