Maddie was finally born on July 9, 2012 at 3:51 AM in the Scott and White hospital. Before she was born we were really playing the "do anything you can to start labor" game because Justin was going to leave for his training July 12th. Maddie's due date, July 7th, came and went. I set an induction date the night of the 9th just in case she didn't come in time for Justin to still be home. My mom suggested that I either drink castor oil, red raspberry leaf tea, and/or going on lots of walks. Well, I didn't have the guts to try castor oil, so on July 7th I made a really strong batch of red raspberry leaf tea and left Maddie's due date to the Lord or to induction. The next day, Sunday, I woke up feeling different contractions than the regular Braxton Hicks. They hardly hurt and so I decided to go to church. Boy, sitting through sacrament meeting was torture! I probably looked like I had to go to the bathroom really bad because I was sitting so awkwardly as each contraction came. Justin took me home after the service and began helping me through each contraction. He was so wonderful giving me foot rubs. My sister-in-law, Heidi, massaged my back too. I was so so grateful for all of the help. What blessings! Contractions started to get pretty intense at 4:00 pm and they were 2-3 min apart and getting more intense. This was the green light to go to the hospital. We were so excited...until I was told I progressed to only 3 cm and that if I was to birth naturally I should go home. The funny thing is, the nurse asked me how intense my pain was. I wasn't sure what to say so I said an 8. She looked at me pitifully and said that this was only the start. Ugh. I was so not happy! After that I told Justin that I was not going back to the hospital until 9:00 PM that night no matter what. Contractions got so intense after that. I was so thankful for Justin and his willingness to let me squeeze the life out of him. It really helped get over the pain. At 9:00 pm we headed for the hospital again. I had progressed all the way to 6.5 cm! The nurse admitted me and we were lead to our room. The rooms were so comfy! Just like a nice hotel. I began working through each contraction and was having a hard time. Justin was right by my side holding my hand and watching each contraction on the monitor. It really was a special experience. It came to the point, though, that I needed some extra help. I had an IV drug, which the nurse explained would feel like 2 margaritas. Well, I can now understand why people drink! It felt so lovely! This wore off and I then decided to get an epidural. This is one of the best decision I've made in my life! I didn't even feel the needle go in and only experienced the pain leave my body. We were all able to rest and sleep for a couple hours and then the nurse said I was 10 cm and that it was time to push. They contacted Dr. Spears (one of the best doctors. I loved her so much!) and had me start pushing. I felt most of the pain from pushing, which was a neat experience. I was glad to feel sweet Maddie being born. Pushing took 2 hours and boy was it tiring! Right towards the end I was feeling nauseous and so the doctor gave me an anti nausea pill...which made me more nauseous. I had drank lots of water and cranberry juice a few minutes earlier, which was a bad idea.... I told everyone I was going to throw up and the nurse to my right grabbed this tiny bag which didn't help very much at all. A fire hydrant of throw up spewed all over me and that poor nurse not just once, but three times! She was trying to shield herself...but she was drenched! I hope she gets paid well. The funny part is, is that the doctor just sat there and smiled. She didn't even move a muscle. Later Dr. Spears said she'd helped with over 3,000 births, which explains her reaction. Maddie was finally showing and with a few more pushes she was born!! I held her skin to skin, what an amazing experience. Justin and I heard her first little cry and finally all of the nine months of waiting paid off. Though we didn't sleep for the first couple of nights at the hospital, it was such a sweet experience to be alone with our new baby girl. Justin's amazing fatherly ability came out. He was always able to calm her and change her diapers. We had such a great time laying together holding our sweet Maddie.
I know the Lord was with us and has been with us this whole time. His timing was perfect for Maddie's birth. Justin was able to be with her for 3 days before he left for training. Maddie is now very healthy and strong and growing each day. We are so blessed to have such a beautiful baby girl!
Thank you everyone for all of your help and support during all of this. Love you all.
