Jack's Birth Story - Part 2

Okay. Sorry it takes me so long. Jack is just starting to nap in his crib, so I am starting to get twenty minutes of free time here and there. So today it was either shower or blog. Guess which one I chose? Showering is overrated anyways.

Thursday night we actually went into the hospital - I was having contractions 4 minutes apart for 2 hours so we thought we would go and get checked out, expecting to be sent home. After a few hours there, we were told that I was in the early stages of labor, and that I should go home and try to rest up before active labor officially started. I was dilated to a 2. The next morning, Friday, we had a doctors appointment. I had progressed to 3 cm dilated through the night, and Dr. Savage stripped my membranes in hopes of enducing labor that day or the next. After the appointment, we went to Denny's for a big breakfast, thinking labor would start really soon. We were disappointed as Friday rolled around and the contractions didn't really change. Saturday, April 28th started out like the rest of the week before - random contractions every so often, feeling uncomfortable, not being able to sleep. We went on lots of walks that week and Saturday was no different. We walked around the mall, I jumped up and down, willing something to happen.

Grandma Thomas flew in Saturday afternoon, and got to our house around dinner time She took us to Zupas for dinner, we caught up and predicted when little Jack would come. I love my Mom so much. She was a LIFESAVER after Jack was here, and I know I couldn't have done labor without her.

After dinner we came home, unwound a little bit, and got ready for bed. We thought that maybe sometime the next day (Sunday) he would come, and we wanted to get a good night's sleep. Ha. As we layed down in bed, Alex read us a general conference talk "Teaching our Children to Understand" by Cheryl A. Esplin, which talked about children and the responsibility and gift that children are. Then I felt a strong kick from Jack and the first REAL contraction. Wowzers, that hurt. We watched them for an hour, they were coming closer and closer - first 4 minutes, then about 20 minutes later they were at 3 minutes. I could feel my sweet baby being pushed down. It was so, so painful. After an hour, Alex really wanted to go to the hospital, but I was nervous we would be sent home again. I got in the tub for about 20 minutes, which helped but didn't stop the contractions. This convinced me that I really was in labor. That and the searing pain every few minutes. We knocked on my mom's door, told her we were going to the hopsital and that we would let her know if they were going to keep me or not.

The Thursday before when we first went in, we had an awesome nurse. She gave us the advice to come to the hospital on a full stomach. You aren't supposed to eat while in labor at my hospital, in case an emergency surgery is necessary. I was hungry (remember we were going to bed when this whole thing started), so I asked Alex to stop at Wendy's and get me a dollar burger (not the best choice I know, but it was midnight and we needed something fast). The guy working at the window was clearly new, and took FOREVER. Alex asked for one without lettuce, and he asked "Wait, you want a cup of lettuce?" I laughed, but Alex was freaking out a little. He was about to yell "Look buddy, my wife is in labor" but kept his cool. I ate bites in between contractions on the ten minute drive to the hospital. It was late at night, so luckily there was no traffic. We got to the hospital around 11:30 or so, ready to be checked and hoping we could stay.

After changing and checking me, they saw that I was 4 cm dilated and 90% effaced (which is code for in active labor). They wanted to monitor me for an hour to make sure I was progressing quickly enough to stay at the hospital. That was a long hour - every 2 or 3 minutes a very painful contraction. I tried to breathe and stay calm, but by the end I was yelling all sorts of weird sounds. After an hour, they check me and I had moved to a 5. They called my doctor to see if they should keep me, and thank heavens they admitted me. After a week of contractions, and two hours of REALLY hard contractions, I was grateful that it was finally show time,

We texted everyone to let them know we were in the hospital. It was around 1 am. We knew we still had some laboring to do, so we told the Grandmas to sleep for a while and we would let them know when pushing was closer. After another half hour the anestheologist came in to give me an epidural. I had had a spinal tab before, which was very painful, so I was nervous about the epidural. Our anestheologist was great, got the needle in with one sharp 5 second poke. What a strange feeling that was. I didn't get a huge dose, but for some reason during the whole labor the epi took better to my left side than my right. But, for the first few hours, I didn't feel the pain of contractions, just the pressure. Bless that epi.

The next few hours went by slowly. Alex and I tried to sleep, but were too excited. We laid down and tried to rest up, but mainly just talked about how excited we were to finally meet this little miracle. I felt each contraction with a little twing of pain, but I could handle it and still focus on labor. It was wonderful.

After an hour, I was checked and I had dilated to a 7, When I got the epidural, the nurses were nervous I would slow down in labor, but I sped up. After another hour I was at a 8. We decided to let my mom know that we were approaching 10 cm quickly, and she should come in an hour.

My mom got to the hospital around 4. She was so excited that it was nice to get a burst of energy after a long night of pressure and pain. I was dilated to an 8, with pushing on the horizon. An hour later, I was at a 9 and Dr. Savage finally came to check me out. After another hour at a 9, my water still hadn't broken and I seemed to be stuck. On top of that, my epidural was starting to fade. So, during transition time between 9 and 10, I could feel half of it. Holy mama, that hurt. The doctor left after breaking my water to give me an hour or two to complete and to let Jack descend a little bit in the birth canal so pushing would be easier.

I got another little dose in my epidural and I took a 20 minute nap while the two Grandmas and Alex chatted. That was a rejuvenating 20 minutes!. After an hour they checked me and I was complete and Jack was starting his way down. They called the doctor and she wanted to wait another 45 minutes to let him get lower in the birth canal. It seemed so long! I was very nervous about the pushing part- I was worried I wouldn't know how to push!

The nurse came in at about 8:45 am and said she wanted me to start pushing. Jack was turned and facing my hip,but she thought with pushing he would work his way to facing up. She was wrong. After an hour of pushing on both of my sides and my back, Jack wasn't budging, and I was getting really tired. Pushing felt like running into fire after already being burned every 30-45 seconds. It hurt, and I was even partially medicated.

At 9:50 am, Dr. Savage came in. She was an amazing pushing couch, she told me to push harder and harder, keep going, Jack was almost here. Dr. Savage twisted little Jack so that he was facing the right way. Earlier in the night, Alex gave me a blessing and in it he said that I would be able to use the power of the atonement. During those last few pushes I tried really focusing on Christ and the pain He went through for all ofus. I pushed as hard as I could, and with a big rush, his head was out, and once more push he was totally out.

There was a respitory team waiting for him because there was mecconium (he had a bowel movement before he was out of the  birth canal). When he first came out, he was green and purple and not breathing. But, I saw his little face and just cried and cried. He was perfect. They set him on me for maybe ten seconds and then as they were carrying him away I heard him cry. It was the cutest, most perfect cry, and such a relief. Alex and I just looked at each other and cried. I kept on saying "I can't believe it". Everyone said right away that he looked just like Alex, and he does! :) I love it. After running all the tests on him, his coloring was a little off and they let me do "skin to skin", which basically means I got to cuddle with him in just a diaper to try and get his temperature up. I got to do that for an hour, while Grandmas and Alex took pictures. Honestly, it felt like it was just me, Jack, and Alex in the room, just touching and crying and looking at this perfect person. He was so alert, his little eyes were looking around. He would hear my voice and turn towards it. He knew me and I knew him. It was the most painful, worthwhile, and magical night of my life, and I will never forget it. I am so grateful for this little angel boy.

Jack's Birth Story - Part 1

So, I've been contemplating posting Jack's birth story. I have already written down a really detailed version, but it's mainly about the mechanics of how it all happened - the timing and progression and little facts here and there. I wanted to make sure I remembered the emotion of it all -- although I can't imagine every forgetting it. I want to remember how it made me feel, so I thought I would blog about it - a version I am comfortable with Jack reading later on. Hopefully that's alright with you. :)

Jack at 2.5 weeks staring at Dad



Jack Preston Madsen is here and adorable and perfect. He is 1 month old already and is starting to smile at his Mommy and Daddy. It's my favorite thing in the entire world. I am already starting to forget what it was like to be pregnant -- which I never thought was possible. :)

Maybe I should start at the beginning. After being married for a little bit, we were both chomping at the bit to have a baby. Most people who know us know that we love kids. We would babysit for our dates all the time, and we genuinely loved it. Any aged child between 0 and 8, we automatically loved. It was very naturally for us to try to start a family.

Some people talk about miscarriages, and some people don't. I can understand and relate to both camps - it helps to not be silent, get support and help from others, but at the same time it is quite possibly the most painful thing I have ever gone through. (And, ahem, I just went through child birth). I have always been a social person, so I found comfort in talking to family about it. But I only talked about it a little. I hardly even talked to Alex about it. It was an internal thing I had to deal with. The excitement that comes with that first positive pregnancy test is quickly taken away when you feel cramps, you're bleeding a lot, you just don't feel right. And if you don't have any kids you wonder if you're broken. You can't fulfill your role as a mother. You begin to resent your body, and others who have kids. What if you never could? Needless to say, it was a dark time for me.

Just one month later, I had another positive pregnancy test. But I was callased to it. Instead of excitement I felt a panic. I didn't want to go through this again. I didn't want the physical and mental toll I was about to go through again. I told Alex about it, and we prayed as hard as we could for this little body to make it. Because it was just a month after, I was positive I would miscarry again. You are supposed to wait a few months inbetween, and I knew it wouldn't work out.

We had our first doctor's appointment very soon after the positive test. We met our doctor for that first exam, did all the necessary tests, . And then came the heartbeat. My stomach danced in anticipation to see if there even was one. The doctor felt around with the sonar. Nothing. She couldn't find the heartbeat. She scheduled us for an ultrasound to make sure everything was alright, but she was optimistic. So was Alex. I couldn't bring myself to be.

We went into the ultrasound, and I was just excited to finally know either way -- this baby was either healthy or not. I will never forget that ultrasound as long as I live. Right away, we heard the sweetest sound in the world - Jack's heartbeat. It was tiny and a little faint, but it was definitely there. I cried, mainly out of relief. We saw this tiny little gummybear wiggling it's arms and legs, as if to say "Hi Mom! I'm here and full of life, and I am coming to you soon."

It was such a blessing, and absolute miracle. I knew a little one was finally coming to ME. to US.

The rest of the pregnancy was filled with morning sickness, emotional rollercoasters, and changes. I thanked Heavenly Father every morning I threw up (which was almost every morning) because that meant that the little body was still in there, and was making room. The pregnancy was prettty hard, but I knew it was a blessing I got to experience it at all. I am so grateful that I had that perspective. I am so grateful that my body was able to carry the pregnancy all the way. There was a time I thought I would never be able to do that.

And now on to the actual birth. I was having contrations off and on for a week, and my Mom came intot own on Saturday April 28 around dinner time. The day before the doctor had stripped my membranes, but still nothing changed. The docto assured me that I could be induced on Monday if the baby didn't come over the weekend. It would be just a few more days of waiting. I could handle that.
My Mom was going to be here for 10 days, and I wanted to here for as much baby helping as possibly. Like the angle he is, Jack granted my wish. We went to dinner at Zupas, I got the spicy Chipotle salad, and a few hours later after a walk around the mall we were all home getting ready for bed when it happened. I layed down in bed, and a hard contraction hit me like a ton of bricks, taking my breath away. He was coming.

to be continued....