The past 2 1/2 weeks have been such a blur! Life has been so busy trying to adjust to life as a new mommy but I finally feel like I can stop and breathe for a minute. I have a LOT to catch everyone up on, so I will get on with it. I will begin with going into labor...
On Monday March 22nd I had my 39 week appointment. I had not made any more progress since my last appointment. I was still 3 cm and 90% effaced... I tried not to be discouraged but it was getting really hard! Dr. Litsey mentioned to me that he would be on call the following Monday, the 29th, if I wanted to be induced. He told us to go home and think about it and call back and let him know. Daniel and I went home that day, talked it over, and decided that if Maddox did not come on his own before then, I was going to be induced on the 29th. We both felt good about it and I was so excited we actually had a "birthday" set. So, we did our usual watching of all of our shows on Monday and called it a night, fully expecting to go to work the next day.
At 3:30 am, I woke up with some very intense stomach pains. All I had had prior to now were Braxton Hicks which did not hurt, so I knew these were different. They literally took my breath away. I laid in bed for several minutes and began timing them. They were consistently 10 minutes apart for 40 minutes, which led me to believe they were the real deal. I decided I should wake Daniel up at this point, so I did. We kept timing them and noticed that they were getting more intense and were closer together, now 7-8 minutes apart. We decided to continue timing them until about 5:45 when I felt it was time to call labor and delivery and talk to a nurse. When I called the nurse she told me that they might not be the real thing and to take some tylenol, drink something cold, and lay down. Well, let me tell you, I was in so much pain, that was not an option for me. Tylenol does not even cure my headaches, so I knew it would be worthless for contractions. I decided to go ahead and call my school and let then know I would not be making it in to work. Then I went ahead and got in the shower b/c I knew we were going to be going to the hospital very soon. While in the shower I had 4 more contractions, now 2-3 minutes apart, and I was beginning to panic a little. I knew we needed to go very soon. We ended up leaving for the hospital about 7:20 and getting there about 7:30. They separated Daniel and me to take me back to the observation room. Oh yeah, we called family on the way to the hospital also. In the obeservation room, I was getting so nervous b/c I wanted Daniel to be back there with me so bad. Dr. Hensarling came in and checked me and told me I was at 4 cm and wanted to know if I wanted my epidural. My response was, "So you're not sending me home then?" I was so scared that I would get there and they would end up sending me home! She laughed and said "Oh, no! You're here to stay! "
To make a long story short, I progressed very quickly and ended up giving birth to little Maddox at 2:23 pm on Tuesday. Let me tell you, that epidural was GLORIOUS! I was not sure in the beginning that I wanted one, but that was one decision that I will never regret. I felt the whole contraction pain for what I thought was plenty long, and then I really got to enjoy the actual birth. The day was so crazy! I can't believe that he is finally here and is already 2 1/2 weeks old! We love him so much and can't wait for his little personality to develop even more. Here are a few pictures from his birthday. There are lots more on facebook if anyone is interested.
If you can't tell, Maddox is a clone of Daniel. I really don't think he has any of my features at all. But this does not bother me in the slightset b/c I think my husband is as cute as they come! I took him to the Pediatric Clinic on Wednesday just to get a weight check and he is already up to 7 lbs., 9 ounces! I guess he is feeding well! I will try to be better about updating the blog. It is just very difficult trying to balance everything. I am sure it will get easier once we fall into some sort of routine. For now, we are just loving every second of having Maddox and we can't wait to see what the future holds for our family of 3! :)
2) Pampers Swaddlers - Again, Pampers seems to be our brand of choice. We've only tried one other brand, but there was no comparison! The Pampers Swaddlers work so much better for us and hold a lot more than the other brand we used. I am a huge fan!
3) Sleep Positioner - The first few nights were a struggle figuring out how/where to get him to sleep at night. After talking to a friend of mine that works in the nursery at the hospital, she suggested trying to put him to bed on his side. We had this sleep positioner and had tried it when we put him on his back, but it really did the trick when we made it smaller and put him on his side. It really keeps him from moving all around and it also helps keep his swaddle intact. 
We also took Maddox to church for the first time on Sunday. I have to admit I was a nervous wreck about this, but he did wonderful! I had to take him out once to feed him and then he fell asleep and Daniel and I were able to go out to eat and even run in Target for a little bit. Here he is all dressed and ready to go...
