Madison's Arrival and Things I Have Learned

Madison Ella made her arrival on Thanksgiving day at 10:28 pm weighing 7lbs 6oz and measuring 20 inches.  Long story made short, I woke up just after midnight on Thanksgiving with heartburn and what I thought was stomach cramps.  I moved into the living room to sleep in the recliner.  As the night went on the "stomach cramps" got worse and kept waking me up.  I also had some wicked diarrhea (sorry for the TMI).  Finally around 4am I downloaded an app to time contractions and started timing the "cramping" only to find out they were consistently 5 1/2 minutes apart and lasted about a minute.  So I woke DH up and took a shower.  When the contractions reached 3 minutes apart (around 10am) we went to the hospital.  

When we got to the hospital I was dilated to 4cm and was 100% effaced.  They admitted me into L&D.  My contractions continued to get worse so I requested and received an epidural.  Although the epidural helped the pain, it also slowed down the labor progression.  The doctor broke my water but several hours later I was only at a 6 so they pushed pitocen.  Around 9pm I was finally completely dilated and ready to push.  I pushed for a little over an hour moving the baby with each push.  However, the baby's heart rate started dropping after each push concerning the doctor.  

Things got scary when they started talking about needing to get the baby out now.  They were going to try the vacuum but if it didn't work we would have to have a c-section.  Luckily one push with the vacuum's help and Madison came into the world.  Unfortunately for me, using the vacuum to pull her out resulted in several tears which had to be sewn up.  But, seeing her come out and my husband's face when he saw her for the first time is a moment I will never forget.  

So, I have been a mom to an outside baby for 11 days now and here are some things I have learned: 

1.   The love I feel for her is indescribable.  I love my husband and my pups but I have never felt anything like I do for that little turkey.  

2.   Nursing is hard.  It is not instinctual and can be really frustrating.  We have gotten the hang of it but it was hard work adjusting to it.  Especially since we have to feed her every 2 hours to try to get her weight back up after she lost quite a bit post delivery. 

3.   I love my postpartum body.  There were times I felt so huge and unattractive in my pregnant body.  But, somehow that has gone away.  Maybe because I can see the amazing things my body has done and continues to do.  I am grateful for my body and all it has done to give me this amazing miracle.  

4.   You can never have enough newborn sleep 'n plays.  Madison lives in them.  They are amazing.  

5.   "Highly recommended" baby products can still suck.  I hated the Boppy.  I don't care how highly recommended it is, in my opinion it sucks!  I love the my brest friend pillow though.  So, recommendations are not always right for you. 

6.   Netflix is my friend.  Waking up every 2 hours to nurse sucks, but at least there is netflix and great shows to keep me company.  

7.   Taking a shower does wonders for how I feel every day.  I make it a point to shower every day and put on real clothes so I feel a little more human.  It has helped me fend off the baby blues.  

And finally, there is nothing like being a mother.  I am eternally grateful to have been able to experience this.