A Long Hospital Stay

Hello Madison,

When we last talked I had just finished telling the tale of your birth.  Having already been in the hospital since Wednesday we were ready to go back home but since you were delivered by c section that meant we had to stay THREE nights afterwards to make sure you and your mom were healthy and ok.  We moved to the postpartum wing though which meant I got a hospital bed like your mom rather than that terrible fold out chair bed thing.

The day after you were born, Saturday, my parents and my sister Erin arrived in the suburbs from the city to meet you for the first time.  My mom just couldn't stop taking pictures of you.  Unfortunately for her she's not very good with digital cameras and I had to spend a little time instructing her how to use them.  She had just gotten an new smartphone so she was trying to figure out how to take pictures with that as well.  She took so many pictures that she stopped taking pictures of you as a whole and started taking pictures of individual body parts - feet, hands, ect.

That Saturday also happened to be the season opener for my Georgia Bulldogs.  We played a cream puff team, Buffalo, which made it ok that I had to watch the game intermittently on my phone rather than on the big screen at home like I had originally planned (since you were supposed to have been born 6 days ago...).  It gave me an excuse to put on your Georgia baby hat.  We had plenty of other Georgia clothes for you but unfortunately they didn't fit a newborn so all you had was the hat. It wasn't a pretty game but Georgia won.

Midday Saturday I was able to head home with my parents to get them set up in the guest bedroom and also to steal a nap.  While I was at home your Grandparents Reining and Uncle Chris and Kathleen came to meet you.  They left before I got back though.  Really I don't remember much about that day outside of the family visiting.  When nobody was visiting us your mother and I tried our best to sleep.  Between you and the hospital staff waking us up every hour it was pretty difficult to get rested.  That night was probably the toughest your mother and I have had with you thus far.  You just would not stop crying.  We were both tired and frustrated and once your mom started crying I started crying.  Thankfully we got a nurse to swaddle you up and you seemed to calm down.

Sunday my parents and Aunt Erin (Aunt E as I called her.  Hopefully that name stuck and you call her that to this day...) came back over for more holding of the baby and picture taking.  I had to take Erin back to the METRA station around 430 and my parents went back to the house.  After that I remember going down to the hospital cafeteria and getting a fairly good sloppy joe, like a pound of green beans, and a free chocolate milk the cashier forgot to ring up.  That night we sent you to the nursery for a couple hours so we could get some precious sleep.  It wasn't alot but it was better than what we had gotten the past two nights.

Monday morning we were cleared to take you home!  After spending five nights in that darn hospital we finally got to take you to your real home.  I loaded up all our stuff (of which there was a ton) into the Honda Pilot (I wonder if we still have that car in the time you are reading this...) and made sure the baby car seat base was securely fastened to the seat while they wheeled your mom and you down in a wheelchair.  That drive home I must have driven like an old man - 10 miles below the speed limit.  I was nervous with such a precious cargo in the car!  Its not like it was a dangerous drive though - probably saw like 2 other cars the entire ride.

Finally after so long we were home!  With our beloved Madison.

The Birth!

Hello Madison!

Man a lot has happened since I updated this blog.

When we last talked your mother and I were patiently waiting in the hospital for her induction to work and for her to dilate enough to deliver you.  After spending Wednesday night in the hospital while they gave Meghan Cervadil we then spent all of Thursday there while we waiting for the pitocin to start contracting the cervix and get her into labor.  After doing that most of the day the doctor decided to give your mom a break and start the pitocin again Friday morning at 3am.  So we had dinner from the hospital cafeteria (yuck) and went to sleep.

The next morning I awoke and your mom was already on her second round of pitocin.  The doctor came to check up on her and decided to speed labor along by breaking your mom's water.  After that happened her contractions definitely started getting stronger.  So strong that I started feeling just awful watching her writhe around on the bed in pain.  Thankfully they gave her an epidural and all the pain vanished.  At least until early evening when it started wearing off.  Around 8ish the doctor (Dr. Zieno this time rather than Karney, who had left to attend a wedding) came to check on your mom and she still hadn't dilated any more than 5cm.  We were going to have to do a Cesarian section :(  It was the one thing your mom said at the very beginning of this pregnancy that she didn't want to do and again I felt terrible for her but she was willing to do whatever she had to do to get you into this world. So a c section was what we did.

After spending the past 49 hours in the hospital waiting around for something to happen I figured it'd probably take them a couple hours to get ready for the surgery but they almost immediately handed me some sterile scrubs, a face mask, and a hair guard and told me to get ready.  They took your mom into the operating room within the half hour and after she was prepped they called me in to sit by her side while the operation went on.  There was a big curtain all around her body so I couldn't see anything.  Surprisingly they had you out of there within 2 minutes of starting the procedure.  Since your mom was laying down and behind the curtain she couldn't see you but I could.  You were beautiful.  I immediately was over come with emotion.  Words failed me.  I couldn't say anything without crying.  Of course your mom is laying down there waiting for me to report back to her and all I could get out was "She's beautiful".

They rushed me out with you to the nursery for tests while they sewed back up your mom.  I felt terrible leaving her but she wanted me to be with you.  She kept asking me if she was alright cause she could her the doctors "whispering" and figured something had gone wrong.  "You're doing great honey", was all I could say before heading out the door with you.

At the nursery they did the Agpar test which measures how healthy a baby is out of the womb. In our baby class they told us rarely do babies get 9-10s on the Agpar right out of the womb so not to be disappointed if your baby gets a 4 or a 5.  I'm proud to say you scored a 9.  I felt so much relief knowing you were so healthy given that when I was born I was all sorts of sickly.

After the Agpar they weighed you, a whopping 9lbs 8.87 ounces rounded up to 9lbs 9oz.  Then you got all your blood tests.  You did not like those at all.  All the time I'm still weeping at the wonder that is you.  The nursery nurses had to give me a box of tissues.

While all of this was going on they were finishing up with your mom and moving her to recovery.  I headed back over there to see her and let the nurses get you nice and bundled up.  Of course I still can vocalize much about you at this point.  Any time I think of you I get all teary eyed.  I knew I was going to cry when you were born but I didn't realize how powerfully emotional the whole process was.  I don't think I've ever cried that much out of happiness in my entire life.  I got a little misty when I proposed to your mom and when we got married but never like this.  Gosh I'm getting teary eyed just reliving the moment.  God help me when you get married and I have to deliver a speech!

After you were done with all the tests the nurses let me cart you over to your mom and meet her for the first time.  Of course she though you were so so beautiful.  And she said she had never seen me cry before.  Eventually I got clearance to bring your grandparents Reining back to the recovery room so they could meet you as well.  Everyone just thought you were the most amazing thing in the world.  Eventually we were moved to our new postpartum room and your grandparents left for the night.  We had to wait until around 1am for the nurses to finally bring you back after another round of tests.  I honestly am not sure what time we went to sleep that night.  Maybe around 4am?  We just sat there holding you and looking at you.  That was to be the first of many many sleepless nights...

We still had 3 more days left in the hospital; what would happen next?  How would having a newborn affect our lives?  I'll detail that out in additional posts cause I'm tired.  Mainly because of you :)

Madison Watch - Day 2

Well Madison we're still at the hospital.  It is now 12:40p on Friday August 31st.  We have been here since 8p August 29th.  I haven't spent this much time in a hospital since I was a sickly little kid.

So the cervadil didn't work and the pitocin drip yesterday didn't do much so the doctor decided to give your mom a break and take her off the pitocin for the evening and start things back at 3am.  We ordered dinner and watched a little TV before turning in to bed.  Another night on this horrible hospital chair bed thing.

This morning I woke up to see that your mom had been on pitocin for about 4 hours.  Mild contractions but still nothing to heavy.  Around 9ish the doctor showed up and decided to rupture the amniotic sac to speed things along.  Once that was done your mom's contractions definitely started increasing in strength!  Finally some progress!

Around noon she had finally dilated enough that they were comfortable with giving her the epidural.  Not a moment too soon might I add cause those contractions were really starting to hurt her.  I didn't like seeing her in that much pain and not being able to do anything about it.

So now here I sit while your mom naps updating you on the whole process.  My dad pointed out the irony that this weekend is LABOR Day weekend.  You are certainly putting the Labor into it.  Things are looking good though and after a day we are seeing progress so the hopes are that you'll be born tonight. 

Just in time too.  If you are born tomorrow then you have to wait an additional year to start school.  Bummer, right?

Love,
Dad

Greetings from the Hospital

Well Madison, here we are in the hospital waiting for you to be delivered.  We got to the hospital at around 8p last night.

After a bunch of paperwork and labwork we finally got down to business and your mom got the dose of cervadil to thin her cervix.

Here she is sporting the lovely birthing gown.

We spent the night letting the cervadil do its thing and woke up the next morning around 730a.  Dr. Karney showed up and did her initial check up and much to our surprise the cervadil had done nothing to start thinning the cervix.  Apparently you are quite the large baby.  You could be pushing the scales at 9-10 lbs.  Yowza!  Unfortunately this means there is a chance that your Mom will have to deliver by c section, which is something she didn't want to do.

After the check up the nurses started administering pitocin which should jump start contractions.  Your grandma Penny also showed up to hang out.  Now that the pitocin is going Meghan seems to be having contractions on a regular basis so hopefully we're that much closer to seeing you for the first time.

I'll update this blog when I have a chance but I'm pretty sure your Mom doesn't want me live blogging her labor...

Love,
Dad

Just Hanging Out At The Hospital

Here's your mom getting a fetal stress test on the Monday before you were to be born.  They monitored your heart rate and your mom for contractions.  We sat there for about a half hour before they got enough data to say that you were totally unstressed.

After that we went in for an ultrasound where they confirmed that you still had enough amniotic fluid around you and that you were still a girl (whew!).

With both those tests passed the greenlit us for an induction on Wednesday night (TONIGHT!).  Ready or not Madison you're coming out :)

Overdue

Well Madison it seems like you really like that womb your mother has made for you.  So much that you're now 3 days over due and showing no signs of wanting to come out.  Luckily modern medicine has the cure for that stubbornness - drug induced labor!

So the plan is for us to go to the hospital Wednesday night where they will give your mom a cervix thinner and a sedative.  She'll sleep the night away while I attempt to sleep the night away on the god awful chair/pullout bed thing they have in the rooms for dads.  In the morning they'll give Meghan some sort of suppository that'll get the whole show on the road.  If everything goes well you'll be born Thursday morning/afternoon.  Hopefully you have a nice short birth like all the kids on my side of the family.  We'll be in the hospital for another 2 nights and get home just in time for the Georgia season opener.

Don't worry, I have your pink Georgia baby hat ready for when you leave the hospital!

Text From Your Mother...