Madison Kaye Real has arrived!!!

Our baby girl is here!!!  Madison Kaye Real was born Friday, May 8th, 2009 at 12:32AM.  She weighs 8.7LBS and is 21 in. long.  It was quite an adventure to get her here.  

I was attempting to go to bed Wednesday night when I started feeling funny.  I tried to go to bed but I just couldn't stay still.  I started having strong, consistent contractions about midnight.  They started out about 10 min. apart but quickly got closer and closer together.  By 5 am we knew we were in true labor and called our doula, Taffy.  She came right over and we started doing some breathing and laboring positions to help me cope with the pain.  I was determined to stay home as long as possible.  We were able to labor at home for a while.  We finally decided to head to the hospital at 10:30 when my contractions were about 2 minutes apart and the pain was getting pretty bad.  We were able to check right in!

We were excited to see how far I had progressed, since I had been in labor for 10 1/2 hours already...I was only a 4!  The pain was bad and I wanted the drugs but I decided to try to stick it out a little longer.  At around 2:30 they checked me again and I was at a 5-6 and in more pain than I could handle...I had been laboring for over 14 hours on my feet...I never sat down!  I decided I needed the drugs...my feet hurt too bad to continue.  Wow...the epidural was AMAZING!!!  I finally got to lay down and I was a lot more comfortable.  

A couple of hours later they checked me again and I was a 6...I was wondering if this was ever going to end!  My wonderful husband, amazing doula, and loving family stood waiting to see what was taking so long.  It was so frustrating!  The doctor finally decided to break my water, hoping it would move things along, and the scariest thing happened.  It seemed that the entire hospital staff ran into my room.  No one said anything, they were all over me moving me around, talking all technical, it was scary!  Turns out that there was a dip in the baby's heart rate after a strong contraction.  This slowed everything down...I stayed dilated to a 7 for the rest of the evening.  

The doctor finally came in and suggested a c-section, which I was totally against.  But she talked me into it because I had been laboring for a full 24 hours now and I was stuck at 7 and a -1 (the baby was still really high in the birth canal).  The doctor explained that even if I made it to a 10 I would still have to push and she was thinking I might not have the energy.  I was very upset but decided that a c-section at that point was better than an emergency c-section if the pushing was too much.

They prepped me for the surgery and in I went... 1/2 sad I missed out on natural delivery, 1/2 happy I was finally going to meet her.  The surgery went well.  Nolan held my hand the entire time.  It was amazing  when they held Madison Kaye in front of my face for the first time. Nolan left to cut the umbilical chord and watch them clean her up. He brought her back to me and let me look at her while they finished stitching me up. She was beautiful!!! I was in love!!! 

Nolan and the baby went to the nursery and I was taken to recovery. At about 3a.m. we were admitted to a room to get some rest. Later that day Madison Kaye was brought to us. Here are some of the pictures.(please see pictures to the right, we are working on posting an album)

 

 

 

 

39 Weeks and counting!!!

I just had my 39 week appt. and all is still well...after a little anxiety! I went in for what I thought was going to be a 10 minute quickie exam turned into be being there for an hour and a half. Apparently, my blood pressure a little high and they wanted to rule out any complications. He, the doctor, said he was going to do a routine exam and actually did a sweeping of the membranes and checked for dilation. WOW!!! Not what I expected and not something I would ever want done again!

After that they monitored the baby's heart rate for 20 minutes, they drew some blood, and did an ultrasound to check the fluids inutero. All of the tests came back great! The doctor told me to go home and have sex with my husband! That was the only advice...I bet Nolan will thank him later!

So, I'm now back home with my feet up, thinking my mom is wonderful for helping me put the final touches on my nesting projects. I'm also waiting for my adorable husband to get home from work!!! Oh...yeah!!!

38 Weeks...Tick Tock!

So, I apologize for the delay...it sure has been awhile since my last update. I was busy working, and I loved my job, but it took a lot out of me and I wasn't up for much, just wanted to sleep! My 3rd trimester was more exhausting than my 1st! Now that I'm not working I figured it was time for an update...all the nagging helped get me motivated!
I just had my 38 week check up and all is going perfect! The doctors had me stop working earlier than expected (by 3 days) and I think it was a blessing in disguise. Since then my blood pressure is back down and the swelling or edema is much better (although my feet still look like small boats and I have temporary loss of my ankles!) I feel great and I still love being pregnant. My little Madison isn't a kicker...she does daily yoga! She's really fun and just stretches away so it doesn't hurt, it's sorta soothing. I just sit and watch my belly move and laugh. I'm going to miss being pregnant!!!
Last week at the doctor's office Nolan realized that I am full term and our little girl could come any day...he turned pale white and had to sit down! He's been so sweet and he's been taking good care of us...even been feeling some sympathy pains!!! He's been singing to her and he picked out the most beautiful song...I cry every time he sings it to my belly. I just keep imagining him holding her in his arms singing to her (smile and tear)! Lyrics are posted on the side...
The next update will be very soon and I promise pictures of her room and our crazy nesting project we've been up to!!!

Madison's Room

Cheri's parents have bought us our baby girl's bedding! (see pictures to the left) We found this bedding set and just fell in love with it. We ordered it last night and we can't wait to get it! After we found it we saw an article that Courtney Cox bought the same bedding for her daughter! There are some great items that go with the bedding that I will be registering for later and I will post a link for that on the blog.
We can't wait to get the bedroom started! So many plans...we don't know where to begin!!!

It's a .........

We had a wonderful Christmas! We went up to Cheri's parent's ranch and most of her family was there with us. We had a really hard time waiting to open our special envelope. It was torture to not know! So on Christmas Eve, when Nolan got off work and drove up to the ranch, we decided to sneak into our room and open the envelope. We couldn't believe what we saw...we were silent...in shock... Then we went back to join the rest of the family and we decided to go ahead and tell them...we couldn't wait. Nolan held up a blue outfit and I held up a pink outfit and then...
Nolan put his blue outfit down and we announced that we are expecting a.....GIRL!!!

Madison Kaye Real should be joining us this May!!!

Stay tuned!!!

We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas!!

20 Weeks...1/2 way...ULTRASOUND!!!

Wow...I can't believe we are 1/2 way through the pregnancy. I am now 5 months pregnant and still really enjoying the experience. According to our favorite website, Mango weighs about 10 1/2 ounces now. Mango's also around 6 1/2 inches long from head to bottom and about 10 inches from head to heel — the length of a banana and about the size of a cantaloupe. I can definitely feel the baby move now...weird and exciting!!!

We went to the doctor's for a check up today and it was amazing! We had our 20 week ultrasound and we got to see our little Mango again. Mango is currently breach, which is ok this early, so it's head is up by my belly button and it's legs were stretched out and it's feet were crossed at the ankles. Mango was really moving this time. You could see it's little fist stretch and fly through the air. At one point Mango stretched out, arching it's back and I think I caught Nolan tear up. Nol said OMG it's moving...wow!!! I think it was so special for Nolan to see what I've been feeling the last couple of days!

The doctor said the baby looks great. All of the measurements are perfect and match the due date. The doctor even got a close shot of Mango's face and said it had it's daddy's nose!!! We can't wait till we get to find out the gender...but the doctor said that Mango was in the worst position possible to tell it's gender! We aren't even sure if she was able to determine it or not. We maybe waiting on knowing a little longer...we'll have to see! It's really harder than I thought to hold on to this envelope with the possibility of such amazing news!!! Hope we have something to share with you soon!!!