HERE SHE IS! LITTLE MISS MADELYN!!!!
Well, it was a LONG and HARD process, but she is finally here! Her official due date was November 14th, but she decided to wait and make her grand entrance on her own special day! It was a fun, and slightly interesting story, and I wish to tell you EVERY rough minute of it!
On Friday, November 14th, I went in for a doctor requested appointment, to see if I had made any progress toward labor, to which I had not. So Allan and I were given some information regarding induction, which I will say, I was not all that excited for. But because my doctor (being as everything needed to be on her schedule) decided that she wanted me to attempt to deliver before she went on her Thanksgiving vacation. So we were scheduled to go in to the birthing center on Monday morning, November 17th, to be induced via Mistoprystl. She had decided because naturally I was making no progress, it would be a bad idea to use Pitosin, because it was a "losing battle". So we heard the information, and signed our hesitance away for them to do this procedure.
I had called down as I was supposed to on Monday morning, to make sure a bed was available, and a nurse. Originally I was told I would need to be there at 7:30 am, and they would start inducing by 8 am. Well, everyone in the world knows nothing EVER works the way it is supposed to, and so they told me to come down at 8:30 am when I called, and didn't even start the process until 10:15. What were they doing you ask? That's an excellent question, and I wish to goodness I had an answer for you!
Then, slowly but surely, the contractions started... they were light, but noticeable. I laid down for an hour, then sat up for an hour, and then was allowed to walk around for an hour. Inducing was not as fun as you'd think it might be. Then after the first dose, they did another treatment. I again had to go through the same process. My contractions started picking up, to being about every 7 minutes, and not lasting very long. But I noticed them. The nurse then decided because I was having contractions, that it would be a good idea to not do another treatment, and allow my body to try to start it's own natural pregnancy. So at 4:30, I was on my own. And you know what, nothing really changed. The contractions started to get a little stronger, but nothing too difficult to bear. Family and friends sat around, waiting for something to happen. I walked the halls, waiting myself for something to happen. And then at 7:30 pm, the doctor came in, and it was the worse news in the world. She said I was making no progress, and that they were most likely going to send me home (I could have told her there was no progress, because wouldn't you know, they didn't give me the additional doses they probably should have!). She said because I was having contractions, they were going to monitor me for a couple more hours, and then make a decision. To which they did, and then 3 hours later, they told me they'd monitor me for another four hours and get back to me. There were a lot of mixed emotions that I don't want to go in to, and a lot of frustration about the HORRIBLE nursing staff, and the even worse doctor who was treating me. As you know, I didn't like her to begin with. So at 1:30 in the morning, they decided to send me home. CAN YOU BELIEVE IT!?! I was SO horribly upset at this point. They sent me with some sleeping medications, to which I did not take, and basically left me with no real resolution. Only fears of what this would lead to.
The next morning, I woke up, and the contractions were still there, VERY noticeable. I was also having some other concerns, so I decided to call and talk to the birthing center, to get their advice. They told me that nothing seemed to indicate pregnancy at this point, and to just kind of monitor things. So for the day, every 5-7 minutes for the most part, I was having contractions, and they'd last about 1-2 minutes a piece. But we didn't let it stop our day. We went out to the stores, stopped by and ran some errands, and just went about our day. And things seemed to keep progressing as they did, but I thought NOTHING of it. Then Allan's brother and wife came over to make us dinner, and help us out with a few things, and I noticed that things were getting far more noticeable, and more painful. So at 6:30 pm, I decided to start monitoring my contractions. They were consistent, every 3-4 minutes, lasting 45 seconds to a minute. At 9:30, I decided to call down to the birthing center, and explain what was going on, and they requested me to come in to get checked out. So needless to say we rushed in, in the most pain I have EVER been in in my life! Okay, that's not true, but it sure felt like it. They sent me to the exam room where Allan joined me, and guess what they found out. I was already at 9 cm. And everything from there was a wonderful rush! They wheeled me in to my room, where I had to rush to get all my papers signed, and my IVY in. Allan rushed calls to family to tell them to get down to the hospital as quickly as possible. And before we knew it, she was on her way!
And she was born, not even an hour later! Weighing in at 7 pounds and 2 ounces, and 19 3/4 inches long. Her official time of birth was 10:45 pm, and her head was FULL of black hair, as you can tell. It was perfection! I couldn't have asked for a better labor, since I got to do most of it at home, and a better delivery, which only took about 30 minutes!
She is so delightful, though we've found her to be SUCH a night owl, which I guess she gets from her mom! But she's so quiet, even when she's all worked up, you could barely hear her. We just adore her little voice!
When she is awake, she's SO curious, she just looks around to explore the world around her. Of course she had a natural tendency to put her thumb in her mouth, just like her brother, but she seems to have grown passed it! We just are in awe remembering what it's like to have such a little, little one around! Ethan is doing WONDERFUL with her for the most part! The only time he really has a hard time is when people come to visit, and they don't focus all their attention on him like they used to. But he's good at helping get her baby diapers, and putting her pacifier in her mouth when she's upset, and he likes to tell everyone who his baby is. Though it took him a while to realize that baby Madie wasn't in mommy's tummy anymore. He really is going to continue to be a great big brother in the end! 
