We were anxious for the big day- the inducing of Maddie Caldwell since she decided to run over on her due date- so we went in on Monday, December 28th at 8 pm with barely any sleep due to excitement and anxiety to prepare for her birth. We got in no problem since I pre-registered, and pretty much started right on the dot.
They put me on Syntocinon (similar to Pitocin) and a Foley Bulb to dilate me to 4-5 centimeters so I could begin the process and they predicted I would not have Maddie until around 6am-12pm the next day. Boy, did I underestimate the timing of labor! I started contracting and it was pretty intense, but they could not give me any pain medication except some type of medication to dull the pain which kind of made me dizzy and knocked me out for a couple of minutes, but it made things a lot less painful. Around 4 in the morning I felt the bulb fall out, and the nurse checked me to find that I was 5 cm dilated, and began the Pitocin drip. Things began to automatically grow worse in pain as soon as she put it in, and when I thought things couldn't get any worse, she told me we would have to wait an hour for the anesthesiologist before I could get my epidural. If I could have focused on it more through the pain, I would definately have took a picture of the labor room- it was like a high grade hotel, wooden floors, dvd player, nice tv, spacious! We tried to watch Wolverine to take away some attention from the things at hand, family members came in and out to talk with me, and the last visitors I remember was my mom and mother-in-law. Eric was there the entire time, holding my hand.
Luckily, the delivery of the epidural showed up around 40 minutes later, it was a little painful,but I immediately began to feel the effects. After that, I was pretty mellow, they put me on oxygen due to the baby's heart rate going down, and probably about two hours later I began to feel some pressure on the left side around my lower abdomen. My mother and mother-in-law requested the nurse to check me and no surprise, I was 9 1/2 centimeters! We had sent Eric downstairs to go get some food, for it was around 12:15pm by that time, and the pressure began to grow heavier. While the nurse went to go prep, the pressure grew steadily more intense as the time grew by and I knew I could not hold it for too long. After about the 20th time of asking Eric to go get the nurse to hurry up, she finally rushed back to apologize since she was waiting on the doctor, and shortly after, Doctor Robinson-White arrived.
We were ready after she checked, the baby's head was very close and after about 4-5 pushes, out comes 9lb 2 oz 21 inch baby Madeline Grace Caldwell.
When we saw how big the doctor's eyes were and the hugeness of our pink crying ball filling up the baby tray, we were all astounded-co-workers at work had estimated an 8lb'er but never expected 9 lbs!
I would like to take the time to say that without the support and love from my family and friends, I don't know where I would be- but it was amazing to find that one entire waiting room was nearly filled with anxious people waiting to hear Maddie's cry. Although I am sure it was heard from the waiting room, Eric put Maddie up to the phone so everyone could hear her first words to the world. Shortly after, about 10 people came pouring in to pass Maddie along and I got to eat (yay!) All I can say is, she is absolutely beautiful. I immediately fell in love with her. Here is the total list of people who came by to see her:
Mimi and Grandpa Caldwell
Grammy and Grampy Smith
Auntie Amber
Auntie Amy and Uncle James
Great Aunt Lisa and Great Uncle Bill
Great Grandma and Great Grandpa Touchton
Aunt Kortney
Great Grandma and Great Grandpa Caldwell
Great Grandma Paschall
"Grand" Pastors John and Natalie Eldridge
"G"
Mechelle Mouriski
Kristian Mouriski
April Barber
Crystal and Joey Alexander
The Etchison Clan (Kathy, Joe, Timmy, Laura, Hannah and Drew)
This does not include all the wonderful people who called and was with us in spirit.
Because I had pushed pretty hard, I suffered a 2 degree tear, was stitched up and whisked away to our room. Eric took some pics and before long, they were placing me in the bed and taking Maddie away to the nursery for follow-up.
We got to see Maddie for maybe an hour before she was sent back to the nursery due to some concerns about her heavy breathing, and since it continued, we found out upon two days before we were supposed to leave that Maddie would need to stay 3 more days to finish out some antibiotics and some blood testing to determine the situation. We had a very kind nursing staff and round of Pediatricians- Dr. Fuller being our main man who was very informative about our options: Either it could be a heart problem, fluid in lungs from delivery which was only temporary or some type of infection, thus the treatment of antibiotics just to take precaution.
Because I was in so much pain due to pain from the delivery spot, I was given Percocet and occasional Ibuprofen to reduce intensity. I felt as if no one would take me seriously, but it was labor to get in and out of bed to use the restroom, much less bend over the toilet. Because I had not passed a bowel movement after the third day, we began informing the nurses, which gave me stool softeners, however, no show...
The day after my release we got to have Maddie back in the room with us and sleeping during the night (or should I say crying) and to make it worse, I woke up to extreme pressure to use the restroom. With no success and extreme pain, we had called the nurses because of me being unable to do anything but cry. Poor Eric was distraught between me and the baby crying, the nurse came in to get Madeline to put in the nursery and Eric left to get ugh..the ugly word ... and Enema according to advice from my OBGYN doctor after calling her. Little success and due to me being discharged- the nurses could do nothing so we ended up going to the ER to see what could be done. We found out I was impacted, and thank God to the nice doctor two floors down, I was given GoLytely....a nice little colon cleanser.There is no need to say much more on the subject but it should be renamed GoHeavily!
With much relief, not only did we get Maddie back and I was in less pain, we were able to settle down some, but because nurses practically came in every other hour, Maddie crying for food every other hour, too many days in a tiny hospital and me no sleep, it began to grow tiresome on my still current pregnancy hormones.
Because Maddie had to continue to be sent to the nursery for IV's and monitoring and put under oxygen, the loneliness and Post-Partum Depression.began to set in. We missed our baby very much and the thought of her being under a little air tank really affected me. I think I experienced everything but bad feelings toward the baby, but maybe it is a parent's own thinking about how adorable their baby is that made me not feel that way towards her.
I am so thankful for the family and friends who came by to take away the loneliness as well as my husband, offering food, comfort and love when it was very much needed.
We were given on Friday an estimate that if things continued to go well with Maddie's respiratory rate going down, her blood cultures showing up negative for anything bad and no heart problems as well has her increase in appetite, she could go home Monday. We were estatic!
Needless to say, we got to go home today and it has been a huge relief. We dressed her in her little outfit, and although it has been a week later, all I can say is I am happy to be home!
I think all women who go through labor should receive an award for all the strange changes, it is like an extreme shock in change to the body. However, I made it alive, Maddie is well, and Eric has survived.
Thank God for all the blessings in life.
-Daph
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Welcome
Welcome to my babble blog! Here you will find: the random musings of a full-time stay-at-home mom and wife/part-time leasing specialist for three apartment communities, all-the-time crafter, whole-hearted worshipper, in-progress follower of Jesus Christ, and spontaneous hyper individual.
Because there are just so many facets of me..
Monday, January 4, 2010
There and Back Again...a Tale about Maddie Caldwell........
We were anxious for the big day- the inducing of Maddie Caldwell since she decided to run over on her due date- so we went in on Monday, December 28th at 8 pm with barely any sleep due to excitement and anxiety to prepare for her birth. We got in no problem since I pre-registered, and pretty much started right on the dot.
They put me on Syntocinon (similar to Pitocin) and a Foley Bulb to dilate me to 4-5 centimeters so I could begin the process and they predicted I would not have Maddie until around 6am-12pm the next day. Boy, did I underestimate the timing of labor! I started contracting and it was pretty intense, but they could not give me any pain medication except some type of medication to dull the pain which kind of made me dizzy and knocked me out for a couple of minutes, but it made things a lot less painful. Around 4 in the morning I felt the bulb fall out, and the nurse checked me to find that I was 5 cm dilated, and began the Pitocin drip. Things began to automatically grow worse in pain as soon as she put it in, and when I thought things couldn't get any worse, she told me we would have to wait an hour for the anesthesiologist before I could get my epidural. If I could have focused on it more through the pain, I would definately have took a picture of the labor room- it was like a high grade hotel, wooden floors, dvd player, nice tv, spacious! We tried to watch Wolverine to take away some attention from the things at hand, family members came in and out to talk with me, and the last visitors I remember was my mom and mother-in-law. Eric was there the entire time, holding my hand.
Luckily, the delivery of the epidural showed up around 40 minutes later, it was a little painful,but I immediately began to feel the effects. After that, I was pretty mellow, they put me on oxygen due to the baby's heart rate going down, and probably about two hours later I began to feel some pressure on the left side around my lower abdomen. My mother and mother-in-law requested the nurse to check me and no surprise, I was 9 1/2 centimeters! We had sent Eric downstairs to go get some food, for it was around 12:15pm by that time, and the pressure began to grow heavier. While the nurse went to go prep, the pressure grew steadily more intense as the time grew by and I knew I could not hold it for too long. After about the 20th time of asking Eric to go get the nurse to hurry up, she finally rushed back to apologize since she was waiting on the doctor, and shortly after, Doctor Robinson-White arrived.
We were ready after she checked, the baby's head was very close and after about 4-5 pushes, out comes 9lb 2 oz 21 inch baby Madeline Grace Caldwell.
When we saw how big the doctor's eyes were and the hugeness of our pink crying ball filling up the baby tray, we were all astounded-co-workers at work had estimated an 8lb'er but never expected 9 lbs!
I would like to take the time to say that without the support and love from my family and friends, I don't know where I would be- but it was amazing to find that one entire waiting room was nearly filled with anxious people waiting to hear Maddie's cry. Although I am sure it was heard from the waiting room, Eric put Maddie up to the phone so everyone could hear her first words to the world. Shortly after, about 10 people came pouring in to pass Maddie along and I got to eat (yay!) All I can say is, she is absolutely beautiful. I immediately fell in love with her. Here is the total list of people who came by to see her:
Mimi and Grandpa Caldwell
Grammy and Grampy Smith
Auntie Amber
Auntie Amy and Uncle James
Great Aunt Lisa and Great Uncle Bill
Great Grandma and Great Grandpa Touchton
Aunt Kortney
Great Grandma and Great Grandpa Caldwell
Great Grandma Paschall
"Grand" Pastors John and Natalie Eldridge
"G"
Mechelle Mouriski
Kristian Mouriski
April Barber
Crystal and Joey Alexander
The Etchison Clan (Kathy, Joe, Timmy, Laura, Hannah and Drew)
This does not include all the wonderful people who called and was with us in spirit.
Because I had pushed pretty hard, I suffered a 2 degree tear, was stitched up and whisked away to our room. Eric took some pics and before long, they were placing me in the bed and taking Maddie away to the nursery for follow-up.
We got to see Maddie for maybe an hour before she was sent back to the nursery due to some concerns about her heavy breathing, and since it continued, we found out upon two days before we were supposed to leave that Maddie would need to stay 3 more days to finish out some antibiotics and some blood testing to determine the situation. We had a very kind nursing staff and round of Pediatricians- Dr. Fuller being our main man who was very informative about our options: Either it could be a heart problem, fluid in lungs from delivery which was only temporary or some type of infection, thus the treatment of antibiotics just to take precaution.
Because I was in so much pain due to pain from the delivery spot, I was given Percocet and occasional Ibuprofen to reduce intensity. I felt as if no one would take me seriously, but it was labor to get in and out of bed to use the restroom, much less bend over the toilet. Because I had not passed a bowel movement after the third day, we began informing the nurses, which gave me stool softeners, however, no show...
The day after my release we got to have Maddie back in the room with us and sleeping during the night (or should I say crying) and to make it worse, I woke up to extreme pressure to use the restroom. With no success and extreme pain, we had called the nurses because of me being unable to do anything but cry. Poor Eric was distraught between me and the baby crying, the nurse came in to get Madeline to put in the nursery and Eric left to get ugh..the ugly word ... and Enema according to advice from my OBGYN doctor after calling her. Little success and due to me being discharged- the nurses could do nothing so we ended up going to the ER to see what could be done. We found out I was impacted, and thank God to the nice doctor two floors down, I was given GoLytely....a nice little colon cleanser.There is no need to say much more on the subject but it should be renamed GoHeavily!
With much relief, not only did we get Maddie back and I was in less pain, we were able to settle down some, but because nurses practically came in every other hour, Maddie crying for food every other hour, too many days in a tiny hospital and me no sleep, it began to grow tiresome on my still current pregnancy hormones.
Because Maddie had to continue to be sent to the nursery for IV's and monitoring and put under oxygen, the loneliness and Post-Partum Depression.began to set in. We missed our baby very much and the thought of her being under a little air tank really affected me. I think I experienced everything but bad feelings toward the baby, but maybe it is a parent's own thinking about how adorable their baby is that made me not feel that way towards her.
I am so thankful for the family and friends who came by to take away the loneliness as well as my husband, offering food, comfort and love when it was very much needed.
We were given on Friday an estimate that if things continued to go well with Maddie's respiratory rate going down, her blood cultures showing up negative for anything bad and no heart problems as well has her increase in appetite, she could go home Monday. We were estatic!
Needless to say, we got to go home today and it has been a huge relief. We dressed her in her little outfit, and although it has been a week later, all I can say is I am happy to be home!
I think all women who go through labor should receive an award for all the strange changes, it is like an extreme shock in change to the body. However, I made it alive, Maddie is well, and Eric has survived.
Thank God for all the blessings in life.
-Daph
They put me on Syntocinon (similar to Pitocin) and a Foley Bulb to dilate me to 4-5 centimeters so I could begin the process and they predicted I would not have Maddie until around 6am-12pm the next day. Boy, did I underestimate the timing of labor! I started contracting and it was pretty intense, but they could not give me any pain medication except some type of medication to dull the pain which kind of made me dizzy and knocked me out for a couple of minutes, but it made things a lot less painful. Around 4 in the morning I felt the bulb fall out, and the nurse checked me to find that I was 5 cm dilated, and began the Pitocin drip. Things began to automatically grow worse in pain as soon as she put it in, and when I thought things couldn't get any worse, she told me we would have to wait an hour for the anesthesiologist before I could get my epidural. If I could have focused on it more through the pain, I would definately have took a picture of the labor room- it was like a high grade hotel, wooden floors, dvd player, nice tv, spacious! We tried to watch Wolverine to take away some attention from the things at hand, family members came in and out to talk with me, and the last visitors I remember was my mom and mother-in-law. Eric was there the entire time, holding my hand.
Luckily, the delivery of the epidural showed up around 40 minutes later, it was a little painful,but I immediately began to feel the effects. After that, I was pretty mellow, they put me on oxygen due to the baby's heart rate going down, and probably about two hours later I began to feel some pressure on the left side around my lower abdomen. My mother and mother-in-law requested the nurse to check me and no surprise, I was 9 1/2 centimeters! We had sent Eric downstairs to go get some food, for it was around 12:15pm by that time, and the pressure began to grow heavier. While the nurse went to go prep, the pressure grew steadily more intense as the time grew by and I knew I could not hold it for too long. After about the 20th time of asking Eric to go get the nurse to hurry up, she finally rushed back to apologize since she was waiting on the doctor, and shortly after, Doctor Robinson-White arrived.
We were ready after she checked, the baby's head was very close and after about 4-5 pushes, out comes 9lb 2 oz 21 inch baby Madeline Grace Caldwell.
When we saw how big the doctor's eyes were and the hugeness of our pink crying ball filling up the baby tray, we were all astounded-co-workers at work had estimated an 8lb'er but never expected 9 lbs!
I would like to take the time to say that without the support and love from my family and friends, I don't know where I would be- but it was amazing to find that one entire waiting room was nearly filled with anxious people waiting to hear Maddie's cry. Although I am sure it was heard from the waiting room, Eric put Maddie up to the phone so everyone could hear her first words to the world. Shortly after, about 10 people came pouring in to pass Maddie along and I got to eat (yay!) All I can say is, she is absolutely beautiful. I immediately fell in love with her. Here is the total list of people who came by to see her:
Mimi and Grandpa Caldwell
Grammy and Grampy Smith
Auntie Amber
Auntie Amy and Uncle James
Great Aunt Lisa and Great Uncle Bill
Great Grandma and Great Grandpa Touchton
Aunt Kortney
Great Grandma and Great Grandpa Caldwell
Great Grandma Paschall
"Grand" Pastors John and Natalie Eldridge
"G"
Mechelle Mouriski
Kristian Mouriski
April Barber
Crystal and Joey Alexander
The Etchison Clan (Kathy, Joe, Timmy, Laura, Hannah and Drew)
This does not include all the wonderful people who called and was with us in spirit.
Because I had pushed pretty hard, I suffered a 2 degree tear, was stitched up and whisked away to our room. Eric took some pics and before long, they were placing me in the bed and taking Maddie away to the nursery for follow-up.
We got to see Maddie for maybe an hour before she was sent back to the nursery due to some concerns about her heavy breathing, and since it continued, we found out upon two days before we were supposed to leave that Maddie would need to stay 3 more days to finish out some antibiotics and some blood testing to determine the situation. We had a very kind nursing staff and round of Pediatricians- Dr. Fuller being our main man who was very informative about our options: Either it could be a heart problem, fluid in lungs from delivery which was only temporary or some type of infection, thus the treatment of antibiotics just to take precaution.
Because I was in so much pain due to pain from the delivery spot, I was given Percocet and occasional Ibuprofen to reduce intensity. I felt as if no one would take me seriously, but it was labor to get in and out of bed to use the restroom, much less bend over the toilet. Because I had not passed a bowel movement after the third day, we began informing the nurses, which gave me stool softeners, however, no show...
The day after my release we got to have Maddie back in the room with us and sleeping during the night (or should I say crying) and to make it worse, I woke up to extreme pressure to use the restroom. With no success and extreme pain, we had called the nurses because of me being unable to do anything but cry. Poor Eric was distraught between me and the baby crying, the nurse came in to get Madeline to put in the nursery and Eric left to get ugh..the ugly word ... and Enema according to advice from my OBGYN doctor after calling her. Little success and due to me being discharged- the nurses could do nothing so we ended up going to the ER to see what could be done. We found out I was impacted, and thank God to the nice doctor two floors down, I was given GoLytely....a nice little colon cleanser.There is no need to say much more on the subject but it should be renamed GoHeavily!
With much relief, not only did we get Maddie back and I was in less pain, we were able to settle down some, but because nurses practically came in every other hour, Maddie crying for food every other hour, too many days in a tiny hospital and me no sleep, it began to grow tiresome on my still current pregnancy hormones.
Because Maddie had to continue to be sent to the nursery for IV's and monitoring and put under oxygen, the loneliness and Post-Partum Depression.began to set in. We missed our baby very much and the thought of her being under a little air tank really affected me. I think I experienced everything but bad feelings toward the baby, but maybe it is a parent's own thinking about how adorable their baby is that made me not feel that way towards her.
I am so thankful for the family and friends who came by to take away the loneliness as well as my husband, offering food, comfort and love when it was very much needed.
We were given on Friday an estimate that if things continued to go well with Maddie's respiratory rate going down, her blood cultures showing up negative for anything bad and no heart problems as well has her increase in appetite, she could go home Monday. We were estatic!
Needless to say, we got to go home today and it has been a huge relief. We dressed her in her little outfit, and although it has been a week later, all I can say is I am happy to be home!
I think all women who go through labor should receive an award for all the strange changes, it is like an extreme shock in change to the body. However, I made it alive, Maddie is well, and Eric has survived.
Thank God for all the blessings in life.
-Daph
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