Maggie's Arrival Story

Here's the story of Maggie's arrival. Sorry if it's too much info for you, I decided I'd kill two birds with one stone and write everything I want to remember. That way I don't have to write it twice--once for my journal and once for the blog. It's a long one, so sorry if you don't have much time to read it all.

My last doctor appointment was on September 30. The doctor told me that he would like to induce me the next day. I thought he didn't like to induce his patients unless he needed to, but I guess that was a misunderstanding. I wasn't sure I wanted to be induced though, but the idea of holding my baby the next day seemed really nice. So the nurse called the hospital and set my appointment for October 1 at 11:00 am.

When I got home I finished every last minute detail that I needed to. I packed the rest of my hospital bag, Jonathan got someone to replace him at work, and we were completely set to have a baby. We were even able to sleep well that night; that was something neither of us planned on.

In the morning I got up and got ready and ate my light breakfast. I was set. Then the hospital called. There was no room in the inn for us. Too many women had gone into labor in the night and they no longer had a room for us. They said they would call back as soon as they knew when I could come in. They said it might be that day still or not until Friday. So we tried to wait patiently for the phone to ring. It rang a few times, but it wasn't ever the hospital. We wondered in Jonathan should go back to work, but that seemed pointless since everyone already planned on him not being there. So we decided to be anti social that day because neither of us felt like explaining to anyone why we were still home. Finally around 3:00 the hospital called and said they rescheduled me for Friday morning at 7:30. Now all we could do was hope I didn't get bumped back again...I think I would have only been able to handle that once. It is weird to know the day you're going to have your baby because you can plan everything around it.

Thursday Jonathan worked and I tried to remain calm. That night we slept decent. I woke up and got ready and had a light breakfast again. I kept expecting the phone to ring, but it never did, so I called the hospital to make sure we were clear and they said we could still come in. So we showed up to have a baby. That is another weird feeling--walking into a hospital feeling fine, with your bags packed because you know you'll be staying awhile. Not to mention telling the receptionist that you were there to have a baby.

They broke my water around 8:00 and my contractions started on their own...without pain I might add. They were five minutes apart and life was great. Then they started me on pitocin and my contractions got a lot stronger and painful. I figured I would get an epidural, but i didn't plan on it definitely. At this point though I decided I wanted one. (Jonathan decided he wanted me to have one too because his hand was getting awfully sore from me squeezing it.) So I got an epidural and after that life was great, other than a few minor discomforts like being thirsty, nauseated, and itching all over.

Each time they checked on me I didn't seem to be progressing any. Around 3:00 I was only dilated to 3 centimeters. Jonathan and I decided that at that rate we were going to be there all night. Then around 5:00 they checked me and I was a 9. So the nurse hurried and got everything ready and said they'd be back soon to check on me. Then around 6:00 I started feeling the urge to push and no one had come back yet so I called the nurse. No body came--they were in the middle of a shift change and I guess I didn't sound too urgent since I just politely asked for a nurse to come check on me. At 6:30 my doctor showed up, checked me, and said I was ready to have a baby. He finished getting everything ready and getting my nurse to help. I finally started pushing around 7:00. She was getting a little stressed with each contraction so they decided to use the suction device to get her out sooner. Maggie was born at 7:59 and weighed 7 pounds 2 ounces. I guess it was a good thing they induced me and used the suction because they said otherwise she would have been too big for me.

After she was delivered Jonathan got a little pale and decided he better sit down. He did a great job of comforting me and cheering me on and he deserved a break. Maggie came with a good set of lungs, but she stopped crying when her daddy held her. I can't describe how it feels to bring this child into the world and know that she is ours to take care of and raise. People keep asking how it feels to be a mom and there's always a long pause and then I spit out some dumb answer. It can't be put into words really. It's a mixture of spiritual, overwhelming, elated, inadequate, hopeful, grateful, and loving emotions all at the same time. It really puts everything in perspective. I know Heavenly Father blessed us with her and wanted her in our family for a reason. We are truly grateful for eternal families and the knowledge we have that she will be with us forever.

The rest of the hospital stay was decent. We weren't impressed with most of my nurses, but we won't dwell on the negative. We were dismissed on Sunday morning and we came home to start our new lives as parents. We are so grateful for Maggie in our lives. She brings such a sweet spirit into our home even though right now she is only a tiny little body that sleeps most of the day :-)