Okay, I know I totally fell off the face of the earth. There were lots of things that I left out of my life while I have been pregnant. I just have very little energy so I readjusted my priorities, focused on things that I felt were most important and left everything else out. Besides I have never been really good at and consistent journaling.
I wanted to write down Madeline's birth story. She was 5 days late. As this is my third time being pregnant, as well as my third time going over my due date, I tried to be optimistic about the long and late pregnancy. I wasn't always successful, partly due to the pregnancy hormones. I would find myself being content with it one morning and upset later that afternoon. But I think I did a pretty good job. I didn't do much more than sleep at the end though. Being over thirty and having a job and other kids certainly took a toll on me this time around. My family was very helpful and understanding about everything.
So I had been having Braxton-Hicks contractions for weeks by the time she was born. They just kept getting more frequent and more painful. I kept thinking it couldn't go on much longer without me popping. At 5 days overdue, I woke up at 4 in the morning with pretty rough contractions. I usually have them mostly in the late afternoon and evening, so I was really surprised by the timing. It made me wonder if this was really it. I spent a couple of hours waiting for them to speed up to closer together than 15 minutes before I drifted off to sleep. When I woke up they were gone, but they didn't stay gone for long. I spent the majority of the day enduring painful contractions every 15 minutes apart, but they just weren't getting any closer together. I knew that I should wait until they were about 5 minutes apart before pulling my husband home from work and rushing to the hospital. So, without anything better to do, I just went about my day. I was supposed to be induced the next morning, so mostly I was just tying up a few loose ends and trying to pass the time. I went to my sister in laws house where they were tying a quilt, I played with Kaylinn. It was my last scheduled day for piano lessons and I toyed with the idea of canceling them all day long, but as the contractions wouldn't speed up, I just kept them. It was tough having a couple of good contractions through each lesson. I would try and turn the kids attention to the piano and as quietly as possible wince through the pain until it passed. I hadn't really eaten since lunch. I had no appetite. I had intended, to make dinner that night, but was feeling pretty worn out from the day. So Mike took the kids out to Carl's Jr. for dinner and I thought I would take advantage of the opportunity to take a bath. My core muscles had been taking a beating all day and I thought it might give me some relief. Turns out that was all that my body needed to really progress. By the time I got out of the bath the contractions had jumped from every 15 minutes to every 5. I had already sent Mike to young men's at that point so I called him to come back. My mom came and got the kids and we were at the hospital by about 8:00. The first thing I did was request an epidural. That came about an hour after being there and was so marvelous. Labor went pretty fast at that point, she was born at 9:49pm on May 25, 2010. She weighed a whopping 9 pounds and 3 ounces (my biggest one by a whole pound) and was 21 inches long. I have gotten the most comments about her chubby cheeks. She really does just look like Logan and Kaylinn did as newborns. You can tell they are siblings. I do think she has dark hair, unlike the other kids that had red hair from the beginning. And that's the story. So now I've had it all three ways...Logan was induced, my water broke with Kaylinn, and I went into labor with Madeline (just fyi it's pronounced with a short i).
I love being not pregnant. I have my energy back and my appetite back. The heartburn and indigestion are gone. My back doesn't ache so much. There are no more weird cravings and aversions. From almost the minute they are born I feel so much better and just like myself again. I love the kids, but sometimes the process to get them here is a real pain.
