Madilyn Anne's Birth Story (Long)
After three false labors and failed visits to L&D, DH and I were reluctant to react to any signs of labor. On Friday, September 10th, I told my boss that it was becoming very difficult to work and that it would be my last day before leave. The weekend was torturous. The girl across the street with the same due date as me (Sept 15th) had already delivered the Tuesday before and I was becoming very frustrated that Madilyn wasn't here yet. On Monday, I had my 40-week appt and I was the same as last time. 1-2 cm and about 50% effaced. My Dr. tried stripping my membranes again and it caused terrible cramps throughout the rest of the day, while DH was at work. I laid in bed with the heating pad and tylenol all day just knowing that it didn't do anything. When DH got home from work he said "OK, we are getting this baby out." We went for a walk around the neighborhood. I was in pain from the appointment that morning and had a really negative attitude. Madilyn had felt like she was going to fall out of me for the last 3 weeks with no success. Why should tonight be any different? We had a nice quiet dinner and talked about how exciting it was that Madilyn would probably be here soon. After dinner, I went outside with DH to take the trash out. We walked up and down the drive-way, which is very steep, over and over. Then, DH did everything he could to try to get me to go into labor. 
The next morning, I woke at about 7:00am. DH came in to wake me up before he left for work and I told him that I was having contractions. We were both skeptical. The contractions were pretty regular and timeable at about 5 minutes, but I wasn't going to give in and think this was the real thing. DH left for work and we decided that if they were still regular at 11:00, we would talk about what to do again.
Suddenly, I had an extreme urge to get the house clean. I did the dishes and the laundry and made sure everything was in its place. The contractions were getting stronger and it seemed like they were getting closer, so I started to time them. They were about 4.5 min apart. I texted DH and told him that I was getting in the shower. As soon as I got under the hot water, the contractions started one after another and were so painful that I was crying. I got out and texted DH that I was done, but then decided to call him to tell him how painful they were getting. He told me to go lie down for a few and to call him back. I went to the bed, but when I got there I had a contraction that made me collapse in pain. I called DH back and told him he needed to come home. I started to frantically gather things to take to the hospital and called the Dr. to tell her we were going to the hospital.
When the nurse at the hospital checked me I was at 3cm and 100%! Progress! I couldn't believe that this was happening. The contractions continued to get worse and worse. My Dr. arrived to check me again and she broke my water while she was down there. After that, the contractions became really strong and painful. With the way I was reacting to the pain, my Dr. strongly suggested that I rethink my decision to go natural. I had another one and I turned to DH and said "I can't do this." We decided to go ahead with the epidural. After that, things went so quickly. By about 5:30 I was 9cm! The nurse left again and I paged her about 10 minutes later because I was having some strong pressure downward in my pelvis. She checked me again and I was 10!!! After about an hour of pushing, Madilyn Anne Palmer was born at 6:24pm on September 14th. She was 7lbs 10oz and exactly 20in. She is the most amazing thing that has ever happened to us! Welcome to the world baby girl!!!
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