Madison's Birth

Yes, this is my labor and delivery story, so don't read any further if you don't like to hear that kind of thing. I'm planning on telling everything I remember so I have it recorded.


I had been nervous for the whole month leading up to Madison's birth. I would have guessed Jackson's birth would have made me the most nervous, but I just really didn't know what it would all be like. For Kaitlyn's birth, I wasn't expecting her for another week or more since Jackson had been induced a week late. I just didn't know when to expect this one though and I kept wondering if I could endure labor again. I decided to go to a midwife's clinic (New Beginnings at Orem Community for those in the area) and there were four different midwives that I saw throughout my pregnancy. At my 38 week checkup, the midwife informed me that they would induce me as early as 39 weeks if I wanted. I definitely knew that I didn't want to be induced if at all possible. Kaitlyn's birth was so nice because I didn't have time to even think about how things would go, and I wanted it to be more like that this time around. So I went to my checkup on Monday, February 14th (two days before my due date). I asked if they thought stripping my membranes would help induce labor. The midwife felt it would. I didn't want to have my baby on Valentines day though, so the midwife said I could come back the next day. I showed up at 9:00 AM on February 15th. The midwife that came in said she was the one that would be delivering that day if I went into labor. She said she was going to "do the job" completely and that it would most likely work. Well, with my first child the Dr. said he stripped my membranes, but I'm not sure he knew what he was talking about! This time around I KNEW they had been stripped! It was not the most comfortable event. I drove to pick up my kids from my parent's home and the cramping had started. I was so worried that was all that would happen and I wouldn't go into labor. I took the kids down to visit Kevin at BYU as well as run a few other errands. I wasn't feeling great, but there weren't any contractions to report. So we went home and I put the kids down for naps. After cleaning a bit, I took a nap as well. Then Kaitlyn woke up and I took her outside to ride her bike so that I could walk around (the midwife said to walk around as much as possible to get labor going). Jackson slept for a while because he had been sick and even woke up with a fever that day.) At about 1:30 Kevin called to see if I was in labor or had any signs of it because he was supposed to go to Salt Lake with his group at school to do some interviewing. I told him to go ahead. Around 3:30 PM I was talking with my sister, Tiffany on the phone and I was having more and more braxton hicks contractions. I still wasn't getting too worried, but decided to let my mom know just in case and began packing clothes for the kids and getting things ready. At about 5:00 PM I decided to call Kevin because my contractions were getting stronger and closer together. He was in a meeting with some pretty important people and wasn't really sure if he should answer his phone. One of his classmates whispered that Kevin had better see if it was me calling. The person at the head of the meeting asked what was going on. When Kevin told him, the man quickly ended the meeting and told Kevin to get on his way! Kevin called at 5:15 and said they were coming. I figured I wouldn't see him for a few hours since it was rush hour. In the meantime, I was struggling to get everything ready, make dinner for my starving kids, and deal with Kaitlyn's frequent tantrums. My dad called about that time and I asked him to come get the kids. I think he could tell I needed some help, and he showed up about 5 minutes later! Kevin came in at about 5:45 which was a miracle. I don't want to know how fast they were driving on the freeway! Kevin had time to eat some dinner and pack a few things and then we decided to go to the hospital. I should say, that in between all of this, my midwife called to see how I was doing. She wanted to see if she should stay at the hospital, or go home for a little while. I ended up calling her around 6:00 to say we would probably be leaving soon. She has just walked in the door so I felt bad about that, but she was so sweet and said she had to be at the hospital anyway for another patient. She was at the hospital soon after we got there. I got worried that we had arrived too soon because my contractions didn't seem to be getting any closer together. I just didn't want to cut it close like we had with Kaitlyn. Anyway, the midwife checked about 7:00 and I was 70 % effaced (which was what I had been when my membranes were stripped) and dilated to a 5 (I was at a 4 earlier). I was disappointed about that and worried that this was going to be a much longer labor. The midwife said she was going to get some dinner, but if I wanted her to break my water, to just let her know. As the contractions got stronger, I decided I should just let her break my water because my labors tend to go faster after that. The midwife didn't get in there for a little while though because they had to put in an IV and do a few other things. So a little after 9:00 PM she broke my water. I decided I should go to the bathroom and empty my bladder then. While in the bathroom the contractions REALLY picked up. I probably had 8 of them by the time I got back to bed. And everyone could tell I was in a lot more pain. I felt nauseous and was hot and sweaty. I did my best to remember what I had done before and breathe through the contractions. I pictured my sweet little baby, as well as my other two kids and how worth it all is in the end. Kevin asked me a couple times if I wanted an epidural. I considered it when the midwife checked me and said I was at an 8. I thought for sure I should be further along. The contractions were basically right on top of each other and I could barely stand it, but then I felt the urge to push. When the midwife heard that, she instantly got everyone ready for delivery and sure enough I was ready to push! That's when the "pain" seemed to lessen and I just wanted to see my baby. I think I pushed through 4-5 contractions, and she was here. They instantly put her on my chest and I tried to get her to cry. Then they took her to the warmer. My parents walked in right then and got to see the little one. It was such a relief to have our little Madison here and to be (mostly) out of pain. I barely tore at all- in fact the midwife debated whether or not to even stitch me up, but decided to do it anyway.
I was super impressed with the whole experience at the hospital. The nurse that I had during labor really listened to everything I had to say and made sure it was done. I told her before labor got too intense that I wanted to make sure she was in my face letting me know when to push or not push. Afterward she took my IV out as soon as she could so that it wouldn't be in the way. The best part was that they had a nursery there so they kept Madison throughout the night and even during the day when I needed a nap. I asked that vitals and blood draws wait until Madison was ready to eat so that I wasn't being woken up all night. In fact, the nurse didn't even bring Madison in until 5:00 AM even though that was 5 hours after she had last eaten. This nurse was smart enough to know that there was no point in waking me when Madison was so sleepy. So I felt pretty well rested compared to the 2 separate hours of sleep I got while in the hospital with Jackson, and basically no sleep I got with Kaitlyn! Also, the food was actually good. In the past I couldn't wait to get home from the hospital and eat real food. Instead of staying less than 24 hours like I have with my past two births, I stayed almost the entire 48 hours that insurance allows, and I actually wished I could stay another day or two to get more rest. Oh, and the last thing I'll mention is that they had a bathtub with jets in it. It was wonderful! I wish I could always have my babies at this hospital!