WE HAD A BABY!!!
Madison Leigh Pollock arrived in this world on January 2, 2012 (cool birthday- 1.2.12) at 1:51pm, 8lbs 3ozs, 20in. We praise the Lord for the uncomplicated birth of Madison and for her good health.
A synopsis of her birth... I woke up on New Years Day around 8am (before church) to what I thought might be contractions. I tried not to think much about it because there had been many days before this that I thought "might be the day". On New Years Eve day I was afraid my water bag was leaking, so I had been in contact with the OB on call. We were trying to decide if we wanted to swing by the hospital on the way to church to have them check to see if it was leaking, but we decided to wait until after church. After church we decided to just go home and see how I felt because the contractions had continued and we still thought "this might be it". We spent the afternoon hanging out, playing cards, cleaning, baking, finishing thank you cards, etc (trying to distract ourselves). I had been watching Craigslist for a BOB stroller and finally found one that afternoon - we called and arranged to pick it up that evening. So we ate dinner and then headed to San Jose to look at/ purchase the Bob stroller. On the way to San Jose I started timing my contractions and realized that this really might be it (still skeptical). We bought the stroller, came home and then headed to the Westervelt's (neighbors and new friends) to play games. When we got there we told Melody that we thought I was in labor, so we started playing games, but she was watching me and keeping track of my contracts with me. We all began to agree that tonight was the night and Patrick wasn't going to work the next day, so we decided it was a good idea to stay up playing games until it was time for us to go to the hospital.It was around 1:45am when we decided it was time to go to the hospital. So, Patrick and I walked home, packed the car and headed to the hospital. Once we got to the hospital they checked me - I was about 3-4cm dialated and everything was going fine. So, Patrick and I walked around the hospital for a little bit longer before we officially checked in. For some reason I was freezing, so I spent most of labor in bed half asleep under blankets. Patrick sat in a chair next to me half asleep. Every time a contraction came I squeezed Patrick's hand, he talked me through it and then we both closed our eyes again. I had an awesome nurse who made suggestions like "it is really nice to do this part of labor in the shower" or "it would be good to move around or get on your ball". We officially checked in the hospital around 2am, started pushing around 12pm, and Madison was born right before 2pm - it seemed like forever before we actually got to look at Maddie's face. Right after she came out they put her on my tummy - it was the best thing ever - except the fact that I could barely open my eyes.
They let us stay in the delivery room for an hour over what we were suppose to stay because they were pretty slow, so I got to order food and eat in there (I had a steak dinner)- I was STARVING!! I had not eaten since dinner the night before around 6:30. We couldn't stop staring at Madison and we were so thankful that we got 2 hours with her before anyone took her away to the nursery to clean her.
My biggest complaint about the whole thing is that I think it is CRAZY that as soon as you get to your room the nurse comes in giving you all of this information and telling you about all this paperwork, etc. I was exhausted and all I wanted to do was go to sleep - Patrick wasn't even in there to listen - so I just said yeah, uh-huh until she left me alone, and as soon as I got to lay my head back Madison and Patrick came back and then they nurse was back to check my temp, BP, etc. It was a few hours before I got to take a nap. Then our sweet friend Melody brought us In and Out Burgers for dinner! Just what anyone wants after pushing out a baby!! :)
Our second night in the hospital our pastors wife, Mindi, brought us a milkshake, cupcakes and Indian food for dinner. It was the best milkshake I have ever had in my life! We thought it was because of the whole baby thing, but I still go to that milkshake place all the time and it still tastes just as good (maybe not AS good as that day, but still, really good!!!)
The day we left we had more friends come and visit once we got home. Patrick had to go back to work the day after we got home from the hospital (he went in later than normal), so it was nice to have friends want come by to hold Madison and let me take a shower or just to give me a break. It nice to have moms around to ask questions or just sympathize and encourage me through all the transitions. We had our first pediatricians appointment on Friday. It was quite the adventure leaving the house the first time with a baby - lots of planning and THINGs that go along with it. I got to the pediatricians office and had forgotten how to get her car seat out of the base - pretty hilarious looking back, but not at the time. I was late and stressed out and had no clue what I was doing still! They wanted to double check her jaundice so I had to walk over to the lab for them to draw blood (just adding a little bit more stress on my day). Overall the appointment was good and encouraging! I mean Madison was still alive, that in itself is a W for us.
My mom came that weekend on Saturday and her timing couldn't have been better. I was just starting to feel completely overwhelmed, realizing I had no clue what to do with a newborn baby, when she swooped in to California to rescue us!! She was AWESOME! She forced me to take naps, she cooked, cleaned, did laundry and taught us how to care for our new baby. It was a sad day when she left, but she left us feeling more comfortable and confident.
We are so thankful for our friends and community here! They were so sweet in coming along side of us through this, and being so willing to help, visit and bring us meals.
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