It is so extrodinary to think about being pregnant and going through labor. I want to post about this mainly for me but whoever wants to read about my experience can. I want to be able to tell Madison about it one day and let her know what it was like getting her here. My pregnancy was not by any means easy or fun most of the time. I'm not sure if everybody has the same experience I did and just doesn't talk about it or if some women have an easy breezy pregnancy and labor. I found out I was pregnant in January and I was literally sick from the very beginning. I did not just have morning sickness I had an all day sickness almost every day. I was swollen all the time, none of my shoes fit. My wedding rings got to small. I couldn't sleep at night etc. During the course of being pregnant I had almost 3 stomach viruses and 1 sinus infection. By the way, whenever you are pregnant any sickness you might have seems to be very emphasized in my opinion. Everyday I would try to eat and would get sick.. or go out to eat and be sick before I got home. Don't get me wrong the day that Josh and I found out we were having a girl and heard her heartbeat for the first time it was complete and utter joy. Every summer we take a trip to Destin with my family and it always lands on my birthday. Well in July 2010 we went to Destin with my family as usual and I did really good until that last night.. I was almost 7 months pregnant and thought I'll be ok eating seafood. We went to Crab Trap and I ate shrimp, lobster, and calamari...then went to the condo and drank milk before I went to bed. The next morning July 13th (my birthday) I swear it was like Madison saying who do you think you are trying to eat all that stuff? I had never been so sick in my entire life. My sweet little cousin Jackson came up and said to Josh "Tell Kristin not to eat seafood next time we come!" Anyways my pregnancy was good and the most awful experience at the same time. I went Monday August 30, 2010 for my normal check up with Dr. Waller. I was 37 weeks exactly and decided I would be ok to go to my appointment by myself. Boy was I wrong. The nurse checked me and I heard Madison's heartbeat and she went to get the doctor. He told me my blood pressure was extremely high and he was going to send me to triage.. well I had never had a baby and didn't know what triage was. Dr. Waller said I'm going to send you to the hospital and they are going to keep an eye on you and get some bloodwork. At that point I called everybody and was completely freaking out as I drove across the street to Baptist East. Josh was at AUM in his last class and everybody else was at work. So I called Josh and told him not to worry, I called my mom and she freaked out then I called my dad. Well I get to the hospital and get in a huge DELIVERY room and yeah I was freaked. My dad got there first then Josh then my mom and Marlee met me. They put an IV in and checked my blood and blood pressure. It took the nurse 3 times to get that IV in and it hurt like nothing else because I was swollen. Then we had to wait on Dr. Waller. I got to the hospital at 5:00 pm and the nurse wouldn't let me have anybody but Josh and my mom in the room so my BP wouldn't rise. We waited til almost 9:00 pm and then Dr. Waller made his debut. He told me that I was going to have Madison before October 1st. At that point I was way past freaked out because I wasn't expecting to have her for at least 3 more weeks. He asked if I wanted a c-section and I said I wanted to try having her naturally. So we spent the night in the hospital and then the next morning at 5:00 am they were going to induce me. My blood pressure was still high the next day.. it was a long long long hard day of labor but I got my epidural and got to 6 cm. By 3:00 pm Madison's heart rate was dropping and my BP was way to high so I had to have a c-section. It was awful not being able to see Madison after the c-section.. I had to wait almost two hours before I got to hold her. I bled alot after the c-section and they were really worried about me and they wouldn't let anybody see me. I had to lay in a bed for almost 2 hours just waiting for something to happen. It's funny though because that Monday and Tuesday were pretty awful but when I held that 5 lb. little girl, nothing else matters. It is so extrodinary to me how when you are pregnant and in labor your body is pushed to every limit you have and some women are inches away from death but when that baby is put in your arms nothing else matters. Okay well that was my first blog and if you just read all this I'm sorry. I just want to make sure I have the memory to share with her someday.
-kristin
