Birth Story

Here is the birth story of our baby girl...it is a little bit long, but I wanted to make sure and capture lots of detail before we forget!

We were due to have our baby on Thursday, March 3 and that day came and went with no signs of baby. We had been told the week earlier that we were dilated to a 3 and that the baby could come any time and then on our due date they said we were maybe at a 2. We left discouraged and frustrated and felt like we were never going to get to meet our baby. I had made Friday, March 4 my last day of work and was convinced that the baby was going to be two weeks late and that I was going to have a lot of free time on my hands.

On Monday, March 7 I woke up feeling great and ready to start my first week of being off of work. I spent the morning cleaning the house (good thing!) and felt some cramping, but nothing that I would call a contraction! I sent Brian an e-mail to let him know that maybe, just maybe something was happening (feeling like it was just wishful thinking) but not to hold his breath. Around 11:00am I went on a walk and called to talk to my mom to help pass the time. We talked for about an hour and I told her about the cramping and that I had a non-stress test (NST) at 2:30pm; we were hoping to find out more then. At this point, the cramps were about 30 minutes apart and she recommended that I have Brian come with me to the doctor...just in case they intensified or got closer together (good thing!). I was not completely convinced I needed Brian to come home, but I called him and we decided to err on the side of caution and he headed home to take me to the appointment.

We packed the car with the stuff we would need to stay at the hospital (again, more wishful thinking) and headed out. The appointment was to monitor the baby's heartbeat as well as the baby's and my movements to make sure all was healthy for the baby. The monitor will show contractions if you are having them and the intensity. As we were having the test, the contactions started to get more intense, to the point where Brian knew I was not faking it. :) We could tell on the NST machine that they were true contractions and still about 30 minutes apart. They decided to check and see how far I was dilated and at 3:15pm I was between 4cm and 5cm. Half way there!! The midwife told us that we were going to have a baby today! We were in total denial! Were they sure?? She told us to come back in an hour to be checked again.

Realizing that this might actually be the real deal and that we had forgotten our nice camera at home, we decided to utilize the hour she gave us and go home to get it. About 5 minutes after we left the doctor's office my contactions were 5 minutes apart and more intense. We decided to still go for it and headed up the freeway. As we neared home, the gas light in the car came on and my contractions were even closer together. Brian dropped me off at home so I could lay on the couch and went and got gas. We grabbed the camera (and fed the fish - very important! ha!) and headed back to the hospital. It was about 4:15pm at this point and my contractions were about 2 minutes apart. I was in a lot of pain and we could not get to the hospital fast enough (I love rush hour traffic).

We called our midwife and told her we would not be making it back to her office...we had to go straight to labor and delivery! Brian was a champ through the whole thing, helping me the best he could while focusing on keeping us safe while he was driving. We got to the hospital, checked in at the wrong desk, went to the right desk, signed some papers that I have no idea what they said and were escorted to a birthing room. We checked in to the hospital at 5:04pm. At this point my contractions were so strong all I could do was lean against the counter and beg for an epidural (I had said I was going to have the baby naturally...Brian says I folded like a deck of cards!). Unfortunately, before you can have drugs you have to be checked to see how far along you are and you have to be in a gown in the hospital bed. Ha! That was a task. Brian helped me get in the gown and move me over to the bed. I was hyperventilating (I forgot what we learned in class about breathing...the nurse reminded me and it helped soooo much) and so they gave me some oxygen and said that I was dilated to 10cm and that there was no time for an epidural...it was time to have a baby!

I couldn't believe it. We just got there! So on the next contraction I started pushing as hard as I could. It was such a surreal experience. The pain was so intense, yet it was amazing to be able to feel everything as I brought a human in the world! The baby that my husband and I created together and had been anxiously awaiting for months. After a few pushes the baby's heart rate dropped dangerously low and they told me I had to push with all my might and get the baby out very quickly or they would have to do a C section. At this point, unknown to me, there were about 12 medical staff in the room and lots of activity. Brian was a rock and helped so much, especially since he knew way more about what was going on then I did. I could not have done it without him. I pushed with everything I had and at 5:48pm Madison West McGill graced us with her presence. She was absolutely perfect. I could not believe we had a little GIRL!

The medical staff at Evergreen Medical Center is incredible. The midwife, nurses and doctors were so helpful and really helped us through the entire 45 minute process. :) Our main nurse got right in my ear and told me that I had to push with all my might for the sake of my baby and that no one else could do it but me. She knew that I needed clear direction and that with all the noise in the room that was the only way to get through at that moment. It gave me the drive I needed to get through the pain and meet my baby. Brian and she made it possible for Madison to be born naturally and healthy.

After the delivery the staff told us that if we come back there in a few years and tell them our story they will remember us. I guess we made an impression. :)

Around 6:30pm we started to call family and let them know that we had a baby. They were shocked...after all, we were supposed to call and let them know when we went in to labor! No time for that. Madison had an agenda all her own.

We did not know if our baby was a boy or a girl, but all of the baby girls in this generation on the Tesch side have been born with a "7" in their birth date...so we figured if was going to be a girl, she would probably come on March 7! Grace was born on March 27, Delaney on February 17, Audrey on April 27, Lily on May 7 and now Madison on March 7. Quite amazing and easy to remember! :)

We are so thankful and blessed to have a healthy baby girl. It was truly an incredible experience...one that I want to experience again someday, but not for a while. :)