Our 4th of July sparkler!!!

Introducing the newest member of our family...

Madison Kalea Antoque

After 26 hours of labor, our little princess made her debut on July 4, 2010 at 3:57am. She was 7lbs 13 oz and 20.25 inches long. Considering she was only 2 days late, she was much bigger than we expected and a lot more "chinky" eyed too! heehee! Isn't she sooo precious?!? We LOVE her to pieces!!! She was definitely worth the wait! =)

Our first family photo

Special Delivery

At about 2am I woke up to a weird sensation...I wasn't sure if what I was feeling was actual contractions so I didn't pay much attention to it and tried to go back to sleep. To my surprise the feeling kept coming back and it seemed to be getting stronger. At that point I realized they had to be contractions and since Jaime was still up I told him what was going on. He thought we should start timing them to see if I was actually in labor or if what I was experiencing was just braxton hicks. Thankfully, Jaime downloaded a contraction app on his phone which made it easier to count & time each contraction. At about 5am they seem to be getting stronger and coming every 4-7 minutes. I was definitely in early labor and I decided to call the labor & delivery nurse to find out if I should come in. Since this was my first baby and labor usually takes longer the nurse suggested I stay home, keep timing my contractions, and call back in an hour. I was a little disappointed but I didn't want to go in and get sent home so I did what she said. During that hour the contractions were really strong (to the point I had to stop moving or talking when they came on). I called back around 6am. Since the contractions were more frequent and intense the nurse told me to come in. FINALLY...it was showtime!

We headed for the hospital around 6:30am. I was sooo excited and nervous at the same time. I couldn't believe it was really happening...I was actually in labor! At that point I was just hoping/praying that I was dilated to atleast 4 cm so they wouldn't send me home. Once we got to the hospital I went to the L&D triage. It seemed to take forever for the nurse to check me. With the pain I was experiencing I felt I had to be well over 4 cm. Unfortunately, I was just under 4 but since I was so close they decided to admit me and have me walk around so I would dilate more. I walked as much as I possibly could & also used the exercise ball I brought to help with my labor.

After several more hours and 5 cm I finally gave in to the epidural. All I can say is WOW! What a difference drugs can make! hahaha! Labor seemed so easy after that. Since I couldn't feel my contractions anymore I was finally able to get some rest which Jaime & I desperately needed. As happy as I was that the pain subsided I knew in the back of my mind that getting the epidural also had it's downfalls like slowing down labor. Unfortunately for me, that's exactly what happened. I stayed at 5 cm for a few hours. Since my water didn't break yet the midwife decided to break it hoping it would help speed up the process. Sure enough it did! About an hour our so later I was at 7 cm. Things seem to be progressing til around 7pm when my labor took a turn for the worse and my epidural stopped working! I could feel the pain & pressure from the baby making her way down. It was horrible! The nurse & anesthesiologist tried everything they could to help ease the pain, but nothing seem to work. I was stuck between 8 & 9 cm for several hours with no pain relief. I can barely remember anything that went on during that time since I was so busy dealing with the pain and concentrating on my breathing. As time went on it seem to get even worse! On top of the pain & pressure I was now having the urge to push. I must say that was ten times worse than the pain since I knew I wasn't allowed to push yet. The anesthesiologist felt so bad for me that she checked with her supervisor to find out if she can give me a new epidural. She wasn't sure if that was possible since I was so far along. Thank goodness she got the go ahead to do it.

At about midnight I FINALLY got some relief! The new epidural worked and on top of that I was 9 cm!!! I was SOOOO happy. Since Jaime and I had been up for almost 24 hours with a short nap in between the nurse recommended we get a little rest before I started pushing. She said if I tried to push at that point it could take hours and she didn't think I had the energy to do it so we took her advise. We were only suppose to nap for an hour or so but when I woke up and looked at the clock it was already 3am! We called in the nurse to check me and thankfully I was 10 cm. My epidural was slowly starting to wear down which was actually a good thing so I had some feeling to help me with labor.  I started pushing around 3:20am and at 3:57am Madison Kalea Antoque was born! =D

40 weeks...our due date!

So we reached our due date and baby Madison STILL isn't here! We thought forsure she'd be here by now but I guess she wanted to prove us wrong and show us who's boss. =) Since I was 40 weeks along I had a Dr.'s appt to see how she was doing and if I dilated yet. Thankfully Madison  was doing great and to our surprise I was almost 2 cm and 60% effaced. Since I was FINALLY dilated the Dr. was able to strip my membranes which can help to induce labor. Although it's a very uncomfortable procedure and only works 50% of the time I was willing to try anything at this point. I just wanted to meet our baby already!

I pulled out all the stops that day...on top of stripping my membranes (sounds so gross doesn't it?!) we took my in-laws to the Concord Mall so they could shop and I could get a little walking in. After working up an appetite we decided to try out the famous "Preggo Pizza" at Skipolini's. I was a little hesitant about it since I've only known it to work on a couple people but I figured why not give it a shot. I love to eat pizza anyway! Here is a picture of the yummy concoction...

It had salami, pepperoni, ham, mushrooms, olives, bell peppers, extra onions, sausage, ground beef, linguisa, extra garlic, parmesan, and oregano. I'm not a big fan of that many toppings on my pizza, but I have to admit...it was delish!  I'd eat it even if I wasn't pregnant! hahaha! Jaime, his mom,  & sister agreed. It was very filling too, I was stuffed after just 2 pieces!

After a loooong day of trying every remedy possible to induce labor we finally went home to relax. I had felt a little bit of cramping throughout the day but didn't think much of it since I was told that was an effect of having my membranes stripped. Before going to bed I had a glass of red raspberry leaf tea...my last attempt to help little Madison along (can you tell I wanted her out?! hahaha!). I was planning on going to bed early but got caught up reading the latest Stephanie Meyer's book. Before I knew it, it was midnight. I decided to finally put the book down to get some rest.