The Birth Story of Baby Elle Madison + 1 Month Update

Baby Elle Madison choose quite the weekend to arrive. A weekend that consisted of Halloween, Daylight Savings Time, and the New York City Marathon. If that wasn't enough, she timed her arrival to sync up with her Daddy's favorite pastime... during the Dallas Cowboys Game. 

The Stats

Date: November 1, 2015 

Time: 6:38PM

Size: 6 pounds 9.5 ounces, 20 inches

Location: New York City - Mt. Sinai Hospital 

Doctor: Dr. Tang 

Arrival Mood: Crying, followed by grunting 

Labor Duration: 23 hours and 38 mins (4 hours at home, remaining time in hospital), 9 very long hours without an epidural 

Saturday, October 31 - Halloween 

I had a feeling Elle would be arriving soon, as our Doctor's appointment the day prior confirmed that I was still 2 cm dilated and approaching full effacement. We walked over, slowly, to a breastfeeding store for a few last minute items. I took a Halloween belly photo and some friends stopped by with their little one on their way to a Halloween block party. Around 8PM, contractions began to get stronger and closer together so we officially started timing and logging. Shortly after midnight we called the hospital, booked an Uber car (driver didn't seem to 'get' that I was in labor ;)
and made our way across the Upper East Side in the midst of Halloween-goers dressed up and bar hopping. 

Sunday, November 1

Upon arrival at the hospital, I had to sit in the waiting room on a table to let contractions pass before I could even get to the correct floor. It was quickly confirmed that I was in active labor (3 centimeters dilated, contractions 2-3 mins apart), ready to be admitted and given an epidural. But first, they just needed to check my blood pressure. Unfortunately for me, my blood pressure was checked three times... all during contractions. As you might guess, it was off the charts. Since high blood pressure can be a symptom of preeclampsia, I needed boodwork. 

I panicked. An epidural was my only birth plan. To make matters worse, lab computers had issues and were offline for two hours... backing up tests. 

By the time I was approved for the epidural, I had been in labor for about 9 hours. I was beyond exhausted, becoming incoherent and throwing up. I just remember being hunched over the hospital bed holding on to Richard. At that time, my dilation had jumped to 8 centimeters (out of 10). 

Epidurals are magical. 

Our Doctor thought Elle would arrive by noon on November 1st. Instead, Elle took her time once dilated to 9 cm and it was decided if she wasn't there by that night we would do a C-Section. Which I feared because I had already gone through so much, it would be a double-healing process for me. 

So we waited. Through the entire NYC marathon, that ran right past my hospital window that faced 5th Ave. / Central Park. Nothing like hearing crowds yell, "you can do it!" outside your window. :) 

The Dallas Cowboys came on later that afternoon, Richard watched and I slept. During the second quarter the Doctor came to check on my progress. What felt like out of nowhere she asked, "Are you ready to push?"... I wanted to say, "Umm is this a choice, because I have a list of other things that sound great." or "Where's the entire team that should be rushing in... and shouldn't Richard be scrubbing up?"

Without another minute, Richard was by my side holding my leg, alerting the Doctor when the contractions came and coaching me through the birth of our daughter. We also had an extremely annoying nurse "helping"... All nurses are not equal. Ek!

Elle arrived with a loud cry, followed by some concerning grunting due to swallowing too much amniotic fluid...but was quickly assessed and given the 'thumbs up'. Richard helped me through some painful after procedures and within about 30 minutes, I had Elle in my arms and was gobbling up an entire plate of food. Never again do I want orange jello, the only thing I could eat during labor.

After a blur of time spent recovering in the hospital, we were ready to head home (via Uber) with Baby Elle! I honestly didn't think I would ever recover, but our bodies are pretty incredible. Richard spent the next two weeks taking wonderful care of me, and navigating baby (and dog!) duties... so very thankful for him and couldn't have done it without him. Seriously.

Pickle and Sundae have adjusted pretty well. Pickle is already pretty much bored with the new situation and back to her normal routine, although she occasionally runs to check on Elle when loud noises happen. Sundae thinks Elle is her baby, and is very attentive to cries and movement... her excitement is getting better each day.

My mom arrived two and half weeks after Elle's arrival, and has been loving her role as Grandma! :)

***

Memories of Elle's first month below. 

Three week check-up: 7 pounds 8 ounces (gained a pound!) / Several Firsts: Central Park, Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, Meeting Grandma, Meeting Great Uncle Craig, Picture with Santa at The Plaza Hotel, Sushi and Burger Outings :), Carl Schurz Park, Whole Foods, Daddy's 30th Birthday Party, Photo with BFF Lucie, Kiss on the head from BF Luke, Bath (that she hated!), Dallas Cowboys Game, Meeting all her NYC Aunts and Uncles / Milestones: Cooing, Turning around and scooting across her crib, Staring at our face, staring and getting excited about Jacques - her toy peacock, transitioning to 1 nighttime feeding on some nights (hooray!), sitting in her baby bjourn seat / Adjustments: Lack of sleep :), Pickle and Sundae have started to calm down with Elle's presence, constant schedule changes / Nicknames: Ellie Belly, Elbert (angry Elle), Ellezers, Baby Elle, E / Favorite Time: Morning snuggles, Sleep smiles, Cooing, "Milk Drunk" expressions