Maddie Grace is Here

Well, for those of you who don't do Facebook (which is the easiest way in the world to pass info around), I am going to write my birth story and update with a few new pictures.

 It all started on Easter Sunday, April 4th. We went to church at Journey's Easter service which was held at an auditorium with about 1400 people in attendance. It was awesome to worship together as a family and celebrate the resurrection. Mary Jo had it all festive and fun in the lobby since she couldn't decorate the sanctuary. Here are a few pics of the kids.

After church, we had an awesome Sunday brunch with the Davis' at Mongoes Grill. The kids...okay the kids and the adults chowed down on make your own stir fry, pancakes, and omelettes. We had alot of fun. Then, we came home and mom and I went over to Cindy's to visit. We stayed a few hours and then headed home. When I got up to leave, I had a sharp pain but didn't make much of it. Josh and the kids came home from the pool and Josh was gonna take us to dinner. I said I would cook dinner and when Josh said he didn't want me to cook, I told him it might be the "Last Supper" (but at the time, I thought it was a joke). All of a sudden, I started cooking like a house on fire, then I started in on laundry and packing for the hospital. I got everyone in the house on the ball. The kids were cleaning their rooms, Josh and mom were vacuuming and cleaning the kitchen. I hadn't been real "nesty" before now...it all came out that night and I was a little cooky. The pains started getting a little more regular and hurting a bit more. I didn't think it was labor...more like cramps. I decided to shower and dry my hair (just in case)! By the time I was drying my hair, I had to lay down every few minutes, but was still in denial that it was true labor. Josh finally called the doctor and they said when I couldn't talk through contractions that I should come in. I figured that I was talking on the phone to the nurse, so I was still good to go. I finished getting dressed and then I had to lay down. My mom decided that we should start timing contractions and by about the third round, when I wished I already had the epidural inserted, I was game for going to the hospital. (although I was still unsure about whether it was the real deal...labor is a tricky thing and this was my first time to not be induced, which is a whole other ball game). Josh waited for our awesome friend, Richelle, to come stay with our kids and my mom drove me to the hospital. It was pretty funny because I was giving her directions in between contractions. We made it to the hospital by about 11:45 and I had high hopes that we weren't going to be going home in an hour. I got my wheelchair and waited for mom to park. In the meantime, a frantic mother in law rushed into the ER and said her pregnant daughter in law was in the car throwing up and needed a wheelchair asap because she was in labor. They didn't have another wheelchair, so I was about to give up mine because I felt so sorry for her and thought I had a while to go. They said they had it taken care of and wheeled me up to triage where they check to make sure you're not in false labor. I got dressed in the bathroom, all the while listening to that other lady scream, thinking she was about to have the baby in that room. I went back to my room and the nurse asked me all kinds of questions, which were getting increasingly hard to answer (mom helped). She then decided to check me and took quite awhile. I thought that she was giving me the benefit of th doubt so she didn't have to send me home. She looked at me, a little shocked because I was still so calm and quietly breathing through my contractions, and said "You're at an 8 or 9 and your water bag is bulging;" She said she would call the doctor ( and I may have mentioned the anesthesiologist at this point) and get me in a room quickly. I was in the room by 12:00 and they began the prep for maddie's arrival. The first and most painful thing was the insertion of the i.v. Apparently, I have "valvy"veins and this fact equals being stuck by 2 nurses a total of 4 times to get a good i.v. This was undoubtedly the worst part of the whole labor.  By 1:00, I was so happily living in "epidural world" and felt great. At 1:20, I was on the phone with Kelsey and heard an audible pop and felt like someone had thrown a water balloon under my bed (sorry for the graphic details but it was hilarious...even Josh and the nurse heard the pop). I figured it was time to wrap up the phone call and the doctor came in the room. By 1:33 and after three pushes, our beautiful Maddie Grace entered the world. It was so amazing and such a blessing that she was so healthy and beautiful. I got to hold her fresh out of the womb and she calmed right down. She cried a very feisty cry while they were messing with her (which we luckily haven't heard since). She weighed 7 pounds 11 oz and was 20 1/2 inches long, with a full head of sandy brown hair. It was such a miracle to have her in the world and I loved getting to nurse her within minutes of her birth. We had a great hospital stay. The nurses were absolutely fabulous, but not too hovering. Here are a few "fresh from heaven" pics of Maddie.

Daddy loves his baby girl!

It was so much fun watching the kids meet Maddie. They both said she was smaller than they thought she would be. When Bailey held her, she said that she was in "baby heaven". Cade asked about a little red dot on her face, and I told him it was just a little bump but explained how later she may get "baby acne". The next day when a commercial for Pro Activ skin care came on, Cade said we could buy that for Maddie. Too funny!

Maddie had wide eyes for a very happy mommy.
Grandma stayed with me for the whole hospital stay and we had a great time loving on Maddie and becoming BFF's with one of the nurses, Dana, and the lactation consultant.She is the ultimate grandma!!

What a look of pure joy on this sister's face...she has been patiently waiting for Maddie!

The Knotts family came for a visit. Lindsay and Allie had been waiting since this summer to meet Maddie Grace. Allie had even been pretending to be pregnant with her own baby. The Davis boys all came for a visit and the kids had a lot of fun together!

The Slacks came to visit once we were home. Shannon wasn't happy that I didn't wait for her to get home from Easter vacay to have Maddie.

Tony and Yvette Davis

Glamour Grandma Johnson

Jack couldn't wait to hold Maddie Grace. He said he had never seen a baby that new before.All Cade and Bailey's friends are excited to meet Maddie too.

One more pic of the proud sister. Cade has held Bailey alot but she seems to remind us that she needs her picture taken when she holds Maddie.