Madelynn Ashley is here

Little Miss Madelynn Ashley Carman arrived a few days early - Wednesday, October 13th at 3:04 pm via C-Section.

To catch up, I went into my last routine doctor visit Wednesday morning and everything seemed fine. I did the NST - she was "reactive" and was checked by the doctor and was "closed". We did the last AFI just to make sure all was well and was completely shocked by the outcome.

The ultrasound revealed that there was very little amneotic fluid around Ms. Maddy. She looked at me and said "you're going to have this baby today". I was shocked. She said, don't worry, but this baby will be delivered today. The doctor won't let you go home.

She then, left the room and "broke the news to Dr. W" and he came in to inform me that we were moving her birthday up a few days to ensure that she was safe and healthy. What I didn't know at the time was that the doctor had said that the placenta was no longer doing it's job and that's why they were taking her early.

The next several hours were a complete blur. I was crying and stressed. Jim was supposed to drive in to work - but he didn't because he didn't feel well. Thank God for that. I really think God kept him home that day. :) He was home playing video games. I walked in and yelled downstairs "Jim it's GO time - let's go".

I finished packing, had a small panic attack on Jim and we took off to the hospital. Jim dropped me off and I walked to Labor and Delivery. They had me go directly back to the surgical prep area.

The nurses were great there. They were so upbeat that it really helped me not over react to my day and circumstance. I had to do a bunch of paper work and get into my beautiful gown for surgery. They started my IV. That was probably the worst part of the whole experience. It took the nurse and anestheologist four times to get it into my body. They tried my right arm twice and my right hand and finally ended up putting it into my left hand. I don't think I can ever express through the written word how much that sucked and HURT!!! But they did get it done and got my fluids going.

Once that was all done, my husband was allowed to come back and visit. I needed that. He helped me stay calm. My parents were eventually allowed to come back for a bit to visit before they wheeled me into the OR.

At 2:30 pm they took me out for the C-section. They got me set up with the spinal drug (which hurt, but was easier than the IVs). Then they laid me down and got me all plugged in to start the surgery. Everything was so official - the called out start and stop times on everything. I did learn that my doc had a sense of humor. Just about everyone in the OR was fantastic. My hubby was able to sit right by my head and hold my hand. All I could feel was the pushing and pulling. No pain, just weird. She was born at 3:04 pm. They had me put back together and back out into recovery about an hour later.

Once I got back into recovery, they brought our little bundle out and got her set up to breast feed a bit. The nurse helped me get her latched on. We were surprised to how well she latched on. She did great. After about an hour, they brought me to our room (1331) and this is where we sit... recovering and enjoying our blessing.

More to come later. :)