First of all... Thank you all for all of the congrats and well wishes! We are pleased to announce the birth of our beautiful daughter, Madilyn Rae Lens. She was born on October 19th at 1:54pm. She weighed in at 6.13 and was 20 and 1/2 inches long. It was not exactly the birth we had expected, but we couldn't be happier with the outcome.
October 18th Chris and I arrived at the hospital to start the induction process. We were both so anxious to get there and once we arrived our nerves quickly set in! We were up in our room by 2:45 and got started on the first process at 4pm. By 3 the next morning I had quickly progressed and they decided that I didn't need any medicine intervention to keep the induction going. My body had FINALLY decided to get on board and have this baby! We were thrilled and new that it was d-day! She would enter the world soon! The doctor came in around 10 and decided to go ahead and break my water. We slowly progressed as the day went on. Around 12 I was talking to my family when the nurses came running into my room and asked everyone to leave. My heart sank as I could tell something was wrong. They said that the baby's heart was dropping every time I had a contraction, they went to check me and I was at a 10 and ready to have this baby! They started breaking everything down for delivery and called in the doctor. As we were waiting Maddie's heart rate continued to drop and mine continued to raise over150. They were flipping me from side to side to try and get a position that didn't cause her to drop. I was trying so hard to stay focused but all I could think about was how badly I just wanted her to be ok. I felt so helpless!! Once the doctor came in he decided that we needed to get Maddie out right away and the only way to do it safely was a c-section. Not only was her heart rate dropping but she was also in a crazy position that wouldn't allow me to safely push through the contractions. The next hours are somewhat off a blur- people from the OR started coming in asking me questions and prepping me for surgery. Chris was running out to the waiting room to tell the family what was happening. And before I knew it I was being wheeled down to the OR. They had to do a spinal tap which was awful because I was having contractions every 1-2 minutes and they ask you to be complete still... It's almost impossible to do that while contracting. They finally got me all set and strapped me down to the table. Chris was let in and he sat right by my side. He thought they had drugged me because he said I looked so calm. I wasn't drugged... just in shock! I just wanted my baby to be ok! They started the surgery and I felt the pressure of them tugging around. They told Chris to take a peek and he saw them removing her from my belly. After a few seconds I heard the sweetest cry in the world... All I could do is laugh and cry. I was soooo happy that she was here and ok!! They quickly took her and got her cleaned up and took Chris with them. They brought her over to me to look at and then they were off to the nursery to make sure she was breathing right. The next thing I know I wake up in a recovery room with no baby or family. A nurse came over and said she'd be sending me to my room shortly. I wasn't for sure how long I had been out?! But I did know I wanted to see the baby I just gave birth to. They sent me back to my room and shortly after that my baby girl was placed in my arms. It was so the most surreal moment of my life. I couldn't believe this little baby had been in my tummy for the past 9 months. She looked so perfect and my love for her was instant. She ended up having some very minor problems with her breathing. She had some fluid on her lungs but they were able to get that under control quickly. The last 4 days have been the best and craziest days of my life. We are running on no sleep and lots of love! She is everything I could have ever hoped for. I was planning on writing more... But it's time for Maddie to eat! And I can't keep her waiting. :) Thanks again for all your love and support. We are so blessed to have shared this time with all of our friends and family!
