Maddox

The Birth Story

The morning didn’t start out as planned. We were supposed to get a call around 5:30am and found out they didn’t have the orders for some reason. It worked out though because we got to spend some time with Lake and my parents that morning. We were eventually checked into the hospital around 9 and they started Pitocin around 11. I had pretty regular contractions for the next 7 and a half hours. I was pretty tired at that point. I was checked around 6:30 and I was only 2-3 cm dilated. Needless to say, I was very upset and Jeff said I was not nice to the doctor. He broke my water and shortly after the super intense contractions started and I quickly got an epidural. About 9:30 I started to feel the pressure that the baby was coming and paged the nurse. She checked and I was “complete”. So I went from 2-3 to 10 in 3 hours! They spent the next 45 minutes getting everything ready and in the mean time I started to feel very sick and shaky because I was in transition. The baby was face up so the doctor had to turn him. He indicated this could be why I was slow to progress at first as well. Also, I should mention that the baby’s heartrate was getting really low (in the 60’s) and then shooting up with each contraction so they were in a hurry to get him out. They gave me oxygen and I started to push. Three contractions and less than 10 minutes later, Maddox was born! They didn’t give him to me right away like Lake. I remember continuing to ask if he was ok. He did have the cord around his neck so they were checking him out and Jeff didn’t even get to cut the cord. I have a picture where I touched his foot while waiting for them to give him to me. Also, you’ll see that he looks like he went through a battlefield. He has bruises on his forehead, nose, and mouth from being face up. He also has birth marks on his eyelids (maybe a little bruising too) that will fade with time. We are so thankful for a successful delivery and healthy baby!



Meeting baby Maddox

Lake came to visit first thing Friday morning. He sat with me for a while and then we introduced him to Maddox. He was more interested in pointing to Maddox’s body parts than anything else. He really just wanted to play with the curtain in the room. After a few snacks and a present (and a few falls from running around in the room), Jeff took him home to spend a little time with him. Since we’ve been home, Lake seems to think nothing has changed. He’ll say “hi baby” and he’ll pat him. He’ll go peek into the pack and play every once in a while and he told him “night night” tonight when he was sleeping. Other than that, he goes on about his way and doesn’t seem phased.

Maddox

Maddox is doing great! He’s been a good eater and we are just working on the sleep schedule now. He was jaundice before we left the hospital, but low risk. We took him to the pediatrician Monday to check it since we were a little paranoid given the history with Lake’s jaundice and having to do the lights for almost 3 days. Luckily, he was still low risk and they weren’t concerned. Our real appointment was Tuesday morning and everything is good! Jaundice is still in check and he is at 7 lbs, 14 oz which is 1oz less than his birth weight! He was 7, 12 when we left the hospital and 7, 11 Monday. This is more than great news since we can now let him sleep as long as he will at night. We are so glad to have him home! We can’t imagine our lives now without either of our two baby boys! We’ve already had a few firsts. His first smile (while sleeping of course) and his first bath.

Link to pictures and a few videos:
http://thepardues.smugmug.com/gallery/8432675_JrDbE/1/554119543_b5hdy

The picture below is Lake. Just wanted to show the similarities.

First Bath - well, not in a tub yet :)