Madison Renae

On August 2, 2013 we found out we were pregnant with our Madison.  Of course, then her name was June (if she was going to be a girl, of course.  A boy named June?  No.)  We had been trying to get pregnant for almost a year and clearly it took moving to Idaho for it to happen, since we had only been here for a couple months!  Something in the water, apparently.:)

When we had our BIG ultrasound in November, and saw that she was a girl...well, can't lie...there was a little bit of disappointment.  More from me than from Kris.  I reeeeealllly wanted another boy.  Kris, on the other hand, now has a handful of Daddy's Girls, so he's pretty content.  Whatever.  We had picked out the name June Elizabeth long before we were ever pregnant, but as soon as we knew we were having a girl, the name just didn't seem right.  And of course, now I look at her and I see a Madison.  She was definitely not meant to be a June!  
I had a super easy pregnancy.  Felt awesome.  Up until the end, when all of a sudden, I felt enormous.  Like, I have never felt so pregnant, with any of my kiddos.  Even Kris commented about how big I looked.  I even had to buy maternity pants!  (I've never had to get them...which is sort of a shame, since they were so comfortable and I sort of adored them.)  And then at 36 weeks we discovered why I was getting so big.  SHE was getting big!  We were measuring 40 weeks at 36 weeks.  Holy baby, Batman.
My doctor told me I could have an elective c-section if I wanted to, which I totally laughed at.  Cause seriously, I pushed out 3 babies already (one of which pretty much fell out on his own), surely a big baby was no big deal.  I told him I'd like to be induced at 39 weeks, no c-section.  So that's what we planned for.
Stupid plans.
The morning of my induction, we got to the hospital and I was seriously sick.  I had so much anxiety, I was nauseated and ready to lose it.  My nerves were completely out of control.  The killer was when all the nurses already knew who I was and I was giving birth to a giant baby (their words, not mine).  Our doctor came in and talked with us again about her size and the options and he was guessing she was near 10 lbs.  I told him I needed a little bit of time and in that moment I was SO grateful for an LDS doctor, who told me I should pray about the decision.  I had prayed in the weeks before but felt no inclination towards having a c-section or vaginal birth.  We opted for a c-section, and immediately all my nerves calmed.  Of course, then it took them 6 tries and 3 different people to get my IV in.  Before we changed our minds about being induced, Dr. Astin had broken my water, so then after a few hours, the contractions started so I got to be having contractions on my way to my c-section.  And then, once we got to the OR, it took 5 tries and 2 different people to get my spinal in.  It was kind of a nightmare.  
I was laying on the operating table, legs all numb, when I start feeling the tugging and pulling and then Dr. Crandall (another OB from the office, who is in our ward) say, "Is Kris coming in?"  Seriously?  They forgot to get my husband from the waiting room before they started.  By the time Kris got in, I was SO sick, but I couldn't get my oxygen mask off and nobody could hear me (have you ever tried to talk with an oxygen mask on?).  He came around the curtain and I just kept saying, "Help me, help me."  So pathetic.  BUT...whatever they gave me for the nausea was like a miracle.  Not even kidding.
And then my baby was out.  And she was beautiful.  And not 10 lbs.

Madison Renae was born at 1:04 p.m. on April 2, 2014.  9 lbs. even, 20 inches.  Also, look at those shoulders.  In hindsight, if I had tried to push and she had gotten stuck, we would've been in SO MUCH trouble.  Having a c-section was hard (recovery was HARDER) and I have been seriously affected by it, but it was definitely the right decision for getting her here. 

The kids adore her.  When they came to meet her at the hospital, Jack kept saying, "My baby, don't touch my baby."  Of course, now he's pretty jealous.  But for awhile...he loved her.:)

Here's the awesome thing about babies... Madison has only been in our family three and a half weeks but I have forgotten what life was like before she was here.  She just fits.