The day I held Heaven in my arms

It's been 2 weeks since my last post - 2 exciting, memorable weeks that have changed my life, weeks that are only a mere indication to how the rest of our lives will, can, and should be.

After 41 1/2 wks of pregnancy, 19hrs of labour, and an emergency c-section, we've been blessed with what the nurses at the hospital have called "the loudest baby in the nursery"!!! It's only fitting that Dono and I would have a firecracker for a bundle! We're completely over the moon with joy! Here's how it all unfolded:

We were expecting a call on Sunday, January 6th - THE call - from the hospital, telling us what time we were going to be induced the following day. Sunday came and went. Nothing.

Monday morning, 9am - the phone rings. It's St. Boniface Hospital, advising me I need to be there by 11am to begin induction! I phoned Donovan at work, and before I hung up the phone, he was coming through the door!

In a frenzy, we grabbed our bags and got ready (I did some last minute cleaning!), and we were out.

Donovan and I were crazy with excitement and happiness, cracking jokes with the staff and just having a great time... until "they" gave me "the gel" at noon. That got the ball rolling! We went home for 6hrs to let the gel work.

At 5pm, I started getting contractions. Donovan was right there with the watch, a pen and some paper, noting the length and time of each one.

"This isn't so bad," I thought.

Silly me, thinking these contractions were bearable!

At 6:30pm, we went back to the hospital. NOW we're talkin' contractions! They hooked me up to the morphine drip (my new best friend!), and told me I needed to dilate another cm or 2 in order to NOT be in the high-risk room post-partum (I was going to be high risk and would be shuttled into a recovery room with a roomie, where Donovan wouldn't be able to spend the night, because this was my first pregnancy and I was needing to be induced).

So my goal - DILATE.

We went for a walk, but the contractions were too strong, so I had to go back to the bed. I was checked again at 9pm....no dilation.

I got moved to the labour and delivery room to hang out, get another dose of yet another induction drug, and wait. Time flew by, contractions were worsening. I got an epidural that didn't take on the right side of my body, so I had to wait for the anesthesiologist to come back while suffering through what could very well have been the worst pain I've ever endured.

Poor Donovan, having to put up with me and feed me ice chips on demand!

I was dilating slowly, Dono was putting calls in to the family to keep them updated.

By 3am, I was dilated to 9cm, so Mom and Leanne decided that was a good time to make it down to the hospital. By the time they got there, I was fully dilated and ready to push!

For a couple of hrs I pushed, but was making no progress. The nurse said she was able to feel the top of the baby's head (and noted that baby had lots of hair!). But other than that, nothing else was happening. I couldn't push, I was exhausted and baby wasn't moving down the birth canal anymore.

I got a top-up on my epidural and was allowed to rest for a few hours. By the morning, a new dr came on board (an angry, bitter dr who yelled!) and told me the baby was turned sideways, and essentially stuck, but tried to convince me that I could push regardless.

A couple more hrs of pushing went by, no progress. At around 11am, the dr told the nurses to make sure the OR was prepped, as I was going to be wheeled in! Next thing I knew, I was being whipped down hallways in the gurney into the operating room (Dono was left to collect our things and notify the family). After I told them NO to both the vacuum and foreceps options, they attemtped to vacuum my baby out anyways, which resulted in baby's heartrate dropping.

"We have to section her," I heard the nurse say.

Cue the emergency c-section. (note: NOT as easy as it seems on TLC's A Baby Story! I felt EVERYTHING!)

At high noon on January 8th, 2008, our little Madelyn Reese was pulled from my womb!

Madelyn Reese Anne Yaciuk, 8lbs 7oz, 21" long.

And absolutely stunning!

She has her daddy's eyebrows, his eyes, his nose and facial structure. She has mommy's ears (and natural hair colour, I think!).

She's absolutely PERFECT. Such an angel, we're totally blessed. She'll be 2 weeks old tomorrow, and these have been the best 2 weeks of my life! Sounds so cliched, but with the lack of sleep, the cracked and bleeding nipples, the sore back and living in constant fear that I might break her if I hold her too tightly, there's absolutely NOTHING I would change.

Two weeks ago, I first held Heaven in my arms, and 2 weeks later, I'm more in love with this little person, and Donovan, than I ever thought I could be. To quote the great philosopher, Belinda Carlisle, "Heaven IS a place on earth." And her name is Madelyn.