Maggie's Birth Story

My husband and I found out we were pregnant the second time on our daughter Evie’s first birthday. We were really excited and a little bit surprised. At my 20-week ultrasound, it was confirmed that we were having another perfect little girl. I was so excited about another girl, especially since the two of them would be close in age. We talked about names and finally settled on Magdalen Rose. We would call her Maggie.

Like my pregnancy with Evie, Maggie’s was easy and uneventful. Toward the end, I had a lot of Braxton-Hicks contractions, but nothing unbearable. On my due date, a Saturday, I began having regular contractions, but by Sunday morning, they were almost gone. I sent my husband to work on Monday, not expecting anything exciting to happen, but by noon the contractions were very regular. I kept calling him at work, not really sure if it was the “real thing” or not. By the time he got home, I knew that I was definitely in labor. I put Evie to bed and called a friend to come stay with her while we went to the hospital.

When we got to the hospital at about 10 PM on August 7, I was four centimeters dilated and 75-percent effaced. No wonder those contractions were hurting! They were actually doing some work! I waited it out with no pain medication for a while, but by about 2 AM, I was getting tired. The nurse put Stadol in my IV, and while I didn’t really care for the buzz, I did get to snooze a little. When the Stadol wore off, I was in a fair amount of pain, so I called for the epidural, knowing that I would have to wait a bit until I got it. I can’t imagine how women go through “natural” childbirth! Maggie was posterior (turned the wrong way, facing my belly), and her head was pressing down unnaturally on my pelvis. Thank goodness for that epidural! By 7 AM, I was feeling a lot of pressure so I told the nurse, but she didn’t check me because they were about to change shifts.

When the new nurse came in at 7:30, she said I was completely dilated! The doctor came in 20 minutes later. Since I had a wonderful epidural and didn’t feel the need to push, the doctor asked if I could wait a bit while she performed a scheduled surgery on another patient. I agreed, which let my contractions gradually push the baby down and slowly stretch my tissues. This was wonderful, because I didn’t end up needing any stitches! When my doctor returned, I pushed three times through two contractions, and beautiful Maggie Rose was born at 8:35 AM, August 8, 2006! Giving birth has been the most amazing experience I have ever been through, both times. It is so surreal to see that little person for the first time and realize that she is here because of you! Maggie is now almost six months old with beautiful green eyes and red hair. She is a little ball of energy who makes me smile every day. I have been blessed with a wonderful family!