Baby Madeleine FAQ

F.A.Q.

What is her name?

Madeleine Adele Nielsen

How much did she weigh?

7 lbs 9 oz.

When was she born?

Noonish on December 26, 2012

Is she healthy?

Yep! She passed everything with flying colors.

How is Michele doing?

Great! There was no tearing or lasting pain from giving birth. She’s doing way better than she was pregnant. She is happy to report that her coat can now be buttoned, and she can sleep on her stomach again.

How was labor/birth story?

Short and painful.

Birth Story

We got to the hospital and Michele was only in mild pain and had only progressed to 4 cm (When giving birth, the cervix has to dilate to 10 cm. Michele had been having contractions for weeks but only opened up to a 3. So at this point, there had only been a little bit of a change). 10 minutes later she was shaking from pain on the bed, the nurse checked her again and she was a 5. They admitted her at this point and told her to walk to the room down the hall. By the time she got to the room, about 5 minutes later, she was a 7. Contractions were only about 45 seconds apart. Michele asked for epidural but she was shaking too much to get one. Didn’t matter anyway, she was at 10 cm – only 25 minutes after she arrived at the hospital.  

At this point, the nurse told her to practice pushing, but after 20 minutes Michele was exhausted. The contractions were coming too fast and she was in too much pain. She told the nurse that she had enough and pushing on her back like this was not going to get the baby out. She curled up in fetal position and had Matt rub her back. The nurse and Michele argued for the next 2 hours about pushing. Michele was stubborn, and nothing that nurse said or did could get her to push. (The nurse had some pretty interesting tactics.) Finally after demanding for a new doctor or a c-section, the nurse got the doctor, and he checked Michele. Baby’s head was at crowning! He told Michele that he could get the baby out without her help, but she should push. Madeleine was born about 10 minutes later.  

How did Matt do during labor?

He did fine and didn’t freak out at all. 

How is nursing?

Madeleine and Michele both aren’t the biggest fans of it, but they are managing.

Who does she look like?

When people were asking Michele this in the hospital she said, “She looks like the Russian mushrooms in Fantasia.” Matt said, “She looks like a baby.”  

Thanks everyone for all the love and support. We really appreciate it.

If you have more questions, leave them in the comment section, and we will get back to you.

Pregnancy :)

38 weeks people. Baby Offspring is still happily kicking away, which most days is fine with me. (I’m kind of hoping to go into labor tonight though so her birthday would be 12/12/12.)

Today was one of the more pathetic moments of being pregnant. I had just one final to take to graduate. I studied today, wrote out my note card, ate dinner, and was completely set to take my final. Matt had a final that would take just about the same amount of time, so we decided to take our finals at the same time. I got my test and found a spot right by Matt, and sat down.

I didn’t fit in the dumb testing center desk!! So I got back up and took off my coat, and then I could barely squeeze in. During the whole test, I had some issues breathing normally, but I managed to finish just fine. 

So since this whole pregnancy thing is almost done, here are my notes/advice for next time we decide we want a baby.

0. Don’t. (--courtesy of Matt)

1. Every pregnancy is different. Don’t judge the pregnant girl in your class who never stops eating or glare at the lady who loves being pregnant.

2. Babies come at 40 weeks (Not 24, 32, or 36.5 weeks) I’m really not good at this whole waiting thing.

3. Babies make your body hurt in really weird ways. Baby toes in the ribs hurt and feel really weird. Hips popping out of location hurts too.

4. You have to be a lot more comfortable with your body. Weird sounds coming from you? Totally normal. I didn’t even know pelvic bones could make sounds like that.

5. Baby kicks are cute. I think this is the best part about being pregnant. (unless it gets you in the ribs, see #3 – also Matt)

6. Drink lots of water.  Apparently camels can drink 80% of their body weight. I’m just aiming for 3%, like 4-5 lbs.  

7. Nurses can be stupid or really helpful. “Sorry sweetheart, I wish I could do something about your pain, but the only other option other than Tylenol is narcotics.”

8. Say “no” if you don’t want to do anything. I seem to forget this a lot, and then I would feel overwhelmed and Matt would find me in a puddle of overwhelmed-ness. It was sad.

9. If you can eat something, eat it. Don’t worry about how healthy it is. I remember going shopping with a friend in my first trimester. I grabbed for the oreos and she pointed out all the healthier options that I could be eating. I gave her a look and told her that while eating healthy was a good theory, I was just looking for stuff I wouldn’t throw up. I feel the same way now when people pin workout routines on pinterest. Nice in theory, totally a different story when there is a baby in your ribs.

10. It’s okay to cry on the bed and eat lots of mint Milano’s while reading mommy blogs. I love mommy blogs. They are the best.

11. Leave the house once a day.

12. Baths are divine. Though your husband might get mad that there is never hot water and threaten to get his own water heater. (Which is a good idea: “His” and “Hers” -- Matt.)

13. Prenatal vitamins are worth taking even if you throw them up. I’m really bad at remembering the health benefits of these.

14. The last few months I should probably not talk to anyone outside of my family (or in – Matt) in case people think I’m crazier than normal. Matt should have kept track of all the crazy things I’ve said. They are pretty awesome.

15. People feel entitled to give their opinion about your baby, your body, your parenting styles, etc. Figure out what you want beforehand and then tell them to go to a fiery afterlife.

16. Google can answer almost any question and is easier to use at 1:00 A.M. than a 300+ page baby advice book.  (Imagine making money off convincing pregnant ladies they need to do even more. – Matt)

17. 8:00 P.M. is a totally acceptable time to go to bed. And several naps are nice too.

I’m excited for Baby Offspring to come. We are ready as we know how to be with her, and the roads are clear.