Madylin Suzanne Housley: the birth story...a very unusual one

October 25, 2012
6 lbs 10 ozs 19 inches
3:57 p.m.
Due Date: Nov. 1 (so she was a week early)
Name: Madylin Suzanne, we knew her name shortly after learning she was a girl.  We both like "Madylin" and Suzanne is after Taylor's mom. 


Towards the end of my pregnancy, I just felt like Madylin would be born on (or by) October 26.  I asked my doctor is she would induce me on the 26th--and she would, but she was going to be out of town that day.  So she scheduled me for Monday, October 29.  But I still felt like she was going to be born on the 26th.  I've never gone into labor on my own, in fact, I thought my body would never go into labor on its own, that I was just one of those, "I need a little jump start and then I'm fine."

The evening of the 24th, I was feeling uncomfortable and not so great.  I even told Taylor that I thought I was in "pre-labor."  I couldn't sleep that night because of the contractions (not very strong or consistant) and between the contractions my mind was racing about the upcoming baby and the excitement of having a girl.  Finally by 2 am, I fell asleep, just to be up again at 4:45...and then again at 7. 

By 7 am my contractions became painful.  I knew they were good contractions, and honestly, I didn't really time them.  I don't know why.  I did time one of them and it was 7 minutes apart, but that's the only one I timed.  So I assume they were about 7-10 minutes.  I told Taylor I was having contractions ... and I must not have looked like I was in pain because he went to work.  Actually, I had a doctors appointment at 10:20, so we both were of the mindset, "We'll see what happens at the appointment."  I got up and started to get ready.  I felt like I should tell my mom to keep her phone close--so I called her and it was bad timing on my part.  I just had a contraction and when I started to tell her that, I started crying.  The contractions hurt! I told her I was fine and she should go to her appointment.  She was worried though so she called my sister.  My sister called shortly after, again, after another contraction, and I started crying again.  So she said she'd come and get my boys for me.  Once she was at our house and she saw that the contractions were stopping me in my tracks, she insisted on driving me to my appointment.  And when I say insist, she even called into her work and told them she wouldn't be there.  I felt so bad but she was a rockstar.  I often am one that "will do it on my own" or "I can do it on my own" and need someone that will just say, "no, I will help you." And that is exactly what my sister did for me.  She helped get Beau dressed and helped me pack my hospital bag. 

And here comes the unusual part.

We got into a car accident.  A bad car accident.  It was my sister, myself, my niece, and my two boys in the car, if you know my family size then you may have realized that the car included my parents entire posterity. 

The weather the night before dropped dramatically and snowed through the night.  That drop in temperature impacted us because all the lights at the stoplight were frosted over.  Literally, you could NOT see what color the light was until you were in the intersection.  My sister checked the warning light that blinks when the stoplight is red but it wasn't blinking (we later learned it was frosted over as well) and the cars at the intersection were stopped so she assumed our light was green.  As we approached I realized you couldn't see the color.  As we were approacing/entering the intersection I noticed you could barely see it was red.  I looked down and say the cross cars beginning to move and then the moment came that I knew we were going to hit. 

We t-boned a car.  Our airbags deployed.  It was a blessing we weren't in my minivan since the hood is shorter than my sisters sedan.  After we hit, the first thing I remember were the kids crying in the backseat.  My sister and I looked at each other and I guess we assumed we were both ok because then I thought I needed to call 911. 

My sisters first words, I think, were "She's 9 months pregnant, she's in labor!" Because then two ladies were at my door asking, "have you felt the baby move?" and "are you having contractions?" and "we need to time contractions." I was on the phone with 911 and after I told them where we were, I wanted to call Taylor, but 911 wouldn't let me hang up.  So I motioned to a high school girl that was standing outside looking at the wreckage to come to my door.  She came and I asked her to call Taylor.  Bless her heart, I don't know who she was or told her thank-you.  She called Taylor and he got the dreaded call, "Your wife asked me to call.  She has been in a car accident."  ...Now, Taylor had no idea that my contractions picked up or that my sister came over to help because they were so bad.  I had figured I'd call him after my appointment to give him more details instead of him worrying at work.  It literally felt like 2 minutes before Taylor was there. 

Isaac was the most scared.  He wanted to be held so bad.  Beau cried at first too but I gave him a pacifier and he was ok as long as I held his hand. 

As soon as we hit, I felt pain in my ankle.  And it took a little while to feel contractions again.  When Taylor showed up I wanted him to take us to the hospital.  The firefighter said I was "stable" (ha, I think that's funny) and that Taylor could take me and the boys to the hospital. 

We also called my dad.  He has big board meetings 4 times a year.  He happened to be in one of those meetings when we called, and not only in the meeting, but presenting in the meeting.  I'm grateful that he was reachable and able to leave.  He, too, felt like he was there in 2 minutes. 

Taylor took me and the boys to the hospital.  My dad staying with Katie (my niece) until the car was towed.  And my sister, who had neck and back pain, was taken by ambulance to the hospital. 

Once at the hospital, I went straight to Labor and Delivery.  I got hooked up to monitors, I was dilated to a 4 and 70 percent effaced and my contractions were now 2-5 minutes apart and boy did they hurt! (The week before I was dilated to a 2 and only 30 percent effaced)

I was admitted at noon, they broke my water at 2:00, pushing at 3:45 and Madylin was born about ten minutes later at 3:57. 

Madylin was healthy as can be. 

The only injury in our car from the accident was my ankle.  If you saw a picture of the accident, you might be surprised that that was the worst injury in our car.  I had x-rays done at the hospital and look like I sprained my ankle.  I went to the doctor a week later and because of the amount of swelling I still had, I had more x-rays done, an ultrasound to make sure I didn't have blood clots in my leg, and an MRI done.  I'm still waiting on the MRI results because it looks like I may have also ruptured my calf muscle. 

All in all, it was a crazy day.  I'm grateful to my sister who was there to help me.  We obviously didn't plan or wish to be in a car accident but it's amazing how truly protected we were. 

I've been so blessed to have a very easy recovery from having Madylin.  (No stitches, no tears) The only thing that I am "dealing with" is my ankle in a walking boot.  The boot makes everything harder and take longer, but I am so grateful that we were all safe and that Madylin entered the world healthy, so I can't complain one bit. 

Welcome Madylin! Hopefully the drama that occurred to get you here sucked all potential drama out of your life to come!! ....one can hope, right?? ;) 

Madylin's Nursery

Finally getting pictures of the nursery on the blog.  I struggled a long time to get the nursery the way I wanted it.  I wanted something elegant, sweet and peaceful.  I looked and looked for something on the wall of the crib but couldn't find anything.  Thanks to pinterest, I made these Styrofoam balls that hang from the ceiling.  I enjoyed making them even though they took FOREVER and now Isaac does not like Hobby Lobby (because we had to go so many times to get supplies).  Here is the view from the door. 

 

This is the view opposite the door.  The pictures and vinyl saying on the wall is the same from when Beau was in there.  Some things that changed to take note of are the color of the cushions on the glider, and the curtain was custom made to match the bedding. 

 

This is the wall of the door.  A dear friend made the bow holder for me--it's pink and brown which matches the colors of the room.  Another thing that I want to remember is the pink "I Am A Child of God" sign that is sitting on the shelf. 

 

You may think I have a lot of bows, but let me tell you...95 percent of those bows are too big for Madylin's head right now!! I used door handles to the left of the bow frame to hang more headbands and in the silver bowl and the white "cage" thing are headbands to attach the bows to.  Also love the "Believe in Yourself" plaque.  One of the things Taylor and I really want to teach Madylin (and subsequent girls) is to have confidence and good self-esteem. 

And some close up pictures of the balls.  There are many different techniques.... tissue paper, felt, streamers, fabric, tulle, and cupcake liners! I also got white Chinese lanterns to help fill space.  I also enjoyed having fun with the different ribbon used to hang each ball. 

 

 Plaque above her crib says, "Princess...daughter of a Heavenly King"

Haven't changed the blue yet...oh well.  The picture of Christ hasn't changed since Beau, as well as the "family" willow tree.  But I did put the Young Women values in a frame.  Each one of the values are things we want to teach Madylin as well. 

And a close up of the bedding.  I was able to find a web site where I could custom make what I wanted.  It was fun to make and I should have gotten a close up of the crib skirt but you get the idea from this.  I love the chocolate brown ruffle on the top of the bumper. 

It was fun decorating a PINK nursery!

Halloween!!

I am not the biggest Halloween fan in this house... but alas, here are our Halloween festivities.  First up, carving pumpkins.  I could do without this activity every year, but luckily Taylor enjoys doing it so the boys do it! I (luckily) was feeding Madylin so I was a bystander to the fun.  

 

 Beau's personality is showing so much more every day...these two boys sure are cute!

 Isaac got to wear his costume to school, he is one cute fighter pilot! He wanted to pose with Madylin before he left. 

 Trick-or-treating.  I sure hope you can zoom in on Beau's face in this picture, it's sooooo cute! Again, personality coming through!

 These two fighter pilots went trick or treating with Dad while I stayed home with the little lady.

Funny story: Taylor said that Beau didn't quite understand the concept of trick-or-treating.  Beau would get a piece of candy from one house and at the next house he would try to give them that piece of candy.  When they got home, we had trick or treaters at the house.  Taylor went to the door to give them candy and Beau picked up a piece of his candy and ran to the door to give it away.  Oooh Beau, you are funny!!

Isaac is FIVE!!!

We had a birthday around here last week!! Last Saturday, October 6, Isaac turned the big FIVE! We can't believe our oldest is five, but what a blessing he is to us!! Now that he is older, there are a lot more things that go into a birthday.  For example, we had to provide a treat for school -- which we did on Thursday -- and I just put together a goodie bag (18 of them) for his class and teachers.  I did not want to bake three days in a row.  

 

 Friday was his birthday party.  For months he has talked about wanting to have his party at "Trampoline World." The past two years we have always done his party at the house, but with a baby less than a month away, there was no way I wanted to entertain that thought.  So Trampoline World it was! He had 12 friends come and he loved every minute of it.  Picture of him jumping into the foam pit:

 He LOVED being in this harness on the trampoline.  They had six of these and I swear Isaac was in it 95 percent of the time... as was his brother!! Beau LOVED being on the trampoline, but didn't figure out that Isaac could/and did land on him....numerous times.  For the most part, both boys laughed about it but a few landings Beau was not a fan of....but he never learned his lesson.  Also want to note, one of Isaac's friends that came also had his older sister come (I think she is about 11) and offered to watch Beau during the party = HEAVEN SENT! It was WONDERFUL!!

 Evidence:

 We just had cupcakes and juice at the party and Isaac is definitely into Spider-Man right now... the kids thought the bracelets were soooo cool but maybe 3 of them took one home. Haha...it's all in the presentation! :)

 Isaac LOVES to be sung to.  It's so fun to watch how special he feels. 

Most of the kids at the end.  Isaac was one HAPPY boy!!

 

Saturday, his actual birthday, he went to the Air Force Academy v. Navy football game with Taylor.  It was such a fun thing for him to go with Dad and he met up with my parents and sister and her family.  When he got home, we watched the afternoon session of General Conference while Beau napped and then had my family come over to celebrate.  On the agenda: Pizza, Brownies (his choice!), and presents. 

 

He got this new Spider-Man jacket that when you put the hood on, Spider-Man's eyes actually cover Isaac's.  It's pretty cool and he loves it! Way to go Nana!

 

 

Quick picture with Dad before he headed out to Priesthood session. 

We got Isaac some BYU pajama's and had to get a picture of the boys matching.  Yes we are BYU fans in this house!! The sugar high must have hit because these two were CRAZY right before bed!! I love their relationship and how much they adore each other.  Now is also a good time to note that Isaac and Beau have been sharing a room for the past 6 weeks.  We moved Beau into Isaac's room into the bunk bed (So Isaac got to move up top, which he thought was SOO cool, while our little baby transitioned into a big boy bed!) at the end of August, so Beau was 20 months.  It has been great-- Beau has done great, Isaac has done great.  Naps and bedtime haven't been a problem and it's great to get Beau used to the new bed/bedroom before his sister gets here. 

 

And lastly, Isaac showing off that he is five.  What a big boy! He is such a great child and we are truly blessed to have him in our family.  He desires to choose the right and make good choices, he is crushed if he disappoints us and is a good example to us! He is SUCH a good big brother and absolutely loves and adores Beau.  He is excited to meet his baby sister...a few days before his party he said in the car, "Mom, I just can't think about my birthday party." I assumed it was because he was too excited.  So I asked him why and he said, "Because all I can think about is my baby sister."

 

 

We love you Isaac!! You are growing up so fast but we are so proud of who you are becoming!!!

Weekend Getaway!

The weekend of September 7-9, Taylor and I had the opportunity to getaway to Breckenridge, Colorado! Huge thanks to my parents for watching our boys - which included taking Isaac to his first soccer game! And what made our getaway even more fun was going with great friends. We stayed up way too late talking each night, went hiking, shopping, out to eat, walked main street, rented a movie and did I mention eat??! It was so wonderful - Taylor and I are big believers in making time for just the two of us as husband and wife and I'm so grateful we were able to squeeze this getaway in before baby girl gets here in less than 6 weeks!!

Isaac's 1st Day of Preschool!!

The day finally came: first day of school!! Isaac has been asking for the last month when he gets to go back to school, and if you've talked to him recently, I'm 99 percent sure he would have told you that he is in the afternoon class at DCC (Discovery Canyon Campus).  This is his third first day of preschool, but he was excited nonetheless.  (He will have 2.5 years of preschool before kindergarten next year).  I love that he loves school. Here is a picture of him with some of his favorite things:

 

 Beau wanted in on the picture action.  Cute brothers!

 Full outfit...

 With his spiderman backpack (sorry, you can't see it)

 I wanted to make this day special, so I told him he got to pick where we went for lunch, we could go anywhere he wanted...and he picked TARGET! He loves his cheese pizza with cherry icee. 

 

 

BIG SIDE NOTE: While Isaac was at school, I put Beau in the bottom bunk of their bunk beds for the first time.  Operation Big Boy Bed: SUCCESSFUL!!!!!!  After school, I asked him to show me how he felt about it: obviously SUPER HAPPY!



In the theme of making today special, I made chocolate chip cookies and we had "cookie chat" -- simply put, we chatted about his first day of school while munching on cookies.  He thought that was super cool. 

 We even had one of the beautiful young woman in our ward who is about to leave for college come join us!! Isaac was so surprised to see her! Thanks for joining us on Isaac's special day, Ashley!! We're going to miss you!

 

Man...tomorrow is going to feel so boring after today... :)



Our 7 Day Family Challenge COMPLETED!

DAY SEVEN: We did it! We made it the entire challenge! We started the day off by making bird feeders.  BIG thanks to my parents for having all the necessary items :) When I told Isaac what we were doing he knew exactly how to do it and thought it was so cool that we were going to make them.  Picking out his pine cones...

 Rolling the peanut-butter-smothered-pine cone in bird seed

 Ta-da!

 Hanging them up at home

 Following the bird feeders, I had an appointment (a much-appreciated massage that Taylor got me!) and some errands to run.  So after dinner, each of us picked a family to "ding dong ditch." Isaac asked about this alllllllll day.  The tags say, "you've been ding dong ditched."

 I love this picture...this is Taylor running back after he ding dong ditched someone!

 Then we ended the night at the park with some friends.  Beau loves his popsicle!

 Isaac has been on a baseball kick ever since we got him that plastic bat from the dollar store.  Every free moment, "can we play baseball?"

And that's how we ended the night and the week long challenge.  And to wrap up this challenge, I am grateful that we did it! Of everything I planned, there were only 3 things we didn't do, one of which was getting Isaac's hair cut.  I'm grateful I planned attainable things each day and for the most part, didn't over do it each day.  My main goal was to focus on others, and not myself.  I wanted to serve others, I wanted my kids to get out and be ACTIVE, and I wanted to stimulate their brains by making and doing things they've never done.  Will they remember this week? I don't know.  Will we stop serving others after this week? No.  I don't want my kids to think that service has to be a planned thing or a large elaborate task....ultimately I want them to perceive the needs of those around them and act on it.  So hopefully this was just a starting point, if you will, for the fun you can have in serving our fellow beings.

Our 7 Day Family Challenge Continued...

DAY SIX:  Today was a much needed, chill but still productive day.  We started the day off early with the idea of going on a hike, but as I got thinking about a hike with Beau and no backpack type of thing, we adjusted and decided to go to a nearby trail called Sante Fe by the Air Force Academy.  We invited some friends to join us and it was a perfect way to start the day. 

 After we got home, the next thing on our agenda was to memorize a scripture.  Following the theme of this week, the scripture was Mosiah 2:17: "...that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings, ye are only in the service of your God." I got Isaac reciting it on video (and no it's not perfect) but we practiced it throughout the day and will continue to recite it...

After some on-the-floor play time and lunch, we made a Pinterest craft: the "Calming Jar." The idea is when a tantrum unfolds, you shake the jar and you can't talk until all the glitter settles.  Idea is really good, but the glitter in our jar settles pretty fast, so I don't know effective it will be.  Needless to say, Isaac enjoyed making it. 

 Here's a picture of the glitter swirling around...

 Next, we made the "Question Jar." The idea behind this is that we all put questions in this jar and every night at dinner as a family we will draw a question and discuss it.  Some are fun, some are serious, some are church related, etc... For example, "If  you could play any musical instrument, what would you choose and why?" .... "Why are the scriptures important to you?"  .... "Who is your favorite superhero?" ... "What does it mean to be reverent? How can we be reverent?" .... etc.... it was fun to do this together.  AND, I even threw in some really silly things....so tonight at dinner, Isaac picked the first question (idea is one question at dinner) and lo and behold, what was the FIRST thing Isaac picked??!?!? Hahahhaaha....he handed it to Taylor to read and Taylor says, "Are you kidding me???" So the first one picked was one of my silly ones! It read, "Everyone stand up and do Ring Around the Rosie" hahaha, so sure enough we did and it was definitely silly and funny.  We did end up drawing two tonight and the second question was, "What is your favorite sport to play and why?" So if you are at our house for dinner, expect to answer a question!! :)

Other things to note of today:

-Taylor has been studying for his investment license for the past two weeks and took the Series 6 test today and passed!! Yahoo!! Now he gets to study for the insurance portion for the next two weeks.  So proud of his hard work!

-Had an ultrasound this afternoon to make sure everything was ok since I've been measuring small.  We learned that I am still measuring small but everything looks fine! It was a treat to see baby girl again!!

-And lastly, DATE NIGHT! Taylor and I have really been trying to make date night a priority every week and I truly look forward to it! But due to the last two events, our planned activities were somewhat cut short for the day.  

Our 7 Day Family Challenge Continued...

DAY FIVE: You know, it's fun to wake up each morning and hear Isaac ask, "So what are we going to do to help someone today?" So today started off with a trip to the nearby Barnes & Noble-- we've never just gone to sit and read.  So Isaac picked up a book immediately upon entering, so we sat and read it and Beau grabbed nearby books to look at. 

 Of course had to play with the train table...

 And decided that today was the day we were going to start focusing on really encouraging Isaac to learn to read.  So we picked up some books and he has already read it three times today.  Well, I shouldn't say "he read it" because he has basically memorized the pages -- so we're going to work at teaching him HOW to read it. 

 Following Barnes & Noble (which was a lot of fun) I told Isaac that we were going 'Dollar Store Shopping.' I told him he had $5 to spend however he wanted.  So he picked an FBI kit (which he wore all afternoon and on our evening walk), a baseball bat and ball, a shark to play with in the tub, a jump rope and some jolly ranchers.  Beau got a squishy ball. 

 After lunch and a baby shower, we came home and wrote letters to people.  Again, he got to choose who to write letters to.  We picked up stickers the other day and he told me what he wanted to say on the letters and I wrote it word-for-word ...

 And yes, he even wanted to write one for our dog, Yaggy. 

We were spoiled to have Dad home this afternoon so as soon as we mailed our letters (and may I just make note because I wanted to remember this tidbit of info, while Isaac and I walked to the mailbox, I asked if he'd hold my hand.  Initially he said, "no mom!" and then he said, "well, I'll walk next to you" and next thing I know, he grabbed my hand! So we walked hand in hand to and from the mailbox ... ahhhh, I love it.  I gotta keep taking advantage of these opportunities before he won't want to! So numerous times I kept telling him how much I love him and how special he is).   So.... after we mailed the letters, Isaac went out back and played baseball with dad. 

Following dinner and an evening walk,-- oh, insert service note-- when we got home from our walk I encouraged Isaac to bring our neighbors empty trash can to their garage.  He thought about it and then said, "Yep, I can do that."  -- Once home, Taylor taught Isaac how to jump rope.  Isaac was so excited every time he jumped over the rope.  And the last thing to take note of, tonight was the night (2 months shy of being 5) that he is sleeping on the top bunk in his room.  Once he gets used to this and Beau gets a little older, we'll move Beau in! Isaac was soooo excited about being able to sleep on top.  When we asked if he wanted to he gave us the non-ending head nod.  And a picture to prove how happy he was:  

I love this "I love you" sign stage! We have this thing where I make the sign and he "pinky promises" our pinkies together and we say "I love you forever and ever!"