Madelynn Amy

Monday, the 16th of May, was a rainy and dreary day. To tell you the truth, it kinda fit my mood. With my due date only two days away, I was getting quite anxious to hold our little baby in my arms, instead of carrying her around in my stomach. I had a doctor's appointment that morning, which I went to hoping and anticipating to hear that the baby was on her way! Not such news. Instead, the doctor said that it could be a little while yet, and that I would need to come for an appointment every two days until she arrived. Every two days! Ugh! I wasn't too thrilled.

As it was a dreary day and we were all tired, all of us laid down for an afternoon nap. (Which later proved to be a wonderful thing!) We all slept around 2 1/2 hours and woke-up feeling so refreshed! During my nap though, I realized that I was having some more painful than normal contractions. But, I brushed it off, not wanting to get myself too excited thinking that I could be going into labor.

Soon after we awoke from our nap, David's aunt and uncle called inviting us to their place for the evening. While I was a bit hesitant about going, as I was continuing to have contractions, I agreed, knowing that we could always leave if necessary. Well, we weren't there more than an hour and a half, when I knew that 'this was it' and that we needed to go. I was way too uncomfortable to stay there juggling kids on my lap and trying to be part of the conversation, while trying to keep a smile on my face through the ever-increasing contractions. As soon as I said the word, David got up and we were on our way home in a matter of minutes. (I have a wonderful husband!)

David called his mom on our way home, and she met us at our apartment! (I also have a wonderful mother-in-law!) David and I got ready and left for the hospital while Oma played with our very excited kiddos and then put them to bed. We arrived at the hospital around 8:30 and got settled into our room. The contractions continued to pick-up and get stronger. We were hoping to have the baby by midnight, but things took a little longer. To make a long story short, we were pretty much just waiting for my water to break. It seemed I could not progress past 7cms with the bag of water still intact. The midwife did not want to break my water, as it is better for the baby for the water to break naturally by itself. David and I just began praying between contractions for the water to break. I was tired and ready for it to be over! Finally, my water did break, and less than 2 minutes later, Madelynn was in our arms!

Answered prayers for which we give thanks:

While it was thought that she may come anywhere from 2-5 weeks early, she was born at 39 weeks + 6 days... only 1 day before her due date!

Several weeks before she was born, we were told that she was laying in a posterior position, otherwise known as "sunny-side-up". This can make labor and delivery longer and more difficult. We rejoiced when we were told at the hospital that she had moved into an anterior position, and was all ready to be born!

I was able to have a successful VBAC... no C-section!

She arrived at the perfect timing...

David's mom had several days off from work, the kids were all healthy, and I went into labor in the evening, which is what I was praying for. (That way, the kids are all in bed!)

We had a wonderful midwife deliver our Madelynn,

and all the nurses were super helpful and nice.

Our little Madelynn is healthy and strong, eating well and just such a miracle!

The meaning of the name Madelynn is Woman Of Magdala

The origin of the name Madelynn is English

The meaning of the name Amy is Beloved

The origin of the name Amy is Latin

I have always liked the name "Madelynn". While the name doesn't mean anything too special, every time I'd hear it, it seemed to be the perfect name for a very sweet and gentle little girl. When we first saw baby #6 on ultra sound while still in Tuva, she just looked so sweet and peaceful to me. (I can't really explain how I felt when I saw her on ultra sound... she just was beautiful!) Even the ultra sound technician said that she seemed to be a very calm baby. The name Madelynn popped into my mind, and I knew that was the best name for this baby. On the way home, I mentioned it to David, but he wasn't too thrilled with the name. (It's definitely a name more familiar to our American side of the family rather than our German side.)

David preferred the name "Amy". Amy means "beloved". This name is extra special to David, as his name also means "beloved". I too like this name, mostly for the meaning behind it. We wanted to use this name as we want our newest princess to always know that we love her so very much, as does her Heavenly Father. She is definitely "beloved".

The difficult part for us was to decide which name should be her first, and which one should be her second. Over time, David came to like the name "Madelynn" more and more, and he decided that that would be her first name. I'm glad he came to that conclusion, as somehow I knew she should be called "Madelynn Amy".

If you'd like to see Madelynn's hospital birth announcement, click here.

Some of you may be wondering about Madelynn's hips. As several of our children (Aria and Micah) had been diagnosed with hip dysplasia while babies and have undergone treatment to correct it, we consider it extremely important for our babies to be checked by an orthopedic doctor as soon as possible after birth in order to determine if they may need treatment for their hips as well. Therefore our little Madelynn's hips were checked when she was just a day old. While it was determined that Madelynn does not have hip dysplasia (Praise the Lord!), her hip sockets are a bit "flat" and not as rounded as they should be. Therefore, the doctor thought it would be best to have her wear a brace for this time. We are truly so thankful that she is already wearing a brace, as the earlier one begins treatment, the quicker the hips heal. (And without the brace, we were told they would just get worse.) We aren't sure how long she'll wear the brace. The orthopedic doctor said 4-6 weeks, but we may keep it on longer. Her hips will be checked again in about a month, and then hopefully we'll know more then. We are just SO thankful for the good care which she is already getting.

Here is a picture I tried to take of all the kiddos. Yeah, it's not that good, but I thought I'd post it so you could see Madelynn's brace. She doesn't mind it at all. In fact, when the doctor put it on her for the first time, she just kept right on sleeping! =)

I know she's only a couple days old, but so far, she is just such a sweet, easy baby. She loves to sleep on my chest, and I just love holding her! It's so hard to get anything done, when all I want to do is snuggle with her! She is just such a precious, perfect baby, and we are SO thankful for our newest little one!

Madelynn Amy, we love you!

Welcome to our family!