Maddox Jay Manning9lbs 3.8 ozs 21.75 inches long
10:23 am
He is finally here! Maddox Jay Manning entered this world at 10:23am on Friday April 2nd weighing in at 9 pounds 3.8 ounces and 21.75 inches long! He is just beautiful and Jay and I could not be happier.
We arrived at the hospital at 7:45 am as requested and they wasted no time getting me into that all so flattering gown. Jay was picture happy right from the start. I was definitely nervous but not as much as I thought I would be. I think I was just really excited. I kept staring at the clock wishing that 10:00 would just get here already, it was taking forever. Jay and I just sat there listening to Maddox's heartbeat on the monitors and talking. We had a quick visit from my mom and his mom and Bubby Rob but mostly we were just waiting. I remember feeling Maddox moving around in my belly and thinking boy this baby is in for a rude awaking, he has no idea what is about to happen.
Right on time at 10:00am I walked into the operating room. Jay was getting changed into his scrubs and they said they would let him in once I was settled and prepped. The anesthesiologist was wonderful, she told me exactly what to expect and talked me through the entire procedure. The spinal was not bad at all and before I knew it everything was going numb and Jay was sitting by my side. Once they got started it only took about 10 mins to get Maddox out. Jay watched the entire thing constantly peaking over the sheet and then looking back at me, I am not sure how he can watch that stuff. I remember the doctors telling me that he had hair before they even pulled him out. This really excited me cause I really expected him to be bald like both Jay and I were. Well Jay had a little hair at birth but I had none. When Dr. Lewis pulled Maddox out they showed him to me quickly and took him over to the nurses so they could warm him up cause the operating room was very cold. I can't explain the feelings I felt hearing him cry, I have never been so happy in my entire life. I honestly paid absolutely no attention to what the doctors were doing to me, I just watched my little man get all taken care of. Jay followed Maddox and took pictures and video taped at the same time. We have the first 8 mins of Maddox's life recorded and I still tear up every time I watch it. Jay did such a great job, he knew how important it was to me to get pictures as well as video and with a C-section, they only let one other person in the room so I was really worried about getting it all documented. The doctors and nurses kept talking about how big and perfect he was and I was very impressed with his birth numbers cause the night before, while I was not sleeping, I guessed him at 9 lbs 2 ozs and 22 inches. Its hard to believe that I was only off by 1 oz and three quarters of an inch, I guess mother really does know best. After he got footprinted, weighed, cleaned up, and swaddled they put Maddox in Jay's arms and he came to sit next to me. It took about a half hour or so for the doctors to finish patching me up but I don't really remember any of it, I was too busy looking at and touching my little baby boy. The hardest part was seeing him root around to eat and having to wait to nurse him. I did not have to wait long, the second they transferred me back to a regular bed he was in my arms and nursing while we headed back to the recovery room. All I could think about while I was holding him was how unbelievable it was that less than an hour ago this perfect little human was living inside me, it is truly a miracle.
By Easter Sunday Jay and I were pretty exhausted. We dressed Maddox in an adorable little outfit and the entire Beaumont clan came by with brunch to celebrate his first holiday. Other Easter visitors included Great Aunt Bobbie and Uncle Charles, Vince and Tammy Lucas and of course Nanna. The pediatrician came to check on Maddox and said everything was looking great and we could go home in the morning, so we spent the rest of the evening getting all packed up so we could head out first thing. Well, our first thing and the hospital's first thing were very different. It was Opening day for the Reds and all 3 of us were dressed, packed, and ready to go hoping to get home in plenty of time to catch all the pre-game coverage. The pediatrician came in for one last check and noticed that Maddox was showing signs of jaundice and now we had to wait another hour for a blood test result. An hour later the blood test showed slightly high jaundice numbers but she said we could go home anyway and a nurse would come by the next day to test again. So we waited and waited and by this time we weren't even sure we would make it home for the first pitch. It took them so long to check us out but finally around 12:30 they showed up with the wheel chair and sent us on our way. It was a beautiful sunny day but Maddox wouldn't dare open his eyes until we were safe inside and clear from the sun. Uncle Rob house sat for us all weekend and was there to greet us when we pulled in. It was such a wonderful feeling walking through the front door with our new little man, we were finally home and ready to embrace the adventure of raising a child and becoming a family. Jay and I understand that this will be the hardest challenge of our lives but we are confident that with the wonderful support of our families and our unconditional love for each other and our child that Maddox will grow up with a strong sense of family and hopefully turn out to be a pretty good kid.
Jay went to get the Grandmas first, they were so excited to see and hold him, it was very emotional. This is Grammy's (Grandma Beaumont) first grandchild and Nanna's (Grandma Kuhn) 2nd grandson. Soon after, the Grandpas followed along with Aunt Tisha, Uncle Rob and Great Aunt Bobbie, we had that recovery room filled! We had to wait in the recovery room for about an hour or so while they monitored me and prepared our room that we spent the next 3 days in. Maddox slept most of the day waking up long enough to nurse for about 5 or 10 mins before falling back to sleep. Our best friends Danny and Ehryn came to visit him and so did cousin Ralph and Trish. After visiting hours ended that evening the nurse finally came to let me get out of bed. I do not like being confined to a bed so I was very happy about being able to get up and walk around, even if it hurt pretty bad. At that point I stayed up and walking around our room as much as possible or just sitting in a chair instead of the bed, I figured the more I push it the faster I would heal. I did not get any sleep that night, even though Maddox slept pretty good. I would fall asleep and wake up to find that I had only slept about 3 or 4 mins. I just felt the need to watch him sleep I guess, this continued all night. Jay didn't get much sleep either, It still took me a while to get up out of the bed so every time Maddox would cry or whimper Jay was the first to his side.
The second day brought more visitors. Both Grandmas came of course, Uncle Rob, Aunt Tisha and Uncle Will, Danny and Ehryn, Cousin Trish and Gina. We took a lot of pictures of Maddox that day also. I stayed out of bed almost all day and was feeling pretty good considering I had major surgery the day before, Jay started calling me Superwoman. Maddox had his first visit with the pediatrician and we were surprised to learn that he was tongue tied. This basically means that his tongue was attached close to the inside of his gums meaning that he could not stick his tongue out or suck very well. Part of me thought this was the cutest thing ever because Jay is also tongue tied but the doctor said that Maddox's was pretty bad and if left alone he would have trouble nursing and later in life just licking a lolly pop or popsicle would be very difficult for him. Therefore, Jay and I made the decision to have the small piece of skin holding his tongue down simply clipped off. They assured us that this was a very simple procedure and he would only be sore for a day or two and compared to the circumcision he was about to get this was nothing. Jay went with Maddox to when he got circumcised and had his tongue clipped. I decided that I just was not ready to see my little baby be cut on just yet. Jay said he did wonderful and that he only whimpered a little during both procedures, it probably helped that Daddy was by his side to comfort him the entire time. Again, baby had a pretty big day and decided to sleep through most of it, not so much that night though. Our little man decided to show us that he had a nice set of lungs and cried quite a bit....another sleepless night.
By Easter Sunday Jay and I were pretty exhausted. We dressed Maddox in an adorable little outfit and the entire Beaumont clan came by with brunch to celebrate his first holiday. Other Easter visitors included Great Aunt Bobbie and Uncle Charles, Vince and Tammy Lucas and of course Nanna. The pediatrician came to check on Maddox and said everything was looking great and we could go home in the morning, so we spent the rest of the evening getting all packed up so we could head out first thing. Well, our first thing and the hospital's first thing were very different. It was Opening day for the Reds and all 3 of us were dressed, packed, and ready to go hoping to get home in plenty of time to catch all the pre-game coverage. The pediatrician came in for one last check and noticed that Maddox was showing signs of jaundice and now we had to wait another hour for a blood test result. An hour later the blood test showed slightly high jaundice numbers but she said we could go home anyway and a nurse would come by the next day to test again. So we waited and waited and by this time we weren't even sure we would make it home for the first pitch. It took them so long to check us out but finally around 12:30 they showed up with the wheel chair and sent us on our way. It was a beautiful sunny day but Maddox wouldn't dare open his eyes until we were safe inside and clear from the sun. Uncle Rob house sat for us all weekend and was there to greet us when we pulled in. It was such a wonderful feeling walking through the front door with our new little man, we were finally home and ready to embrace the adventure of raising a child and becoming a family. Jay and I understand that this will be the hardest challenge of our lives but we are confident that with the wonderful support of our families and our unconditional love for each other and our child that Maddox will grow up with a strong sense of family and hopefully turn out to be a pretty good kid.
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