Addison Joy’s Birth Story

Addison’s Birth Story

On March 24, 2010, we went to Babies R Us before heading off to the doctor’s office for our 39-week check-up. Since our OBGYN was out of town in Hawaii, we saw a new doctor that morning. The check-up went great, the baby’s heart rate was good, and the doctor said Kate was dilated to 4 and 70% effaced. He said, “I’d say see you next week, but I think you are going to have this baby before then.” We were thrilled with the news and excited that our baby was coming soon!
Kate had been having regular contractions the last two days about 10 minutes apart. That afternoon, after Andrew went to work, her contractions became much more regular and over the course of 3 hours were just five minutes apart. After calling the doctor’s office and a quick call to the mission, Andrew was headed home from work early. We drove to the hospital and arrived there at 5:30 in the afternoon. Many of Kate’s coworkers cheered her on as they wheeled her upstairs to OB triage. Before admitting Kate, OB triage wanted to see some progress to see if we were actually going into labor. So we walked the halls, waited for a check, walked the halls again, waited for another check, spent an hour in the spa, and got checked again. We discussed our options with the doctor, one of which was going home and waiting it out, we decided to have Kate’s water broke as contractions were now just 3-4 minutes apart and she was dilated to 6.
At 11 pm, we moved up to the Labor and Delivery floor and met our nurse for the night, Kris. A nurse midwife broke Kate’s water and contractions really picked up. Kate was so tense and could not relax the way she needed to. We opted for an epidural to help relax her body, stop the uncontrollable shaking and shivering, and decrease the pain. When they were preparing to put the epidural in Kate’s back, she threw up all the apple juice she just had and was quoted as saying “I’ll never drink apple juice again”. The medicine did exactly what it was supposed to and what we had hoped for. She advanced about a centimeter an hour after she finally relaxed. Unfortunately, one side effect of the medicine was that it dropped Kate’s already low blood pressure even lower. Andrew saw one blood pressure of 44/22 and she was pale as her sheets. The nurses rushed in and gave her oxygen and got her bp back up. Her color returned almost as fast as her blood pressure went back up.
At 6 am, Kate was fully dilated and completely effaced, ready to start pushing. Our nurse, Kris, had warned that first time moms normally push for 1-3 hours but insisted that we have the baby on her shift, which ended at 7 am. On her first push, Andrew could see the baby’s head full of dark hair and thought, “Oh my, I am going to be a daddy!” Kate was able to watch her progress with a mirror as she pushed. 20 minutes later, on the final push Dr. Tabor asked if Kate wanted to help deliver the baby and pull the baby up to her chest. At 6:22 am, Kate gave a final push and out came our baby. Dr. Tabor said, “It’s a girl! Do you have a name for her?” The proud daddy exclaimed, “Addison Joy!” Andrew cut her cord as she snuggled on Kate’s chest. Addison weighed 6 lbs 10.5 ounces and was 19.5 inches long. We are so blessed to have this gift from God!

Mid March AKDodd Post

Wow, it's been two and a half months since Kate and I got away for our graduation/Christmas getaway to FL. Life sure has not slowed down with school being done!

To kick off the new year we moved from our Brookmeadow Apartment to a tri-level duplex. We are most excited that we have a backyard to take our baby to be outside this summer.

I was asked to change responsibilities at work and look forward to new challenges and opportunities there. I will be teaching some Life Skills classes, doing some more one-on-one mentoring/counseling to name just a few of my new responsibilities at work. I'm excited to get started just as soon as someone is hired and trained to take over my Emergency Shelter responsibilities. I believe this new job will allow me focus and spend more time using my God given talents and passions.

Kate is still working hard at the hospital and we both can't wait until baby Dodd arrives!

Florida Vacation: December 26-27

We left Daytona Beach early Saturday morning and headed north. We took a detour on the way home to visit Chip Dean in Alabama. We spent the night at his home and then went to his church with him to see his ministry there. It was great to spend the evening with Chip and to see a small glimpse of how God is using him at Capshaw Baptist Church. We made it home late on Sunday night and prepared for a busy week of packing ahead of us.
It was an amazing week. We are so thankful that we had the opportunity to celebrate Kate’s graduation from nursing school and enjoy time as just the two of us to relax, rejuvenate, and refocus as we prepare for a busy year with many changes to come.

Florida Vacation: December 25: Our Most Unique and Original Christmas Ever!

We woke up early to watch the sunrise over the Atlantic Ocean. Although it was a little cloudy, it was still worth the early wake-up call—Beautiful! We went to bed and slept in, with no sign of a Christmas tree in our room. We had the traditional Dodd Family Christmas Breakfast- Sausage, Egg, and Cheese Bagel Sandwiches. We spent the rest of the morning calling all of our family members and wishing them a Merry Christmas. It did not feel like Christmas, as we swam in the pool and splashed in the ocean, but it is a Christmas we will not forget. We cooked steak for our Christmas dinner and walked on the beach while the sun was setting.

Florida Vacation: December 24

With the realization that our days were running short, and still so much to do, we headed down to the Ponce de Leon Inlet Lighthouse. We had been planning to visit the lighthouse for at least 4 months, since we had viewed it on a website about Daytona Beach. When we arrived, it was so much more than the 203 steps to the top of the lighthouse. There were a number of historical buildings onsite that had been preserved since the 1880’s. It was fun to explore and learn the history of the lighthouse station and the Daytona Beach area. The lighthouse is the tallest in Florida. We climbed to the top and the view was breathtaking. Andrew really enjoyed the afternoon there, and it was quite possibly the highlight of Andrew’s vacation.

Today was also the warmest and sunniest day of our vacation. We both went into the ocean and spent much of the morning and afternoon in the water. We both got burned!! It feels great to be burned in December! We went to Christmas Eve service at the Ross’s church again that evening.

Florida Vacation: December 23

On Wednesday, after a day of Disney Fun, we slept away most of the morning! Andrew dared to get into the ocean, though it had not hit 70 degrees on our trip (Dad we have pictures to prove it). We enjoyed the pool throughout the day. We capped the day off with dinner and a movie- the long awaited Cici Pizza, Pasta, and Dessert Buffet and Invictus (a movie about Nelson Mendella’s rise to leadership and the World Rugby championship in 1995). It brought back so many memories of South Africa and made us want to get back to Bethesda even sooner.

Florida Vacation: December 22

We woke up early Tuesday morning and traveled to Orlando to spend the day at the Magic Kingdom. We were able to go to Disney because of two separate gifts, what a blessing it was. Andrew was last there during high school; Kate was six years old the last time she saw Mickey Mouse—so it was fun to relive childhood memories.
At lunchtime, we went to Downtown Disney where we met Kate’s cousin Jennifer and Rob. Jen lives in Tampa, FL and drove over to meet up with us. We had a lot of fun hanging out with them and eating lunch. It had been too long since we had seen them and so it was great to reconnect.
When we returned to the Magic Kingdom, we made sure to hit all the classics-Teacups, Dumbo, Country Bear Jamboree, and ended the night with It’s a Small World. We waited in line to picture with Goofy and the Disney Princesses. Since it was Christmastime, the park was decorated for the holiday. They had a special SpectroMagic Parade at night and Christmas Fireworks over Cinderella’s Castle. It was a very long day, but so much fun. One that Baby Dodd will be sure to enjoy in 3 or 4 years.

Florida Vacation: December 21

On Monday, we went to a chocolate factory in Daytona. It was really cool to see how they make chocolate and other tasty delights. Kate, who is now 6 months pregnant, loved it! We bought a few pieces of chocolate to enjoy throughout the week. On the way back to our resort, we got off the paved road and drove on the Daytona Beach! It was a unique and interesting experience to drive just feet away from the Atlantic Ocean, on the sand.

Our Florida Vacation: December 20

Dennis and Pam Ross, friends of Andrew’s parents, spend each winter in Daytona Beach. So we went to their church on Sunday morning. The highlight of the morning for Kate was when they sang the Halleluiah Chorus, which the church she grew up at sings every Christmas. The Ross’s took us out to lunch and then to the Flea Market. We had a wonderful time catching up with them. We went swimming in our resort’s outdoor heated swimming pool that evening and enjoyed relaxing in the water and watching the ocean.

Our Florida Vacation: December 18 -19

We left Michigan at 3 pm Friday at 35 degrees and had safe travels the first half of our drive. We hit some rain in the mountains of Kentucky and Tennessee (the same storm that dumped over a foot of snow on the east coast the next day). We got a couple hours of sleep at a rest stop in southeastern TN that was not more than 5 miles from Alabama and 5 miles from Georgia. Unfortunately our phones (which we use as alarm clocks) reset to central time zone and so we unknowingly got an extra hour of much needed sleep. The rest of the trip went smoothly and we safely arrived at Daytona Beach at 3 pm Saturday at 65 degrees. We spent the rest of Saturday getting settled into our timeshare condo, skyping with family to let them know we arrived safely, and taking a walk on the beach.