Welcome baby Maddox!

I am overjoyed to congratulate my sister Melissa and her husband Bryce on the birth of their baby boy Samuel Maddox. The precious, 7 & 1/2 pound boy will go by the name Maddox. He is as close to perfect as they come.
It took some time for congratulations to be in order. This was no ordinary childbirth adventure. In fact, it seems that in the first 8+ hours following the birth of Maddox there were very few smiles.
After a rather smooth, uneventful induction and an active labor of 10 hours, my sister very bravely pushed - without pain meds - for 30 short minutes. Though I regret to say I missed the labor, I hear that she was a trooper.
Maddox came into this world holding his elbows bent outward beside his head, causing great damage to his strong mommy. She immediately had to be put under general anesthesia for surgery as she had lost half of her blood supply. I saw her as they wheeled her by on her way to the operating room.
She was in shock. We all were when we heard the news. Over the course of 3 hours, friends and family waiting in the third floor waiting room heard nothing from the surgeons. No one was spoke about the arrival of a healthy baby boy. We just waited quietly in a state of worry and confusion.
How could such a happy time feel so sad? I couldn't get thoughts out of my head about the pain my sister must have felt. I still can't.
Around 1 AM the doctor invited immediate family to visit with Melissa. At last she was stable. She is still on the mend, but very tired and very weak. She spent the entire first 24 hours of baby Maddox's life in surgery and the ICU.
Many of us have only seen baby Maddox through the nursery window. We haven't seen him being held in my sister's arms. But we can all rest in comfort now knowing that she and her family are on the way to recovery and are now back in the maternity ward. She has been able to hold and nurse that precious baby.
Her already beautiful family has grown in number from three to four. I couldn't be happier for them, and I'm glad that we are now at a place where we can smile big cheesy grins and we can congratulate their ears off.
Welcome to the world baby Maddox! You sure made an entrance.

Samuel Maddox. Born September 27, 2010 at 6:16 pm.

7 pounds, 8 ounces. 20 inches long.

Proud papa showing off baby Maddox through the nursery window

Didi (Bryce's mom) holding big sister Madeline as they look at Daddy and baby Maddox through the nursery window

The grandmothers fought their way into the nursery to hold baby Maddox. This was before Melissa was able to hold him herself. Thank God for family.