Birth Story

OK, this post is promised to be a very long one! Last Friday (8/7) Justin and I went for my regular 39 week check up with my OB. All day long, my feet were SO swollen and Justin was calling me "baked potato feet". I have never seen my feet/ankles look so big in my life. When my dr. came in, Justin and I were joking with her that it would be fine with us if we needed to go ahead and have the baby that day. In reality though, we had just been planning our weekend and were fully expecting to have at least another week of preparation. Well, our dr. called our bluff because she said that I had protein in my urine, elevated blood pressure, and excessive swelling causing a diagnosis of mild pre-eclampsia. We were both shocked, as the pregnancy has been 100% uncomplicated so far and my dr. said that we would be delivering the next day. Im sure the look on our faces was priceless! She immediately sent us over to the hospital to be admitted overnight so that I could receive Cervidil in order to prepare me for labor the next day. One (of many) wonderful things about the time of this is that my dr. was the physician on call for the weekend! By the way, I was still 1.5 cm dilated and 70% effaced. Justin and I felt like two stooges wandering around the hospital in a fog while the reality of things was setting in! We had a wonderful nurse check us in and get us all settled into our room, answer questions, etc. Justin then went home to switch out cars, feed the kitty cat, and get our bags. He got back to the hospital and then they gave me the cervidil and also IV drip to slow some mild contractions that I was having, although I couldnt feel them. We settled in for the first (of many) loooong sleepless nights!

The next morning we began to induce labor bright and early at 7 AM. My dr. came in and broke my water (Ouch!) and started a pitocin drip. We also met our labor and delivery nurse, Kathy, who as it turns out, lives 3 doors down from us and we hit it off with her immediately. It was not long at all before I was hit with very HARD and painful contractions that got worse by the second. My mom and Meri arrived about that time to find me bawling my eyes out through each one. I was trying to hold of on an epidural until I reached 5 cm, but I gave in after an hour into labor. Boy am I glad that I did, because after I got the epidural, they checked me and I was at 6 cm!! I went from 2 to 6 in a little over an hour, so it all made sense why I was in such agony. After the epidural, everything was gravy. I felt in a complete state of relaxation and could not feel a thing. I stayed that way for a couple of hours until they came to check on me to find that I was a full 10 cm. I went from 6 to 10 in 2 hours! Then it was time to push. My mom and Meri left the room and 3 nurses came in to start the process. Pushing was not so bad until we were about 1 1/2 hours into it and my epidural began to wear off. I began to feel strong contractions again and was exhaused from the pushing. I should mention that Justin was ABSOLUTELY the best labor coach in the world and was calm, collected, and extremely encouraging throughout the whole process. At 2:17, Jackson decided to enter the world. He did have the umbilical cord around his neck, which was coincidentaly one of my biggest fears. In reality, the wrapped cord did not affect him at all and his heart rate never once dipped, so it was never a concern for us and there was never any real danger from it. When Jackson came out, he didnt cry much and the poor thing was getting spanked and slapped by the nurses to shock him into some good cries. We got a few, but they still wanted to take him to the NICU to check his oxygenation level, which came back at 100%...yay! Also, Justin got to cut the cord. The biggest thing I remember when I first saw him is how much smaller he was than I expected, and that he had a full head of dark hair! He was also so much more alert than I expected and was just looking around taking it all in. And of course, I was thinking that he was absolutely perfect and beautiful.

Justin and I were just in awe of him and Justin followed him to the nursery for his first bath and check up. Meanwhile I was getting stitched up from a 3rd degree episiotomy...(yikes!). Justin and the nurses brought the baby back to me to attempt to breastfeed, and after about 5 minutes I told Justin to "take the baby!" just in time for me to get sick, most likely from the whole experience and being weaned of the meds/magnesium. After that, the real fun began. Jackson and I were trying to get the hang of breastfeeding, and it was quite painful at the beginning but I soldiered through. Luckily we have both gotten the hang of it now! The next day (Sunday) Jackson's pediatrician came for a visit and to do the circumcision. Justin really took a lot of time to pick the perfect pediatrician, and he did a wonderful job picking a physician that he already knew and really respected. I can tell that our pediatrician thinks the world of Justin, as he was SO excited when he walked in and saw that it was us. He told us that we made his day. The funny thing is that our pediatrician was the one on call that weekend, and he just got his hospital privileges a few days before the birth....crazy! Also, as an interesting side note, Jackson's doc is also an assistant priest at an episcopal church in the area. He did the circumcicsion right before he put his priest collar on to head to the church. The best way that I can describe him is that he is just like Edward Norton's character in the movie "Keeping the Faith".

During our hospital stay, Jackson was the only baby born that day and the L& D floor was slow, so we got so much attention from a wonderful staff of nurses who will always hold a special place in my heart for really helping me to get thing hang of this mommy thing/breastfeeding. Also, in addition to Justin, my mom and Justin's mom have been a big source of support and comfort these days by taking care of us. The thought of coming home with Jackson seemed a little overwhelming at times, but for some reason, just knowing that the nurse who helped deliver Jackson is a few doors down (and only works weekends) gave me such peace. Yesterday we passed her house and she was outside grilling with her family and it made me happy to see her again. Also, we have a friend who is a pediatrician who lives 10 doors down, so that is completely comforting as well. He and Jackson's pediatrician have both given us their personal cell phone #s if we need them for anything...how cool is that?! As for Jackson, he hardly cried at all during those few days and has continued to be a pretty peaceful baby. We came home on Monday and got Jackson all settled.

The past few days have been a blur! We have had one night where he seemed gassy and cried what seemed like forever. That was a trying night, but we all got through it together. In my opinion, Justin was born to be Daddy, and has been the most supportive husband/father that anyone could ever ask for. I honestly dont know how anyone does this alone. The rest of the nights have been pretty good and he is feeding on a somewhat regular 3 hour schedule. The breastfeeding is going great, and he is a champ at that already! We had to take him to the pediatrician yesterday because he started having some yellowy discharge from his eyes, which turned out to be a very common blocked tear duct. It should clear up in a few days on its own, and he got a clean bill of health. When Jackson was born, he was 6 lbs 9 oz. When he left the hospital he was 6 lbs, 2 oz. At his visit yesterday, he was 6 lbs, 10 oz!! The pediatrician said he is a little rockstar feeder and he got a gold star for his progress. You know if theres one thing that I fully expect our baby to excel at, it is eating!! :) HA!

Anyway, I am feeling more refreshed today after a decent night's sleep last night. The past week has been completely exhausting for us, but we are definitely getting into somewhat of a groove. As I said before, Justin has been running around making sure that me and baby are comfortable and happy and he has been reminding me to eat as well. I have dropped 24 lbs in a week!! Its amazing how this little guy is calling all of the shots right now! We love holding him, changing his diaper, giving him a bath, playing with him, and just staring at this little gift from heaven. We still can't believe that he is ours and that we had such a wonderful experience bringing him into the world. All of the little pieces came together to make his birth a perfect memory.

I am slowly in the process of getting back in touch with people and adjusting back into the real world. People arent kidding when they say these first few weeks are survival mode, but we are doing great and looking forward to what each new day brings. Jackson is officially one week old today and is the biggest blessing of our lives!!