We are in LOVE!

What a crazy, surreal week it has been!  Jackson Robert entered into our lives, and they will never be the same.  We love him so much and can't stop staring at him!  There is a story involved, and for those who care or have the time, I'm going to tell it.  It's mostly for my journaling purposes and some of it may be too much information, so I won't be offended if you don't read it all....wait, I won't know if you do or don't read it so it doesn't matter. Ha!  Anyways....Oh, and sorry it's highlighted in white.  I have no idea why it did that, and I don't know how to fix it.

Saturday, June 30th, Jeff and I spent a lovely day at the beach walking around and enjoying the sunshine.  That night, we came home and made homemade calzones, but then, shortly after eating, my stomach started feeling a little weird.  To be honest, I thought it felt like mild diarrhea cramps.  I had not experienced any Braxton Hicks contractions or anything unusual throughout my pregnancy, and this is why I just assumed something didn't agree with my stomach.  Jeff kept saying they were probably contractions, but I denied it. That night, I woke up every 1-2 hours with "stomach pains" and feeling like I had to go to the bathroom.  It was not fun. 


Sunday, I felt a few more of these "stomach pains" off and on throughout the day.  Around 4 o'clock, they started getting worse.  Some of them even had me doubling over in pain.  I still denied that they could be contractions because a lot of the time when I felt them, I actually went to the bathroom.  So, I'm not THAT crazy.  I wanted to paint my toes despite being in pain, so my sweet husband asked me if he could do it since I was feeling the way I did.  He's the best.  

That night, the pain got worse until about 2:00am.  Then, I lost my mucus plug (TMI?  Gross, I know!) and the real fun began!  I for sure knew that these were contractions.  Every 20 minutes, I had a contraction.  Then, every 10.  Jeff woke up around 4:00am to me curled up in pain.  He stayed up the rest of the time with me as I felt each contraction coming on.  All day Monday, I had contractions.  They got as close together as 6 minutes apart, but then, we went for a walk, and they would be as far apart as 40 minutes.  If I sat or stood or walked, they got further apart. If I was in a horizontal position, they were closer together.  All of the contractions lasted from 30 seconds to 1 minute.  


I called my doctor to see what I should do since they started spreading out, and the nurse told me to walk, walk, walk.  Easy for her to say!  She wasn't going through this, and they just got farther apart every time I walked. There was no way I was walking!!!  We were told to go to the hospital when they were 5 minutes apart, lasting 1 minute each, for at least 1 hour.  


So, we waited out the day.  They got worse again.  I finally couldn't stand it and was in tears from pain.  Jeff called the hospital, and the doctor told us to come in and be monitored since I had been having them for so long.  

Jackson's heart rate dipped as soon as we were hooked up to the machines, and the nurse said it was enough for her to admit us.  So, I got an IV put in and some blood was taken for tests.  Then, of course, the contractions spread out again because they had me sitting up in bed.  The on-call doctor at that point came in and said that since I wasn't really having any contractions at that point, he wanted to send me home.  I reminded him how bad they had been throughout the day and that they started getting really bad around 2:00am...17 hours ago.  It was now about 7:30pm on Monday.  He said we could stay for a few more hours and try to walk around to see if they started getting bad again.  So, we did.




We went into the "healing garden" at the hospital and walked laps.  I twisted from side to side.  I did squats.  I trotted (Jeff heard this can help.).  Nothing.  They sent us home.  

When we got home, we went to bed and things got so much worse.  I started shaking uncontrollably and the contractions were HORRENDOUS and as close together as 4-5 minutes.  We called the hospital and were told to come in again.  So, 3 hours later, we were back at the hospital.  Another IV and more blood work were inserted/taken, and we were admitted.  I felt crappy this whole time.  I had barely eaten anything since Sunday because I felt so sick.  I had no appetite.  Combine that with not sleeping, and I was in poor shape.  Jeff made me food Monday throughout the day while I was having contractions, but I could only eat a tiny bit here and there.  I'm thankful for what I did have in my system.

We were told to wait things out until my nurse/midwife got in at 7:00am (my doctor was on vacation).  So, we tried sleeping.  Jeff was on the pull out chair, and I was having bad contractions as I laid in bed.  When my nurse/midwife finally got in that morning, I asked if she could just give me a c-section because I was so tired of all the pain and feeling so sick and having contractions for SO long.  She said they didn't do them unless there was a reason to.  She told me she could either break my water or have me leave the hospital and we could schedule an induction later in the week. REALLY!?!?!  She really asked me to leave the hospital again in the middle of contractions and pain and all?  I immediately told her to break my water.  So, she did.  WEIRDEST feeling ever!  I was also put on pitocin to help get things rolling along.  

The contractions got worse and worse after this.  I consider myself a tough girl, but contractions are not fun, especially after experiencing them for so many hours.  I was already worn out.  I waited them out as long as I could.  I closed my eyes and did my deep breathing and tried to count the breaths in my head to distract myself from the pain, all while squeezing Jeff's hand, but they were so painful.  Jeff said I whimpered through some of them.  Those must have been the worst ones. 


I finally asked for an epidural when I reached my limit.  Can we say HEAVEN!!!!!  I don't care what people say about going all natural.  Epidurals are a life saver.  I felt almost nothing once I finally asked for mine.  HIGHLY recommended!!!!  Jeff was watching the monitor and said a few times, "WOW!  That was a big one.  Did you feel it?"  My response?  "Nope!"  Epidurals for life!  


Jackson's little heart beat started going down with every contraction after my water was broken.  The monitored showed a lot of them going below the red line.  Not good!!!  They thought he must have been bumping up against the umbilical cord with each contraction.  I was dilating slowly despite the pitocin, but every time they tried upping it, his heart beat dropped lower.  They tried adding fluid to my amniotic sac in hopes that this would add some cushion and stop him from bumping into the umbilical cord.  They put an internal monitor in me to see just how bad my contractions were.  They were monitoring Jackson's heart rate very closely, but still, his heart rate dropped with each contraction.

Finally, around 5:00pm on Tuesday, July 3rd, the doctor came in to inform me that it was probably in my and my baby's best interest if I had a c-section.  My response was this:  "I asked for a c-section at 7:00 this morning, so I'm all for it!"  The paperwork was signed, everything was prepped, and off to the OR we went.  I swear, from the time we were informed of the c-section to the time we were wheeled into the OR, it was about 5 minutes.  They sure don't mess around!  

Everything happened so fast, but I'm glad.  They cut me open and had Jackson out in less than 15 minutes!  I loved hearing his little scream!  The doctors said, "Wow, he's a big boy!"  I wanted to see him so badly, but the nurses had to do their thing, so I had to wait.  Jeff was able to go over and see him and cut the umbilical cord. He said he was surprised at how hard it was to cut.  

Then, they finally brought him over to me!  My first reaction, "He's so cute!"  I cried and was so happy the whole ordeal was over and our little guy was finally here!  


  

 I found out a few minutes after this that Jackson's umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck.  His heart rate kept dropping because with every contraction, it was chocking him.  Upping the pitocin made it worse because it made my contractions worse.  I'm so glad they decided on a c-section when they did!


After I was all stitched up, I was wheeled into the recovery room.  Jackson was cleaned off and then placed on my chest.  What love I felt!  He was so perfect in every way!  Jeff and I couldn't stop staring at him and touching his soft skin and little features.  He was OURS!  We created this little piece of heaven on earth!  How amazing it is that this little baby grew and developed perfectly inside of me!  How can anyone deny that God exists, especially when looking at a baby?!?!


We spent the rest of Tuesday and all day Wednesday (we watched fireworks on TV that night) in the hospital, but we were able to go home on Thursday!!!!  We were home less than 48 hours after he was born!  Wow!  I was so ready, though.  I was so tired of sitting and not being able to do anything.  The ride home had us a little worried.  Jeff kept asking if Jackson was breathing, so I'd have to turn around and check.  I was worried someone was going to hit us in the 15 minutes it took us to get home.  We were both worried that they car seat straps were cutting into Jackson's neck.  I know all new parents go through similar things because how awful would it be if something happened on the ride home?!?!


Since being home, we've been admiring our perfect little boy.  We've been taking a lot of pictures (check them out on Facebook), getting used to life as a family of three, and learning to adjust to being woken up multiple times in the middle of the night.  Overall, Jackson does really well eating and sleeping.  He is so precious no matter what he's doing...even when he's crying!  We are so in love!!!

Here are his stats from the day he was born:
Weight: 8 lbs 10 oz
Length: 21 inches


He lost 4 oz in the hospital, but we had a doctor's appointment on Friday (they thought he might have a touch of Jaundice, but he was cleared!), and he was already back up to 8 lbs 9 oz!  Wow!  What a good little eater! We also had another doctor's appointment today...9 POUNDS!!!  Geesh!   Next week, he gets circumcised.  I'm already dreading the screaming he'll be doing.  Poor thing.  


I've been feeling GREAT!!!!!!  I was given this band to wear to help hold my incision and everything together, and I wore that for the first few days.  I was also given pain meds (Ibuprofen).  I wore the band and took the meds the first few days, but then I stopped because I don't feel that I need them anymore.  


I gained 25 pounds with Jackson, and the nurses told me I probably lost 20.  So, when I got home, I got on the scale right away thinking I'd see numbers that told me I'd only have 5 more pounds to get back to my pre-pregnancy weight.  To my astonishment, I'd only lost 7 pounds!  What in the what?!?!?  Jackson weighed almost 9!  How was that possible!!!  But, I told myself to be calm and patient.  I know some of it's water and I'll be able to lose it.  


Other little random things we love about our precious little boy:


We've discovered that Jackson has dimples on each side!!!  You can only see them at this point when he smiles, but it's the cutest thing ever!  


He LOVES his fingers, and today he found his thumb!


He makes this weird noise like a pug dog, and it makes us laugh!  


So, there you have it.  There's the story and other things about our little guy.  He brings us so much joy!  Now, we are just trying to get used to the lack of sleep and what Jackson's needs are.  But, it's fantastic!  

Life is good!