We went in to the hospital on Monday night May 9th after having a delicious dinner at Pei Wei. We were admitted at six and I was given Cervidil to soften my cervix. The plan was that the Cervidil would help me dilate the next day when I got the pitocin. They informed me that they give all patients Ambien to help them sleep that night. I had had a bad experience with Ambien in the past, but decided they must know what they are talking about. WRONG. The Ambien had the complete opposite affect on me. I was wired. I literally did not get a minute of sleep that entire night. I was wired.
At 4:30 am the nurse came in and checked my cervix. The Cervidil had done nothing. She then informed me in horrible bedside manner that there was a good chance that the pitocin would not work either and that I would go home that night without my baby only to come back another day. I was so depressed. Thankfully she was the night shift nurse and about 3 hours later "Rocky" came in. She was going to be my nurse for the day and she told me the second she came in that the baby was going to make his debut. She pumped me up. I was ready for this.
She inserted my IV and started my pitocin drip at 6:45. My contractions started pretty quickly. Not fun ones, but really not too bad. I kept thinking...I can do this...ha. At 2:00pm I asked for my epidural. Contractions were coming every 30 seconds and because of the pitocin, I'm told that they were stronger and more painful than normal contractions. Who knows. All I know is that I could barely breathe through them and with them coming every thirty seconds, I wanted some relief!
Thank goodness I didnt realize how big the needle was! Of course, I was in enough pain, that I probably would not have cared anyway. The Dr. came in and gave me my epidural, Rocky put in my catheter (quite nice to not have to get up an pee), and I then took the best two hour nap of my life. I highly recommend an epidural to anyone and everyone. It completely takes away all pain. It was like I wasnt even having contractions anymore.
After my two hour nap, Rocky came in to check me.I was only 5 cm dilated. That wasn't too bad. They say that once you hit 4 cm dilated, the rest goes quickly. She started to put me in these funny positions that would get Jackson to move further down. (I had been 90% efaced for a while) Well, two hours later, the Dr. came in and said that I was still only 5 cm dilated. She gave me the option of continuing to contract in hopes that I would dilate or have a c-section. She said that the chance of me dilating was not likely but that it was my choice. I, (credit I can only give God and my sister in law Erin) had complete peace about the c-section and knew that it was what needed to happen. The peace came from God in the obvious ways, and it also came from Erin because she had reminded me that week that she had had a c-section with my niece and had been perfectly fine. (Thank you Erin!!!)
Once I decided to get a c-section, it was only 30 minutes before they wheeled me in to the operating room. They moved quickly. Im pretty sure my Dr. wanted to get home for dinner. It was about 6:45. I had been in labor for exactly 12 hours. 12 hours sounds so long, and maybe I am already at the forgetting stage, but it really wasnt that horrible. I do remember during the bad stage of my contractions, telling John that I definitely deserved a "push" gift and that I would be getting a Nook and a nice camera once it was all done:). I am now lucid again and remember that I pay the bills and I will not be getting either of those:)....although John keeps saying I deserve it....smart man.
Anyway, they wheeled me into the operating room and one of the Dr.s came in to add some hard core medicine to my epidural. I decided that I didn't want to hear what was going on, so I asked if I could listen to my ipod. They said yes. So while I was lying on the table, waiting for them to start, I started my God of Victory CD from The VIllage Church. It was the perfect thing to listen to. Listening to songs about glorifying God and worshiping Him puts a lot of things into perspective while they are cutting open your stomach. I wanted to have the headphones so that I couldn't hear anything, the problem was, that I could still smell everything, and it did not smell good. You could smell them soldering my skin. Mmmmmm.
So, the entire time I was sitting there, I was listening to awesome music and I had John sitting beside me. He was holding my hand the entire time and looking at me. He looked adorable in his outfit they had him put on. It was really funny because in between songs, I could hear the Dr.s talking. They were having the most normal conversations while they were cutting me open. "So, what are you doing this weekend?" "Have you tried out this restaurant?" It was kind of funny. I guess you know you are in good hands when they are having casual conversation. Thats when you know they know what they are doing. At one point, I heard them say, "Oh he would never have come out that way." That confused me. What did they mean? Well, I found out after that Jackson's head was turned to the side, and there was almost know way he would have come out with me pushing. So glad I had the c-section.
They told me I would feel lots of pressure and that one of the Dr.s would be pushing on my upper abdomen to get the baby out. Oh my goodness. I felt that. I could barely breathe they were pushing so hard. I just focused on getting Jackson out. I just had to breathe through it. The next thing I knew, my little boy was held over the curtain. I looked at John and he had tears in his eyes. It was a sweet moment.
The baby nurse grabbed Jackson and started cleaning him off. Thats when I really got a good look at him. He was BEAUTIFUL! He had a cone shaped head because he had been trying to come down the birth canal. He also had a serious receding hair line because of his skull moving. His hair was black and kinky. He had tons of it. He was a great color. Beautiful baby. John got to go over and stand next to him. I watched him kiss Jackson. Another sweet moment...then the nurse snapped at him to put his mask back on because I was still "cut open"...not what I wanted to hear.
All during this time, I was shaking like crazy. My teeth were chattering, my arms were shaking. I think it was the epidural plus the adrenaline. It was a crazy feeling and I was not a fan of it. Once they cleaned Jackson off, they put him on my chest. I got to kiss him. I fell in love right away. My sweet baby. I couldnt believe that he came out of my stomach!! He weighed 7lbs 5 oz. Was 20 1/2 inches long and was born at exactly 7:30pm.
They wheeled him out to our room and John went with him. The surge tech asked me if I wanted something to help me stop shaking. I said yes. The next thing I know, its 15 minutes later and I had passed out. Apparently, it stopped the shaking. I was stitched up and they wheeled me to our room.
Our family had all been in the waiting room, so when John and Jackson were wheeled into our room, they were all allowed to come in. Apparently, based on pictures, everyone had a great time seeing him. At some point they were given the boot and it was just John and Jackson. John somehow still had my iphone playing in his pocket and he said it was a sweet time because he and Jackson sat there and listened to worship music together.
They wheeled me in about 20 minutes later. I couldnt hold Jackson right away because they were doing his tests. I had gestational diabetes so they had to check his sugar levels. Well, his sugar levels came back very low. The nurse was very worried and said that she had to give him some formula ASAP to get his levels back up. Im convinced that that is one of the reasons he wont breastfeed now, but if it protected him, it was all worth it.
Once they got his sugar levels up, they brought him to me. I got to hold him skin to skin. It was a sweet moment. He calmed down the second he was put on me. There is nothing cooler than that. He still does it. If he is crying and we put him down on me, he stops. I love it .
About 30 minutes after I got him, they allowed family to come back in and see him. It was fun showing him off. My grandma got to come hold him, which was a precious thing. (Mark, Erin, and Ryan are living in Seattle so they didnt get to be there, but we were able to skype with them a few days later. Jackson had a blast meeting his Aunt, Uncle, and Cousin via the internet.)
Everyone was asked to leave a little bit later and John, Jackson, and I were wheeled up to our postpartum room. I was given some pain medicine. (thank goodness) We had nurses coming in to check on me and Jack. Jackson got his first bath. (He loved it). I kept trying to feed him, but he wouldn't latch on correctly. They eventually brought a breast pump for me, and I was able to feed him via a little green tube and saringe. At 3:30 in the morning we still hadn't gone to sleep. Keep in mind, I hadn't slept at all the night before, labored for 12 hours, and then had a c-section. We were both beat. So, we sent him to the nursery for 2 hours. I had to get some sleep. I was physically and emotionally exhausted. I missed him the entire time he was gone, and we didnt send him to the nursery again. Might as well get used to lack of sleep....thats my life now.
Thats basically Jackson's birth story. It was the most amazing experience I have ever gone through. I wouldnt have changed a thing. The hospital (Plano Presby) was AMAZING. I have never been taken care of by such amazing women...the things they had to help me do....
We had many visitors that week and were allowed to come home on Saturday May 14th. Things have been great since. He sleeps pretty well and doesnt cry often. He is a precious baby, and I am overwhelmed every day with how amazing he is. God is good.
