Birth Story

I am so sorry I have neglected you for so long.  It has been nearly impossible to schedule baby, school, and life... but it has been an amazing ride so far!  So, here is my super long birth story...

Thursday, June 17th, around 11:30am I started feeling a little crampy. I didn't really think anything of it until I started having tinges of pink in my discharge. Throughout the day, the blood increased. The cramps still didn't really hurt, but by about 3:00pm they were 5 minutes apart. I held off on calling the doctor's office until 4:00pm because I didn't really believe I was in labor. I could still talk, walk, etc and I just didn't think they were contractions.
The nurse actually laughed at me when I called, as if I was in denial about being in labor! She told me to go to L&D to get checked out. J was at work and couldn't make it home any quicker than 5:00pm. At the time, it didn't seem like a big deal. I truly believed that we would get to the hospital, get checked, and be sent home. Around 5:00 I went next door to his parents' house to say goodbye to my dog (he was hanging out with them for the afternoon). I think the walk over really turned up the heat on my "contractions." By then I was in a good bit of pain. MIL made me some toast because I hadn't eaten lunch.

J got home and showered, and we were on the road by 5:30. He started timing my contractions and they were 3 minutes apart... and we were still an hour away from the hospital. The ride was pretty awful, but we got to the hospital and were in a room by 7:00.
L&D was super busy and an ER nurse gave me my IV. She blew a vein in my right arm before finally getting the IV in my hand. It hurt, but not nearly as bad as the contractions. The doctor came in and checked me and I was 4cm, 90%, and -2.
The contractions sucked, BAD. They were finally able to give me the epidural at 9:30. It didn't hurt, and took away the pain with the TEST dose. They had to cut it down about 20%. Who knew I would be such a light weight! When people describe it as heavenly, they are dead right. It was. I was finally able to relax a little. They did have to put me on an extrememly low dose of pitocin because the epi kind of stalled the contractions a little.
Our families came in and visited with us until about 11:00pm when J and I decided to take naps and get a little bit of rest before the big show. The doctor wanted to check me one more time before we went to sleep. She said, "You are never going to believe this. It is time to push." I started shaking violently because I was so nervous!!! J was wonderful encouragement through the two hours of pushing. I couldn't feel anything. I kept hitting my leg and apologizing to the nurse because I thought I was hitting her!
The doc did have to give me an episiotomy, but only about a quarter of an inch. Afterward, the baby came right out. J got very choked up when he told me that it was a boy. Jake was born at 1:01am on June 18th and was 7lbs 4oz, 20 3/4 inches. He didn't cry right at first and they thought he might be having a little trouble breathing. I had developed a fever over the two hours of 102.1. Jake also had a slight fever at first.
I was sewn up and given a fundal massage, which I also couldn't feel, and was able to hold Jake after about 30 minutes. I breastfed him for the first week, but because of his eating schedule and having his days and nights mixed up I have had to resort to pumping. It has made life much easier. We have also had to supplement with some formula because I am not making enough milk to keep him satisfied. That has been very disappointing, but the important thing is that my baby is fed and happy.
I'm not going to lie. This is the hardest thing I have ever done in my life. Our lives have been turned upside down, but it is worth it. Jake is just precious. I cried all the way home from the hospital because I was so scared. I didn't sleep for the first two nights at home because I was petrified that he would stop breathing. All in all, I was a complete zombie for the first week, but it has gotten much better. I'm not sure why, but I also had NO appetite. I really think that is what had such a negative effect on my milk production. The baby blues are no joke. It has been rough, but Jake is wonderful. I promise I will post pics later!
I have no clue if this birth story is complete. I may go back and look at it later and realize that I left out something important. Over all, I can not emphasize enough how completely amazing my husband has been. He has taken such good care of me and Jake. Recovery has not been easy, but not nearly has hard as I thought it would be.

Oh yeah, and I finally took pictures of the kitchen!  Maybe I'll get around to posting them soon... hopefully!