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!

T minus 10 days, y'all!

Or something like that.  I guess it just depends.  Maybe I should explain.

I had my regular appointment on Wednesday.  It was VERY interesting.  First, I was told that I am 2cm dilated, 70% effaced, and baby is still at -2 station.  Good news, I am progressing!

Then my doctor asked me if we had discussed induction.  You are probably thinking, just as I was, "ummm, no, why?"  My swelling is out of control.  But my blood pressure is still fairly normal, so I didn't understand why we would discuss it.  She said that she believed with the swelling that my BP would continue to go up, so she scheduled me for induction on June 21st.  Holy shit.  That is only 10 days from today. 

I really, REALLY wanted to have that experience of going into labor naturally, but it is nice to know that there is a definite end in sight.  And more importantly, OUR BABY WILL BE HERE IN A LITTLE OVER A WEEK!!! 

I guess I just have mixed feelings about everything.  If my body wasn't already making progress, I would not have agreed to the induction.  And let's not forget that because my body is making progress, that Baby Jackson may decide to make the big debut before the 21st.

Want to know what I don't have mixed feelings about?  Tuesday being my last day of work!  Yippee!!!

Late as usual

I'm sure you are used to it.  Sorry, but I lack the motivation to do most anything these days that does not involve laying on my couch and eating ice cream and brownies.
So I had a great appointment last Wednesday!  As I thought, the baby is continuing to move downward.  I think this will be a good thing when I actually go into labor, but right now it is extrememly uncomfortable and sometimes even painful.  Still no dilation, which is a very good thing.  My doc seems to think that we will make it closer to my due date, but still doesn't think that I have to worry about going past that.  Oh, and I'm measuring a week ahead.  And my weight was AWESOME... YAY!!!

In celebration of this wonderful news, I went immediately to Wendy's and got a cheeseburger and fries.  Then I made an appointment for a prenatal massage.  It was a good day, y'all.  And for the record, the massage was nice, but didn't help with any of the pain or discomfort I've been feeling.

And before I get to the maternity pictures that I promised, I must mention this.  I finally made a decision on my last day of work.  My due date is June 25th.  I would have liked to work up until that point, but I decided to take a few days for myself.  That said, the last day of work is officially on the books as June 18th!  I am so excited!  Now watch, it will be just my luck that Baby J will decide to come on the 17th... ha!

I'm trapped in a glass case of emotion

And I'm about to buy myself a one way ticket to the crazy house.  I can call it that because I've had relatives there, y'all... more on that later, maybe.

Anyway, I just don't feel quite right.  For example, I can breathe.  Most people don't see this as a problem, in fact they appreciate it.  However, I am cursing my body because I have a feeling it means that my baby has dropped a little more.  No more heartburn, no more feeling like I am going to explode after eating just one cupcake- because really, who eats just ONE cupcake?

I'm also pretty swollen today.  My rings were very difficult to get off when I got up this morning and my shoes were hard to get on.  The scale showed that I have gained 7 pounds in like 3 days.  Okay, so maybe this has more to do with the fact that I ate Chinese food last night and I'm retaining water like a sonofabitch?  Details.  Whatever.

So, I'm anxious.  Methinks there is a possibility that the doc may decide I need to stay off of my feet to help ensure that the leetle one doesn't make his debut too early.  And it scares the hell out of me to think about what happens if he does.  Will he be healthy?  Will he have to stay in the hospital long?  Because we live an hour away from the hospital and that would be pure torture.  I will do anything I can to keep my baby safe and healthy, even if I have to be on bed rest until my due date, June 25th.  But, I digress...

(Sorry, but does that phrase now make you think of the FedEx presentation commercial?  It makes me laugh!  Now back to me.)

As I was saying, I just don't feel good.  My hips hurt, I'm not sleeping as well, and I pretty much feel like I've been kicked in the crotch.  Something just doesn't feel right, so now to top it off I have this foreboding sense of being put on bed rest for at least the next three weeks.

And finally, as if my child's health and my finances weren't enough... because let's face it, I would not work another day at this job if it weren't for money... I'm also staring graduation dead in the eye and knowing that if I am put on bed rest that I can kiss my MBA goodbye for at least another 7 months.  And all I have to do is finish this one class that lasts 7 weeks in the summer.  What a pisser.

The appointment is in 23ish hours.  Keep your fingers crossed for a healthy baby and no bed rest!  Or else I swear I will update you every day on the latest happenings of the Jerry Springer show and Montel Williams.  Hmmm, do those even come on anymore?  But I digress...  ::gigglesnort:: 

Looney bin, y'all.

I have an impatient child

Sooo, it looks like Little J is no longer completely content with staying in Mama's ute.  That is pretty much what the doctor said yesterday.  Okay, maybe not in those exact words, but you get the idea.

Currently, my cervix is about 20% thinned and the baby is at a -3.  I wasn't exactly sure what that -3 meant, so my lovely friend Tarra googled it for me- and subsequently scared the hell out of me.  Here is what she found:

Okay, so now that we are all schooled let's move on to what this means.  The long and short of it is that the doctor does not think Little J is wanting to wait till the end of June.  In fact, I believe what she said was, "our goal is to make it through May."

That just cut my wait time in half, y'all*.  Seriously.  Poor J is freaked out.  The good news is that she did not put me on bed rest or pelvic rest, but she does want to see me again next week.  Until then, I guess it is business as usual!

*It is still possible that I may make it to full term.  Keep your fingers crossed for us!

Lesson learned

Remember the post where I talked about all of the things I "can't wait" for?  Well, it turns out that I actually CAN wait.  As in, two days ago I was told there was a possibility my baby could be coming in two weeks.  A minor freakout, along with some bed rest, was involved.

I started having some contractions late Tuesday afternoon, although I wasn't entirely sure that A. that is definitely what they were or B. that it wasn't somewhat normal at this stage.  I went to bed that night a little uncomfortable, but nothing that worried me too much.

Wednesday morning I seemed fine, until I headed to work.  On my hour and a half commute, I started having them again.  I wasn't really counting because I was busy manuevering through traffic, but I knew it wasn't normal.  They slowed down when I got to work, but picked up again shortly thereafter.

At 9:21 I started keeping notes of when I was having them.  9:21, 9:28, 9:35, 9:58, 10:06, 10:13... it was time to call the doctor.  As I figured, they had me come in.  I sat for 20 minutes for a Non-Stress Test, which proved that I was having minor contractions.  The longer I sat still and relaxed, the more they eased up, but I still had five in that 20 minute period.

Oh, and did I mention that my blood pressure was up?  Normally, it runs around 100/60, but this morning it was 122/80.  Not alarmingly high by any means, but still high for me.  The doctor did an internal to see if I was dilated and also did a swab test (fibrosomethingorother).  She said my cervix was still closed, but was irritated... much like the rest of me was at that point.  I kid. 

The results from the swab test would not be in until later that evening, possibly the next morning.  This test would tell whether the sac had started to separate from the uterine wall, or something like that.  Basically, whether or not the baby was in danger of being delivered in the next two weeks.  I was ordered to be on strict bed rest immediately until we had the results.

I will not bore you with the details of my bed rest because it was BO-RING.  Seriously.  Bed rest is not for me, thankyouverymuch.  And if I have to go back on for some reason, or if this kid comes early, he or she will literally be grounded from birth. 

Thankfully, the test was negative! ::big sigh of relief::  Because my blood pressure was still elevated and I was still having a few contractions, I had to stay home yesterday.  Now I'm back at work, and the news isn't all good.  I've been told to keep track of my BP, and luckily my ILs have this nifty leetle machine that will take it for me.  I've taken it a couple of times today and it had gotten pretty high again after getting back to normal yesterday evening.

Keep your fingers crossed that the contractions stay away for a few more weeks... both for Baby J's health and for my sanity.  I'm ready for him or her to be here, but not now.  Besides, what am I going to blog about if I'm sitting on my ass at home all day?  I'm sure y'all don't want recaps of the latest happenings on The Young & The Restless.