Jack's Birth Story

I'm writing down Jack's birth story mostly so I can look back one day and remember every special moment.  If reading all the details of birth is your thing, then enjoy!  If not, there are some cute pictures at the end!

Jack's entrance into the world may have turned out differently than I had expected or planned on (because these things always go according to plan, right?), but meeting him was as beautiful and precious as I could have hoped for.  He reminded us that he's his own person by making us wait as long as possible, although he's making up for it by being the sweetest little baby.

Nixon showed up eight days before his due date, so I was really hoping this one wasn't going to make us wait around.  No such luck.  At my 40-week appointment, the midwife scheduled my induction for ten days past my due date, all the while saying she didn't think we would have to go that route.  I was also scheduled for a couple non-stress tests during those ten days, just to make sure the baby was still in good shape.

I really wanted to avoid an induction, but at the same time it was reassuring to have an end date set.  I was having a lot of braxton hicks, so I knew my body was getting ready, but they never turned into anything close to real labor.  So, at 41.5 weeks pregnant, it was time to encourage little Jack to come out and meet us.

We checked in to the hospital at 3 pm, and spent the next couple hours getting settled, meeting the team, and doing a lot of waiting.  My nurse finally started the pitocin around 5, and then...more waiting.  The contractions picked up in frequency, but were still only slightly uncomfortable.  I relaxed in bed, chatted with Donovan, and hoped that things would pick up and I wouldn't be in labor all night.  The nurse raised my dose of pitocin a couple times over the next two hours and kept remarking how well I was responding to it.  I took her word for it since I still wasn't anything more than mildly uncomfortable and didn't really feel like I was in labor.  Once my water broke around 7:20 though, things got real.

The contractions quickly became more and more painful and were coming closer together.  No more doubting whether or not I was in labor!  An hour or so after my water broke, the nurse came in to check on me.  My pain level was getting pretty serious by this point, but I was still managing the contractions.  As crazy as it sounds, the idea of getting an epidural is more scary to me than giving birth drug-free, so I really wanted to do this naturally if at all possible.  I was only dilated to a six, which was a little discouraging considering how intense the contractions were feeling, but I still refused the nurse's offer of an epidural and opted to tough it out just a little bit longer.  Fast forward about fifteen minutes, and I was yelling at Donovan that I couldn't take it anymore and needed something.  The nurse came in, took one quick look, and announced that we were having a baby.  The team rushed in, the midwife got in place, and I started pushing.  I honestly have no idea how long I pushed, it felt like hours but was probably around ten to fifteen minutes.  Finally, at 8:48 pm, sweet little Jack entered the world and was placed in my arms.

Best moment ever.

While I have to say that having two kids is a whole different ball game, we are so in love with this little guy.  I can't wait to watch Jack and Nixon's relationship grow and develop as they become best friends.  We're so happy you're here Jack!

Nixon's Birth Story

Our little baby is a week old already and Donovan and I are loving being parents.  We've been spending the last few days at home, adjusting to life with a newborn and getting to know our sweet baby boy.  Nixon has been doing great - eating well, letting mommy and daddy get just a little sleep at night, and giving us the best baby snuggles.

If you don't want to know all the gory details of his birth, just skip to the cute baby pictures :)

Little Nixon chose a pretty dramatic entrance into the world.  On Tuesday morning, I had a routine doctors appointment.  We discovered I was dilated to "one and a wiggle," as the doctor put it, which was encouraging but still didn't give any indication of when labor would start.  The doctor also swept my membranes, something that can encourage labor if your body is ready, but does absolutely nothing if your body isn't there yet.  She warned me that I would probably have some contractions throughout the rest of the day as a result of the membrane sweep, but didn't think I was close to going into labor quite yet.

As expected, that afternoon I began feeling more and more uncomfortable and noticing some contractions.  As the day went on, they started getting a little more intense, but nothing I couldn't handle by walking around and bouncing on my exercise ball.  Late in the afternoon, I took a warm bath to try and soothe my lower back, where I was feeling all the contractions.  Around 6:30, after getting out of the tub, things began to pick up.  Out of curiosity, we started timing the contractions and realized they were coming pretty regularly at 3-4 minutes apart.  Thinking that this could be the beginning of labor, but not wanting to get our hopes up just yet, I kept walking, although now I needed to stop and breathe through each contraction.  At 8:00, after having regular contractions for over an hour, we called the birth center to see what they recommended we do.  The nurse said it sounded like I was in the beginning stages of labor but it was unlikely I was far enough along at this point to be admitted (especially since I was only dilated to one earlier in the day).  She recommended I labor at home as long as I was comfortable, or until my water broke.

Thirty minutes later, still thinking I had hours of laboring ahead of me, I lay down on the couch to try and get some rest.  As soon as I lay down, my water broke in a massive gush.  But instead of being clear, it was red.  I went into panic mode, thankfully Donovan stayed calm, and while I freaked out and screamed through the now very intense contractions he threw the bags in the car and called the birth center again to let them know we were on the way.   After a speedy drive to the clinic, with me facing backwards in the seat and Donovan trying to apply counter-pressure on my low back with one hand, we arrived at the birth center just after 9:00.  The first thing the nurse said as we walked in was "are you pushing?"

Not even half an hour later, at 9:30, Nixon came into the world.  Despite my best efforts to not push until the doctor arrived, he wasn't going to wait for anyone and the nurse had to deliver him.  About five minutes later, everyone else showed up.  Because there was so much blood in the amniotic fluid, Nixon was checked out by a pediatric doctor just to be safe.  He was perfectly healthy though and before long he was in my arms and we were getting to know each other.  I was fine as well, the bloody amniotic fluid looked a lot worse than it actually was.  It turned out to be a slightly more intense labor and delivery than either Donovan or I expected, but it ended well and I was more than happy to skip the 10+ hours of labor most first-time moms are subjected to.

Welcome to the world Nixon!  Mommy and Daddy love you!

First picture - just a few minutes old

First snuggles

It's hard not to fall in love with this face

Hanging out with Daddy

Precious little hands

Getting ready to go home

Sleepy little baby