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| [Photo by Samantha Jane] |
Jackson James Dyer
Born on Sunday, July 15, 2012 at 3:45 in the morning
Weighing in at 8 lbs 1 oz and measuring 19.5 in long
Hard to believe I'm coming up on the 4-week mark with this little guy... it's been a whirlwind, to say the least! Forgive me for the lack of updates over the past couple months, I was not a happy preggo girl at 9 months and in 95+ degree summer heat... it was miserable, quite honestly. I would say that the sleepless nights were frustrating too, but nothing compares to life with a newborn :) I guess the leg cramps and back pain were irritating, but at least I was able to get solid *consecutive* hours of sleep! Those last few weeks were draining... but I survived, all the while working full time to help contribute before my maternity leave. It was exhaustingly busy, but working helped to keep me occupied so I wouldn't sit at home and stew... or get overly crafty and try to reorganize the house. :) So let me get to the story I'm sure most of you have heard... but nevertheless, I need to add it to my blog: JJ's birth story (aka labor & delivery)!
At my 36 week appointment, my midwife informed me that I was already 2.5 cm dilated and 50% effaced (pretty good start for a first-time mom) so I was quite excited when she gave me the good news that I would probably go into labor at some point in the next couple weeks. I kept at my normal routine, and at my 37 week appointment, I was 3 cm dilated and 70% effaced - and my midwife told me that she was going out of town for the next week, and "asked" me to go on semi-bedrest so that she wouldn't miss my delivery (basically, she had a feeling I would go into labor at some point in the next week if I kept at my normal activities). Well, as much as I had wanted her to deliver (I had chosen a midwife for a reason), I was so uncomfortable at that point that I really didn't care who delivered as long as Jackson was taken care of. So in other words.. I didn't heed her suggestion of bed rest. That Saturday, Geoff and I decided to "encourage" labor -- took a drive on a bumpy road, took a long walk -- and hoped that something might do the trick. Well, not sure what pushed me over the edge, but that night at about 11 pm, Geoff and I were downstairs on the couch (I was lying down trying to rest and get rid of some lingering nausea, Geoff was playing NCAA football on his Playstation) and I felt like my water broke. I stood up and, well, sure enough -- I got to the bathroom and I was pretty confident that "it was time." I leaned out to update Geoff, and this is the dialogue that followed:
Me: "I think my water just broke..."
Geoff: "What does that mean?"
Me: "Well, in about 5 minutes my contractions are going to get pretty intense... and we'll need to get going up to the hospital."
Geoff: "So does that give me enough time to finish my video game?"
Me: "Um.. how much time do you have left?"
Geoff: "About 5 minutes..."
Me: "Well, I guess so...."
Yeah. That really happened. And I really can't be mad at him - it makes for quite the story now looking back :) But like clockwork, my contractions soon became incredibly strong and it was quite evident that we needed to get out the door -- but don't worry, Geoff was able to finish his game :) Thankfully we live only a few minutes from the hospital, so by 11:30 I was already checked in and curled up in bed trying to breathe through contractions that were coming every 3-5 minutes. The next few hours are slightly blurred in my memory, but I do recall asking for the epidural and having to wait for the anesthesiologist on-call to get back to the hospital (who knows where he went)... that was an unpleasant wait. Our good friend Sammy (who did our engagement photos) had offered to do our "birth story" photos, and she came in while I was trying to "breathe" through those never-ending contractions... not exactly the "happiest" time of the night, but thankfully once the doc arrived and the epidural kicked in (somewhere around 12:30-12:45) I felt a wave of euphoria and the labor pains became a distant memory. The nurse then checked and informed us that I was about 6 cm dilated and completely effaced - so only another 4 cm to go before the pushing could start! For those who may not know... first-time moms usually sit in the hospital for HOURS waiting for dilation to complete (labor can take 15-20 hours total) so I have a feeling that the nurses on shift weren't expecting anything from our room anytime soon. Well.. I dozed off for a bit, and when I woke up, I felt a lot of increased pressure in my lower back, and called the nurse in to check me - sure enough, I was dilated to an 8! She was a little surprised, and told me she would come back in a bit to check on me. Well... that was about 2:30. At 3:00, I felt increased pressure even lower, so I called the nurse in to check - to all of our surprise, I was dilated to a 10! AKA - I was complete and ready to start pushing! She asked if I wanted to do some "practice" pushes... I wasn't quite sure how to respond to that question, so I decided to just go for it. Had no idea what I was really doing, so I guess "practicing" was a good option :) Guess my body had a better idea of what it needed to do, because about 20 minutes later the nurse told me I needed to take a break because I was pushing so effectively that the baby would come before the doctor could make it in! So... after about 15 minutes of waiting (another one of those "unpleasant" waits) the doctor arrived - 2 pushes later, Jackson James made his official grand entrance into our world :) And just like that, Geoff and I were finally PARENTS! Not to say that we hadn't been "parents" for 9 months already... but now his presence was undeniable -- and life as we knew it would never be the same......
** Stay tuned for the rest of the story -- duty calls (aka JJ is waking up) so I'll be back to finish soon! **
