We had his birthday party last weekend but we always have a special dinner on the boys actual birthday with something we know they will like (or ask for when they are older) this year we cooked hamburgers on the grill and ate outside on the patio set (Jordan's FAVORITE thing to do) After dinner Jordan had a birthday ice cream sandwich (he isn't big on cake) and opened up his gift
Monkey's Birth Story -April 21st, 2010 (copied from my private blog)
Wednesday morning started off pretty normal. I had woke up at 3:40am and couldn’t go back to sleep so decided to get ready for the drs since we had to leave around 8am. We head to the drs for my 8:30 am appointment, we get there and my bp is fine, I was feeling pretty good that morning and had been the last week except for I had been having steady but not painful contractions, back ache, insomnia and throwing up almost daily all lovely typical pregnancy pains. For the last 3 appointments we had been taking our bags & car seat since I had been having painful contractions only to be sent home so this time we didn’t take anything cause I was sure we would be sent home lol Well the dr checks me and I was 5 cm dilated and 75% effaced so he said well looks like it’s time to have this baby. So he sent us over to the hospital and at 9:30am we were admitted. It took us about an hour to get settled in (IV's and blood work) and than Darin left to take Walker to my parent’s house, pick up my mom and get our bags. While he was gone my bp went up to 180/98 so at 11:38am the nurse gave me a bp med through my IV that went into effect within 10 minutes and was down to 156/76, no side effects or anything. (The meds she gave me wasn't magnesium thankfully! I had been on magnesium with Walker's birth and it was HORRIBLE, had to have a catheter, made me feel like I was on fire and kind of loopy) at 11:48am they started my pitocin and informed me that when Darin got back the Dr would be in to break my water. The nurse said that once my water was broken things should move pretty fast since I came in at a 5 and the longest part of labor is getting from 1cm to 5cm and that she predicted Jordan would be here before dark. Walker told us he would be here at 4pm, guess we would see. Darin arrived with my mom just as the dr was coming into my room, he set everything up and broke my water at 12:30 and I was still at 5cm. The contractions started coming but were not bad, on a scale of 1 to 10 they were around a 3 or 4. Around 1:30 nurse Jennifer checked me and I was at 7cm dilated and my pain level had gone to about a 6. The contractions started picking up and getting faster and faster and when she checked me at 2:30 I was an 8-9, I had wanted to have a pain med free delivery and up until this point thought I was handling it pretty well but the contractions were coming so hard and so fast I didn’t get a break in between them and kind of think I lost it a little and wasn’t sure I could do it. Of course by the time you hit an 8 you can’t get pain meds so even if I had convinced Darin that I really wanted them (he knew I really wanted to do it pain med free) I wouldn’t have been able to get anything. I had heard that contractions with pitocin where stronger but I had NO idea how painful they would get. At 3pm the nurse started checking me about every 15-20 minutes and said my cervix still had a lip left and I had 1cm to go. About 30 minutes later I started feeling a lot of pressure and wanting to push but was told that I needed to wait for the dr as if I pushed with that little lip still there I could tear or cause my cervix to swell and cause things to stop progressing. At 4pm I was fully dilated and really really wanting to push but the Dr still wasn’t there yet, the nurse got the nursery nurse Kim in the room to get things ready for Jordan and nurse Jennifer started setting the room up, she said that since this was baby #2 that once Dr Doughitie got there he could probably move the lip out of the way and I’d be ready to deliver. The next 30 minutes of labor were the worst pain I’d ever felt, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to do it but my mom and Darin were such a HUGE support, Darin held my hand and kept telling me I could and mom kept saying that this was the worst pain I’d feel, that once Jordan was out I’d feel 100 % better. Dr Doughitie finally arrived and I kept telling the nurse I needed to push now and no one believed me, no one even checked until my mom looked down and said hey Darin want to see Jordan’s head? About the time she said that my body just took over and there was nothing I could do, I pushed one time and Jordan pretty much flew out on his own with the Dr just barely catching him in time. He didn’t have his scrubs all the way on or his gloves. Mom was right and I immediately felt better (didn’t even hurt when the placenta was delivered). No pain or anything, I didn't even tear or need stiches :). So after 7 hours of labor Jordan Ezra was born at 4:43pm, at 36 weeks 6 days, weighing 7 pounds and was 19 ½ inches long. He was perfect! He had some bruising on his face from coming out so fast and they had to suction him 3 times to get everything out since he didn’t have the help of slowly being pushed out to get everything out. But he had no breathing problems or anything. He was a little jaundice but the nursery nurse said that was completely normal for his age. They cleaned him up and handed him to me; it was amazing holding him for the first time. He looked just like his daddy & big brother. Once we had some time alone mom took Darin to the waiting room to get Walker and Darin brought him in so just the 4 of us could have some bonding time before the rest of the family came in. Walker was so excited to see HIS baby Jordan. He kissed him and just looked at him with a big smile on his face. After a little while alone Darin went back out and got the rest of the family. Jordan got to meet my dad, his aunt Kim, his cousins Aries & Oreha and of course Grandma again. After a little while Darin left to go get some dinner for us as neither of us had eaten and Papa took the kids out of the room and mom went to make phone calls leaving just Kim & I with Jordan so that I could try breastfeeding for the first time. He latched on like a champ and nursed for about 10 minutes each side. I wasn’t able to do that with Walker so it was amazing getting to do that with him. Around 6 it was time for Jordan to go to the nursery to get checked out so Darin, Walker and my parents went down there with him so that they could say goodbye before my parents & Walker took off. While they were gone it hit me all that had happened, how fast it went, the I got my pain med free birth while on pitocin, didn’t have to have a catheter or get an epi, was able to keep my bp in check and pretty much have as close to a natural birth I could. It was an amazing feeling and I had so much adrenaline and energy that even though I had been up since 3:30am I just couldn’t sleep. The nurse came in around 8:30 to bring him back to us and he had passed everything with flying colors. He was ready to eat and the whole night the nurses were shocked with how well and how much he was eating being borderline early. We were released Thursday around 6pm and he is doing amazing. I’m feeling surprisingly great. Having some cramping and after contractions but nothing compared to all the crap I went through with Walker. Darin is being amazing and taking care of everything, cooking, cleaning, Walker…. so I can just relax, bond with Jordan, concentrate on nursing (which he is making way easier than I ever thought) and get to feeling 100%. The last few days have been a whirlwind but I wouldn’t change a thing. I’m enjoying having Jordan here and being a mommy of 2 little boys. Can’t wait to see what is in store over the next few days, weeks, years.
** when we came home he weighed 6 pounds 14 ounces and preemie clothes fit him, his newborn stuff is too big. **
