Baby Jack Labor Story

Well my drama-free pregnancy turned into a drama-filled pregnancy. I mentioned in my last post that everyone got sick over Christmas. I got it a little bit, but never had the throwing up so I counted myself as lucky. About a week after we got back from Utah I got really sick, just all of a sudden on a Saturday. I was throwing up etc and could not keep anything down. I stayed in bed all day and Kevin and Wyatt went to the gun show and got out of the house so I could just rest. I felt awful and so thirsty, but I couldn't even keep down Gatorade or Sprite or anything. While I was trying to go to sleep that night I noticed some little contractions. I figured it was just some Braxton-Hicks or something and thought they would go away. Well, they got a little stronger and were very consistent (every couple of minutes) so I decided to call the after-hours doctor. They told me I should probably go into the hospital to check it out. By the time I got to the hospital it was like midnight and I was still having the contractions. It was pretty scary and we weren't sure what to think. Because it was so last minute and late at night we had Wyatt with us so Kevin just stayed with me to check me in and then him and Wyatt went back home. Luckily everything turned out fine, but they had to give me an IV with fluids because I was very dehyrated which can induce labor or contractions. They put me on the monitors and the DR said I was definitely having contractions and I did the right thing by calling and coming in. I started feeling a lot better and they released me a few hours later with some nausea medicine. I thought maybe I was going to have to be on bed rest which would have really not been fun, but the DR said I could resume my normal activities after a day or two. What a relief, so scary that Jack almost had to come even earlier than he already was.

Fast forward about 2.5 weeks later... I had a lot of fluid leaking starting in the morning, but I thought it was normal pregnancy stuff. It kept continuing and so I started getting a little bit worried. I called the doctor around lunch time and they said I should come in. Luckily it was a week day, but Kevin was out of town on rotation (yikes). So I dropped Wyatt off at the Chacon's house and headed to the Dr. By the time I got there I was leaking a lot worse and was pretty sure it was amniotic fluid and that my water was breaking. My DR did a quick test and said yup your water broke! Wow!! Never thought this would happen to me!! I was 35 weeks along. Now all these thought are running through my head....ummm..... my husband is out of town, we don't have a babysitter for Wyatt, my mom already booked her flights for feb 22nd, is this baby going to be ok, Wow, Wow, Wow!! I somehow was really calm on the outside, but pretty scared on the inside. My doctor said I could go home and get things ready etc (WE HAD NOTHING READY!!) and come back a few hours later. They would monitor me through the night and if nothing happened they would do a c-section the next day at noon. (I had a c-section with Wyatt so we had one scheduled at 39 weeks for Jack). I called Kevin and told him my water broke and this baby was coming soon! He had no clue what was going on and had to hurry and make plans to leave his rotation (along with the person who carpooled with him). Kevin was able to get home in a few hours and I was making calls to everyone to let them know what was going on. I called my mom and she said it was really funny because I called like it was any normal day and then mentioned that my water broke. She was really surprised at how calm I was, lol, I guess I didn't want to freak her out. She was calling the airlines to try to switch her flight. I called and arranged some babysitting for Wyatt and was trying to get my hospital bag packed. It was nuts!! All of this while in the back of my head thinking...35 weeks? will this baby be ok? The Dunhams came over that night to help Kevin give me a blessing and then they took Wyatt for the night (and a few more nights after that).

We got to the hospital around 7 or 8ish and we just settled in for the night. They put me on monitors etc, but I wasn't having any real contractions. Kevin stayed the night with me and we kind of just waited. Early in the morning I started having some contractions and some pain. Around 7 or 8am I decided to get the epidural so I could be more comfortable (I love the epidural!). This time around I didn't have the horrible back pain that I did with Wyatt, just normal contraction pain. My doctor came in around 8 to check me and she said that I was dilatedjust a little bit, but my water wasn't broken all the way so she broke it the rest of the way. That really got labor going, and I dialated the rest of the way within a few hours. I pushed for maybe an hour?? and the doctor came back in around noonish and Jack's head was sideways just like Wyatt's was (that was the reason I had to get the c-section). I was thinking, "no way is this happening again. I am not going through all this work and all this pain just to get a dang c-section again." We kept pushing and pushing. He just wasn't coming out. Then we decided to use the vacuum (we tried this with Wyatt also) to help get him out. We tried a couple of times, she saw him coming and gave me a little episiotimy and BAM! HE CAME OUT! It was so crazy and such a different experience than with Wyatt. I was in less pain and the process was shorter which was great (granted it was still painful). Some people think that the epidural makes you totally numb, no it does not, but I'm sure it helps a lot. I could still feel when my contractions came and move and hold my legs to some extent.

It was so cool when he came out they put his slimy body on my chest. I totally wasn't expecting that because I couldn't with Wyatt, but it was great. They had to take him after like 20 seconds to check him out though. Since he was a preemie there were a few more than normal baby nurses in the room ready for baby Jack. They checked him out and got him all cleaned up and wrapped in a blanket. Then I got to hold him one more time for about 20 seconds before they had to take him to the NICU. He weighed 6 lbs 7 oz and was 19.5 inches long. The time was 12:50 pm on January 26th. A great size for a preemie. He also did not have to be on oxygen at all! He was in the NICU for two days then he got moved to the progressive care nursery for a few more days. They monitor all their vitals and make sure everything is working right and monitor their feedings really closely. He also had an IV for a few days for fluids and antiobiotics. It was hard having him in the NICU/PCN because they can't be with you in your room, but hey I did get to rest a lot more than I did with Wyatt which was nice. Once I got released from the hospital we had to do the driving thing for a day or two to visit Jack in the hospital. Luckily the nursery had an overnight room and they did let me stay one night. Jack got released with a little jaundice so we got to use a bilirubin blanket again for a few days which was no biggy. My mom got in town the day after Jack was born and she was a huge help watching Wyatt while we were at the hospital. We had a great week and a half with her, she cleaned our messy house, did our laundry, had a blast with Wyatt, and even took some middle of the night shifts to help feed Jack. Then I was lucky enough to have my aunt come which was awesome. She helped us start getting packed for moving and do more cleaning, along with helping with Wyatt and Jack. Wyatt was in heaven with all this family fun!

More to come soon...