It has already been 5 weeks since my little baby was born so I figured that I better write the story down before I forget it! Wow, how come when you are pregnant 5 weeks is an eternity but now that I've had him it feels like a blur?? (Warning: this is going to be long!)
So on Tuesday, May 25th I had a doctors appointment with the same doctor that delivered my sister's baby. It was also Todd's first day of work at his new job. I decided I would get up early and make him pancakes before he went to work. We had a nice breakfast together and then Todd left for work. Right after he left I threw up everything I had just eaten. Then I got on facebook and updated my status to "I'm sick of being sick, won't this baby come already?" Little did I know that would be the day!
I went to my appointment alone at around 10:30. I hadn't gained any weight...and of course I was measuring small...as usual. In the previous weeks I had always measured small and they had done numerous ultrasounds and a nonstress test to make sure the baby was okay. The conclusion was always the same: I was just going to have a small baby. I hadn't seen this particular doctor before (the OBGYN I go to has about 5 rotating doctors) and he was concerned and said he wanted to do an ultrasound. I told him that they had done an ultrasound 3 weeks before and had estimated the baby to be around 6 pounds. The doctor did the ultrasound and it felt like he was looking at the screen for an eternity without saying anything. He concluded that the baby was still a little over 6 pounds and wanted me to go over to the hospital and get another nonstress test. His concern was that the baby was not growing anymore. They don't normally induce first time moms until a week after the due date but he told me to have a bag packed just in case they decided to keep me in the hospital. I was still 3 cm and 90%.
I was basically shaking as I left the doctor's office. I wasn't ready for all of this! I didn't want to disturb Todd at his first day of work unless I absolutely had to. But I called him to give him a heads up on what was happening. We decided I would go to the hospital and call him once I knew what was going to happen. I drove to Hauni's house and just started crying...I was so scared! She dropped the kid's off at her mother-in-law's and drove me to the hospital. It was around noon when we got to labor and delivery and a nurse told me that she thought they were going to keep me but wasn't 100% sure. I got a gown on and they hooked me up to some monitors. The next thing I knew the doctor came in and said "well...let's break your water!" He broke it before I even knew what was happening.
I'm so glad Hauni was there to get me through that first part. They put in the IV and then I finally had a chance to call Todd and tell him he needed to come to the hospital. It was such a relief when he finally walked into the hospital room! Hauni went home and that just left Todd and I to wait for things to progress. Todd gave me a blessing and we both felt like everything would be okay. They started me on petocin and gave me my epidural which relaxed me a ton. The nurse said that she had never seen a baby's head so low at this stage of labor. We thought that meant I would go fairly quickly but it actually took awhile for me to dilate. Todd got a nice lunch from downstairs and I was stuck with jello and popsicles...not much considering I had thrown up my breakfast. By early evening I began to shake uncontrollably...we asked the nurse and she said it was the body's response to pain, even though I couldn't feel it.
It wasn't until 10:30 pm when the nurse said that I could start pushing. I could feel the pressure of the contractions so I knew when to push. Todd and the nurse held my knees and told me when to push for about 40 minutes. Honestly, this was not my favorite part. It felt like I was giving it everything I had and not making any progress. I remember how excited I was when the nurse said she could see lots of dark hair on his little head. She finally called the doctor in and after a couple of pushes he said I was beginning to tear, gave me an episiotomy, and his little head popped out. Everyone in the room laughed because the baby turned his head toward the doctor and gave a little cry before he was even all the way out. It was such a relief when he was all the way out and I could see his little body full of life. It was 11:11 pm when he was born. He weighed 6 pounds 8 ounces and was 18.5 inches long. He was so beautiful! They cleaned him up while the doctor stitched me up and then I got to hold him for awhile before the whisked him and Todd away to the nursery. By that point I was physically and emotionally exhausted and I just wanted to sleep.
Later that night they brought him into our room for a little while and I could enjoy him a little bit more. We got to sleep at about 3. At around 5 a nurse came in to tell us that he had been moved into the level 2 nursery which is basically their NICU. He was breathing too fast and had an elevated white blood cell count so they had to monitor him to make sure he didn't have an infection. Sadly, he couldn't come to our room anymore and I had to go to the nursery to nurse him. It wasn't very fun learning to nurse a baby hooked to all sorts of monitors.
I was discharged Thursday night but they had to keep Jett for a few more days so we boarded a room at the hospital so I could be close and continue to nurse him. We had some great nurses watching over Jett and got really close to a couple of them. We were finally able to come home on Sunday night. I had a little bit of a hard time recovering and I begged my mommy to prolong her stay in Utah and help me out. She did and we were able to figure some things out and get me back on the road to recovery. I was in much better shape when she finally did go back to Washington. Todd's mother also came and helped us out a ton. We are so grateful for such a loving family! At Jett's two week appointment he weighed 6 pounds 12 ounces and they clipped his tongue.
Well...I think that is enough info for now! Its 2 and I haven't showered yet and Jett is asleep so now is my chance. Here are some pics to enjoy:
Wait wait wait...hold on. This is Todd writing now. As you can see from the above picture, I played a part in this too! (Although it was like 99% Christianne.) And I just wanted to add a couple things from my side of the story:
1. I knew Jett was going to be born on my first day of work! I just knew it! You know how in life, when it rains, it pours? Well, it was like El Nino, okay? I just met my boss in the morning my first day and he asked how things were going. I replied, "Things are great! My wife is due any day now." He said, "Any day?" I replied, "Yep. Any day." Well, it was that day. 3 hours later I told him, "Um, well, my wife just called and she is in the hospital, so I'm thinking I have to go." He said, "You better!" And I was off to the hospital.
2. Christianne was so tough! I didn't realize how much pain a woman goes through until now. It all came to me when she was finally pushing and the nurse motioned for me to take a look "down there." I did, and lo and behold there was the top of this little head with dark hair! It was crazy! I had no idea how that little body was supposed to come out, but she did it. It was incredible.
3. Jett looks different every day. When they first started cleaning him up and honestly thought he looked a little wierd. I was like, "OK, I still love him, he's still cute.." But just a day later the swelling went down and he was the cutest little guy. Now, one month later, he is getting rounder and plumper, and doens't look anything like he did even a week ago. I wonder what he'll end up looking like.
Anyway, I just wanted to throw that in there! Gooooo Jett!
