jackson's birth

i went to my appt friday morning expecting nothing more than the usual: my biophysical profile ultrasound, and a non stress test (NST). thats exactly what i got. jack was moving around like crazy during the scan, which was fun to see, but i admit i was a little less enthusiastic than usual. i hadnt slept in like a week, so i felt like crap (for lack of a better word). i'd been having awful braxton hicks contractions for the previous few days, and was seriously almost dreading having to be pregnant another 3 weeks.

after my ultrasound i had my NST, and had some contractions that appeared to be regular. the nurse took one look at me and said, "you look tired, honey" (this is at 9am) i told her i hadnt really slept all week. she asked where i worked and i told her in a pharmacy.

"so you're on your feet all day?"

"yes, ma'am"

"are you supposed to work today?"

"yes, ma'am"

she nodded at me, tore my NST sheet off, and mozied away, while i closed my eyes and tried to relax. haha. she came back a few minutes later with a note for me to be off work for the day (bless her!) and with the comment "i showed your contractions to Lori (the midwife) and she thinks this might be early labor, so just take it easy for today ok?" joy of joys! i wasn't really convinced that i was in labor, i mean, contractions were supposed to really hurt right? mine were mildly painful, but mostly just made my abdomen really tight to the point where i felt like i couldn't breathe.

as i waddled out to the truck, i called mike and told him i wasn't going into work today. he had the day off, so he was excited for us to "spend the day" together, even though he knew i was probably going to lay in bed most of the day. i then called into work and drove the 45 minute trip home. i got home, and ate a little lunch, and then we put the kids down for a nap, and i took a nap too. (little did i know mike was packing our hospital bag while i slept) after my nap, i was still having contractions, and we decided to time them. so i found a handy contraction counter on thebump.com and timed them for a while. turns out they were 15 minutes apart. still wary that this was the real thing, mike suggests that we take the kids on a walk and see if they progress. let me tell you, the last thing i wanted to do was drag out the double stroller and take the kids on a walk. but it was beautiful outside and i figured that some sunshine might improve my sour mood, so walking we went.

after our walk, my contractions were around 10 minutes apart. and they stayed 10 minutes apart for HOURS. so i got in the bathtub after dinner while mike was putting the kids to bed. it made me feel a little bit better, but my back was really starting to kill me. (back labor, oh joy!) my contractions moved to 8 minutes apart, and i had michael call the hospital (since we have a 45 minute drive to get there) they wanted us to come in. michael calls his sister to come over and stay with the kids, and took our hospital bag to the car. he called his mom and told her we were going to the hospital, while i texted my sisters and besties. i was so paranoid this whole time that we would get to the hospital and my contractions would stop and they would send us home. i prayed the whole way up to the hospital and timed my contractions the best i could using the clock on the dashboard.

we got to triage at the hospital (around 10:15pm), and they hooked me up to the monitor. my contractions were now 4 minutes apart! i felt like i was on that monitor forever. jackson was really moving around the whole time, which didn't feel very nice, but labor isn't supposed to tickle is it? :) the doctor finally came in and said, "well, looks like you're in labor, so i'll have the anesthesiologist come up and talk to you, and we'll have you set to go in about 45 minutes." i'm sure my mouth was gaping wide open. i mean come on, we weren't expecting to have a baby tonight, i still had to go to the mom2mom sale tomorrow and buy clothes for him! "so are we having a baby tonight?" i managed to eep out. "well, yeah!"the doctor said, "so you should probably make some phone calls!"

michael made calls while i came to terms with the fact that we were having a baby right now, and as much as i didn't want to be pregnant anymore, we were SO not ready for him to be here yet!

they started my IV, and asked me a bajillion questions, and then took me to surgery. they put my epidural in and then mike got to come in the room and he stood by my head and held my hand. a few minutes later, we had a baby!

isn't he so sweet?!

happy family in recovery. 1:30am

big sister love

poppa and our little man

early morning prayers with jackson

hello world.

(more to come, these are just a few of my favorites.)

-k