Disclaimer: I have included all details of my labor and delivery for my records and the enjoyment of those who are interested in such things. If you don't want to know all the details, I would skip the text of this blog post and scroll down to the photos!
Technically, it all started on Monday, March 2, 2009. I felt great all weekend long, but then had strong, pulsing back aches all afternoon on Monday. Later that night, I had lots of what I thought were Braxton-Hicks contractions, since they were so irregular, but it turns out that I was in the early stages of labor.
This morning, March 3, 2009, I drove myself to Jackson for my regular scheduled 39 week prenatal appointment at 8:00am. I signed in and went through the usual motions (weight, blood pressure, urine sample, etc). Then, as I was getting up onto the exam table, my water broke! (this was around 8:15am) At this point I was REALLY glad that Jean had gone with me to the appointment! It was just a trickle at first, so I wasn't convinced that it was really happening. I sent Jean out to find the nurse, and she came back with both the nurse and the doctor. I had Jean call Jay while I was being examined, and at first he didn't even believe her! He quickly left work though, after alerting our bosses, and headed home to grab a few unpacked items (like the laptop and camera). When the doctor checked me, I was 3 cm dilated, and she ended up with a gush of water on her! I was in such shock at first - the doctor and nurse and I were just giggling like crazy! (apparently they don't have a lot of spontaneous water breaks during prenatal exams, especially just before the actual exam) Of course, the doctor sent me straight down to labor and delivery to be admitted. I felt silly, but I had to stuff towels into my pants in order to walk down there without leaving a water trail! On the way, I called my mom to tell her that it was a good thing she didn't buy plane tickets for Wednesday travel, since she and my dad needed to get to Mississippi ASAP! She booked the next flight out, scheduled to arrive in Jackson at 9:00pm tonight.
By 8:45am I was in my hospital gown and calling Jay to let him know that everything was OK with me and the baby, and to remind him to drive safe! We thought it was fun that I had worn my amethyst earrings that morning, a souvenier from our honeymoon, which turned out to be the zodiac birthstone of our first born son (pretty cool, eh?) At 9:00am I was hooked up to the monitors and IV (following all sorts of paperwork and questions, even though I had pre-registered), and they had taken a blood sample. I was having weak contractions (which felt like menstrual cramps) at about 6 minutes apart, and they were irregular. Because at this point I still wanted to attempt an all-natural labor and delivery, we collectively decided to let things progress on their own for a few hours and see what would happen. While we were waiting for Jay to arrive, at around 9:30am I met with one of the anesthesiologists about my possible pain relief options. Because it was important to Jay and I that I not receive any medication that would affect the baby, we decided that should I need something, we would wait as long as possible and then go straight for the epidural. At 10:00am, Jay arrived with the biggest smile on his face that I have ever seen! It was time for hugs and kisses, with the realization that we would be bringing our baby boy into the world sometime today!
3 hours later, at 1:00pm, my contractions were still irregular (though they were a little stronger), so we decided to start pitocin at the lowest possible dose (2 cc, which the nurses called a "sniff", and is sometimes enough to get contractions really going), since we were very concerned about labor taking too long - our hospital requires a delivery within 12 hours of the waters breaking, so a long labor could result in a C-section. Shortly after this, I received a beautiful vase of flowers (gerber daisies and lilies) from Jay, and I cried (of course) when I read the notecard that said "For my sunshine and our lucky charm". By the way, up until this point, I had been keeping myself busy by taking notes of everything that was going on, emailing, and playing around on the computer. Oh, and talking on the phone. I don't even remember how many people I talked to while I was in labor...
At 2:15 my doctor came through to examine me and I was at 3.5 cm and 80% effaced, with the baby at -2 station (this is the location/depth of his head in the pelvis). She had to help finish breaking my water bag (ouch), then upped the pitocin slightly to 12 cc (this is still lower than what they normally start with for inductions). The pitocin was doubled at 3:00pm, and then again at 3:30pm. By this point, the contractions were getting really strong and painful (much more painful than I had expected, even though I knew labor was going to be difficult), so I asked the nurse to check me and see if I was dilated enough for the epidural. I was at 4.5 cm, so we decided to go ahead with it.
At 3:45pm the anesthesiologist came in and administered the epidural. Jay had to leave the room because it is a sterile procedure, but the nurse stayed with me. It was over in less than 15 minutes and I didn't feel a thing. Everything I had worried about was for nothing - I didn't even feel the lidocane shot to initially numb my back. I did feel the medicine go in, which was strange - just a feeling of "fullness" in my spine. It started working within 5 minutes, and the nurse had me flip from side to side, then stay centered, to help evenly distribute the medicine (side note: 5 days later I am still numb in my upper left thigh, where I laid during the epidural procedure, even though everything else was back in working order within a few hours of delivery). Within 15 minutes I was completely numb from the waist down, so the nurse put my foley catheter in and examined me again. So, at 4:15pm I was at 7 cm and 90% effaced - the epidural had relaxed me so much that I had gone from 4-7 cm! At 4:30pm I felt like I was passing something, so the nurse checked and found some large blood clots, which she said was an excellent sign that labor was quickly progressing. This led to another internal exam, and I was already at 9 cm! The nurse said that I would most likely be ready to start pushing within 15 minutes, so she started the preparations for delivery (lots of other nurses and technicians brought in all the necessary equipment). At this point I was feeling great and on such a high knowing that I would be meeting my son very soon!
At 4:50pm I started pushing with Jay at my side. We did the standard 1) wait for contraction to start, 2) take a deep breath and hold it, and 3) bear down and push hard to the count of 10, then repeat 2 more times until the contraction ends. The nurse and Jay had to coach me through this because I couldn't actually feel my contractions, and hadn't felt them since about 4:00pm (and I must say, I am now a big proponent of the epidural - it saved me from a long labor and a lot of pain that just wasn't necessary). That first set of pushes brought the baby's head way down and the nurse called for my doctor thinking he would be out in the next 5 mintues. Turns out, Baby James had a huge head (not a big surprise, really), so things slowed down before he reached the crowning point. We ended up going through a total of 12 contractions, with 5 nurses to help deliver the baby (plus Jay - who was an AMAZING coach). Jay held my left leg and shoulder, another nurse was on my right side, there was another nurse at my back to help push me forward (this was the nurse that later took all our first photos during the actual delivery), another nurse to watch for contractions and count (and by the way, they count fast up until 6, then they slow way down until you think you're going to pass out from lack of oxygen!), and finally, my main nurse (Kim) who was working the business end of the deal, stretching me as much as possible to try and avoid a tear or episiotomy (I bet she was sore the next day from all the work she was doing)! Towards the end of the pushing, I was able to reach down and touch Baby James' head twice, and I got to see it in a mirror - it was so awesome, and so motivating (it is exhausting, regardless of the epidural, to push that hard for so long). After the 10th set of pushes, the nurse called my doctor back in (she was upstairs in a meeting, but luckily hadn't left the building, so was still able to be there for the delivery) just in time to "catch" the baby! After his head passed, they had me pause my pushing while they cleared his mouth and nose, then with one final quick push the rest of his body came free (and I could actually feel his limbs passing through me, which was just too cool!) And another side note: throughout the entire delivery (actually, from about 4:00pm onward), we listened to Pearl Jam on my iPod!
At 5:29pm Baby James entered the world! They placed him immediately on my abdomen and it was the BEST moment of my life!! I never believed in love at first sight until I met my son! Jay and I both started crying and stroking him. When the nurses called Jay to cut the umbilical cord, they had to tell him twice, and he still didn't hear a thing they were saying - his eyes were glued to his son. I had to grab his arm and say "Jay, if you want to cut the cord, now is the time to do it!" It was super quick, and he was right back by my side. We "held" James for about 5 minutes, then the baby nurse (Charlie) took him over to the corner incubator to do his initial exam, and Jay joined him of course. My eyes never left James or Jay, so I don't know exactly what went on after the delivery on my end. I remember feeling the placenta come out, and I felt some tugging as the doctor stitched me up from a 2nd degree lateral tear (I told you James had a big head). Before I knew it Jay was headed back towards me with our son bundled in his arms. He handed him to me and we both just cried, kissed, and stared at James for about 10 minutes until he had to be taken down to the nursery for the rest of his exam. We couldn't believe we had done it, that our little lucky charm was finally in our arms, instead of in my belly!
My labor lasted only 9 hours, if you count from the time my water broke. James Henry Lindsay IV was born at 39 weeks 2 days gestational age, and he weighed in at 8 lbs exactly. As he was being examined by the baby nurse (there were probably a dozen people in the room at this time), the nurses started taking bets on his weight. I don't remember everyone's guess, but the baby nurse thought he would be 7 lbs 13 oz. I guessed 8 lbs, and I was the winner! And what a prize I had!! James was measured at 20 3/4 inches, though that's somewhat subjective, since it's hard to get a perfect length measurement on a baby that is used to having his limbs all folded up. And that big head? His head circumference was 34.5 cm! His APGAR scores were 9, then 10 (a perfect score)! He peed twice before they were able to get a diaper on him, which Jay and I both thought was hilarious! Later that night they did a hearing test, and James passed. His blood type is A+, so I had to get another Rhogam shot (remember, I did this once back at 28 weeks because I am A- and Jay is O+).
Our first night with the baby was a late one. My parents arrived at 9:15pm and we had to wait until 10:00pm for James to be released from the nursery (they do a 4-5 hour observation during the "transition" period). It was so fun to watch the grandparents meet their first grandson - my dad was so very sweet with him (don't worry, pictures are below). We were all moved to the postpartum wing around 11:30pm, and Jay and I were awake off and on all night to feed and change James. We think we may have gotten a total of 2.5 hours of broken sleep that night. Jay has really been amazing - he has changed almost every diaper, he has given me endless love and support, he has assisted with every feeding, he has asked all the right questions of the doctors and nurses, and he has been so very sweet with his "sweet baby boy". I really could go on and on, but I won't. I will just say that James and I are very lucky to have Jay as our daddy and husband.
We spent the next morning meeting with the baby nurses again, and the lactation specialist. My parents and Jean arrived at lunch time, with lunch (hooray for non-hospital food!), and spent the rest of the afternoon and early evening passing their grandson round-robin, whenever he wasn't eating or getting his diaper changed (he passed lots of meconium and had tons of wet diapers during those first 2 days). They left us at 7:00pm that night so we could get some rest, since both Jay and I were pretty darn exhausted. We fed the baby, and took a good 45 minute nap (funny that 45 minutes sounds like a good amount of time, but that was the most we had gotten in any one stretch up until this point). We repeated this around 9:00pm, then again at 11:30pm. James found his voice this night, and the first time he really screamed (he had been quite the calm baby up until the 2nd night), it broke my heart! Jay helped me through it though, and we knew this was just the first of many potentially frustrating moments as we learned to care for our newborn son. At midnight the baby nurse came to take James to the nursery for more assessments, and we decided to let the nursery keep him until he was due to feed again at 2:30am so that we could get some more sleep. I felt guilty, but it was a good decision, because the rest of the night went better once Jay and I had both had a bit more uninterrupted sleep.
The next morning we learned we would be discharged from the hospital that day around 11:00am. We went through the morning with lots of anticipation, and then had to wait until 1:30pm before we were actually released! Baby James cried some real tears before we left the hospital (newborns usually take a few days to start producing tears - before that, they just cry without them). He weighed 7 lbs 8 oz when he was discharged, so he lost weight within the normal range, but he also had a slight case of newborn jaundice, also normal. We were instructed to treat the jaundice with frequent feedings, and to return in 2 days for his first check-up (our hospital requires all breastfed babies to return 2 days after their discharge to be sure they are back on the upswing of weight gain and doing well). We made it home safe and sound to the welcome of balloons, flowers, and cake, and 3 proud grandparents waiting in the driveway!
This is my last belly photo, towels in my pants to soak up the amniotic fluid and a huge smile on my face as I went from shock to excitement, knowing that today was the day I would meet James:
At 10:00am Jay arrived with an equally huge smile on his face. Here we are celebrating the start of true labor with a cup of ice chips:
This is the last photo we took prior to starting the pushing phase of labor. You can see my beautiful flowers, my "focus object" (a framed 4D sonogram from our 12 week appointment, our favorite one of James), and the mirror I was able to use during delivery to see my son's head crown:
Here is James, freshly delivered and still gooey. I can't completely describe the joy and amazement of meeting my son, hearing him cry, and holding him immediately after delivery. There is absolutely nothing in this world that could replace that precious 5 minutes!
Here is James following his initial exams, cleaned up and bundled into his proud daddy's arms:
Later that night, around 10:00pm, the grandparents got to meet their little prince (my mom's nickname for James) and tadpole (Jean's nickname for James):
And here is my dad with James, just quietly staring at his sweet little face:
Jay and James were both pretty tired on Thursday morning, while waiting to be discharged from the hospital:
While we waited, I had my first photo shoot with my Sweet Baby James:
James looks so much like his daddy! They have the exact same chubby cheeks (as babies, of course), chin, eyes, and eyelashes. He might have my nose and ears though! He definitely has my high arches - his feet are so thick that every single nurse commented on them! His second toe on his left foot is slightly crooked, but that will most likely correct itself as he has time to stretch out. We have no idea where he got his crown of thick, dark hair though (it's over an inch long in most places) - maybe from the Jackson side of my family. It's actually thickest and longest in back, so we've been teasing him that he has a "Mississippi Mudflap"! He's actually quite the hairy man baby - he has hair on his ears, legs (especially his ankles), and shoulders, even a little on his back! Here he is, sweetly sleeping in his carseat on the way home from the hospital:
Here he is being lowered into the warm water, looking pretty pleased:
He opened his eyes every now and then, and he seemed to be enjoying himself:
Jay did the washing while I held James' head above water. He's so tiny, even in the little baby bath, and although he didn't squirm too much, he was a bit slippery:
It seemed to work best when we cornered him against the edge. Here's his soapy head:
The bath eventually put him to sleep. He fussed a little when we took him out, but as soon as he was swaddled and dry, he was happy again:
Thanks for the bath tub Uncle Jamie! The "little squirt" loved it!
And for one final photo, here is James with his daddy this morning following a feeding and diaper change. I passed James over to his daddy and went to the bathroom, and when I came back to bed, this is what I found:
10. Practicing my baby-handling skills while it doesn't yet matter whether I get it right or wrong
5. My built-in TV tray