10.19.2008

The Story of Jordan's Birth

Posted by Tasha - The Clean Eating Mama at 12:51 PM
I went to my weekly doctors appointment that Tuesday morning. I was still only dilated at a 1CM and my cervix was very soft. Marc was very determined that I would progress that day, or so he was hoping.
I started having very dull cramps right after but nothing out of the ordinary; went along with my day like I always do. Around 7 PM they started to feel a little worse and I started to pay attention to the timing and intensity. I emailed my boss and put my out of office reply on... just in case.
Well they started to get worse and I was having pretty strong ones about 3 an hour, then 4 an hour. I went to go lay down and that is when they started to get worse, 10 minutes apart and stronger. I was having to breath through them now. Marc called the hospital, told them my timing and they said to come on in. We got our bags packed and left at 1 am. What a crazy car ride! We were both so nervous yet so excited!
Arriving at the hospital at 1:30 am made the past 9 months too real. The nurse hooked me up to the monitors but my contractions were not very strong and I was only at a 2 cm. She had me lay in different positions, bounce on a birthing ball and take walks around the halls. After 2 hours I was hooked back on the monitors and sure enough I was in early labor and they admitted me. Yay! We were a keeper!
My doctor came in at about 8:30, checked me and broke my water. I hadn't had my epidural admitted to me yet so I was a little scared since I knew my contractions would get stronger. And sure enough they did.
My epidural was put in at about 11:00 and I was ready for it. Let me say that was the strangest feeling I have ever felt! The pain wasn't that bad from the initial process but the feeling of something in your spine really skeeved me out. But after about 10 minutes I was in bliss and happy as a clam!
After about an hour I was already dilated to an 8! The nurses were very surprised and Marc and I were extremely happy! For the next 3 hours I was stuck at a 9 and they started a low dose of pitocin to get the final cm going. After 2 hours I was finally ready! At 5 PM my nurse wanted me to "practice pushing". Little did she know I didn't need much practice at all! Jordan was dropping fast and after 30 minutes he was right there; the doctor had yet to put his scrubs on and was still joking around at the nurses station. I had to hold back 2 contractions while we waited. As soon as he got in position I pushed for 30 seconds and I heard the most beautiful sound: a cry!
Even though I felt nothing, I was still a little out of breath so I just laid back, closed my eyes and tried to calm down and relax. I looked up and asked if it was a boy... this has been an ongoing joke in our house as we were still a little unsure that the ultra sound was wrong. My mom was crying and I saw Marc cut the umbilical cord over at their table then he came over, and we just held each other crying away. He told me how proud he was of me and what a wonderful job I did. I reassured him that I couldn't have done it with out him being there and staying strong. They cleaned Jordan off, brought him over and laid him on my chest. I was so overwhelmed and overjoyed - it was still so surreal!
I had a very easy labor with no complications of any kind. We feel very blessed and lucky!

The first night was tense. Jordan could not hold his temp and they had to keep taking him back to warm up under the lamps. Marc and I were both exhausted by the time morning came around. I was "trying" to breast feed but it was awkward and hurt like crazy. But they had me supplement formula as his jaundice levels were a little high and they told us that he needed to eat and poop it out. And of course being at the hospital is never a restful experience as nurse after nurse come in and check up every few hours.
The next day we were supposed to be able to go home at about 5:30. Jordan was able to keep his temp up on his own and breastfeeding was going a little better. They gave me a nipple shield as he was not having the easiest time latching on. I guess I have flat nipples: yay.
Jordan was all dressed and we were starting to put our bags together when I started to get the shakes and felt a little warm. I thought it was just nerves but I kept getting warmer and warmer. I asked the nurse to check my temp just to be safe. Indeed, I did have a temp.
Great - all I wanted to do was go home and here I go having a fever.
She had me take a shower just to get cleaned up a bit which felt great and was much needed! My shakes had gone away and she checked my temp again. This time it went up a degree from last time. I got so angry with myself and kept apologizing to Marc. He didn't understand why I was upset and told me that everything was going to be fine and that I needed to stay and get better. Obviously I had an infection somewhere.
They took a urine sample, which was NOT PLEASANT!, and I started antibiotics. Within an hour my fever had reduced almost back to normal. *Thank goodness!* We were still staying overnight but at least I was started to feel a bit better: still very sore but better.
That night was better. They only came in a few times to give me my medication and to do a quick check on Jordan. We were finally able to come home at noon. FINALLY!

1 comments:

Samantha on October 22, 2008 at 9:21 AM said...

Hey so my guess on the date was right!! Do I win a prize?! LOL! :)