It’s definitely Jayne-uary!!!
Sweet baby Jayne made her debut at 3:51AM on January 21 and time has just flow since then. I’ll try to recap what on earth has happened to get us to this point, but due to lack of sleep, adrenaline and overall craziness, there are definitely some hazy parts.
Saturday, January 18th:
After my follow up OBGYN appointment on Friday we were really excited to see that progress was being made. I started eating pineapple, bouncing on a bouncy ball and walking like crazy. On Saturday morning Wade and I took the dogs to the vet (what a fiasco?!?) and then we had plans to go to lunch and do some grocery shopping. Right before we left for lunch, I lost my mucous plug (google it if you aren’t faint of heart). I started having contractions at Potbelly that were 5 minutes apart and 45 seconds long. We continued our errands until it became too difficult to continue and then we loaded up the car and headed for Labor & Delivery. We were there for about 3 hours and they sent us home because the contractions weren’t strong enough. It was really disappointing.
Sunday, January 19th:
I was determined to get labor going. My mom came over Sunday morning and we walked around the block a million times. We had a blast. Wade worked on getting his “go pro” camera delivery-ready and we spent the evening cuddling on the couch, watching football. All the while, the contractions continued, but not very strong.
Monday, January 20th:
Wade had a holiday on Monday because of MLK and I had to go up to my office to talk to my boss about maternity plans. I really wanted Wade to be able to go to my next OB appointment, so on a whim, I called Monday morning to see if they had anything for that afternoon. My original appointment was scheduled for Tuesday. Thankfully, they were able to fit me in at 2PM. So, I went to work, Wade decided to go into the office for a bit and we met at Chipotle for lunch at 12:30. After lunch, we drove him and I got sick (vomiting again). He drove to the doctor’s office and when I got there, the exam showed that I was still dilated to a 3, but now 80% effaced. I told Dr. Gagnon about vomiting and he wanted me to go straight over to Labor & Delivery for monitoring. I wasn’t too pumped about this because I was thinking that we’d just get sent home. Well, I was wrong. My blood pressure was high for me and there was something in my urine that he didn’t like so he told me that we were going to have the baby.
I think that’s the point where I went into shock. Wade called the parents and my mom went by our house to get our things. She came up to the hospital right as we were being admitted and things just flew from that point on. They broke my water, I got the epidural, I had blood drawn a million times and I saw all the family before I started pushing. It was cool to see everyone, but they were having problems with the contractions because of the medication I was being given. It was slowing down the labor so they had to find the right balance.
Once they got it figured out, I went from a 3 to a 10 in what seems like 1 hour. When Dr. Gagnon came in at 1AM and said that it was time to start pushing I really couldn’t believe it. Part of me wanted all of this to stop. I wasn’t ready, I didn’t know if I could do it. There was just so much doubt and fear, but Wade and my Mom (and our Nurse, Faith) were so great! So, we started pushing. The brought in a mirror and the minutes flew. Suddenly, I had been pushing for 2 hours. It was hard and I felt like no progress was being made. They had several different nurses in there giving tips and helping us try new things.
Toward the end, I was pushing 4 and 5 times during a contraction. At one point, Wade was doing so well, Dr. Gagnon asked the nurse to back off and let him handle the “coaching.” Seriously, he got me through that and it was really neat to see him dominate like that.
Finally, Doctor Gagnon said, “I know you don’t want to hear it, but I’m going to have to do an episiotomy.”
By then, I didn’t care if they amputated my arm. I was fading fast. He did the deed and after a few more pushes, everyone told me to look down. I saw that sweet face for the first time and everything stood still. She wasn’t as responsive as they would have liked so they called NICU and it’s all a blur from there. I don’t remember pictures being taken or what anyone said. I was so exhausted. I do have a vivid memory of looking over and seeing her being examined. I just thought, “Oh my goodness, here feet are so long…she has Wade’s feet.”
After she was doing okay, they brought her to me. She had Wade’s lips too. I was in love and still in shock. I remember Wade leaving to tell everyone and just being totally exhausted. It really is such a blur. Everyone got to come in and meet Jayne around 5AM…what troopers for staying out there that long?!?
They kept us in that room for quite some time before we got moved to the mom and baby ward. In fact, I don’t really remember what happened while we were in that room. There was no sleep to be had. Once we got moved to the new room, we were able to unpack and spend more time with our baby girl. It was such a huge learning experience and I’m so thankful for amazing family to support us in the way that they did.
Jayne did have some jaundice issues and she lost more than 10% of her body weight by day 2, but we were able to get that evened out by supplementing the breastfeeding with a little formula. Dr. Scott, her pediatrician wanted us to get bilirubin testing done on Friday morning. We were released from the hospital on Thursday evening.
That was the longest, weirdest car ride I’ve ever taken. We got video of the dogs meeting Jayne and immediately went into baby mode at the house; unpacking, moving things around preparing the house in the way that only someone who actually has a baby would think to do. It was funny looking around at all that we had planned only to see how not efficient or not right it was. I got a very overwhelmed about a lot of things and we decided to call in reinforcements we called Nancy to come over and spend the night. It must also be noted that we came home to delicious food in our fridge thanks to our loving families. So clutch!
Nancy came over to help get us through that first night and I’m so glad she did. She made it seem possible and just having her there gave me such peace of mind. Wade had to work on Friday so it was nice for him to be able to get some sleep too. Shockingly, Mack was really into the baby. Archie…not so much. He’s interested, but not really a fan. Mack won’t leave her side and is just now taking her first nap since we’ve been home. She won’t even leave Jayne’s side to eat. She’s up with either or both of us at every feeding, diaper change, and/or sanity check. If Jayne cries or makes a peep, Mack is the first one there. It is so sweet.
So, Friday morning came and we had to head off to the doctor’s office. That was stressful. Jayne pooped and peed on the scale. The nurse pointed out that her diapers didn’t fit (well, we didn’t expect our 6 lb, 7 oz baby to be down to 5.12). Again, I would have gone nuts if it weren’t for Nancy. It takes just one little thing to throw me off these days and she kept me sane.
When we got home, we were both exhausted. She ended up going home and I took a great nap (while Jayne napped, of course). Wade’s parents picked him up from work and brought him home. They had a great visit with Jayne and ordered pizza. It was awesome. I got to do the dishes and straighten up and it felt really great to be getting stuff done.
Last night was a long one. This kid poops so much. She hates clothes, diaper changes, the act of swaddling (once she’s cozy everything is fine) and just about everything except for eating and sleeping. Wade had to work again today, but we had to make a trip up to the hospital for another round of bilirubin testing, first. After the test, he dropped me off at home and Carolyn came over so I could go to the grocery store. It was pretty awesome to get the heck out of the house for an hour and Jayne slept the whole time so I didn’t feel guilty about leaving Care with a crying baby. I also got a call from the doctor saying that her test came back and her levels were going down, which was great news!
Courtney and Lisa came over and brought lunch. That was really nice too. I’ve spent the afternoon doing laundry, straightening the house and breastfeeding, duh! It’s nice to feel caught up a little bit; however, the “to do” list for next week is growing. I’ve got to get my FMLA paperwork filled out, a dr note for my mom, schedule a lab appointment for Jayne, get the carseat installed in my car, another pediatrician appointment for Jayne on Monday and close out my State Farm claim from my accident a few months back. I also have a list a mile long of thank you’s to write. We are truly blessed with wonderful friends and family!
Okay, I’m off to figure out this mommy-thing. Wish me luck.
Blessings.