Easton Jax finally made his grand entrance into this world, on Sunday January 2, 2011 I had actually been having a few contractions starting late Friday night, on New Years Eve. On New Years Day, I had them on and off most of the day, ranging anywhere from 20 minutes between to an hour between.
We went to dinner at La Frontera for the 60th anniversary of Bryce's grandma and grandpa Jarrad at 7, and I was shocked to get to see Mikell and Trent Terry there. (seeing as they live in St George) I didn't get to talk to Mikell very long, but it was nice to be able to see her for a minute. During dinner, the contractions started coming on more often, about a constant 20 minutes between. I figured we would be heading to the hospital sometime in the middle of the night. I was scheduled to go in on Tuesday the 4th to be induced, because I was worried about just that, having to wake Jordan up in the middle of the night and find somewhere to take her.
I couldn't sleep at all first thing Saturday night, so I decided to go into the kitchen/family room so I wouldn't bother Bryce. I did fall asleep for about an hour, until just before 1:00 am, but I woke up with pretty intense contractions. I started timing them, and between 2:00 and 6:00 am, they got to where they were consistently 4-5 minutes apart for over an hour. Then, after 6, they pretty much cut back to the 20 minutes again. I was a little frustrated, as I was hoping this was finally it. I had been pretty miserable with reflux the last couple weeks.
After talking to both my Mom and my mother-in-law Diana, I decided to call in to the hospital and see what the nurses thought, since they were still painful, just not as close together. They told me to call the on call Doctor for my doctor, because they weren't allowed to give advice over the phone, understandably. When he called me back, he told me to at least come in and be checked to see if I had progressed from my last Dr appointment.
We took Jordan to Diana and headed over to Riverton Hospital. They took us into the triage room in Labor and Delivery and got me all hooked up to the moniters to watch the babys heartbeat and my contractions. When the nurse came in to check me, I was sure she was going to say I was the same, almost a 2, and send me home. I was a bit shocked when she told me I was dilated to 5cm, and completely effaced. HOLY COW, those contractions did some major progression. Since my contractions weren't being consistent, they kept me hooked up for about a half hour to watch them, and then came in and asked me to walk around for another half hour, and they would check me again, to see if I was still progressing. Sure enough, when they checked again, I was at a 6 so they went ahead and got me into a labor room.
Of course, I was very eager to get my epidural. I don't know about everyone else, but the way I see it, they offer them for a reason, and I planned on utilizing it from day 1 for both of my deliveries. I DO NOT like the pain. When the anesthesiologist (wow, I probably spelled that wrong) came in, he was wearing a BYU shirt, and I just had to give him a hard time, since I am a Utah fan, then he threatened to leave, and I changed my mind, because I wanted that epidural. He was a good sport, and it makes for a funny memory of my delivery. I really am grateful I got the epidural, however this time it was so much stronger than with Jordan. I felt pressure and could control and move my legs the first time, but this time, my right leg was completely DEAD, and I felt NOTHING. Which was a little annoying.
Around 3:45, my nurse Crystal, who was awesome by the way, came in and told me she would check on me again in about 40 minutes, unless I felt pressure like I needed to push, and to call if I did. Like I said, I felt NOTHING so that wasn't going to happen. They watched the moniters from the desk, and saw the heart rate of the baby changing, and came back in about 15 minutes later. She checked me, and said I was ready. I sure didn't feel ready, and was prepared for a little bit of pushing. They started breaking down the bed, and got the Doctor in my room. When they were all ready, they waited until I had a contraction, and told me to push. I took a breath, pushed, another breath, pushed again, and a third time, until he told me to stop pushing. I mentioned that I was so numb, it didn't even feel like I was pushing, and my Mom immediately said, "His head is out!" HOLY CRAP!!!!!!!! I wasn't ready to have it over with so quick. I pushed one last time, and it was over.
They took him to the warmer to do all their tests and weigh and measure. He was officially born at 16:18 (or 4:18 pm) weighing in at 7 pounds 14 ounces and 20 1/2 inches long. Diana and Jordan had come into the room less than 5 minutes before I actually delivered, so Jordan may not remember it as she gets older, but she was there when her baby brother was born, which I feel is a really neat thing.
He is such a good baby so far, he sleeps most of the time, and even when he is awake, he is just as happy and content as can be. I have only heard him really cry maybe 3 times. He slept right through his circumcision. The only complaint I have so far is that he doesn't want to nurse. He isn't patient enough to wait for the let down and the milk to come. So, I started giving him formula, and I now have a pump, and my goal is to get enough milk pumped that I can solely feed him milk that I have pumped, and completely stop the formula. I really enjoyed the bonding that I had with Jordan while nursing, and was looking forward to that with Easton. Maybe eventually he will start to nurse directly from me, and the pumping can just be at work.
Jordan has been better than I expected. First thing every morning, she asks to see Baby Easton. She is so helpful in the mornings, and wants to be involved in everything I do with the baby, but then as the day progresses, she gets a little less interested, and wants my attention more, and is frustrated that she isn't the sole focus of everything I do. I know it will get better with time.
I will try to keep better updates about both Jordan and Easton, but as everyone knows, it will be a little harder now, with a newborn to care for. Here are some of the pictures they took at the hospital of my beautiful baby boy Easton Jax.
