Jack Henry Arnson
November 20, 2012
2:29 am
8 pounds 9.4 ounces, 19 inches long
4 am sharp on November 19, I woke up wide awake. I couldn't sleep...I just felt like Monday, the 19th, was the day Jack was going to arrive. After browsing Pinterest for 2 hours, I finally got up because I was too restless. I started sorting laundry, feeling Braxton Hicks contractions. Since I had already been feeling them, I didn't think too much about them...but then around 7am, just after Brandon had left for work, I started realizing the contractions were beginning to come fairly regularly, about every 5-7 minutes. Then I started to smile, and get a little nervous...I knew I was going to be meeting Jack in the very near future. I took a shower and began to time the contractions. About 30 minutes later, I decided to go to Valley Medical Center's triage department and get checked out. I picked up my parents on the way and told Brandon to meet me at Valley.
Still feeling great, at Valley's triage room
I arrived at Valley still feeling regular, painless contractions. (At this point, I should have known I wasn't quite ready to deliver with painless contractions). I was dilated to about 2 cm. This same morning, I had an ultrasound, non-stress test and appointment scheduled with my OB about an hour later. So triage discharged me and I walked over to my doctor's office. The amniotic fluid during the ultrasound looked great and the non-stress test looked great. It was so fun to see Jack's little profile face one last time through ultrasound before I really got to meet him. And he was still a healthy little active guy!!
My OB checked me and said I was dilated to about 3 cm and ~ 70% effaced, with bulging bags...I was instructed to head back in if my water broke or the contractions were so intense that I was hunching over and stopping. I was disappointed to be headed home. I wanted to meet Jack. When was he coming??
I got to my parents house around 12 pm. I was timing the contractions and they began to get painful. Mildly at first, but after a few hours, I was pretty uncomfortable with each one. Brandon encouraged me to take a walk through the neighborhood around 3:30 pm. (The torrential downpour that had occurred all morning had just stopped for awhile). We walked about 20 minutes before my water broke during our walk. I couldn't believe it. I couldn't stop smiling through the shock of experiencing my water breaking. We were off to meet Jack. We walked the few houses back to my parent's house, retrieved our belongings and hopped in the car. We arrived at triage where after about 15 minutes, I was admitted. At this point I was cringing with each contraction.
At 6 pm. I got my PIV inserted. At this point, I felt like crying (I probably was crying) with each contraction. My nurse asked if I wanted fentanyl or an epidural at this point. By my look, the nurse must of changed her mind because she said, let's just get you started with the epidural. The anesthesiologist was called and within 15 minutes of calling him, my epidural was in place and I couldn't feel a single contraction. It was amazing. I think I got my hopes up that the actual labor and pushing would be masked by my epidural...let's just say it wasn't.
So from 6:30 pm to 11 pm, I had many visitors. I was feeling great. Around 11 pm, I was getting tired and trying to rest up a bit. My sister decided to drive up from Portland after work. She arrived around 10 pm, and although we all tried to encourage not to (because she worked the next morning), she came anyway. (Which I was thankful for).
Long story short, I felt the need to push at 1 am, and actively started at 1:15 am. Jack was born at 2:29 am. The best part of active labor was when the OB actually sat down...meaning I was close enough to delivery that she thought she better stay). The few other times she had come in to check on me during active labor was pretty rough when she would say, not quite there, and leave the room...wow...that pressure feeling is quite an intense, unique feeling :) And there's no getting out of it...except to have that baby!
Over all, I had a very awesome delivery. Being a NICU nurse, I was a little nervous that some complication would arise. Right after my epidural was placed, the nurse placed me on my left side, and Jack's heart rate immediately decrease to the 70s. She turned me to my right side, placed oxygen on me and within a minute Jack's heart rate rose back to 130s. That was the longest minute of my life...after that, I was a little obsessed with watching his heart rate the remainder of the delivery. This happened once more during pushing, but within a minute his heart rate returned to normal. The NICU team attended the delivery for light meconium stained fluid, but luckily they weren't needed once he was delivered. Jack came out crying and all was well.
We are very fortunate to have a healthy baby boy. I know we are blessed and I am forever grateful.
The feeling of Jack being placed on my chest after delivery is a feeling that I'll never forget. It was such a surreal moment..a great moment where my life changed forever. He was perfect. He was so soft and smooth...his skin was perfect and he had such an amazing newborn fresh smell. There are no words to describe how I truly felt. But I was immediately in love. And the best part? He has made me a mother, for which I will be forever grateful and he'll forever hold an extra special place in my heart {xoxoxox}
Lying on my chest after birth
Happy parents (our 1st family photograph)
Thank you to all the many family members that stayed up late to support us as we welcomed our bundle of joy!!!! We are so in love.
Our announcement family photograph later that afternoon
Our big boy, weighing in at 8 pounds, 9.4 ounces
Going home!!!!
Man the time flies!
Below are some of my favorites of our little man during his first week of life! We arrived home on Wednesday. And we didn't stop. Thanksgiving celebrations on Thursday and Friday, a bath on Saturday, a quick impromtu photo session Saturday, and just lots and lots of snuggles and kisses.
These pictures make me smile because he looks so brand new. He still has all his little newborn blemishes and water weight and I just love them all. It's too hard to pick out just one or two favorites.
This first week...Jack loves to sleep. He is such a good little sleeper. He is good at breastfeeding, then he falls back to sleep.
He has the cutest little barely visible blond eyebrows and long blond eyelashes. He was born with a good amount of hair. It is so fun to brush it and just run my fingers through it. It almost makes a mullet, short in the front and long in the back. Ha :)
We just love him.
After bath photos
Precious 10 toes
And....
Jack at 1 week old.
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