Jackson has arrived!!

This post is quite a bit late, but the good news is Jackson has arrived and is doing great! Here are a few quick updates since I only have a little time before he wakes up from his nap :)

In my last post I mentioned that I was getting induced, but as luck would have it I started going into labor around 8pm on June 11th while all my family started rolling into town. Talk about good timing! At first the pain just started as cramping and then started growing stronger and stronger. By 10pm Sean and I were headed to the hospital. Once I was admitted the nurses found that my water had already broken or was slowly leaking so they needed to keep me there until baby was born. I continued to have really strong contractions for a few hours while we waited for the anesthesiologist to arrive. It felt like days had passed before he arrived, but the epidural really was a life saver. I don't know how women go without it. A few more hours passed and by about 6am I was at 10 cm and ready to push. At 6:40a.m. Jackson made his way into the world and weighed a whopping 8lbs 13oz, 21.5 inches long!

I was discharged from the hospital on the 13th, but I only stayed home for a few hours before I spiked a bad fever and had to return to the emergency room. The next few days are now a blur, but unfortunately I got a urinary and uterine infection and had to be hospitalized for 48 hours. It was really not the way I pictured things starting out. Anyways, Sean and both our families were a huge help in my recovery and I can't thank them enough!!

With all of that behind me now I am finally enjoying being a mom to Jackson... and he is just amazingly perfect! He's growing like a weed already. He is 2 weeks old and already put on 2 pounds :) This is of course because he wants to eat every 1 to 2 hours. Right now he naps most of the day and isn't the best about sleeping at night. He wakes up about every 2 hours with a wet diaper and ready to eat. Last night he did have a 4 hour stretch of sleep, so hopefully we are getting the hard part out of the way.

Baby is waking up now, so I've gotta cut this short even though I could go on forever about how great Jackson is :)

Almost... but not yet

Well the end is finally in sight. Yesterday Sean and I went in for our last pre-natal appointment. We packed the car with our bags and cameras just in case :)

I let the doctor know that I was a little worreid that Jackson had slowed down quite a bit so they hooked me up to the fetal monitor to check on him (fortunately we didn't have to go back to the birth center for this!). After about 5 minutes Jackson was dancing like a crazy man and his heart beat looked/sounded wonderful. I just needed some reassurance I guess!

Afterward the doctor did an exam and said I was about 2 cm dialated... just like last week. He also said that because I'm in week 41 that I need the baby out by the following week before we risk him getting too big or other complications. We talked more about setting up an induction and now we are scheduled to start at 6am on June 12th. I'm still nervous about the risks involved but I'm hoping and praying that since I've had a very healthy pregnancy this far that everything goes well.

After all was said and done we walked out of the doctor's office with a little bounce in our step because we finally knew that we're going to get to meet Jackson very soon! I was also pretty pleased to find that my weight gain had finally plateaued, thank the Lord!

We headed to the grocery store to pick up a few snacks to pack for our hospital stay. We even got in line with Safeway's most annoying cashier, but I was still in such a good mood that I didn't snap or cry when she said, "oh honey you are very pregnant." Yes that's right... but not for much longer!!

Sean and I continued our celebration by making some cookies last night... well it was mostly Sean doing all the work since I needed to put my feet up. But... here are some of our final pictures prior to being parents:












Well I guess this is it for pregnancy blogging. Both our families are coming in to town today, so let the madness begin!

Forever pregnant

Well folks I'm still pregnant and today I'm officially one week past my due date. I know most women are late with their first babies and I guess I'm going to be one of them.

Sean and I have exhausted the list of ways to get labor started. We've come to realize that Jackson will arrive when he's ready and that there is no amount of pineapple, walking, or spicy food that will get him out sooner.

I've taken care of almost everything on my to-do list, including getting the carpets cleaned (thanks Mom!), worked on the baby book, and even cleaned my car (thanks sweetie!). Now if only the contractions would start.

This afternoon I'm going in for my last pre-natal appointment so I'm hoping for the best. Sean and I are thinking about scheduling an induction today. We've been weighing out the pros and cons and it really is a last resort but I also can't afford to be using up all my maternity leave waiting for baby to get here! Agh, decisions decisions. I'll have more to update tomorrow or later this week.

Today's my due date... still waiting!

Well today is my due date and I'm still blogging, so baby isn't here yet, but he should be very soon! We're in the middle of a warm weather streak and I believe Seattle is under a heat advisory. Needless to say, pregnant women hate being hot and I'm one of them! I spent most of the day napping in front of my fan and eating popscicles on the couch. Oh the life!

I just got back from my "40 week" check and it was quite the experience for Sean and I. Since everything is still fresh on my mind, here goes...

We arrived to my doctor's office about 15 mins early to our appointment and we were greeted not by smiling faces but the look of surprise. One of the medical assistants tells me that she just left me a message on my phone about rescheduling since the doctor was out delivering a baby. I figured this would happen at least once since he is an OB/GYN but not on my actual due date! But since we were there they offered to let us wait a few minutes to see if he would be done soon and if not we'd go across the street to the hospital to have one of the nurses at the birth center do a "quick check". Sounded easy and we were flexible since we didn't have anywhere to be.

After waiting for a little bit, we were instructed to go to the hospital and check in at the birth center. We arrive and then we got admitted to the actual hospital and had a room set up for us. This wasn't what we were expecting at all! Once in the actual birth center we could tell that they were extrememly busy and understaffed. The nurse manager came in to the room and strapped me to the bed with a fetal monitor and the other monitor that checks for contractions. Sean and I were frustrated because we were told that we were just getting a quick check to see if I was dialated any more than last week. The nurse told me they wanted to monitor the baby and I for about 20-30 minutes and would only do a "check" if I was having contractions.

Despite getting the run around it was pretty cool to hear Jackson's heart rate and also see that I was having some small contractions that lasted a few seconds. I wasn't able to feel them, but at least they are happening! The nurse also said the baby looks to be very healthy too, so we are very happy about that!

Luckily I ended up getting to see my doctor after he finished up delivering the baby next door. However, he said I was about 1-2 cm dialated and about 75% effaced. No progress from last week :(

My doctor gave us some info about scheduling an induction and I'm thinking about it but really on the fence since there are some risks involved. I just want Jackson to get here safely... but sooner rather than later please!

Anyways, that's about it for now. I'll get a picture posted shortly.