These are a Few of my favorite things...: June 2013

June 13, 2013 I woke up at 3:00 AM with strong contractions. I kept trying to go back to sleep but they kept coming. I started timing them and they were about 5 to 6 minutes apart. I text my mom (an OB nurse) and asked her what she thought I should do at this point. She told me to watch them for an hour and take a bath and see if they kept coming. At 4:30 AM I called my mom because the contractions just kept coming. She said to meet at the hospital. Reality hit right then..."I could possibly be having my baby today!"

I waddled into the room "Josh...we're goin to the hospital"

He was half asleep and didn't realize what I said until I said it about 3 times. He sat up fast and said "How much time do I have?!" He has seen too many movies where the woman get to the hospital and delivery in 5 minutes. LOL. He was pretty surprised when I sat down and did my hair before we left.

We finally got to the hospital around 5. The contractions were still coming about 5 minutes apart but kind of seemed to be in consistent. I was worried that we were just going to be sent home. I had my mom check me to see if I had dilated at all. I was still only at a 2 but almost to a 3. My mom said it was a pretty big chance they would send me home, but they called the Doctor in to come and check it out and talk to us. By the time he got there the contractions were finally more consistent and painful. I was convinced they were doing SOMETHING. He checked me and I was a 3. I nearly cried when he said that. I did NOT want to go home. I was ready to have this baby.

He said that we could try putting me on the pitocin and see how I reacted. It is supposed to help dilate me more and fast...and it causes contractions to be very painful. I of course said "YES!" to that option. My mom looked at me like I was crazy and said "Jess, you know this is going to make those contractions hurt REAL bad, right?"

"Yep"... I didn't care. I figured if I was going to be contracting all day, it had might as well be doin something.

They hooked me up and I was feelin pretty normal for the first half hour. We started walking around hoping that would help move things along. That's when I started feeling some good contractions. I could barely walk. After an hour I was barely able to move. Every contraction seemed to get worse and worse. When my mom checked me I was at a 4... The pitocin had worked.

I was ready for my epidural. I wanted these contractions to stop hurting so bad, so my mom called the Doctor and he gave the OK. I am not going to lie, the part of labor and delivery I was most afraid of was the epidural. I hate shots and needles so the thought of a big needle goin in my back did not go over well in my mind...Boy I was wrong! I honestly barely even felt it. It was nothing compared to the contractions I was feeling.

After 15 minutes I couldn't feel my legs...but I could still feel every single contraction. It was miserable. I just cried and said " I thought the epidural was supposed to make this better!!"

Since I couldn't feel anything below my waist my mom decided to check me to see how things were progressing. I was at a 6. They called Dr. Brietenbach in and he broke my water. I was really nervous about having him break it since I was feeling every contraction and breaking the water would only make it worse. I was just ready tho, so I had him break it.

My mom and nurses were confused as to why the epidural wasn't doing it's job. They called in the anesthesiologist and he told me that they may have to do it again and place it in a different spot. I was fine with that..anything to take the pain away. But first they would give me some more epidural medicine or something and see if it helped.

After 15 minutes it still wasn't working. I honestly thought 'I can't do this!!" The pain was excruciating. As soon as one hit I would just reach my hand out and hope someone would grab it so I would have something to squeeze. I kept trying to remember to BREATHE....heck that really didn't work for me. I just wanted to cry. My mom was still confused about why this wasn't working and decided to check me again. As I watched her face I realized that something happened.. "YOUR COMPLETE! It's time to push!!"

I had so many different emotions as she said that. She walked out of the room and I just started crying.

I was scared. I was scared something would go wrong. I was scared I would feel everything. I was scared because this was Actually happening. My baby would be here THAT day whether I was ready or not.

I started pushing. This was actually the best part! I didn't feel a thing. The epidural FINALLY kicked in. I had the best cheer leaders in there. Since my mom is a nurse there all of her nurse friends were right by my side making sure I was getting all the attention I needed. It was great :)

And of course I had my BEST friend, my sweet husband, right there with me. He was so sweet the whole time. Everytime they told me to push I was listening for his voice. It was the one that brought me peace and comfort.

I pushed for about a half hour and then it was time to call in the Doctor. I had to stop pushing for about 10 minutes or else Lincoln would have come without the Doctor there. As soon as Doctor B got in it was time to push again. I couldn't believe how fast it went. It was only a matter of minutes and my sweet baby boy was here. They laid him on my chest and all I could do was cry. It was such an amazing moment that I hope I never forget. I had never felt so much love in such a short amount of time.

Josh cutting the cord...Notice the GOPRO..yes he goproed the whole thing. LOL

They took him over to the bed and I heard Josh say "Wow! He's a cutie!" It made my heart melt when I heard him say that. <3 so sweet.

I was dying to know how much Lincoln weighed...When they told me I was shocked! He was bigger than I had expected seeing as how in the previous weeks I was told he would be really small...

He was perfect size tho. :) He actually ended up measuring 41 weeks. He was ready to be here. He was 6 pounds 10 oz and 21 inches long.

I am so grateful to have our sweet little boy here. He lights up my life. I love to just hold him and watch him. It is still unreal to me that this baby is actually mine. Im so grateful to Heavenly Father for trusting me enough to be this childs mother. The first night I brought Lincoln home I sang 'I am a child of God' to him...That song has a completely different meaning to me now.
'Lead me Guide me, Walk Beside me, Help me find the way, Teach me all that I must do, To Live with him someday'
I feel like he is saying those words to me. It is now mine and Josh's job to make sure we teach him what's right so we can all be together forever.

I love watching Josh and him together. Josh is the best daddy already. He is so sweet to him and just loves to hold him. I am so grateful for a husband who is so amazing and willing to help. I love him so much. I am so excited to raise our family together.

Sorry this post is forever long...most of you probably didn't even read all of it, but that's fine. The main reason I blog is because it's my journal..

Here are pictures from that day...Enjoy :)