Hello World! Meet Jack. Our little cutie made his debut last week and though it was a dramatic entrance, we couldn’t be more smitten with our little baby boy. Big brother keeps telling everyone “Baby Jack is my friend!” and Big Sister sings to him You Are My Sunshine and melts our hearts.
I’ve never really shared birth stories on my blog before. I guess before I had kids, I thought they were kind of strange, but ever since having them, I always want to know the details of someone’s entrance to the world! Especially when I was about to have Charlie. Mine have all been so different and that took me by surprise.
Charlie was born 3 days before his due date. I had been walking around for weeks at a 3 cm dilation. I exercised all the time and my doctor gave me a membrane sweep two days before he was born. I had tight cramping in my back one morning that continued all day but wasn’t painful. As Eric and I went out for a last dinner date, I started timing them and they were about 7 minutes apart. When we got home, I told Eric they were getting closer together, yet neither of us thought we’d have him yet. Literally the second I laid down to sleep that night, my water broke and it felt like the movies. It wouldn’t. stop. popping. By the time we arrived to the hospital just 10 minutes later, my pants were soaked and they wheeled me into triage as Eric checked me in. I was already at 5 cm and they quickly got me into a room with epidural. Epidural stopped pain below but did not help me with my contraction pain initially. Within an hour I was dilated to 8 or 9! Yet somehow, Charlie wasn’t born until 5:30 the next morning and I can’t remember the details of why there was that delay.
McKenna was my easiest delivery. I was induced with her the day before her due date and even had gone to a fitness class the day before that. I had also been walking around 3 cm dilated for a couple of weeks with her and had a membrane sweep at 39 weeks, but she was comfy where she was. We even had Eric’s mom fly down in preparation for her birth but McKenna wasn’t going to budge! After Eric’s mom left, my parents came and within only an hour and a half of the doctors breaking my water, M was born. I dilated so fast at the end that my doctor told me she would induce me at 39 weeks for my third!
Enter Jack. Because he was my third baby and I had such an easy delivery before, I fully expected another fast paced visit at the hospital. But it was 6 hours after my water was broken that Jack made his debut. My blood pressure was low and because of that, Jack’s heart rate kept going down, so the air in the room was tense when came. I could tell that things weren’t going the way I wanted them to when the nurses kept having me flip over to try and move him. Jack came out sunny side up and with that entrance, fourceps were used. (Imagine giant tongs). I suffered a 3rd degree tear which is quite a doozy on the body. It was super painful and things didn’t feel right when I went back into the doctor a week later. Sure enough, I had developed a hematoma and an infection. Thank God for pain meds!
I feel like I’m generally pretty good at preparing myself for things. I anticipated the toddlers having a difficult time or our baby struggling with something like eating or sleeping or colic. But I did not expect to have a tough recovery with my third baby. Luckily, Eric and I had prepared ourselves with a ton of babysitters ahead of time.
But you know what? There are silver linings just about everywhere if we look for them. I’ve been able to spend serious quality time with this baby and also rest. My kids have been having a ball with their sitters and hearing them squeal gleefully upstairs has been such a blessing. I’ve been able to nap when the baby naps. And Jack has been such a dream. I cannot get enough of his coos, newborn scent, and sweet snuggles. It’s the best part of this newborn stage and I’m soaking it all in. He initially struggled with feeding but it seems he’s turned a corner and for the past couple of days has slept like a champ. I guess he knew I needed that ;)
Our transition to three hasn’t been easy but I know down the road, these three kids will be the best of friends. Seeing Charlie and McKenna as big brother and sister to Jack has been so special for us and I can’t wait to foster these relationships they’ll cherish forever. Family is everything.
Our hands and hearts are full over here. Wish me a speedy recovery so I can’t get back at em’!
-XO-
