Happy Birthday Little Jeffy!

At 9:14 tonight, my little guy will turn one year old! It's been a great year, full of a rainbow of emotions.

His due date was January 5th, a date easy to remember because it's my mother-in-law's birthday. The 5th came and went with nothing. I was pretty disappointed--my mom's babies usually came early and I was really hoping to inherit that. I went in for a routine check up on January 8th. I thought I may be having contractions, but they didn't feel like I was told they were supposed to so I didn't say anything when we went in. I was told it would feel like your uterus was getting hard, etc., but I just felt like I was having period cramps. Anyways, we go to the doctor, who tells me that my blood pressure is pretty high and he wants me to go to the hospital for an induction. I was excited to get the show on the road, so we told that we'd go home, get the hospital bags, and head over to the hospital. We did that, but made a pit stop for a Big Mac, since we knew they wouldn't let me eat while in labor and stuff. I guess we took a little bit longer than we expected, since the hospital called to see if we were coming or what.

We got there, and I was kind of surprised at how long it took to get checked in. I got hooked up to all the machines, and we found out I was contracting (I knew it!) and they took my blood pressure again, this time with an arm band made for bigger arms, and it came out fine. Now I know for next time. My doctor decided to go ahead and induce me. That was really uncomfortable! I had never really thought about what it meant to be induced. I guess I just thought they gave you an oral dose of something like castor oil and that was it. Nope.

So, labor picked up. By now, it was about 6pm on the 8th. We'd been at the hospital for a couple hours, and would be there for quite a few more. I contracted and contracted all through the night, and was pretty proud of how well I did. Jeff was asleep in the chair next to me. I had some music playing on the laptop to help me stay calm.

Then labor really picked up. It's hard to describe what that felt like--partly because I've forgotten it, and partly because it's hard to find the right words. All I can say is . . . OWW! I had been determined to make it through without drugs, but by 11:00 am on the 9th, I had about reached my breaking point. I asked for a little relief and got something a little bit later. Yeah, it did absolutely nothing. Later that day I would come to the conclusion that drugs and my body don't work well together. After an hour of frustration from the lack of relief, I caved and asked for an epidural. I may be in denial, but I think this was the beginning of the reason I had a c-section (that and retarded doctors).

I got an epidural at noon. I was 8 1/2 centimeters dilated, exactly where I had been an hour before when I got the first medicine. The epidural kicked in and I felt a lot better. The only problem was that it totally stalled my labor. They had me lay on my side for some reason I can't remember, and that caused problems too. The epidural started wearing off on my side. I tell ya, feeling half of your body asleep and the other half in full blown labor is a very weird feeling. It also caused me to dilated fully on one side, while staying at 8 1/2 on the other. That was at 7 pm that night. Not much progress for 7 hours. Anyways, they said they wanted to give me one more hour to fully dilate. They thought the labor was taking too long. At this point, I had been in labor for 29 hours (just recorded time in the hospital). So for that last hour of labor, I tried to relax through the pain and will myself to dilate. Thankfully, it worked!

I was finally ready to push. That wasn't super fun. I worked at it for an hour with not much happening, and the nurse who was working with us called for the doctor to check. He did, and decided the baby wasn't coming out at all and recommended an emergency c-section. I REALLY did not want a c-section, but I wasn't really given a choice. They started prepping me and I tried to get over my devastation and prepare myself.

A little while later I was in the operating room. I was still hooked up to the epidural and they tried to give me the numbing stuff through that, but it didn't work. They would give me some, then prick me or something to see if I could feel it. Yeah, I could. I remember them saying that it wasn't working . . . .

Then I woke up. They had sedated me completely, cut me open, and taken my baby without me realizing it. And I thought I felt devastation when I realized I would have a c-section. That was the most horrible feeling I have ever, and may ever feel. Luckily, my mom had just gotten into town and I was able to bawl on her shoulder. It was about 10:00 pm. Jeffy had been born at 9:14 and was in the NICU. He weighed 9 lbs 9 oz and was 22 inches long.

I wasn't allowed to see him that night. I think it was because he wasn't allowed to leave the NICU and I wasn't allowed to leave my room because of the sedation. That was horrible too. Jeff, his parents, and my mom went to visit Jeffy and took lots of pictures and videos for me to see until I could meet him for real. I watched those videos about 50 times that night.

And that's the story of how my little man made it into the world. It's hard to believe it's already been a year. He has been the sweetest little guy. He is so good natured and loving. He has gotten super cuddly lately, and I love it. I just love him and am so grateful to have him in our family!



And just as a word to the wise, anyone who's pregnant in Rexburg--if you go to the ABC doctors (Allred, Barton, Crouch), you will most likely have a c-section, whether you want to or not. Every single person I've known who went to them had a c-section. Go somewhere else.