June 28, 2016

Jade Elizabeth- Welcoming Our Little Girl Into The World {Part Two}


Hey everyone! Thanks so much for reading and for sharing in our excitement. Here is part two of Miss Jade's birth story.

It was Tuesday night, March 8, and Brian drove me to the hospital at around 11:30. My contractions had been five minutes apart for the last several hours, but they were only about 30 seconds each. We drove the 25 minutes to Flower Hospital and walked into the Emergency Room. Someone immediately got me a wheelchair and I initialed some papers before I was wheeled to a room. I was told to put on a gown and I got hooked up to the machine that measured my contractions. The nurse said that I was 3 cm dilated, 100% effaced, and that I was in active labor. I felt relieved and nervous all at the same time! It was a little after midnight at this time, but we called our parents anyway and told them we would be having our baby! Both sets of parents told us they would be leaving at 5 a.m. (Brian's parents are about six hours away and mine are about three.) From there, we were taken to our permanent room. This was right when my contractions were getting more intense and I was definitely breathing harder.

Our room was really nice. I am so happy we delivered at Flower. The room was spacious and we were in a quiet corner away from other rooms. We were told that the anesthesiologist working that night would be woken up and sent to our room to administer the epidural shortly. He came in around 2:00 that morning. I was a little nervous for the epidural...something about a needle being injected into my spine was a little unsettling, but pushing a baby out without medication bothered me more ;) So I avoided looking at the needle, held Brian's hands, and tried to stay as still as possible while it was administered. It wasn't bad at all! The initial poke felt funny, but it really was no big deal.

I waited a few minutes for the medication to kick in to relieve the contractions. I started to only feel relief on my right side at first, but after shifting my body around, it finally spread out evenly. The weird part was that my right side began to get swollen. My right foot and hand looked puffy to me and I couldn't breathe out of my right nostril...weird, right?! My right eye was also slightly swollen. I was told to try to sleep, but the stuffy nose and the "omg we're having a baby" thoughts wouldn't let me! Not to mention there were nurses coming in every half hour or so to check things. After about an hour the swelling on my right side went down and I could breathe clearly through my nose. It was about 3:30 in the morning and I still couldn't sleep!

The nurse came in and told me that my doctor would be in around 6 in the morning to break my water if it had not broken yet. I was told to alert her if it had broken. She walked out of the room, closed the door, and it literally broke right then! She hadn't taken more than two steps out the door when I called for her to let her know.

The night seemed to be flying by. Before I knew it, it was light outside and I was dilated 10 cm. My doctor had recently arrived at the hospital, but we had to wait for her to perform a c-section on another patient. My parents arrived just before 9:00 and stopped in the room for about five minutes before my doctor came in to let me know she was ready for me. My parents went out to wait in a nearby room so I could begin pushing.

This was such a neat experience. In the movies, the delivery part always seems so chaotic. The woman is usually screaming and people are running in and out of the room. But I had the blessed medication and my doctor was so calm. It was me, Brian, my doctor, and one nurse...it was extremely peaceful. When I reflect on the delivery of Jade, I remember sunshine streaming through the windows, my doctor's calm voice, and Brian's encouragement. Since I had the epidural and was numb (and completely paralyzed in my legs, I might add!), it was hard for me to feel the progress of my pushing, so I really had to rely on the guidance from my doctor and from Brian. I had my eyes closed the majority of the time that I pushed because I was concentrating on using my numb abdominal muscles. Suddenly, Brian said, "Court, look down." I looked down and there she was, red skinned from living inside me, head full of dark hair. As they finished pulling her out, they turned her towards me and I looked into her little blue eyes. We were able to do some skin to skin before they took her to check height, weight, and etc. 

Another thing that went differently than I expected is that she didn't cry right away. I remember looking into her eyes as she looked inquisitively into mine. She'd look into my eyes for a few moments, and then let out a few cries. Then she'd stop crying to look into my eyes some more. This was a sweet little cycle that went on for a few minutes. It was like she knew she was supposed to cry, but had to stop frequently to take it all in and look into her mama's eyes. 

Our little Jade Elizabeth came into the world so quickly. She was six days early and right on time. She has changed everything. Things are so different now, much harder, less convenient, and so much sweeter. Every decision now revolves around her well being. My priorities and ambitions are different. I hope to update more about my life as a mom and finally get back to some style posts (the original intention of the blog) when possible, but like I said...my priorities and ambitions are just different. I am giving myself grace for the things I don't get done because one day Jade will be a big girl and won't want me to hold her. One day I will pick her up, put her down, and never pick her up again. Right now, I am her whole world and I want to love her so well. Somebody told me to "be Jesus in the flesh to her." I'm praying everyday that I will show her who her Savior is, even before she can comprehend it. 

Thanks to everyone for sharing in our joy. And thank you to the other mamas who continue to encourage me all along the way! Motherhood is so much better together. 


xx,
Court


| Jade Elizabeth | March 9, 2016  |9:20 a.m.| 7 pounds, 11 ounces | 20 inches |













2 comments:

  1. And now I'm sitting at my desk at work and I'm crying. So sweet Court. You're doing an amazing job! Jade is blessed to be your little girl! Love you friend!!

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  2. Jade and I share the same birthday:) It's a perfect one, i've always loved it!! xoxo

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