Welcome to the World Jackson Elwood!

October 8th, 2009-  The day that our lives were changed forever by the simple introduction of our first baby boy, Jackson Elwood Lee.

We had to be at the hospital by 6:30 to check in and get prepped for the c-section.  Once we were there they hooked up some moniters to make sure that baby was healthy and got an IV put in so that they could administer fluids and some antibiotics before surgery.  We had a short amount of time where we were just waiting for them to come and say it was time to rock and roll!  The nurses were wonderful! They were very nice about explaining everything that was going to happen! Dr. Baker and the anestesiologist both came in to say hello and answer any questions we might have.  At exactly 8:30 they came in and told me we were ready to get started! They wheeled me back to the operating room and got started with the epidural.

The anesthesiologist wanted to use a spinal block but once she started she realized that an epidural was going to be the way to go. The bottom of my back has a pretty significant dip in it and she had a very difficult time getting the epidual into the spot. It was pretty painful as she was trying over and over to get it in the right spot and kept asking me to “arch my back like a mad cat!”  I would have been happy to do that for her had I not had this HUGE stomach resting on my legs causing them to fall asleep! It took a pretty painful 40 minutes to get the epidural situated and to get my body numb, but when it was good to go, I was thrilled for it to be over!

They called Dr. Baker to come in and let Dan into the room at this time. I was feeling slightly nervous, and very excited to finally be meeting this sweet boy that has taken such a toll on my body over the last few months! I wanted to know how much he weighed, how much hair he would have, what color eyes he would have, and who he would look like!  They made the incision and I knew it wouldn’t be long before we would be meeting our son!   We had an assistant to the surgeon who told bad jokes and thought he was pretty funny! Once Dr. Baker had everything situated, they told me I would feel “lots of pressure” but I never could have imagined what that would mean in the next 10 minutes!  I felt like a boulder was being dropped on my stomach as the assistant tried to push him down to the incision. I could hear Dr. Baker using the vacuum to try and suction him out, but the vacuum kepy popping off of his head! Dan told me later that the assistant was pushing down so hard with his elbow that his feet were coming off the ground! I then heard him say, ” Can someone please grab me a stool?”  Apparently his entire body weight wasn’t enough and he needed some leverage by using a stool to get high enough to push on my stomach!  I found out later while talking to Dr. Baker that Jackson’s head had not yet dropped and the doctor was expecting his head to be right there when he made the incision, but instead it was up  to my left side and he couldn’t get it to come down to the incision site.  This explains the “lots of pressure” I was feeling!  I must admit though that the second they pulled him out I felt a HUGE relief and started bawling immediately!

I heard him make a small sound (not a loud scream) and knew that my boy had finally arrived!  By the things that the people in the OR were saying, I KNEW that he was a big guy! We had all taken bets before surgery at what he would weight and the closet anyone had come to his actual weight was 9lb 15oz.  I finally heard him give a good scream and was so happy to know that everything was going to be ok!

They checked him out and we waited to hear the final verdict on his official weight………. 11lb 2 oz I heard them say!   WHAT?? 11.2??? I thought for sure the ultrasound was going to be off, but  I really had my hopes up that it would go in the other direction!   He was perfect though! Healthy as an ox! Big as a moose!

Dan got to head out of the OR with Jackson and they ended up removing an ovary due to a cyst that was located in the blood source to my left ovary.  They stitched me back up and took me to recovery where I was extremely exhausted and could barely keep my eyes open! Once the epidural started to wear off and I could feel my legs again, they let me go to my mother/baby room where they brought Jackson to me and let me hold him for the first time.

I wish I could put into words the way it felt to hold MY son for the 1st time.  I was in love with him instantly! His chubby cheeks and all!  Dan, Jackson, and I spent some time just the 3 of us on Thursday afternoon before Grammy and Papa Lee came into town and met the little man for the 1st time.

Overall, this was by far one of the most painful days of my life, but the pain was certainly nothing compared to the joy, peace, happiness and fulfillment I felt the day that Jackson was born.  The love that i have for this other human being who just happens to be half me and half Dan is unmeasurable.  I also have to mention that Dan has been absolutely amazing through all of this.  I knew he was going to be a great dad, but to see him in action is so special. He loves Jackson so much and makes sure to spend as much time with him as he can.  He has been working so hard this week despite staying up a little later and waking up a little earlier and I can’t tell him how much I enjoy watching him spend time with his little son!

So this is a wrap of our first day as a family of three! I hope to keep this blog up to date now that I feel like I have something worth writing about!