The Young and the Restless

A Baby Story

Like every mom, each time my kids have a birthday I can't help but think back to the day they were born. As I was thinking back to four years ago, I realized that I don't have Jayden's birth story written down and thought that it would be something worth recording. So this entry is for my own journaling sake...

My original due date was August 9th (the same day as Jayci and Papa Jolley's birthdays), and those last few weeks were miserable in the summer heat. I couldn't wait to meet my little boy and to be done with my pregnancy. I had a C-section with Kylie, but this time I decided to try a VBAC. My doctor wouldn't induce me because of the risk, so we were stuck playing the waiting game. Jason's cousin was getting married the last week of July in California. Two days before we were supposed to leave I told my doctor that I wanted to go. I don't think that he was very happy and stripped my membranes without telling me, I think in an effort to stop me from going. It hurt BAD and poor Kylie was at the appointment and still remembers when I said owww when the doctor "poked my bum" (I wouldn't have brought her if I knew what he was going to do!) I was kind of mad that he did that and when it didn't put me in labor I decided to still go to California out of spite. It was a fun trip, but the driving was completely miserable, I was so uncomfortable and had to stop for potty breaks every half hour. We mapped out all of the hospitals along the way just in case, but I did get a little nervous during those long stretches of desert without cell phone service. We made it back without any close calls and five days later he stripped my membranes again (this time I was prepared). It was on my 24th birthday. That night we went out to Uno Chicago pizza for my birthday dinner and while we were eating I started noticing that I was having a lot of contractions. We went home and they were still continuing. I was too excited to sleep. They started getting harder and more regular so by 2 AM we decided to go in. We had recently moved to Phoenix and didn't have any family or good friends to watch Kylie. There was a sweet lady at Jason's work whom we adopted as "Grandma Barb" that didn't live too far away and was nice enough to offer to watch Kylie when I went into labor. We were so grateful for her, especially when she was willing to come over at 2:00 AM (my brother's girlfriend who lived down here was also soooo nice to come and stay the second night). We headed on our way and had to drive what seemed like forever to Desert Samaritain hospital in Mesa. There are several hospitals alot closer but I had to drive all the way out there since I was considered high risk and they were better equipped for those types of deliveries. The whole time we were driving I was in so much pain (or so I thought) and was worried that the baby was going to pop out before we even made it to the hospital. I thought for sure that I would be dialated to atleast a 6. We got to the hospital and when they checked me they told me that I was only at a 2!! Apparently I have a very low pain tolerance and it was at that moment that I knew I could never survive a drugless delivery, I thought I was going to die at a 2 for heaven's sake! One advantage of having a VBAC is that they don't like to send you home because of the risk (even though I don't think I really was in labor). I think they got tired of my whining and opted to give me an epidural right away. I won't lie, I have a very strong love/hate relationship with the epidural. Obviously I couldn't handle the pain, but I absolutely hate the feeling of being numb and not in control. I had several panic attacks and the oxygen mask was permanantly attached to my face. I had the shivers and uncontrollable shaking alot, I think that kind of freaked Jason out. I tried sleeping that night and thought for sure by the morning we would be making some progress. Not the case. I stayed around a 3 FOREVER. They wouldn't give me pitocin (once again because of the risk), and finally at noon my doctor was able to make it over to break my water. It didn't help much, but I eventually made it to a 4 a couple of hours later. There was no end in sight and I thought I was going to die. At one point I took matters into my own hands and decided to try and do some sit ups and crunches in bed in an effort to try and get some action going. A couple of minutes later the nurse buzzed in and asked me if I was okay because they kept seeing some odd readings on my monitors and thought I was throwing up. I didn't realize they were monitoring me that closely out at the station, but I still tried to play it cool like nothing had happened. Finally by 9:00 that night I still hadn't progressed at all so they decided to give me a teeny tiny dose of pitocin and within an hour I went from a 4 to a 10 (why could they not have given it to me 19 hours earlier??) I pushed for about 15 minutes then his heart rate started going down, so they used the vacuum (which left me with a nice 4th degree tear) and he came right out. He was born at 10:30pm (20 long hours after being admitted), weighed 7lbs 3oz and was 21 3/4 inches long (although the reason he was so long was because he had such a huge cone head from being sucked out with a vacuum. At his 1 week check-up when his head was back to normal he was only around 20 inches long!) Being able to hold him for the first time is a feeling that I can't even express. It's such a magical moment to be able to look into the eyes of your little baby for the first time. We were so excited to have Jayden become a part of our little family and we can't imagine life without him.

Happy birthday, baby doll! (I don't know how he lets me get away with calling him that still. I tell him that it means that I love him and so now he calls me his baby doll too). You are such a sweet boy and all you have to do is give me that adorable smile of yours and I totally melt. I love that you are a mama's boy and always have extra hugs and kisses for me. The things you say always make me laugh, I love hearing what goes on in your little head. Thanks for making me smile every day, I love you!