Chapter 13: Baby Smith
Nov 4: Doctor's appointment to check dilation!! Induction date is set for Tuesday, Nov 8! AuBree will be there, and I drove up to Vermilion last night to be ready. Joe is coming on Sunday. I can not wait!! Here is the report from the doctor's visit:
70% effaced (thinned)
2 cm dilated!!
-2 station, which is good
He did a sweeping of the membranes five times.
He said he thinks I'll make it to Tuesday, and he expects the baby before midnight!!
He said it's a great place to be at this point.
Baby is 6.5 lbs, so he's a little munchkin, which is good for the first delivery, and he's healthy, so we will milk him up when he comes out!
Wait, what is a membrane sweep?? Membrane stripping (also known as a membrane sweep) is a procedure done to help induce labor if you're full-term and your cervix is already dilated. Your practitioner inserts a finger through your cervix and manually separates your amniotic sac from the uterine lining. Many women find the procedure uncomfortable or painful, but it only lasts a few minutes.
But then I texted all of my friends, and they all had the SAME reaction: "You got a membrane sweep!!!??" I said yes, why? And they all said they delivered within 7 hours of doing it!!!! Oh, buddy!! So why did he do that? Or did he just do a mild one? Needless to say, I am packing my bag now!!
My dad and brother took me on a sunset boat ride, which restored my soul. Part of me thought, if I go into delivery on Lake Erie with these two, it would be ok because they are the men in my life, and this little boy is coming whenever God's timing says so. I also never get quality time with just my dad and Jack. It was a really special night. I decided to drive to AuBree's house after dinner. After hearing the stories about the membrane sweep, I wanted to be close to the hospital.
Joe was in Indiana golfing and was supposed to have my cousins and uncle over to our farm in Southern Ohio. But I called him and said I think he needs to be close to me in case. My sister agreed. Poor Joe drove 6 hours up to her house and got in around 2 am. It gave me comfort. I can't imagine him missing anything because it's our first!!! It turns out the little man didn't come until the 9th, but it was still so comforting to have Joe by my side.
I can't wait to see you little baby.
Nov 7th: We are going to the ER!!!!!!! (Not for the baby, though) hahahah. I had my 8th baby shower today. This one was at the farm with my mom's sisters, their kids, and grandkids. I wanted to have intimate time with them, so we did a small separate shower so I could really hang out with them and eat up all of their advice on parenthood!! It went amazingly except for the fact that Joe fell down a step and hurt his ankle.
When we returned to AuBree's house, he couldn't walk from the car to the garage. We iced and elevated his ankle for two hours, and around midnight he couldn't stand the pain anymore. I didn't want to wake AuBree because she had to work early, so I drove him to the ER haha.
We checked in, and he told me he was going to pass out. Can you imagine?? They did X-rays, gave him a pathetic ankle brace, and sent us home. He asked for an MRI, and the doctor said he only does "XRays and baby deliveries" hahaha, I said WE WILL TAKE ONE OF EACH!!!
We went back to her house around 2 AM. I texted AuBree what happened, and she had her fiancé drive him early the next day to the hospital for a better scan so I could sleep. He had a high ankle sprain, and he got a REAL boot. Poor guy!! I guess he won't be pushing the stroller any time soon, haha. Only us!!
Nov 9: OK, we went to the hospital at 7:30 AM, and I started having contractions five minutes apart. Then they gave me Pitocin, and my contractions went three minutes apart and then two minutes apart, consistently starting around noon. I had consistent heavy contractions for 14 hours. They were painful but tolerable, almost like heavy period cramps, which I was used to from growing up.
However, I was only 2 cm dilated most of the day, so I knew it would be a long day of contractions. I asked for the epidural halfway through, and it was life-changing. I wasn't dilating as quickly as we would've liked, which is typical for a first-time parent. So one of the doctors recommended putting in a balloon, which helps you dilate to 4 cm. They put the balloon in and checked a few hours later, and I was dilated to five! It worked! That's when things started to get really fun!
They told me they would check on me two hours later, but I started feeling heavy contractions and pressure after an hour. I had them check 30 minutes before they were previously going to check, and believe it or not, I was dilated to 10 cm!!! That's when my sister AuBree, a resident, and my superstar hero doctor sister, checked on the baby, and she decided I was a plus one, meaning that the baby was low and ready to rock 'n' roll. She worked me through some practice breathing and pushing. Once he got to a +2 and close to a +3, she called in the rest of the delivery team!
It was go time!!! The best part was my whole family was there. My mom, dad, brother, Sister In Law, aunt Connie, and Joe. They didn't ask anybody to leave the room!! My family is extremely close. We are filled with big hearts, competitive spirits, Athletes, and lovers. It was the best team I could ever ask for for my first delivery. Everyone encouraged, high-fived, and motivated me through my pushes.
We switched halfway through the pushes to the tug-of-war method, where I pulled on one side of the sheet, and the nurse pulled on another. That worked great. It brought out the competitor in me! I pushed for a little under two hours, and that sweet baby came out.
The doctor, Dr. Lewis, and AuBree were an amazing combined team. They really stretched me so I could avoid tearing or stitches. I was about 30 seconds away from them deciding to snap me, which would've led to a longer recovery and stitches, but I pushed hard enough, and they stretched hard enough that sweet baby boy came out safe, and I didn't have to get any stitches! Thank you, God! What a blessing!
This entire journey has been an incredible blessing. I wasn't extremely emotional. I was more just completely at peace. I am right where I need to be. Joe and I have lived all over the country. We have both fulfilled our dreams in our careers. We have watched our friends, and family members have children. This is our time. We are so ready! Seeing Joe as a father is the greatest blessing in the entire world, and it fills my heart with more love than I've ever felt before. I cannot wait for this chapter with him!
Picking a name was extremely difficult! We went back and forth on about four different names. Ripken, Tucker, Jacob, Hudson, and Lee. We had signs from almost every name!
I loved Rick, and Tucker made a strong push when we wrote the names down on paper. We loved Jacob because we met at Jacobs field and drove through Hudson because my sister's house is in the neighboring city. Lee gave us lots of signs as well. She was the reason behind doing IVF. Lee construction was next to my sister's house, a big shooting star showed us that she was with us, and the woman who did my pedicure the day before I was induced had the name Lee on her pedicure kit. Ultimately we waited to see him, and Joe and I both had the same instant reaction when we saw his face, which was… His name is Jacob.
Nov 10th: 1:51 AM - Jacob weighed 6 pounds, 15 Ounces, and was 21 inches long. He is so tender and sweet! He absolutely loves the nipple, and breastfeeding has been a very easy transition for me. Hallelujah! He was eating every few hours, and then he started cluster feeding and needed to be fed every hour to two hours. I only slept 30 minutes in the first 40 hours, but then my second night in the hospital, the nurses took him a couple of times throughout the night after my feelings, which allowed me to get sleep. I highly recommend this!
Big day for baby Jacob!! We had to make a couple of decisions regarding his health today. We were asked three questions: do we want him circumcised, do we want him to get the Hep B vaccine, and do we want to clip his tongue because he has a very mild tongue tie.
They told us the tongue tie wouldn't affect his speech but that a snip could help breastfeeding feel more comfortable. They said it would be a quick procedure and not affect feeding, so we decided to say yes to all three. He handled it like a champ!!! He slept a lot.
MOM BRAIN! My Aunt Connie sent me a song to play for the baby in my belly. They are themed based on my experiences, whether he is kicking, moving, sleeping, etc. So she sent me a song today to play for him, like always. Jacob was in surgery, so he wasn’t in the room. And I sat there and played it to my belly, hahahahah. I was so used to playing it to my stomach I forgot he was out!!!! Wowza. Ok, mom brain might be a real thing. Too funny.
We then finally got discharged!
He slept for a few hours, then the entire hour ride home from the hospital, and then when he got home as well. The poor guy was so hungry all night after that!! Who wouldn't be!!
This was our first night home at Grandma Lesa and Papa Wade's house!! What a warm feeling to come home to such a loving family! My brother Jack and his wife Lexi were here too, and we had a big Italian dinner, and everyone snuggled him!!
This was his toughest night of sleep. He got off to a rough start until 3 am but recovered so well!! He was what they call "cluster feeding" to make up for what he was missing during the day. At this point, I am just producing colostrum (the amazing, thick liquid you produce and feed immediately after delivery until the breast milk comes in). Most babies lose a little weight until the milk comes in! I fed him the following on his first night home:
2-3 am
4-5:30 am
7-8 am
9:30-10:30 am
And every 2-3 hours after that, all day!
I got to change one poopy diaper through the night, and Joe got to change one too!! Good boy!! They say at least two poops on day two, three on day three, four on day four, etc.
I can't stop staring at him!!!!!
I noticed my boobs were getting harder/bigger! I wondered if that was breast milk, and it was!!! Around 1:00, I started producing milk!
I couldn't wait to be able to give him milk!!! He chugged it!!!! Time to chub him up!!!!
Nov 12: Best day ever!! Waking up to my sweet mom and dad is heaven. When we woke up, Jack and Lexi were in the living room waiting to snuggle him. We dressed him up in his Sunday best (a Cleveland Browns outfit). Too bad they were NOT at their best today. Shocker. Poor kid is a Browns fan; he has no choice. Aunt Beth brought lasagna and cookies. Connie came on her off day and got to snuggle and play with him. The days fly by somehow. That is the power of love and family. I thank God every day for this life. Everyone needs this kind of overwhelming love in their life. I will do my best to give Jacob just that.
Nov 13: Started the day with two great feeds throughout the night at 3 am and 5 am. Then at 7:30, he had me giggling the hardest I've giggled in a while!!!!! He had a big spit-up, two of the cutest sneezes you've ever seen with snot flying everywhere, a poopy diaper, and then his little wee wee sprayed the wall with pee, hahaha. All the liquids!! Moms warned me that the boys will pee on ya when you're changing them. Seeing it in person was a whole other level of entertainment!! The wall took one for the team.
He woke up to a loving grandma who took him from 9-11, so I could get two solid hours of sleep. AMEN. His Aunt Arian came to visit him, bounced, and loved him to death! I fed him again, and then it was Papa Wade's turn! Joe also got to go to rehab today for his ankle injury, and we gave Jacob a little bath before Joe left! We dressed him up in his "my first basketball season" outfit with Jordan 11's (of course). He is just the best little angel. He is SO long and strong. He hates his arms in the swaddle and is already trying to lift himself up with his arms. I can't get over his snuggles and his smell.
