One Month Birthday!

Jackson Taylor McLaughlin

Wow, I can't even believe Jackson is two weeks old as of tomorrow. I am constantly reminded at how absolutely blessed we are to have such a wonderful, perfect baby boy.

Okay, I must start with the basic details of Jackson. He was born on Sunday January 22nd @ 12:21 am. He weight 7lbs 13oz, and was 19.5 inches long.

Here is a couple of photos of Aaron and I on Friday evening prior to going into the hospital at 12am. The first couple hours after he was born, I kept telling Aaron how strange it was, movements he was making I could recall him making while inside my tummy. I said more than once to sweet Jackson, "so that's what you were doing while inside!"

Once arriving at the hospital at 12 am on Friday night (technically Saturday morning). They placed the pill inside and said, "now try and get some rest." Needless to say, Aaron and I both got very little sleep. I started to feel the "wave" motions of contractions early in the morning. I didn't feel the need to call the nurse, I just let them ride. They were uncomfortable, but didn't hurt too much. When 7am came, they checked to see that I was naturally 3cm dilated! What a great way to start off. So, they started the pitocin and the contractions really started to kick in.

They still weren't too bad though. Jessica was able to french braid my hair and we were able to sit around and watch movies. Please excuse how bloated and exhausted I already look. Those IVs pump you with an insane amount of fluid! 

At 11:45 am they felt it was best to break my water, since I was not progressing naturally from 3cm. This was by far the weirdest feeling of my life! It felt like they were breaking a balloon inside of me. So strange. Then, after that, the contractions really started to kick in. I wanted to try and go as long as possible without the epidural, but I knew if the pain got one step above where it was, I couldn't handle it. So, about 2 hours after they broke my water, I received the epidural. Talk about scary. When they tell you not to move, and you're having a painful contraction while they're placing something in your spine...it's quite scary! 

But alas, epidurals are your friend! Things became numb for about 3-4 hours. I had progressed to 5cm, but things were not going any faster. When evening started to approach, I began to feel an immense amount of pain in my lower back. It was horrid. Come to find out Jackson's head was turned to the side, which creates and insane amount of back labor. They ended up providing me with more pain medication because it got so intense. 

The rest of the evening was a bit of a blur. They placed my on oxygen due to Jackson not receiving as much because of the placement of his head. I still was not progressing past 5cm, so the thought of a C-Section became very real. Then, at around 8pm, I felt the sudden urge to push. I asked Aaron to get the nurse immediately, they came in an said I had dilated to 9.5cm. What a shock!

The quick jump from 5cm to 9.5cm was a bit too much for Jackson. His heart rate quickly plummeted and was eventually lost. This put the staff into overdrive. All of the sudden a group of nurses and doctors came rushing in. They threw me on my side and gave me a shot to immediately stop my contractions. They kept switching my positions to try and relax Jackson as much as possible. 

"Be still and know that I am God." is the only words that kept running through my head as I panicked. Absolutely, the scariest moments of my life. 

Thankfully, Jackson relaxed and his heart beat came back (we knew he had a strong heart!), and the contractions stopped. I asked the nurses to give me an hour (if it was medically okay to do so) to recover from this horrific event, prior to starting the pitocin again. 

We prayed. 

Once the pitocin started again, it was pretty quick after that. One can push anywhere between 1-3 hours. I was determined to get him out as soon as possible. About 45 minutes after pushing, Jackson McLaughlin was born into this world! 

First picture of Jackson, just minutes old. 

What a surreal and wonderful experience. I could not do everyday life without my wonderful husband and support from such a loving and fantastic family. We thank the Lord every day for a healthy and wonderful baby boy. 

God is good. All the time. No matter what.