| Jasper Kelton Jones B****** Born: August 16, 2006
Time: 12:04 AM
Weight: 8 lbs, 11.5 oz
Length: 21.5 inches 
Jasper's Birth Story:
During my doctor appointment on Tuesday morning, August 15th, I had an NST (Non-Stress Test) done because I was 1.5 weeks past my due date. This test took quite a while because Dr. G wasn't getting the results that he wanted, but baby boy pulled through in the end and he passed. Afterward I got an internal exam done where I was found to be 3 centimeters dilated and 50% effaced. I asked the doc to sweep my membranes in order to hopefully stir things up in there (oh boy, did it ever!) and so he did that for me. We then discussed induction and decided that I could wait until the following Monday (when I would have been 42.5 weeks) if I came back that Friday for another NST and passed it. I was so happy to hear that! But, of course, an induction was not needed.
We left the doc's office at 11:30 am and I never stopped cramping from my exam. By 3:00 pm my back was hurting quite a bit and I was beginning to wonder if it could possibly be the beginnings of labor and by 4:00 I realized that I was contracting with each cramp and they were getting a bit more intense. I waited to call Kim (doula) until about 5:00 pm to let her know that I was indeed in labor and that my contractions were regular. She said that, just to make sure, I should time another 5 or so more of them from beginning to beginning and then she'd head out my way afterward. When Robby got home 20 minutes later I had him time them for me and they were consistently 2 minutes apart and about 60 seconds each. I was breathing through them by now, almost all of the pain being in my back (I've come to the conclusion that I am simply a woman that labors in her back), although they weren't bad at all. I called my sister to come get Ireland (she was taking her until we got home from the hospital) and then I called Kim back to let her know about the contraction counts. Both said they were on their way. I picked up the house between contractions and Robby made sure all of our last minute items were tossed into the hospital bags. By the time Courtney and Brandon arrived I was still doing pretty well. They got Ireland and didn't stick around long. Only about 15 minutes after they left was when Kim arrived. By this time my contractions were getting pretty strong and when she came in the door I was busy working through one and wasn't able to really acknowledge her presence at first. That was okay by her, though, and she just came in and started to work through it with me. She checked me shortly after and I was at 4 centimeters. After being checked I then labored in mine and Robby's candle lit bathtub, Irish melodies floating in through the bedroom, and Kim pouring warm water onto my back with each contraction. I eventually decided I was finished there and moved on to the birthing ball, and then to the bed, where I labored in many different positions. An hour or so after I was checked the first time, Kim checked me again and I was a good 6-7 centimeters. At that point, I had begun sort of "singing" (as Robby and Kim put it) through my contractions and they were very painful. I remember telling myself over and over that I just had to get through that one and I'd be okay... then the next... and next. Another hour passed and Kim checked me a third time and found me at 8 centimeters. We were ready to go to the hospital. Kim helped me to get dressed and then she and Robby grabbed everything and we all headed out to our vehicles. I recall standing in the driveway, working through a contraction, while Robby ran back in the house to grab something he forgot. After we got into our car (Kim followed behind us in her own), I heard Kim tell Robby, "No need to drive fast and if she feels the urge to push, just pull over and I'll catch a baby". Good to know! Heading down the driveway (we have a bumpy, gravel one) I made Robby stop while I worked myself through another contraction. It was too much attempting to do so while flopping all around. The drive to the hospital is a blur, although I remember really well hating the headlights of other cars coming toward us (and this is with my eyes closed) and wishing I could make them all go away. I also remember pressing into a squishy piece of this handle I was hanging onto, while having my contractions, and making it my focus point. It worked rather well. When we got to the hospital (about 20 minutes after leaving home), I had to stop on the way through the parking deck to breathe through another contraction and then I got into a wheelchair while Robby pushed me over the sky bridge, in and out of an elevator, through some hallways, and into Labor and Delivery. Once I got to my room it was around 10:45 pm and Kim undressed me and put me into a hospital gown. I was checked shortly after arriving and was found to be complete and ready to go any time my body wanted. Over the next couple of hours I labored on the birthing ball, gripping the bed rail through each contraction, on the toilet (where I had my first urges to push), and in the hospital bed at the end. I pushed for under an hour and just went with my body, not worrying about counting and not pushing when I didn't have the desire. A new doctor delivered Jasper because he was on call that night and I found him to be quite friendly and hands-off (a good thing for a natural delivery!). I felt bad, though, because he'd attempt to ask me questions (making conversation) between contractions and I was so out of it and so uninterested in speaking (or being spoken to) that I just didn't respond. Simple as that. Throughout my short labor at the hospital, I wasn't bothered with any IVs or monitors being hooked up to me (although the nurse would often quickly put a hand-held monitor to my belly to check the baby's heart rate between contractions). They completely left me alone and I was utterly grateful. Anyway, once the pushing was almost over and the baby crowned, I lost it. I immediately began gasping because the pain was so much more intense than I ever imagined and I had to listen to the nurse tell me to concentrate on getting him out (it was seriously the worst pain I have ever felt in my life). I pushed just a couple of times more before Jazz was born and I felt this huge sense of relief. They put him on my stomach and I immediately fell in love. Just like that. I never felt anything that strong with Ireland after she was born (the drugs numbed everything) and so this was completely new to me. The pain was over as soon as he was placed on my belly and I blurted out, "He is so beautiful! Look at how beautiful he is!" I couldn't stop myself from repeating that same thing over and over again throughout the next hour or so. I was truly taken aback by what I was feeling for this little being that I had yet to really get to know.
After being placed on my stomach, I held my little guy in my arms, smelling him and looking him over while Robby cut the umbilical cord, I gave a little push and delivered the placenta, and the doctor stitched up my mild, first degree tear (most of which I could feel, but didn't really care about after having gone through a drug-free delivery!). And then it happened- I started yacking. All of those endorphins were swirling around pretty strongly and I was so chipper. I started talking to the doctor, telling him that he looked like a rock star, that I liked his hair and he was a handsome dude, and that, no, I wasn't hitting on him (while he's sowing me up). There's no telling what he thought of me, but both Robby and Kim were quite amused. That's classic Amber for ya.
After a good 15 minutes or so of Jasper being born I was ready to see how big he was, so I let my nurse take him over to the scale to weigh him, measure him, get his footprints, and bundle him up. He wasn't poked with needles, didn't get any eye drops, and was generally not bothered much at all. I then nursed my little Jazzy Jazz and it was perfect right from the start. I was so happy about that. Afterward, I gave him his very first bath while Robby video taped it. He screamed through the entire thing, of course, but I was glad to be the very first person to ever bathe him. Little things like that mean a lot to me. A few hours later we were moved to postpartum and we stayed two nights in the hospital. It was so much better this time around in the way of not having people coming in and out just about constantly (there's no need when one hasn't been medicated) and we were able to rest a little better and had much more uninterrupted time during the day. I really liked that. All of the nurses kept bringing up the fact that I delivered naturally and acted like it was a big deal. I thought that was a bit odd, but okay. One even said, "You are woman, hear you roar!" *
I can't explain to you how different my experience was with Jasper and his labor and birth compared to Irie's. It was like night and day. As much work as it was, I will never go back to numbing my childbirth experience for anything. But while having said that, I think I can now better understand exactly why women choose drugs. If you're unprepared for a drug-free labor, there's pretty much no way that you're going to give birth naturally. It hurts. A LOT. I can see why epidurals are so popular and why so many women choose them, but at the same time I realize that it's just better not to have them. I see both sides much more clearly now and while I don't care for the risks associated with epidurals and medications in general that are used in childbirth, I definitely can't blame anyone for choosing that route (especially if they aren't aware of the risks). I say after one is clearly educated on such a topic, let her make her own decision and leave it be.
My little guy is so sweet and gorgeous. I can't get over how much I feel for him at only 3 weeks old. I am so glad that he is here and that I am his mama. |
