Days 10 and 11

Yes, another 2 at a time!
This time, I'm choosing one thing for each day though.

..:: Day 10::.. October 5

Tonight our thing of beauty was something called the CF Parent's Night Out. We went to the event not knowing what to expect, but knowing that we want to be as involved as possible in all the information we'll need for little J man's health. We were pleasantly surprised by all the wonderful people we met! It was so comforting to meet parents who have walked our walk and could encourage us and tell us "it's not as bad as you might think!" Everyone we talked to has healthy kids and told us of all the things their kids are able to do. Pretty amazing. We also walked around to different company vendors that sell services and products related to CF and got familiar with some of the new verbiage that we'll know as CF parents. We never expected we'd have to go to something like this, but we were happy to meet such a warm and supportive community. Looking forward to getting more involved as we get used to things more and more.

..::Day 11::.. October 6

Today my thing of beauty was a long conversation with a dear friend. We've been playing phone tag since J was born and I was so glad we finally connected! Alison was one of Matt's best friends in high school, was in our wedding, and along the way she became a dear friend of mine! So sad we live so far away from each other now! While we were chatting, I realized that I never posted J's birth story, so I'm going to post it while I still remember it! If you're not interested, skip this part!

August 30th at 12:30 am I woke up to a contraction. Everyone had always said, "Oh, you'll know when you have a contraction." and I didn't realy believe them. However, it's true!! They started out 10 minutes apart. I woke Matt up after I had contraction #3 and he said, "I'm taking a shower!" So, he jumped in the shower and I continued having contractions. I was still thinking it could be false labor so I was trying all the things I had learned in our Bradley class for false labor: eat something, drink something, walk, shower, and nap. Well, napping wasn't going to happen, so I drank a glass of water and ate a peach while walking around the middle level of our house. When Matt was done, I jumped in the shower, which turned out to be a good idea because then my hair was clean for the next day, but a bad idea because I puked twice in the shower. That's when I was convinced it was real. I labored at home until the contractions got to be consistently 3 minutes apart (there were a few that were 2 minutes apart and Matt was trying to get me into the car but I wouldn't go until they were consistent!). From the start, I was having back labor which was very painful. The most comfort I could find was on my hands and knees while Matt pushed with all his weight on my lower back. When we got into the car at 5:45, I knew the ride would be rough because I had to be on my back.. and I was right! It's a good thing St. Mark's is only 10 minutes away! When we got to St. Mark's, we parked and took the elevator to the first floor. Matt will tell you how hilarious this was, I was just in survival mode! As soon as we got off the elevator, I dropped to my knees and started with my signature "birthing noises" and told Matt to push on my back. He said it was just a bit awkward, but luckily there was no one in the hallway at the time. :) Check in also was funny looking back on it. I went up to the desk and told the lady I was in labor. Her response was, "And why do you think that?" As if on cue, I had another contraction right there at the desk and started with my noises. I don't think she needed any more convincing! We got checked in, and probably too much TMI, had my "bloody show" as I was changing into my gown. Perfect timing! The nurse checked and I was 4 1/2 cm dilated. We got everything in the room, realized we forgot our birth plan in the car, and got a new nurse at 7:00. Her name was Jen and she was amazing. She stayed in the room the whole time and helped me so much. Anyway, she drew a bath for me and I got in thinking it would feel good. Well, it didn't, so I got out after about 4 minutes. When I got out and got back to the bed, she checked again and I was at an 8! I couldn't believe how quickly things were happening. The contractions were getting more and more intense and closer together. All of a sudden they were right on top of each other with no break in between. My thought life went something like this: "I NEED DRUGS!" I had hoped for an unmedicated birth, but felt like if things went this way for much longer, I wasn't going to make it! I desperately asked the nurse if this was transition (the shortest and hardest!!) and as soon as she said yes, I knew it wouldn't be much longer! She checked and I was a 10, but had a lip of cervix. She had me go on my hands and knees again to get rid of it, and right away I knew I had to push. She told me to wait (what!?) to make sure the lip was gone, and it was! So I started pushing, our doctor came in (I was so happy he was delivering, we love him!) and 20 minutes later, at 9:16 am, we had our little man! One weird thing is my water never broke. In our classes we had learned that a high protein diet (which I was on) can do that, so when I was pushing, the bag of waters was coming out! Crazy... the doctor broke it and the water was greenish brown, meaning there was meconium staining. So, they had to cut the cord right away and rush J to the cart with the NICU nurses right in our room to get suctioned out. They got everything out before it was a problem and handed him to Matt. I will never forget watching Matt hold J while the doctor was "helping me" after delivery. :) Matt handed him to me, but I was a little uncomfortable so I gave him to Matt until the Doc was done. Right then I fell in love with him all over again! He got to hold him for about half an hour until the doctor was done. I couldn't believe he was finally here and I also couldn't believe how great I felt!! I drank some juice, ate some crackers and we got wheeled up to the second floor to our room. I was on such a high for the next 2 days, I could hardly sleep! I was so glad that we had a quick labor and that I was able to go unmedicated! Such a great experience, I wouldn't trade it for anything! And now, look at what we get!

So worth it! and p.s., no that's not his first smile.. just an opportune time with the camera while he was making a face! :) Can't wait for the first smile though!