It all started when... I showed up for my routine doctor's appointment at 36/37 weeks and to our complete surprise, was 2 cm dilated and almost entirely effaced. My body was showing signs that Jackson could make his debut any day, so family rushed into town and then all the sudden everything came to a giant, screeching halt.
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| Our last family picture before Jackson arrived! |
After 10 days of anxiously waiting for Jackson to arrive, he was born 1 day early on July 5, 2016.
Here's the short version:
8:30am Arrive at the Doctor's office to be examined
9:30am 4 cm dilated and sent over to the hospital
11:30am Got settled into our labor/delivery room
12:30pm Doctor breaks my water
6:15 pm I get the go ahead to start pushing
7:05 pm Jackson arrives!!!
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Jackson Alexander Alford
7 lbs 1 ounce; 20.5 inches |
Many people have asked me what it was like since giving birth, and the only thing I can say is that it was intense!
It is incredible how God creates the human body to not only develop and incubate a baby, but also gives us the endurance and ability to birth that baby. Knowing that this baby was a blessing from the Lord and that he was protecting both of us through this process, gave me the strength to push through and trust the process. Bryan was an amazing support and literally coached me through each and every contraction and push. He was a rockstar and I would have freaked out many times if it hadn't been for him to focus and calm me down.
Jackson came out sucking on his fingers and content as can be! He hardly even cried. I was able to hold him right away and it just melted away all the pain that I had just endured. The next few hours passed by in a blur with a mixture of fatigue and disbelief that this little baby was really ours.
It was comforting being in the hospital where I had experts at my disposal to ask any sort of question I may have and to check on Jackson to make sure he was healthy and doing well. Jackson and Bryan slept like champs the first night in the hospital, but I couldn't take my eyes off my little man, making sure his little chest continued to rise and fall as he slept. He was perfect, of course...in every little way!! However, nobody got much rest the second night. The fleeting thought that maybe our baby was going to have a perfect, angelic temperament quickly disappeared as the reality of what parenting was going to look like set in. However, our attempt at parenting must have passed the approval of the hospital staff as they let us go home with him the next morning once he had his first immunization and was circumcised.
