Happy Birthday, Jackson Hampton Nowell

Jackson Hampton Nowell 

was finally born on 

October 19, 2012 at 4:51PM. 

He was 7lbs 9oz, 20.3 inches long, 

and perfect in every way. 

We patiently waited for him from Wednesday evening, October 17th at 10:45 pm, the day of my scheduled induction, until the early evening on the 19th. All-in-all labor lasted a delightful 42 long hours, but when broken down into active labor, transition, and delivery we only really totaled about 11 hours.

Here is our story.
Tuesday, October 16th, I couldn't fall asleep, tossed and turned, and finally woke up at 6AM on Wednesday morning. There was no falling back to sleep for me. I was nervous, excited and full of so many emotions sleep was the furthest thing from my mind. However, it should have been my top priority because little did i know what I was about to endure.
Wednesday, for the most part was like any other day. I cleaned up, did laundry, the dishes, and organized the house for my parents and julia's stay. After the majority of those tasks were completed I nestled onto the couch and started crafting doily decoration balls for Taryn's wedding. Around 5;15 Josh arrived home and Angela followed shortly after.

Around 5:15 Josh arrived home and Angela followed shortly after. Angela had picked up food from Trader Joe's and we had a chicken, veggie and mashed potato dinner. This was such a delightful last meal as a family of two, and we enjoyed spending it with such a special person. At 6 pm I called the number listed on my induction sheet but no one answered. The voicemail didn't sound very official but with nerves and excitement surging I hardly noticed or even cared. Thirty minutes later, Josh urged me to call again, so I did, and a girl answered. She was in no way affiliated with the hospital. This was quite awkward seeing that I had left a message asking if there was a bed available for me. We googled the correct number and when I finally got a hold of the hospital they informed me that a bed and room was available for me and that they would see me at 8PM. My heart started racing and I knew that in less than an hour we would be on the way to meeting our baby. At 730PM we said goodbye to Angela, Gradey, and Anny, and we were on our way to the hospital. I remember driving over the Granby Street bridge and noticing that the moon was bright and there were only a few clouds in the sky.
We arrived at the hospital at 815PM, late of course, but still had to wait for a new room. While we waited, Laura, our doula and friend, arrived with coffee in hand (for her, not me). By 915PM we were getting settled into our room, the room we would spend the next 46 hours in. The next hour or so consisted of question after question about anything and everything for my records. Blood was taken for my blood sugar, vitals were taken, monitored the baby, and the baby was measured again. The doctor who measured the baby stated that he or she was looking good and measuring at 7 pounds 13 ounces, this was a little comforting but confusing at the same time because we had been "quoted" at least 8 pounds. After she left the head doctor entered and we discussed my options for naturally inducing me. We decided on the cervadil. About an hour (11PM) after it was put into place I was contracting regularly, about every 10 minutes but, the strength of each contraction was minimal.

During those first 12 hours (bringing us to 10AM October 18th), we tried to get some sleep. For me, there wasn't much sleeping since the nurses had to check on me and the baby as well as my blood sugar every hour to every 2 hours. The doctors checked me for improvement and i had only dilated up to 3cms. This was a positive for sure, but not enough by any means, so we talked and prayed about our options. We had planned for a natural birth and I was bound and determined to follow through with that plan. Laura was there to help guide us in the right direction with love, support, prayer, and to be there as our greatest advocate. So, in keeping with our natural plan we went for a dilation balloon. This was inserted around noon and we hoped that it would help me to get to 5 cm quickly, unfortunately 12 hours later we were barely there.

During those 12 hours with the dilation balloon, we walked around the room, the building, the stairs, and the grounds. We were also able to visit with our family as well as watching FRIENDS on our laptop, having some "lunch" (crackers, gatorade, jello, and string cheese). I also sat on the birthing ball and used the hospital pump to help my contractions to progress. When the balloon was taken out (bringing us to 12AM October 19th) i was at 5 cms but the doctor said that it "wasn't a true 5cms" and that we would have to discuss the option of pitocin in order to help my constant contractions become more intense so that I could progress more. So after praying about it, and a few hours of attempted rest (i still had my blood sugar tested every two hours and monitoring of me and the baby in between that) we decided that the smallest amount of pitocin would be okay. After the 4cc's of pitocin were administered (some time early in the morning, maybe 3AM) my contractions started to become closer together and stronger so the doctors were pleased, and willing to take me off the pitocin. However, because of the pitocin I was confined to the bed for constant monitoring of me and the baby. During this time my water finally broke! A very weird feeling and very anticlimactic, but a great improvement nonetheless. After a few hours I was finally able to to get out of bed if I wanted, so I did. And at that point we were focused on keeping my contractions up and running, so we walked and walked some more. Laura and Josh even had me climb 10 flights of stairs (in the midmorning), in which I told the story of the one time at boot camp when we ran up parking garage stairs and were warned to take it easy on the way down as to not get a cramp. Ironically I got a charlie horse in my right leg one flight later. Needless to say, we took the elevator back to our floor.

Once we got back to our room my contractions had gotten more intense and I was feeling like things were getting closer. Josh held me up and "danced" with me, I sat on the birthing ball, and even took a shower to sooth me (which actually soothed me too much and my contractions slowed a bit) during the next 6 hours. When the doctors checked me I was still only at 8cms and they couldnt understand why, until they noticed that a smaller sack of water had formed between the babies head and my cervix which was causing me to bare down when i shouldn't be. So they popped the sack and within the hour I was at 10cms and ready to push. From that point on I was surrounded by doctors and nurses. Josh on my left holding my left leg and Laura behind me with a wash cloth and the camera. By 4:05 I was pushing. I couldn't feel my contractions coming so the doctor had to let me know and instruct me to push...and this is where the birthing classes really came in handy. I remembered the breathing and the best technique to push. I remember looking up at the giant clock on the wall that I had been staring at for the past 41 hours and I was ready for the baby to finally be here. I set a goal for myself; the baby WILL be here before 5, and HE was!
At 4:51PM Jackson Hampton Nowell was born.
All natural birth.
No drugs (but the small amount of pitocin).
Lots of praying.

This was a long journey, to say the least, and one I will never forget.