On Tuesday, August 14, 2012 at 7:57AM, the Grey family changed forever. We welcomed our third son, Jaxon Peter into the world. He was 8 pounds, 2 ounces and 20.5 long.
It was a crazy morning leading up to his arrival. I will try to document what I can remember.
Back when I was about 6 months pregnant, Jaxon's arrival was scheduled via c-section for August 14th at 10:30AM. As my due date was August 16th, I was skeptical if I was going to make it that long, given my history of delivering babies early, but we would adjust as needed.
The summer was the hottest on record, including July which had an average of 92.8 degrees as the average high which was 8.3 degrees higher than the previous average high temperature record. So needless to say, I spent a lot of time either in the air conditioning or the pool. I survived the temperatures of July and enjoyed the cool down we experienced in August.
I was hoping the baby would wait to make an appearance until August so I could get some things done and enjoy most of the summer with the boys. I had had several contractions and braxton hicks throughout the entire pregnancy, but when I starting having an increasing number of contractions on August 5th, I was wondering if we were getting close to showtime. We timed the contractions throughout the day and they were ranging from 7-15 minutes, not enough to go in. So we just relaxed and kept an eye on them. The next couple of days, I had contractions for a while and then they would stop. So this went on for the next week or so, just teasing me that it was showtime when it really wasn't. So
I went in for my last appointment for 39 weeks and everything still looked good. My doctor wanted to see me one last time on Monday so we went in and checked the baby one last time. We made final plans that I would be at the hospital the next morning at 8:30 to get checked into the hospital to be ready for my 10:30 surgery. Everything was set.
Monday night, we dropped off the dog at the puppy hotel, dropped the boys off at Jason's parents house and our bags were packed. Jason and I enjoyed the quiet house and tried to head to bed early. We didn't really get to bed too early due the excitement the next day would hold, but we were sleeping before midnight. Well evidently, once the day officially turned to August 14th, Jaxon decided enough was enough. I was woken up with some strong contractions about 2AM. I started timing them and realized they were getting closer and stronger as time passed. I got up and took a shower thinking that would ease up the contractions and buy us a little more time considering we were going in soon anyway. By about 5AM, I realized it wasn't going to slow, so I woke up Jason and we started packing up to leave. We arrived at the hospital about 6:30AM and it was determined that I was in labor and started to dilate, so baby Jaxon was not going to wait until his 10:30 call time as planned. So my doctor was called and we started the prep for surgery. By 7:30, we were in the OR and ready to roll. Jaxon made his appearance into this world at 7:57AM. Since this was my third c-section, there was a lot of scar tissue. I was warned ahead of time that this may occur and would likely take a little longer for them to close me up. Since Jaxon is our final baby, I had also planned to get my tubes tied after he was born.
Once they were in there, there was a large amount of scar tissue, more than expected. There was a lot of bleeding and it took over an hour for the doctor to get it under control. I lost about 2 liters of blood and they were not able to tie my tubes afterall as they were not willing to risk it. According to my doctor, I almost had to have a hysterectomy, but luckily they were able to avoid that. I did not receive a blood transfusion at the time of surgery, but they watched my hemoglobin count over the next couple of days. Luckily I stayed one point above where the doctor would have given me blood, so I just squeaked by on that one! Most of the day of Jaxon's delivery is a blur to me. I was very weak and even just opening my eyes seemed to be a large use of energy. I was able to nurse Jaxon within a few hours of delivery but it was not exactly a coherent experience! But the sooner he got started, the easier it would be. By about 9PM, I was starting to feel a little more human and was able to open my eyes for longer than a minute at a time. I was able to get a couple of bites of chicken broth for dinner, but that was about it. I slept decent and felt a little better the next morning. When you have a stomach surgery of any kind, the best thing to speed up your recovery is to walk around. I tried getting up in the morning to see if I could walk a little and didn't get past the edge of my bed. I started feeling light headed and had to lay back down. My blood pressure dropped to 68 over 41, so they thought it was best to rest a little longer. Later in the afternoon, I wanted to try and get up again, so 2 nurses helped out and I felt much better. I was able to walk around the hallways and felt great. I came back to the room and my blood pressure dropped dramatically again. So I was once again bed bound. After dinner, I wanted to walk a little again, so we tried again. This time I had a better outcome. I was able to walk around a little and then come back to the room and still feel ok. The next day, Thursday, I was feeling better as the day went on. I was finally able to upgrade to real food by lunchtime, so that was a relief because I was finally feeling well enough that I was actually feeling hungry. I spent the rest of Thursday walking and eating hoping that I was going to pass the test on Friday morning to be able to go home. Luckily, my doctor approved my release and we were able to go home on Friday morning. It is scary to go home sometimes, but it is nice to have your own stuff around to get back to real life again.
Bringing Jaxon home was such a calm experience when compared to bringing home Aidan and Carson. With Aidan, we were so overwhelmed and with Carson it was just chaos with Thanksgiving and family visiting and a 2 year old Aidan running around. This time we came home to a quiet house and just relaxed a little before Jason's parents brought home the boys.
Jaxon has been such a great baby so far. He is so relaxed. He nurses well and sleeps well, we are a little spoiled right now. Aidan was very colicky and didn't nurse or sleep well. Carson nursed well, but didn't sleep well at all. I was hoping we were due for a good baby and so far, we have been blessed with a great baby. Last night (Saturday-Jaxon is 5 days old) Jaxon woke up around midnight to eat one last time before I went to sleep and then again at 3:30 and then 7AM. Wonderful! After his 7AM feeding, he went back to sleep again until 9:30, so I feel like a million bucks today given how much sleep I had last night!
The boys have been really good with him too. Carson loves being a helper and holding his little brother. He wasn't sure at first, especially at the hospital, but now that we are home, he is less stressed and worried. Aidan took to Jaxon right away. He loves holding him and the smile on his face is amazing. Even Payton the dog has been good with him. As I am writing this post, Jaxon is in his swing and he started to fuss a little. Payton went over to the swing and sniffed Jaxon. In the process, she nudged the swing just enough to get it moving a little and I think she just put Jaxon back to sleep. This is truly a team effort to keep the baby happy!
As far as Jaxon's looks, I think he is a good blend of Aidan and Carson when they were little. He has some thick dark hair and great coloring. I can't wait to see how his looks change as he grows up.
Welcome to this crazy world Jaxon!
