Jack's Birth Story

In honor of Jack's upcoming birthday I decided to write his birth story. If you are interested you can read Lily's here. I will hopefully have Anna's up in the next month(which is quite the story!)


Around the time of our first wedding anniversary, Erik and I found out we were pregnant. To say we were excited is a huge understatement. We were thrilled at the thought of becoming parents, and could not wait for August to get here. We did all the typical new pregnant things. Erik would get me ice cream at ten o clock because the baby wanted it, and we would stress about remembering to take prenatal vitamins, and wonder if the cramps I was having were "normal". I would worry that maybe I wasn't sick enough. I worried a lot, so much in fact that Erik banned me from google until after my first trimester! I was, and still am, a walking encyclopedia of the book What to Expect When your Expecting. We were so excited about having our baby that we made some rash decisions, like me quitting my job within the first month of being pregnant so I could rest more and prepare to be a stay at home mom. At the time this wasn't that big of a deal because Erik had a good job and worked crazy shifts so we were able to spend a lot more time together.

The pregnancy was going really well. Until I had to take the glucose tolerance test. To my dismay I had Gestational Diabetes. I didn't need insulin(Jack was my only pregnancy I didn't need that), but our plans were now altered. Instead of getting to wait for the baby to come naturally I was going to have to be induced as soon as "the baby" was mature enough to be delivered.

On July 24(my birthday), Erik and I got up and drove to my doctor's office. We had been told the week before that the odds were very good that July 25 was the day we were going to have our baby, but we were going to have to come in for one last check the day before to know for sure. I didn't sleep at all that night! I just stayed up and prayed, and thought about how different our lives were about to become. We didn't know if we were having a boy or a girl( a Jack or an Anna), and I kept trying to picture myself with a little boy or a little girl.

My doctor informed us that everything looked good with our baby, and we were to come back over to the hospital that evening. Talk about a romantic birthday getaway!

Everyone was so excited for us. Most of our family and close friends were planning on being there, waiting in the waiting room to support us. My mom and dad came down on the afternoon of my birthday and took us out to dinner at the Olive Garden. After we were done, Erik and I set off to the hospital and my parents met up with us later. They were staying in a hotel across the street from the hospital so they could be there at the drop of a hat.

In typical new mom fashion, I was offered a sleeping pill from one of the nurses, but refused to take it(I have since taken it with Anna and Lily), and once again couldn't sleep. Around One o'clock, just as I was drifting off, my water broke! I woke Erik up, who was asleep on the couch next to me, and we called for a nurse. At first the nurse didn't think my water had actually broken, but after a quick check she realized it really had! Since they hadn't started the pitocin yet, and I was two weeks early this came as a surprise. By four I was in active labor. Since, I had known from 27 weeks that I would be induced and be getting the epidural, I was not prepared  for the intensity of labor. Erik was doing his best to rub my back and encourage me, and trying to get the anestigiologist in our room. They gave me something to take the edge off, but at the time I didn't think it helped too much(it just made me really dopey!)

By the time I received my epidural, my parents, Erik's mom, aunt and uncle, 3 of my closest friends, Erik's best friend(who is one of my close friend's wife!) and their daughter were at the hospital. Unfortunately I don't have much memory of what happened before it was time to start pushing, the medicine I was given at the beginning of labor made me really loopy.

By noon, I was pushing. I remember thinking Erik and the nurse were being so nice to me, and I wasn't even doing anything(ha!). About an hour later, we saw the head and within a minute we met our precious little boy for the first time. Jack was 6 pounds and 9 ounces, and 19 inches.                   

The moment we met him, was perhaps one of the sweetest moments Erik and I have ever shared. Before the nurses and doctor left they asked if we wanted a little bit to be alone with our son, to which we replied, "yes!" And even though I was still pretty loopy, I was bawling when Erik handed Jack to me. The minute he was placed in my arms, Jack immediately started rooting. I was taken a bit off guard. I couldn't believe this tiny person who wasn't even an hour old, knew who his mommy was!

After awhile our family and friends came in. They had wrapped Jack up in white blankets and put a yellow hat on him, so no one would know until Erik announced if we'd had a boy or a girl. Jack was introduced, my mom and mother in law were in tears, and everyone got a turn to hold our sweet baby boy.

The days and weeks after Jack came home, were insane. People were at our house around the clock wanting to congratulate us. Jack was unbelievably laid back and an excellent sleeper. Jack's birth was by far my easiest, but his was the most difficult to recover from.

I still look back on Jack's pregnancy and birth with sweet fondness. It was such a special time in my life, and Erik and I are humbled to have been blessed with him.