Becoming a parent is a totally mind-blowing experience. Hearing Jessica’s first cries as she exited the womb and entered the big new world brought tears of joy to my eyes. Her birth was definitely not the experience I thought it would be though. Caution: Labor details to follow. Skip to pictures for those who get faint.

James and I arrived at the hospital at 5:30 AM Friday. After signing the paperwork and getting the IV installed, the Pitocin started about 7:30 AM. At that point, I was 3 cm dilated. My doctor came and broke my water about 8:30 AM. I have to say, the water breaking was definitely a weird sensation, especially since it doesn’t all come out at once. As I moved around and Jessica moved around, more “water” (amniotic fluid) would leak out. I was hooked up to portable monitors that monitored baby JAM’s heartbeat and my contractions. During the labor process, I walked laps around the maternity wing, sat in the armchair in the room, and bounced on a birth ball. The moving around along with the breathing techniques that I learned in the birth class James and I attended worked very well to get through the contractions. At 11:30 AM, my nurse came to check my progress and she said I was dilated to 8 cm. I thought, “Wow, 5 cm in 4 hours.” Then she said she was going to have another nurse check. So the other nurse came in and checked and said, “I don’t know.” This discussion made me a little nervous. They both left and a few minutes later, the nurse and my doctor came in with a portable ultrasound. The doctor checked and then did a quick ultrasound and said, “Well, she is butt first, the little turkey, so we’re going to have to do a C-section.” So the nurse prepped me and then she walked me into C-section operating room, as I was still having contractions and did not want to be rolled in. The anesthesiologist did a spinal and then I laid out on the table with my arms out. From the chest down, I got all numb. It was weird sensation to fill the tugging and pulling of the C-section, but no pain. Then baby JAM was born at 12:16 PM. Hearing her crying as she was born, was one of the happiest sounds of my life.

First Family Photo

Jessica and her Nanny

Jessica and her Papa

Jessica's Hearing Screening

Sleeping Babe

Jessica and her Daddy

Jessica with her Nana and Grandpa

Getting Ready to Leave the Hospital

In the Car on the Way Home

The due date was October 6th. I have always thought that Baby JAM would be late. There’s a few reasons for that thinking: 1) I thought the 6th was a tad early (my own estimate was the 9th) and 2) Baby JAM’s parents have a tendency of being late so why wouldn’t she be late to arrive also. However, it has become increasingly difficult for me to patiently wait for Baby JAM to make her entrance into the big wide world. She did give her parents an extra weekend of sleeping in, so I guess I can’t complain, at least not too much.

…Introducing…

Jessica Ann Moore

October 16, 12:16 PM

7 pounds 2 ounces

20 inches long.

Baby Jessica

Baby Jessica & Momma

Baby Jessica was born via c-section due to being in the breach position.  Mom and baby are doing fine.

Some of you have been asking to see pictures of the nursery. It’s been ready for a little while and I am finally getting around to posting pictures. I’m so happy with how it turned out. The rainforest theme (Fisher Price) is adorable. James and I are very blessed to have friends like Aric and Kristy who made the tree as a baby gift for us. The area in between the branches opens up to be a little hiding place. The bottom of the tree is open for baby JAM’s stuffed animals. She already has 6. I also really like the monkey hamper. You can see my stack of diaper covers on the changing table. I’ll keep you posted on my foray into cloth diapering.

Crib

Tree

Changing Table

I’ve also been remiss in posting updates about baby JAM. This coming Tuesday is her due date. It’s hard to believe that will be 40 weeks. At my checkup last week, my doctor said I was unlikely to go into labor prior to the due date. From the beginning, I thought baby JAM would be later than Oct. 6th. There’s 2 days left for her to prove me wrong. I am about 2 centimeters dialated, but I’ve been that way since week 38. I feel great and have had some of what may be contractions this weekend, but nothing regular. My next post will most likely be her introduction to the world (unless I set up some posts of some cards I need to share).

Week 32

Week 34

Week 36

Week 38