The Ancestral Manse (Ancestral Pending): Jackson Francis Enters the World

Dear Jackson,

In February 2008, your father and I decided that this was the year we were going to try to conceive you. We decided that we'd start trying in August, so that you'd be born in the spring of 2009 (for the good weather). Everyone laughed at your mommy, and said that we couldn't plan something like this... they all underestimated your mommy's desire to control the world!

I have to admit, I was itching to meet you (more on that later...) and have you in our lives. Your dad and I were very scared to start this new phase of our lives, because once you were here, that was it! Old life over, new life beginning, and we were unsure if we were ready. But the longer we waited, the sillier it seemed to wait. And our original plan of waiting until August to begin trying went out the window in July - I said to your daddy, "What's one more month?" And the truth was that I didn't think we'd be able to conceive you so easily - why should we be so lucky?

You had other plans though, and I think you wanted to be here with us as much as we wanted to have you here. I joked that there was a baby waiting room, and that you were starting to get annoyed with us, since you'd been waiting since February and other babies were getting born before you, and that's why we had no trouble getting pregnant with you!

This blog tells the story of the pregnancy, but to sum up, on August 3, one day after I was to get my period, I took a second home pregnancy test, and there you were!

You were such a good fetus! You rarely kicked me, and didn't give me any heartburn. I didn't get all swollen and bloated, and except for the weight I gained with you, I didn't get big and awkward. In fact, here's a picture of me on the night I went into the hospital to have you.

I loved being pregnant with you. It was amazing watching my belly grow, and to feel you flutter and move. Toward the end of the pregnancy, I'd roll over in the morning and feel you moving inside me. Your daddy would snuggle up behind me on the bed, like a spoon, and put his arm around me to feel you squiggle.

Around week 36 of my pregnancy with you, I developed a nasty rash. It was horrible! The itch was the kind where the more you itch it, the more it itches, until it burns.The only thing that relieved the pain and itch was to place an ice pack on my stomach (where the rash was the worst) to "freeze" the pain. I would take something to help me sleep, but it would only last about four hours until the itch would wake me up. Your dad kept running to the freezer to get the next ice pack - he even began to make baggies of ice, but the bags would leak as they'd melt, and then the bed would get wet!

The doctors couldn't do anything about the rash, and they were afraid the rash was related to a liver problem, which would have been potentially dangerous to you. We went to have a blood test taken, to rule that kind of rash out, but the test results were so slow to come in. And the worst part was that I wasn't progressing toward labor - every week that passed with no progress was another week of itching and discomfort! So on Friday, April 3, after not getting the test results, we decided that we would try to induce labor starting that Sunday April 5.

We went to the hospital on Sunday, April 5 at 10:30pm for the start of the induction. I was hooked up to a monitor, and it looked like I was having fairly regular Braxton Hicks contractions, which was a good sign that the induction would work. Plus, when they did an internal exam, I was 50% effaced and 1cm dilated, meaning I could skip the cervidil and go straight to pitocin - another good sign that I'd be able to have a normal delivery.

Before they hooked me up to the IV, the doctor wanted to do an ultrasound to ensure you were in the proper position for birth. They moved the wand to my pelvic area, and then said something that no expectant mother wants to hear, "Hm... we can't find the head." After asking me if the OB had mentioned anything about a breech position (which, no... she hadn't), the doctor moved the wand up to under my ribs, and sure enough, there was the head! You were in a frank breech position (meaning your butt was sitting in my pelvis instead of your head, with your legs crossed at the ankles and pulled up to your chest). Our OB said that this is a difficult breech position to catch when you're not dilated, because the butt and head are roughly the same size. Either way, the doctors determined I'd need a c-section, so they sent me home and told us to come back at 11:00am the next day. Jesse and I were hysterical - your Mom-mom's water broke with Aunt Tara, but then she never progressed and then needed a c-section. With both of your cousins Brody and Dylan, Aunt Tara never effaced or dilated, and both children were c-sections. I was the first woman in our family to begin progressing toward labor naturally, and was going to need a c-section as well! How ironic!

In any event, we went back to the hospital the next morning, and sure enough you hadn't flipped, and were still breech. We prepped for surgery, and headed down to the OR at 1:00pm. I was given a spinal block, and the needle to numb the area was the worst part of the pain (and even then was next to nothing). I could feel pushing on my belly, which was so odd... Then, the doctors asked your daddy if he'd like to see you being born... Daddy looked over the curtain, and I could feel the jiggling as the doctors took you from my body. At 1:44pm, Jackson Francis entered the world with a good cry. You weighed in at 8lbs 11oz, and was 22 inches long, which was shocking as I'm only 5'1" tall - I have no idea how you fit inside me!

The only bad part of having the c-section was that I couldn't immediately cuddle with you - I needed to go to post-op and you needed to go to the nursery. Daddy stayed by my side the whole time, which I didn't realize I'd need.

Finally, around 3:00pm, we were wheeled into the post-partum room, and they brought you to us. There were lots of people waiting to see you! Your Momu and Poppy, Mom-Mom, Uncle Kelsie, Uncle Daniel, and cousin Mary couldn't wait to hug you! Mom-Mom read to you right away from Mommy's favorite book, "The Lorax."