Hey Jude!

Jude is finally here! I have SO much to say and so many pictures to share! But, I'll try to not ramble on too much and just give you the facts about my little perfect little boy!


To the Hospital:Here we are, our little family before Jude, on Wednesday morning May 26. I was nervous going in but I knew that by the end of the day our little boy would be here and so it calmed my nerves a little bit. We ended up getting to the hospital a little late because I was moving so slow, but thankfully they still let us in! : )

Hospital Time:
So, here I am after we got all checked in. They would only allow Martin back in the room with me so he took this shot, my last pregnant belly shot with Jude. Having a scheduled c-section still doesn't prepare you for how scary it all is. At least when you go into "labor" there isn't time to really think about the "What ifs" but sitting there I was nervous and scared and afraid of everything that could go wrong in a c-section. They did come in to do a ultrasound and he was still breech, so everything was a go. My doctor was running late too, so they pushed the c-section back to 12:30, even more time to worry. However, at 12 they brought Martin his scrubs and we got ready to go back to the room.

The Birth:
They don't allow anyone in the OR during the spinal block so it was just me and my nurse (side note: our two nurses were Joan (my mom's name) and Kay (Martin's mom's name), weird right?) and the anesthesiologist (Dr. Stoner, no lie) and the assistant (Kim). Kim actually administered the block and I was super nervous. I tried not to cry from the nerves but I couldn't help it, however it was more nerves than pain because honestly the thing didn't hurt at all. Very similar to the feeling you get from a tattoo. The first prick hurts then it just goes numb. After the block they began to get me ready for the surgery. I couldn't feel anything, so that was really good. I was scared the block wouldn't work and they would have to put me to sleep. So, even though I had wanted a natural birth and wanted to feel everything, in this instance I was relieved! Once they had be all draped and ready to go my doctor came in. I was a bit annoyed that country music was playing on radio, though on the radio at first was Garth Brook's "Unanswered Prayers" so that was kind of sweet. Dr. M got started right away and they went to get Martin. I told Kim to make sure Martin didn't see anything when he came in so when he came in the door she was great, she looked at him and said "EYES ON ME." Martin made it up by me and didn't see anything that could have made my poor husband pass out! I vaguely remember that the song on the radio right BEFORE Jude was born was some Toby Keith song and I remember thinking ... "God, please don't let the first thing my son hears when he comes into the world be Toby Keith!" Thankfully, that song went off right before we heard Jude's cry and that was such music to my ears that I didn't even pay attention to what was on next!

They took Jude over to be cleaned up and Martin followed. This part I didn't like very much because it seemed like forever before I could touch him! I really wanted to at least touch him before they did all the testing and stuff, but it just didn't happen and I'm okay with that because I knew he was healthy. They weighed him and did his measurements (7 lbs, 19 inches) and I swear I heard his APGAR Score at 9.9. After that they let Martin bring Jude over to me and I was able to kiss him and touch his cheek. He was so perfect, though the thing I kept noticing while they cleaned him us was "Man, he has really big feet!" The good news for the grandparents was that the OR had a viewing room that they could only see the baby and my face, so Mom and Martin's parents got to see Jude about the same time I did!

After letting me touch the baby and we took a few pictures (thanks to Kim again) the nursery nurse had Martin carry Jude back to the recovery room to wait on me. Dr. M said a few things to me saying it went good and then the nurses worked on getting me ready to head to recovery. Martin said that while he was waiting the nurse just left him and Jude alone for 15 minutes and they just snuggled, he said Jude didn't cry once.

Once I got back to recovery I was finally able to hold Jude. I waited like 3 minutes then I asked if I could try breastfeeding. Joan the nurse said, "Don't be such an overacheiver," apparently she doesn't know me very well. :)

We were in recovery with Jude for about an hour and a half then they moved us to our room. It was still another hour before they allowed the grandparents to come back but during that time it was all Martin, Jude and me. I was amazed at how hands off the nursing staff actually was, but more on that in a minute. Finally the grandparents got to come back and meet Jude for the first time.

I can't tell you how amazing it was to finally get to hold my little boy, it made all the waiting so worth it!

First Night/Day 1:
The first night was pretty tough, I'm not going to lie. Even though we had already tried breastfeeding, Jude was having a hard time with it because he had so much mucus left in his system from the c-section. We had a great lactation consultant that kept checking on us and a great nurse who literally burped my kid for 30 minutes trying to get all that stuff out of him. The nursing staff was pretty hands off when it came to checking on us though once we finally got Jude eating. So from the hours of 2-6 a.m. was really overwhelming because Martin and I were so tired! However, by the time the sun came up I was already feeling better about the night and Jude was sleeping like a log! I think for me, it was just hard because I couldn't get up and help Martin. I'm comfortable with babies and have helped take care of newborns before, but this was Martin's first time! I have to say, my husband is simply amazing! He did an outstanding job and he was rewarded by getting to go home and sleep a few hours and my Mom stayed for Day 2/Night at the hospital.

Day 2/Second Night:Either Jude was in a great mood and feeling so much better or my mom is the baby whisperer (I'm leaning toward the second) because night two was so freakin' easy. Jude only woke up to eat or be changed and mom snuggled him while I let the pain killers do their job and got some much needed sleep. By the time Martin got to the hospital the next day I was up and had talked my doctor into letting me go home! Jude had his circumcision too and was looking really good.

Going Home:
Well, we got Jude in his carseat, the one that I had just had inspected and knew that he was perfectly safe in as we drove away and was feeling good. Martin asked me if I wanted to take Osceola Parkway or 192. At first I said 192 because there is this wicked bumpy bridge on Osceola Parkway and I thought it might hurt but then I thought ... "Ugh, tourist on 192, I don't want some stupid tourist to run into us looking for Disney World," so we went Osceola Parkway. Jude was asleep and was doing very good in the car and we were just about home when some jerk decides to rear-end us at a yield sign, literally 10 minutes from the house! Of course I jump out of the car like a maniac, ready to KILL this man who wasn't watching where he was going! Mom was sitting in the backseat with Jude and she said his carseat didn't even move! There was no damage to the cars, no one was hurt but I still wanted to call 911 and an ambulance. Everyone talked me out of it, though I STILL would like the guy to have gotten a ticket for bumping us. Of course, I was freaking out beyond belief, I couldn't stop crying, I was so worried that Jude would have some internal injury that we wouldn't know about, but really Martin assured me that we went over speedbumps in the car harder than they guy bumped us. Mom was more worried about me because I had just jumped out of a car when I could hardly move! That's what adrenaline will do for you I guess! The upside to the whole thing was that it apparently got my "mama" hormones going because as soon as we got home and Jude nursed I realized that my milk had fully come in! So, I guess God just wanted to speed things up for me so my little guy could get a good meal! : )
Once we got home we introduced Jude and Sawyer (the pup). To tell you the truth it was the cutest thing ever! Sawyer set up like Jude was some sort of treat and he has been a really good dog! I was worried about how he would react but he's actually pretty protective and he pretty much wants to be anywhere the baby is except at night ... at night my dog wants his beauty rest!

Day 3-4:
I've gone on and on here, but there was so much to tell (and still more I left out!) However, the last few days at home have been really good! Jude is a pretty easy baby to take care of and besides one night where he was really really gassy and once again my Mom saved the day and kept him calm. I don't know what I'm going to do when she goes home, she's been amazing! However, I don't feel too bad because I know this will be the only bonding time she's going to get with him until September so even though I feel a little guilty that she lets me sleep and she doesn't mind holding him I know that it's also really good for Jude because he will remember his Memaw when he goes home. Also Martin's parents were here and they got to spend some time with Jude too. They left on Saturday but will be back in three weeks with Jude's aunt to spend more time with him!

Today:Jude got dressed up in his Razorback gear and as for me, I feel really good. I haven't had to take too much pain killers and I'm so thankful for that. I am up and around and we even ventured out to Wal-mart (just my mom and I) and then today Jude Martin and I went to the Publix down the street to get stuff for a birthday breakfast and dinner for my mom (Today is a very special birthday for her, but I won't say her age ... but let me just say my mom is STILL very young!) I feel so amazingly blessed. Jude is an easy baby. He has a slight bit of jaundice in one eye so we have been sitting him by a window and letting him get some sunlight. We will take him for his newborn check-up tomorrow and look forward to enjoying the rest of the week of Martin being off work. Martin will begin working from home beginning next week and Mom goes home on Saturday. I'm looking forward to spending this time with my family, it's so special!
So, that's it. If you are still there after that incredibly LONG post I applaud you -- either it was really interesting or you just love me enough to read it all! Either way, stay tuned. I'll try to post pictures at least once a week of Jude, and update you on anything major that happens along the way! Here are some more pictures for your viewing pleasure. : )