Easton - 12 days old

Easton is 12 days old ... it is hard to believe he's already been here for almost 2 weeks! We are settled into a routine at home - nursing is still going well, and the sleeping schedule is getting better each day. We've found if we stay active with Easton during the day, he does much better sleeping at night. We have taken him out for a few quick outings (eating out, running errands, etc.) and those activities seem to equal more night time sleep. We're hoping we've found the magic formula, but I am sure there will still be more sleepless nights in our future. :-)

We are really loving watching Easton grow & develop - he is so cute, and makes the most precious sounds and expressions. Here are a few recent photos of Easton - he changes so much each day!

All bundled up!

Hanging out with mom after nursing

Cuddling with Dad

Andrea & Niki stopped by for a visit

BIRTH STORY FOR EASTON ARCHER JONES

It took a while to get all of the details together .... but, without further ado, here is the birth story for Easton:

BIRTH STORY FOR EASTON ARCHER JONES

My water broke around 8:00pm at Olive Garden on January 18, 2010! Thank goodness we had finished our meal & I was in the bathroom when it happened - but it was quite dramatic, a lot like the water breaking that you see on TV/movies! I stood up from peeing, went to pull up my pants and a GUSH came out & wouldn't stop! I waddled to the hostess and told her I was sorry I made a mess, grabbed Jason in a panic and said "WE HAVE TO GO!" Once we were in the car I called the hospital & they said to get there ASAP. We flew to the house, picked up our bags (which were thankfully already packed) and drove to the hospital – of course with me leaking the entire way.

I was scheduled for an induction the next morning at 6am, so looks like our little guy was making an attempt to come on his own. The nurse did not even bother to put me in triage; instead, she put me in a labor & delivery room. She called the on-call doctor for instructions. For some reason, instead of starting pitocin immediately, the on-call doctor decided to let me labor on my own. After hours and hours of no progress, he finally made the call to start pitocin the following morning around my scheduled induction time. After the pitocin began, the pain got INTENSE!

The pitocin began just before 6am and I labored without pain medication until around noon. That had to be the longest six hours of my life. At first, the pain was not too bad and I was making progress. The nurse would check each hour, and I went from 4cm, to 5cm, then to 7cm. But when things slowed down they would up the pitocin dosage and the pain grew out of control. I squeezed anyone’s hand I could find available …. Jason, my friend Carrie, the nurse. I tried to breathe but not knowing when the pain would stop was the worst part. It could last 20 seconds, or it could be 2 minutes. Only time would tell and I found this unbearable.

Finally, the anesthesiologist came in to do the epidural around noon. The process did not hurt at all, but I had three really intense contractions during the injection and it was very hard to sit still. I managed to get through it, and immediately felt relief. I even fell asleep for several hours after receiving the epidural. I must say I am now an advocate of epidural as a pain management option, especially when a labor calls for pitocin or any other intervention.

The nurse continued to check me, and I progressed to 8 cm. It was almost time to start pushing and everyone said our baby would be here soon!!! The nurse checked me again – I was still at an 8. Again 30 minutes later …. Again at an 8. My spirits were starting to sink as the realization hit me that a c-section was most likely in my future.

I was quite frustrated - after 18 long hours of labor I was stuck at 8cm, even with the help of the pitocin!!! Then other issues arose. Easton’s heartbeat had been what they call “tacky” for a while. They like to see the baby’s heartbeat have some variety between 130-170bpm. Easton’s was staying steady in the 150s, then raised to the 160s and before it was all over he was into the 180s! My doctor became very concerned about his heartbeat and made a quick decision to do a c-section. It was around 3pm when the decision was made and things moved FAST. Jason was given blue scrubs and told to change, I signed the consent form (which I honestly do not recall doing) and a TON of people began buzzing around our room. My friend Carrie had tears in her eyes, and I later found out it was because of Easton’s heartbeat issues (they kept this all from me at the time). I was wheeled down the hall, and heard my doctor complaining that I should not have been left laboring for so long before pitocin was introduced. Now my baby was struggling, I was developing a fever and things were a bit chaotic.

They were able to use my epidural line for numbing and I was moved from the bed to the operating table. My doctor checked to see if I could feel anything & I was shocked to report that no, in fact I had no feeling in my stomach & legs. That was a weird feeling! They began the incision in my abdomen, which I unfortunately could see happening in the reflection of the overhead light! They brought Jason into the room and I spent the remainder of the operation looking at him and shaking uncontrollably – both from fear and from my hormones. It was only a matter of minutes until Easton emerged from my stomach and let out a cry. That was the best sound ever!

Easton was whisked away by the nurses and all of his vitals were checked. He was perfect except for a fever of 103 that was a result of infection setting in from my water breaking so long ago. Once in the Special Care Nursery his fever stabilized at 100.3, but it was still cause for alarm and a slew of tests were ran to ensure that nothing else was wrong.

After delivery, my doctor discovered that the reason I didn't progress any further was Easton was huge & got stuck in my birth canal! He was born at 3:55pm on Tuesday January 19, 2010. He weighed 9lb, 11oz, and was 23.5 inches long. Poor little guy tried to get out, but there just wasn't enough room. Jason went with Easton to the Special Care Nursery while my doctor stitched me up. I saw Easton briefly before he left and it was heart-wrenching to know it would be hours before I would see him again or get a chance to hold him. I continued to shake uncontrollably for another 45 minutes or so. It was a lonely time.

I was wheeled back to my room and given some pain medication. It seemed like hours before Jason returned to my room with a full report. He told me that Easton would have to stay in Special Care and would be receiving several rounds of antibiotics to fight off the infection. I did not get to meet my son until 4:30am on Wednesday January 20, over 12 hours from the time I gave birth. I was pushed to the nursery in a wheelchair and saw my son hooked to IVs and monitoring equipment for his heart, lungs and temperature. It was a tough sight to see, but I was assured he was fine and this was all just a precaution.

Although Easton could not stay in the room with us, we visited every 4 hours or so for feeding time. My milk came in quickly, so I was able to begin breastfeeding on Wednesday January 20th. It was slow moving at first, but by Thursday Easton was nursing like a champ. The nurses would call us every three to four hours to come down for feedings, and we really looked forward to this time with our son. There was a small room in the back of the nursery with a recliner, rocking chair and television. I would nurse and snuggle with Easton, then Jason would spend 30 minutes or so holding and loving on him.

We were initially told that Easton would have to stay in Special Care until Friday January 22nd. However, the doctor decided that a few more days of antibiotics were necessary and wanted to keep him until Sunday January 24th. We were disappointed to hear this news, but knew it was what was best for Easton. One of the nurses gave us a special treat on Friday evening – she brought Easton to our room for a few hours! He was off of the monitoring equipment and only had in the IV, so she rolled his crib & the IV equipment to our room and brought us our son for feeding and cuddle time. We were even able to do a webcam show for my parents so they could see their new grandson.

I was discharged on Saturday morning, but the hospital allowed me to stay an additional night so that I could be there for Easton’s feedings. They referred to this as a hospitality stay – I was no longer provided with nursing care or meals, so I could come and go as I pleased. Jason took me home for a few hours and I slept in our (comfortable) bed while Jason fixed us lunch. Then it was time to head back for a feeding. We left again Saturday evening, grabbed pizza for dinner and picked up some gifts for our nurses. Then, you guessed it, back to the hospital for another feeding!

Sunday morning was a great day – the pediatrician did a final check on Easton and gave him a clean bill of health. His IV was removed, we filled out paperwork and scheduled his follow-up appointment. We also had his newborn photos taken before leaving the hospital. We arrived at our house around noon on Sunday January 24, 2010. We were finally home and so excited to begin our life together as a family!!!

What a crazy week it was – as I expected, nothing went according to plan (I always thought the concept of a birth plan was a bit of an oxymoron!) Our little man had to stay in the hospital for 5 days due to an infection. He had an IV, which was heartbreaking to see, and could not stay in the room with us. However, in the end we got what we had dreamt of for nine months: a happy, healthy, precious little boy. We could not ask for more, and are so thankful and excited to be Easton’s parents.

Easton Archer Jones – January 19, 2010 @ 3:55pm – 9lbs, 11oz, 23.5 inches long

More "firsts" for Easton

Easton has experienced a few more "firsts." On Tuesday night (or should I say, early Wed morning), he had his first story time with Daddy. He was wide awake the majority of the night, so we were trying all types of tricks to get him to sleep. Luckily he slept in late the following morning, so we were able to catch up on rest a bit.

Easton had his first pediatrician's appointment on Wednesday Jan 27th @ 2pm with Dr. Nandi. He did wonderfully at the appointment! He weighed 9lbs, 12oz was 21.5 inches long and his head circumference was 15.25 inches. All of his measurements are in the 90-95th percentile. His temperature was 98.8 and he is showing no signs of his infection after delivery. We have a very healthy (and very BIG) boy!

After the doctor appointment we fed Easton (in the parking lot of a not so busy shopping center), then had an early dinner at the Cracker Barrel. On the way home we stopped at Kmart for a few items .... Easton slept through all of it! We dressed him in a cute dinosaur outfit today that has socks that look like dinosaur feet. Check it out:

Here is a short video of Easton (one week old) when he would not sleep .... he's not doing much of anything, just sitting there being cute. Enjoy! :-)

Easton's 1st in-home visitor & sponge bath

Easton experienced a few "firsts" on Monday Jan 25th (which was also his due date). On Monday afternoon, our good friend Alison came to meet Easton, making her his first in-home visitor! Alison brought us lunch, a box of goodies from Mrs. Fields and a BabiesRUs gift card. She is such a sweet person & fell in love with Easton instantly! He also surprised Alison by giving her a special gift - a big poot in her lap! I have never seen Alison laugh so hard!

On Monday night, we gave Easton his first sponge bath at home - it was quite eventful because Easton peed in the tub :-) Luckily we had him in the sling, so there was not too much of a mess. We managed to get him squeaky clean and then did a "photo shoot" afterwards. Some of the photos we took will be showcased on his mailed birth announcement, so stay tuned for those. Here are a few pics of his sponge bath experience:

Easton is home!!!

Easton came home today! He had a great final check-up with Dr. Nandi this morning, then took his newborn photos. Please take a look at his photo proofs & let me know which one(s) is/are your favorites - we need to decide which to order. We really like the baseball photos, but the bear/blue ones have a lot of meaning. The outfit is from Great-Grandma Francis, the bear is from Great-Aunt Bettie & the blanket is from his "aunt" Martha.

You can see his photos at:
http://www.our365.com/
Then the easiest way to find Easton's photos is to search by "Hospital" using his birthday (Jan 19, 2010) and the city (Port Huron). Choose "Port Huron Hospital" and then select "Keely J"

Let us know which pics you like the best! :-)

Other than that, Easton is settling in nicely at home. He is sleeping in his crib & has had several feedings. Thanks for keeping up with his progress!

Day 5 for Easton

Today has been another good day. I was discharged this morning & given my post-op instructions. I left the hospital for a few hours today and saw the outdoors for the first time all week! Jason & I stopped by our house (where I squeezed in a quick nap, man - I miss our comfy bed!), had a homecooked lunch and ran a few errands. It was a bit difficult walking around so much, but I was encouraged to get up and move as much as I can so I push myself to do it. I am feeling a lot better and am hopeful that I will be back to my old self very soon.

Easton is doing fabulous - he still has the staff wrapped around his finger & is nursing like an old professional. We are getting into quite a routine, and I really hope it continues once we get home.

Speaking of home - Easton will be discharged around 10am Sunday morning (Jan 24th)!!! He will receive his last round of antibiotics at 6am, the doctor will give him one last review and then we'll go through the check-out process. After that, we will take his newborn photos - we wanted to wait until the IV was removed to do the pictures. We are extremely excited about getting Easton home, but also a bit nervous since tomorrow will be the first official day of being by ourselves with him. We've had tons of help from the nurses up until now ... but I am confident that we'll do just fine. We're just praying that Easton maintains his calm demeanor and great eating habits.

Below are a few photos of Easton's 5th Day - he had just finished nursing and would not wake up and pose for the camera. But regardless, he looks so content & adorable :-)

Just finished nursing - he LOVES having his hands up....

....and now it's cuddle time with Daddy (notice the arm is still UP) :-)

Easton - Day 4

EASTON - 4 DAYS OLD!

Easton is still doing well - he has lost a bit of weight & is down to 9lbs, 3 oz, but the nurse said that weight loss is typical in newborns. This especially applies to Easton since he is transitioning to breastfeeding & has been taken in so many fluids over the past few days.

Something exciting happened today - Easton was able to visit our room for the first time! The nurse brought him in for his 6pm feeding because they were busy in the nursery and did not have room for us. We were so excited!!! After nursing, we logged online & showed Easton via webcam to my Mom and Dad. The internet connection at the hospital is quite spotty, so we had to re-login many times. But I think it was worth it to the new grandparents :-) The nurses had dressed Easton up in a baseball onesie (size 6 month!!!) and we had a baseball toy that he was holding as well for his "internet debut".

He got fussy towards the end, and we realized it was time for a diaper change. We noticed a small amount of poop in his diaper, but while changing he let out A LOT more! We managed to clean that up, and then he peed on Jason and all over his outfit! I was laughing so hard I could not pull myself together. It looks like we got two whammies in one changing experience .... I am sure there are more to come. :-)

Here are some Day 4 pictures:

Easton's webcam visit with his Grandma & Grandpa

Such a cutie!


Already holding a baseball! (from "aunt" Kim) :-)

Day 3 for Easton

Easton is doing great! He is off of all monitoring, and only has in his IV for antibiotics. They are keeping him on antibiotics through Sunday morning just to ensure that the infection does not resurface. We'll be able to take our little man home on Sunday! I need to refrain from using words such as "little" or "small" because he is none of the above :-) Easton weighed in today at 9lbs, 13oz .... where most newborns lose weight, Easton gains a few ounces! No newborn clothes for us! He is nursing & is quite the little latcher - we are so proud of him for picking it up so quickly. We are so blessed & in love with Easton. Here are some photos from his 3rd day of life:

Daddy's 1st diaper change :-)

Just finished nursing - he is a natural!

A few close-ups of our handsome guy - he is so alert!

And after many requests, here is a video of Easton in action...sorry my video skills are not that great! :-) (be sure to pause the music player at the bottom of our blog so you can hear the sound on the video):

Easton's second day of life 1-20-10

Easton, snuggled up with his Mom

Now it's Dad's turn!

Such a sweet little man

These photos are from Easton's 2nd day with us - he is still in the Special Care nursery but is doing great! Hope you enjoy the photos as much as we enjoy spending time with him! :-)

More pics from Easton's 1st day

Below are more photos from Easton's 1st day of life - these were taken in the Special Care Nursery, where Easton has stayed due to an infection & high fever that he had at birth. I also had the same fever, so it is assumed that the fever came from either my water breaking & the long labor, or a late infection of Group B Strep. We'll know more details either Thurs night/Fri morning when the blood work results come back.

Before you get too worried - he is doing great, they are just monitoring him closely for the first 48 hours to administer antibiotics/fluids and ensure that his temp/infection does not worsen. We are sad that he cannot be in the room with us, be we are encouraged to visit often. I've even tried to breastfeed him a couple of times (no luck so far, but we are sticking with it!) As long as he becomes 100% healthy, that's all we really care about. The nurses love him and everyone comments on what a big & mild-mannered baby we have.

Easton with his nurse, who is explaining the tubes & monitoring to me

A close-up of our little man - who is not "so" little! He's almost too big for the crib/warmer :-)

My first time holding our precious son!!!

Easton is here!!!

Easton Archer Jones was born today at Port Huron Hospital via C-section at 1555 or 3:55PM. He was a big boy, He weighed 9 pounds 11 oz., he was 23 1/2 inches long and 14 inch crown.
He is very healthy but as precaution they are going to keep him in the nursery for a few days to ensure that he does not get an infection.

39 weeks - my FINAL pregnancy photo!

Here is my final pregnancy photo before heading to Labor & Delivery tomorrow .... we'll be checking in at 6am, which is only 14 hours away!

I purposely wore the same shirt today as I did in my first weekly pregnancy pic (during week 14) so we could see how much I have changed. At 14 weeks, I had a small bump & my waist measured 35 inches. Check out the picture below:

This week (39) I have a HUGE belly & it measured almost 50 inches!!! Also, there are several other changes in the photos. My hair goes from highlighted to dark, and look behind me in the pictures. The early photos have our Hawaii guest room in the background, but the more recent photos showcase Easton's baseball nursery. A LOT can change in 25 weeks, huh? :-)

only 36 hours to go ..... & we have a house!!!!

WOW - we only have 36 HOURS until our induction appointment! It is so surreal to think that Easton will be here not in months, not in weeks, but in a matter of days! We are so excited!!!

Jason & I have spent the weekend making final preparations for Easton's arrival. We've purchased last minute items and have cleaned the house top to bottom. I've been completing the final pages of my pregnancy scrapbook, I only need to paste in my 39 week pregnancy photo. I compiled a list of addresses for birth announcements, printed them out and even have the birth announcement template ready on Shutterfly.com (all we need to do is insert photos and order them). We've also got the announcement ready for the newspapers in Danville. We just need to input the date/time and weight/height details and email them to the contacts at the Danville Register & Bee and the Star Tribune. Other than that, we are just anxiously awaiting 6am on Tuesday - we are READY!!!

Thanks in advance for all of the thoughts, prayers and well wishes. Of course we'll keep everyone posted and update our blog with Easton's arrival details ASAP.

In other exciting news, we have purchased a house in North Carolina!!! We have been working overtime this week to complete all of the sales & mortgage paperwork - that was A LOT of work! With the exception of a few loose ends we have the process finished ..... a special thanks to my Mom and Dad for touring houses and finding the perfect place for our family. The house is new construction, 2,200 sq feet, has 4 bedrooms and 3 baths, plus a LARGE study area that we plan to set up as an office/playroom. Our house walk-through/inspection is scheduled for Feb 22nd and the closing date is set for Feb 26th. We are extremely happy to have this stress behind us and are really looking forward to living closer to family & friends - and of course we are excited to be living near the beach!!! We hope Easton will love his new home!

38 weeks - and a scheduled induction!

Here's my 38 week photo:

I had my weekly appointment with the OBGYN today. Easton's heartbeat was a strong 140bpm & I gained a pound. My blood pressure & sugar were fine, but my fundal height measured 42cm, which is 4 weeks ahead!!! My doctor is a bit concerned about how large Easton is getting, and thought it would be best to schedule an induction. She did my internal exam and said that I was 1cm dilated and 70-80% effaced. I have made some progress which makes me a more favorable candidate for induction. The induction is scheduled for Tuesday January 19th. We are supposed to arrive at L&D at 6am that morning to get the process started.

So it looks like Easton's birthday will be on January 19th, unless he decides to arrive earlier! :-)
We are very excited to know that Easton will be here in a week. However, I am a bit anxious about the induction process, especially since there is a chance it could end with a c-section. Regardless of how it happens, we just want Easton (and his Mom) to come out of it healthy .... please keep us in your prayers, and we'll post updates soon.

37 week update

37 weeks - officially full-term & only 19 days until my due date!!! Here's my latest picture:

We had our weekly appointment with the OBGYN today. All of my vitals were great & I had gained 1 pound (which puts my total weight gain at 20 lbs). My fundal height measured 40 cms, which is 3 weeks ahead. Also, my Group B Strep results came back negative, so that was great news. The internal exam showed that there has been no real progress - I am 60-70% effaced, but no dilation yet.

We discussed our tight time frame with moving again & my doctor mentioned that my cervix is not "favorable" for induction at this point, but advised that we wait until next week's appointment to check again. While I want Easton to "bake" as long as he needs, I am also concerned that going past my due date will cause issues with our move. I want Easton to have time to get acclimated to breast feeding & also I will need a bit of time to heal before making the 14 hour drive. Please say prayers that Easton makes his debut soon - I really would prefer him come on his own and not have to intervene in any way.

In other news, our North Carolina move is coming along. Jason has set up the move with the military & we were pre-approved for our mortgage this week. Also, my parents are making a trip down to the Wilmington area this weekend to check out some houses for us. We found about 10 houses online that we are interested in, so they are going to see them in person and give us their input. Who knows - we could be putting an offer on a house in the next few weeks! A special thanks to my parents for helping us out .... we really could not manage everything without their assistance, and it means a lot to us.

It is a stressful & hectic time for us now, but we also realize how blessed we are. We have a wonderful family, great friends & a little boy on the way. We are thrilled to be getting closer to home so our friends & family can be a part of Easton's life. Ideally our time frame wouldn't be so crunched, but we have faith that everything will fall into place. A few prayers never hurt, so send some our way! :-)