Back in the South!

The past several days have been quite a blur! On Thursday, the movers arrived to pack our belongings. They spent all day Thursday packing boxes, then on Friday the boxes were loaded onto the 18-wheeler. Who knew we had SO much stuff!?!?! Friday night was an adventure since we did not have any furniture, TV, etc. We all slept on blow-up mattresses and Easton slept in his pack-n-play.

On Saturday morning, my parents, Easton & I loaded up in the truck, which was towing Jason's Jeep, and left Michigan. Jason had to stay behind for a few days to check out with the Marines. About an hour or so into our trip one of our tires blew out! Luckily, it was one of the back tires and since the truck has dual rear tires it did not cause us to have an accident. It took several hours to find a place that was open & could repair the tire. After that delay, we continued our travels. We ended up stopping to rest in Charleston, West VA for the night. Sunday morning we hit the road again to complete our trip. We arrived in Danville, VA around 3:30pm. We're officially back in the south!

Jason is checking out this morning and should join us sometime late this evening or on Tuesday. I have several photos from the past few days, but have not had a chance to upload them quite yet. I'll do that ASAP. Until then, we are enjoying being at Pappy & Gammy's house and are getting Easton used to his new surroundings. He was quite a trooper over the past few days and we've discovered he's a great little traveler!

Superbowl Sunday & more fun with Pappy & Gammy!

On Sunday February 7th, Easton watched his first Superbowl with his Dad & Pappy. Mama & I decided to go out and shop for a few hours and left the boys to themselves - but of course we got a few pictures before taking off for the stores :-)

We also gave Easton another bath - this time we made sure to dress Easton up in the cute doggy bath robe that Mama gave me at one of my baby showers ... I found some precious slippers that matched the dog theme as well. Doesn't he look like a little version of Hugh Hefner??? :-)

And here is another photo of Easton hanging out with his Pappy:

Another crazy thing - Easton is three weeks old today! Where has the time gone??? We are nearing the end of our time in Michigan .... in a few days we'll be loading up the car and heading south for good! Until then, we plan to enjoy hanging out with the little man - he is so sweet & cute!!! :-)

Easton meets his Pappy & Gammy!

My parents arrived on Friday February 5th to meet Easton for the first time! Their flight arrived at DTW airport around 2:30pm .... we brought Easton to the airport to greet them. They were both quite excited to see their grandson - Daddy had to fight to hold back tears, and Jason mentioned that my Dad saw more of the back of the car (where Easton was sitting) than he did the front on the drive home :-)

Mama & Daddy are officially known as "Gammy" and "Pappy" now - we hope Easton likes their new names. Here are a few photos of Pappy & Gammy meeting Easton, and then giving him a bath.

Easton - 2 weeks old

Easton is 2 weeks old - time is surely passing quickly! On Monday, my friend Jessica from work visited us with her son Zach. Zach is 3 months old and is officially Easton's first little friend! Here is a photo of Easton & Zach together:

And a few more cute pictures of Easton at 2 weeks old:

Looking like a spider monkey! :-)

Flexing his little muscles

And fast asleep after playing

Here is a short video of Easton meeting his friend, Zach:

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! :-)