28.08.08

I feel like I need to record this for my sake more than anything else. August 28th was such a bizarre, yet wonderful, day. It started out as a very normal day. I was feeling great which bothered me as I was hoping to have some signs of getting that baby out of me. I got up, fed Aubrey, showered and got myself ready, and then headed out the door. I had to drive my parent's car out to Raymond for my mom. During the drive I started to notice a slight pain in my lower abdomen that was comparable to very mild menstrual cramps. I realized that they muct be contractions. Maybe just braxton hix contractions but I decided to time them anyway. They were regular, about 6 minutes apart and 30 seconds long, but I still didn't think too much of it. I picked up my mom and told her that I was pretty sure I was in labour and told her about the times of my contractions. She was excited and said that today was the day! We immediately went over to the the hospital. It wasn't to get me checked out, but we went to visit my grandpa in extended care. I was still feeling the pains, but they were very bearable so I wasn't worried. After we visited my grandpa, we drove back into Lethbridge to pick up my brother Jess so that my mom could take him to work. My mom and I then went to the Cheesecake Cafe for a delicious lunch and then headed back to my place. Yes, the contractions were still there and getting a little more painful by the minute, but I could handle them. I decided to hop in the bath and shave my legs and then maybe pack a bag for the hospital and a bag for Aubrey, just in case this was the real thing. While I was packing the contractions were all of a sudden 2 minutes apart and 60 seconds long and a little more painful. My mom suggested that I call the hospital to let them know what was going on and see if they thought I should come in. I did just that. The nurse I talked to was pretty casual about it, but she said I could come in if I wanted to, just to get checked out and see how far along I was. So we packed up the car and headed out to Raymond. We stopped at the Shurtz home first to drop off Aubrey and Sue came out to see how I was doing. While I was talking to her I was having another contraction that was a little more painful than the rest, but I think I hid it well. It still wasn't as bad as I remembered it being with Aubrey. Chris and I then headed for the hospital. We checked in at about 4:50 pm. I was hooked up to the monitors and Chris and I started timing the contractions again. They were back to being about 5 minutes apart and 30 seconds long, but much more painful. I could still handle them with ease though. Once they checked to see how far I was dilated I was 8 cm. I couldn't believe it and I don't think the nurses could either. My doctor had that entire week off, but he told me that if I went into labour, to have the hospital call him and he would come in and deliver the baby anyway. The nurses tried to get a hold of him but were unsuccessful. Apparently he was till camping. I found out later that he was back from camping but in a medical meeting of some sort that he would have gladly left. Oh well. Dr. Greg Smith was the doctor on call and he came in, broke my water, and in literally no time at all, I was pushing. I pushed probably 4 or 5 times before Dr. Smith said I should change my sitting position because it looked like how I was sitting was preventing the baby from coming out. So I adjusted and within 2 pushes, he was out! It was a total of 10 minutes of pushing. No problem! By then it was about 6:10pm. What a short time in Labour and Delivery! The umbilical cord was around his neck, but it was no big deal. He definitely had a healthy cry. After it all, I felt pretty good! I felt like I could get up and run. I quickly realized that that would be a difficult feat. I forgot how hard it was to walk right afterward. I wasn't really in pain, just kind of... stiff. We didn't find out how much our little guy weighed for a few hours because the weigh scale wasn't working very well. We didn't announce his name right away either. I wanted to get to know him first and make sure he really was a Jensen. He is. Definitely. We only stayed in the hospital until about 2 pm the next afternoon by my choice. I had the options to stay until Saturday. So many people thought I was crazy. I had a few people say that I should stay and rest. The funny thing is that I don't find hospitals restful in the least bit. I wanted to get some proper rest at home. After getting out of the hospital, we went over to Shurtz's to visit Aubrey and let her see her new brother. She has handled the change so well. She has been so gentle. She won't hold him, but she'll give him kisses. She mostly keeps her distance and just points and calls him baby. What a good girl. We left her with the Shurtz's for one more night so that we could get Jensen settled and have a little bit of a rest. I felt so horrible about it and missed her terribly, but it was probably for the best. Everything has been great so far. Recovery for me has been very quick and we once again have been very blessed with a good little baby that doesn't cry very much at all. He does have his days and nights a little confused, but he'll sort that out soon. Every night does get a little better. We love having both our babies home with us!

I didn't take many belly pics this pregnancy, but I did get one of my swollen feet a couple of nights before Jensen was born. I'm pretty sure I had elephantitis.

 

Grandma Cahoon was the very first person to meet Jensen (besides Dr. Smith, the nurses, Chris and myself of course). She was in the delivery room minutes after he was born.

Our sweet little boy. You can definitely tell that he is Aubrey's brother. I think the only difference between them is their noses. Jensen definitely has the Jensen nose. It's cute.

Jensen in his new jammies

 that are massive on him. We didn't keep them on him for very long. 

Me, the proud mommy, holding my sweet baby boy. I look awful but I felt great!

My grandpa Jensen came in the next morning to meet Jensen. He was absolutely thrilled about the name. It's a very bad quality picture unfortunately, but I'm still glad I have it.

Jensen in his going home outfit. Love it!

He's all ready to go home!

This is Jensen's Great-Grandma George. Her maiden name is Reid which is where his middle name came from. Isn't he lucky to know some of his great-granparents?

Jensen's Grandma and Grandpa Shurtz came to meet him soon after he was born along with Aunt Teagan, Uncle Andrew, Uncle Darcy, and Aunt Jessica. I for some reason didn't get any pictures, but they took quite a few, so hopefully i can get some from them.

I have to say that I just love this little boy. I can't get enough of him. I'm thankful for all the help I have been given with Aubrey so that I can enjoy him more. Chris has been great and has changed more of Aubrey's diapers in the last week than he has in her life! He has also given her baths for the first time! Thank you Chris. You're the best.