Jaxon Cade - August 31, 2014

Our second baby boy was born 19 days ago.  I can't believe how fast this pregnancy went or that this little man is here already.  But here he is, snuggling on my chest while I write this.

This birth was a lot more emotional for me than Jace's....but not any less meaningful.  I had a c-section with Jace after I found out that he was french breech - or butt down.  I was fully dilated and pushing before they realized it was his butt and not his head.  As frustrating as that experience was, it was actually a blessing in disguise.  Since my body had already dilated to 10 cm and I went into labor on my own with Jace, I was a perfect candidate for a VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean).  It was really important for me to have a VBAC for a few reasons.  First, we knew that Jaxon would be born during the baseball season....so Chris would only get three days to come home for the birth.  And after he went back, I wouldn't have any help.  When I had Jace I couldn't drive for a couple weeks because of the pain medication I was taking.  Also, I couldn't pick Jace up because it put strain on my incision...so Chris had to pick Jace up for me every time he was hungry.  And Chris changed all the diapers for the first week or so!  I just physically couldn't do it.  Also, the recovery took forever!  It was a full 8 weeks until I felt completely back to normal again.  It was miserable!!  So I knew that a VBAC was my only option to really be able to function while Chris finished the season.

After going back and forth, Chris and I decided that I would have Jaxon in Reno.  I ended up switching doctors when I was 36 weeks pregnant to Dr. Garcia....a local doctor who is completely supportive of VBACs.  My original doctor was going to force me to have a c-section at 39 weeks no matter what....no thank you!!  I also ended up working with a doula, or birth coach who specializes in VBACs.  Her name is Sheri....and I actually went to high school with her!  We didn't know each other very well in high school, but really hit it off when we started talking about having a VBAC and her experiences, etc.  I knew that I wanted her there with me...especially because there was a chance that Chris may not make it back for the birth (he was traded to Cleveland and the quickest flight from there was almost 7 hours to Reno).

So my plan was in place.....Dr. Garcia, Sheri, VBAC, and praying that Chris would be able to fly back in time.  Well then, another blessing.  Chris was put on the "paternity" list three days before September 1st to make room for a catcher who was coming off the concussion DL.  So Chris was forced/able to come home for three days.  We spent the first day he was home just hanging out as a family....we drove out to see our new house that was being built, had frozen yogurt and flew a kite down at the park near my parent's house.  That night we started talking about Jaxon.  It didn't look like I was going to go into labor on my own while Chris was home....but we both really wanted him to be there especially since I was going to attempt to have an unmedicated child birth.  We started texting back and forth with Sheri about the chance of being induced.  Induction would slightly increase my chance of uterine rupture because of my previous c-section.  But since I was already 3 cm dilated and 95% effaced...we decided that I wouldn't need much pitocin to get my body started.  And then we would know with 100% certainty that Chris would be there.  We decided to go for it.  I called my doctor that night at 10:30pm and he scheduled for my induction the next day....Sunday, August 31st.

I checked in the hospital right at 12pm with Chris and Sheri.  I was SO nervous.  I remember at one point realizing my hands were shaking. We got checked in and I met my nurse Rebecca.  We all instantly loved her!  We were telling her that Chris was only home for three days and she joked, "Aww your going to prison?"  It totally broke the ice and made me relax a little bit.  I was wearing a long cotton maxi skirt and tank top and decided to just labor in that....much more comfortable than the hospital gown.  She asked if I wanted to have an Epidural and I said no....I still wasn't convinced I could do it with out medication but I knew I was going to give it my best shot.  By the time she got all my information and hooked up the IV it was right around 1pm.  She checked me again and I was now 4 cm dilated and 100% effaced!  So my body was ready to go even though I wasn't having contractions yet!! She gave me 1 dose of Pitocin and left the room.  Here we go!!

Chris and Sheri were amazing.  Chris set up his "Beats" speakers and started playing a Pandora station he had made for me with all my favorite artists.  Sheri closed the blinds and brought out little electrical candles that she placed around the room.  I felt so comfortable and confident with both of them by my side.  About 20 minutes later, the contractions started.  We played with a few difference positions during the initial contractions to see what felt the best.  I snacked on a Kind Bar and chatted with Chris and Sheri....the contractions were painful but nothing that I couldn't handle.  They both made sure I drank lots of water while the nurse still let me.  Within 30 minutes, Dr. Garcia came in a broke my water.  After about an hour the contractions started to spread out, so Rebecca came back in the room and turned my Pitocin up to a 2.  Sheri told me that this was NOTHING as far as Pitocin was concerned.

Within 20 minutes, the contractions came much harder and were consistently 2 minutes apart.  I ended up straddling a birthing ball at the foot of my bed.  As the contractions got worse, I gripped the sheets with my hands.  Sheri was on my right massaging a pressure point in my hand to help my body to continue to progress.  Chris sat behind me on a stool, rubbing my lower back.  Each contraction got tougher and tougher.  Sheri and Chris both kept encouraging me through each contraction.  I remember Sheri saying, "Jaxon is getting closer and closer."  And Chris kept telling me, "You got this babe, you're doing awesome."  Sheri encouraged me to roll my hips forward with each contraction....it made it WAY more painful but she reassured me that would help force Jaxon lower.  The more I worked now, the less contractions I would have to go through.  I listened to her, even though it made it worse.  My mom came into the room and sat on the bed so I could squeeze her hand instead of the bed.

The contractions started to get harder and some seemed to never let up.  Sheri later told me that I was having multiple contractions that were piggy-backing off one another.  But I would close my eyes and wait for it to finally be over.  Sheri kept telling me I was a "rock star" and couldn't believe I wasn't cussing at that point! Lol.  I just knew that they were going to get worse.  A few minutes later, I started to feel sick to my stomach...Sheri brought me a wash cloth and rubbed off my forehead and neck which made me feel so much better!  Sheri told Chris that I was getting close to transition because my legs were shaking and my tailbone was bulging with every contraction (which was just his head getting lower and lower).  She later told me that Chris got tears in his eyes at this point....so sweet.  Sheri finally encouraged me to get off the ball and on the bed.  She told me to lie belly down and lean over the top of the bed.  She later told me that she knew that would make it worse, but would help get Jaxon lower so I could start pushing.  I seriously had the four most miserable contractions in that position....it was brutal and probably the longest 8-10 minutes of my life.  I think I actually yelled at Sheri because it hurt so much worse!  At the end of the fourth contraction, my nurse came in because she saw on the monitor that my contractions were intense and only 1 minute apart.  The nice thing, is that my nurse had left us alone the rest of the time....so we could do our own thing without constant checks!  When the nurse came in, Sheri told me later that her eyes got huge because she could tell I was really close!  Rebecca asked me if she could check me and told me I had made it to 10 cm!!  I was done!!!  I remember just laying on my side completely exhausted.  The last four contractions had taken all my energy.  I couldn't believe that the hardest part was over.  I had made it....no drugs, no medication, nothing.  Just me.

When the next contraction came, the urge to push was SO intense!!  It was seriously uncontrollable.  My nurse told me to go ahead, bear down and push if I felt the urge.  Before I went into labor, I remember worrying that I wouldn't know how to push.  But it seriously was an uncontrollable feeing....my body knew exactly what it needed to do to get that baby lower.  Rebecca left and got Dr. Garcia.   I ended up rolling over and laying on my back...I was still exhausted and would closed my eyes in between contractions.  Rebecca came back and asked if they could remove my skirt.  Another contraction.  Rebecca and Sheri talked me through them encouraging me to bear down and push.  Sheri was on my left and Chris and my mom were on my right!  Every time I had a contraction I would close my eyes, grab both Sheri and Chris' hands and push as hard as I could. I remember thinking that the contractions and pushing was really painful....and the pressure on my tailbone was so intense.  I later found out that I had bruised my tailbone....so Jaxon was really low along my back the whole time.  My body naturally started to space out contractions.....and those breaks were amazing.  At one point I remember having  long break and I opened my eyes, looked around the room and said,  "Everyone is looking at me."  Lol.  They all started laughing.  After the next push I heard nurse Rebecca say, "Kellie, I can see his head.  Lots of dark hair."  I knew that I was close.  I remember pushing as hard as I could so that I didn't have to go through another contraction....I figured if I pushed hard now, Jaxon would be here sooner.  The next contraction, Dr. Garcia had told tell me to stop pushing at one point so I would tear.... I tried to breath through the contraction but it was SO hard.  Dr. Garcia used his fingers to massage the opening.  The pressure from his fingers combined with Jaxon's head was so painful....I yelled in pain.  The next contraction, Dr. Garcia told me to push again.  I remember continuing to push even after the contraction stopped because I wanted to get him out.  And then I heard Rebecca say, "His head is out!"  I couldn't open my eyes to look because I wanted to just concentrate on the contractions and pushing.  The next contraction came really fast, and I pushed one last, hard time.  I later found out that Jaxon's shoulders were turned, so as I pushed Dr. Garcia twisted him as he came out.  That last twist hurt so bad, but as soon as he came out, I had instant relief.  Within seconds I heard his cry.  I opened my eyes as they brought him to my chest.  All of the pain, the contractions, the pushing, the worrying....it all went away as soon as I held him.  He was crying but stopped as soon as he heard my voice.  He snuggled into my chest and fell asleep.  Heaven.  It was a moment I will never forget.  I just held him and told him everything was ok and that he had made it.

First picture with Jaxon....you can see his little head poking out under the blanket!

Hanging out with Dad!

They weighed and measured him in the room.  Jaxon Cade Gimenez was born at 5:25pm.  He was 7lbs, 12 oz and 21 inches.  (And just to compare, Jace was 7lbs 1 oz, 19 inches but was born one week earlier) Jaxon stayed with us for over 2 hours so we could just relax with him.  My parents came and brought Jace to meet his baby brother (I'll post pics of that in another post).  We ate dinner and just relaxed.  They moved us into a recovery room and took Jax to the nursery to have a bath and get blood work done.  Chris went with him.  I couldn't stay away though.....after about an hour I snuck in there and sat with Chris watching Jaxon under the heat lamps and talking about the labor.  It was SO amazing to have Chris there to support me through that.  I honestly couldn't have done it without him or Sheri.  And our perfect little angel was just laying there.  It was crazy to think that just hours before he had been in my big prego belly!

Jaxon Cade

Comparing this experience to my birth with my c-section with Jace....they were obviously both incredibly special, but completely different.  With my c-section I remember afterward feeling like that experience just wasn't right and that I had missed out on something.  It was not how I expected birth to be.  I only saw Jace for just a couple of minutes before he was taken to the nursery with Chris.  I was left alone in the operating room for over an hour.  I finally got to hold Jace, but he was already bathed, clothed, swaddled and covered in a hat.  I couldn't walk, eat or go to the bath room for hours until the epidural wore off.  Every minute afterward, I started to get more and more sore.  It was so painful.  The four days that I was in the hospital recovering was a blur.  I was on so many pain medications that I barely remember anything from those first few days with Jace.  And after four days when we finally got to go home, I couldn't do anything and I felt completely helpless.  

With my VBAC with Jaxon, everything was different.  Those first couple hours that I got to snuggle with him were priceless.  I loved just holding him, nursing him and letting him sleep on me.  Even Chris was able to hold him against his chest.  After labor, every minute I felt better and better.  I took some ibuprofen, but other than that I was fully aware of what was going on.  I remember everything about those 24 hours I was in the hospital....every minute with Jaxon, the nurses, the conversations with Chris, the visitors, everything.  I felt empowered and proud to have had him not only vaginally, but completely naturally too.  When we were able to go home I felt like I could walk out of the hospital (even thought they didn't let me - I knew I could!)  When we got home, I was able to walk up to my 3-year-old and give him a huge hug!  I even played with him and gave him a bath that night.  I was definitely sore, but I felt normal!  We were home as a family of four.  I couldn't have asked for a better, more positive experience.  It is amazing how emotional I still get thinking about everything that happened that day.  Thank you so much Dr. Garcia, Rebecca, Sheri, my mom and Chris....I love you all for giving me the best gift ever.  That is a day that I will never forget.

Heading home from the hospital! Awesome picture with the sun right in our eyes.  Lol!

                              

Postpartum visit with my doula Sheri!  Jaxon is 8 days old!  :)