Dax's Birth Story

If you don't know already, Dax has arrived!!! 

Here is how it happened... 

We were set to have an induction Friday June 19th (today) and I just knew that he would NOT come before then. I decided to TRY and put it out of my mind and live life without thinking about it. Easier said than done. I made a daily countdown for Caleb and each passing day he grew more and more excited. To pass the time, I made plans for every day leading up to induction. We had a jammed pack schedule. The only day we didn't have anything planned was Sunday June 14th... we left this day open so that we could relax and enjoy being a family of 3 since it was Casey's last day off work before Dax came. 

Then Sunday morning happened!!!

Sunday about 4 am I woke up tossing and turning with some pains. I fought through them and fell back to sleep. Then about 5:30 am I woke up to this horrible pain and then heard a loud clicking noise, kind of sounded like breaking a stick in half. I was uncomfortable and felt very wet so I decided to hit the bathroom. My undies were wet so I changed them and went back to sleep... I probably just peed myself. Then about 30-45 minutes later, I felt wet again so I got up and changed my undies again. Maybe it was my water? I decided to read up on how to determine if it was your water or not. See, with Caleb it was one big gush and I knew for sure... this time around it was just enough for my undies to be soaked. 

I decided to wake up Casey and to follow the instructions I found on the internet. They said to lay down for 30 minutes with dry undies, you should feel some pooling of water and when you stand up after the time is done and your panties are wet... you probably ruptured. 

We tested this and lets just say my undies were wet for a 3rd time since 5:30 am. It was about 8 am and we decided to head to the hospital. We made all the phone calls, got Caleb up and ready and waited for my sister to pick him up. We were in Labor and Delivery triage by 9 am!

The nurse there checked if what was leaking was in fact my water by sticking a q-tip in it and putting it in a testing thing. While it was processing, she went ahead and checked me... and when she did... WATER EVERYWHERE!!! Seriously it was a HUGE gush! She said "You are dilated to a 5, your water is officially broken and I am throwing this test out because I already know what it says." 

By 10 am we were admitted and ready to get the show on the road. 

After being admitted, my contractions stopped. I wont lie, I was disappointed and I was nervous they were going to make me go home, I was just sure that this was all a dream, it felt so surreal like at any moment I was going to wake up in my bed at home. I told the nurse they had stopped and she said she would give it until 12 and then would check me again (didn't want to cause any infection) and then decide to start pitocin... by then I was a 6. The pitocin kicked in right away and contractions started again. They were very close together and very strong... bring on the epidural!!

Life with the epidural was wonderful. I was able to enjoy my company that had come to visit. Talk with Caleb and reassure him everything was perfect. Play on my phone texting, calling and updating social media... and smiling for pictures!! 

They checked me again around 2:30 and I was dilated to a 9... I wont lie, I cried a little, not because I was sad but because it was happening!!! I was SO excited to start pushing and hold my baby boy!!

Around 4 pm I felt pressure to push. The nurse came in and worked with me and Casey (he did so good yall, he was a pro at holding my legs, counting, having me breathe, etc.) on pushing Dax out. I had to work him down for about 20 minutes before the real action started. 

Casey started to get really excited because he could see hair... dark hair!!! I prayed for dark hair... Right when I was losing my motivation on pushing, he tells me about the dark hair, the nurse brings in a mirror to let me see, and I am back in the game. Let me just tell you, watching yourself push in a mirror was the COOLEST thing EVER! Seriously, I wish I would have watched with Caleb too. It was so empowering and motivating (pushing can take it out of ya). I watched every single second and watch as he entered the world. It was AWESOME!!!

The doctor came in, prepped, had me push 4 times and at 4:49 pm Dax Marshall Flowers entered the world. It was one of the most perfect days in my life. He was perfect!!! He weighed 7 pounds 13 ounces and was 20.2 inches long... he is a tiny baby compared to Caleb! 

Sadly, he was grunting instead of crying so the NICU nurses had to come down and check his breathing. They decided it was best to take him to the NICU to clear his lungs and watch him. Daddy went with him to make sure he was okay. Luckily it was a short lived visit and he was back in my arms by 7 pm. 

Our family is now complete! It is crazy to be sitting here writing this blog on what I had planned to be Dax's birthday... he had other plans and boy am I glad he did. I loved being able to experience my water breaking (again) and the excitement of telling everyone I was in labor. It was a perfect birth story that ended with a perfect baby boy!!!

Want more pictures? Check out my IG account Jordashflowers 

AND 

Make sure your a fan of Alicia Mitchell Photography on Facebook, she will be posting Labor and Delivery AND Newborn photos of Dax!!! 

Frustrating to say the least

Thursday May 28th I was at work, it was a normal day and then contractions started. We started to time them and they were about 5-6 minutes apart. I went to the potty and my undies were soaked. I decided it was time to go in and get checked out. 

I was downtown and about 10 minutes from the doctors (my co-worker drove me) and Casey was at home about 30-40 minutes from the doctors... he beat me there! Haha! We went in for a sonogram, Dax looked awesome but my fluid levels dropped from 11 to 8 in 24 hours. We then went to the doctors and found out I had dilated from a 1 to a 2 in 24 hours also (we had just visited the doctor the day before). Since her office is across the street from the hospital, she sent us in to Labor & Delivery to be monitored. 

After an hour of being monitored, they let us go home and told me to rest until I saw the doctor the next week. I didn't make any progress with dilating (even though I was contracting) so we were released. The next week we learned that I was still leaking a little bit and still contracting, but they had become sporadic and not really causing me to dilate more. I did go from a 2 to a 3 1/2 but it wasn't enough. Due to my contractions and horrible back labor, I started bed rest and leave from work. 

This past weekend, I woke up Saturday morning in pain. I was having some crazy contractions every 3-4 minutes. It was 3 am and I didn't want to wake everyone up so I sat there and watched a movie and timed them. By 7 am, I woke Casey up and called my Mother in law to come get Caleb. We were headed back to Labor and Delivery... #1 rule, 4-1-1 (Contractions every 4 minutes lasting 1 minute for an hour). 

We arrived and they checked me... still a 3 1/2 and 70% effaced. My contractions were 3 minutes apart and showing up on the screen as being a medium strength, not mountains but not mole hills either. They waited an hour checked me again, no change, and I was sent home. The doctor on call was VERY rude and after talking to him, I was happy to be going home. He insulted my husband, questioned my doctor's orders and told me that he knows more about labor than I do so I just need to go home and chill out. I was NOT impressed by how rude he was. I was following the rules by going in and getting checked out... better safe than sorry!

Now here I am... on bed rest. Trying to not over do it but also trying to get this baby boy to make an appearance. I have been walking 30 to 45 minutes a day (it is all I can do without leaking too much and getting completely worn out), doing some nipple stimulation, doing the deed with the husband, eating dates, and taking evening primrose oil daily. 

It is frustrating to say the least, my body keeps starting labor and stopping. I don't mind carrying Dax to his due date, but when I start going into labor and getting my hopes up to only be let down, it is starting to take a toll on me. I told Casey that I am going to focus my energy (the little I have here and there) on projects around the house (that I can do sitting down) and less on when he is going to arrive. Yesterday I did just that and let me tell you, it was one of the best days I have had in a long time. I am really hard on myself and when things don't go as planned, it really takes a toll on me. It is something I am working on but it is not going to change over night.

We go visit the doctor tomorrow and we will be talking to her about stripping my membranes and also setting an induction date (I need an end date to look forward to). She put it off last time because we were sure we were going to go into labor this past weekend. She only induces Tuesday's and Thursday's so we are thinking probably the 16th, 18th or 23rd. We will see what she has open and I will keep you posted when we know the date. Hopefully she will just strip my membranes tomorrow and we will go into labor this week on our own... but again, I am not getting my hopes up at all to just be let down again. 

I AM SO READY!!!! And I know a lot of your are too. Thank you for the calls/text/messages/etc. It means a lot to me and I appreciate it all... but like I said earlier, it is taking a toll on me. I feel the need to "perform" and magically make a baby appear. I wish I could do that, I wish I could answer all the messages with "yes we are in labor NOW" or "he is here" but I cant right now. I promise, as soon as he arrives, we will let you know!! Make sure you are following my Instagram account (Jordashflowers), that is where we are going to post it first (and if we have to be induced, I will be doing a post every hour leading up to his arrival... #DaxFlowersIsComing) If you are close friends and/or family, we will let you know when we are admitted!!! 

I love you all and I promise to keep you posted... Say a prayer for me and my nerves/anxiety/frustration. I sure could use it!