Jackson Monroe !

I'm a little late posting this but the little guy has arrived! My last day at work was Friday May 3rd. All week I tried to walk and move around as much as I could, although I was becoming increasingly uncomfortable and sore. Just getting up from a sitting position was painful, especially getting out of bed! I was doing squats too hoping that it would get things going. I was supposed to have my 40 week check up on Thursday, May 9th (my original due date) but early that morning my dr's office called to cancel because she had to deliver a baby! I'll have to admit I was a little jealous it wasn't me lol! They asked how I was feeling and if I'd been having any contractions, which I hadn't other than the Braxton-Hicks teaser ones. They rescheduled my appointment for the next day. I woke up early Friday morning, around 5am. I had trouble sleeping especially those last couple months of my pregnancy. I don't know that I neccessarily felt like I was having contractions, just more pressure under my belly and it just felt heavy. I also kinda felt like I needed to go to the bathroom off and on but never really could (sorry if TMI!) After a little while of me walking around wondering if labor was starting, Danny had woke up and was asking me how I felt. I just kept saying I wasn't sure. It was getting to the point that it was starting to get uncomfortable and the only way I would feel a little better was squatting down as low as I could get. In between the light contractions I started grabbing a few things for my hospital bag. Then Danny could tell I wasn't messing around lol. We got the kids up and ready to take over to my sister-in-laws by around 6:15 am. They were so excited to hear that the baby was coming. We made our way to the hosital which was about a 25 minute drive. I was feeling contractions but they weren't unbearable yet. I was doing pretty well with them. We arrived at the hosital probably around 7 am and headed up to the OB department. I got all situated in the room and the nurse checked to see how much I was dialated. By that time, I was dialated to 6cm. I knew if this labor was like my other 2, it was going to happen fast! The contractions were beginning to get stronger so I did ask for an epidural. They had to hook up my IV first to get fluids going. The nurse had a really hard time trying to put in the IV which wasn't helping the pain I was feeling from the contractions. She said my veins were rolling. After several attempts they finally had a different nurse come and try it. They checked me again after they finally got the IV in and I was dialated to 8cm! I still wanted my epidural because the contractions were strong and I didn't want to feel the pain from pushing the baby out! Since my water hadn't broken yet my doctor said that she could break my water for me right then and she knew after that it wouldn't be long after that and I would be ready to push. But I still didn't have my epidural yet and told them I did want something for the pain. They ended up doing a spinal instead of the epidural because they only last about 4 hours and they knew that delivery would go pretty fast. At that point I didn't really care what they gave me, just so that I would feel better, lol. Once the spinal was in, my legs started to go numb. I could still feel the contractions quite a bit though. I think the spinal work mostly from my waist down. I reached 10cm within a few minutes and was able to start pushing. By then, I couldn't really feel the pressure as to when I was supposed to push so. I also couldn't really feel myself push. The spinal ended up working great because I couldn't feel a thing even when he came out. At 8:20 am, Jackson arrived and it was such a joy to finally have him in my arms. He weighed in at 7lbs 11 oz and was 20.5 inches long. Surprisingly, he was my smallest child at birth! One thing we did a litte differently during labor was to have just Danny and I in the room. Family did arrive during labor but we told the nurses that we just wanted it to be Danny and I. I felt bad but it just gets too hectic to have all the family around. So, they were excited when they were finally able to come in the room and meet the little man. The only downfall with the spinal was that since it lasts 4 hours, we weren't able to go to my recovery room until almost 1pm. It took forever to get feeling back in my legs and for me to be able to stand up. It was so nice to finally get settled in my room and be able to hold and cuddle my little guy! He was so precious! Everyone kept saying how he looked so much like his big brother! We were released from the hospital on Sunday which also happened to be Mother's Day, so that worked out nice! He's been nothing but a joy ever since, even on those sleepless nights lol!