Jane Elizabeth

Birth story- (don't want to forget the details)

Around 1:30 am on November 17th, I started feeling contractions.  I had contractions basically the whole time, but these ones felt WAY different.  Around 3:30 am, I was calling John because I knew things were progressing.  It happened to be one of the only times he forgot his cell phone.  Of course, I didn't realize that until later...I called him again at 4:15, and 4:30.  Nothing!  Even if he's busy, he'll answer and say he can't talk.  My irrational (is that a word?) pregnant self kicked in.  I thought for sure he was in the cross fires of some crazy burglary or domestic dispute.  I panicked and called my parents.  Mom came over.  THEN...I walked downstairs.  His cell phone was sitting on the table.  Duh!  Why didn't I think of that sooner?  I was able to track him down, and he was on his way home by 6:00 am.  Contractions were 7 minutes apart by then.  We were waiting until the last minute to go in.  The contractions started spacing out...25 minutes, 35 minutes, 40 minutes.  Darn!  False alarm?!

Later that afternoon, we laid down for a nap.  Sure enough, the second I relaxed the contractions came again.  They got to 5 minutes apart, and we went to the hospital.  We hopped in the car (Sarah was already at her Aunt Melissa's house) and the battery was dead.  John got it started, we made a quick stop at Wal-Mart for magazines, then headed to San Martin hospital.

"It's time to go to the hospital"

When I got there, I was dilated to a 3.  Only a 3??  They kept me there because I was at 90%.

They checked us into a room about 4:25 pm.

Dr. Wells told the nurses to break my water after a couple of hours.  They waited for a while because the baby's heart rate was pretty high.  I requested an epidural at that point (thanks to great advice from my sister), because I knew I would move fast after that point.  The anesthesiologist had to give me a second dose, because I was still feeling the contractions.  When they broke my water, I was dilated to a 4.  My dear friend Brooke came to photograph the birth right around this time.

What a treasure these images are!  Some people might raise an eyebrow at the thought of having a photographer there while you are giving birth, but she caught moments I had already forgotten by the time we got home!  To see more, click here.

About an hour later, the nurse came in to see how I was doing.  She heard us (Mom, John, Brooke, and I) laughing and having fun.  I told her I was kind of starting to feel pressure.  She walked over to the monitor to check my vitals.  Lisa (the nurse) said she would be back in about an hour and a half to "check" me and see how close I was. 

Mom started telling her about her labor experiences.  Mom had really short and easy labor/deliveries.  That made Lisa nervous, and she decided to check me again.  I had progressed to a 9!

She told me not to laugh or push, she was going to make sure that Dr. Wells was on his way.  I think that was around 8:30 pm.  Dr. Wells came right when I was having a contraction. 

He suited up and immediately told me to push!

3 pushes later, Jane Elizabeth Moss was born.

November 17th, 2010  9:26 p.m.

7 lbs. 10 oz., 19 1/2 inches long

~The next day~

I have always been concerned with how Sarah would react to the baby once she came.  She was always excited for her to come and would hug my belly constantly.  I had hoped it would continue once she was here.  The pictures pretty much sum it up.  (Thank you Aunt Melissa!)

Sarah wasn't sure what to think when she arrived at the hospital with her aunt and uncle.

She came around the curtain and saw me holding the baby.

She ran over and climbed up as fast as she could yelling, "Baby sister!!"

She unwrapped Jane carefully to check her out...looking at her toes, her tummy, and pulling back her beanie to check out her hair.

 Sarah was just overflowing with excitement.

She didn't want anyone else to hold her but Mommy and Daddy.

Sarah absolutely adores Jane.  Sometimes I have to give Sarah small tasks just so Jane can have a little space.  Sarah will randomly kiss and hug Jane and say, "I yove her Mommy!  I kiss her."  The second Sarah wakes up, she wants to know where baby sister is.  It is such a joy to see how much love an almost 3 year old has for her sister.