Going Home

Our goal was to get out of the hospital as soon as possible. The soonest my doctor agreed to discharge me was Monday morning. Our goal was to pick Noah up at school at 11:45. We really didn't know how realistic this goal was, since our previous experiences took half the day. But we thought it would be a cool surprise if we could pull it off.

Jack's paperwork was done the night before, so we were just waiting on my doctor or one of his partners to fill out my paperwork. Luckily his partner, Dr. Thompson stopped in first thing. Next we waited for my staples to be removed and the paperwork to be printed out. We received our final instructions and were told to call the nurses station when we were ready to go and they would send the aid down with the wheelchair to get us. Since I was so anxious to get out of there I got myself and Jackson dressed as quickly as possible. The nurses were surprised we were ready to go so quickly. We managed to meet our goal.

Jack's going home outfit...
Buckled in his car seat, awaiting our wheelchair escort.
My first time outside in 3 days, Jack's first time outside ever....
Waiting to be put in the car....
Saint Mary's had the best discharging process ever!

Hospital Happenings

The kids were able to stop in and take a look at their new little brother on their way over the hill to Grandma's house. The kids were really concerned about all the tubes and wire I still had attached to me and a little stand offish at first. We had to explain the IV, oxygen monitor, catheter, and pressure socks to them more than once and reassure them I wouldn't be like that forever. All in all it was a good, short, first visit. I was glad there weren't any tears when they said goodbye and left with Grandma and Papa.

Some how Noah got to be the first to hold baby Jack.

Then it was Zoe's turn.
Next was Trenity's turn.
Last but not least, Chelsea got her turn.

Here is the first picture of all 3 kids together, I'm still trying to get used to the sound of that.

Not pictured are Grandma Sandi and Papa Tim. I wasn't good about getting pictures this time around. There is also no pictures of Dan holding the baby, or a decent one of myself. We too forgot to get a family shot in the hospital. Most likely due to all the tubes and wires.

Day 3 - doing a little sun bathing in the window. He started looking more and more jaundice, so we decided to put him in the sunlight, as a natural remedy.

Other visitors during our 72 hour stay included: Adalia Halls a friend from church who is also a postpartum nurse and Jessica from Daddy's work.

I had several good nurses during my stay at Saint Mary's, I think my favorite was Donna. However the nurse who first checked me in is right up there too - I can't think of her name at the moment. I loved how they left me alone for the most part once they found out it was my 3rd baby. It was so nice not being at a teaching hospital this time around - there were far less people in and out of my room. I was slower to get up and around this time around. Pain was pretty much non existent as long as I sat still - a very different story when I got up to walk around and then it was only my left side that hurt. So, I wasn't walking laps within the first 24 hours this time around - it was all I could do to walk to the bathroom. I was told the left side hurt more because that is the side Dr. DeKay operated from and that is the side Jack favored while in the womb.

One other crazy hospital happening was on Sunday night, after Jack's discharge papers had been written up, and I had finished feeding him I noticed blood all over the front of my gown. Upon examination I couldn't find the source, my incision wasn't bleeding and there wasn't blood anywhere else. As I was looking things over Jack spit up blood. This really scared both of us - it also didn't help that our nurse was pretty clueless too. She took Jack to the nursery to check him out and couldn't find anything. After discussing it with the other nurses she told us they said that I must of had a crack on my nipple that bled while he was nursing and it was nothing to be concerned about, as they see it all the time. I didn't like that explanation until the day nurse came on duty the next morning and explained it more thoroughly and with a lot more confidence. Other than that our hospital stay was uneventful.

The Big Day

Everything went according to plan and there weren't any surprises. Dan and I got up super early on Friday, September 17th. We had to be at the hospital by 5:30 am which meant we had to leave our house by 4:45 am. We got to the hospital right on time and begin the process of prepping for the c-section. This included imputing my information into the computer, getting dressed in a hospital gown, starting an IV, drawing blood, monitoring the baby, drinking nasty antacid stuff, and talking briefly with the anesthesiologist.

Shortly before the scheduled time of 7:30 am we took the nice walk down the hall to the operating room. In the past I have taken this walk alone as they won't let Dan in until the spinal has been done, I'm all numb, and the doctors are ready to start the procedure. However, this time around the anesthesiologist, Dr. Lasko, allowed Dan to accompany me into the operating room. This time Dan was the one, instead of a nurse, holding my hand, keeping me still and calm throughout the process of the spinal. The spinal is the most nerve wracking part for me - I hate the idea of a needle being inserted into my back. This time around it didn't seem as scary to me. The doctor explained every step before he did it and guided me through the whole process, letting me know what I should be feeling. I also appreciated that he didn't strap my arms down or make me wear an oxygen mask; a very welcomed change. Dr. Lasko also made sure that all the baby stuff was set up in such a fashion that I could watch every minute of them interacting with Jack, another welcomed change.

I'm not sure when the surgery actually started, time seems to stand still or become a blur to me in the operating room. It probably has something to do with the fact that I can't really feel my body from the chest down. It's almost like I have sat on my legs and they have fallen asleep - it's the same kind of pins and needles thing going on. I can feel them tugging on me, but it doesn't hurt. It is the strangest feeling. Any way they were well on there way to getting Jack out before I realized they had started.

This time around Dan wasn't allowed to take pictures until the baby was out, on my previous two c-sections he caught the whole thing on film. So, we were both a little in the dark as to how things were progressing. I remember hearing Dr. DeKay comment on where in the world I hid the baby. Next thing I know they pulled Jackson out. Here is our first glimpse of him over the blue curtain.

Dr. Dekay is the one holding the baby, Dr. Thompson was his assistant (kind of hidden by Jack), and Dr. Lasko is on the far right.

Getting him all cleaned off. His APGAR scores were 9 & 9. The best out of all my kids. Look at his chicken leg and the size of his foot.

Another first, I got to hold him in the operating room, soon after they got him cleaned up. I usually don't get to do this until I am in the recovery room, or on my way to my room.

All bundled up...

Jackson Taylor McDonald

September 17, 2010

8:01 am

7 lbs. 1 oz.

19 inches

So, no one predicted the correct weight. Papa Tim was 3 oz under, daddy was 3 oz over. However, I guessed the right height.

Some other pieces of information:

He was a 1/2 oz lighter than Zoe and an inch taller.

He has a full head of dark hair, the ultrasound tech predicted that he'd be bald, or have very light peach fuzz.

He has big feet, the ultrasound tech was right about this one.

He looks more like his daddy than the other two.

He has darker eyes, wondering if they will be blue or hazel.

His skin is more olive than the other two.

He had a little trouble with low blood sugar on day 1. Which resulted in formula through a feeding tube.

We are so glad that he is finally here.

Twas the night before baby...

Dan and I spent the last day before Jack's arrival completing last minute projects like putting the infant swing and bouncer together, as well as getting the play pen set up. Dan mowed the lawn and I finished up the last of the laundry. The day was full of nervous energy and excitement.

My parents came up and we all enjoyed dinner at the Black Bear Diner. As the evening got later it seemed like my to do list got longer. I still had to pack clothes for the kids, make a bed up for my parents, instruct my parents on the ins and outs of picking up a kindergartner, and get to bed at a decent hour.

Here is a picture of my belly at 39 weeks (the night before delivery)....For fun we decided to make predictions on how big or small Jack would be. Here is the information we had: Noah was 7 lbs 6 oz 21 1/2 inches, Zoe was 7 lbs 1 1/2 oz 18 inches, all scans were showing Jack would be average size somewhere around 7 lbs 4 oz. With Noah's pregnancy I was 2 lbs lighter the day before delivery than before I got pregnant. With Zoe I was break even. This time around I lost a total of 23 lbs. With both kids my belly button didn't stick out, however with this one it did.

Here are the predictions:
Dan - 7 lbs. 3 oz. 20 inches
Grandma Sandi - 7 lbs. 7 oz. 19 1/2 inches
Papa Tim - 6 lbs. 15 oz. 20 1/2 inches
Trenity - 7 lbs. 11 oz. 19 1/2 inches
Me - 7 lbs. 8 oz. 19 inches

Final Preparations

While Dan was busy canning, I was busy "nesting". Yes, the nesting bug hit me big this time around. I'm not sure why, but I felt the need to clean every closet in the house. Go through all the drawers, getting rid of clothes that no longer fit. The pantry had to be organized as well as the food shelves in the garage. The kitchen had to be cleaned, including the fridge and freezer. The playroom had to be cleaned, the living room spotless, the garage organized, and the bathrooms scrubbed.

I can't take all the credit, Dan did his fair share of the projects on my ever growing list. To be honest the closer September 17th got, the more realistic I became. Not everything was accomplished, but I gave it my best effort. I wish I would have taken a few pictures of my clean closets or the playroom as things don't stay clean that long when you have small kids.

Why all the work? I really didn't want my mother-in-law, or mother to think I was a slob. I also knew I wouldn't be up to doing any cleaning for several weeks after Jack's arrival. Plus, some of the tasks have been on my to do list for awhile. Here is proof that I may have been too busy or obsessed with cleaning and ignored my kids a little too much.

Noah and Zoe trying out the infant carrier...
Plus I found random shots on my camera like this....
Some how they both, along with my husband survived my craziness.

Canning Adventures

Our cupboards are filled with home canned goods thanks to Dan. I think this is Dan's new found hobby. As you may remember, we canned a box of pears last year together and then he went on to can pickled eggplant, green tomato salsa, and green tomato relish out of our garden. Fast forward to this year he thought we should tackle two boxes of pears, since last year was such a breeze. I warned him up front that he may end up going it alone as they would probably be ripening about the same time as the arrival of baby Jack. He said no problem and decided to go ahead with two boxes. And it just so happened both boxes ripened the week before my scheduled c-section. So, he was left to can both boxes on his own.

He was really creative this year canning pear butter, pear jam, pear cranberry jam, cinnamon pears, clove pears, and amaretto pears (aka princess pears). His canning efforts didn't end there, due to a bumper crop of extremely hot (uneatable) jalapenos, he decided to make jalapeno jelly.

Zoe's Princess Pears...
From left to right: princess pears, clove pears, cinnamon pears, pickled eggplant, green tomato salsa, pear butter, jalapeno jelly, pear jam, cranberry pear jam.

Princess Zoe

Zoe was invited to her first birthday party without brother or mommy. She was so excited that it was going to be a Princess dress up party while Noah was devastated that he wasn't invited. I tried explaining that he would be at school, to which he simply replied, "I'll just pretend I am too sick to go to school and then go to the party." I then tried to explain that it was a princess party for girls and he wanted to know, "why can't they have a prince there?" I was finally able to convince him that school was much cooler since he got to go everyday and the party was only one day. I can't really blame him for being upset, they are so close in age and are used to doing everything together. This separation with school and having separate friends has been an adjustment for both of them.

Zoe decided to dress up as Sleeping Beauty. She had fun getting all dressed up and putting on mommy's makeup.
Even with a black-eye from her recent fall off of her step stool, she makes a pretty princess.
While Zoe was at her party and Noah was at school I enjoyed a nice leisurely trip to Walmart all by myself. It was heaven.