I had been feeling great after our busy weekend with the kids and was convinced I'd be delivering the following week... until my water broke at 3:35 a.m. Monday morning. I lept out of bed and instantly began to feel excitement and anxiety! I awakened Dan by saying, "Honey, I'm pretty sure my water just broke!" He jumped out of bed too, we called the doctor and planned to head into the hospital at 6 a.m., the EXACT time my doctor was back on the clock from her week long vacation! Such a good baby, I asked him to wait until she was back. Here's my final belly picture before we headed to the hospital... 38 weeks and one day.
As we started racing around trying to gather our thoughts, I asked Dan to grab our bag and start packing the remaining few items on the list. I got a good laugh, a small pang of worry when he came out of the closet holding our picnic bag. I sent him back in, which did the trick and he finished packing our bag. I got a few more things in order, called my folks who would be catching a flight in from San Diego, we installed the car seat, tidied up around the house and told the kids what was going on. On top of all that, we had rescued a little dog the day before with hopes of taking her to the vet to see if she had a microchip, that we had to also tend to. Thank God for our friend Kelly. She truly saved the day. While we were at the hospital, she and Becca found the dog's owner and returned her and then Kelly brought Becca to the hospital, then DJ and also brought us some treats for after the delivery. She was such an angel!
We did get to the hospital right at 6 a.m. We got checked into the labor and delivery floor and my doctor recommended we immediately start Pitocin. When we arrived I was 90% effaced and 1 cm. Dan was a wonderful coach and partner. I labored until about noon, doing laps around the hospital floor, sitting on the birth ball and having him rub my back. By noon, I'd had enough and requested an epidural. That was heavenly. From about 3 minutes after getting the epidural up until delivery, I didn't feel anymore pain. It was wonderful. We talked, watched TV, put on a movie and I slept and relaxed. I couldn't believe how well the epi worked, I thought I'd have some discomfort, but nothing! In fact, I asked the nurse what stage I was in and was shocked when she said I was in active labor. By 5 p.m. my doctor came by to check on me and said it was time to push! I called my folks to find out where they were in transit and it turned out they were just arriving in the parking lot! They made it just in time! Dan and my mom were in the stayed in the room with me to help coach me through. I started pushing somewhere around 5:30 and he was born at 6:13 p.m. It was the most amazing experience. I had them bring over a mirror so I could watch, just breath taking. When they put him up on my chest for the first time, it was overwhelming. I was so excited to be meeting the little guy who had been kicking me for so many weeks. It was really emotional for Dan and I, such a great moment.
They got him cleaned up and gave him back to me telling me he scored a perfect 10 on his APGAR score, apparently something they don't give out much, usually 8s and 9s. After a few minutes, we were joined by DJ, Becca and my dad who all took a turn holding our little Jackson Charles. He was so sweet, barely made a sound and had his eyes wide open. Everyone stayed until visiting hours were over and we had dinner in the room together. It was such an amazing experience being there with my family, welcoming my son. I felt so blessed that everyone could be with us. We got moved up to the 5th floor a little after 9 p.m., I took a shower and we settled in for the night.
The next day we enjoyed a few visitors, Jackson had his first bath, our photographer Holly who came by to take photos of Jackson when he was just shy of a day old and enjoyed a celebration steak dinner with a glass of wine! Becca also made him a little welcome sign on our white board.
Night number two was rough because Jackson was doing what they call cluster feedings, so we didn't get much sleep at all... but it's preparing us for more long nights ahead. But, he's sure a cutie... here's some of the pictures Holly took for us!
We stayed in the hospital until Wednesday afternoon.
It was so wonderful to be home with our happy, healthy baby boy. That night, after his band practice, we celebrated DJ's 16th Birthday with a take out meal from Pepperjax and a cookie dough ice cream cake from DQ. 
He also opened his present from us, his Mimi and my folks...
You can tell by his face it was a big hit! He got 6 private trumpet lessons with one of the trumpeters with the Omaha Symphony and a VIP visit for one of their practice sessions... he is off the charts excited! He also got $16 from his Mimi and some cologne and a gift card from his friends. His girlfriend Kaylee also got him an Oregon Ducks hat. Speaking of... my dad, Dan and Becca got to see a sneak peak of what he's been working on for the last two weeks with the band Friday night... they got rave reviews. I was sorry I had to miss it. 
While we were at the hospital, our pediatrician had said Jackson looked a little Jaundice in the hospital and by Thursday, he was looking Jaundice to us too. We took him to see his doctor who did some blood work. It came back high enough that we needed to put him under a light, so home health came in and got Jackson set up with a light belt that had to stay on 24/7 until his numbers were lower. Fortunately, by Saturday morning his number was low and we were allowed to take the belt off that night. Thank goodness, it was so hard to see him hooked up to that machine.
While we were at the hospital, our pediatrician had said Jackson looked a little Jaundice in the hospital and by Thursday, he was looking Jaundice to us too. We took him to see his doctor who did some blood work. It came back high enough that we needed to put him under a light, so home health came in and got Jackson set up with a light belt that had to stay on 24/7 until his numbers were lower. Fortunately, by Saturday morning his number was low and we were allowed to take the belt off that night. Thank goodness, it was so hard to see him hooked up to that machine. 
Dan kept calling him his cute little robot baby! Jackson didn't seem to mind as much as we did. We're just glad he's doing better and is off that machine.My folks head back to San Diego later today and we're still adjusting to Jackson's schedule, or lack there of, but are loving every moment of having a new little life in our lives. We also found out our little sweet pea loves to have his feet rubbed -- just like Mom!
The Arthurs
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