Okay here is the story most of you have been waiting for……
6:15am Sunday morning (Dec 14th) I woke up with the cramps. I tried to go back to sleep but they just weren’t going away. I finally called my sister an hour later and asked her what it could mean. She tells me it could be early signs of contractions. These cramps felt like menstrual cramps and were uncomfortable. I was planning on going to Tavo’s playoff softball game that morning, but wasn’t feeling up to it at that point. I was bummed. (They won 1st place) Plus my sister said I should probably try and get some sleep anyway. I tired to sleep, but realized I needed to get some things done around the house if I was going to start having contractions. So, I cleaned the bathrooms, sweep the floors, vacuumed, did laundry and etc. The cramping had gone away by 10:30am and didn’t return till about 1:30pm. During this whole time I had been talking and texting back and forth with my sister. (My sister has great knowledge when it comes to having babies, she has 4 of them.) My sister decided that I was probably going to have Jaycee soon within a couple days, my due date probably the 16th. She says I am coming down (she lives in AZ). This is wonderful news, even though it’s really hard for her. She was leaving her husband who had been battling cancer for the last 6 months with the 3 older kids. She brought Zerah (my 2 ½ month old niece) with her. I was worried that if she came it was all going to be false labor and it would be a wasted trip. Shane needed her, but he had been feeling much better and wanted her to come. I am so grateful she was here; between Tavo and her I couldn’t have done it without them.
My sister arrives late Sunday night and Tavo and I had been keeping track of the contractions since 4:30pm that afternoon. They were all over the place, but had started getting alittle closer by the time she got there. My sister sends Tavo to bed; he was going to go to work in the morning (back in YUMA). We were thinking Jaycee wouldn’t come till Tuesday and Tavo would have plenty of time to drive back. So glad I didn’t have to go another whole day of contractions like that. After Tavo went to bed, my sister and I decided to try and get some sleep. But I couldn’t sleep, not one bit. I tired so hard and didn’t want to wake Tavo or my sister. My sister had just driven 7 hours and Tavo was going to work. After my sister had only been sleeping for an hour, I woke her up. I was too weak, I couldn’t get through the contractions by myself, I needed someone to rub my back and talk me through it. I felt really bad, but I knew she understood. At this point it’s 12:30 – 1am in the morning and we both had been up since 6am. The contractions had been 5 minutes apart for hours. I was trying to stay at home as long as possible. (I really wanted to do a natural birth). My sister suggested trying the shower, so I got in the shower and stayed in there for about an hour. Even had my sister turn up the water heater because the water was getting too cold. By this point, my sister realizes Jaycee is coming soon. Tavo shouldn’t drive to Yuma. I get out of the shower and we wake him up to tell him he isn’t going to work and to try and get some more sleep. He decides to get up anyway. By 3am I look at my sister and say I think we should go to the hospital now. She agrees and says the worst that could happen; they will just send us back home. We get everything ready and I can’t even get to the car without having a contraction. We get to the hospital about 4am and they check me in, I was 4 ½ centimeters dilated. I still didn’t want to get an epidural at his point, so we walked around the hospital and I stayed in the shower. My sister and Tavo were so wonderful; they really got me through it. They took turns, so one of them could hold Zerah. She was such a good girl through all of this, she didn’t fuss at all. She was amazing also!
Hours go by and the contractions are getting harder and harder. The nurse needs to monitor you and the baby every hour or so, so they want you to lie down in the bed so they can hook you up to the machines. I hated this, it made the contractions worse, and it even made me throw up at one point. I was lucky to get a great nurse and she was willing to work with me, she was really nice! When they checked me again I was still only 5 to 6 centimeters and had been for 6 hours, so the doctor decided to break my water. WOW, that made the contractions even harder and hurt like HELL. But I still wanted to try without the epidural. I just didn’t want to be stuck in that damn bed for the rest of the time. I thought I can do this. Stayed in the shower after that point, it made things so much better. My poor husband, as he is trying to comfort me I bit him twice. The contractions were just so intense I didn’t even know what I was doing, I felt so bad. But he understood. After another 2 hours in the shower they checked me again to see if I had dilated more, which I should have sine they broke my water. Well, I was still only 5 to 6. At that point I had had enough, and couldn’t deal with the pain anymore. It was 11:30am and I was so tired I could barely stand. I got the epidural. My friend Sani was just arriving as I was getting the meds. I was sad at first that I didn’t make it without the epidural, but now I realize I did my best and tired really hard.
After getting the epidural everyone said. I slept like a baby, fell right asleep. I guess I slept for hours. When I woke up I realized I was stuck in bed and I was uncomfortable. By 6 or 6:30pm they told me I was 10 centimeters and it was time to push, I was feeling the contractions again at this point even with the epidural, but nothing like before. I was worried the epidural would keep me from feeling the contractions and I wouldn’t know when to push, but I did. I had only been pushing for half an hour and it was time for the nurses to switch shifts, I was bummed I was losing my nurse, she was great. The new nurse was just okay, didn’t like her as much at all. When she came in, her and the doctor were already talking about a caesarean. I was like, I have only been pushing for a half hour, give me a break. I really didn’t want a c-section. This made me mad and made me want to push even harder. The doctor kept saying Jaycee was face up and her head wasn’t coming down, that was why a c-section was necessary. Jaycee came out just fine and face down and I didn’t have a c-station. I pushed for about 2 hours and Jaycee came at 8:47pm on Monday December 15th. It was so WONDERFUL when they handed her right to me after being born. I cried so hard, I couldn’t believe she was finally with us after 10 months. I was the happiest mommy ever. She was so beautiful with a head full of hair.
Our little princess can be sound asleep in your arms and when you put her down this is what she does. We will let her cry thinking she will cry herself back to sleep, but no she only cries louder and even has real tears. We have tried everything. We have a swing and she will stay asleep for about 5 minutes then wakes up. While I'm talking a shower she chills in the swing, she loves the sound of the shower. Must have something to do with me being in the shower the whole time during labor. Even when she is fussy, I'll give her a bath and she stops crying right away. We have tired putting her on the floor with a blanket, tired putting her on a pillow on the couch, she will stay in her crib with the mobile going for about 10 minutes (she likes the music), and we have also tired one of those bouncy seats.
