They meet.

So, I’m a little behind with posting lately.  For that, I apologize.  Take a trip with me in the way back machine to the first day that Anna met my little nephew Jackson.  May 23, to be exact.  Oh, and for the record, we’ll be on this way back machine for the next few blog entries, so don’t feel like you’re a crack head when I post about Mother’s Day months after the fact.

This is Anna’s first glimpse of her favorite cousin.  She greased her hair with Crisco just for this special occasion.

She tries to eat the baby.

We tell her no.

She points and laughs at the baby.

Jackson doesn’t care. 

Then she decides to crash his photoshoot and take a letter off of his name basket (see below).
 
Then she decides to steal his hat.

I’ve decided I need an action lens to photograph my child from now on.  She’s too quick!

So, all in all, it was a good first meeting.  I can already tell they’re going to be great buds – as long as Anna will quit stealing his stuff!

Apples to apples.

Now that Anna has discovered the wide world of kitchen table climbing, she has become obsessed with my centerpiece of decorative apples.  I usually find the fake apples strewn about the living room in random and odd places or sitting on one of her plates as if she plans on dining on them for lunch.  Or I find them stuffed down her shirt in a glorious attempt to propel herself into puberty.  Le sigh, folks.  Le sigh.
 
I guess she didn’t get the memo that since she’s my child she should probably be stuffing grapes down her shirt. Apples are a gross over statement.


I promise you she did all of this on her own. 

5.13.10

 

As promised, I’m going to share my sister’s birth story with all of you (she gave me permission).  Since I got to take part in the whole process, I figured I’d post about it on here (for memory’s sake).  Here goes!

I get a text message from my sister at 5:45 a.m. on Thursday, May 13.  Unfortunately, I’m a loser and deleted it from my phone by accident, but it basically said that she was in labor and on the way to the hospital.  I called her immediately to confirm.  She said her bag of water had broken, and she was having steady contractions, very close together.  She was only a little over 37 weeks at the time, so none of us were expecting Jackson to arrive so early.  Then again, Anna was impatient, too, so it all was eerily similar. 

I started running around my house like a mad woman (just like I did the morning I went into labor).  I was throwing stuff in a suitcase and hurriedly getting ready.  My sister lives an hour away from me, and her hospital was an hour away from that, so I still had 2 hours of driving to do.  Since her contractions were timing so close together, I was in panic mode that I wouldn’t be there in time. 

Fortunately, Joe was off of work that day, so he stayed home to watch Anna.  I drove as quickly as I could without getting arrested and picked my mom up from her house.  Then we made the hour long trip to the hospital.  It was the longest drive ever!

We finally arrive at the hospital and run like mad women to my sister’s labor room.  The hospital was HUGE and terribly confusing, so we spent a good 15 minutes just trying to find her room.  By the time we got there, she was in the midst of contraction hell, and I could tell by the look on her face that an Epidural wasn’t far off.

Niki in the midst of a contraction.  Poor thing! Trent was a great labor partner!

My poor sister never really got a break with the contractions.  She had one contraction on top of another.  Later we would find out that’s because she was dilating at the speed of light.  She basically went from finger-tip dilation to 6 cm within a two hour span.  So, yeah, she’s pretty darn strong and awesome to deal with that intense amount of pain before begging for an epidural. 

There was a tense moment before she got an epidural.  Jackson’s heart rate kept dipping pretty low everytime she’d have a contraction.  The OB on call kept coming into the room to get my sister to change positions.  She finally decided to do a fluid immersion since she could tell that Jackson was pressing down hard on my sister’s pelvic bone.  Since her bag of water had broken earlier that morning and she was contracting so quickly, they wanted to give him a little padding in utero until he made his grand entrance into the world.  Once they did the immersion, his heart rate never dipped again.  Good thinking, Dr!

Ahh, sweet relief!  She’s finally getting an epidural.  Since they didn’t give her fluids when she first got there, she had to wait until an entire saline ringer bag of fluid was drained out.  We each sat there watching it with nervous anticipation.  I kept thinking to myself – HURRY THE HELL UP!

MUCH better now! Now we can take a family photo – me, Niki, mom

Even after she was given the epidural, she kept progressing very quickly.  Each time they would check her, she had dilated at least a centimeter.  It was pretty amazing considering this is her first child. 

Her good friend Christy came by to visit. L to R: Jessica (Niki’s sister-in-law), Stephanie (mother-in-law), Ray (father-in-law), Noah (Jessica’s son, Niki’s nephew), Trent (hub)

The nurse comes in after a while and tells us that Niki is ready.  We all stood around looking at each other completely dumb founded.  Didn’t we just get here?!  She went into labor around 4:45 that morning, and here it is 11 a.m., and she’s 10 cm and ready to be a mom.  Wow! 

So, they wheel in the baby incubator cart thing (sorry I don't know the technical name for it), and we all get super excited that we’re about to meet Jackson for the first time!
Then the nurse comes in and starts doing the test pushes with my sister.  Jackson had basically dropped to the lowest point at this time, so we didn’t think it was going to take much to get him out.  Starting the test pushes.  Now it’s time to really push!  He’s almost here!

All told, my sister pushed for about 45 minutes.  It was tough, but she pushed through, and at 12:45 p.m. on Thursday, May 13, 2010, Jackson Trent was born into this world! 
 

The proud parents setting their sights on Jackson for the first time.

Mimi looking @ Jackson for the first time. Daddy cutting the cord!

The first time Niki gets to hold her son.  Time for a clean up. Jackson was having a hard time breathing, so they gave him some O2.  Teeny baby!  5 lbs. 13.5 oz.  Trent finally gets to hold his son. He’s a pro already! First family photo. Since Jackson was having a hard time breathing, they wanted to keep him in the nursery.  Trent never left his side. The first time Mimi got to hold Jackson. Time for a bath! He was not a happy camper. All clean now. Jackson in his first onesie. The first time Jackson’s maternal great grandparents got to hold him and see him.  The first time Jackson’s paternal great grandparents got to hold him.Jackson and Paw Paw Jeff. 

Jackson and his favorite Auntie. First Dr. visit. First diaper change – it’s a family affair. Jackson snuggling with his beautiful mom. The proud parents are finally home. Jackson’s reaction when he sees his new home!

Snug as a bug his first night at home.

So, all in all, it was an incredible and beautiful experience for everyone.  I’m so honored that my sister allowed me to take part in such a special event.  Words cannot express how amazing it was to see my little nephew take his first breath of air.  I love you, Jackson.  Welcome to our wonderful (and crazy) lil’ family. 

If you’ve made it this far, hang in there a few more seconds.  Below are his newborn pictures.  He was the perfect little model!

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