Our Hidden Treasure

What an experience these past few days have been. Paul and I couldn't be more blessed with this precious gift from God. Jackson is everything we could have wanted and didn't know we wanted. He's amazing! Becoming a mother and having this experience with Paul, truly is the ultimate indescribable feeling.

Jackson's Birth Story:

I last left you with a quick note that we were on our way to hospital. Here's a quick overview of that night:

Tuesday - 10-21:

3:30pm - 39 Weeks doctor visit, measured 3cm dilated, 90% effaced and at station +1. Had membranes stripped for the second time

5pm - Contractions are in full swing and getting stronger. Most pain felt in lower back.

8pm - Arrived at the hospital as "in patient" status. Exam showed 90% effaced, station +1, 4 cm

9pm - Received 1st dose of antibiotics for Group B strep

9:15pm - Epidural administered (so NOT as bad as I thought, what a god sent!!) Became extremely comfortable after dealing with intense BACK LABOR!

10:15pm - Dr. K (was on overnight call and was able to deliver my baby, HURRAY!) broke my bag of water to move the

dilation along

11:55pm - Exam showed thinned out cervix and 8-9 cm dilated.

12:20am - Dilation complete, began pushing

12:35am - 2nd dose of antibiotics administered 45 mins early than it should have been, to get more penicillin in my body before baby is delivered. Suffered from heart burn while pushing and vomitted a few times.

1:09am - Jackson Adam Truttschel is born. 7 lbs. 3 oz. 19 inches long, head size 35 cm. Apgar Score was 7 and 9, which is great. Because of the possible GBS exposure, he was placed under every 4 hour vital watch for the full 48 hours.

There was a scary moment shortly after the epidural where Jackson's heart rate dropped below 70. But luckily, his heart rate stabilized within a few minutes and settled back around 150.

When Jackson was born, he was brought right to my chest and what an amazing feeling! Just having his weight on top of me and looking at him is a moment I will never forget. He wasn't crying right away, but when the nurse took him to the heating table he started crying. It was the best few moments of my life. I know Paul shares my feelings.

Jackson's lab work regarding the Group B strep all came back looking good. The white blood cell count was alittle high, which could be associated with many different things. The Pediatrician said that didn't worry him, plus the inflammation tests came back negative. The strep culture that is attempted to be grown to determine if the bacteria is present in the baby, also didn't show worrying results.

Early Friday morning, the nurse brought Jax to me saying he had lost 9.5% of his birth weight in 2 days. This usually happens in a full week. So, his check out weight is 6 lbs 8 oz! This surprised us considering his diaper changes were OVER the newborn goal for his first 2 days. So, I have been pumping along with nursing to give Jax more. It's Friday night now, and I am pleased to say that my milk has already come in which will help him gain weight faster now.

At 38 hours old, Jackson was tested for jaundice and scored 11. We were told this put him in the "high intermediate" level which does not require immediate treatment, but we needed to scheduled a doctor appointment for him tomorrow (Saturday) to get assessed again and have his weight checked out.

As far as my recovery goes, it's been a rough one :). I required quite a bit of "reconstructive surgery down there" and I was sitting on ice for the duration of my hospital stay. I still feel like I am functioning on a low tank of gas but I suppose that is something I will just be getting used to. :)

We are home now and settling in pretty well. My body practically shut down shortly after arriving here, so Paul did a wonderful job solely looking after Jax. My parents are spending the weekend which will help us to control unnecessary chaos in the beginning.

Paul and I was to thank everyone for their thoughts and prayers during our entire pregnancy and delivery. We hope you all get the chance to meet our little boy soon. I will be posting every now and then will updates, but the majority of photos will be emailed through the invite list on Snapfish. If you'd like to receive that invite to view our photos, please email me and I will add your address. Take Care everyone!!