John Thomas - Birth and Coming Home - Part Two

A little late, but here is the rest of John Thomas' birth story!

First here are some photos from my camera that I just downloaded!

Very Excited to be checked into our room!

You can barely see these, and they got some laughs, but they are treat bags for the nurses.  I am terrified of needles, so I wanted to make sure anyone coming at me with one had a little bag of happiness!

 

 

Hello Contractions!

Our BIG baby boy!

Meeting him for the first time!

Very Proud Daddy!

Our first picture of the 3 of us!

After Kris and I spent a few minutes together, he was able to bring our family back two a t a time!  I was so excited to share him with everyone who had patiently waited for him to arrive!  As our family came back I made my first attempt at breastfeeding, something I had wanted to do so badly.  Our first attempt was successful! However, a combination of hormones from delivery and hormones from breastfeeding created a "too much cough medicine" effect for me and I barely remember seeing some of our family who came back!

As soon as I finished feeding, the nurses came back to get John Thomas and take him for his bath and testing. 

The whole time we were at the hospital, we were referred to as the "paparazzi" family :)

 

 

 

 

 Our hospital was very small, so much to our surprise, they did not have a postpartum room to move us to!  We were moved to a larger labor and delivery room for the remainder of our stay.  The only downside, was that we were limited to a certain number of visitors at a time and no one under the age of 18, with the exception of siblings were able to visit. The nurses were very kind and let us bend the rules on the amount of people, as long as we were quiet!

During the next hour or so, I was able to rest some and Kris came back so we could spend some time with just the two of us.  My parents joined us and immediately started spoiling their new grandson!

Nana and Papa J

Lucky for us, he was born on a Thursday, which meant that Koen could come see him!  He was a little nervous around him at first, but then warmed up to hold him! 

Later that night, Pappy and Granna came by to visit and do their first spoiling!

Pappy and Granna

Finally time to sleep!

 Our first night was very long, and Kris nor I slept very much!  Between feeding and hospital staff coming in and out, sleep was nearly impossible!  We were hoping to go home on Friday, but since my water had been broken for over 24 hours before delivery, the pediatrician wanted us to stay and extra day.  John Thomas also had a touch of jaundice that they wanted to keep an eye on, so we made ourselves as comfy as possible for another two days! 

We had lots of visitors on Friday, too bad I didn't get any pictures of them!  I guess that is what a new very tired mama does!  By this time, breastfeeding was becoming much harder and more painful and we were both very frustrated.  I had lots of patient nurses come and try to help, but I was very afraid he was not getting enough to help with his jaundice levels.  I am glad to say that I stuck with it and by Saturday, although his levels were still up, they were low enough for us to go home!  With a promise to the pediatrician that we would be diligent about feeding more frequently and supplementing if necessary, he agreed that we could leave that morning.  Kris and I immediately started packing our things and getting John Thomas ready to leave.  After almost 4 days in there and no sleep, we were ready to be a family at home.  

Very tired mama and sharp dressed baby boy ready to leave!

Koen wanted to carry him into the house! 

Funny side note, apparently in packing my bags (which I did over a month before) I completely forgot to pack myself clothes to come home in.  So in the above photo, yes that is my robe paired with the leggings I wore to the hospital and a nursing tank my sweet friend Ashley brought me with the sweetest gift of "survival things" for our first few weeks.  Mommy brain started way before he was actually here!

Koen was so excited to have us home.  The whole time we were in the hospital he kept saying, "It doesn't seem real until we are all home."  He is the sweetest big brother and we can only hope John Thomas is just like him!

A special thank you to my amazing parents and husband for taking care of me through the range of emotions new mommy hood brought!  They were amazing caretakers of me so I could take care of our sweet baby! I love you, very very much!

Sneak Peek of John Thomas' First NC Trip!

We just returned last weekend from visiting my parents, family and friends in NC - it was great!  John Thomas did great on the flight!  Until I locate our hard drive to download all the fun pictures, here are a few from my phone! 

John Thomas enjoyed the flight :)

Great Grandmother, "Mimi"

Great Grandfather, "Pa"

Shopping with Mama and Nana (disregard the umbrella stroller, BAD idea, this was the only time he was in it!)

Happy One Month, John Thomas

Koen and John Thomas' Hands

 

 

 

Happy 1 Month!

Our sweet boy is ONE month old!  Hard to believe he has been blessing our lives for one month.  Some things he has done this month:

• Rolled over (the first time at 13 days)
• Smiling
• Eating every 2 1/2 - 3 hours during the day and every 3-4 hours at night
• Gained 4 lbs since leaving the hospital
• Outgrown newborn clothes and newborn diapers!  Wearing 0-3 month clothes and size 1 diapers
• Focusing on faces and loves to look at lights and fans
• Loves snuggling with Daddy and Brother
• Has a fussy time almost every night between 6:30 and 9:30
• Loves bathtime!
• Went to church for the first time
• Attended his first highschool basketball game
• Met all his cousins, even sweet Kennedy, who was born 4 weeks before him (due 6 weeks after) and he weighs 3 times what she does! 
• Enjoyed several walks and a day at the park
• Watched his first Super Bowl
• Had visitors from NC, Florida, and Ohio
• Went to the lake for the first time

 

Our typical day - 

Morning

Wake up and eat

Play and nap while Mommy eats breakfast

Bathtime

Eat 

Playtime in the floor or in the swing

Midday

Nap while Mommy eats lunch

Eat, again! 

Playtime or walk around the neighborhood

Afternoon

Nap

Eat, again

Playtime with Daddy when he gets home from work

Evening

Nap (or not :)) while Mommy and Daddy eat, sometimes in shifts!

Eat, again

Playtime which is mostly fussy time by now!

Late Evening

Eat around 9:00 pm or 9:30

Bedtime

John Thomas, 

We love you so much and enjoy watching you grow and exceed our expectations!  God truly blessed us to be your parents!  This month has been the best of our lives!  You are loved by so many - our prayers were answered when God gave us you!

Love, 

Mommy and Daddy

 

Saturday Morning Fun!

Lazy Saturday at our house!

Photo Card

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John Thomas is here!

Finally after 9 months of praying and waiting to meet our sweet baby boy, he made his way into our this world on February 2, 2012 at 9:59 am. Weighing 8 lbs 5 oz and 20.5 inches long we were instantly in love! 

Our journey began on my due date, Wednesday, February 1st as Kris and I made or way to my doctors appointment. Neither of us thinking this would be the day! Our appointment was in the morning and we had both joked about leaving and heading straight to the hospital. After going through the usual routine we waited in the examination room for our doctor, Dr. Behnia, who we love! She began checking me and informed me that I was dilated to a 3 or a 4 and 80 percent effaced! She then said looks like you will have a baby tonight! I immediately assumed she would induce that night and she informed us that we would have a natural labor because she had just accidentally broken my water. I started panicking and asked if she thought my parents would make it and she assured me that she thought they would and asked me to get dressed and call my parents and she would let the hospital know we would be there soon. Kris and I both sat in disbelief and went into overdrive making flight arrangements for my parents. I asked him to call them because I was afraid I would lose it over the phone. We left the office and the next hour was spent letting family and friends know that John Thomas would join us soon. After gathering our things at home we took one last picture of the two of us and my HUGE belly and headed to the hospital.  

Our last picture of just the two of us!

40 weeks pregnant

We arrived at the hospital and got settled into our room at around 10:30 am.  After filling out all the necessary paperwork my nurse administered my IV.  This was the part I had dreaded the worst the whole time.  I do not like needles and the thought of one being inserted into my hand for any amount of time makes me nauseous!  

Around lunchtime our family and friends started to assemble in the lobby of the hospital, there were 21 people total!  We could only have 2 people outside of Kris and I in my room at a time, so they rotated in and out all day. 

At 4:30, I still had not progressed very much so the Dr approved for me to walk around to see if I could make things start moving!  She also ordered me a full meal to give me strength to push later that night.  I was finally able to go out to the lobby to visit with everyone for a couple of hours.  It was such a blessing 
to walk out into the lobby to see so many family members and friends who were waiting for our bundle to arrive!! 

Walking around the lobby where friends and family had completely rearranged all the furniture!

Kris and I

Lots of support as I walked around the lobby!

At 5:15 pm my parents landed in Dallas!  Kevin picked them up and they got to the hospital at 6:40 pm.  

Finally!  So relieved they made it in time!

So happy to see my dad!

and my mom!

The Whole Group

By this time I had eaten my meal and the doctor said it was time to go back to the room for some rest.  Everyone, with the exception of my mom and dad, left to grab something to eat.  My parents and Kris and I went to my room to visit for a little while. At 8:30 pm, I was only dilated to 4 cm, so the Dr ordered the pitocin to be started.  An hour and a half later I had only dilated to 5 cm so the Dr gave me some medicine to sleep and told me there would be no baby tonight, she would check on me through out the night and see me the next  morning.  We were disappointed, but knew that rest would be good for everyone.  Kris sent everyone home and we settled in for the night.  My IV was really getting the best of me, and making it hard to sleep.  Luckily, I had a super nurse who agreed to move it from my hand to my arm - MUCH BETTER!

At 12:00 am I woke up with major back pain (til this point I had very very little pain and still had not felt any contractions)  Kris rubbed my back and called the nurse for my epidural.  The epidural was not bad at all and within minutes I had relief.  I was still not fully dilated, only to a 7, but the nurse assured us it shouldn't be long.  From that point on, neither of us slept very well, thinking we could be ready to push any minute.  By 2:20 am, the nurse checked  on me again, I was at an 8 and 90% effaced.  

At 6:30 am, I was starting to feel discomfort and felt movement in my feet and legs.  After asking the nurse, she informed me it was normal and they wanted some feeling to help with pushing.  Shortly after, I was in unbearable pain and the nurses discovered (with Kris' strong suggestion that they check my epidural pump) that my epidural was no longer working at all.  For the next hour and a half I was in the worst pain I have ever experienced.  Finally, they called the anesthesiologist and he was able to get it working again.  Relief again!  

By 7:30 am, my Dr came by to check on me and told me she would be back when it was time to push.  Only an hour and 15 minutes later, at 8:45 am, I was fully dilated and it was time to push.  A little over an hour of pushing, with the help of Kris, who was amazing and so encouraging the whole time and our wonderful Dr and nurses we welcomed our sweet blessing at 9:59 am! 

John Thomas Goggans - very first photo!

*most of the photos pictured above were taken by my talented SIL, Mandy ~ thank you again for capturing these priceless moments! 

Part 2 to come!