Calvin Spencer Jenkins

March 27, 2012

12:04pm

8 lbs 11 oz

22 inches

Cal's labor and delivery story goes down in the record as my fastest and easiest to date! I couldn't have asked for a better experience from everything- to checking in, to the nurses, the food, how we were taken care of, and even how I felt immediately after. I'm obviously a big fan of inductions as well as epidurals, mostly for the fact that it makes the whole labor/delivery experience that much more enjoyable. Below I've recorded all the details (and a gazillion pictures) of Calvin's arrival into the world.

Spencer and I checked into the hospital a few minutes after 5am. We were excited but completely exhausted after a long night awake with little Miss Elle who decided to pick the best night of the week to have a nightmare about bugs in her bed. She was awake from 10:15pm (right when I was heading off to bed) to 2:20am (an hour after my mom thankfully took over and finally got Elle calmed down). I got a total of 3 hours of sleep and Spencer a whopping 2 hours!

Last picture taken before getting into bed and hooked up to IV's

6:30am - Hooked up to IV's, dilated to 3, got started on pitocin

7:30am - Dr. Ferro stopped by to check on me, dilated to 4, increased pitocin

9:05am - Got epidural, numbed up really fast- couldn't feel a bit of pain, felt fabulous, took a nap

11:20am - Checked, dilated to 7/8 cm

11:30am- Even with the epidural I was starting to really feel the contractions- I knew it wasn't gonna be much longer.

11:39am- Called my mom to tell her not to take the girls anywhere cause they might just be coming to the hospital! My mom thought this meant another hour or so and went ahead and took Madi to school.

11:50am- Fully dilated, the nurses called Dr. Ferro . The pic below was taken at 11:51. Again, another reason I LOVE epidurals . . . you can smile and say cheese minutes before delivering!

11:55am Dr. Ferro there and ready to go. I think I was a little giddy (and really still in shock that I was about ready to deliver another baby) cause after 2 pushes Dr. Ferro looks at me, laughs, and says: "You're laughing while pushing! Come on, just give me two more pushes and he's out!" And she wasn't kidding. I got serious, regained my composure, gave another push and a half and my baby boy came shooting out! It was incredible!! That feeling, of the baby coming out is so amazing! I was completely shocked at how quick and easy it had been.

I didn't even have time to register everything before the little guy was placed onto my chest. He wasn't breathing and I remember saying, "breathe buddy breathe". Spencer cut the cord and the nurses immediately moved him onto the warmer. Then everything seemed to move in slow motion as I looked over, noticed how blue in color he was, heard Spencer call him Calvin, registered in my mind that he must look exactly what Spencer thought he was going to look like, and then heard the first cry. I quickly found out that the cord had been wrapped about his neck twice when he came out. Because of this, and his rapid decent through the birth canal, Cal had lots of bruising all over his face. Just looked like he had a lot of freckles.

Calvin's 14 inch head- crazy to think that this big boy had been inside me just minutes earlier!!

My doctor (who's 37 weeks pregnant in the picture below) had time to stitch me up (only needed one small stitch) and pose for one quick picture before I heard mom and Elle out in the hall.

I guess mom dropped Madi off at school and then headed off to run errands with Elle. As they passed the turn into the hospital Elle said, "I want to go see baby Calvin." My mom kept driving and asked, "Do you think baby Calvin is here already?" and Elle insisted, "Ya, I want to go see my baby Calvin!" So my mom flipped around and drove back to the hospital (just to see how things were going- totally not thinking I would have delivered already). But sure enough, just as Elle had said, baby Calvin had already arrived! My mom walked in with tears in her eyes (I wasn't sure why until I heard the rest of the story), asking, "Do we have a new baby?" Mom and Elle only stayed for a few minutes- just long enough for Elle to have some time with her new brother, take a few pictures, and text some family members. I just sat in my bed and took it all in- the love of a grandma, a look of a proud Daddy, and the sweetness of a new BIG sister!

We said good-bye to Gram and Elle, and then minutes later Spencer's mom came up to meet her new grandson.

I believe this was after his first taste of mama's milk. He's been a great nurser from day one!

We visited for awhile until I realized it was 2:30pm and Madi would be getting out of school soon and coming over with my mom and Elle. So I told the nurses I was feeling good and ready to get settled into my new room. Calvin was taken to the nursery for his bath while I was moved over to my postpartum room. Calvin wasn't even back from his bath before two excited sisters came walking through the door. Since Elle already had a chance to hold Calvin, Madi was first up! She was a natural, and immediately started singing him songs. Elle quickly joined in. It was adorable!

Unfortunately the girls visit wasn't as peaceful as I'd hoped. There was lots of arguing over who got to sit where, who was going to hold him, yadda yadda yadda. It was stressful, I was annoyed, and embarrassed at how loud they were being. But I was glad to find this pic (below) in my camera where we all appear to be bursting with happiness over the newest addition to our family. In case you're wondering- Madi's making a heart with her hands. We might not have been able to get everyone looking and smiling for a picture, but this one is perfect.

By 4:30pm everyone was gone and I realized this was the first time Spencer and I had been alone with our son. It was nice to have some quiet time alone- don't think we could be anymore in love with our little guy

We had a good hour together before Spencer headed home to eat dinner and spend some time with the girls before they headed off to bed. But he was back by 7pm with Adam and Lora (our first non-family visitors). Then Grandpa Al and Boppi showed up soon after.

By the time everyone left we were all exhausted. Spencer headed home for bed while Cal and I settled in for our first night together.

Day 2: Wednesday, March 28th

Spencer kept the girls in the morning so that my mom could come hang out with me at the hospital. I don't even know if my mom got to hold Calvin before this. She was always busy taking care of the girls and keeping them happy and entertained (and believe me- it's a full time job:)! So it was super nice to have some quiet time just with mom and Calvin.

After story time and crafts at the library, Spencer brought Madi and Elle over around 11am. They never seem to run out of energy. I'm not sure if was the cramped conditions of my small hospital room, the excitement of a new baby, or what, but the girls always seemed to fight (ending with someone in tears) when they'd come to visit. It was exhausting and gave me a glimpse as to what it was going to be like when we got home. Later that afternoon I decided it'd be best if I stayed a second night in the hospital. :) After lots of loves, songs, and pictures with Calvin, my mom took off with the girls at 11:45 to get Madi to school.

It was an action packed afternoon with Cal's circumcision and more visitors. Then that evening the hospital gave Spencer and I their traditional, celebratory "Stork dinner". It was awesome! We both had Fillet Mignon with a baked potato, steamed vegetables, a salad, wheat roll, and sparkling cider topped off with 3 different desserts- peanut butter cream pie (my choice), key lime pie, and red velvet cake- all served with fresh strawberries! I know some people don't like hospital food, but it was seriously heavenly! We felt super spoiled.

Our entire stay at the hospital was perfect. Calvin was the only baby delivered the two days we were there. He got some serious royal treatment!! I can't rave about our hospital enough- the attentive nurses and the amazing care we both got. All the nurses were fabulous, but the pic below is me with my favorite nurse, Linda, who helped bring Calvin into the world.

Sadly, our small Camarillo hospital doesn't have nearly the amount of deliveries per month that they used to have and most likely will be closing down the labor and delivery unit this summer. I was crushed to hear this! Our experience here was so perfect!

Day 3: Thursday, March 29th

After a great night of sleep (got a solid 4 hour block when the nurses took Calvin out to sleep by their desk where they could watch him), I was up early, showered, dressed, and ready to head home. Spencer and Madi showed up at 8am to load my stuff into the car. I got our little guy dressed and buckled into his seat!

We were all excited about heading home!!

Gram and the girls had decorated nicely for baby brother's homecoming!

Since coming home, it hasn't been nearly as crazy as I thought it was gonna be- probably cause I've had my mom and Spencer's help 24/7. My mom's made dinner every night, cleaned up afterwards, kept the girls entertained, and ran all my errands. Boy are we gonna miss her help- thanks mom for all you do!!! As for Calvin, he's been eating like a champ and is always sleepy. We were told to watch for jaundice which we think he probably has, but we're keeping him by the window as much as possible. These first days just fly by so fast. We're all loving his snuggles, watching his every facial expression, and soaking up the sweetness of having a newborn in the house! We love you baby Calvin!