She’s finally here! Today began just as any other day has, within the last couple of months. We woke as 2, said our “so-longs” as we departed for our individual places of work and then became 2 again as we arrived home. Little did we know, this would be the last day that it would be just us 2…
After a hard day’s work, Nell and I will typically eat dinner together, followed by some intense couch-potato-ing while we power watch through the various shows that we enjoy. This session began as any other, we had finished eating, the food coma had set in nicely and we were ready to head towards bed. At this time; it was nearing 10:30 or so, we decided to head to bed so I woke Bentley up and offered him his last opportunity to “go potty” before retiring him to his crate for the night and Nell headed towards the restroom. I thought I heard her proclaim some sort of a “owww” or “ouch” or similar so I asked if she was ok? She paused for a minute and then replied (in a heightened sense) “I think my water broke!”. That’s all I needed to hear, I turned into a tornado and began packing anything that I thought we might need (I packed useless items that we did not need but at the time seemed important, lol.).
Being the procrastinator that I am, I hadn’t even packed my overnight bag yet (Nell’s was packed long ago). I knew that I would be in immense trouble if my lackadaisical approach towards an overnight bag had any bearing on our “Not” leaving as soon as possible and with that in mind I turned into a madman, I had everything packed and the car ready to go in no more than 4 minutes, ask Jenelle. I walked my distressed wife to the car and we began our journey to the hospital, the 35 minute commute felt much more like a white-knuckled 15 minutes as Jenelle firmly recommended that I drive FASTER! Although it was no time to be amused, I couldn’t help but laugh under my breath as Jenelle would yell at me during contractions only to apologize intently right after for “acting like a B****"…lol. Even in the heat of childbirth she possesses a heart of gold.
Luckily we had just toured hospital and birthing center 1 day prior, so I knew exactly where we needed to go. We arrived at the hospital at 11:20 and through the Emergency door we were escorted directly to Triage only to find that Jenelle was fully ready to have a baby. Our next stop was in our Labor & Delivery room where we would spend the next 36 hours though only 40 minutes would be spent with just the 2 of us as Jordyn decided that she was ready to come out at 12:08am on September 20th, she was 5lb 8oz and 20” long. Because things happen so fast, Jenelle was unable to receive any sort of other pain treatment or epidural; upon hearing this, I thought for sure she was going to kill someone in the room. To my surprise, the only thing she really cared about was “Getting this child out”…And she did, cool-calm and collected. I have never been so proud of my wife as I watched her endure what I’m sure was agonizing pain. My wife is awesome.
Holding her in our arms was a feeling so surreal, a feeling that can only be described by actually living it. As unprepared as we were (we toured the hospital 1 day before and hadn’t made it to our “bringing home baby” class yet), the moment she arrived it felt as though a switch was flipped and we immediately were more than ready to be parents and to provide and protect for this little girl. We cringed everytime the nurses entered our room to poke and prod, we literally felt the pain with her. As wonderful as the hospital was and as well as they fed us, 3 times per day! It was even better to go home and begin our lives together, just the 3 of us…and the dog.
We spent 1 night at home and then were encouraged to return to the hospital so that Jordyn could receive some UV light therapy. Although we didn’t look forward to another night away from home, we DID look forward to the food! Lol. Honestly, it was amazing. Our night went great, Jordyn’s bilirubin levels decreased almost 50% and we were discharged the following morning.
Today Jordyn is 1 week old and we cannot believe how fast this week as flown-by! I guess what everyone tells us is accurate: “they grow up way too fast”…The last week has been an amazing one for us all, with constant support from family and the many bonding moments we have already had, it is hard to believe that we ever lived without. Thanks to those who have stopped by and for all the kind words that have been sent our way!
Last but not least, here is a video that I made, dedicated to the celebration of Jordyn's birth:
Last but not least, here is a video that I made, dedicated to the celebration of Jordyn's birth:
