Announcing...

Jared Lee Swan came into this world September 21, 2011. He was 9 lbs. 5 oz. and 21 in. He was born on his due date, but was delivered by c-section.

I had my membranes stripped on the 20th (tuesday) and waited to see if it would do anything. That night I started having consistent contractions starting about 5:00 pm. They were only 10 minutes apart and I had had them like that before so I didn't have much hope for real labor. My mom and Kyle and I went for a walk that evening and when we got back I was starting to have a little back pain during the contractions. They were still only 10 minutes apart but they were getting painful. I put Kyle down and went downstairs to watch "Hello Dolly". I went to bed thinking I'd wake up and the contractions would be gone. About 2:30 am I woke up to intense back pain with every contraction and this time they were 5 minutes apart. I was pretty sure this was it, so I woke up Alex and asked him to give me a blessing. I told him to go back to bed in case he still had to go to school the next day and I took a hot shower. It felt really good on my back so I spent a while in there. When I got out my contractions were about 4 minutes apart and I was getting nervous about how much back labor I was having. With Kyle I had back labor because his head was facing the wrong way and he ended up being a c-section. I had prayed and prepared for months, hoping that this could be a vaginal delivery, so I was scared all my hopes were going to be dashed when the back labor became worse than the front contractions. I woke up Alex at 6:00 am and told him it was time to go to the hospital. I really had to concentrate hard to get through the intense pain and it felt much better to be standing and leaning on something during the contractions. We arrived at the hospital and the nurses hooked me up to a fetal and contraction monitor for about 10 minutes. I handled the contraction pretty well for having those hooked up to me while laying on my back. I just needed Alex to hold my hand and I was fine. I thought about what I wanted to do and how Heavenly Father was watching over me. I knew that everything would be ok and that I was doing a great work. I was so excited that my baby was finally coming to be with us, and thinking about all of that gave me a lot of peace and comfort while dealing with the pain. A few minutes into the monitoring, about 3 nurses ran into the room acting pretty frantic and told me that the baby's heart rate went down with every contraction and that we had to get the baby out now. I knew what that meant and at that moment I kinda lost it. They bombarded me with trying to get an IV in my arm, turning me on my side and getting me to breath oxygen. I lost my sense of peace and and instead of feeling comfort I only felt scared. Terrified actually. I didn't know what had happened to that peace and it was all I could do to hold it together during the contractions. My doctor came in and checked my progress. I wasn't progressing and he said that Jared's head had turned, similar to what Kyle had done. He also said he was nervous about how thin my uterus was feeling. He told me that the baby did a lot better when I was on my side, but he suggested I do a c-section, as it was the safest thing for my baby. I was devastated, but I made the hard decision trying to do what was best for my baby. I was then quickly transfered to the operating room and Alex was told he had to stay out while the spinal was placed. My doctor became my best friend at that point because I needed a familiar face that cared about me. He talked me through it and reassured me that everything was fine. I was never so happy to be numb after that. The pain was gone and Alex came back in and sat right there with me while holding my hand again. It was a matter of minutes and I heard Jared's first little cry. The peace and comfort came rushing back in. It was amazing how everything seemed to turn out just how it was supposed to once he was here and I knew he was safe. With Alex there with me I just cried and smiled as I listened to my baby's first voice in this world. It was a precious time that I will never forget and can wait to experience again.

Jared's birth wasn't exactly what I had in mind, but it turned out to be exactly what I needed. I needed to know that I had done everything I could to ensure a vaginal birth, and when it was out of my hands, I made a decision that got my baby here safely anyway. Recovering from a c-section may be harder than a vaginal recovery, but that's not what I need to focus on. I need to focus on the miracle of medicine that allowed my baby to be born safely. In an earlier day, I don't know what would have happened. I'm grateful for every moment I have with my baby, even at 3 am when he wants to eat and I want to sleep. I thank Heavenly Father that I have the opportunity to be his mom, as well as Kyle's and I look forward to the eternity we will spend together.