D-Day (delivery day)

Friday 8am
Today I had my routine 38 week check up.  The doctor checked to see if I was dilated and I was!  3 cm.  He asked if I wanted him to strip my membrane, so of course I said yes...I wanted this baby out of me!  I hoped it would jump start labor.  The doctor did say I was measuring small so he wanted me to get an ultrasound...of course, the next appt wasn't until 1:40pm.  So I headed out to run errands.
1:40pm
Back to the hospital we went.  The ultrasound took about an hour.  The technician measured everything possible to make sure baby was okay.  Unfortunately, since it was Friday and so late in the day my doctor had already left so we didn't get any results.  We hoped for the best and assumed nothing too bad was going on since they let us go.
4:00pm
I had already made plans to go to San Marcos for dinner with 2 of my best friends.  Even though I was 3 cm dilated, the doctor said it could take another week for anything to really progress.  So...off to San Marcos I went!  Jen and I rode together down there and when we got to Nicole's we went to paint pottery.  I had never painted pottery before so I was super excited!  I ended up painting a small plate with surf boards on it to put in Jack's room.  While painting, I had a few contractions but nothing out of the ordinary.  We joked that we had to finish our painting because I could have the baby at any point!
7:00pm
We shut down the pottery place...we were just having too much fun :)  We headed back to Nicole's for dinner.  She made a delicious taco soup!  I must say, in hindsight it was a fabulous last meal!!  The three of us (well mine was just juice...) sipped on our skinny girl drinks and chatted the night away.  Around 8:30pm I noticed my contractions were getting to be about 15 minutes apart.  The doctor said if I have more than 6 contractions in an hour to call...but I was only having 4 an hour so we kept on chatting!  At 9:45pm Jen and Nicole figured it was time for me to get home just in case it was more than we thought.  We joked about me having the baby...ha...but who really thought!!  I drove so of course I was going to drive home.  We didn't even make it out of the neighborhood when I looked at Jen and told her I was having another contraction.  About 5 minutes later...another one.  We both freaked out when we realized how frequent they were coming!  Since we had to drive back by the hospital on the way home, Jen and I thought I should call the hospital to see if they thought I should come in.  Wouldn't THAT have been an adventure!!  When I called and let them know what was going on they told me I have to have contractions every 3-4 minutes for 2 hours.  Ok...no big deal.  But boy were these contractions getting closer and stronger!  (I knew I needed one last girls night...haha I guess Jack wanted to crash the party!)
10:30 pm
I finally made it home and the contractions hadn't subsided.  I took a shower, drank water, laid down...did everything I was supposed to in order to ensure it wasn't false labor.  It had only been an hour at this point but I was hurting!  I had Jon call L&D and let them know my contractions were coming about every 2-3 minutes.  She told him to make sure I ate something and head to the hospital...which is 45 minutes from the house!  Not to mention the fact that this would be our 3rd time there in one day!!  I was in so much pain that I couldn't focus enough to eat so we got in the car and left.  I called my mom to let her know that she needed to be prepared...they were going to plan to be on the first flight out if it was real labor.
12:30am
When we arrived to the hospital I couldn't hardly walk inside.  The contractions were coming faster and stronger and I would have been double over in pain...but that even hurt too bad!  When we got up to L&D they had the doctor check me.  He chatted with me for what seemed to be forever and waited to check me in between contractions.  I'll never forget the way he told the nurse the next part..."She is 8cm dilated...can you check behind me please?".  The nurse obliged and was shocked at how far along I was.  The first thing out of my mouth was "Does this mean I can't get an epidural?!".  They immediately put me into a delivery room.  They put in an IV (which served no purpose other than to give me fluids...it would take an hour for my labs to come back to see what meds I could get).  The baby's heart rate was a little low during contractions so they told me they needed to break my water.  The next thing I know there are 2 nurses, a baby nurse, a resident OB and a supervising OB in the room.  It was probably around 1:00am. They gave me oxygen due to the baby's lowering heart rate.  Other than that...I had nothing...nada...no epidural that I had planned for...no tylenol...no motrin...just oxygen and an uncomfortable IV.  I had the urge to push and so it began.  The light came down from the ceiling and I knew I was in for it.  I will spare you the details, but let me tell you...it was the hardest hour of my life!  At 2:19am baby Jack Cooper Swanson was pushed out into this world; weighing 7lbs 4oz and 18 inches long.  It only took an hour of pushing.  When he came out he wasn't breathing/crying so they took him to the warmer to get the life knocked into him!  They called in a pediatrician in to help get things going and about 2 minutes later he turned pink and cried.  It was the sweetest sound I could have heard.  It was the scariest  few hours of my life, but we survived them and he is the most precious baby boy.
Unfortunately the hospital was busier than ever these last 4 days...not sure what sparked the baby boom!  They didn't have a recovery room for me to move into so we had to make my delivery room comfortable for what turned out to be the next 14 hours!  All I wanted was a new room...new scenery...and to get away from the place I just delivered naturally...YIKES!  I still can't believe I had a baby naturally!
11:00am
My parents finally arrived to the hospital.  It was nice to have the break in the day where I could just sleep.  Up to that point we hadn't slept at all, so we had been up for over 24  hours.  What a crazy, crazy day.  We had so many people calling and texting...it was so nice to share this with everyone!
4:00pm
We finally got the word that we would be moved into our own room!  Yippee!!  After getting settled in, a few friends stopped by to see us.  Baby Jack is so lucky to have so many people love on him.  We wrapped up the day...Jon went home to get some sleep and my mom stayed at the hospital with me.  I am still running on zero sleep, but just this morning the Corpsman told me I was the happiest mom on the floor with the lowest blood pressure!  I figured that was a good sign :)

What a day we had!  But we all survived and the love we have is amazing for each other.  I am surrounded by my sweet, precious baby boy, my amazing husband who held my hand the entire way, my parents, and amazing friends.  Baby Jack makes this all complete and I wouldn't have it any other way!!

*I am still at the hospital, so I will upload pictures to this once I get home!!*

It's Raining! Oh wait...it's just a baby shower :)

The other week (yes I know, I am SO late on posting!!) Stacey hosted a shower for me with my best girlfriends out here in Cali!  It was so nice to have all of us together for an evening of fun, games, and food!  They all spoiled Baby Jack...I know how loved he already is!!  One thing we are realizing is that we are TERRIBLE about group photos!!  However, here are a few snap shots of the evening :)

Best idea....a book for Jack
signed by all of my girlfriends!

Cute deccorations!!

Edible Arrangement my mom sent :)

Diaper Cake that
Stacey made!

What?  You are shocked I was
happy about cake? lol

Gifts from the ladies.
Spoiled. Rotten.

Delicious "virgin" punch...but there was
booze to add to it :) !

In other news

Spent the day on the beach...my happy place!

I have had a week off of work now and I still haven't stopped!  Although I am really not surprised.  I always wondered what it would be like to not work.  So far, I am going stir crazy.  I am starting to relax though and enjoy this peaceful time while I can.  This week was full of fun and friends.  I was able to have lunch with my best girl friends (minus Jen G :( ) over the course of the week and even have a bonfire to close it out right.  It is so nice to have friends I consider family to lean on.  The one thing the Marine Corps lifestyle has taught me is to embrace friends as family because you never know how far away your real family will be when you really need them...and riding the roller coaster of pregnancy is when you really need them!!  Starting a family away from family is the most difficult thing a new mom can face.  It was easy to move away when we first got married because we settled into our own routines.  With a new baby it is difficult.  You want them to be cuddled by your family instantly.  That opportunity is taken away when you move so far from family.  But what we do have are wonderful friends that we have made and grown relationships with.  I am blessed to have them all in my life and Jack will be just as blessed!  (He may even get a few puppy kisses and snuggles from all of the kiddos!).  However...lucky for Jack, his Tutu and Papa will be on a flight as soon as labor starts!  Oh and for the curious minded, we decided to call my mom Tutu because of her Hawaiian roots...LOL!  She was born on the Marine Corps Base in Honolulu so she swears she's Hawaiian...plus it's a catchy name.
Best. Gift. Ever.
And last but definitely not least...the most thoughtful and beautiful gift Jack has received thus far!  My cousin, Matt, is an absolute mastermind when it comes to building things.  For my 16th birthday he made the hope chest that was filled with lots of love and gifts to get me on my way in life (it's a southern thang, y'all!).  For Jack, he made him a music box that was a replica of the hope chest he made me.  All of the detailing is gorgeous.  His wife chose the song, Claire de Lune, and my Aunt helped sew the fabric inside of it.  Gorgeous is an understatement for this wonderful gift!!
*The original hope chest was delivered by Matt in the back of his truck.  It was in a HUGE box with "snow weight" written on the top...he had me believing it was to keep his truck from flipping in the snow...haha and I believed him!*