the story of jml

September 1st will never be the same for Aaron and I. We had no idea that would be the day that we would welcome our sweet Jewel Mackenzie Lott into the world. I decided I wanted to make sure I wrote everything down, so we wouldn't forget that joyous day. (*warning: kind of long!)

I woke up that day around 5am feeling like, 'if Jewel would stop curling up in a ball then I could get some sleep'! Finally about 6:30am I realized... 'wait a minute, I think I'm having contractions', and decided that I needed to wake Aaron up. Shortly after I that... I brushed the pool down, vacuumed the house, cleaned the bathrooms, and did the laundry while trying to count contractions. Clearly, something was going on, and was probably going to be sooner rather than later. We got Holly, our doula, on the phone and told her we knew today was the day. I was having 1 minute contractions every 3-4 minutes for the past few hours. Our plan was to stay home and labor as long as possible, and then head to the hospital. We gave Biscotti a big hug, packed the car, and headed to the hospital. 

We couldn't have asked for a better situation when we checked in. We were one of two expecting parents, I was 5cm, and our natural birth plan was happening the way we wanted to. My progression was right on point, but my water still hadn't broke. Aaron and Holly were the best team I could have asked for, and the hospital accommodated us in every way we hoped for. 

Around 5pm, when we were due for our hourly check on vitals, Jewel's heart rate begin to drop. She had been staying consistently at 120, and all of sudden we were at 80... then 60. All I remember is a flood of nurses, a doctor that wasn't mine, an oxygen mask, being told that my water had to be broken immediately, and as soon as it was... it was going to be go time. Originally, Aaron and I pictured having all these cool pictures, not graphic, from labor and delivery. However, everything happened so fast, and was a little scary, that pictures seemed meaningless. After 20 minutes of pushing Jewel was here, praise the Lord, at 7:37pm weighing 6lbs. 14oz, and 19in long.

Our first time time together after a tough 17 hours of events after birth.

They laid this perfect little miracle girl in our arms, and Aaron and I feel in love. After 2 minutes of taking in the moment, Jewel turned purple. That girl was so ready to come out that she gulped in almost 27oz of amniotic fluid. Our sweet Jewel was rushed onto oxygen and a feeding tube. We were unable to hold her, but Aaron, thankfully, was able to go into the nursery to be with her. Meanwhile, 9 hours later, I wasn't recovering exactly how the nurses were hoping for. I ended up going under an emergency surgery for a hematoma (ugh). However, the good news was, when I got out of surgery Jewel was breathing on her own and we could now hold her. After all that, Aaron and I couldn't believe how blessed we were to have this healthy beautiful baby girl. We just sat there and prayed over her, and this new chapter our family was going to embark upon. 

We wished that could have been the end of this little girl's tough journey to the world...but we then had a serious case of jaundice. For 2 days Jewel laid in this sad incubator with sunglasses on, and we could only hold her if we were feeding her. We hated those 2 extra days in the hospital, but we were so thankful to be able to come home with a healthy baby girl.

Now, a whole week later, we continue to look at her in awe. She truly is such a sweet gift. We are so blessed. Baby J, we love you little lady!  

Headed Home!

Biscotti's new favorite place to sit, Jewel's doorway.