Happy birthday Jaden!

I've had this post in the back of my mind, nagging me, since the day after our little man was born. I want to write down my experience with Jaden's birth before it's faded from my memory. I want to keep everything as vivid to me as it is now, because it truly was one of the most special and incredible events of my entire life. :) (I know. How cliche is that? Buckle up, guys, this post is probably going to be super cliche from start to finish. I used to roll my eyes a little bit at some people's birth stories because they seemed so cheesy and straight from a movie script. Then I had my baby and I understood that you really do whisper happy birthday to your fresh-from-heaven baby, and you really do feel your entire world shift the second you lay eyes on that precious, perfect tiny person that you've been carrying for the past 9 months. Anyway. Before I just write this whole post in parenthesis...) Last Monday (the 3rd) my braxton-hicks contractions made a change. They were definitely way more uncomfortable and coming at more regular intervals. Despite my swearing up and down that I wasn't going to be that girl who gets her hopes up and dies of impatience when her baby doesn't come early or exactly on time.... I was that girl. Especially when Monday night brought about an hours worth of 6 minute apart contractions. I couldn't decide if I should wake Matt up or not, and I eventually decided on trying to get a little bit of sleep before they got to be 5 minutes apart. When I woke up it was Tuesday morning and there were no contractions happening.  Seriously. I know, right? Tuesday mid-morning/afternoon my contractions were back and coming every 10-ish minutes. All day. So then of course I'm thinking, "Now I'm in labor! We're going to have a baby by tonight!"  Of course, no such luck.  Then I'm thinking that these stupid contractions had better be doing something at least, because they hurt. Matt was good to stay home with me as much as he could Monday and Tuesday (well... and Wednesday and Thursday.) so I didn't have to be home dying of waiting and contractions by myself. He was also really good to remind me that, yes I really would have the baby soon, and yes it was ok if Jaden wasn't early. So he did his homework and I breathed through the really painful contractions, and we waited some more.  Tuesday night I was still having contractions every 10 minutes and they were getting stronger and more difficult to deal with. At that point though, I decided I totally wasn't in labor. I wasn't ever going to have a baby, and I probably was going to really and truly have to wait until the 12th to be induced. I hopped in the shower for the second time that day and just soaked in the hot water while I tried to tell myself to be patient. :p I hated going to bed because I knew I wouldn't sleep much because the contractions woke me up, and because I may or may not have been a little high strung about waiting until our baby decided to come. :) But, Matt said our family prayers, and it helped me feel better. (He said a lot of our prayers last week, because I always like it better if he says our prayers when I'm sick or upset or something. I can't explain exactly why, but he just always has a way of making me feel better just through watching his faith.) Wednesday morning the contractions were getting closer, but still weren't five minutes apart so Matt headed off to classes and I started to do some dishes. And vacuum. And do a load of laundry. And try really hard to remember that all my housework wasn't going to work and I was going to have to be induced. Halfway through doing the dishes I couldn't handle being up for every contraction (but still told myself- and believed it- that I wasn't in labor. Can you say denial?) so I got out my addresses, and a movie, and started writing Thank You cards. I didn't really watch most of the movie, because every time a contraction came I had to just close my eyes and breathe and try not to get really tense. (The chiropractor lady I went to had told me if you relax it lets things progress faster... so I may have been desperately clinging to that piece of information. :p)  My mom had been texting to check in on me and see how I was doing, and she must have known I was dying from being home alone and frustrated and in pain because she offered to bring Matt and I whatever sounded good, and a hug. Matt was in a meeting until around 6-6:30 so she visited for a few minutes and suggested that I go to Labor and Delivery and have them check me.  I was thinking, "Yeah, let's go to the hospital!" mixed with "I'm just being a wimp, there's no way I'm in labor, they'll send me home and I'll have to punch someone in the face." (Guys... after three days of being so sure I was in labor and going to have a baby any second, plus three days of feeling pretty miserable, I was a little on the ornery side. Not that you could tell or anything. ;) ) I send Matt a text, and asked him to come home sooner because my Mom brought us dinner and that she thought we should go in and have things checked out tonight.  He got home a little after six, and my mom gave us hugs and headed home. I asked Matt what he thought about going to the hospital and he agreed with my mom. The worst thing that could come of it was that they'd send us home but then at least we'd know if I was progressing or not, and get more specific instructions for when we should come in for real.  We finished our Arctic Circle hamburgers (and I ended up giving Matt most of my fries, because I was feeling too nauseous to eat), and put some coats and shoes on and headed into the hospital around seven. I decided to leave all our bags at the house because I was 90% sure we wouldn't need them. When we walked in, they took us to a room, and handed me a gown to put on over my shirt. Our nurse, Cheryl, asked me if my water had broken and I told her I wasn't sure but I didn't think so. (Which sounds funny, but I had thought that it had the week before and so Dr. Gatherum had checked and ruled it out.) She decided to do a swab and test, to make sure and then she'd check to see if I had dilated any further. When she told me that my water had ruptured, she said she was pretty sure they'd be admitting me either way because we didn't know how long ago it had ruptured and there was a risk for infection. They were also a little bit concerned about my blood pressure being high, and the possibility of preeclampsia. When she checked for dilation I was at a little over a 5 and 70% effaced. (I had been stuck at a 2-3 for the past two weeks so I was actually really surprised. Even though I'd been having contractions for three days. Haha, good grief Shannon, shouldn't you know when you're having a baby?) She had me go get completely changed into the gown, and kept monitoring the baby's heartbeat and my contractions. Cheryl told me I could get the epidural anytime I wanted now, and initially I told her I'd wait a little bit. I figured I'd been dealing with the contractions all week so far and I could totally do this a little longer. Then I had a HUGE contraction that lasted for 3 minutes and I changed my mind. Pretty quickly. :p Matt was sitting on the couch letting everyone know that we were going to be admitted, and I was just looking around the room in denial that we were really here. I remember feeling lots of butterflies and I wasn't sure if they were the good kind or bad kind. Childbirth sounds scary, and here I was hours away from it!  Earlier Wednesday, my dad called me and said he had a water meeting to go to in Hatch, and wondered if I thought he'd be ok going. I told him the baby wasn't going to get here any time soon so he should go. We called him and he was just about on his way home so he figured he'd be there in an hourish. I wanted him to be there to help Matt give me a blessing before I had Jaden, so Matt decided to wait to give me a blessing until my dad got there.  Since they were worried about infection they started me on pitocin at the same time that they got the epidural going. Matt watched and said it's pretty crazy, but I told the anestesiologist I didn't want to see the needle or anything before it was all done. :p So Cheryl came and held my hand while Matt watched, and before I knew what was happening it was over! The hardest part about the epidural was that you have to sit on the edge of the bed hunched over, and I felt like I was going to fall off. :) I didn't even know when he was putting the needle in! After that it was super easy, and went by super fast. Cheryl had kept saying that maybe we'd have a baby by midnight, but 11:30 came and went and she had just barely started having me do practice pushes. And they weren't doing a whole lot. Around midnight is when we really started doing pushes, and I was honestly surprised at how tiring it is. I kept wondering when she was going to call Dr. Gatherum, but she didn't need to until almost an hour later. At this point my epidural was wearing off just enough that I could really feel everything that was going on, but I wasn't in any pain. It was kind of nice because then I felt like I was more involved with it and could feel when I needed to push. After Dr. Gatherum got there it went really quickly.  I don't think I will ever forget the way I felt when I heard that first little squeaky cry. :) There was a huge flood of relief and an overwhelming feeling of love. When they put this tiny perfect body on my chest and I finally got to see our son, it was the most amazing feeling in the world. I wish that there were words to do it justice, because I'm afraid eventually I won't remember and feel it as vividly as I did and do now. The spirit is so strong in the room when your baby is born. It was like only Matt, Jaden and I were there. Everything else seemed to fade into the background and all I could do was cry and laugh and caress that tiny little face and all his perfect little features. Ever since Grandpa Wallace passed away, we've all talked about how Jaden was up there getting instructions from 'Poppa Wallace' before coming down to our family, and how maybe Grandpa would get to bring him down to us. I don't know what the Church's doctrine is on that sort of thing, but I definitely feel like Grandpa was close when Jaden was born. It just felt like he was there with us. :) And in this past week being home and adjusting to having a baby, there have been a few different times that I just felt like Grandpa was close by for a moment. :)
After they got him all weighed and wiped off, they brought him over to me to try and feed him. :) He did pretty good, but they hadn't put him in a diaper yet, so when I handed him to Matt to snuggle before he gave Jaden his first bath we noticed that Jaden had pooped all over. Haha, all over my hospital gown, all over my hand, and his blanket... poor kid. Being a baby is rough. :p It was so sweet to watch Matt give Jaden his bath and hold him and snuggle him up. I was dying to get my hands on my baby, but I couldn't bring myself to tell Matt I wanted him back. :) I just soaked in watching my incredible husband with our perfect little boy. 
Like I said earlier, I used to roll my eyes at all the cliche things girls said after they had their baby. Including when they'd say that they would give birth every day if they could, they wished they could go back and do it again. I thought, 'Are you insane?? You want to go through the pain over again?' Karma is funny, because now I'm that girl. I wish so bad sometimes that I could go back in time and take it all in again. I want to go back to the feeling of relief and joy when I finally had my baby boy on my chest and heard him cry. I want to feel the quiet but strong spirit that fills the room when a baby is born. And I want to see that sweet look on Matt's face forever. :) I've absolutely loved watching him become a dad, it's one of the most amazing shifts in our relationship that I've experienced. I love Matt at least ten times more as I watch how much he loves our son. :)  All in all we adore being parents. Matt has been wonderful to be on diaper duty- even in the middle of the night- and to get up and help me get situated to feed Jaden. Jaden has been such a calm baby, we're thinking we really lucked out and were blessed with an easy first baby to break us in. ;) He only ever really cries hard when we'd change his wet diapers at first when he was still sore from his circumcision. (Which I hated. I didn't even want to touch his diaper because I hated seeing him in pain. This being a parent stuff can be a little heart-wrenching.) We've given him a couple of sponge baths, just to wash his hair and his little bottom, and the first one we did I held Jaden while Matt washed him. Well Jaden must have been inspired by the warm water because he peed and pooped all over the place! It was so funny, he just had this sweet little look on his face too, as if he knows he can pretty much do anything and we think it's adorable. ;)  Feeding him has been frustrating at times- breast feeding seems like it should be easy, right? And you think your baby is just born with the perfect eating skills, but I've realized that neither one of us know what we're doing and so it takes a lot of patience and practice. Whenever I feel frustrated or discouraged about it, though, Jaden just looks at me with his sweet little expression and I just feel so much better. Being a mom is one of the most rewarding things in my life already and it's only been a week. :) Anyway. We love our 'super dude' (dad's nickname for him :) ) more than we ever realized was possible. We're excited for all of the next phases, but we're definitely trying to soak in every minute of him being this little.  We're so thankful that Heavenly Father sent Jaden to our home, and that he is perfect and healthy and happy. :)  We love you, sweet boy!
(Hang tight, here's my picture overload. But really, who's surprised?)

I loved seeing this little bed, and knowing that in a few hours the baby that I'd been carrying for the past nine months would be laying in that bed. :) It's kind of a strange thought while he's still on the inside, but so exciting. :)

We absolutely loved Cheryl. :) I want to go back and find her and give her a big hug. :p

I'm so not glamorous, but I wanted to remember everything.

Poor Matt was running on straight adrenaline and caffeine. ;)

Jaden Matthew Coffin. Born March 6, 2014 at 1:07 AM. 8 lbs 19.5 inches long

Absolute best moment of our lives. :) 

Dad's balloon and 'masculine' flowers. ;) He's always told me that he loves me more, and I'd try to argue it. Now I understand. :) 

We decided they look kind of like Grandpa Wallace flowers

I just love his sweet little face. He has such an easy going personality, and such a happy content little face. :)

This is a yawn, not a cry. :)

Seriously, these boys melt my heart. :)

He's not a huge fan of his swing yet. :p

Four generations :)