Jaxon Thomas Coggins
3 YEARS OLD
On January 12th, 2010, our little peanut was born…a month and two days early. I was due on Valentine’s Day. Read his birth story below.
It was Monday morning, I went to work, sporting my Max (Where the Wild Things Are) v-neck tee and stretched out Paige maternity jeans and running shoes. By the way I hate wearing tennis shoes unless I’m actually running. I was so exhausted from my last baby shower…just trying to take care of some projects that I was working on from the week before. Constantly getting side tracked, thinking about everything that I still needed to tackle on my to do list before the baby arrived. By lunchtime, I wasn’t feeling well. I talked to my boss and told her I was going to the doc to see if I could take anything and how the heck I could keep everything from swelling. How could I make it five more weeks! I felt like a blimp. My skin literally could not stretch anymore!
I made it to the doctor’s office a little before 2 pm. Since they squeezed me in, I wasn’t able to see my normal ob, so I had to see another doctor. I barely remember what she was saying…she kept telling me to buy an ergonomic chair (practically falling off her stool to demonstrate how you were suppose to sit in it). I was just thinking in my head…lady you are crazy, I’m going to have this baby any day and the last thing I’m going to buy is a new chair!
I was glad to be home. As soon as I waddled in, I plopped myself on the couch, propped my feet up with pillows and waited for Thomas. I had signed up for a breastfeeding class at 6 pm that night, (which was three hours away) but I still wasn’t feeling the greatest, so I decided not to go. I had mentioned to Thomas, when he got home that we had a child birth class the following week…he wasn’t thrilled about it. As I was resting, he had done a little research online (which he is really good at) for classes that you can download. That night we watched the Laugh & Learn classes by Sheri Bayles. We laughed and stared, our jaws dropped, um…very informative. Which was good because we had no idea what to do. After several videos, Thomas had gone to bed, but I stayed up to watch a few more, then I crashed too.
“Thomas! Turn on the light! I think my water broke!” He jumped up out of bed and flipped the switch and there I sit in this huge puddle. “It doesn’t smell…okay what do we do?” He was too cute, reciting the videos from just hours before. Record the time…Call the doctor. I was in such shock and disarray, well we both were! “I don’t have anything ready! Thomas, it is still coming out! Can I take a quick shower (thinking to myself, I look horrible)?” While Thomas was rushing around the house trying to pack my bag, I was scuffling around with a towel between my legs in just a tank top, water seeping out with every step. “Thomas…I’m ready!” He just looked at me and said, “Aren’t you going to put any pants on?” Haha. I did, but it didn’t matter. George knew we were leaving, he was already in his kennel. Little did he know, he was going to have a a new friend when we came back.
It was almost 3 am when we got to the hospital. Thomas had called his mom on the way and told her the news. I must have called/texted everyone I knew and got no answers. We were so excited…I was in no pain surprisingly. Checked in…put on a lovely gown. Oh how I hate IVs. After all that mess we got settled in the labor and delivery room, with all the cords and monitors poking me. I finally got a hold of my mom, she and my stepdad were on their way (they live two hours away). It was so quiet in the room. I was restless. They made us watch a video on getting an epidural…I’m pretty sure I watched it fourteen times. I tried to get some rest. Thomas was just sitting on this super uncomfortable recliner waiting in anticipation.
I must have dozed off because before I knew it, it was after 7 am. It was time for a new nurse, and of course, you never know how cranky or nice they are going to be. In walked Kimberly, my sister’s first roommate in college, I wanted to request her…but I never got that far. I was so relieved! Oddly she never works on tuesdays, but that day she did. We were glad. Our parents had arrived at the hospital…excited, just whispering and waiting. My contractions were pretty mild, but getting closer together. I was almost 3 cm dilated. They kept asking me if I wanted the epidural, I said no. I wasn’t having that crazy labor pain…yet. But boy did it just come upon me fast. By 10:30 am, I was hurting. Contractions were getting higher and even closer than before. That’s when it hit me that I was really in labor. I was about 6 cm…time for the meds! I squeezed Thomas’ hand while he watched the anesthesiologist stick me a few times. I couldn’t feel that part at all. Before I knew it I was sitting up in my bed, giggling, talking on the phone to my sisters. Pain free. When a contraction came, I just paused, took a deep breathe and resumed my conversation. Everyone thought I was funny.
I kept waiting for this crazy chaos to occur, where doctors and nurses were flying in and out of my room, while I was screaming bloody murder. You know, like in the movies. Thomas was thinking the same thing. That never really happened. It was after 1 pm and I was finally fully dilated…10 cm. It was mind-boggling to think a human being was about to come out of me. I couldn’t really feel a thing, just pressure in my hips. I was trying to prepare myself a little, take a cat nap ‘til I felt the need to push. It was so calm in the room…I felt as though we were at home. Kimberly just sat on the edge of the bed. Thomas and my mom were staring at the monitor, guiding me through the big contractions. I was horrible at breathing the right way. My face would just turn bright red. Thomas was being extremely patient and counting each breath.
After several big pushes, my doctor finally arrived. At that moment I knew it was only going to be a matter of minutes. I just remember him asking me if I wanted a mirror. “A mirror? I have to hold my knees up, how am I gonna hold a mirror and push all at the same time…no.” My mind was a blur. Thomas counting next to me, faster and faster and eventually it just became. Push! Push! Push! All I could see was everyones faces, cameras flashing…hoping they weren’t getting too many of, you know, those shots. Thomas was trying to peek, even though he said he never wanted to be in the room. I pushed for exactly fifty minutes.
At 2:55 pm our littlest angel had arrived! He had the sweetest little cry. Doctor Shaner asked, “Who’s cutting the cord?” I said, “Well I wanted Thomas too, but if he doesn’t want to, its okay.” And he did. It wasn’t nearly as bad as he imagined. I think that when you are in that state of happiness, you will do anything. I remember it like it was yesterday, when Doctor Shaner held him up for us to see for the first time. I instantly started to cry. It was such an incredible moment. For so long, I just wanted to meet him. I dreamt of what he would look like. And there he was. Perfect, tiny 5 pound, 19 inch long baby boy. I’m a mom! Thomas is a dad! We have a family…a family ofthreefour, including George.
Since Jaxon was premature, the high risk nurse had to make sure everything was okay. He’s my little ball of fire…never even had to go to the NICU. He was a little jaundice, but after a few days on the lightbed (we called it his tanning bed) he was golden…haha, well his skin color was back to normal. We only had to stay in the hospital one extra day. We were so ready to take our new baby home sweet home. He passed his carseat test with flying colors. Bundled our little miracle up tight and we were off.
Welcome home baby Jaxon!
