The Story of Jackson (Prologue)

This is Robert's story of Jack's birth. I'm still working on mine (which is much longer, imagine!) and will probably post it in sections once I get it completed.

Okay, so I want to tell the whole story before I forget everything and right now there's no one to tell it to except Steph and Jack and they kind of know what it's all about. So, for those of you that are interested, here's how it all went down.

Steph wasn't working last week and she had decided to drive me back to work at lunch. So that night when she came to pick me up, we went over to Chili's in Hixson to eat with her mom and grandmother. While we were there, Steph whispered to me that she was having contractions but she didn't want to say anything to get everyone's hopes up. Instead, she decided to use the code, "Wasn't LOST so exciting this week?" every time she had a contraction. Yes, this did become a very awkward conversational oddity as the night went on. While we were there, Steph's uncle Aaron called to see how we were doing. He predicted that we were going to have Jackson the next day because it was his birthday and he wanted to share it with him. He even went as far as to predict the hard labor would start at 2 in the morning. Well, sure enough, at 2 in the morning Steph started having pretty strong contractions. We waited until 4, timing the contractions, and finally decided it was time to make our way to the hospital. Once there, Steph's labor was steady, but manageable until about 10. That's when the big ones started hitting, going from 7 cm to 10 cm. Then, at about 11:30, Steph started getting the urge to push. They checked her dialation, and Jackson was all ready to go too. She pushed for a couple minutes and then his head crowned and we all yelled out, "There's his head!" And then Steph leaned up and started waving her hand around "downtown" asking, "Where? I can't feel him." I told her to quick acting crazy because she still had work to do. She has problems, but I still love her. She gave a couple more really good pushes and his head came out and she asked, "What color is his hair?" upon which I immediately replied, "It's the color muck. Keep pushing." So she pushed again, and his arm came out. Then, she was supposed to stop, but Steph has never been good at following other people's directions so she pushed again and torpedoed little Jackson out into this world. I mean, seriously, the doctor didn't even have her gloves on yet. We're talking ridiculous speed. It was a miracle. Up to this point, I was totally in this awe-inspiring moment, but then something hit me and I turned white as a ghost and had to sit down before I passed out. Steph incurred some damage "down under" and had to have that repaired. This is the part where I get to brag/poke fun at my wife. She did the entire delivery without and type of drugs. Nothing. Then, when she had to have stitches, she only wanted a local anestesia, even after they recommended she have an epidural just for that. So she is super-strong. I mean, really that was an amazing ordeal. But then, after all that, they were taking out her I.V., and she was scared it would hurt and started crying, asking her mom, "Momma, will you hold my hand?" She is so weird.

I think that's about it. I'm sure there are certain parts of the story I forgot or don't even know about, so Steph we'll probably add a long comment letting everyone know the rest.

I do want to send out two very special thank you's to Matt and Andy. Andy, you provided the entire family with at least one memorable quote per person during the labor and waiting. For that, I sincerelysend you my gratitude. Things can get a little tense, so it's always nice to have someone break it. Matt, thank you so much for getting a hold of everyone and keeping everyone updated and patiently waiting FOREVER to see your godson. I know waking up that early to sit in a hospital and wait isn't the greatest thing in the world, and you'll probably never understand how much it meant to me and Steph, but it was something we were very thankful for.

Okay, to not end on a super gay sappy note. This boy poops like a madman. It's insanity. I'm not going to tell any stories here, but if you want to laugh, then the next time you see me or if you're impatient and want to send me a message, just ask, "What's all that about your son and his awesome ability to defecate?"