The new kid in town.

Introducing Aiden Jackson!

So serious!

Our littlest member is now 10 weeks old! He is a big boy, weighing in at over 13 lbs now! Let's rewind a little and discuss how this little man arrived...

Aiden's birth story

When I found out I was pregnant, it wasn't really a surprise, but it was still surprising. Does that make sense? Anyway... We had been trying to get pregnant for a couple of months when my sweet husband had an unfortunate job problem...his ended. He wasn't fired. The whole company just...froze, and he no longer had a job. We decided to stop trying until he got a new job. Well...God said "Too late! You get a baby!" and I found out I was already pregnant a week later! We decided not to worry. This was a wonderful and amazing blessing and gift! Since when is a baby ever a bad thing? We were happy.

With my first pregnancy, I had very little morning sickness. This time around, I had quite a bit more. Being miserably nauseous and tired doesn't make looking after a 1 year old very fun...or easy. It was a secret blessing to have Preston at home. I was so happy to have extra hands to take care of Liv, and he was happy to take some of the load off me. Can I just say something? He is an awesome dad! Liv loved having him home too. Several months passed, the morning sickness faded, and around 20 weeks, the back pain set in. On May 31, our 2nd anniversary, we found out we were having a BOY! (This surprised me because I thought we were having another girl, for sure.) The happy news was followed by something very scary. We were informed that I had a low lying placenta, and even scarier, part of his brain was measuring on the large side. Dr. Flowers said that the placenta could correct itself on it's own, but they wanted me to come back in 2 weeks to check on these possible complications. I spent the next 2 weeks with awful butterflies in my stomach. I googled the possible issues, (big mistake) and I was terrified that something was going to be wrong. I spent hours in fearful prayer. "Please, God, just let him be ok." We went back and had another ultrasound. The doctor gave us the wonderful news that my placenta had moved up and our son's brain was perfect. THANK YOU, GOD!

Despite having really bad low back pain, the next 16-17 weeks were fairly uneventful, in pregnancy. A healthy growing baby was inside me. Preston was still looking for a job though. At the end of August, we moved in with my in-laws. That has been an interesting journey...but that's a story for another time.

Starting around 37 1/2weeks, I began having erratic contractions every night. I would time them at 8 minutes apart, then 4 minutes, then 12 minutes. I'd take a bath or a shower, to relax, and the contractions would stop. It wasn't real labor, but I knew my body was getting ready. It wouldn't be much longer! I had these contractions every night, for almost a week. I kept thinking, "This is it!!" but it wasn't. On that Friday, I went in for an early morning check-up with my doctor, and I was POSITIVE that I must be starting to dilate. She checked his heartbeat. Sounded good! She checked my cervix. I was waiting to hear, "Oh good! you're starting to dilate!" but...no. I wasn't dilated at all. I was, however, 70% effaced. That was good news...I guess... Ok. I won't lie. I was completely bummed that my cervix wasn't opening yet. Dr. Flowers said it could be any day now. She scheduled me to see her again in a week but told me that I might not make it to that appointment. That sounded good to me, but I was starting to think "I probably will go all the way to my due date." I was so uncomfortable, at this point, all I wanted to do was sleep. I took a nap after my appointment. When I woke up, Olivia was playing outside with Preston. They were drawing with sidewalk chalk, then playing with the water hose. I stood in the doorway, looking at them, thinking it was the most perfect moment. They were so sweet. I couldn't wait to have our son on the outside, to join in the fun. When Olivia went to take her nap, I watched her sleeping and I was so excited for her to become a big sister. Little did I know, that would happen in less than 24 hours.

I went to bed that night, feeling tired and achy. At around 3 am, I woke up to some contactions. These hurt a little worse than the ones I had been having. I started timing. 10 minutes apart. I was pretty sure they weren't the real thing...again. After over an hour of contactions at 10 minutes apart, and dozing on and off in between them, I decided to take a shower and try to relax. (Also, if it was the real thing, I wanted to arrive there feeling clean. Haha!) Over the course of a 20 minute shower, my contractions sped up to 5 minutes apart. I was beginning to think this was actually it! I called my doula, Loretta, and let her know that we were getting our stuff ready to go to the hospital. It was drizzling on our 30 minute ride to the hospital. Contractions, in the car, are zero fun! I was kind of yelling and cursing at the car for being so cramped. Haha. I will not be held responsible for what I said in those moments.

(disclaimer: Everything that happened after this point is somewhat of a blur, so details might be a little off or out of order. Apologies.)

We got to the hospital around 6-ish and got a room and got checked in. Around 7am, they check my cervix. 3cm. The doctor wanted us to walk around for a while, to make sure I was progressing at a reasonable rate. She knew I wanted to have a drug-free delivery, so she didn't want me to stay at the hospital if I was going really slow. I started walking. The contractions were coming every 4 minutes or so. My dad arrived. More walking. More contractions. My doula arrived. More contractions. After having a set of contractions come at only 2 minutes apart, I decided I wanted to go back to the room. They checked my cervix and within an hour I had progressed to 7 cm! WHAT?! It happened so fast! The doctor came in and she asked if I wanted her to break my water. I said no. I wanted to see how I progressed with my water still intact. I felt the contractions get stronger and harder. I used the big ball to bounce through the contractions. Loretta and Preston were amazing. Loretta encouraged me and rubbed my back through the contractions. Dude. The back pain was INTENSE. Preston gave me ice and just him smiling at me made me feel so much better. When they checked me again (I have no idea how much later it was...but not much time had passed.) I was still at 7cm. She asked about breaking my water, and this time I said yes. I wanted it to go faster, even though I knew it was about to get even more painful. They warned me. The very next contraction had me about ready to jump out of my skin. I went back to my ball and leaning on the bed. Standing felt so much better than laying on the bed. A few minutes later I started feeling like I needed to push. That's a pretty crazy feeling. It really is just an impulse. The nurse had me get on the bed so she could check me. "mmm...9 1/2...almost there." These next couple of minutes were the hardest. "I need to stand up!...I can't move!...I need to stand!" They helped me stand. Immediately, I felt my body push. "I NEED TO PUSH!!" They told me not to push. "I CAN'T HELP IT!" They got me back on the bed and as I griped the rails, I could feel my body starting to push and I was trying to fight the urge. I was yelling. Loudly. I feel sorry for any moms who possibly heard me and subsequently became terrified at the thought of having their baby. I wasn't painting a pretty picture. Haha. The nurse told me to go ahead and push. Oh, sweet relief!! Pushing was just what I needed to do! Dr. Flowers came in, they were rushing to set up the delivery stuff. The nurse ran out fast and came back with olive oil, sorry people, to help with stretching my you-know-what. It was the most intense moments of my life. Preston and Loretta were by my side. At one moment, Preston stepped back a little. After the contraction passed, I asked him if he was ok. The nurse kind of laughed. I was the one having a baby, but I just had to make sure he was ok! The contractions started feeling like they were one immediately after the other. I pushed, it felt like, constantly. I yelled out, "GOD MAKE IT GO FAST!! AAAAHHH!!" and boy did He listen! The nurse told me to touch my baby's head. I'm supposed to say something like "It felt magical" but I'm not going to lie... it felt kind of gross. I kept pushing and pushing. (and yelling and yelling.) Then, I heard "His head is out. One more big push!" So, with all my might, I pushed that kid out! RELIEF!!!! Best feeling ever. They held him up and he was pink and gooey but so precious. I could hear him kind of...gurgling...instead of crying. Preston cut the cord and they put him on my chest. He looked so tiny. The nurse took him to the table. "8 pounds 13 ounces!" Oh, he's not tiny at all!! They suctioned him out a bit and his cry rang out clear as day. The doctor attended to my downstairs region while the nurses cleaned up my boy, and put his first diaper on. They checked him over. His blood sugar was low and his breathing was still a little juicy sounding, but he didn't seem distressed. He was beautiful. He was pink and warm. He had a little bit of hair, mostly on the back of his head. He had all 10 fingers and all 10 toes...on 2 big hands and 2 big feet. Well, they seemed big for a baby. He was my perfect little boy. Aiden Jackson Finch. Perfect.

I'm so happy he's here!

We spent 2 more days in the hospital. He was under a 12 hour blood sugar watch. His sugars were great just a couple hours after birth though. He was monitored for his breathing, and his heartbeat. A nurse thought it was irregular so we stayed one more night than we would have, otherwise. But, he was perfect. Olivia was so excited to have a baby brother. She was gentle and so happy.

Aiden has been the happiest baby. He was born knowing he needed to sleep at night. He has a very calm and content disposition. He really only cries if he's hungry or needs a diaper...and on the occasion that his big sister gets a little too rough. Haha. He has been the perfect addition to our family. It's like he's been here all along. I am one happy mama. 

 Liv LOVES to give him kisses.