Honey, my water broke!!!

So I am a little behind at updating my blog since Jacob "Jack" Rocco Fasano decided to make his appearance on Monday, June, 7th 2010 at 5:32 a.m.. Here is the story:

On Sunday, June 6th Rocco and I went over to his Noni's house for dinner to celebrate Bette's (my mother-in-laws) birthday. After dinner we were sitting in Noni's living room hanging out and I got up to use the restroom and came right back to sit on the couch since I was on bed rest. Not even five minutes later there was a GUSH... I was like WTF was that??? Excuse my language, but that was the weirdest thing I had felt in my life that that moment. So I got up went back to the restroom and it just kept coming... I know this is too much information, but someday when I am old and Jack is old it might be fun to read this. When I came back out I must have had a funny look on my face because Bette asked me if everything was OK and I just looked at Rocco and said, "umm I think my water just broke... can we go home?" We were all a little concerned because I was only 35 weeks and 4 days.

We got home and I called Dr. Leal. Well, Dr. Leal was on his way back from out of town so I had to call and talk to the doctor covering for Dr. Leal.  I knew Dr. Leal was supposed to be on his way back so I was keeping my fingers and legs crossed that he would make it in time for the delivery. After I got off the phone I jumped in the shower to shave my legs and other body parts that I won't mention. In the mean time Rocco was out in the garage hooking up the car seat. Good timing, right?? Chris Papacek came over to make sure we had the car seat base in nice and snug and luckily Chris is friends with Dr. Leal and text him that my water broke and we were on our way to the hospital. He told Chris that he was in Houston at the airport and would be there for the delivery! Thank God... I didn't want someone else to deliver my sweet baby!
When we got to the hospital the nurses checked to see if my water really broke, which it did, DUH! I don't think a pregnant lady would lie about her water breaking. At this point I was also 3cm dilated and had not had any contractions. I was then moved to my labor and delivery room. Once I was in my room I was able to get a hold of my mom and tell her the news since I had only been able to tell her through a text message at this point.

The nurses came in and asked me about a thousand questions and I gave them my birth plan, which surprised them because they don't receive too many of those down here in the Valley. Rocco and I took the Bradley Method natural childbirth classes so we didn't want to have any drugs or restrictions to the labor or delivery. The nurse only asked me once in the beginning if I wanted any pain medicine and I quickly said, "NO!" She was very nice and let me drink water, eat a granola bar and get up to use the restroom, which are usually against hospital protocols. My contractions finally started around 8 or 8:30 that evening. Rocco and I watched the end of the NHL game, the end of an NBA game, Old School and The Ringer all night to pass the time. While all this was going on my parents decided they couldn't wait and drove all night to be at the hospital for the birth of their first grandchild.  My parents called when they got to Kingsville which is about an hour and half or so from our house and asked how I was doing. At this point I was 5cm dilated so we figured they could stop at our house and sleep for a while before they came to the hospital. They called again when they got about 20 minutes from our house and I was now at 9cm!! I went from 5cm to 9cm in an hour! During that last hour I was starting to wonder if I was going to be able to make it much longer without any pain medicine, but the nurse came in and said I was at 9cm so pain medicine was definitely out of the question at this point. Rocco and I had learned that during this "transition" phase uncertainty and doubt about being able to proceed without medication were feelings I would feel at this point so it all made sense to us. My parents arrived at the hospital at 5a.m and came by my room to say hi and see how I was doing. Rocco and I asked my mom to stay in the room for the delivery and she gladly did and my dad gladly went out to the waiting room.

Finally, Dr. Leal made his appearance after I had now been in labor for 11 hours! At this point I was also feeling the urge to push, which is called the Ferguson reflex (another thing we learned in our childbirth classes). Dr. Leal basically just came in and said hi and told the nurses to call him when I was ready to deliver the baby. I was like, "HELLO, where are you going? This kid is coming out NOW!!" So I started pushing and probably not even 5 minutes later he was back and probably 5 minutes after that my sweet baby, Jack was here! He immediately cried and peed all over Dr. Leal. When Dr. Leal put him on my belly he sneezed and coughed. Those were the best sounds I had ever heard. He was just perfect in my eyes and he instantaneously became the "new man" and "new love" in my life. They took him over to his side of the room where he was weighed, measured and checked out. Jack weighed in at 5 pounds and 4 ounces and was 18 & 1/2 inches long.

Since Jack came 5 weeks early and had a low birth weight (2 more ounces and he could have stayed in the regular nursery) he had to stay in the NICU to make sure he was eating good before he could come home. The hospital allowed me to stay an extra night since Jack had to stay. I only had to go home without him for one night. The next night (Thursday) Rocco and I had to "room in" with Jack in the NICU to make sure we were all comfortable with each other before they would discharge him. Friday morning Jack was discharged. What a relief!? My mom was with us the whole time and she got to drive Jack and I home while Rocco followed us in his truck. Once we got home, Jack slept for 4 hours straight.

What a miracle! Giving birth was an amazing experience and I am so thankful that we all made it through healthy.  Rocco was an amazing coach and I definitely could not have done it without him right by my side. I thank God everyday for giving me such an amazing, loving and supportive husband and such a beautiful and sweet baby.  We are truly blessed!