Labor & Delivery

Here are some photos from my laboring...

While hooked up to Pitocin...Eric and I took many walks around the hospital hoping to help my labor get going. Those walks were interesting...hearing women in labor (yikes!) and the sounds of babies crying...it all made things very real. I remember just thinking, "Oh my word, I'm going to be one of those ladies in pain any hour now...and then I'm going to have one of those babies crying for me. This is really happening..oh my word...oh my word...am I sure I want to do this?" Panic sets in.

Once my water broke, the contractions went from 0 to 60. Here is Eric holding me in between contractions (my contractions were less than a minute apart right away - thanks to the evil pitocin). My mom in the background sorta took over as my coach. She held a stop watch and told me how many more seconds each contraction was going to be. I swear, the sound of her voice was never so nice. I remember at one point she stopped talking to me and I cried, "Mom, please don't stop talking!" Eric was my breathing coach, mom was my stopwatch and my sister Kristine was the expert massager.

This is how Eric felt, watching his wife in pain (pre-epidural). Utter helplessness.

And here's how he felt after my epidural. Allow me to translate...
"THANK YOU GOD FOR DRUGS!"

Once I got my epidural our room turned into quite a hoppin' place. Friends and family came in and said hi. I was just laying there, feeling nothing, happy as a clam. Meanwhile my body was working overtime. I was fully dilated just a few hours later (4? I think)...but I didn't feel a thing. I was, however, shivering like mad. Even though I couldn't feel the pain, my body knew it was happening and reacted. Kinda a strange situation actually.

Here is my good friend (almost sister) Melinda saying hi.
[She was with me when my water broke]

The waiting room: Tony & Susie Tosti, Lee & Sara Hall and Melinda.

Jenksie being my support, love and friend. I love this picture.

Meeting our son for the first time.

Eric cutting the cord. Poor little blue foot! :)

Eli meeting his mommy - skin to skin time (thank you mom for doctoring the photos for us!).

He took about 5 seconds to calm down as soon as they put him on my chest. It was very sweet, he knew my voice and was soothed instantly by it.
It was weird - I'm not used to being the one that babies want!

The Jenks Family: Eric, Shaunna & Eli!


A few minutes after he was born...fast asleep on his mommy.

...and daddy is awfully cuddly too!

He looks like his daddy...full "pillow" lips. What a honey!