Jax is here - pics coming soon!

Jax Michael Van Valkenburg entered the world on Monday, April 6th at 5:14 p.m. He weighed a whopping 9 pounds, 5 ounces, and was 21.5 inches long! I gave birth to a linebacker!

Jason and I arrived at the hospital around 7 on Monday morning, and around 8:30 my midwife Kim checked me and said I was dilated to almost 4 cm. She broke my water, and my contractions starting progressing from there, although nothing too painful or too close together. Jason and I walked the halls of the maternity floor (along with my brother-in-law Travis... thank you, Trav, for being a much-needed distraction from labor), and in the early afternoon I was making good progress. I decided to use the breast pump to see if I could speed things up even more, and lawsie mercy, did it ever work! Within an hour or so, I was having really strong contractions coming about every 2-3 minutes. Finally, Kim said I could push through my contractions if I wanted to (I was smack dab in the middle of transition at that point and really starting to panic), and he came out within 15 minutes!

This labor was so different than my labor with Emerson. For one thing, because he was so much farther along than she was, I didn't have to have Pitocin this time. I'm telling you, I truly and honestly believe that Pitocin is manufactured straight from the pits of hell... with Emerson, it took over my body and give me ridiculously painful contractions that came every 1-2 minutes for 7 hours straight (with no epidural, mind you). With this labor, my body was really able to manage the pain, and it was so amazing to be able to use breathing techniques, a birthing ball, walking, etc., to allow things to progress naturally. I also have to give credit to my hubby for being the best birthing coach I could ask for. There is absolutely no way I could've done it without him.

So, that is my birth story in a nutshell... exhausting, exhilarating, emotional, but every bit worth it when they put my little boy on my chest and I held and kissed him for a good five minutes before Jason cut the cord. It was an instant bond and such a powerful experience to have participated in bringing him into this world. I'm so proud to be his Momma!

SO WHERE ARE THE PICTURES?!? I, being the expert suitcase packer that I am, forgot to bring along my USB cable to upload my pictures with. So, I promise I will do that later this afternoon after we get home. Check back for pics and maybe a few videos, too!