Jewel Oceana Peterson - The newest arrival in the Peterson house is here! A very personal blog post

 I am so happy to be able to blog this so soon after Jewel was born. I was able to put together a blog post shortly after Olympas was born and I'm thankful that I can do the same thing for Jewel. I decided to do this one a little different and instead of just posting what I remember happening, I decided to interview Holly (my wife) and allow her to tell her side of the story. She is a lot better at explaining and elaborating on things than I am. I know that it will be wonderful to be able to come back and read this post in the years to come. Here is the story of Jewel's birth as well as Holly's pregnancy and labor. And at the very end, is a beautiful tribute to our dog Nike.

Tommy: When did you know it was time to go to the hospital?

Holly: Since Olympas came so fast,  I was told by several nurses to not wait til the last minute. To be more cautious and come in earlier. I went to bed on Fri night having contractions and thought I would get some sleep. I woke up at 4am still having them. So I decided I would get dressed and just go to the hospital and get checked just to be safe. I was at a 3 when i arrived and within an hour I went to a 4. They decided it would be a good idea to keep me there since we live out of town. 

Tommy: How long were you in labor?
Holly: Oh man. I really consider going into labor when I check into the hospital. I got there around 7am and she was born at 4:27pm. But to be honest, I had been having contractions off and on for about 3 Dr days. 

Tommy: Why did you choose St. Francis? 
Holly: Dr Cobb is our doctor and prefers for you to deliver there based on how fast he can get to you. Honestly since it is now KU, I thought it would be neat to have experienced birthing a baby at each hospital. Unfortunately Dr Cobb was not on call that day but everything worked out. The nurses and staff were all great.  

Tommy: Describe your labor in one word.
Holly: Painful. I decided not to use any medication or epidural. Just as a personal goal really. I’m happy I was able to stick with my goal.

Tommy: What was your first thought when you saw Jewel for the first time?
Holly: Honestly she’s my only kid that came out looking exactly how I imagined her. That’s the truth. Moses was a blonde, which was totally shocking. I expected to have a dark headed son because of you. And Olympas I assumed he would be blonde because of Moses. But he came out dark headed looking like you, which is not what I expected. On one of my ultrasounds I caught a glimpse of her profile and thought she looked similar to Olympas and just imagined her with dark hair. And that’s exactly what she looks like. 

Tommy: How did Jewel get her name?
Holly: Oh wow. This was probably the most and agonizing part of the pregnancy experience. To name a person is extremely scary, I think. You named our first two kids and I kind of assumed you would name this one too. But I wasn’t crazy about any of your choices. I wanted a name that always reminded through good times and bad times what a precious gift she would be to our family. And all the names I could think of that had to do with that I could only relate to other people. Until I thought of Jewel. That would remind me of her value. She is precious. And she becomes more precious every day. 

Tommy: What has been the biggest surprise about this pregnancy and labor?
Holly: Well, this pregnancy was not an expected (planned) one. So it took a lot of adjusting plus I was extremely sick with this pregnancy which made it harder to come to grips with the fact that I was having another baby. I thought we were done. As far as my labor, I was surprised at how long it took compared to my other two. I had heard of others, including my mom, saying that their third baby was their hardest labor. But I hoped it would be as quick as possible. That’s what everyone wants! 

Tommy: If you had your pregnancy to do over again, would you do anything different?
Holly: Not really. All the struggles I’ve gone through and the hard emotional feelings I had during my early pregnancy made Jewel even more appreciated and loved.

Tommy: Any pleasant surprises?
Holly:  Jewel is definitely calmer than our boys were (in these early stages). Probably has to do with how much help we’re getting with breastfeeding. Making sure she’s getting really good full feedings. Makes a happy baby. But even when she doesn’t get the food right away, she’s really good at listening to me talk and she doesn’t get super worked up. She seems to be able to be comforted with words. 

Moses: Is Snickers your favorite candy bar?
Holly: yes. 

Tommy: What are your hopes for Jewel for now and for the future?
Holly: For now, I hope she continues to be a good eater. I hope she continues to grow and enjoy being cuddled. For the future, I hope she grows up to have a relationship with me like I have with my mom. Hopefully she’s my best friend.  (sniff sniff)  I hope she trusts me for the rest of her life. 

The first time Moses laid his eyes on his brand new sister.

Olympas was nervous at first but within minutes he decided to see what was going on.

He was not disappointed. He thought she was cute!

Tommy: We unfortunately lost Nike (our 15 year old Jack Russell Terrier) 4 days before Jewel was born. I know it’s hard to talk about. But I want to preserve this memory for us to look back on later. Can you talk a little bit about that.

Holly: When I was pregnant with Olympas Nike was first diagnosed with his mouth cancer. We had it removed the first time 3 years ago. I cried when I had to sign the paper that explained he could pass during his surgery due to his age. I know this is a standard paper everyone has to sign, but it put a fear in me of the reality of his age.

I wanted him to meet my new baby and spend time with him like he did with Moses. Thankfully he was fine and had the growth removed in his mouth. He did go on to have a great relationship with Olympas and loved him from the beginning. I thought that was the end of our battle, but little did I know it was just the beginning. He would go on to have several more surgeries, one in which he stopped eating for 10 days and I had to feed him through a small syringe just to keep him alive. He kept recovering for us time and time again, but the growth just kept growing and getting a little worse each time. Sadly it started growing into his bone and got to a point where we had to decide to remove his jaw or put him to sleep.

Due to his age, removing his jaw wasn’t a promising option and would definitely cause him pain. I decided it was time. He had started bleeding so badly and he was getting so weak and tired. The vet said he would probably just keep trying to live for us, but was it fair for us to do that to him? We thought about keeping him hanging on for the delivery of Jewel since he has always been such an important part of our family. He has always enjoyed greeting and helping care for our babies.

From the time Moses was born he has taken on that role. At first when Moses cried he tried to shove himself under a cover to make the noise stop, but after that he accepted him and loved him. He encouraged me through the nights every time I would feed our babies through the night he would get up and go with me and stay up until I was done. He sat next to them when they cried and tried to calm them by licking them or just sitting next to them. To say he was great is an understatement. So of course when I got pregnant with Jewel I imagined the day I would bring her home and he would be the first to greet her and lick her and welcome her into our home. To not see that has been so hard on me (all of us). I still cry over it, but realize it would have been selfish of me to keep him hanging on for that when he was in so much pain. Pain that I had not really seen since I was around him so much and it had come on slowly and more of it.

My mom had flown in just a 6 days before he would be gone. When she arrived he was doing pretty good for his condition and she got to enjoy spending time with him. He always loved it when she was here. He loved her like he loved me. She has been a huge part of his life since I got him when he was just 4 1/2 weeks old. So the fact that she was able to be next to him when he went to sleep was what was best for him. He had his two favorites girls by his side loving him and holding him to the end.

Looking back at pictures of him on his last day I can see his weakness, how he could barely keep his little eyes open. When I was holding him to have him put to sleep he was so tired and relaxed like a little baby in my arms. Jewel immediately started kicking in my stomach and I know Nike felt her and was comforted by that. He loved to lay on my stomach with each of my pregnancies. It was like he knew a new baby was coming and he started bonding right from the beginning. He went to sleep peacefully. It was so sad holding death in my arms and life in my womb at the same time. God knows what we need just at the right times in life and I believe that is when he had he moving around to remind me right at that moment that they were together even if they would never meet in person.

To talk about him in the past tense is one of the hardest things for me. I will tell Jewel about him and show her pictures of him so she will know him. She will know that he was here through out my whole pregnancy being a part of it. Laying around with me when I was so sick I couldn’t get up. Getting up with me in the night when I didn’t feel well. Checking on me after I threw up. Cuddling up to my stomach to keep it warm. He was loyal to the end and it was only right that he was taken out of his pain in a way that was as peaceful as possible. He was such a big presence in our home and he will be missed more that anyone will ever know. Thankfully Ally welcomed Jewel with a kiss even before she greeted me. If you know Ally you would know that is not the norm for her. She has taken on a new role in our house and Nike would be proud of her.