Jack Leonard Jedd, the baby whose pregnancy inspired my Listen to Your Mother act, whose birth let me know I could do it unmedicated and live to tell the tale, whose colicky babyhood did not deter us from having 3 more kids because he was so darn sweet right form the jump-- Jack the lifeguard and speech whiz and soon-to-be Bradley Brave-- Jack the excellent and responsible big brother, the kid who takes Annabelle out every night even though he doesn't really like her very much and drives his siblings wherever they have to go and pays for his own gas, even-- Jack with the same loyal friend group for a decade, with political aspirations and law school on the distant horizon and plans to be an AP history teacher first-- that Jack is eighteen years old today!
Happy Birthday to Jack! I read the birth story. Wow, that doctor! Anyway I hope Jack has a wonderful day!!!
ReplyDeleteHappy birthday to Jack! He's got such an exciting future ahead of him! I'm envious of kids who know exactly what they want to do early on!
ReplyDeleteHappy birthday to Jack! What a responsible, kind, and driven kid. I loved going back and reading your pregnancy/birth stories.
ReplyDeleteHappy birthday Jack!!
ReplyDeleteI went and read the birth story. “Get your act together and focus” ?!?! Was the doctor cruising for a bruising?!?! Having had four unmedicated births myself I have choice words for doctors like that LOL
Happy Birthday Jack! I went back and read your birth post, how amazing! I wish I had a blog when Maya was born, though I did write about her birth I guess. Did you have epidural free births for the next 3 kids, since you knew what it was like? I went epi free, but I think if I had had any more kids, that would NOT have been the case, because that shit HURTS.
ReplyDeleteOMG, you were (and still are) adorable in your pictures.
I had an epi for Harry and Minnie (both inductions) and went med-free for the rest.
DeleteDoes the induction make a big difference? Maybe that’s a foolish question, but I only have the one kid, so I don’t know. I was induced, and did not want an epidural (scared of that big needle) but I’ll tell you, they could have put that fucker in my eyeball near the end, if it would stop the pain. But it was too late, of course.
DeleteYES YES YES. Contractions with pitocin are WAY WORSE than contractions w/o in my experience. For me, unmedicated contractions came in clear waves, and when the contraction was over, I was not in pain and had time to recover before the next one. Pitocin contractions never fully "broke," and they were really huge and intense even if they weren't making much progress. Unmedicated labor had more of a build for me, and it was really only the last centimeter that was fucking terrible.
DeleteThat tracks. My mom told me stories of telling jokes and singing songs in between contractions, and that was not my experience AT ALL. There was pain and there was MORE PAIN, and that was the only difference. I remember thinking that if I could just go downstairs and get a cab to go home, I’d be fine. (I guess I knew my husband wouldn’t drive me home in that condition, HA! You know, because he was sane and not in labor.)
DeleteHappy birthday to a fine young man. His driving sibs around and being such a responsible brother reminds me of my Reggie. Although Reg forgets words anc says Whatchamacallit at museum thanks to his verbal memory deficit, so public speaking would never pan out for him.
ReplyDeleteExcited for his path to unfold at Bradley. I’m sure he’ll do great there.
I was induced all 6 times so I have nothing to compare it to and the above exchange is eye opening. I’m also the world’s biggest wimp, so I think I would’ve ended up with meds regardless.
Did you already have your trip to Chicago for dance?