Birth Story

Jackson Robert Thalinger was born on Sunday, November 9, 2008 at 2:42pm. He weighed 7 lbs, 2 ounces and was 20 1/2 inches long. He was born at CMC Main hospital in downtown Charlotte, NC. Contractions started on Saturday mid-afternoon and lasted throughout the night. After speaking with the doctor on Saturday, he believed I was not in active labor and thought contractions might just come and go. He was definitely wrong! They intensified and by 6am Sunday morning, I woke up to my water broken. We got to the hospital by 8am and I was having contractions every 4-5 minutes. The hospital was overbooked and I was not assigned to a room yet. Therefore, I could not get an epidural until a room was assigned to me. I was 3cm dilated by this point. 2 1/2 hours later I finally got a room and an epidural...Needless to say, I was in A LOT of pain by then! I was dilated to 5cm by the time I got a room. After about an hour or so later, the nurse noticed Jackson's heart rate was decreasing. The doctor rushed in and monitored his heartbeat for a while and before I knew it, about 6 people rushed in at once to get me ready for an emergency C-section. Kevin and I had no idea what was going on. My doctor wanted to wait for 8 minutes to see if Jackson's heart rate would go up and if not, I was heading in for a C-section. 7 1/2 minutes later, his heart rate went up. I had been shuffled from side to side to see if the cord may have been blocking his breathing. Since his heart rate was up, my chances of a normal delivery were very good. 2 hours later I dilated a full 10 cm although I had to lay on my side throughout the entire labor. 20 minutes later, Jackson arrived into this world. It was the most magical thing Kevin and I have ever witnessed. Although I did not have the easiest labor, I would do it again in a heart beat. I never realized I could love something so much!

Right after delivery


Right after delivery


Mommy and Jackson


Jackson with Grandparents Thalinger


Jackson with Grandparents Hawkins


Leaving the hospital




Jackson's First Night Home