Spaghetti Face

Shelby really enjoyed dinner last night!!

Lovely Sleep

Jonah will be six weeks old on Friday and is only waking up 1 time at night now!! He eats so much during the day and has really gotten on a good schedule. He takes great naps during the day and I feel very lucky so far. I am keeping my fingers crossed that this continues!!

Mom and Dad

these are just a few photos of Jeremy and I with Jonah. We haven't gotten very many so far.

Baby Cheeks

So the other evening Jonah had been up for a while before he ate his dinner. I thought (and hoped) that he would fall asleep after he finished. He did just that and these were some pictures mom got of those sweet baby cheeks.

Jonah's First Month

This little boy has grown so much since being born one month ago today. He is over 9 pounds now and has grown about a half inch. He eats 5 ounces every 3 hours, yes that's a lot of formula. But he is still in newborn clothes. Since Jonah has been born there have obviously been many changes in our family. It is hard for me to believe that he is a month old. He definitely can track objects now (very slowly) and turns when he hears my voice. Jeremy and I both have gotten a smile out of him, which was so sweet. I really think he looks so much like Shelby, her one month picture is underneath the single ones of Jonah. We all love having this little boy in our family, especially the kids. Gabe wants to hold Jonah and is always giving him kisses. And whenever Shelby hears him crying, she gives him his bottle (usually empty), or paci, or a blanket. She also sits beside him a lot and just watches him. I am hoping Jonah will soon skip a feeding durning the night. I am doing Baby Wise with him but he seems to need a bit more tinkering to the whole process. But he is a great baby and a wonderful little cuddle bug.

Washing Dishes

Gabe has been wanting to do many more things on his own lately, including washing the dishes. So the other night Jeremy had Gabe and Shelby at the sink "washing dishes." The kids were really just playing in the water and laughing at the soap bubbles, but the dishes did eventually get washed.

Fun at Bebe's

We arrived in TN a little over a week ago and the adventure has not stopped. Between taking care of a newborn, watching Shelby run around with Charlie the dog and keeping Gabe under control, I have little energy for ANYTHING else. But the kids are getting adjusted to being here and really enjoying the fact that there is a big yard to play in. We have had some beautiful days here (along with really yucky ones) and were able to enjoy the outdoors. I love photographing the kids outside in the sunshine.

Jonah's Home Birth

I am finally getting around to blogging about this incredible experience. I have to say that having a home birth ranks up there with the best moments of my life so far. I began having contractions in the middle of the night. They were intense and consistent for about a half hour and then nothing. So I got up around 6 am and told Jeremy I was going to Wal-Mart to walk this baby out of me. So in the middle of a big rain storm, I drove my very pregnant self to the store. After walking around for a few minutes, the contractions started again. I called Joi and she sent Stacy over to check on me. She arrived around two p.m. and I was 4 centimeters dilated. So we decided to go ahead and get things going. She stripped my fibers and then I started having more consistent contractions. They were not very painful and I was just walking around feeling quite excited. Joi arrived a while later along with April, my Doula. I progressed quickly but Stacy soon discovered that my cervix was posterior, it kept moving into my backside. So, she moved it forward. Talk about PAINFUL. I wanted to let my body try to break my water but after waiting about an hour or so, we decided to have Stacy do it. Once that happened, I was dilated to a ten almost immediately. But my cervix would not cooperate and Jonah was not all the way past my pubic bone. So we waited, and waited and waited. I pushed on and off for about five hours. Joi and Stacy were there the entire time and April was so encouraging. Jeremy never left my side. He was really great. We enjoyed some fried chicken and sides that was brought to us by one of my MOPS friends. I was allowed to rest, walk around, lay down, whatever I wanted to do. But I was getting extremely tired and making no progress. Around eleven p.m. I told Jeremy I didn't think I could push anymore. He was very understanding and just kept giving me encouragment. Joi told me what would happen if I went to the hospital and that it was just up to me. I decided to lay down for a bit longer and then make a decision. As I stood up from the birthing stool, I felt Jonah shift down. And then the terribly painful contractions started. I made it through five and then told Jeremy to get everyone. So we were all huddled in our bedroom and I gave birth to Jonah on our bed. I pushed three times and Jeremy and I pulled him out and layed our baby on my chest. i know I screamed loudly and was in so much pain but I just remember feeling so much relif afterward. Jonah stayed on me for about 45 minutes, still connected to the placenta. He never cried but just looked around making little snorting noises. The ladies cleaned him a little but left the vernix on to be reabsorbed, which made his skin so soft. Then they weighed and measured him and brought him back to me in the bed. Then Joi and Stacy did the laundry, cleaned the dishes and wished us a good night. Jeremy fed Jonah his first bottle and then they both came to sleep.
We certainly do not plan to have anymore children, but I wish my first two were home births as well. I would recommend it to every woman to at least try one time. It was an amazing experience that I will treasure forever. And Jonah will have a very cool story to tell about the day he was born.