Lil Jonah is Here!

Jonah Russell Woody was born January 18, 2009 at 6:13 p.m. He was 7 lbs 9 oz and 20 inches long.

Here is his birth story:

Saturday was my last day at work. After work I rushed home to make some mexican food for a fellowship the young adults were having that night. I was pretty tired already and my feet were pretty much done in for the day, but I had a good time at the fellowship. I had a few strange feeling twangs of pain in my lower abdomen that night while we were there. Jeremy and I left around 10 or so.

We got home and got settled in for the night. Jeremy fell asleep on the couch and I checked my email, etc. That whole time I was having contractions, but they weren't intense and I figured they would go away later. Well...off to bed we went and I was still having the pains every 10-15 minutes or so. I decided I would start writing down the frequency of them just for fun. I never went to sleep. They were getting harder and closer together. So I got out of bed and decided to finish packing up my hospital bag because I had read somewhere that if contractions go away when you get up and walk around then its false labor. They weren't going away, but I was still not believing it! I packed all my stuff and finally woke up Jeremy and told him to get his stuff together just in case they get worse and we have to go to the hospital. So he got up, packed, and took a shower.

We convinced ourselves around 3:30 am that it was time to head to the hospital and see if they kept us. We got there around 4:30 am and got checked into triage. They check out how dialated you are then you wait for an hour and see if you are progressing. I was a 1.5 and to me that was already some progression! This nurse told us the chance it was false labor was pretty good. So I was still not expecting to stay. More than an hour went by and finally she came back and suggested I walk around for 30 minutes before she checked me again. So I walked around and that seemed to do the job, because I was a 3. She then decided to admit me!

By the time I was at a 4 or so they sent in my epidural. It was great, at first. They started Petocin and I was at a 5.5 in no time. My epi wasn't being as effective for all of the pain by that time. I felt the downward pressure of every contraction. I hit a 7 in no time, but hung out there for awhile. Probably a good thing because it gave my two best friends, Natalie and Kristen, and my sister, Laura time to make it up here from Bryant. At one point, my petocin iv came undone and I slowed down for awhile. Then when it was back up and running we were on the road.

It seemed that I was dialating properly, but Jonah wouldnt drop low enough to deliver him. There was talk of a c-sect when this happened and Jonah's heart rate dropped a little. They stuck an oxygen mask on me, turned me on my side, and somehow Jonah turned enough to get his head engaged properly and we were ready to go.

The doctor had warned me that it would probably be a lot of pushing before he was here. My sis was in the delivery room with me and so was Jeremy of course. It was nice to have someone on each side of me cheering me on. So the three of us pushed this baby out in a little more than an hour. We had a waiting room full of people awaiting his arrival. So many friends and family stuck around all day, that the doctors and nurses kept coming in saying our crowd was growing.
Introducing Jonah! He is the new man in my life!
Here's a proud daddy!

Our new little family!

So many people have reached out to us this week and have sent us flowers, gifts and food. We have meals coming every day and Jonah is loved by so many. Natalie and Kristen went to my house the night after Jonah was born and cleaned our house from top to bottom and cooked us several meals to put in the freezer. I thank God for such close, nurturing, and fun girl friends. They are absolutely irreplaceable. It was so nice to come home to such a clean house. I didn't even want to bring our bags in to clutter it up any! What a load off! I had planned to finish the cleaning the few days I would have off of work before my due date. Jonah had different plans! He came the evening of my last day at work! I got my wish didn't I? I was able to go into labor on my own!

Jonah's first week of life has definitely had its ups and downs. Learning how to nurse him, change his insurmountable amount of dirty diapers, and figure out his sleep patterns has been and will continue to be a daily challenge...one that I wouldn't trade anything in this world for. Thanks to God for the love of family and good friends and for their supportive words and advice. I thank Him everyday for our miracle.