The Arrival of the Greatest Blessing We Have Ever Known!

20 days ago Jake and I became the proud parents of a perfect baby boy! He has already taught us so much about the world, specifically, that there is a whole new kind of love we didn't even know before him, that sleep is something you can do without if the reason you are staying up is important enough, and that all our old priorities are suddenly pale in comparison to taking care of him. His entrance into the world was filled with my own disbelief that he was actually on his way, but God has wonderful way of throwing our own plans out the window for His always much more perfect timing :) So, at this point I will be recording Jonah's birth story, more for my own diary so that I can always look back at the day Jonah was born and remember all the details than for everyone else, but feel free to read if you'd like, but warning... it's a long one!


JONAH'S BIRTH STORY


Easter Sunday is one of my favorite holidays. It's springtime finally, which is incredibly exciting if you have just trudged through a looooong Ohio winter. I also love the bright colors and decorations all around, and the hope for a new year. But most of all it's the promise that Jesus has defeated death giving all of us a new life, perfect and sinless in God's eyes.


1st Peter 1:3-4
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, ⁴ and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. 


So the day started out with Jake and I dressing up for the occasion. I have always loved the tradition of dressing a bit more fancy for Easter. To me it is like a reminder of the beauty God can see in us after Jesus' resurrection, and it's just fun! Service Sunday was wonderful, complete with worship songs that gave me goosebumps and a powerful sermon I hope to use to share with someone soon... **Audio and Video of the Sermon that Day**.


Jake and I smiled on the way to church about how next year we would have little Jonah, and we would totally put him in a cute little tie for Easter :) And our friends Libby and Scott's little boy looked SO adorable in his little Easter tie.  So church was wonderful, even though I had some nagging little cramps while we sang, but only when we were standing, so I figured they were nothing. I even told all my friends that day that I thought for sure that Jonah wouldn't make is arrival for another 2 weeks. For goodness sake the boy was still all the way up in my rib cage! I had read I should feel him drop into my pelvis when labor was closing in, so I was sure it wasn't happening anytime soon. Little did I know... 


After church we headed to Farmer Joe's house because I begged Jake to take a picture with me so we had one of he and I while I was pregnant. It was a good thing we did too! I also knew I had to document how huge I was! Jake literally chuckled most days when I walked into a room "because I was just so cute with my Jonah belly". Well, I can agree that I looked funny enough to laugh at!! 

From there we changed and enjoyed a relaxing Easter lunch with Jake's whole family at Grandma Esther's house. Annette made some amazing cherry cheesecake desert that I remember LOVING and then we watched JT, Logan, James, and Peyton do an Easter egg hunt around the house. All those boys running around were adorable, and I sat in the sun that afternoon daydreaming about our little Jonah joining the crowd :), but I was tired and just feeling a little off, so we left pretty early. I spent the rest of the afternoon trying to get comfortable on the couch at Joe's while Jake hung out with his dad, but I couldn't shake those 'braxton hicks' contractions I was convinced I was having. We went home and I finally decided I should start timing the contractions to see if they were regular. At first they were 6, then 8, then 9 minutes apart, which seemed pretty irregular to me, but at the same time they were not going away, so I decided we needed to change my activity level to get them to quit! So where do Jake and I love to go any day of the week? Lowes of course! ha. the contractions kept coming, and were getting pretty intense, but I thought they were still irregular enough to not be the real deal. While Jake looked at the electrical boxes, every 6 to 8 minuets I leaned over the Lowes cart and wiggled in pain... still somehow in disbelief that I could possibly be gong into labor. Jake was in less denial then me, and after talking to my Aunt Wendi, we decided to head home. Still thinking I hadn't changed my activity level enough, I went upstairs and got on the elliptical... lol... that lasted exactly 7 minutes, until the next contraction hit! I finally decided I had enough reason to call the doctor. My sweet aunt Wendi had the good suggestion to shower get all cleaned up while in the early stages of labor, so I showered and straightened my hair between increasingly intense contractions, and then we finally headed to the hospital. 

It was so warm I wore my new white and grey striped tank top and some comfy yoga pants, and once we got to the hospital I held on to Jake and tried my best to walk through the contractions. It was pretty funny that it was obvious what was happening. We walked (well I shuffled while hunching over in pain! lol) into the lobby and the lady at the counter just smiled and said, "4th floor!" without even asking what we needed :). We were checked in and they took a look to see if I was ready, and I was really worried they were going to say I needed to tough it out at home longer, since everyone had warned me not to go to the hospital too early. Well, apparently I did a great job managing my pain up to that point, because I was already 6 centimeters dilated! They got me into a delivery room and I worked through the contractions for a little longer. I had been struggling with the idea of an epidural in the weeks before this, and once the contractions stepped up while I was 7 to 8 centimeters, I gave in and asked for the epidural. Sweet Jake remembered that I wanted to be absolutely sure I wasn't just in a moment of weakness, and followed my instructions for him to ask me again if I was sure an epidural was what I wanted. At this point I was crying and in so much pain I couldn't help writhing and rocking, and I WAS SURE I needed that epidural! Thank God I decided to get it too, because after that, labor was downright enjoyable!! 

Jake and I were both hoping we'd have a little Easter baby, but Jonah waited 36 minutes after midnight to officially make his appearance at 12:36 am. It only took 4 sets of 3 pushes and a total of 5 hours in the hospital, which means to me it went by REALLY fast! But the moment my baby Jonah was placed in my arms, well I could re-live that moment in my memory in slow motion any time. Jake said the reason they couldn't give him to me right away was because his cord was so short and he could only reach up to my hips while still attached! The doctor had to practically hold him upside down to give Jake a good angle to cut it! ha! And that is why he never dropped... Little Jonah was tethered in there and didn't have enough cord to move! I guess that explains why he's such a wiggle bug now!  

The first moment I saw our baby Jonah

Little cone head being weighed :) Only six pounds eleven ounces! 

1st ever picture with Daddy... in his favorite Ohio State hat of course :) 

Grandpa Randy

After two days in the hospital getting to know each other and meeting all the relatives...

We bundled our little Jonah up to brave the cold Ohio spring weather in an outfit I still say is adorable, but Jake thought was corny becasue of the little bear and puppy faces ;) 

And we headed to our home that will never be the same as it was, because now it's filled with even more love. 

We're Ready for You Jonah James!

It's April 7th, which means Jonah will be here in just about 2 weeks! It's hard to believe we are finally to this point, and we are so excited about this amazing blessing! ... annnnd I have to admit sometimes it doesnt' even feel real! The funniest thing is when I am sitting in the car jamming out like nothing about my life has changed, then I get a little dance move from inside of my belly! Ha. Somehow every once in a while I forget there's a whole other person in there! Well, I have a feeling in the next two weeks, I won't be forgetting anymore! (Well I better not! Wouldn't want to leave our little guy lying around! ;)

So, Incase you were wondering, despite it all being so surreal to be in this moment in our lives, Jake and I have been working hard to get ready, and I think we are finally there! Jonah James is going to come into this world with quite a few gadgets, a killer wardrobe, and plenty of love from his family and friends.

His nursery is all done, and I have to admit, I kinda LOVE being in there! It's a good thing too, since I will be spending a lot of time in there between feeding, diaper changing, playing on the floor, and watching my little boy sleep. It's interesting with the whole Pinterest phenomenon, I thought I had my nursery figured out long before I ever was actually pregnant, but as soon as I knew I was pregnant for real, all my old plans started going out the window! I originally was in love with a Peter Rabbit theme, complete with soft greens and blues, then thought of going with tons of whites and neutrals... then it was gong to be mostly white with pops of bright colors, well. Then I went to JoAnn's and decided I LOVED the bright quilt starter they had, and the rest of the room exploded in color from there.

The JoAnn's already quilted quilt that I made which started the color explosion :) And my loyal helpers are always close by.

And here is the room complete! There are several DIY projects I did to save money, and overall I think we did a great job of staying within a reasonable budget, although Jake was quick to remind me that neither of us could remember what our nursery's looked like, and Jonah won't either! lol. Well isn't that nice and practical... but totally not fun! :) The good news is he humored me through the whole process and even helped when needed to hang curtain rods, book shelves, and put together all the furniture.

Things I made at least partially: The striped ottoman (Made from $2 Ikea rugs and news paper), navy pillow, button lamp shade (from a $6 lamp from Goodwill - painted then hot-glued buttons), crib teether, mobile, book shelves on the wall (Ikea spice racks painted white), curtains, roller shades (spray adhesive to stick on navy fabric), and monkey quilt. We got the rug from Amy from Urban outfitters for only 30 bucks! The Jonah quilt is an amazing gift from Jake's Aunt Wendi, my great friend Emily made the mobile (I just tweaked it a bit) and the sock monkey was made for Jonah by our good friend Traci!

Close up of the button lamp

The book wall filled with books from my shower!
The Farm painting was done by Jake when he was little,
and framed by Amy! Such a sweet touch! 

All the letters came from my Baker shower
where the guests each brought a letter they decorated themselves! 

The square signs and ABC framed art were made by our sweet friend Kim!
She's SO talented and also made the shower invitations! 

So in the end the room turned out bright and happy, but the best part I think are all the hand made touches from all our friends and family! I feel like this room is filled with love not just from Jake and I, but from everyone that will be a part of Jonah's life! So Special! 

And now the hospital bags are packed...

 The stroller and carseat are set up and installed...

The actual place Jonah will be sleeping when he arrives home is next to our bed... 

And we are ready and waiting for him to decide to take a look at the big world! What a gift from God this little boy is! We can't wait to meet you Jonah James Fulton!