The girls have adjusted beautifully to their new brother. They love him to pieces. He rarely gets put down and gets smothered in kisses and hugs. Poor boy is going to have three mothers, I tell ya.
Jonah is a great baby. He sleeps in 3-4 hour stretches at night. He wakes up to get a diaper change, nurse, and goes right back to sleep. We haven't had any trouble with breastfeeding. He didn't lose much of his birth weight, and he gained it back, and then some, pretty quickly, too. He loves to nurse, that's for sure. He has started smiling and "talking" to us now. He is a happy, adorable baby!
My labor went great. It was fast and intense, and was not what I expected it would be. It was a beautiful experience. Natural birth is something amazing. It didn't feel how I imagined it would. I don't want to say it's not painful; it is. Pushing a baby out does not feel good at all, but it was more intense than painful. I could do it again. I'm not saying we will, but it didn't scare me away from the thought of going through labor again. The contractions didn't hurt the way that I was anticipating that they would. They weren't fun, but I was bracing myself for a lot of pain and thankfully it wasn't like that. It was just a lot of pressure. Moaning loudly, and pulling on something (like the handle on the ceiling in the van. Really glad we had a short drive, or he would have come in the van) or gripping something tightly helped. So did squatting or getting on my hands and knees and rocking back and forth. It's kind of amazing how you just find what works for you in the moment to get through each one. I am glad I only had to push for four minutes. It was the hardest part.
I am really thankful I was able to experience one completely natural labor and delivery. I don't regret my labors with the girls at all, but I do feel like I missed something. And I have to say, after going through it, I really believe any woman can do it! A normal, healthy, labor and delivery is not scary at all. And I highly recommend a water birth. The water feels so good and delivering in the water feels way better than laying on a hospital bed, that is for darn sure.
The midwives we had were amazing-- super, super sweet, and supportive. A much better experience than I had with either of the OB/GYN's I went to with the girls. Those weren't bad experiences, just very different. It has been kind of sad going from seeing them once a week to not seeing them at all now.
Delivering in the birth center was so peaceful and cozy. I cannot say enough good things about the whole experience. Casey caught him, cut the cord, and all that good stuff. The first thing I thought when I saw Jonah was that he looks just like Casey. Now that he is filling out a bit and getting a little bigger I can see some of myself in his face, but yeah, he is mostly Casey. Such a handsome boy.
At our 6 week check up we found out he weighs 10lbs 8 oz and is 23" now. He is growing beautifully!
Cloth diapering is going great, too. I was nervous to start, honestly, but it is so easy! It is no more difficult than disposables. It's just an extra load of laundry. Which, honestly, at this point, there's always laundry needing to be done, what's one more load? They are really cute, and having all those colorful, adorable diapers drying on the clothesline makes me kinda happy.
So, all in all, things are going well. The girls and I have gotten back into our routine somewhat and our break from school is over. It was really nice to have a break, but it is fun getting back into it, too. Makena is starting to read, just a little bit, but it is very exciting. She wants to be able to read so badly. Kaylin is plugging along at a great pace. She doesn't realize what a smart cookie she really is.
Here are some pictures of our sweet little man.
After his first bath. I love when newborns go cross-eyed. So funny.
Ready for his first Costco trip.
Loves from big sis Kaylin.
Isn't he just the most handsome boy ever?! He grew out of that outfit and his little slippers way too soon! I loved them.
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