Welcome to the world, Asher!!

I was due with little Asher Steven on September 3, Labor Day! Both Jordan and I just knew I would deliver him early though. I was so much bigger this pregnancy and had more complaints compared to my others. I think that was partly due to this pregnancy being in the summer, my age, and the fact that this was my fifth pregnancy - my uterus was just relaxed and letting it all hang out.

Wendy had come to visit from August 20-25. We wanted to her be able to see the baby so badly! She made sure I was walking a lot to help induce labor. I was also eating pineapple and drinking raspberry leaf tea to get things going. I'd been having a lot of nausea for a few days before she left as well. Unfortunately, she left before my labor started. :(

I woke up around 2 AM on Sunday, August 26 with contractions. They seemed to be relatively regular, so I decided to time them. I honestly didn't think I was in labor...because Wendy had just left and my mom wasn't supposed to come out to visit until the 28th! The timing was just off! But my contractions were actually every minute and a half to every three and a half minutes, and lasting 50-60 seconds. And they were becoming painful...so I decided to get the last minute things for our hospital bag! I puttered around the house for a few hours, doing my hair and makeup (at 3 in the morning hahaha), gathering snacks and drinks, and then waking Jordan up. He was so excited! I honestly couldn't believe the timing of this labor. It was so ironic!

My sweet friend and neighbor Dawn came over to watch the boys and we left for Hahnemann University Hospital (where Jordan works) around 4:30 AM. I had been so nervous because the drive is usually an hour, even though it's only 12 miles away from our house. But since it was the middle of the night, the drive was about 20 minutes! Yay! We parked in the parking garage and walked extremely slowly to the ER. We walked in and the security guard pulled up a wheelchair. I said, "Is that for me?" and he said, "It's for you!" Then he wheeled me into the ER saying, "Twins on the way, twins on the way!" Lol. I don't think I was THAT big. They got me checked in as I drank my Gatorade and held onto my barf bag just in case. A tech from the ER wheeled me up to the LD floor and they put me in a triage room.

Our nurse who checked us in did a double take when she saw Jordan! She was so funny. He had been working on the LD floor a lot lately and the nurses all had been checking with him often on how I was doing, so they'd been expecting me. They got me hooked up to the monitor and the OB resident came to check me at 5:45 AM. I was already to 4 cm and 75% effaced! My contractions had slowed at this point to about every 5 minutes, but they were getting more intense. The OB resident came to tell us that we could go home (yeah RIGHT) or continue to labor at the hospital and see if I progress anymore. I couldn't believe she told us that we should go home. I said, "Well, we live an hour away and I usually go from a 7 to a 10 in 20 minutes, so I think we will stay." Haha. She was fine with that, so we sat tight for a little bit while they got us admitted. I had a big contraction and was just in "labor land" while the triage RN came in. She was watching me breathe through it and when I opened my eyes, she said, "Wow! That was a big one...and it's not even done!"

We got to the LDR room just after 6 AM and met the floor nurse. She got my IV started and hooked me up to the monitor. I was lucky to get intermittent monitoring since I didn't want an epidural. Jordan's fellow anesthesia resident came to talk to me and he was really nice. When he asked if I wanted an epidural, both Jordan and I laughed and said no. At 7 AM, the shift changed and we met our day shift nurse. It was Amy, who was our nurse when I delivered Lucas! I don't know if she remembered us, but I remembered her and how kind and good she was. We also met the day shift OB resident, Maureen. She had also been with us when I delivered Lucas! I couldn't believe we had the same team as before.  Jordan said that Maureen was one of the best OB residents. Then we met the day shift nurse midwife, who was so sweet and down to earth.

Jordan and I would walk the hallways for 10-15 minutes and then they put me back on the monitor for 20 minutes. I was able to sit on the birthing ball and rock back and forth while being monitored so that was nice. I kept drinking tons of gatorade and water, so I had to pee what felt like every 30 minutes haha. I got a clear liquid breakfast tray at 8:30 AM. It had vegetable broth, tea, 3 containers of juice, and jello. The veggie broth was disgusting! Jordan went and got some breakfast for himself and also snuck me up a greek yogurt. I wolfed it and a nutrigrain bar down so no one would see me eating!

I was feeling pretty anxious at this point, because my labor with Maxwell was just over 6 hours. This labor was starting to be longer, and I had no idea what was going to happen! It was so frustrating, and just a reminder that every labor is different.

At 10 AM, Maureen came to check me again. I was 5-6 cm, 100% effaced! Asher was also a little crooked. She asked if I'd like my water broken and I agreed. She broke my water quickly and there was meconium present. :( Maxwell had meconium in his water too. They said since there was meconium in the fluid, I'd need to be continually monitored. Dang! My heart rate was artificially high at this point. Amy kept asking me if I felt like my heart was racing, and I said no. They got an EKG just to be safe and my actual heart rate was 85, even though the monitor said it was 140. So they gave me a new pulse oximeter. Maureen asked Jordan if he wanted to deliver, and he said, "Well yeah, I assumed I would." Haha! She was so cute, and said, "Oh, this is the best day ever!" Jordan went to change into some scrubs.

I got checked again at 11 AM, and was 6-7 cm. The midwife said that even though I had to be monitored continuously, that didn't mean I had to lay down. She had me get out of bed, stand on a pad  (to collect any extra fluid) by the bed and they raised the bed up to chest height. I was able to lay my arms on the bed and sway with my contractions. Swaying was going to help Asher come down straight instead of crooked. My contractions were getting sooo strong at this point, and just like my labor with Jonah, I was feeling them all the way down in my hips! In the past, I've been a little frustrated with Jordan not "helping" me the way I've needed. So I made sure to be very specific about how he could help, like pushing on my hips or rubbing my back.

I started getting really anxious because my contractions were so strong...and in the past, I've progressed from 7-10 cm in 20 minutes. I was coming up on that "time limit" and felt like I could maybe be fully progressed. I asked Maureen to check me again at 11:15. I was only 7 cm, and was so disappointed! Every 15 minutes, I asked her to check me, because I seriously felt like it was time. And every 15 minutes, I would progress a tiny bit more. Everyone decided to just come in the room so they wouldn't be going back and forth. At 11:30, I was 8 cm; at 11:45, I was 9 cm. My body started pushing involuntarily and I was groaning! The whole team was in the room and so sweet and supportive. I'd gasp out to Jordan, "My hips!" or "My back!" and he'd push exactly where I needed. I am SO grateful he was there for me.

I'd been toying around with the idea of delivering Asher in a different position than laying down, but I was so tired and sweaty that I just wanted to get in bed. So right before noon I did just that. I was finally at 10 cm with a lip, but Maureen said she could hold that out of the way. Jordan got his gloves on and the charge nurse came to hold one of my legs while the midwife held my other leg and held my hand. I pushed with my contractions, groaning, and was SO flipping sweaty! I haven't ever had to work this hard haha! The charge nurse got a nice cold washcloth for my neck and my forehead. And ***TMI ALERT!*** but I totally pooped on the delivery table. I was SO embarrassed but they all kept saying I was doing so good and to keep pushing like that, because that's how you know you're using the right muscles. It was still embarrassing and gross!

I was trying to push slowly so that I wouldn't tear. I was able to reach down and feel Asher's head! So cool. The ring of fire this time was INTENSE. So much more painful than with Jonah or Maxwell. I didn't think his head would ever come out! But it finally did and then I pushed his body into Daddy's hands at 12:22 PM! He looked so good even with all the meconium that had been in the fluid. Asher was screaming like little pterodactyl at the top of his lungs! He weighed 8 pounds 3 ounces (!!!) and was 21 inches long! For the record, Jonah was 6 pounds 5 ounces, and Maxwell was 6 pounds 6 ounces.

They dried him off while he laid on me. Jordan cut the cord. We all cuddled together - Jordan, Asher, and I. I delivered the placenta and they gave me an IV with Pitocin. I didn't tear! It took Asher a while to latch, but once he did, he was breastfeeding like a champ. We hung out for a while and then Jordan went to get some food. I asked him to get me a hoagie! They transferred us to a private room after a few hours. Jordan went home to get Jonah and Maxwell, and brought them to meet their newest brother. They were adorable with him! After waiting for what seemed like the longest time, we finally had a healthy baby in our family again. This pregnancy was so full of anxiety and fear for me, and I was so happy he was in my arms at last. We'd prayed for this little boy every single day and he was finally here!

Welcome to the world, Maxwell!!

Clearly, my blogging skills are phenomenal...been a while since I posted!  :P

I thought that since I had Jonah at 37 weeks and 6 days, I would FOR SURE have Max early.  I had some signs of labor on March 8 when I was 38 weeks and 2 days.  This was the day before my mom came into town.  I had contractions for 2 hours in the middle of the night, and thought I might be dehydrated, so I drank a ton of water and they slowed down and eventually stopped.  I had another episode a few days later with one very painful contraction in the middle of the night and then nothing after that.  The third time I thought I was going into labor was on March 17 (39 weeks, 4 days) when I had contractions for 4 hours in the middle of the night.  I almost called into work and almost asked Jordan to stay home!  But by the time my alarm went off, the contractions had stopped.

All this start and stop labor was beyond frustrating.  I just wanted my little boy to come NOW so that my mom would be able to see his birth!  With all this start and stop labor, I decided to do everything I could to get labor started and keep going.
We: went to the park multiple times to walk miles
I got a birthing ball and bounced on it constantly through the day
I drank red raspberry leaf tea
Took baths
Got foot massages from my mom
etc, etc, etc.
Every night I would go to sleep thinking, "This is the night!" When I would wake up in the morning and I wasn't in labor it was so agonizing.

My actual labor started on March 19 at 1 PM, about an hour before my 40 week midwife appointment.  I had been planning on asking the midwife (Barbara) to sweep my membranes to speed things up as well.  I told her that I'd been having contractions for a few hours, so she checked me and I was 1 cm dilated, 0% effaced.  I wasn't able to get my membranes swept because I wasn't dilated enough.  But I was excited!  That night I drank a ton of tea, got another foot massage, and took another bath.  Contractions slowed down a bit that evening, but picked up again around 9 PM, when they were every 2.5-5 minutes and about 1 minute long.  I called the midwife at 11:20 PM and she said I could go to the hospital and she would meet us there.  I also reminded her that I progressed from 7 cm to 10 cm in 20 minutes with Jonah, so I wanted to get to the hospital with enough time.

We called our nanny, Becca, and she came to sleep over while my mom, Jordan, and I went to the hospital.  We went to check in and the nurse in the ER said I would have to be wheeled up to L&D.  I begged to walk and she said that I didn't look like I was too stressed, so I could walk :) I was so happy, because I walked almost my whole labor with Jonah and wanted to do the same with Max.

When we got up to the unit around 12:30 AM, I was able to bypass triage and get a bed.  They did intermittent fetal monitoring here just like with Jonah.  I had brought gatorade and was drinking that like there was no tomorrow.  I got a birthing ball and began bouncing on it.  After doing that for a while I decided to walk the halls.  We walked for about 30 minutes.  There was another lady also walking the halls and she was really loud, moaning in the hallway and obviously further progressed than I was.  I kept comparing myself to her, and then decided that wasn't fair to myself, so we decided to stay in the room.  I stood next to the bed and swayed, then got on the birthing ball again.  Jordan and mom decided to sleep and wait.

Around 2:15 AM, Barbara came to check me and I was 4 cm dilated, 75% effaced, and Max was at -2 station!  Yay!  I hadn't thought I was that far progressed!  I decided to take a nap.  I woke up around 3 AM and the contractions were really slowed down.  I walked in the hall for a little bit and then decided to take a hot shower.  With Jonah, my contractions slowed and then I took a bath and they picked up again, so that was my hope this time around.  I showered for probably 30 minutes and they did get a lot stronger.

At 4:15 AM, they put me back on the monitor.  Max was having some early decelerations, so I drank more fluids.  The contractions were definitely getting more powerful.  I was feeling the need to "verbalize" my contractions, not really yelling, but moaning loudly.  One of the only outbursts I had (proudly) my whole labor was at this time, when I barked at Jordan to wake up..."It's time!  Come on!" haha.

At 4:45 AM, I was feeling a lot of pressure.  Barbara checked me and I was 7 cm dilated!  They got the room ready at this time, and at 5 AM, I was completely dilated with urges to push.  Barbara asked me what position I wanted to push in and I decided on the bed at 45 degrees so I would be in a seated squat position.

With the first push, my water broke!  It felt so strange, like a balloon popping inside me.  They noted a small amount of meconium in the amniotic fluid, so the NICU people were called to the room just in case.  I needed a lot of direction from my nurse, Michele, to pull my legs back, hold my breath, and push down.  I really appreciated her just talking into my ear all these directions.  My legs were shaking uncontrollably! It was like when you're doing a wall-sit for a long time and  your muscles just start to shake.  One of my goals with this birth was to not tear, so I pushed about 4-5 times and Barbara applied lots of mineral oil to prevent me from tearing.  Jordan delivered Max's head with Barbara's assistance and it was amazing to be able to see it!  I then slowly pushed again and Max's body came very slowly out!  He was born at 5:23 AM on March 20!

Max had poor color but everything else was ok and he was crying, so his APGAR was an 8/10.  Jordan laid him on my chest and he cuddled into me for a few minutes before the NICU people took him to the warmer due to the meconium present in the fluid.  He was suctioned and then given right back to me.  He was crying, but immediately calmed down when I was talking to him.  He began breastfeeding and has an amazing latch.  He suckled for about 1.5 hour after being born.

We stayed in the room for about 2.5 hours afterward (during change of shift) before being taken to the maternity unit.  Before we left, Jordan went and got me a mango smoothie from Panera (continuing our tradition from Jonah!) and doughnuts from Dunkin.  I felt great!  I had some soreness and minimal pain, but this recovery was a lot better because I didn't tear at all!  I was voracious afterward, eating a huge meal and snacking constantly.  I was also a little tired from not really sleeping since 2 days before.

Max is so sweet.  He has my lips and nose, but otherwise looks just like Jordan.  He has the cutest little cry.  I don't even think you could call it a cry, because it's more of a wail, like "Woe is me!"  Haha!  He has fantastic neck control and is able to hold his head up and look around!  His fingernails were really long, and his eyelashes were really short.  My mom said they would grow.  He smelled intoxicating after being born and I'm pretty sad I allowed them to bathe him the day he was born.  I also can't get over how good of a latch he has with breastfeeding.

We love you so much, little Max!

Jonah: 5 Months

I’ve had a lot of “mommy brain moments” since I started working full time again.  Two memorable ones include throwing Jonah’s bib away instead of putting it in the laundry and pouring gatorade on my cereal instead of milk!  Ugh - haha!  

I can’t believe how quickly Jonah is growing up.  He can hold a bottle by himself sometimes!

At the end of August, we had the unpleasant and horrible task of dealing with a RAT infestation.  

:(((  I was breastfeeding Jonah on the couch when a giant rat just nonchalantly walked past me, looked at me, and then proceeded to walk into our dining room and pantry!!  I freaked out.  I called our landlord, where I found out I had to submit a maintenance request online.  They took OVER A WEEK to respond to our need, which I viewed as very urgent because of Jonah!  All I could keep picturing was that scene from “Lady and the Tramp” with the baby in the crib and the rat standing on the edge and lightning flashing.  It was terrifying!  We set out traps and finally killed one after 5 days.  It was probably (no exaggeration) 10 inches long.  I was so disgusted.  We killed the second rat after 8 days.  After we killed all the rats, the pest control people finally came.  Talk about poor management!!!  As far as cleaning up after an infestation, the CDC website said you had to wait a few WEEKS to clean out so that you’re sure all the rodents are dead.  Ugh.  So we finally deep cleaned the pantry, closets, and dining room out 2 weeks after the last rat was killed.  It took all day!

Jonah’s four month appointment went very well.  Height: 26 inches, weight: 16 pounds 7 ounces, head circumference: 41.5 cm! He is 75th percentile for height and weight!  The doctor said he is “perfect!”  That made me happy! :)

Teething has been a nightmare.  Jonah soaks a few bibs a day with drool, is pretty fussy, is getting a rash around his mouth from all the drool, and has had a low grade temp.  One night I had to give him Motrin and swaddled him, which helped him to sleep 8.5 hours straight!  

Jonah’s first laugh was awesome - we were just sitting at dinner and he was watching us eat and all of the sudden let out a laugh!  It wasn’t long, but it was what it was.  I was SO happy because I’d been looking forward to a laugh forever!

Jordan had the majority of August and the first week of September off, so he was able to watch Jonah when I worked!  It was so nice to have him home.  When he started school again, our new nanny, Olivia, worked out excellently!  She plays with Jonah, takes him on walks, and helps me out around the house.  I love her!  The first full day she watched him, Jonah wouldn’t eat from a bottle from her.  I was worried, but suggested to Olivia to feed him from a syringe.  That, along with feeding him on our bed (where he could smell me and Jordan) worked.  After that day, he didn’t have a problem with Olivia feeding him.

Once in church, Jonah had a major blowout, and of course I had only brought an extra pair of pants to church...so he showed off all his muscles to the Young Women!  

My mom came into town September 16 and stayed with us for a week!  It was awesome.  Jonah was all smiles and she was so excited to see him! We had so much fun!  We got pedicures, went apple picking at Carter Mountain in Charlottesville (SO FUN!!!) and made apple turnovers and apple pie, and went to North Carolina to stay with the Bethers!  We had a great time!  While we were in North Carolina, Jenae taught Jonah how to suck on a binkie for longer than 2 seconds. ;)

Jonah: 4 Months

I know I’m biased, but...I think I have the most beautiful baby in the world!  He has the softest skin with so many sweet rolls and folds.  He’s my little baby angel!

Whenever he eats, he has started flirting with me.  It is seriously the cutest thing ever!  He’ll smile shyly, talk, and coo at me.  I love it!  He also makes the cutest squealing noise whenever he gets excited.  I know he is so close to laughing!  He has the cutest personality, and I love watching it develop.  He is so sweet and funny!  Jonah is also very much a morning person.  It’s rare that he’s not awake by 6:30!  He is very happy when waking up too - all smiles!

August 1 was my first day back to work.  The night before, I cuddled with Jonah all night long.  I couldn’t sleep!  I knew he would be in good hands with our new nanny, but I was still so worried about leaving him for so long.  The nanny texted me multiple times while I was at work, saying Jonah was inconsolable and crying the whole day long!  He wasn’t used to me being gone for hours on end and having to drink out of a bottle all day!  Yes, he had gotten bottles previously, and did well with them, but didn’t have to drink out of them all day.  The nanny was at her wits end.  So I wasn’t surprised when she quit the next day...leaving us in the same position, needing to find a new nanny before Jordan started school again on September 9.  Ugh.  

Physically, Jonah has been developing by leaps and bounds!  He is able to hold his torso up and does little push-ups during tummy time!  He is also constantly rolling over, and even rolls over during his sleep!  Jonah also has started trying to scoot forward. The problem is though, he can't figure out how to move his arms! It's so funny. He also eats a ton.  Once, he ate 8 ounces for Jordan when he woke up!  I was shocked!

Jordan watched Jonah the rest of the month of August.  Jonah is so lucky to have all this time to spend with Jordan.  None of our other future kids will have this much time with him!  I was also jealous, because Jonah was sleeping much better for him during the day than for me (initially, anyways)!  Towards the middle of August, Jonah started going through the dreaded “four month sleep regression!”  He had been sleeping 8 hours a night, eating, and then sleeping 3 more hours.  During the sleep regression, he would get up every 2 hours.  I just had to remind myself that this too would pass!

Wednesdays have become my least favorite day, because I’ll usually work and then I’ll have Young Women’s in the evening.  I hate being away from Jonah all day long.  

My 25th birthday was fun and pretty laid back!  We went on a long walk and then out to dinner at a restaurant a few blocks away from us called The Hill Cafe.  I got their crab cakes - they were so delicious!  Because I worked on my birthday, we continued the celebration to the weekend by going to breakfast, to see Wolverine, and going on another long walk!  

Jonah got a “command center” exersaucer on my birthday too and he loves it!  He especially loves to chew on the green leaf!  We also got Jonah a little chair in the middle of August and he loves that too.  It helps him sit upright and has a lap tray for him to play with toys!

Jonah loves all types of music, but apparently he is a boy after his mommy’s heart.  He loves 80’s music!  One night, I tried to get him to sleep for about an hour, and then Jordan tried.  He put on “Don’t Stop Believin” by Journey and Jonah fell asleep before the song was over!  Jonah also LOVES piano music, and is always entertained when Jordan and I play the piano.

We went to North Carolina again August 17 to see the Bethers and (brother) Jordan before he went back to Utah!  It was so relaxing.  We hung out, watched movies, ate yummy food, and then went to church the day after.  

We got some new neighbors on August 22.  They have big dogs who like to bark, but thankfully not at night!  

I loved this outfit he wore one day.  The bib said “Daddy’s Big Guy” and his onesie said “Daddy’s Little Guy.”  What one is it!?  Haha!

To celebrate Jonah turning 4 months, we went to Maymont!  It was so beautiful!

Jonah: 3 Months

I’ve been wearing Jonah a lot in the Sleepy Wrap.  He loves it!  I love keeping him close, because I know that soon he will want to be moving everywhere!  Whenever he eats, he grabs onto my shirt so tight or would run his arm back and forth against my chest.  It is so sweet, it melts my heart!

We had a “Life After Camp Sleepover” for the Young Women and Jonah joined them!  :)  I was worried he would wake everyone up, but he did really good!

This little boy is really starting to get chubby.  I LOVE it!  He has the cutest rolls ever.  

We were able to go to Utah for a week in the beginning of July!  It was awesome.  That morning we went to breakfast to see Grandy and Grandpa Rick so they could love on Jonah!  Then we went to see the Evers boys in their neighborhood parade.  They were so cute!  Jonah even joined in on the fun and rode with cousin Wilson in the bike trailer!  Afterwards, we saw Monsters University with the Petersons!  It was so fun.  We spent the 4th of July helping the Hendersons prepare for their annual party.  We had a great time!  It was Jonah’s first time in a pool!  He loved the warm water!  After the party we went to the country club in Sugarhouse to see the fireworks.  As always, it was a great show.  Jonah surprised everyone by sleeping through them!  I guess he was sleepy!

July 5th was spent hanging out with cousins and getting ready for Jonah’s blessing the next day.  Jordan and I were able to go get a couples massage (I am ALWAYS going to get a hot stone massage from now on!) while Wendy watched Jonah.  They sent us the cutest pictures of him with Willie!  We all went to Cafe Rio that evening and then to see Despicable Me 2, which was so funny.  We got him the cutest blessing outfit ever!

Jonah was given a name and blessing by Jordan on July 6 at Omi and Buppi’s house.  Before this experience, I had no idea that babies could be blessed outside of a church, so it was a really neat day.  Jordan gave a wonderful blessing and many of our family members were able to participate!  After the blessing, we had dinner and hung out with most of our family members.  Thank you so much for everyone that was able to come and participate!  

Jordan had to leave that evening on a red-eye, so my mom came and picked me and Jonah up for the rest of our trip.  On the 7th of July, my mom, Jared, me, and Jonah all went to church together.  We had a great time!  That evening, we went to see Grandma and Grandpa Cuthbert so they could love on Jonah some more.  Danen, Debra, Mallory, and Mitch were there as well!  

Uncle Jared is SO cute with Jonah.  He totally doted on him, played with him constantly, and made him smile!  It is seriously so sweet!

On the 8th we ran a bunch of errands and my mom, Jonah, and I made a trip to IKEA to search for some cupboard organization.  Unfortunately, they didn’t have what we were looking for, but I am always happy to go to IKEA! :)

The 9th was spent hanging up pictures at my mom’s and then dinner with Omi and Buppi so they could love on Jonah!  I was happy that I could catch Buppi singing “Hoppe Hoppe Reiter” to Jonah on video.  He has sung that to every single grandchild countless times and it’s one of my favorite memories of growing up!  

Throughout the entire trip, Jonah was napping so great - taking all these 3 hour naps!  I think it’s because he was so stimulated and seeing all these new faces!  I’m glad he was able to sleep well though.  He started really sleeping amazingly well at night - about 7 hour stretches, eating, and then sleeping for another 3 hours!  One strange thing that would happen a few times during naps however, are night terrors where he wakes up from naps screaming and flailing.  It is SO sad and breaks my heart!  I started reading the No-Cry Sleep Solution toward the end of July and I absolutely love it.  It has given me such great ideas and routines to follow to help Jonah have healthy sleep habits - and not cry it out!  

Jonah and I had a horrible experience coming home from Utah on July 10th.  Our flight was originally scheduled for 8:30 AM.  When I woke up to feed Jonah at 4, I saw that our flight had been delayed 3 hours.  Delta made me reschedule both our flights.  I picked one leaving at 9:30 AM and going to Minneapolis.  When we got to the plane, our captain said there was a dent in the aircraft and that we were delayed.  We ended up being delayed for almost 3 more hours.  When we finally got to Minneapolis, I had missed my second flight.  Delta rescheduled me for another flight leaving at 7:30 PM.  I walked around the entire airport twice, got dinner, and fed and changed Jonah a few times.  I was running out of diapers!  My flight was then delayed until midnight (UGH), but thankfully they then pushed it up to 9:30 PM.  I tried to find diapers in the airport, but could not find any smaller than size 3 (Jonah was in between size 1 and 2).  When we got on our flight, Jonah began screaming and screaming and couldn’t be consoled.  I couldn’t change him because the flight attendant was taking a million years to hand out drinks in the aisle.  I finally changed him, fed him, and he fell asleep only 45 minutes before we landed.  It was horrendous!!  One thing I learned that would have made it a bit easier would have been taking the stroller so I could put Jonah, my pillow, and the diaper bag all on it.  We were delayed a total of 8 hours!!

This little boy started to go through a growth spurt soon after we came home...right on schedule!  He hits all his growth spurts a week early, and it was almost exactly a week before he turned 3 months!  He would eat everything in sight, including gnawing on his fists with such a ferocity!  He ate every 2 hours both day and night for over 24 hours...it was exhausting!

The next few days after this, he was super unhappy.  I thought he was teething because of all his drool and blowing bubbles!  In hindsight though, I see he was just fussy.

I noticed in the middle of July that Jonah is losing his hair :(  It covered his mattress! It made me so sad!!  

We went down to the Bethers in North Carolina the 16th and 17th of July.  It was so fun!  We went boating and Jordan and Brady were even able to come before they went to work!  It was Jonah’s first time on a boat.  He didn’t like the wind blowing in his face, but tolerated it when we held him tight and close!  Jenae watched Jonah while Jordan and I went to the temple, which was so nice.  :)

For the record, this picture was taken after boating, while on dry land! :)  

We always put Jonah in a life jacket and hold on tight!

We got Jonah a “Finding Nemo” play mat that he absolutely loves.  When you kick Squirt, music and lights play and he gets so excited!

On July 20, Jonah rolled from his back to his belly for the first few times!  He just kept doing it over and over.  I was so excited!  I had set him down in his crib for a minute to get something, and he immediately rolled over!  

At church on July 21, Jonah had 2 blowouts, and so was therefore a diaper-only baby by the end of church!  He also had pooped on his blanket, so I had to roll that part up and cover him up with the rest!  I was so embarrassed, but I’m laughing about it now!

We started interviewing nannies around this time and hired one girl.  She seemed super promising - lots of experience with infants and was my age!  I was so happy.  

Right around the time Jonah turned 3 months, he started really holding on to toys well and sitting up!  It is so cute to watch :)

Jonah: 2 Months

Jonah’s second month started off with Nana leaving to go back to Utah.  :(  It was so great to have her here!  

Jonah and I also went to church for the first time on May 26.  Everyone adored him and could not stop staring at him and talking to him!  One lady said, “He looks so wise!”  I agree - especially being so new from Heaven, it makes you wonder if the veil is still thin for them.

We drove down to North Carolina to spend Memorial Day with the Bethers.  I’ll admit, I was worried.  Jonah had never stayed the night at someone else’s house, and I was worried the change in environment would be difficult for him.  I’m happy to say it went really well!  Since I had to feed him every 2 hours, I wasn’t able to do as much with the kids as I would have liked, but that’s ok.  We went to their neighbor’s pool party and brought a ginormous pasta salad that Wendy made before she left.  Jonah slept the entire party and we stayed in the shade the whole time.  Jordan and I discovered that making road trips with a baby takes twice as long - if they’re hungry, you have to stop and feed them; if they have a poopy diaper, you have to stop and change them.  Good to know for planning for the future!  

I ended up having to take another round of fluconazole for that dang yeast infection.  Very happily though, it didn’t give either me or Jonah tummy troubles!  Yay!  It also cleared up the infection, which made for a very happy momma!

May 29 was the first time Jonah went 7 hours between feedings at night!  I was so full of milk that I had to pump and got SIX ounces out of one side!  I was shocked.  He slept so much because the little stinker decided not to nap at all the day before!

May 30 was mine and Jordan’s fourth anniversary!  We went to see Iron Man 3 during the afternoon with Jonah.  He did great, only had to eat once and didn’t cry.  The loud noises made him jump though!  That evening, he got his first non-family babysitter, our good friend from the branch Haley Donaldson.  She watched him while we went to dinner!  It was so nice.  

Jonah hit his 1 month growth spurt at the end of May, and was eating every hour and a half!  He would sleep really well at night though.  His nighttime feedings were very consistent - 1, 4, and 7!  He also started being consistently fussy around 6 PM, and cluster feeding until bedtime.

Jonah has pulled off some amazing feats when it comes to his diaper.  I’m not even joking - somehow he has managed to pee on both me and Jordan with the diaper on.  But when I go to take the diaper off, it is dry and his clothes are dry!!  How in the world...I’ll never know.  Another time he peed on me FIVE times in a row!!  Every time I would go to put a new diaper on, he would pee on me!  He just kept laughing, and I kept laughing too - it was SO funny!

We noticed the beginning of an umbilical hernia in the start of June.  I told the doctor about it and they said it could wait until his next appointment.  Usually hernias disappear by themselves and aren’t an issue until 3-4 years old.  

In the middle of the month, Jonah began projectile vomiting a few times a day, as well as spitting up ALL DAY long!  I was so worried.  In addition to this, he was super fussy, eating every hour, and had a temperature of 99.2.  I took him to the doctor and she said I was feeding him too much!  They weighed him at the doctor and he weighed 11 pounds!!!  I was so shocked.  He had gone from 25th percentile to 75th percentile in a few weeks!  Wow.  So they said to feed him no more than every 2 hours and use the binkie more.  This REALLY concerned me though.  Everything that I had learned, read, and was told by nurses and lactation consultants was to feed on demand!  So I called the lactation consultant and told her the situation as well.  She suggested feeding from only one side each time and if he gets hungry again in the space of an hour, feed from that same side.  Then switch to the other side at the next feeding.  It’s called “block feeding.”  

At his doctor’s appointment on June 14, Jonah’s stats were: 11 pounds 3 ounces, head circumference 37 cm, and 23 inches long!  He also got his immunizations that day and was not happy about it at all.  I felt so horrible for him.  His little legs where he got shot were red and swollen.  Every time he would kick his legs he would scream and cry.  :’(  It was so heartbreaking!  He also had a low grade temperature of 99.8.  I called the doctor and they said I could give him baby Motrin, which really helped him.  

We celebrated Jordan’s first Fathers Day on June 16!  We gave him a nice card and a photo book with lots of pictures from Jonah’s birth onward.  

Every time Jonah eats now he grabs onto my shirt so tightly.  I love it!

We went to my co-workers baby shower on June 19 and everyone LOVED Jonah!  He was such a little stud, smiling at my co-workers!  It was so fun.  

We also went up to Girls Camp on June 21.  It was great!  Jonah was so good, he hardly cried at all.  It was super hot though, so I fed him frequently so he wouldn’t get dehydrated.  The Young Women are obsessed with him.  It’s so cute! :)

On Jonah’s 2 month birthday, he and I went to Virginia Beach and just played in the water, read, and took naps.  He had a good time looking at the underside of the umbrella, but did not like the water one bit!  It was really cold for him.  When I put his little toes in, he jerked his feet back and screamed.  Other than that though, it was great!