Our Valentine Surprise

So, it is a good thing I took that last picture of my belly as those contractions I was having all morning were actually early labor. Surprise, surprise!

We are thrilled to introduce our newest addition: 

Jonah Kelly

Born February 14th at 2:35 am via c-section

7 pounds 9 ounces ~ 19.5 inches long

Jonah wanted to pick his own birthday and was determined to be a Valentine's Day baby....despite my wishes. I love that he came on his own time, and it turns out that he gets an exciting little birth story after all.

After I timed those contractions from 8 am to 2 pm on February 13th from 20 minutes apart to 6 minutes, they abruptly stopped. I was sure it was just some more false labor and went on with my day. Around 4:30 in the afternoon, during a my regularly scheduled tutoring session, they picked back up. They were starting to hurt a bit more, but were staying about 10 minutes apart. I had let Matt know about the morning's contractions and promised him I'd call the doc if they returned...but by the time my tutoring session was over, the doctor's office was closed for the day. I decided to just wait and see. I didn't want to rush to the hospital to find out it was just more false labor. 

Throughout the evening, my contractions stayed 10 minutes apart, but I definitely was feeling them intensify and needed to stop talking at times to get through each one. We decided to pack our bags that night, just to be safe. I started pulling clothes out for the boys and packed for me and the baby while Matt threw some things in a bag for himself. Matt went to bed around 9:30 or 10, but I couldn't sleep. I tried to lay on the couch, relax, and see if these things would settle down. No such luck...instead of settling down, they were getting even stronger...enough to make me want to say some not nice words, and were now 7 minutes apart. I really felt like this was the real deal, went to wake up Matt, and told him we needed to call or go. We tried calling, but triage will not give medical advice over the phone, so if we wanted answers, we were going to have to head in to the hospital. 

We made the phone call to Aunt Kristi and Uncle Steve around 11:30, hustled around to finish grabbing everything the boys may need, and finished packing our last minute items. By the time we had handed the boys off to Kristi and Steve and hit the road, it was about 12:30 am. Contractions are now stopping me in my tracks and 5 minutes apart. 

In triage, our nurse confirmed that I was in labor and was 4 1/2 cm along....there was a sense of urgency in her voice as she called to the other nurses to page the doctor. Time for an emergency c-section. Things moved very quickly from there to get me prepped and ready to go....and my labor started progressing rather quickly too. While getting my spinal block, the contractions were nearly right on top of each other with barely any time to recover between each one--about 1-2 minutes apart. It was around this time that I began to get super shaky and even started to cry. I was not able to get on top of some of these contractions and it was all happening so fast. I was overwhelmed, to say the least. And to top it all off, I was having some pretty wicked back labor too. The nurses were super sweet, talking to me and helping me through, but I felt alone as I waited for Matt to be allowed to join me. 

I did calm a bit and began praying for peace as Matt was finally brought in and the surgery began. The surgery seemed to take longer than the first two, but I'm sure that was just my perception of it all. Finally, at 2:35 am, our sweet little Blueberry was born. That love at first sight moment when he is lifted over the curtain for me to see his sweet face and hear his sweet cry. More precious than words. 

minutes old

Once he is whisked away by the nurses (Daddy goes too!) to be checked out, cleaned up, weighed, and measured, I fall asleep. It happens every time. I don't think I have ever stayed awake while being stitched up. I think I like it better not remembering that part. I don't like to think about being put back together and sewn up even though I know that is what they are doing. I deserved some rest at that point...and would need it as I began my recovery and my new job, as a mother of 3 boys. 

So even though I had confessed not wanting a Valentine Baby...that is exactly what I got. And I couldn't be happier. We have loved falling in love with this sweet, sweet boy. He is a blessing beyond measure. 

And as usual, he remained nameless for a couple of days, but we finally figured out what name was the right fit for our newest little peanut. Seriously, names are HARD! From the get go, we were pretty set on the middle name, Kelly--in memory of my sister. We didn't waiver on it at all. The first name was where we were having trouble...as usual. We had some front runners going into the hospital, but they just didn't seem to fit. Jonah was on the list from the beginning, and we knew that it was Eli's pick too. (In fact...anyone that asked him what the baby's name might be, he told them, Jonah.) It was sounding right and he looked like he could be a Jonah. So, that was it. Jonah Kelly Carson. And what a sweet little Jonah he is.

A week and a half later, we are settling in and adjusting to life as a Gang of Five. We like it. It feels right. It feels....perfect.