Jonah's Arrival and a Whale of a Storm

Hurray! Jonah has arrived, all 8lbs 9oz and 22 inches of him. "Born on the opening week of the Winter Olympics and in the Grand Snowstorm of the Decade. He's a natural already." If my brother-in-law proves to be prophetic, Jonah is bound to be an avid skier. Good thing, cause he wouldn't be inheriting his finesse on a pair of skiis from me.

Timing is everything and Jonah seems to have a pretty good grasp of it. His due date, according to the ultrasounds was Feb. 4th, which came and went without fanfare. However, the snowstorm that hit our area the 5th-7th of February recieved plenty of attention. We kept praying that Jonah would last out the storm, and thankfully he obliged. It would have been very difficult to venture out during those days of stormy weather, if not impossible. There is a hospital about a mile from our home, but not the hospital where my doctor delivers. One night, while experiencing some contractions I imagined having to hike through the storm to the hospital. I think I could of made it, but I'm glad I didn't have to try.

I was scheduled to be induced on Wed., Feb. 10th if Jonah didn't arrive on his own. Monday morning, Dr. Mehta called and suggested we move the inducement up to Tuesday since there were predictions of another big storm coming through. I wasn't going to protest so we scheduled the inducement for 10am Tuesday morning. All of Monday I cleaned the house, did the laundry and got things ready. Max went with Herb for most of the morning to check on people and shovel snow while Eden, who was recovering from a fever and rash took an extra long nap. Lincoln was my little helper and I was able to get everything in order. It felt so good knowing that my house was clean, things were ready and I would be having this baby in the morning.

At 2:30 am I was awoken by a strong contraction, which for the past several nights wasn't an uncommon thing. However, by 4:30 am the contractions were coming about 10 minutes apart so I figured it was a good time to wake-up Herb and head to the hospital. I knew from my previous labors, there was a good possiblity this could go quickly. Herb was out of bed, showered and ready to go within five minutes. He doesn't mess around when I'm in labor.

Our good friend Sandy responded to our early morning plea and quickly came over to stay with the kids. Meanwhile, after a comedy of errors that included misplacing my phone and wallet, Herb and I arrived at the hospital about 6am. The roads were decent though a little rough on the belly with layers of ice and snow.

Once settled in the hospital, the contractions began to slow down and by 8am they had virtually stopped. When Dr. Mehta arrived about 9am we decided to go ahead with the scheduled inducement at 10 am. I was given patossum (sp?)to start the contractions and within 5 minutes I was in labor again. The contractions came on hard and fast. I was given an epidural which gave some relief, but contractions being what they are and coming so quickly, I was still uncomfortable. Thank goodness the labor wasn't long. I don't have a knack for pain. I could feel Jonah was getting ready to come and I warned the nurse that it was time. She checked me and ran to the door to call for Dr. Mehta. My water broke and I let it be known that Jonah was coming, NOW!

Things moved quickly in the next 5 minutes. I pushed several times through a couple of contractions. At one point Dr. Mehta raised her voice telling me I needed to push harder. I thought I was pushing as hard as I could, but I could hear the urgency in her voice. The umbilical chord was wrapped around Jonah's neck, but he wasn't out far enough for them to release it. I pushed with all that I had and they quickly unwrapped the chord.

Jonah didn't cry right away and the doctor called for additional help. Staff quickly responded and within two minutes, Jonah took his first breath and showed off his set of lungs. Later, Dr. Mehta explained that because Jonah had gone through the birth canal so quickly he was stunned. His body wasn't quite sure what to do next and it took a couple of minutes for him to draw breath. In addition Jonah experienced bruising and swelling all over his face from the quick delivery. All in all labor and delivery was about an hour and 15 minutes from the time I was given the patossum to when he arrived at 11:14am.

Once he was registered as fine and cleaned up a bit, the staff left and we were given some quiet time with Jonah before we were transferred to recovery where I would spend the next two days. The nurses and staff at the hospital were wonderful and very attentive. My doctor was terrific and I felt very at ease with her. I had a great stay at Northern Virginia Hospital and enjoyed staying in a newly renovated facility. I would recommend it to anyone.

I love the time in the hospital when it is just the baby and I with few distractions and time to rest and recover. One of the goals the staff had written down for me was to bond with the baby, which I definately did. All of Wednesday I held Jonah and watched the blizzard from my window. I felt cozy and relaxed in my room, not wanting to be anywhere else and grateful that my family at home still had power and electricity. Herb surprised me in the evening by venturing out in the storm to bring me some delicious Chinese food a friend had made for our family. What a good man he is. We enjoyed some quiet time together watching t.v., talking with our family on the phone and bonding with Jonah.

Before Jonah arrived, I felt anxious about how things would be with four young children at home. Now that he is here, I am no longer anxious and I feel content with how things are. We have been given a tremendous amount of help from our friends and fellow ward members and part of the feelings of contentment stem from how blessed I feel to be the recipient of so much generosity.


In the labor and delivery room about 6:30am



Poor little bruised up face.




The token hospital pose of Herb with each of our newborns.



Dr. Mehta with Jonah. She's a terrific Obgyn.



Thursday morning and already the bruising is much, much better. Jonah is starting to show his true colors.



What a smile! Must mean he's waaay advanced for his age.



The homecoming ensemble provided by some generous friends. Isn't he just adorable?!



It was a happy homecoming as the kids were very excited to meet their new little brother. When I walked in the door, Eden toddled right over to me and threw her arms around me. Melt my heart.

We had some amazing help while I was at the hospital. The kids were well taken care of by several dear friends. The boys were having such fun, they didn't have a chance to miss their mama. It was such a relief to know that all was well at home, that my kids were in good and competent hands and that all was taken care of. We don't have any blood relations in the area, but Herb and I sure felt like family was taking care of us. It was a tremendous blessing.






Each day, Jonah gets more and more handsome. Here he is at five days old.