one week

We are so excited that Jonah is finally here. This has been an extremely exhausting week, but we are slowly getting the hang of it and we think he might turn out okay.

Jonah was born last Saturday and he came all by himself even though Dad had a triathlon that morning. He didn't care - he just wanted to be a part of the Russell Family Vacation 2008.

We were in Midway with Scott's family and I woke up around 3:30 Saturday morning with horrible back pains and contractions around seven minutes apart. Around 4:00 I woke Scott up and told him I thought I might be in labor. He told me to go back to sleep and that I would be just fine. I told him I couldn't go back to sleep because I was in the worst pain of my life. I don't really wear my emotions on my sleeve, so he didn't realize just how much pain I was in. It took a little bit of overreacting on my part for him to believe me (don't tell him that). Oh, and he also had to go ask his mom if she thought we should go to the hospital. By that time, my contractions were about four minutes apart and they weren't getting any less painful, so Lorie told Scott that yes, he should probably take me to the hospital.

We still had the long drive down Parley's and it was not fun, to say the least. During the drive my water broke, but I didn't really notice because I was too busy focusing on the extreme pain in my back. Back labor is not cool.

We got home and I took a quick shower, packed my bag and then we headed off to the hospital. The nurse checked me and I was only dilated three centimeters but his head had dropped really low, so they let me stay. It was sure a good thing because I was ready to push three hours later. We thought that he would be out in under an hour since my labor had progressed so quickly for a first-timer, but that was not his plan. After pushing for three hours on every contraction (which were only two minutes apart), Jonah finally made his entrance into the world. Let me just say that delivery was the most exhausting thing I've ever done.

We love Jonah more than anything in the world and it is kind of unbelievable to me how that happens. We didn't know it was possible, but it sure is. Even when he is screaming his head off at three in the morning, it's hard not to love him.

For the first time (probably in my life) I feel like this thing that I'm working on is really worthwhile. I have motivation that I've never had before and I love being a mother. Don't get me wrong - it is sometimes so hard and frustrating, but the rewards are unbelievable.

Scott has been the best dad anyone could ever hope for. He has been so helpful and I am really dreading him going back to work next week. We have had so much fun and he has been a huge help. He even changes diapers without me asking! We have had a blast this week getting used to our new lives together.

After a week, we have come to find out that baby Jonah just loves to sleep and poop. I don't say he loves to eat, because he has such a hard time with it. Don't worry though, he's getting his sustenance. He just really struggles sometimes. I know it doesn't help that we're both rookies at the whole breastfeeding thing. He also makes the funniest faces in his sleep. I love to hold him while he's napping and just watch him. It's pretty hilarious. He definitely sleeps with his eyes open and it gets a little creepy when they roll back into his head and you can only see the whites.

We also found out that he loves classical music. No joke. We decided to turn on the radio to classical music while he slept the other night and he slept for a whole five hours! It didn't happen again, but it was sure nice that night. Maybe it's because I blasted classical music in the car to and from work when I was pregnant with him. Hopefully that means he will be smart. I'm sure it does.

This has been a week of extreme emotions on both ends of the spectrum, but we wouldn't trade this experience for anything in the world. We love our new lives and we are so excited to watch Jonah grow and develop. We are just grateful that we're the ones who get to raise him.