He's Here!!

It only took me two days short of two weeks to get on the computer again to report to the world that Jonathan has arrived! To say that the last two weeks have been the most stressful, yet most rewarding of my life would be an understatement. Through it all, I never knew how amazing it would be to be a mom.

July 24 is a day that changed my life, Matt's life and our marriage forever. Matt and I have both commented that we have grown even closer over these past two weeks than we have in the past three years. We thought we had it pretty dang good before, but there is a whole new level of closeness that we have been blessed to develop. I am sure it is not like that for every couple, but I am so thankful that God has blessed us in this way. The stereotypical idea of labor, where the wife tells the husband "you're never touching me again" never happened. In fact, our labor experience was quite the opposite. Through every contraction and every scary moment we shared trying to have Jonathan, I kept telling Matt how much I loved him, how thankful I was that he was there with me and how every contraction brought us closer to holding Jonathan in our arms.

After weeks of encouraging Matt to pack his hospital bag, he finally did so about 11:00 PM on July 23. He kept joking as soon as he packed, I would go into labor. Oddly enough, 8 hours later, my water broke. The day was starting as typical as a Friday usually would. We were getting up to go to work when our lives changed. Matt had just hopped in the shower and I was rolling out of bed. I knew without a doubt what happened...my water had just broken. I waddled my way into the bathroom and told Matt "You better make it a quick shower, my water just broke." Matt got so flustered that he put a whole glob of shower jel into his hair! I called my mom, who was getting ready to head Up North on vacation and told her she may need to change her plans. I called our doula, Clorrisa, to let her know the scoop and then called the doctor's office to let them know. Matt made a quick breakfast, knowing I wouldn't be able to eat once we got to the hospital and we enjoyed one last moment in our quiet house. I even had enough sense in me to call our friend Jami to take care of Clyde!

We got to the hospital around 8:30 and found that I still had not dilated past 2 cm, which I was on my due date. They moved me into our room and prepared for the long day ahead. Around 11:00, Dr. Keller came in, heard that I had not dilated and told us that we had to start on Pitocin to get the contractions closer and more intense. This was not what I had hoped and planned for, but I didnt have much of a choice. I begged for one more hour to let labor progress on its own, and he obliged. An hour and a half later, he came back, saw I hadn't yet progressed and started the "Pit." When people say Pitocin makes your contractions stronger, they aren't kidding! Progressively over the next 8 hours, they upped my dosage of Pitocin, until I was contracting between 80 and 90 percent of the peak, at every minute and a half. While contractions were the most difficult bodily pain I have ever endured, I was able to hold true to my desire to not have any pain medications. We had music going, watched a Michael W Smith dvd and even watched Wheel of Fortune. (Yes, even during contractions, I kicked Matt's butt!)

Around 8:30, Dr. Keller came in and told me that I still had not yet dilated further and that we had no choice but to have a C-Section. This was the one thing I had feared the most. Throughout my pregnancy, I had an overwhelming fear (probably irrational) that if I had to have a C-Section, there would be a complication and I would not make it through surgery. I don't know why this fear was there but my fear kicked into high gear. I was so tired and emotional after my day of contractions that I lost control of my tears. Those I had around me were so wonderful though and we all began to pray together. Dr. Keller, our nurse Jenny, Matt, Clorrisa and I prayed together before they wheeled me away. One of my other big concerns was Matt being able to make it through surgery. He has a very active gag reflex, to put it lightly. Several times we had discussed this concern we both had, which further served as the reason we hired Clorrisa. To overcome his anxieties, Matt has found sucking on hard candies to help. While the operating room is a sterile enviornment, we didn't know what he was going to do!! Jenny, our nurse, took a handful of jolly ranchers in her scrubs and told Matt she would look out for him in there. He was a trooper.

Once in the operating room, I was blessed to have an amazing anesthesiologist who I was able to joke with during the entire operation. We dissed each others football teams and talked about his garden. At the same time, I kept my eyes fixed on Matt, knowing that he was going to be just fine. After what seemed like an eternity of pressing and pulling, I heard the most beautiful cry in the world. All I could do was cry and say "Jonathan?" I asked if he was ok, found out that he was, and watched Matt become a Daddy. I will never forget them handing Jonathan to Matt and seeing the look on his face. I fell even more in love with the man I had married as I knew he was going to be the most amazing father in the world.

When I finally got back to my room, they brought Jonathan in for me to hold him. Words can't describe the feelings of holding him in my arms for the first time. They laid him on my chest, skin to skin, and almost instantly, he began curling his mouth to eat. I could not have asked for a more beautiful moment. That night, my parents, sister and Grandmother came to visit us and meet Mr. Jonathan for the first time. It was hard to put him down that night to let him sleep. I knew my life, Matt's life and our life together truly had changed forever.

Since coming home, we have been to the doctor twice, ER once and have called the experts countless times. This child has kept us on our toes, to say the least! We know no matter what challenges we face, Jonathan will have guardian angels watching over him throughout his life. Included in that band of angels are my grandfather, Grandpa Hassel, which is where Jonathan's middle name comes from. Jonathan's first name comes from Matt's father, John Wogsland, who never had the chance to meet any of his grandsons.

More to come later...but first I must go cuddle some more with my beautiful bundle of joy.