Jonathan's first week

The day we brought Jonathan home, I went straight to bed! Talk about exhausted! He woke me up about an hour later ready to eat, so of course, I obliged. He fel right back to sleep so I just cuddled with him a little more. It was such a sweet moment of finally being home and both of us being ok through the labor. I called my mom and Mike's mom in and we all had a "little moment". I think we were all laughing/gasping/ooh-aaahing and how sweet that moment was. Thanks mom for capturing it!
What a sweet little boy! He is so tiny!


Mom, thanks for capturing these moments! I am officially mush looking at my two men!!

Bella singing

Grammy got this cute video of Bella singing after her nap one day. She loves to sing Jesus loves me! Hope you enjoy!

Now that we're home...

These past few weeks have been a whirlwind. But here's some of the pictures that were captured of those moments. They are not in order but you can get the idea! ha!

I LOVE this pic!

This was our first family picture of all four of us!
Nana and Bella watched Granddad mow the lawn and kept yelling "Granddad, Granddad!".
Bella was quite content coloring and hanging out with Granddad while we stayed in the hospital.

Look at how tiny he is!
Grammy lovin' on the grandson.
There's nothing more precious that a sweet baby sleeping on you.
Grammy helped Jonathan get some sunlight to try to reduce his bilirubin levels.
Our family of four!

An update on Bella

Sweet Bella - the big sister! She didn't quite know what to think of Jonathan when he first came. But she had to come to the hospital and see her mommy hooked up to lots of IV's and see lots of people in the room...so it was a little overwhelming. Granddad finally got her to warm up to Jonathan by making sure he had 10 fingers and 10 toes! She has been a great trooper as we have had to make countless trips to the hospital and put the majority of our attention on Jonathan and myself. She now likes to come and kiss Jonathan on the forehead, rub his arm, get him to hold her hand, and say "awwww" just like Grammy does when she sees Jonathan! She also has to come and give him a hug before bedtime. She really is so sweet with him - so far - and a great help in tucking him in or handing me a diaper. I've had some very special moments of simple cuddles with her - I think we both needed that!

Enjoy the pics!

Holding baby "bro" hand!She had lots and lots of play time with all four grandparents for a while! And the weather was perfect so she was in heaven!
Granddad is teaching her how to hold his hand. She'll giggle when she hugs Jonathan and he squirms - if he touches her she'll start laughing really hard because she is convinced he is tickling her! ha!
"Look at his mouth and teeth, Nana!"



Showing off her coloring skills with Granddad.
Playing ring around the rosies again and again and again and again with Grammy!
My little lady and I went out for an ice cream date a couple of days ago. I think I needed that one on one time just as much as she did. Isn't she adorable with those pig tails!
Our little sweet gal!

I lied

One more post with the final hospital photos!
This was taken when we had to go back into the hospital for Jonathan's jaundice. They said the only time we could hold him was while I was nursing and then he needed to go back under the heat lamp. Daddy had to get in some lovin' too though and hold him for just a sec'.

And, little man is ready to go home!

Last of the hospital pics

I promise this is all of the hospital pics! Expect lots of new pics coming soon! I just want to make sure these all get in the baby book!

Here is our rockstar OB!! I LOVE HER! She delivered Bella too and will always be so special to us. It was her great intuition and attention as a doctor that caught my preeclampsia early. So, i'm very thankful for her listening ear and knowing that something wasn't quite right.LONG feet!
Daddy holding his son within the first few hours.

And the first bath.
I'm working on lots and lots of posts so stay tuned for lots and lots of pictures.

As an update, we are all doing better. Jonathan is still fighting off his jaundice so we have to continue going to the doctor every other day. We are on a feeding frenzy trying to get the bilirubin reduced! He also had his first growth spurt yesterday so let's just say he was an eating fool! At today's doctor's appointment, he was 6 pounds and 10 ounces - we have officially passed his birth weight. And, i'm not sure how I feel about it. =) I think i'm kindof sad because now I know how quickly they grow up - from experience with Bella. I'm trying to capture moments in my head as much as I can with this little man. He is so sweet and great for my blood pressure. ha!

I'm doing much better. I had one more scare where I went back to the hospital - that was the worst blood pressure reading of them all - and it was scary for Mike and I! Once I knew my blood pressure was going up at home, I had to give Jonathan to Susy and leave in tears to the hospital while I waited for Mike to get there from school. Not fun! They gave me more medication and it finally came down away from the scary-seizure readings (literally). My OB increased my dosage of medications to take daily and, thankfully, i've had three mostly good days. I think we have turned a corner and hopefully have the preeclampsia under control. I also haven't cried today so that's a good thing. ha! Little Jonathan is the best thing that could have happened for my blood pressure. My readings could be in the 150s/90s and after nursing him, they typically go down to 120s/80s. Perfect little cure!

Thanks to all who have prayed and checked in on us. It has meant more to me than I can tell you!

More birth pics

2 weeks:

2 weeks:

Three trips to the labor and delivery department before Jonathan was born.

We had a healthy baby boy!

Jonathan was rehospitalized for jaundice.

I made three more trips to the L&D department after Jonathan was born.

To say the least, the last 2 weeks have been eventful. I've been having problems with my blood pressure (hence, the trips to L&D to get them to come down through medication) regulated because of the pre-eclampsia that are just scary and not fun and have brought on lots and lots of tears. Throw in the pregnancy hormones and I cry alot. Also, throw in a baby having to be readmitted into the NICU (LOTS of tears were shed on the way to the hospital and in the hospital) and I have cried even more. It was a bit surreal with Jonathan having to go into the NICU. We were able to stay the night with him, thankfully, but it was just heart wrenching to see him under the bilirubin lights, stripped down to his diaper, with a mask over his eyes. With that said, we were fully aware that our son wasn't near as sick as the other babies that were in the NICU. Yet, it was still scary and we both had lots of tears. When they put Jonathan's mask on, he was not too happy about it. We couldn't hold him because he was under the lights. At this point, i'm really weary and sit on the bed. Then Mike starts singing 'Because He Lives' and i'm a mess again. Mike quiets him with his singing and seems to quiet me too.

Jonathan was released the next day and we're still going back in every other day to monitor his bilirubin. He is also a preemie so he's having a hard time keeping his body temperature high enough. The nurse told us that below a certain level is considered hypothermia and he had reached that. So we've (Mike and I) been doing lots of kangaroo care and warming up lots and lots of blankets in the dryer. He has been an eskimo man the whole week and will soon learn to love the thermometer, since we're taking it every three hours.

I just got back from another trip to L&D and will go see my OB tomorrow to think about additional medication. I have certainly been so thankful for good medical care, a great OB, a very loving, calming, and always-there husband and a supportive family.

To say I was ok would be lying. I've had a rough two weeks. And it's still hard and scary. Tears and fears and prayers and worries have been around. But so have very special moments of nursing and watching Bella get excited when we come in the door and quiet moments of watching Jonathan sleep on his daddy and seeing Jonathan smile for the first time in his sleep. The hymn, Because He Lives, certainly does speak true. I'm not in the NICU anymore. We are home and sweet Jonathan is falling asleep as he eats right now. But the same feeling of reassurance is here just like it was when Mike sang it the first time in the hospital. Thank you Lord for the reminder.

God sent His son, they called Him Jesus
He came to love, heal, and forgive.
He lived and died to buy my pardon,
An empty grave is there to prove my Savior lives.


Because He lives, I can face tomorrow.
Because He lives, All fear is gone.
Because I know He holds the future,
And life is worth the living just because He lives.


How sweet to hold a newborn baby,
And feel the pride and joy he gives.
But greater still the calm assurance,
This child can face uncertain days because He lives.


Because He lives, I can face tomorrow.
Because He lives, All fear is gone.
Because I know He holds the future,
And life is worth the living just because He lives.


And then one day I'll cross the river,
I'll fight life's final war with pain.
And then as death gives way to victory,
I'll see the lights of glory and I'll know He lives.


Because He lives, I can face tomorrow.
Because He lives, All fear is gone!
Because I know He holds the future
And life is worth the living just because He lives!

Jonathan: Delivery and Day 1

Bella is at school. Mike is at school. Grammy is out shopping. Jonathan is full and squirmy and sqweaking. We're sunbathing at the moment to get rid of jaundice. And, i'm enjoying the quiet and stillness of the moment. I have LOVED going back and looking through these pictures of Jonathan's delivery. Although it was a whirlwind of about 6 hours, I would do it all over again in a heartbeat. I'll be posting other blogs to catch us up on where we are. But for now i'll start with the delivery and first few hours.








Granddad got the first hold from the grandparents.
Y'all, he is so tiny!
What a sweetie!

Nana and Granddad holding him for the first time.
I could NOT get enough of him. I could have eaten him up during this whole time! Awww, if I could back and relive these moments I totally would.
Daddy holding him.
We were both tired!
These are so tiny, y'all!

Look at our loonnngg boy!




Granddad was helping Bella warm up to her baby brother. She was not sure about him at the beginning. But, they started counting his toes and things got better.






The happy family! (minus Bella who still did not know what to think of everything going on.)
As an update, Jonathan went down to 6 pounds 1 ounces and is up 2 ounces since discharge. He has jaundice so we are on a feeding and pooping frenzy in this household to try to get it out of his system. And, sunbathing every few hours helps too. He is a great nurser and feeds a lot! I think he's going to be a big boy. He eats every 2-3 hours, except during the late night hours of 9ish-midnightish. Then he's eating every hour! I guess he stocks up because he sleeps for a 3 hour stint until morning. He is opening up his eyes more and more to explore the new world. Because he is a preemie, we are really having to watch his body temperature. He gets cold really easy so we've been doing a lot of kangaroo care. With my hormones going crazy from the preeclampsia, this makes me hot! But that's ok. It will warm his up faster. ha! Bella is warming up to him and wants to hand me his blankets or hat or come see what he's doing. She's been so sweet with him and I know it will continue to get better. As for the parents, we are good and tired! But good and thankful. And very thankful to have the help of the grandparents here!