First photos....

Here are a few first photos of Jonathan. It has been a very long day. Last night, I had some light contractions, but I thought they were a false alarm. We went for a walk and then off to bed. We finally got to sleep at 2am or so, setting the alarm for 10:30 so that we could head to church. At around 3am or so, I started to feel strong contractions off and on every 20 mins or so. At around 5am, I woke David up and we started to time the contractions and downtime in between. They started to increase in intensity until I was barely able to move. We headed into the hospital at 10am, and at that point, it was clear that I was going to give birth today. The nurses at the hospital said that it takes 24 to 36 hours for a first time mother with 2 to 3 hours of pushing. I was already exhausted, and the thought of another 12 to 24 hours was daunting. I got the epidural, and finally the pain eased up. At around noon, the contractions were slowing so they gave me some drugs to speed things up. At about 3, to everyone's surprise, I was ready to start pushing. It was a surreal experience to not be able to feel half your body and be expected to push a baby out. But after 45 mins, it was clear that the baby was in distress. So one minute, I was looking at another hour or two of labor, and the next minute, someone was holding up a baby across the room. It turns out the doctor did a quick cut and pulled him out with a vacuum pump. Jonathan is perfect. I bet every mother feels that way, but I am sure I am right. I am so glad to finally meet him. One minute he was in my tummy, and the next minute, he was in his daddy's arms. I am so tired, but happy to finally meet my little guy. The journey was long and difficult, but seeing his little face and hugging him was well worth it. Just don't ask me to do this again...