I just wrote up Jonas' birth story while he is sleeping in dh's arms. It's pretty long. If you don't want to read the story here are the basic details since I didn't write anything out last time 

Jonas was born at 10:10am on October 19th after 7hrs 10min of labor. I pushed for about 2.5hrs and my body is feeling it right now :yes: He came out extremely content... no crying. Just alert and cuddly
We did end up with a waterbirth which I am so happy about. Midwife came to check him out later that afternoon and he is 7lbs 6oz, 20 1/2inches long and his head is 13 1/2inches around. She estimates him to have actually been about 39.5wks based on how much vernix I said he had (He was covered in it) and by how floppy his ears are. (cute ears lol) . He is soooo tiny and we had to buy some clothes for him since nothing fits at all.
I uploaded more pictures to our website if you want to see them. http://www.thedasofamily.com/gallery/babyjonas
Oh and Chloe turned 3 the next day and Malachi turns 6 on Thursday. What a week! LOL
We did end up with a waterbirth which I am so happy about. Midwife came to check him out later that afternoon and he is 7lbs 6oz, 20 1/2inches long and his head is 13 1/2inches around. She estimates him to have actually been about 39.5wks based on how much vernix I said he had (He was covered in it) and by how floppy his ears are. (cute ears lol) . He is soooo tiny and we had to buy some clothes for him since nothing fits at all.I uploaded more pictures to our website if you want to see them. http://www.thedasofamily.com/gallery/babyjonas
Oh and Chloe turned 3 the next day and Malachi turns 6 on Thursday. What a week! LOL
Jonas’ Birth Story
After waiting 40wks and 5dys we finally got to meet our new baby boy who we have named “Jonas Everett”.
This pregnancy wasn’t as pleasant for me as my others were. Nothing “horrible”. Just really tired and achy. I was in a lot of pain the last week and could barely walk. So I was VERY ready for my boy to make his appearance!
At 3am on October 19th, 2006 I noticed I was having contractions. They were about 5min apart and different from my last labor. I actually felt pain not just around my uterus but up around my cervix (or I assumed anyway). I lay in bed for a while trying to deny that I was actually in labor. Finally I got up and hung out on the computer for a little bit. It wasn’t long before I *knew* I was in labor. I messaged a friend who was online for some encouragement and it really helped. I wasn’t scared… it was just the realization that my body was going to do this again. The unknowns. Malachi’s homebirth was 21hrs and ended in a lot of stitches in the hospital later. Chloe’s unassisted homebirth was 3hrs from start to finish. Which way was this one going to go? Only time would tell!!!!
At 4am I went up and finally woke Jesse so he could help get the birth pool all set up for me to labor in. It could not get filled up fast enough! I think it was around 5:30am when I was able to get in there… maybe earlier. I didn’t look at the clock my entire labor honestly. The water was *wonderful*. I had a birth pool for Malachi’s birth but it was never filled up high enough or hot enough so I didn’t stay in there very long.
Contractions were about 2min apart at this point and they were pretty intense. I found that I liked leaning over the edge of the pool. Like practically hanging over the edge! I remember at one point I was DONE. I just wanted to sleep. So I said “Ok, that’s it. I am finished for now. I am going upstairs to bed to sleep and will finish this later”. HAHA! I have no idea what I was thinking. I actually managed to get to my room… fell on the bed but then didn’t know what my plan was. Of course I got a contraction just then and felt so lost since I didn’t have any idea what position I wanted to be in. In 3min I was back down in the pool

I don’t really have any documented times but it was probably around 7:30ish when I started feeling little pushy contractions. I wasn’t totally sure and didn’t want to push too soon though. Finally I tried to push along with one and I knew it was ok. I did this for quite a while. I tell ya… I LOVED pushing. It still hurt like heck but at that point I don’t even think I vocalized much. I was actually able to do something *with* the contractions instead of just trying to “get through them”.
I pushed for quite a while. I could feel his head in there about 3inches up maybe but just could not get him down. I knew he had been posterior throughout my pregnancy so was already expecting a longer labor. Malachi’s position was the reason for my long labor with him as well. I was starting to get really tired and was wondering how much longer this was going to go on. I *knew* it couldn’t last forever… no one pushes forever. I was able to thankfully rest a bit between contractions and so I would lean back against the pool and try to doze for a few before another one hit. When one did then I found myself flying to lean over the edge to push. Eventually I got sick of this and was getting tired of the pool as well. I decided to try the shower and see if standing in there with the massage spray on my back would help. Was in there for about 3 contractions and decided to try pushing on the toilet. I have heard wonderful things about laboring on the toilet so figured “Why not?”.
Well I wish I did that about 2hrs before! All of a sudden I reached in and could feel his whole head moving down while pushing. I did this for 2 contractions and was so amazed to actually feel his head there. I didn’t reach down to feel really with Chloe till her head was crowning so it was so amazing to me. But it also freaked me out because I could feel my entire perineum stretched over almost all of his head. I had NO idea how the heck he was going to move forward to get out of the (what felt to be) teeny opening
Not without splitting that is! It’s funny because I have such a short perineum from my other births and I couldn’t believe I still had enough left to stretch that big!I realized that unless I wanted to birth right there on the toilet or floor that I better get back into the pool. I was getting my water birth darn it! So I ran out to the tub and hopped back in before another contraction hit. I told Jesse that he was going to be here any minute. He had supported my decision to labor totally alone and so he went upstairs when I said this. I was like “If you want to see this child born then you better stay down here!!!!” I started pushing on the next contraction and his head was almost out but was just sitting there. This is the worst feeling EVER. You are stretched beyond belief and just staying that way. I was trying to push really slowly though so I could support my perineum and not tear again.
Jesse hopped in and caught his head as he crowned. Jesse says that he had felt his face and found his nose to be facing down. So I guess he came out anterior … which I was confused about because I know he was posterior right before. Time seemed to stand still while waiting for the next contraction so I could push the rest of him out. Finally, out the rest of his body came and he was born with the bag of water still over him. Superstitious people believe this to mean “Lucky Baby”. I’m not superstitious but it’s still pretty darn cool
We got to peel it off his face. It was really neat to see him looking out of the water at us before we lifted him out. It looked extremely peaceful. He was born at 10:10am.We stayed in the water for quite a bit while waiting for the placenta. It’s really stinking hard to figure out how to move around in the tub or to try to get out while you have a baby attached to you by a cord. We didn’t want to cut it until it was totally white but after a bit I just needed to get out. Trying to figure out how to get the cord cut while I was in the tub was interesting too. I ended up having to stand up and hold baby while he tied and cut. Cord bled a little bit, meaning it wasn’t done all the way. Which annoys me, but I really couldn’t stay in there anymore. It had been about 20min or so I guess.
I went and got my shower because I felt nasty. I still had the placenta in me. It took over an hour to detach. Chloe’s did as well. Was so happy to be rid of it!
I felt AWESOME. I wasn’t dizzy or sore or anything. I got all dressed and went to sit on the couch with the baby. We called the midwife and she came by in the afternoon to do a newborn exam.
He weighs 7lbs 6oz and is 20 1/2inches long. Head is 13 1/2inches around. He is so adorable and was extremely alert from the beginning. Not much crying at all. Just was looking all over the place. He wasn’t really interested in nursing for about an hour or two, but took to it like a champ.
That night I realized that it isn’t so easy to just roll over and nurse him lying down and go to sleep. He had a really hard time getting latched on that way so I had to sit up and nurse him. I was SO stinking tired at this point. So I didn’t get much sleep at all.
Last night was a lot better. My milk came in so he stays latched on for longer periods of time, making him less frustrated and me as well!
I totally forgot about the PAINS though. Oh gosh, these after pains for one are a killer. It’s a totally cruel joke that we get them. They are like labor pains all over again.
Then, every muscle in my body is so sore. My back hurts and my thighs. Just walking is interesting. Guess I gave myself a work out for that 7hrs and 10min! I am hoping to feel better soon because just sitting on the couch can send pains up my back. Not to mention I am going stir crazy. I don’t want to lie in bed all day. It’s not comfortable after a while. Especially trying to move baby around when you can barely move yourself! The couch isn’t very comfy either. Neither is sitting in this chair of the computer for long. So I’m going a bit insane

That’s the story of Jonas’ birth. It was incredible and there is nothing like giving birth in your own house… on your own time table… and being able to just not feel intimidated by anyone else there. I can trust my body easier. I feel really blessed.
Crystal












And welcome to the world little Jonas!!!
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