Judah's Birth Day

If I could have planned Judah's birth story I couldn't have chosen better timing or a cooler way for him to enter this big world. It's crazy to think that I've been a mom for almost two weeks. They have been such a blur of 2am feedings and so many chubby cheek kisses.
 I firmly believe that a woman's birth story becomes a part of her identity in a way that is hard to describe. When I was pregnant, every mother I met seemed to tell me their stories. Some were horror stories that became parts of bad dreams and others were inspirational and exciting. But, there isn't really an outlet for women to share their birth stories except for telling other soon to be moms. So, here is my birth story, I feel so compelled to tell it.

During my pregnancy I never experienced Braxton-Hicks contractions so when Saturday morning came around I had no clue what I was feeling, only that I didn't want to get out of bed. It was February 15th I was one day past my due date, but I wasn't anxious. I figured Judah would come late. The day before, my dad decided to drive up and he and my mom and Josh and I spent the day at Hartville Hardware (a giant hardware store that has model homes inside and is attached to a country kitchen and flea market). The day was perfect. I went to bed that night praying that I would go into labor that weekend because my dad would have to leave on Monday and my in laws were coming on Saturday. After waking up around 9, I layed in bed on Saturday morning feeling like I must have eaten something bad because I had an awful stomach ache I got up and told mom I wasn't feeling good. With a sparkle in her eye she said that could be contractions.  I wasn't sure but did notice the feeling was coming and going. The feeling progressed as the morning went on and by the time my in laws got there I was pretty sure Judah was going to arrive that night. The whole family went for a walk in the neighborhood and then Josh took me to the rec center where we walked about 2 miles and kept track of my contractions. When we returned from the walk I was ready to call the doctor.  She told me to come to hospital but before I could get into the car I had to make a peanut butter banana and oatmeal smoothie, finish packing my bag and install the car seat base all in the 4 minutes I had between contractions. When we finally arrived at the hospital it was 6:30 pm and I was 6cm dilated. Amazingly enough the natural birthing suite was just vacated so we got the best room with the side room for family and a sweet hot tub. I had about 2 hours of hanging out with family until some harder contractions started. Around 9:00 I was feeling pretty miserable and decided I was ready to get into the tub. Hydrotherapy is supposed to be a step under medication when it comes to pain relief and since I was having a natural birth, I was so looking forward to getting into the tub!  I was having some pretty strong contractions and Josh was doing a great job rubbing my back during each contraction, then, right as they had the tub full, my water broke and I realized that I couldn't get in! I was pretty bummed, but excited because I knew I had to be close. After my water broke I experienced some of the worse pains of my life. It wasn't that the contractions themselves were agonizing, it was that I wanted to push and because I wasn't fully dilated I was told not to. Instead, I had to breath through them. I hit a wall at this point and told Josh that I couldn't do it, his response, "Well, you don't really have any other options". I love him. Seriously, we didn't take any classes, but we read several books on natural childbirth and he volunteered to be my "coach". He was an amazing coach.
After 20 minutes of hard contractions I was fully dilated and ready to push, unfortunately, my doctor was not there yet. The nurses asked if I wanted to wait, this was so funny to me because I couldn't have waited if I wanted to! So, in a flurry of nurses and residents, they did all the setting up for my little man to come into the world. I will spare you the details, but at 9:45 pm, I had Judah in my arms. My little man! All 7lbs and 11oz. of him. It was such an emotional and physical relief when he was born. Nothing will ever compare to that moment of holding my little blue baby.

Judah, after his bath. 7lbs. 11oz. 19in. 

After having a miscarriage with our first baby, Josh and I prayed so hard for Judah. I felt like everyday that I was still carrying him was such a blessing. And the Lord multiplied our blessings when I was able to give birth naturally and on the day when all our family was here. Judah is healthy and growing so fast. I cannot believe how in love I am with him. This whole experience has been such a blessing.

41 weeks! 

Josh is such a good dad! 

Here is a shot of my mom, Judah and Jewel. Jewel is very concerned for Judah, every time he cries she comes to see if he is okay.

Yesterday, my mom flew back to Birmingham. It was so wonderful having her here and I know I couldn't have survived these past two weeks without her! Mom is part of the reason I wanted to give birth naturally. Having her support and encouragement was amazing.
I hope to post more pictures of Judah soon. I think I've taken about 1,000 pictures of him since his birth day! Thanks for all of the prayers! Love, Emily & Judah! 

Judah's Room

I am nearing my due date and with each day I get more excited about seeing my Judah. I can't imagine the feeling of holding him for the first time! AHH! The thought of  going into labor at this point is no longer scary but exciting, because it is one (extremely grueling) step toward meeting my little man. My mom arrived on February 1st and is planning on staying until the 27th. It has been such a relief having her here! We've done plenty of shopping and preparing for baby. So far we've put together a swing, a "rock 'n play" and a couch. We are women, hear us roar.
I'd like to talk all day about my third trimester of pregnancy and how much I'm ready for this baby to be here, but I'll resist and just show off the nursery.
I had so many ideas for Judah's room, even before I knew he is a he. It is a slightly masculine nursery, but would work well for either sex. If you know me, I am an owl person. When we moved, I felt like every box I opened was stuffed full of owls. I can't help myself! Josh is not an owl person, but by default, Judah will have to love them.

Here is a panoramic shot of the nursery. I went with a woodland animal theme, mostly playing off of the colors in the bedding. The banner is a little hard to read, but it is burlap squares with fabric letters and it says Judah. The rocking chair is from an antique market in Berlin, OH and only cost me $15! The rug is from Ikea. 

This little cube shelf was purchased from Ikea the day after Thanksgiving and only cost me $20!  Lamp and sitting owl are from Target. 

Now, this part of the nursery I'm not too proud of... it's a mess and I'll be honest, I've rearranged it probably 30 times. My diaper stash lives here and mostly in my basement. Look at the amount of clothing this child already has! He'll never be naked! 

I should have photographed these before I put them in frames but here is my makeshift nursery art. I looked all around Etsy for the perfect artwork for the nursery, but surprisingly enough found these at Ikea! I tore these pictures out of a book I found in the children's textile section! Overall, the artwork cost me about $3 (the price of the book, because I already had frames).

The bedding is from Target and animals are from Ikea.

The pillow here is from Target $ aisle! I was so excited to find something that matched so perfect! 

No buckeye baby should be deprived of their very own Brutus doll and of course, another owl! 

Here is my Pintrest inspiration! I bought spice racks from Ikea and had Josh stain them and voila! bookshelves. 

This quilt is a Vera Higgins original. Most talented crafter ever.

This woman is a magician with all fabric! This is the front of the quilt. 

Here is the crib (Target) and the mobile! I'm really proud of this adorable mobile. Mom and I used different pieces I had lying around to make this.

The owls here were crocheted by my friend Leigh Anne and the fabric wreath was made by one of my honorary mothers,  Katsy.

Painting by Valerie ( I love this and I have a hard time not crying when I think about it). 

Prayer for baby artwork from my Grannie and Papa.

I had such a good time putting this room together, and I love that it really isn't that different from the rest of the house (except cleaner). Now that I have everything ready to go, I'm just counting down to BABY!
Love, Emily