Jonah’s Birth Story

It was Friday, June 1st, at 4:45 am. I had just rolled over in bed when my water broke!

Jason had decided to sleep downstairs that night to give me more room since I had trouble sleeping the last couple of nights (lucky for him). I reached down in the dark, wondering if it was blood. I jumped up and went into the bathroom. My garments were drenched! I jumped into the bathtub while it dripped down. I quickly called the OBGYN office to see if I needed to let them know, but their recording said if your water breaks to just go to the hospital and they would let the nurses know. My next call while standing in the bathtub was to Jason. He answered quite confused, thinking I must have butt dialed him. He was silent for a few seconds before saying hello.

“So my water just broke” 

“Are you serious? What do we do?” 

I wasn’t contracting so I took a shower and Jason called his parents. I had been contracting quite a bit the night before while making dinner and things and felt the need to finish preparing for the hospital. My bag was mostly packed and I had written down the final things I would have to add to it when the moment came. I even researched “how to tell if your water breaks” as I was climbing into bed. So my bag was ready to go, but Jason had to start packing his. Remember, my due date wasn’t until June 8th and I had been at least a week overdue with both of the other boys. 

George and Nancy arrived in about an hour and helped do some last minute baby laundry. Jason got the car seat ready.  Charlie woke up just about as we were leaving so we got to say goodbye to him. He was stoked that Grandma and Grandpa Gruber were there. When we arrived at the hospital it was a little after 6:00 am (the hospital was literally five minutes away). I still wasn’t contracting. They started doing their test to check that my water actually broke, but when I stood up to go to the bathroom, the nurse (Shannon, who was super nice) saw the water that was left behind and said she didn’t even have to wait for the test results to come back; she knew it was the water and would go ahead and call the doctor. She checked me and I was at a four. She made the bet that I would have the baby before noon. This all felt so surreal! In my mind, having my water break was the ultimate scenario. That way you knew you would have your baby in 24 hours! So I was beyond excited to be in this position!

We still had not decided on a baby name for sure. We had three top options that we discussed as we waited for her to return with the Pitocin. Jonah, Vince, and Finn. We decided we had to see the hair color first. If it was a red head, we might choose Finn. They brought Jason breakfast (I wasn’t allowed to eat or drink anything). At this hospital (Timpanogos Regional Hospital - MountainStar owned) they give the dad complimentary meals during the whole time the mom is in labor. That’s pretty cool. Once I was all hooked up to the IV and Pitocin, I made it nearly 40 minutes before I asked for an epidural. I knew it would take 15 minutes or so to actually get the anesthesiologist in there. The contractions were coming so hard and painful, I didn’t know how to cope with them. I felt like I had to stand up and crouch over, because laying there was just too nuts with the contractions. They were two to three minutes minutes apart (if that). Next time I know better just to ask for the epidural as they are starting the Pitocin. There is seriously no reason to go through that crazy pain again. 

Finally, the epidural was all in order and I was able to relax and enjoy a couple of episodes of the office. I felt the tiniest bit of pressure and change in position from the baby and let the nurse know. She checked me, said I was complete, and called the doctor. Once the doctor arrived she said “Well, you didn’t waste any time”. The doctor who delivered me was a woman. I had not seen her during my visits to the OBGYN, but Jason and I really liked her. She seemed a little rough around the edges, like she could have been a rock star or hippy once upon a time. She was comforting, witty, and told it to you straight. I pushed one and a half times (they had to coach me on the first push to remind me to hold my breath) and he was born!

He was born at 11:21 am, had very dark hair, and was covered in “cheese”. After Jason cut the cord, they laid a towel on my chest and put the baby on it. Two nurses to the sides of me started wiping him down in front of my face. He was squirming and freaking out. Then they laid him (semi-clean) on my, then, bare chest for skin to skin. I loved his sweet little face trying to peer up at me. His eyes wide and alert. I had a first degree tear so the doctor stitched me up. 

Jason and I finally decided on the name... Jonah. Jonah George Gruber. 7 lbs 2 oz, 19 inches long. They had to warm him up for a little bit because his temperature was slightly low, but that was quickly resolved. We moved to the other room, I was totally unable to stand or walk. I had a little feeling in my left leg, but my right was completely dead. They had to lift me into the wheelchair and lift me into the bed. We met the new nurse, Rene. She was an older lady who was very sweet. Jason and I just felt so blessed, grateful, happy, excited for such an amazingly quick and easy delivery! 

My mom and dad came to visit. Grandma and Grandpa Gruber brought the boys. They were very excited. Charlie looked at Jonah and then spent the rest of the time exploring the room and writing on note pads. Colson was very interested in Jonah, giving us half hidden smiles. He asked “Does he have teeth? Will he open his eyes? Will he smile?” He even asked “Can I hold him?” It was so sweet! Other than dealing with a recovering body, Jason and I spent the rest of the day resting, enjoying holding Jonah, and nursing him. It was wonderful! Jonah picked up on nursing right away. That was such a relief and really prevented a lot of anxiety that typically hits me at this time. Over the next few days, I ended up only needing the Ibuprofen so I was more alert and less nauseous than previous deliveries when I was on Percocet. My appetite was still small, however, while in the hospital. 

new "big brother" shirts from Grandma and Grandpa A

The second day in the hospital, I had a lot of painful cramping/contracting while nursing, which is to be expected and I was informed it got worse with each baby. I don't ever remember it hurting this much. It was pretty intense. We opted to have the nursery take him overnight at about 10:30 pm - 8:00 am and they just bottle fed him formula while Jason and I rested. I’m so glad we did that. With him nursing so well, I was confident he wouldn’t get nipple confusion, and this was the best place to figure that out. We definitely were grateful for those final two nights of being off baby duty (even though they still came to check on my vitals every so often). That second day we got visits from Amy, Johnny, Tess, and then Max and April. We also saw Grandma and Grandpa A with the boys and Kim and Kyle. They came over after the boys’ final soccer games. Charlie and Colson would then be staying with Arbons after switching with George and Nancy at the soccer game. George and Nancy also stopped by again. The hospital brought us our steak “Celebratory Dinner”. It was very sweet and fun. 

Amy took some pictures:

The next day (Sunday) we were discharged after lunch. Everything looked good. Jonah was Low to Moderate for jaundice so we had to come back in two days to get him checked. At that point, he was fine and didn’t have to come back for any more. 

Wow, I am still in shock at how easy and wonderful Jonah’s birth went! I am so grateful and feel so blessed! Here is a video of his first couple days of life. Next up, taking him home...