Jones in DC: Before and After

Well, it turns out that October has been quite the month of ups and downs for my family. It started off on a very sad note, with the passing of my grandmother. Even though we knew it was inevitable, it was not an easy time for any of us. Unfortunately, I was the only member of the family who wasn't able to make it home to see her or to be there with the rest of the family. But I guess that's how it goes when you're cooking another little person and the day is drawing nearer. My dad also celebrated a milestone birthday in October. I think it was a bittersweet day for him, seeing as how it was his first birthday after he lost his mom (by four days) and it was the big 5-0! However, a birthday is always something to celebrate and that was just what he did.

Apparently my dad wasn't the only person who thought October was a good month for a birthday. That little person that I was cooking decided that November just wouldn't work for her, so Mary Grace made her grand entrance into the world on Thursday, October 27 (three weeks to the day after we lost my sweet Mimi). It was actually a very quick, and mostly painless experience. We went to the hospital at 6am after contracting all night. I knew that there was no way I was going to hang out for the rest of the day in as much pain as I had been in all night, so I asked for the epidural as soon as we got there. I think the volunteer at the front desk may not have been qualified to supply me with those drugs, but I didn't care who did it as long as someone did soon! They hooked me up to the monitors, decided I had dilated to 4.5 cm, and was contracting regularly enough to be admitted. They took me back to my room, got me my wonderful drugs by 8:30, and we were set to hang out for the rest of the day. The dr. came in and checked me out, told me she would be back in the afternoon to check me and break my water, and we would see how things were progressing. The dr. came back at 12:30, broke my water, checked me, and looked a little shocked. I was already 9cm and she knew that the time for a baby was quickly approaching. She came back ready to get down to business at 1:00. They had me do a practice push at five after and then told me to stop because the dr. wasn't 100% ready yet. But that baby didn't care; she was ready to go. After ten minutes, she was born. She didn't hardly make a sound but was absolutely perfect in every way! Josh was completely mesmerized. He cut her cord, told me that she was a girl, and stood over her while the nurses cleaned her up. He even forgot to take pictures of the whole process because he was so smitten. He said that he forgot that everyone else existed, and the look on his face cemented that fact to me. Mary Grace has done beautifully. We all were able to go home the Saturday after she was born. And in the time honored tradition of welcoming the Jones family to VA, it snowed... Just like it did when we moved here in 2009. Thank goodness it wasn't 3 feet this time! I'll keep updating now that I have such great material. I'm sure they will be mostly picture and video posts, but that's what first time parents do! Enjoy!