Baby Jonathan is here!

On February 5 at 5:19pm we welcomed Jonathan Merrill Patterson Jr. into the world! He was a healthy (and surprising!) 8 lbs 9 oz and 20 and 1/4 inches long! We came to the hospital on Wednesday night to be induced and things started off well. By early afternoon on Thursday, however, we realized that he was going to be too big to come out naturally. So we prepared ourselves for a c-section. No, this wasn't our ideal plan but God really provided us with His peace in making this decision with my doctor. The section went wonderfully and Jonathan came out without any problems. The recovery wasn't nearly as bad as I had anticipated, and I was moving around comfortably again in about a week. Even though the delivery looked completely different than we had planned, the whole experience was wonderful and filled with love and support from our family, friends and my sweet friends at work. God blessed the whole experience from beginning to end and I wouldn't change a thing!
After some breastfeeding difficulties I was nervous about him gaining enough weight, but at his 1 week checkup he weighed 8-12! His pediatrician was very proud and said he was exceeding his goals and was a very healthy little boy! We're now all doing well and getting adjusted to our new lives. We've learned the importance of swaddling (it's amazing!) and how to put makeup on while holding a baby, among MANY other lessons! :) Thank you to everyone for all of your thoughts, calls and prayers. Remember us as we continue to settle in and learn more about each other!