Afternoon with Daddy

What is it about seeing a man with a baby that just melts your heart? I love to watch Husband with our baby girl and she certainly loves him. As you can see, she already has him wrapped around her finger!

The Birth Story

** Before we get started, you have to know that Crumb's birthday week was also Diva's HUGE, 300-point, Spanish project week. I mean, we're talking at least 10 posters, all in Spanish, all about a trip to a foreign country. This would have been a tough project in English! We were all praying that the Crumb would hold on till after the project was due. As it turned out, the 22nd was the date for her presentation. Her teacher let her go first and then she and G checked out and headed to the hospital. They were expecting to be at the hospital just before 1:00. **

2:22 am   

Woke up early to get ready and have breakfast before heading to the hospital. The best advice that I received was to EAT before because there are no meals once they get the ball rolling.

3:10 am

Car seat loaded and on the road to the hospital. On the hour drive there I kept waiting for it to actually hit me that we were just a few hours away from having a baby!!!

4:10 am

Arrived fashionably late to the hospital, made it through ER security, and headed to the 4th floor for labor and delivery. At about 4:30 I was doing paperwork in my room while Husband held down the fort in the waiting room. I had the sweetest nurses that calmed my nerves and were gentle with the IV---which I was more afraid of than actual labor!

5:00 am

The Pitocin was dripping and contractions were slowly starting. There is a group of women from Troy that all use Dr. Reed and he refers to this group as his Troy Tiaras....so naturally, I had to wear my tiara when he came in for the first time.

6:00 am

Just over 3cms dilated and waiting... I could feel the contractions, but they were pretty mild. I planned to get an epidural, but didn't want to ask for it too soon.

7:00 am

5 cms dilated and Dr. Reed came in to break my water. Now, THAT was the weirdest sensation of the entire experience. I felt like I was laying on puppy pads and that someone poured a bucket of warm water in my lap. Gross, I know, BUT...It didn't hurt! At this time, he also suggested that I go ahead and request the epidural, so I did.

9:00 am

They upped my Pitocin and the contractions started coming faster and stronger. I'm so glad that I requested the epidural when I did, because it didn't come immediately. I didn't think that the contractions were that bad. I mean, they were uncomfortable, but it still wasn't the level of pain that I was expecting. I just knew that I did not want to know what the next level of contractions felt like!


10:00 to around 12-ish
Dave, the epidural guy, finally came in and it was time to get started. I was extremely, um, well...terrified of getting the epidural. Dave explained the process while I pretended to listen to him. I had no idea that they would numb the area with a little shot before actually sticking you with the big, scary needle! Hello! Somebody should have told me that!!! After that, the epidural was a piece of cake! I only freaked out a bit when just my right side went numb. I could still feel contractions on my left side and could still move my left leg. The nurse moved some pillows under my right side to help the medicine 'run' to the left and that fixed that. They told us to take naps and rest up before the big event. (yeah, okay)


Sometime after that friends and family started to arrive and we all hung out in my delivery room. Everyone was watching the contraction monitor and telling me when the off the chart contractions were happening. I was just thankful that I couldn't feel those! Around 12, the nurse came back in to check me and everyone was banished to the hallway. About this time, my doctor called and the nurse reported that I was at 9cm. He said to start pushing, he was on his way!!! Everyone scurried to get their belongings from my room and head to the waiting room to await the arrival of this little one!


12:15
Dr. Reed came in and we were already in full swing pushing mode. He and Husband were cracking jokes in between pushes and I was fairly certain that I would laugh this baby out. I had pushed for 30 minutes when he said we had one more big push to go. About that time, the baby's vitals dropped off the monitor and Dr. Reed got really serious. He told me that the baby was in distress, which could mean that the cord was wrapped around its neck, and he needed to get it out now with the vacuum tool. I was concerned by his 'serious' face and trusted that he knew what was best.


12:45
Then we heard the most precious little cry and knew that everything was okay. Dr. Reed said 'Its a GIRL' and I was so relieved that she was OKAY!!

Believe it or not, Husband actually cut the cord! He's normally rather queasy in these situations, so I was really impressed. He then followed her over to be cleaned up while Dr. Reed and I finished up.

I can't explain the overwhelming emotions... I was so thankful that she was here, healthy, perfect, and mine! Wow...My child...Wait...I have a child! Now what? Instruction manual, please?!!!

We were instantly smitten with this little girl! Husband is now totally surrounded by girls and couldn't be happier about it! He is such an amazing girl daddy and this little one already has him wrapped around her little finger!

While we were deciding on her name, Dr. Reed went out to the waiting room to announce that we had a baby and that IT was healthy. After he teased the family by not telling them what the baby was, he brought the girls back to our room. They were the first to know that Macy Claire was here and got to hold her.

Our first family photo

Husband and the girls went to the waiting room to FINALLY tell the family and bring everyone in to meet our girl! Now, what you've been waiting for....pictures:

Honey

MeMe

Grandpa

Little Grandmother meeting her great grand daughter

Four generations

MC all "pinked up"

Sassy came down to celebrate

Unca Jon

Aunt Shelley

My Little Grandmother

We finally talked Papa into holding her

Little Kindal

Aunt Nanie

Meeting her cousins

All the cousins

Meme with her grand kids

All snuggled up

Our family

Macy and Mommy

Wearing a dress picked out by Sisters

All bundled up and ready to go home!

Its a girl!!!

 

One excited Sister



Just a little cat nap

The entire labor and delivery experience was truly wonderful. The only little hiccup was when I had to stand up for the first time. I might have passed out in the little girl's room. The last thing I remembered was telling the nurse that I felt dizzy and hearing her call for Husband to get in there now. He said I looked up at him and then slumped completely over. I woke up with them carrying me back to the bed. I had to be hooked back up to the IV and was given another bag of fluids. I had to stay in the recovery room a couple of more hours, but was finally able to get to my room that evening. If that was the only thing that happened, then I consider myself really blessed! We appreciate all the prayers that went out on our behalf! They were certainly answered!!! I'm thankful to be at home for the next 12 weeks with our sweet girl.

One week later...

What a difference a week makes...



Before



After


Now, you have to remember that I'm the girl that does not get all mushy over babies or wants to hold them all the time...in fact, I'd never even changed a diaper before. It is so crazy to think that I'm a mom!! Unreal that I've had a baby for an entire week...and that I'm completely smitten!! I mean totally in love and can't keep my hands off this little girl!

We are adjusting to our new life and, thankfully, Husband was able to take a week off from work to spend at home with us. He was also able to go to her first doctor's appointment. The check up went really well, despite our three hour wait. MC is back up to her birth weight and, just as we suspected, is absolutely perfect!!!

I already can't imagine my life without her! I'm probably going to drive you all crazy with pictures of her smiling face....but it can't be helped! I'll start now :)

Its a GIRL!

Macy Claire

7 lbs 11 ozs of absolute perfection! The entire experience was so incredible that I'm still in awe that it actually happened. It was so much better than I could have ever imagined and way easier than they make it look on TV.

We are at home now and getting settled into our new late night schedules. The Big Sisters are so wonderful with her and have already been so much help to us.

I can't wait to share the whole story with you soon, but right now I have to go squeeze on these cheeks!

Last day before the baby

Get a good look at the basketball for the last time! It is hard to believe that tomorrow morning we'll be on our way to meet this little one. As much as it is wiggling around in there, I'm ready for him/her to debut these killer dance moves in the outside world.

I slept till 8:00 this morning and enjoyed every minute of it! I realize that won't be happening again for a while. I got up and had a leisurely breakfast with Husband while we made a list of the last minute things that needed to be done today. One of the things to make the list was nursery photos for you. Afterall, I did promise you curtains!

I'm so excited about how they turned out...and they definitely help to brighten up the room!

Now the nursery is officially complete!

Sweet Husband gets an award for all his help today. Not only did he fix the vacuum cleaner, but he also vacuumed the entire house....including those pesky baseboards that have been bugging me. He also had the car serviced, fixed the garage door at the old house, made a Wal-Mart, and came home with a Sonic Float!

Thank you all for your calls, texts, emails, prayers and other forms of well-wishes for tomorrow. We will keep you posted on little Crumb as soon as possible!

Maternity Leave

Friday was my final doctor's appointment. Baby and I both got a good report and I had not progressed any further from the week before. This was also the appointment where we were making our final decision about being induced. After confirming with Doc that the baby is fully 'baked' and that my body is showing the proper signs of being delivery-ready, we decided on February 22nd. ....at 4am! I did ask him if he remembered that I live an hour away from the hospital, and he just laughed! So early, EARLY Wednesday morning it shall be. Unless Crumb has other plans for us between now and then...

My only other concern at this appointment was that I hadn't felt the baby move all morning, and this is a very active baby. Doc decided to do an ultrasound to check things out and to help ease my mind. However, at 38 weeks, everything is so crammed in there that I couldn't even tell that we were looking at a baby...its really just one lumpy blob. He pointed out the chest cavity, which was making breathing movements, and I could tell what it was. How cool that the baby is practicing breathing even though there's no air in there?! Doc says that was a great sign of a healthy baby and that the lack of movement was due to the fact that it was probably just resting. So, he stuck a stimulation machine to the side of my stomach, and woke him/her up! Crumb was not a fan of this machine and began kicking like crazy, which made me feel much better! About that time, a nurse came in so Doc handed Husband the ultrasound wand and told him to drive for a little bit while he talked to her. I think he liked moving the wand all around my (humongous) belly and guessing at what we were looking at...because neither of us could tell!

Going back to work after just scheduling an induction date was insane. I was so excited and nervous and every other emotion in between that I was too distracted to really focus on anything. With that in mind, I knew that the next week would be way worse! So, I talked to the powers that be and we went ahead and scheduled my temporary replacement and, just like that, I was about to be off for the next 12 weeks! I didn't go in that morning with the intentions of it being my last day, so Friday afternoon was another flurry of emotions. I wrapped everything up and left a zillion post-its for my temp and was off! I'm so thankful for the time that I'll get to take off with Crumb and I know it is going to fly by. I'm going to do my best to cherish this time off...even when I'm too tired to see straight and can't remember the last time I brushed my teeth. As soon as we get settled back at home, I'll do my best to keep you posted here too. Thanks for the prayers and well wishes. I'll be back soon with a Crumb!

Valentine's Dinner 2012

It is hard to believe that this time last year we were having our first meal at our new house. We had no furniture, besides the tiny table and chairs that we brought in for the occasion...no stained glass in the doors...no pictures hung...and everything still smelled of fresh paint and drywall. We spent that meal imagining where things should go and discussing how to decorate our new rooms. That was also the night that Louie the cat decided to claim us as his family. My how so many things have changed in a year!

This year we had our last Valentine's Dinner as a family of four. When we arrived at home, Husband hand delivered invitations to the evening that awaited.  Pardon the iPhone pictures, as my camera cords are packed in the hospital bag already.

As always the menu sounded scrumptious! Husband always goes all out for this meal and we ladies have been drooling over the potential menu for days!

While we were getting ready for dinner, the appetizers were delivered along with a signature cocktail! (...sprite with heart-shaped ice cubes made of sunny delight.)

 Dinner was just as delicious as we'd imagined and, for the 5th year in a row, Husband was awarded the Best Husband/Dad/Chef award. The exciting bonus to this year's meal was that we were able to dine at our new dining room table!

It was even decided that future boyfriends will have to come get lessons from Dad on how to make Valentine's day so special! (Which, according to Dad, will be in approximately 20 years.)

 

In a world where there is not enough emphasis placed on the commitment of marriage, I'm thankful to have a husband who daily shows our girls how committed he is to our marriage and our family. I hope they always remember our special Valentine's Dinners and maybe they'll even continue the tradition when they have their own family. (In the distant future, that is!)