It's Official...

Remember that little bet we made, mom?  You know...the one where you said if the Cowboys beat the Redskins then Marissa would have to be a Cowboys fan?  Uh huh...looks like you LOST!  Ha, ha, ha!  Marissa is officially a Redskins fan!  Now all she needs is a little cheerleader outfit. 

She was our good luck charm last night.  =)

Hanging with Daddy during the game.

Game Day!

Today is the opening game for the Redskins and they are playing the Cowgirls.  Marissa is all ready to cheer on her favorite team!

Proud Baby Wearer

For the first time today I successfully wore the Moby Wrap! I'm officially hooked! It is soooo comfortable, Marissa was a happy baby and I still had my hands free to do whatever I wanted.

Danny laughed because so many people were staring at me wondering what in the world I had on.  I even had someone ask me if there was a baby in there, ha, ha!  Still trying to convince Danny to wear the Moby...but in the meantime, here's me and the baby girl!

Success!

Today we had our first successful trip to town.  We decided that we needed to get out of the house and as a "push present" Danny decided that I should get a nice new fridge!  We went to several stores and after a diaper change in the car, trying to feed in the back seat of the Expedition and having a fussy baby on our hands, I was about to throw in the towel and head home.  But we decided since we were already in town we might as well hit Sears to see if they had any good deals on fridges.  Marissa was cranky and I thought about just sitting in the car while Danny picked out a fridge, but then it hit me...

Remember that cute pink and brown sling posted below?  That thing is a LIFE SAVER!  I put Marissa in it, gave the kid a boob, threw a blanket over me for some discretion and off we went refrigerator shopping!  Yep, I nursed in public for the first time today and it wasn't that bad.  I'm not even sure the sales person could tell.  She was quite content and nursed until she fell asleep.  Ah, sweet success! 

Giving birth gives you a whole new outlook on life.  When your baby is hungry, you are willing to do what it takes to make sure she is a happy, fed baby!  Don't get me wrong, I still like to keep some decency and I'm still modest as ever, but you gotta do what you gotta do!

It was a busy day!  We got home a little later than what we wanted but Danny fixed a yummy dinner of chicken fajitas while I fed, bathed, changed and got Marissa in her jammies.  I think we make a pretty good team! 

Time to kick back with my honey and relax before the next feeding.  I don't want to count my eggs before they hatch, but I think Danny and I are adjusting pretty well to this whole parenting thing!

Good night blogger world!

Quick Check In

We've been settling into parenthood the past week and everything is going really well. Other than being a little fussy at times, Marissa has been great. She's feeding really well and I think we've got breastfeeding down!  She lets us know when she is hungry, so hopefully her weight gain is going good.

The other day we tried out the moby wrap and my jelly bean sling.  I still need a little practice with the moby but the sling is great.  And no, it has not been recalled and it is totally safe if used properly.  I would not put my baby in something that has been recalled or unsafe, give me some credit!

Speaking of credit, my parents are so, so proud of Danny and I, which means a lot to me.  It's nice that they notice and are giving us credit for being good first time parents.  It seems like most people just want to tell you what you should or shouldn't be doing.  I've done a lot of research and I think we're doing great!  Danny and I have been working as a team and I think it pays off.

The dogs have been getting used to Marissa as well.  Sadie is very curious and Eli, well, he doesn't want much to do with her but he is starting to come around.  Here's a picture of the pups waiting at the door of the nursery for feeding time to be over.  They've been doing great and I am very, very proud of them!

Here's a picture today of Marissa and I.

Snuggle time with daddy!

We are on day two of cloth diapering...more details to come soon! :-P

My Birth Story - Marissa Iris

Marissa Iris
August 30th, 2010 - 10:46 am
7 pounds, 6 ounces, 19 inches long

Our last photo as a family of two!

~*My Birth Story ~ Marissa Iris*~

I was admitted to the hospital on Sunday, August 29th to start my induction since I was a week late.  We were admitted at 4:00 and waited around until almost 10:00 to see the doctor.  We were feeling tired, frustrated and ready to go home at this point.  We were not 100% comfortable going forward with the induction since neither I nor Marissa were under any stress.  We wanted to go home and let nature take its course, but we figured we would stay the night and see what the doctor said in the morning.  They had me hooked up to the monitors and I thought I was having a few mild contractions.  The nurse said that I was not having contractions and that I would know it if I was.  She too was pregnant and due next month with her second child.  She kind of snarked at me when I said I wanted to go natural and said “well, a lot of first time moms don’t really know what to expect and don’t know how to deal with the pain.”  How frustrating to be in the hospital ready for labor and people are still being unsupportive of my decision to go natural.  All of those people doubting me made me that much more determined to prove that I could do this; call me stubborn!

By 10:00 pm when the doctor actually came around to start the cervidil, she checked me and said I was at 3 cm and 80% effaced and that the cervidil was not needed.  This was a sigh of relief!  She stripped my membranes for the second time; I also had them stripped the Tuesday before at my 41 week check up.  She said the next doctor would see me around 7:00 am the next morning to start pitocin and wished me well before leaving us for the night.  My mom and I walked the halls for a little while so Danny could go grab some dinner.  Once he returned, my mom went home to get some rest, the nurse gave me an ambien to get some sleep and Danny and I called it a night.   

Around 3:00 am on the 30th I woke up feeling some pretty strong and regular contractions.  Again, the monitors were showing mild contractions which seemed really frustrating to me.  I ate a small breakfast and showered to try and relax.  The anesthesiologist came in before they started the pitocin to talk to me about an epidural.  I was slightly peeved that he even stopped in considering I wanted to go natural, so what he said pretty much went in one ear and out the other.  He didn’t stay long after I told him I was going natural.   

At 8:15 am the doctor came in to check my progress and said I was at about 4 - 4.5 cm.  She decided that it would be best to break my water to get things going.  She said we would have a baby by the end of the day.  After Danny drilled the doctor with a hundred questions, she broke my water at 8:27 am.  I was hesitant, but figured since I was progressing on my own that I was willing to take the chance.  They then started to administer the dreaded pitocin at 9:00 am.  I don't know if it was my water breaking or the pitocin, but things REALLY got going at this time. They were only able to give me one shot of pitocin, the nurse joked that I just needed a “wiff” of it!  I was having severe contractions, having to really focus on my breathing and trying to remain calm.  But again, the monitors were showing average contractions.  I really wanted a natural birth but I was afraid that if these were considered "mild" contractions I wouldn't be able to go much longer.  I sat on the birthing ball, Danny massaged my back with calming lavender oil and I did my best to breathe and not focus on the pain.  He turned on the iPod with some relaxing music and we were doing all the natural birth techniques that I had studied and prayed would work during my labor.  Around 9:45 am the nurse checked my progress and said I was at 8 cm.  Danny and I thought to ourselves, this lady must be out of her mind, she’s just a nurse she doesn’t know what she’s checking!  We just kept thinking there's no way I had progressed that quickly, we were expecting an all day ordeal.  Around 10:00 am I was starting to feel a lot of pressure so the other nurse checked me and confirmed that I was at 9 – 9.5 cm and would be able to push soon.  I was SHOCKED!  Note to self: don’t doubt your nurses; they know what they are talking about!

The atmosphere of the labor and delivery room changed dramatically at this time.  The nurses were moving chairs out of the way and wheeling out a warming table equipped with all the necessities for Marissa’s arrival.  It started to sink in that things were about to get real.    

Around 10:15 am I started to feel like I needed to push; I had an immense amount of pressure and contractions were coming faster and faster.  We waited and waited for the doctor to come, the nurse checked me again and said I was at a full 10 cm and could push as soon as the doctor showed up.  I knew that my contractions were stronger than what the monitors were telling me and the nurses said there must have been something wrong with them.  They decided to take the monitors off of me because I knew exactly when I was having a contraction.  We went through about 3 or 4 hard contractions before the doctor showed up, there was a point where I asked the nurses to just bring in any doctor that could deliver this baby, I didn’t care who it was.  Holding back the urge to push was the hardest part of the whole experience.

When the doctor finally came in I asked her how long she thought I would be pushing.  She said most first timers push for about 2 hours.  Whew, I took a deep breath and looked at Danny, knowing this would be a long haul.  The doctor let me lead the pushing as I saw fit.  They would count to 10; I would take a deep breath and continue on for two more counts of 10, with one quick breath in between pushes.  Pushing was the greatest feeling in the whole world!  It was such a relief.  At some point the doctor realized that Marissa’s head was positioned on my bladder and it was blocking her from coming down the birth canal.  She decided to give me a quick catheter.  It was relatively painless and it definitely made a difference in pushing.  I pushed for at total of about 30 minutes and out came our sweet little girl at 10:46 am.  It was so fast and I'm so glad that I listened to my body and went natural like I had hoped and prayed for.  It was such an amazing and empowering feeling since so many people had doubted my ability to go without pain medication.

From the time I started having hard labor contractions until the time I delivered was about 8 hours total.  I consider myself VERY lucky.  Danny was so supportive and was such an amazing labor coach.  He breathed with me, got me a wet wash cloth for my forehead, counted while I pushed (even though the nurses had to tell him to slow down a little, I think he was a little nervous and excited) and let me squeeze his hand when the pain got really bad.  All through my pregnancy he said he wasn’t going to look (you know, down there) but when the time came it wasn’t nearly as bad as he had imagined.  He saw our sweet little girl come into the world and had to fight back the tears from such an amazing miracle. 

Both of our nurses encouraged me to go natural, helped coach me while pushing and never mentioned a word of pain medication.  They said they couldn’t believe how calm I was considering I had nothing to even take the edge off.  I didn't even cuss at Danny, I never told him I hated him or any of those other horror stories you hear about!  He was so helpful and I wouldn't have been able to go natural without him.  When they laid Marissa on my chest for the first time, all the pain washed away.  I delivered the placenta 4 minutes after her birth and the doctor stitched up my first degree tear.  Since Marissa came so quickly, she had a lot of fluid left in her lungs.  They had to suction quite a bit out of her lungs and the cord had been wrapped around her neck.  A few minutes later in came a staff of 4 or 5 NICU nurses and I started to panic a little at this time.  No one was really saying much and I kept asking the nurses if she was okay.  They said they just needed to monitor her and that they would give me an update as soon as she was stabilized.  They gave her some oxygen to help her in the transition phase and Danny stood by her side the whole time.  

Danny holding Marissa for the first time in the NICU.

They decided it would be best to monitor her in the NICU for a few hours, but before they wheeled her off they laid her in my arms and then the emotions came rolling in.  Danny and I shared a few tears and a kiss before he went with her.  I was sad that I couldn’t be with them but I knew in my heart everything was going to be fine, and her daddy was with her and would keep her safe.

Now, almost a week after her birth, we are settling into a nice little routine.  We’re a family of three and I feel so complete.  I can’t imagine Marissa not being in our lives.  Danny and I bonded in so many different ways over this whole experience and I wouldn’t change a thing!  

Our first family photo

Sweet Marissa Has Arrived

I don't have much time to blog since I'm feeding pretty much around the clock.  Feedings every two hours takes A LOT out of you, let me tell ya!  But a quick update on our new family...

Marissa Iris was born on August 30th, 2010 at 10:46 am.  She weighed in at 7 pounds, 6 ounces and 19 inches long.  She is an absolute beauty (though I suppose I am a bit biased)!

I will post my full birth story once I get a chance to sit down and actually write it.  I'm sure it will be long, even though the actual birth was pretty speedy.

I was able to have the med-free birth that I was hoping for, even after so many people doubted me.  I will say, it is the most empowering feeling in the world, and I feel that I can truly conquer anything that I put my mind to.  Everything turned out perfect, Danny was so supportive and I couldn't have asked for a better birth coach and the nurses were pretty great, too.  I never yelled at Danny, I never cursed him and I felt that we truly bonded during this experience.  A bonding in a way that you can't imagine or describe.  I've changed inside and out through this whole experience and though sleep deprived and learning, I couldn't be happier.

So, here's our beauty!