hospital pics

Our "professional snapshots" from the hospital are up on the photographer's website. There are so many little moments that I want to remember that I'm going to have trouble choosing! The only ones that make me cringe a little are the ones that show my 24 hour post baby tummy! I guess that's just part of it though. Today they told me they could make it into a photo storybookI'll call to get more information on that tomorrow- sounds nice! We had a more formal sitting at their studio today. Marion was asleep through most of it, but since they were more formal pics, all I really need is one great one. We'll see, they should be up in about a week.

Click here to see the gallery.

The password is "marion".

adjusting...

Baby Marion has brought so much joy to our home... along with a little jealousy and confusion for Big Sister Grace. There are a few things Grace doesn't understand...

Why does Marion sleep in your room? Marion needs to sleep in her room!

Why is Marion still awake? Marion needs to go to bed too.

What is Marion doing with your boobie?

It really sunk in for me yesterday morning. We were still exhausted from getting up with Marion over night. Grace came in our room to wake us up but didn't climb into bed as usual. She then left and went into the kitchen. After a few minutes, Jeremy went into the kitchen to find Grace sitting at the kitchen table feeling down. She told him that she thought we didn't love her anymore because we hadn't gotten out of bed. I was absolutely crushed... talk about breaking a mommy's heart!
Since then I've been trying my hardest to give Grace lots of individual attention and to do things just for her.
Yesterday we had a "fancy lunch." Jeremy and I wore our Snow White and Prince Charming costumes from Halloweens past. We had lots of Grace's favorite foods and drank real tea from her new tea set. I've also been leaving Marion at home with Jeremy and picking Grace up from school.
Surely this will pass and soon Grace won't even remember life as an only child. ;)

the first 5 days

Our little Marion is five days old! Marion was in the newborn stupor the first 24 hours... all she really did was sleep. Of course, I had to have something to worry about... she had a couple of low blood sugars. We were told that it could be due to stress from the quick delivery or an infection. Marion was given 2 bottles of sugar water and after a while she maintained a normal level on her own. I wasn't thrilled that she had to have the bottles. Grace never nursed and I always attributed it to nipple confusion from the bottle. That led to 4 months of pumping... I don't want to go down that road again!
Marion wasn't a natural nurser, but with the help of a wonderful lactation nurse we did get her latched on and sucking... at least a few times.
As Marion awoke from the sleepy just-born stage, she realized she was hungry! She latched on okay during the day on Friday, but by Friday night we were really having trouble. Unfortunately, the wonderful lactation nurse was off Saturday through Monday and the other nurses just couldn't work the magic she had. She did call and check on me though and sent me a "nipple shield" to use as a last resort if I still couldn't get her feeding over the weekend.
Marion got hungrier and hungrier, crankier and crankier. We had long nights where she slept for only 45 minutes at a time, with long periods of holding in between. Poor baby was hungry. Sunday afternoon I broke down and tried the shield. It was pretty much an instant success. She began nursing well and transformed into a happier, easier baby. Since then her eating has picked up more and more, and she's sleeping for longer stretches. At night, she's been sleeping for periods of 2 to 4 hours at a time. She wakes up to eat but usually goes back to sleep easily. A few rough days but its gotten much easier!

while mom was away...

the Big Sister and Nana played!

Grace playing in the fountain outside the hospital.

They even went to a "Fancy Nancy" party! Grace was instructed to put together her fanciest ensemble...

Grace was so sad to see her Nana go... she had a mini-vacation while we were away! Thanks Nana!

a birth story

So with each baby you go a little faster...

I checked into my hospital room at about 6:00 a.m. on Thursday. I started at 3cm, a relief since at my last check 8 days before I was still at 1cm. The nurses started my IV and the pitocin at around 7:00a.m.. My doctor came in and explained that he had a hysterectomy to perform that morning and he would be out of commission for about 2 hours. He decided to wait until he was out of his surgery to break my water.

When he returned, I had progressed to 5cm. My doctor gave me the epidural and broke my water. It was 10:48 a.m. That's when it really got wild... I started having really strong contractions back to back... ouch!! I began to feel pressure and let the nurse know. She checked me again and I was dilated to 9+... ready to start pushing. The epidural had made me feel a good bit better but it surely wasn't the total relief I had with Grace... definitely a good bit of pain! The nurse started taking about trying to do a "block" to tone down the pain, but the doctor thought "the best thing to do at this point is to just get it over with!"

I pushed though 2 short contractions that were back to back and then rested. The next contraction pushed Marion out without assistance from me... yes, they were that strong!

Marion was born at 11:19a.m., just 31 minutes after he broke my water at 5cm. It was all over so fast and then I was holding my beautiful new baby girl. My nurse told me that I would have been in big trouble had my water broken at home... scary thought! I'm so thankful for a fast and complication free delivery.

it's official!

Our 2nd Pouty Princess has arrived! Marion Blythe was born at 11:19 a.m. on January 22, 2009. She was 6 pounds and 13 ounces at birth and 20 inches long. We are still at the hospital and plan on going home tomorrow after lunch. Her birth went very well and was very quick! I'll post more as I have time! :)

marion's birthday

It's finally here! We arrived at the hospital at 5:45 this morning. I was dilated to 3cm on arrival, so I feel like I'm "ready to go." So far, my IV is in and the pitocin is running... the needles are the worst part of the whole experience for me, so I've already got some of the worst over!
Thanks to some mommy friends from dance and gym, I've got the biggest room in the house! I've been asked by several people here how I managed to snag the nicest room :)