June Fun and Family

Well the first few weeks of Marissa being here was soooo much harder that I expected! I had a wonderfully pleasant experience at the hospital and I was actually sad to leave! My experience compared to 4 years ago was 5 star! The hospital food was great, the nurses were great and my Dr was awesome. When I got home we all had meltdowns and ended up needing "Grandma back-up" that night. We are so thankful again for all the family and friend help -especially since my mom wasn't able to come out right when the baby was born. I have learned how much more I need to ask for help than ever before!

The best part of all this- I have had to learn to let a lot of things go and not get so stressed like I was as a new mom before! I must have seemed so crazy to my Canadian friends with all my silly little quirks of parenting- I would never have let my baby lay on the ground near my dogs, or even be held by someone with out them washing their hands and sanitizing! I am not saying I have become more dirty....just less paranoid and less stressed! So in turn life is a little easier and parenting is less of a "no no no" and more of a "just be careful" approach! I think part of that solved itself when Mikayla picked up a lollipop from a parking lot....and hid it from me, then when she was asked what it was, her response was "Mom don't get mad- I just wanted a candy." So all the germ sheltering doesn't really help when your kid will pick up a strangers used lollipop!

Marissa did end up with a little jaundice and was able to get over it with in a few days! Part of it is that my milk supply seems to be more than plentiful for this one so much that she gags! So she gained about 2 pounds in 2 days! But she still was in preemie clothes for about 3 weeks and they were so cute!

Mikayla has been an amazing help and a sweet big sister. She was so cute when she first got to see sister. She was the happiest little girl I have ever seen! I had never noticed all the sweet little baby talk I say until I hear Mikayla repeat things like "its okay you little bean" or "you sweet pea its okay I'll get you a binkie, no cries". I love it! I almost can't explain in words how much I can see her love for her little sister! It is heavenly! And yes Mikayla has had quite a few meltdowns but she never went through a real "terrible twos" so I think she is going through the "terrible fours!" Even then she will stop crying and quiet her sister down or smile for her and help out the second she is asked.

My parents came out the middle of June for the Baby Blessing and to help out a bit. I thought I might feel like an intrusion but it ended up being the best break ever! I was so sad when they left because they helped out so much!

Marrisa is Here

Marissa is here!

After being put on bed rest @ 28 weeks pregnant because I was having contractions we had a long last few months of me being pregnant and VERY grumpy. There were a few bedtime prayers where Mikayla asked for Marissa to be born so Mommy would stop being grumpy! I had two wonderful baby showers! and a visit from my Mommy and my older brother. Also had tons of friends and family help with babysitting and meals which we were so blessed and thankful for! So after the first scare I had to go in three other times thinking I was about to have this baby- first was from sitting up too long one day and the next was from dehydration from being sick. The third time I went in and was told (on Mikayla's real Birthday - and also Mothers Day) that I was going to have the baby that day because my water was leaking- just to find out the test they did was a false positive test and that I needed to go home and take a bath, drink lots of water and rest. The last visit I swear almost sent me over the edge because we thought we were so close to having our little one here! Anyways I finally decided that I may not have her early and to just enjoy the bits of time I had left with just one child so I did! I was scheduled to go into the Dr to be induced around noon the day we had Marissa. I woke up with my water leaking and so we packed up and went to the hospital. We got all set up in the room and had Mikayla go visit Grandma's house. I had my epidural put in and was told my whole bag of water hadn't broken but only a part- so the Dr. came in broke my water and told me he would be back in a few hours to see how far i had progressed. In ten minutes I went from a 6 to a 10 and with about 5 pushes Marissa was here! Weighing 6.2 pounds and 17 inches long.

and yes we had the most amazing hospital photographer ever!