Mari - Getting Cleaned Up!

After Mari was born, they said she was just perfect, so we got to enjoy some quality bonding time just us and Mari before it was time to clean her up and get her measurements! It was so nice to have this time with just the three of us!

Finally we decided it was time for her first bath and to fine out how much our chunky monkey weighed.

All 8 pounds 13 ounces of perfect :-)

Love this picture! My strong, chunky girl :-)

Lucas got to give Mari her bath in the delivery room. So much better than in the nursery. As you can probably tell, she was NOT a fan ;-)

All cleaned up an time to get her footprints done.

Sweet, calm Mari

Our perfect bundle with one of my best friends and THE best nurse ever :-)

Read More 0 comments | Posted by Jen

Mari is Here!! - Birth Story

We could not be more excited that our sweet Mari is finally here! Of course it has taken me 3 weeks to sit down and go through the thousands of pictures we have taken and write out how Mari's Birth Day went! I'll post the pictures first for those who don't really care how Mari got here! :-)

Sweet Mari, just a few minutes old! I am so in love already!

Mommy/Daughter bonding time!

We couldn't be happier!

So happy!

Mari's Birth Story

Mari's due date was March 18th. Since Lara was born on her due date, I figured that Mari probably wouldn't be far off! I was fortunate enough to have two weeks off of work before my due date to relax, get things ready, and spend some good quality time with Lara before we had another precious girl in the house!

My parents arrived at our house on Friday, March 9th to help us take care of Lara when the time arrived! Since I was planning to have an all natural birth like I had with Lara, I wanted them to be here in case Mari decided to come early!

My doctor and my wonderful Labor and Delivery nurse friend Jenny were both to be out of town the weekend of the 9th, so I figured that was when Mari would make her grand arrival, but thankfully she decided to stay in there a little longer! I was having irregular, not too big of a deal contractions all weekend and into the next week, but I was beginning to think that Mari would NEVER come! My doctor had already said that she was going to induce me on the 22nd if she hadn't come yet, so by the time the 16th came around, I was starting to get anxious, as I really didn't want to be induced. Spending hours on end in the hospital just did NOT sound like fun to me...

Well, everything was going about as normal until Friday. About 3:00 PM on the 16th, I could tell that the contractions were getting a little more "for real" so I decided to start timing them, just to see if they were regular or not. They seemed to be about 12-20 minutes apart, not that regular, so I figured that Mari would probably be here in the next couple of days, but didn't really think much of it.

My Dad and I decided to take Hailey and Lara for a walk. I was determined that I was going to WALK this baby out! :-) Neither Lara nor Hailey was very into the walk, so we didn't go very far, but it was enough! When we got back the contractions were about 6-7 minutes apart if I was up walking around, but still only 12-15 minutes if I was sitting down, so I just went on about my business as usual, trying not to think about the fact that Mari would be here soon. I was hoping that she would hold off until the morning since my friend Jenny had already worked that day and was scheduled to work the next day as well. I really didn't want to call her in the middle of the night! :-)

We ate white bean chili for dinner, although I didn't have much of an appetite, and then decided to start a game of FRENZY! It's a fast moving game that I knew would keep my mind off of the contractions. I did finally pull Lucas aside about 8:00 and tell him that I thought that things were moving along and that Mari would be here pretty soon. We didn't tell my parents yet though!

After Frenzy (about 11:00 PM), Lucas and I decided to go ahead and start getting bags and things ready to go to the hospital. We very much downsized what we were taking from when Lara was born (we packed WAY too much with her! Ha!)

We decided to try to get a little rest before the big day! My contractions still were only about 12 mintues apart when I was sitting, so I decided not to say anything to my parents yet, since I figured we wouldn't be going to the hospital until later that next morning. I ended up being able to sleep from about 1AM to 4AM.

When I woke up at 4AM, the contractions were definitely "for real." I timed a few and was a little disappointed when they were still only about 10 minutes apart, but I could tell that things were definitely changing, and that it wouldn't be long. A little before 5:00, I woke Lucas up and told him I was going to take a shower and that he needed to get ready! Between 4 and 5, my contractions went from 10 minutes apart to 8 to 6 to 3! At 5, Lucas texted Jenny and said that we would be on our way to the hospital soon!

With Lara, it has been a running joke that we went to the hospital too late, since I was almost 8 cm when I arrived, and had insisted on drying my hair at home before we left for the hospital (even though I was already feeling like I needed to push...), so I ensured Lucas that I would not dry my hair before we left! I did do a small braid to keep my hair out of my face though! ;-) I'm sure he will make fun of me for this in the future too!

We woke my parents up, told them the news, and then headed for the hospital. We arrived at the hospital a little before 6AM. Jenny was already there and had the room all ready to go for us! (this was much better than with Lara, where everyone was rushing to get things together before Lara was born!) Things were so relaxed, just us and Jenny in the room. She monitored me and baby for a bit and then checked and said I was already 8 cm, but my water hadn't broken yet. So much for getting there earlier this time... Ha! I was so worried that I had come too early this time... But nope, just right! Jenny called the doctor and said that she needed to head to the hospital! Apparently the doctor was trying to figure out how close I really was to having this baby since she asked Jenny more than once if she would have time to have her tea before she came to the hospital :-) Jenny said she couldn't make any promises!

Once the monitoring was over I was able to get out of the bed and sit on the birthing ball (aka an exercise ball). This was a MUCH more comfortable position that laying in a bed!

I really think the worst part of labor was when they were trying to get my IV line in. They were trying to put it in a place where I would be free to move and it wouldn't bother me too much... It took three tries, and three different nurses, but they finally got it to take! :-) I think I cried more during these few minutes than during any other part of my labor! Ha! Let's just say, I am NOT a fan of needle sticking pain ;-) Just one of the reasons I am NOT into epidurals ;-)

Anyways, I was handling contractions pretty well, but they were starting to get more intense. It wasn't much after that that my water broke, and things got really serious, really fast! At this point I think they were pretty sure that my doctor wasn't going to make it, since I was telling them that Mari was coming NOW. Once my water broke, I had to get back up in the bed... NOT an easy task... I only had a few minutes of "crazy lady" as pushing is not my favorite part of labor... ;-) But, just as I was about to push Mari out, in came the doctor! At 7:36 AM after about 3-4 pushes (maybe more... I really can't remember) all 8 lbs. 13oz of Mari were born! I still can't believe how big she was! I'm sure it was really longer than this but in my mind it seems like Mari was born within about 10 minutes of my water breaking. I just can't believe how fast things happened this time around.

I am SO glad that things worked out so perfectly this time, even better than I had envisioned!

It's very true what they say about the second child being easier than the first in so many ways! The actual birth was definitely much more relaxed, and I felt much more in control of the whole process than I did with Lara, since I knew what to expect this time. I'm so glad that I could go natural again. I also don't worry about silly things with Mari like, "Is she breathing?", "Is she getting enough to eat?", "Is she sleeping too much/too little..."

Of course I was ready to leave the hospital about 3 hours after Mari was born... unfortunately they make you stay for 48 hours... blah!

Well, there it is, Mari's birth story in all its glory :-) I'm sure I left many things out, but at least I got the majority of the day down so Mari can never say that I wrote out Lara's birth story and not hers!!

But, Mari is fitting into our new family just perfectly, like she has always been there. I am so looking forward to seeing how life goes as a family of FOUR!! :-)

Fun at the Park with Granna and Granpa

Granna and Granpa decided to come to see us a week before Mari was due to be here (after much pleading from me ;-). Lara had a blast getting their undivided attention for a whole week before Mari's arrival. I was terrible at taking pictures this time around, except for this one fun day at the park! :-) She is becoming quite the daredevil lately and has decided she wants to play on the BIG KID playground! :-)

Swinging monkey getting ready to slide with Granpa!

Loves this duckie!

So fun to look back at pictures of Lara on this same duck over the last couple of years! She sure is growing up...

"Dum ditty, dum ditty, dum, dum, dum!" - One of Lara's favorite books right now!

So much fun on the swing lately!

See-Saw!

Read More 0 comments | Posted by Jen

Little Princess!

Kisses for her Frog Prince!

What a pretty princess! :-)

Read More 0 comments | Posted by Jen

March Outside Fun!

I thoroughly enjoyed my two weeks of maternity leave before Mari got here! The weather was fantastic, and Lara and I had a GREAT time playing outside with bubbles and chalk! We really enjoyed our last few days as a family of 3!

Chasing Bubbles!

Chalk time - It's hard to do too much moving around when you're 39 weeks pregnant!

Bubbles with daddy!

"Look Mommy! I spell Lara - L-A-R-A!"

Love this picture!

Getting better everyday at bubble blowing!

:-)

Every time we play with chalk, I have to remind Lara that it's a "dirty day"

Curly pigtails! Love them!

Read More 0 comments | Posted by Jen

Last Day of Work

Today is my last day of work before I start my maternity leave! That means that Mari's arrival is getting close... I do have a little panic attack every once in a while thinking about having TWO kids, but I in all honesty, I'm ready for Mari to be here and to get to spend a lot of precious time with my TWO girls! :-)

I am SO thankful that my office gives us two weeks of 100% PAID leave before our due date! Plus I get 18 weeks of maternity leave after Mari is born ( 6 paid and 12 unpaid) - IF I go back that is... ;-) Yay for good benefits! :-)

We can't wait to meet you Mari!!!

Aquarium - Running and Rocks!

Lara was in heaven with all of the room to run around and they had little creek beds that didn't have any water in them, so she had fun playing on the rocks as well! So glad it was such a nice day! What beautiful weather we are having for February!