MJ's Birth Story

I was so relieved when my birthday past and I didn't go into labor. I didn't want to spend the day at the hospital and I didn't want to have to share birthdays, I wanted our baby to have his own special day. After that though, I was ready. I had been having false labor contractions almost every day since the previous Friday and I was totally in gear to have the baby out! Wednesday night before we went to bed I had another false labor for about and hour and half, I kept telling JP that I thought I might be able to give him a baby that night. Once the contractions stopped I was pretty disappointed and we went to sleep. My water broke at 3:00am and we called L&D to find out what they wanted us to do. I had discussed with the doctor laboring at home for as long as possible before coming in but they wanted me to come in right away because I wasn't having contractions. When we got to the hospital they hooked me up to the monitors and we waited for contractions to start with our fingers crossed that I wouldn't have to be induced. I was 3 cm dilated when we arrived. By 7am my contractions were in full swing and I was throwing up in between everyone. When the nurse checked me and I had made no progress at all I decided to have an epidural so I could get some rest. The anesthesiologist was there by 8:00, he had me hooked up by 8:30, and I was feeling a ton of relief by 9:00. I was actually able to nap between 10:00 and noon! The doctor came in around 2:00 and told me I was fully dilated but he wanted me to sit up and let gravity do some of the work for about an hour. He was back at 3:00 and I pushed for almost an hour and a half before MJ made his first appearance. The nurses and photographer were split right down the middle on what the sex of the baby would be. DH said boy, I said girl, and the doctor said he never guesses! They laid him on my belly and he just stared at me with those beautiful eyes. DH and I both teared up as we took in our son. I was able to hold him and bond with him uninterrupted for more than an hour before they asked to take him for his measurements. It was a truly wonderful experience. The labor and delivery went unbelievably smoothly. Everybody at the hospital was great and I felt both MJ and I were very safe in their hands. After he was born the Doctors became concerned about his weight loss. He lost over 10% of his body weight in 48 hours and because of my breast reduction surgery they couldn't be sure he was getting enough to eat from me. They kept us an extra two days to monitor him and they had us begin supplementing his feedings with SNS and formula. It was excruciatingly devastating knowing that I was incapable of feeding my own baby and keeping him healthy. We're home now and the doctor told us at his check up that we halved his weight loss in two days! The doctor said to keep and eye on his diapers but it seems like I'm producing plenty to cut back on the formula for now. His next appointment is on Friday and if the scale looks good hopefully we can move to BFing exclusively on demand. He's so perfect. JP and I are totally in love with him. 

Wordless because there are no words to describe this feeling...

MJ Born March 14th, 16:24  7lbs 13.8 ounces 20in 

Maternity Pictures

We had our Maternity Pictures taken last weekend by the lovely Leslie Bridges of Bridges to Memories. She shared a few sneak peaks with us and they are absolutely wonderful. I don't use the word blessed lightly because I don't believe in a deity but I am feeling truly blessed as I look at these pictures!

We are anxiously awaiting the birth of our first little surprise baby!! It wont be long now! 

Wordless Wednesday

Homemade Valentine for JP

5 Totally Awesome Things About Living in England

Okay this post was initially going to be titled "10 Totally Awesome Things About Living in England but I've only been here 6 weeks people! And I'm 35 weeks pregnant! Give me a break! So, for now, 5 things that are totally awesome about living in England (so far):

1) Better quality food.
-I've noticed the food here is not pumped full of all sorts of hormones...
                and pesticides...
                                     and preservatives...
It's really cool and it makes food taste better and you also eat less! It's more filling because it's whole food. You can still get nasty processed food here but I've been able to find whole food alternatives WAY easier than I could back home.

2) Proximity to mainland Europe for travel purposes.
- We've only been here for a few months and already we are planning trips to Germany, Spain, and the Netherlands within the next year. The ability we have to just get in the car and head off on some adventure is pretty amazing.

3) Castles
-You could practically slice a golf ball into the woods and hit a castle around here. It's one of the coolest things ever to be driving at night on these tiny little roads and see some random lit up castle ruins. We've toured two castles since I got here and let me tell you the history behind these things never gets old for me (haha... history..? gets old...? get it..? no?).

4) Countryside
-The wide open space just astounds me. Rolling hills dotted with sheep... it's like a fairy tale. How so many people can live on such a tiny island and still have so much country side is great. I love driving from one town to the next one highways that would be little more than back roads in the states and seeing miles of pasture with the occasional small village along the way. Quaint doesn't begin to cover it.

5) Also, this.
-In case you didn't hear, the British Parliament passed a bill to legalize same-sex marriage in Britain this week. It's not a done deal but it sure does feel good to be living in a country actually making progress toward equality.