Marcus James

Marcus James, 8 lbs 7 oz, 19.5 inches long. He looks just like his daddy, which makes me love him even more. He even has a hair callac in the exact same spot on his head. I nicknamed him MJ for Marcus James / Mitch Junior. When he raised his eyebrows at me for the first time, I seriously laughed out loud because all I saw was Mitch and I love that he is his clone. (Apparently at least 90% of my genes are recessive, ha, ha.) Though I will say that Mitch was bald when he was born and I had tons of dark hair, so perhaps that is the 10% of my genes that Marcus inherited. Regardless, I hope MJ turns out to be as sweet and as smart as his daddy too.

So, MJ was originally due on June 3rd. I was planning to be induced one week early, on May 28th, partly because I was sick of being pregnant and partly because he was measuring big. Layla was 8 lbs 3 oz at 41 weeks, so I figured he would be at least 8 lbs. Well, my dr. was going to be out of town for Memorial Day, so he changed my due date and got me induced the week before. Love it. Marcus was just over 38 weeks gestation when I was induced, so I felt good about it and everything I researched made me feel like it would be okay to do. And boy am I glad I did because he could have easily been 10 lbs had I gone to 40 weeks!

Last preggo pic. 

So we called the hospital at 6 am on his planned bday, and they said we had to wait until around noon. That worked out nice because it gave me a chance to take a nap since I hardly slept a wink the night before. Finally they called back and said we could come on in! We waited for my mom to come stay with Layla (it's so nice that she can leave work at the drop of a hat if she has to) and then we were off.

Last pic as a family of 3.
This is right before we left to the hospital and Layla was so sad.
Thankfully she's doing a bit better with the whole change now.

We arrived at the hospital around noon and they started pitocin at 1 pm. I was dilated to a 3 at this point. I got an epidural and it worked wonderfully this time; it didn't wear off at the end like it did with Layla. Ahhh, the blessed epidural! I swear pitocin is awesome, but it makes for some doozy of contractions! Finally, just after 6 pm, my dr came and broke my water. I was only dilated to a 3.5 at that point, which was a huge disappointment, but once my water broke, I went from 3.5 to 10 in under an hour! It was pretty much the same way with Layla ... I guess my body doesn't know what to do until my water breaks. Anywho, I was ready to push, he was right.there. But my doctor wasn't. I had to wait a good half hour at least for my dr to come back. I pushed for less than 10 minutes and our sweet baby boy was born. It was such a better experience than with Layla; I was much more relaxed, the epidural actually worked to the end, and it was just a lot more enjoyable.

He was born at 7:45 pm. It took a while for them to clean him up and stitch me up and do all the other things they have to do right after giving birth. I then nursed him, which went okay, but he's a lot more of a lazy nurser than Layla was. After that it was nearly 9 pm and visiting hours ended at 9, but I really, really wanted to see Layla. Thankfully the nurses said they wouldn't kick our family out so Mitch's parents, my mom, Layla, and Katie and Brandon came to see us for a few minutes. Layla was pretty indifferent about Marcus, but she did tell me several times that she loved me, that she missed me, and that she was glad to see me. I think she felt a little separation anxiety or something. Her little world has changed so much, but for the better as she's starting to realize. We gave her a "big sister gift" with some new games, puzzles, and a crown that says "Big Sister" on it.

First pic as a family of 4.
Layla put her hair clips in all by herself to "look pretty for Baby Marcus."

Mitch went home with Layla that night. We felt that would be best for Layla and at least that way Mitch could be well rested to help take care of us. The next day we had more visitors, this time including my dad and Brock and Natalie.

I was so happy when the dr gave me the option to go home after just 24 hours. I hate the hospital. It's great for things like giving birth, emergencies, surgery, etc. but I hate staying there if I can avoid it. Right as we were being discharged we learned that Marcus has jaundice. This really took my by surprise. I know it's quite common, but Layla didn't have it and he wasn't yellow at all (though he is a little bit now). They said his bilirubin level wasn't too high and that we could come home on the condition that we take him to his pediatrician the next morning to check his bilirubin level. That was quite the experience. I couldn't handle hearing him cry, so Mitch has kindly taken him to get checked by himself every day since while I stay home with Layla. His levels went up to 16, so they sent out some lights yesterday.
 
The first time we hooked him up to the lights I cried. And cried. And then I cried some more. Ha, ha. I know jaundice is so minor compared to what could go wrong, but it still made me so sad. I feel a lot better about it now that his levels have started going down so much. He has been under them for 48 hours and we're hoping to be done with them today, depending on today's test results. The lights are a huge pain the butt because it's a new system where he lays on a bed of lights and then we have to strap another light around his chest, which of course always falls off and involves dealing with a huge cord that come unplugged very easily. It's extra hard to nurse with that thing on him! But, we have to do what's best and we really want him to get better. I slept next to him in his room last night and I will continue to do so until we're done with the lights. That way I can put the stupid strap light back on when it falls off. Hopefully we'll be done with this soon, but I am very grateful that this is the only health issue we have to deal with, especially considering all that can go wrong with a newborn. We are indeed very blessed!

I'm feeling pretty good, just the usual post pregnancy things: incredibly exhausted, pain from the episiotomy, soreness from breastfeeding, all the fun stuff no one ever talks about. But, it gets a little better each day and hopefully I'll be back to normal soon. One day at a time. Sometimes I feel like I have it all together and I can totally handle two kids, other times I feel like I'm going to die. Ha, ha. Pretty extreme, I know. I had to fill out a form at the dr the other day. All I had to do was print Marcus' name, my name, sign my name, and write the date. I managed to screw all four things up. Talk about exhaustion!

I am so thankful that Mitch has two weeks off! He is such a help: taking MJ to get his bilirubin checked, going grocery shopping, making me meals, taking care of Layla, and still managing to work in the yard. What a guy. I would have gone crazy without him the last few days.

We've also had several meals from ward members brought to us, which is very nice of them and they have all been really yummy too! Our parents have both brought us dinner and visited which was nice and fun to have them over. We are expecting more visitors this week too. We are very blessed with great family and friends. Even our home teacher has been awesome; checking up on us and the other day he was on a walk and saw Mitch working on the trampoline hole so he went home, got a shovel, came back and helped Mitch finish.

Layla calls Marcus "baby brother," and likes to look at him, bring me things for him, and talk to him. She has only held him a couple of times; she prefers more to just look for now. Yesterday she and Mitch were going to walk over to the school to play on the playground. As they were leaving she said, "I need to go see my baby brother for a minute." Then she ran in the room where he was and told him that she was going to the playground with her daddy and she would be back to see him later and that he should wait right there for her. Then she waved at him and said, "Bye bye, Baby Brother, I love you!" So sweet!

I think Layla is adjusting pretty well to the baby. But man, she is still having her rough moments. She is the.most.particular.child I have ever known. If you call something the "wrong thing" according to Layla, like the nightstand a table, or the stool a chair, she gets SO upset and corrects you and it usually involves her crying. It's so frustrating. It's the same thing with her routines and the way things have to be done or said. It's mentally exhausting. Mitch said it's like dating the prom queen. Ha, ha. Layla keeps telling Mitch, "You always say the wrong thing." Poor Daddy, but truth be told, she totally gets it from him. From what I understand, he was just like that as a child. Thank heavens he grew out of it so there's hope for Layla too. :)

Layla and I baking a pie together a few days before Marcus was born.

Random Layla story: 4 days after MJ was born we were eating lunch and Layla asked me, "Did Marcus come out of your belly?" I told her yes, he did, then she stared at my postpartum body as I stood by the counter and she asked, "Is your lunch making your belly big?" Awwww, and I was feeling pretty good about my post baby body ...

Random Marcus story: I was changing his poopy diaper when he started squirming a bit. I looked up at his little face and it was completely covered in his own pee! Somehow he managed to shoot it directly at his face, missing his chest, me, etc. I felt so bad for him, but it was so funny at the same time! I was totally expecting him to spray me before he ever sprayed himself.

My sweet boy.

As soon as he is off the lights I plan to take a lot more pictures! But for now my focus is on taking care of Marcus, sleeping, eating, and sleeping. :)

Ready and Impatient

I really don't know how I managed to let Layla be one week overdue. I'm 37.75 weeks with Marcus and I am SO ready to have him come. Now.

Everything is ready and waiting. I'm keeping up on housework better than I ever have before (not that our house was ever really messy, just that I'm trying extra, extra hard to keep it spic and span). I made four different freezer meals and our fridge is stuffed full of food so I don't have to go grocery shopping for a while. My neighbors threw me a lovely baby shower yesterday (I LOVE our neighborhood; one lady came and brought me a gift and I'd never even met her before. Seriously couldn't ask for kinder neighbors.) My friends from our old ward are throwing me a shower tonight and I am looking forward to spending time with them; they are so much fun! My hospital bag is packed. I have a dozen people on speed dial who have offered to watch Layla when the time comes. Mitch has notified his work that he will be taking two weeks off whenever the baby comes. I think we're ready!

But, apparently the little guy isn't done cooking yet, so I will wait a little longer. Truth be told, I am really anxious about labor and delivery. I don't do well with hospitals, blood, needles, any of it. This time we're having our families wait to come to the hospital until after he's born. I think it will help me have less anxiety during the whole birthing process, knowing that there's no one waiting right outside. I won't feel so rushed. One less thing for me to worry about. 

Most of all, I'm just excited to finally meet my son! I hope he decides to come soon, mostly because I want to meet him, and also because I am so tired from waking up countless times in the night to go pee or painfully roll over in bed. If I'm going to wake up in the night, I'd rather have it be to hold and feed my sweet boy. 

Recently when I was at a weekly checkup at the doctor, I had to wait for a very long time because my dr was delivering a baby. It was raining that day and when he got back he told me that when it storms he usually has a lot more deliveries .... so, I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the storms this weekend will put me into labor, too. You never know, right? 

Celebrations

Mitch and I just celebrated our 6 year anniversary. Wow, time sure does fly when you're having fun! I can honestly say the last 6 years have been the best of my whole life and I made the best decision of my life when I decided to marry Mitch. He is the perfect match for me and makes me so happy.

We kept it really low-key this year, seeing as how I'm 9 months pregnant and all. I gave Mitch a bag of Kit Kats (one of his faves) and a little love letter I wrote. Awww, cute. Mitch gave me some pretty yellow flowers and a package of Double-Stuf Oreos (he totally knows the way to my heart). Layla spent the night at mi padres and Mitch and I had a nice relaxing time eating out and going to see a movie (Iron Man 3, which we loved). It was hard for me to sit through the whole movie, but we got a back row, aisle seat for me so I could stand up as often as I needed. It was worth it though because I have been so excited to see that movie and it did not disappoint. 

The next day I slept in, but Mitch got up pretty early since our landscaper dude was coming over. Thankfully he actually showed up and did a lot of the work, but he still needs to come back and finish. Hopefully soon. I was able to run a bunch of errands and even treated myself to a pedicure, which made my aching feet feel so much better! Mitch spent the whole day out in the yard, mostly starting the foundation wall in the giant hole we had dug for the trampoline. I'll have to take a picture, it's huge! Also, Mitch has almost finished the laundry room. The stands for the washer and dryer are in and look awesome. Now he's just going to add some crown molding and handles on the cabinet. Once it's done I'll take a pic and post it here. I love having such a handy hubby!

It was also Mother's Day this weekend. My family drove up here to celebrate on Saturday, which was so nice because car rides are so uncomfortable for me right now. We went to dinner at Rooster's and then came back to our house to open a few gifts afterwards. It was a nice celebration. I am so thankful for my mom. She seriously does SO much for me and my little family. She is always volunteering to help us out and always looking for ways to serve us. Sometimes I feel like I ask too much of my parents: we're always borrowing things from them, they're always running errands for us, giving us things, we lived in their basement for months on end while building our house, and I know they'd drop anything, anytime to help us out. My mom is a great example of looking for ways to serve others and asking how she can help. Also, she's super fun to hang out with and she has great fashion sense. :) I love you, Mom!

On Sunday, the actual Mother's Day, I woke up early to attend our old ward to hear two girls speak, whom I taught in Sunday School and are now leaving to serve LDS missions. Hayley is going to London, England and Shawna is going to Washington D.C. I am so happy for them both and know that this decision will impact their lives for the better. They both gave wonderful talks about prophets and apostles. Afterwards I found them both and wished them good luck. Shawna teared up a little and told me that my stories and testimony of serving a mission that I shared with my Sunday School class played a big role on her decision to serve a mission. Of course that made me tear up and so thankful, once again, that I chose to serve a mission. It has only blessed my life and I know it has blessed the lives of others as well.

Back to Mother's Day. Mitch made me a yummy breakfast of french toast, and he and Layla gave me some beautiful flowers and a gift card to a spa that I am looking forward to using. Oh, also when Layla slept over at my parents', my mom helped her make me a little gift. It's a paper heart with tissue paper squares glued all over it (remember doing that as a kid?) and a pic of Layla. It's super cute. I love it because you can totally tell which parts Layla did and which parts my mom did. 

After the farewell I came home and we went to visit Mitch's grandma who lives pretty close to us. It was nice to see her and give her a little flower. Then we came home, shoved some food in our mouths and headed off to church. They had the men substitute for the women so we could all attend Relief Society. That was nice and they also gave all the mothers a little pot of flowers. Mine are purple and I love them. After church Mitch's family came over and brought dinner. It always tastes better when you don't have to cook it yourself! It was nice to visit with them as well and especially not to have to drive far with my pregnant body, so I was thankful they came here. 

And, of course, Mother's Day leads me to ponder and give thanks for my opportunity to be a mom. I wouldn't trade it for the world. Mitch told me, several times, thanks for all I do as a wife and a mother, and I told him thanks because honestly, I couldn't have my full-time job as a mommy if it wasn't for his ability to work hard to provide for us. Every day of my "job" brings challenges, but it also brings lots of laughter, hugs, kisses, and love. My little family means the world to me and I can't wait for Marcus to join us and to become a mom of two kids (which I'm sure will be crazy at times, but good crazy). 

My favorite quote about motherhood was said in last General Conference by Elder Boyd K. Packer, "There are few things more powerful than the faithful prayers of a righteous mother." I have prayed so many prayers for help in my role as a mother. Because let's face it, I have no idea what I'm doing. I have received answers, guidance, and patience that I know have come from a loving Heavenly Father. And not to say that every day is easy or perfect, far from it in fact, but I can say that I know I have help from above when I need it the most. I couldn't do this without His guidance and I am thankful to know that He hears me and loves my children even more perfectly than I do. I am so thankful for my opportunities to be a wife and a mother!