Marin's first stroller ride

Well, Marin and I survived our first day alone, with Daddy back to work. And, to christen the day and test my sense of humor, Marin went through 2 outfits and 3 onesies by noon. :)

Yesterday was also Marin's first stroller ride! It was an unusual 54 degrees yesterday afternoon, so Marin, Norah and I went for a quick walk to the park. Marin slept the whole time, and Norah showed her little sister her love of chasing squirrels. And I enjoyed the fresh air!

Here are some pictures (yes, of COURSE I photographed it!).

Boy Crazy

Boys, boys, boys.

If you have been reading my blog since the beginning (thanks mom!) then you may remember me talking about all of the friends that our lucky baby would have. We know 10 people (plus us) who have had a baby since the middle of November! How fun for Marin to have so many little people to grow with.

Of the 10 people that have had babies, 8 of them have been boys! Marin's little cousin Camdyn was one of the two girls, and a girl that I work with had a little girl in January. But other than that we have been seeing blue!

I grew up with a lot of boys too. And, although I was very girly, I learned to love to play spy and kick the can. One day I'd be throwing a tea party for my dollies and inviting my mom, and the next day I'd be playing in the mud with Stephen across the street.

Here are a few of these baby boys! We are so excited for our friends!!

Baby Ryan Lucas- Our friend Kelly and Tim's darling baby!

Cutie Charlie Robert- with Meg, Rob, and proud sister Madeline!

Sweet Colin Patrick! Our friend Mia and Ryan's little fighter!

Joel Michael- our friends Mike and Becky's big guy! (meet Marin for the first time here)

Cooper Michael- our friend Jess and Mike's baby- shown here with our great friend, (and his proud Auntie), Joey

Adjusting to our new life

Of the adjustment to a new baby, a family friend of ours said to me the other day, "It's a whole new life." How true that is. Jason and I are living an entirely new life. It's a wonderful new life- but when baby made three, our new life began indeed.

That being said, we are adjusting well. Jason has been off of work for the past 16 days, and it has been fabulous having him here. I think I am just as thankful for the paternity leave perk of his job as he is. It has been such fun for us all to be together as Jason and I get to know Marin and she gets to know us. Jason goes back to work tomorrow, and it might be a whole different story then; when at noon I announce that I am hungry and neither Marin or Norah rush to make me a sandwich (or clean up afterwards).

It's funny how we learn on the fly, and we learn so much in one day that when I look back to just last week, it seems like an eternity ago. Nursing was a tough go in the beginning. Now, I can nurse Marin and play rope toss with Norah at the same time. We joke that since I'm the milk truck, Jason is on waste management duty. The guy can change a diaper in the dark with his eyes closed. And 16 days ago he had never changed a diaper in his life.

I now have confidence that when we put her to bed at night, she will still be alive in the morning. In fact, I know now that when we put her to bed at night she will be awake (and hungry) two hours later.... and then two more hours after that.

Marin is truly a joy. We love her little coos. She really seems to be a pretty good baby so far. She only cries when she wants something, and then Jason and I persist in trying to figure out what it is she needs. It is usually either that she's hungry, she needs her diaper changed, she wants to be held, or, making her daddy especially proud- she has gas.

I love to look at her. We do a lot of staring at each other these days. She has the funniest little faces and is just too cute (this coming from her mother, of course). :) It is amazing to me to look at her and see Jason or myself. She has my crazy long toes and narrow feet, and Jason's mouth and perfect ears. Mostly, I love to watch Jason with her. The way he picks her up and whispers, "Hi beautiful!" to calm her. It is no secret that I think my dad hung the stars in the sky, and I am so glad that Marin will have that with her dad as well.

So yes, it is a whole new life. And it is undoubtedly the biggest adjustment of our lives. But we are adjusting to our threesome well. Even Norah is crazy about her little sister. For the first time, I think I can actually do this. :)

A world forever changed

Mine. Marin Jane has forever changed my world. Life is good.

Molly did a great job of keeping everyone updated on Marin's entrance into the world. It was a very special, very long, very tiring, great day!

I'll make a long story short and just say that the epidural was my friend. Any woman out there who has ever endured labor without it should be sainted. End of story. It was the best relief I have ever felt. Anything that can allow me to bring a child one step closer to this world all the while playing Skip-Bo, is a wonderful thing! After the epidural, the day was a relative breeze.

I had amazing nurses and doctors and received the greatest care while we were at the hospital- both in labor and after. My doctor had been on vacation in Los Angeles and just made it in time for the delivery. Literally, he came straight there from the airport, threw a smock on over his street clothes, and was ready in time for the final push. He hasn't missed a delivery in almost two years. I felt badly for the doctor on call in his practice- another amazing doctor who had gotten me that far, and then watched the rest from the sidelines.

The moment I saw Marin was obviously a very emotional, overwhelmingly exciting moment that I'm not sure I can quite describe. I couldn't believe she was here. Jason and I are SO incredibly in love with her. In ridiculous amounts of crazy, indescribable love. We think she is the most beautiful, most wonderful litte person ever. We think she is just perfect.

Since I have met Marin Jane and gotten to know her little personality, I can tell you my life will never be the same. I can't believe that I ever lived a day without her. I can't believe that one week ago she wasn't here. She has made my life so much more in just one week. And, by the way, I loved life more than the average person before she was born. It is like when you are a kid and you are totally content with the 32 box of crayons. You have lots of options. Lots of colors in your box that other kids don't have- Mango and Peach Supreme, Lima Green. And then one day someone hands you the 64 color box with the pencil sharpener in the back, and you don't know how you ever colored a page without Pacific Sunset and Golden Marigold. Marin has colored my world. She has changed it forever.

More updates to come as I get the time.

Marin Jane

Here she is: absolutely perfect!



















My work here is done!

Love you little Marin,
Auntie Molly

It's a...

GIRL!!!

Marin Jane
7 pounds, 12 ounces

Here's a pic of Jas after he told us!!

Getting closer...

The nurse is setting up for the delivery. I can't believe there will be a baby in this room soon! Everything is blue... I wonder if they know something we don't?!?!

The waiting game...

Jason's dad has arrived from Decatur, so we're definitely ready for the baby to come now! Jo's doing great - she's such a trooper! The doctors say its going to be another hour or two before the baby comes...

The gang's all here...

The baby fan club has arrived! Now we're only missing one - the baby!

Broadcasting live...

Ok, maybe not live, but as close as the hospital’s wireless policy will let me get :)

Guest blogger here: it’s Molly.

So I completely lost my cool when I got the call from Johanna that she and Jason were headed to the hospital. But you all will be glad to know that Jo and Jason are cool as cucumbers. Check back for pictures and updates!

Update

Just a really quick update... My doctor's appointment went well this morning. I am still 2cm dilated, but I am 50% effaced. What does that mean? Good question. ;) They tell us it means that things are progressing well and that it could be any day now. We just have to wait for that one tipping point that will put me into active labor. The waiting is BRUTAL.

The good news is that I am ahead of the game. Apparently very often women are not this far along when they do start having regular contractions, so that might mean less waiting in labor for the baby when he/she does decide to come and meet us. We'll see...

The baby's heartbeat is still really strong and regular, so he/she is happy in there, just chilling out not wanting to come out in this cold weather, maybe. :)

And so.... we wait.

All my bags are packed; I'm ready to go!

Not leaving on a jet plane... just ready to go to the hospital and have this baby!!

No baby yet. When I went to the doctor last Friday I was 2cm dilated and partially effaced. I go again tomorrow and will post an update with any new news.

In the meantime, we wait. We are both getting quite anxious and I am organizing anything in site. The other day I "offered" to clean out Jason's toiletry drawer in the bathroom. I thought I could find just the right spot for his new razor blades if only we could go through the other "junk". He wasn't as thrilled at the prospect as I. :)

I also feel like we need to clean out our car inside and out. It is so covered in salt we can't possibly bring a baby home from the hospital in that dirty thing, right? Jason graciously obliged by suggestion, I'm sure all the time secretly thinking, "The baby won't know the difference, Johanna."

My dad always used to tell my brother and I, "Idle hands are the devil's workshop." Perhaps that is why I am having trouble just sitting back waiting for this baby to come. Of course, it could just be because I am crazy in general. :) Either way, we are SOOOO excited to meet this baby!

We'll let you know what we find out tomorrow!