Our First Few Weeks with Marley Jeene

On Friday, December 11th at 1:45pm, Marley Jeene Morgan made her entrance into this world. She weighed 6 pounds 13 ounces and was 20 inches long. Marley has added more love to our family than I thought possible in the short 17 days that she has been with us so far.

I look like a zombie in this picture
because it was taken at 11:30pm the night before
Marley was born. I was 41 weeks and 2 days
pregnant and completely exhausted. But, for the
sake of remembering, I included
this awful super flattering picture.

I'm going to write out my experience at the hospital simply so that I have it written somewhere. If you don't like reading this kind of stuff, simply skip the next three paragraphs.

I was due December 2nd. My due date came and went with nothing to get excited about. I went to an appointment the next day only to find out I wasn't dilated any further than I was the week before. At my appointment a week later I was dilated a little more, but not much. Being already eight days late my doctor wanted to induce me. I was set to receive a phone call from the hospital the next day as early as 4:00am telling me to come in. That night I made sure my phone's volume was all the way up and set to an incredibly obnoxious ringtone (I am a really heavy sleeper). I woke up at 4:30am to the most awful sound, fumbled around for my phone, and answered it. It was the hospital and they wanted me there at 6:00am! I was so excited. After a shower and some breakfast, Derek and I headed to the hospital. My mom was going to meet us there a little later, and my dad was all set to drop Reece off with my sister-in-law.

We checked into the hospital at 6:15am and they started me on pitocin at 7:30am. The anesthesiologist at the hospital was scheduled to be in a C-section at 9:00am, so my doctor called and said that I could wait until the anesthesiologist was done with the surgery, but by then I might have progressed too far to get an epidural. So we decided to get it before he went into surgery. Getting the epidural was painless and easy, however it only worked on one side. My right leg was completely numb. I couldn't even lift it off the bed, yet my left leg felt completely normal. I still wasn't feeling any painful contractions, but they were about 3-6 minutes apart and I was dilated to a 6. My doctor got to the hospital and broke my water at 12:20pm. At that point I was dilated to an 8, and still not feeling painful contractions. But once they broke my water, the contractions came on strong.

By 1:00pm I was feeling full labor contractions all on my left side, while my right side was still totally numb. Marley's heart rate was dropping with each contraction and taking longer to recover than they like to see, which made my nurse wonder if the cord had wrapped around Marley's neck when the water broke. My doctor came back at 1:30pm (she had been in surgery for the last hour) to check on me. I was fully dilated, but Marley was still up really high. She hung around, watched Marley's charts, and told me to let her know if I felt the need to push. Five minutes and a few more contractions later, and I felt like I wanted to push. A few minutes later my doctor was gowned and had everything she needed to deliver the baby. After just a few short minutes (they didn't feel very short to me at the time) Marley was born! She had the cord wrapped around her body and neck. The nurses laid her on my chest immediately  and started checking her vitals. Because the cord had been wrapped around her neck her heart was having a hard time recovering. So they took her to a little table in my room to monitor her until her heart recovered. Derek stood next to her the entire time holding her hand. I loved that their first priority was getting Marley skin-to-skin and that when they needed to keep a closer eye on her they kept her in my room where I could see her. I was in complete relief once she was born. And when they laid Marley on my chest I was just in awe at how beautiful and perfect she was.

Me and Marley just seconds after she was born.

That night we had so many family members come visit us, it was wonderful! I loved getting to see them all and I love that they all got to meet Marley when she was less than a day old. Family is such an amazing blessing, and I count myself even more blessed to have most of our family members so close!

The bili-bed model Marley was on.

The next day we found out that Marley had jaundice, like Reece. We left the hospital that evening with Marley's bilirubin levels at a 9. The next morning when we took her to the lab to get her levels checked again she had jumped up to a 14.4. A company that provides in-home phototherapy for infants came to the house that night and brought a bili-bed for Marley to use. Essentially, it's a platform with a clear top that has ultraviolet lights that shine on the baby as they lay on it. There is a blanket that covers the top of the platform that has a sleeper sewn onto it, however the back of the sleeper is mesh so that the lights can shine through and be on her skin. Marley was on the lights from Sunday evening until Friday morning. It was a challenge for me because she was only supposed to be off of the lights when she needed to be fed, and they wanted her to be off the lights for no more than 30-45 minutes at a time. We couldn't just hold her and snuggle her any time we wanted. I felt like I was being robbed of the sweetness of the newborn stage. I was pretty negative the entire time Marley was on the lights, just waiting and waiting for her bilirubin levels to go low enough so she could be done with phototherapy. However, I realize how blessed we were to have her be treated in our home instead of at the hospital, that her bilirubin levels never got dangerously high, and that she handled being on the bed so well. She hardly ever fussed at us when she was strapped in there.

Once she was able to come off the lights I felt like I got to live the normal life of a mom with a newborn. It was so nice to be able to sit and snuggle with her for as long as I wanted! Marley hardly spent more than a few minutes in her swing or bouncer seat before Derek, Reece, or my parents went over to hold her. She has been spoiled with so much love!

  

We had settled on the name Marley a while before she was born, but we didn't settle on a middle name until just a few weeks before. We kept it a secret because we knew that we wanted to be able to tell our moms first once Marley was born. Marley's middle name is Jeene. Jeene is a combination of my mom's name (Jerri) and my mother-in-law's name (Dorene). You take the first two letters of Jerri and the last three letters of Dorene and you get Jeene! It was maybe an hour after Marley was born, and it was me, Derek, my mom, and my mother-in-law in the hospital room. We told them Marley's middle name and they both looked happy. But when we explained why we chose the name we did, they both got tears in their eyes. It was a really sweet moment. We love that this little girl is named after both of her terrific grandmas!

Marley is the sweetest little thing, and I can't imagine life without her! I love seeing Reece as a big sister. If Marley starts making any kind of noise, Reece rushes over, pats her cheek and says, "It's okay Marley, your big sisters here. She's right here." It melts my heart.

These two little beauties are my whole world. I love being their mom. It has been interesting adjusting to the demands of a three year old and a newborn, but I think we've found our rhythm. We love our Miss Marley!

Making Life More Joyful

This past month my Facebook feed has been flooded with statuses of gratitude. Some people find this annoying and complain that we should be thankful all year long. Similar to how some people find Valentine's Day a silly holiday because we should show love, affection, and appreciation to those we love every day of the year. While I agree with being thankful and showing love every day, I also think that these holidays simply serve as reminders for us. They help us to remember to show love. They help us to remember to be grateful. How many of us have a spotless record when it comes to remembering everything that needs done? I can tell you with absolute certainty that I do not. Remembering things is actually something I have a really difficult time with. Just ask Derek how many loads of laundry have been forgotten in the dryer. It's pretty bad.

As I was driving home from the store this morning I glanced down at the external temperature reading on the dash. It read 30 degrees. Yet that didn't bother me one bit because I was inside my car, with my seat warmer turned on, and the climate control set to a perfectly comfortable temperature. I didn't have to walk home in the cold because I'm fortunate to have a dependable car. I had a smile on my face because I have been blessed with a funny, smart, and sweet little girl who loves to sing and says the funniest things. And it made me think of all the statuses I've been seeing this month, which reminded me of all the things I have to be grateful for. My car, my daughter, my husband (who fixes said car when there's something wrong), and employment (which allowed me to go to the store and get what we need for our family). My list could go on and on, and tonight I plan on making my entry in my journal full of the things I am so grateful for. But in that moment, driving home from the store, I felt incredibly happy. I felt fun, light, and joyful.

"There is one thing we can do to make life sweeter, more joyful, even glorious. We can be grateful!" 

-President Dieter F. Uchtdorf 

We can live every day with gratitude in our hearts. It is this Thanksgiving season that has helped remind me, once again, that being grateful is one of the greatest things we can do. Our lives can truly be joyful, even though we once again forgot about the load of colors that are sitting in the dryer waiting to be folded. And we can make our lives sweeter, more joyful, and even glorious by remembering (or at least doing our best to remember) to be grateful every day.

As this Thanksgiving season ends and we come into the Christmas season, it reminds me of how grateful I am for my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I give thanks to Him and to God for all of the blessings in my life. 

"That ye contend no more against the Holy Ghost, but that ye receive it, and take upon you the name of Christ; that ye humble yourselves even to the dust, and worship God, in whatsoever place ye may be in, in spirit and in truth; and that ye live in thanksgiving daily, for the many mercies and blessings which he doth bestow upon you."
Alma 34:38

11 And it came to pass, as he went to Jerusalem, that he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee.

12 And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off:

13 And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.

14 And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed.

15 And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God,

16 And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan.

17 And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine?

18 There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger.

19 And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.

Luke 17:11-19

36 Weeks

I am now at the point where my doctor's appointments are every week. I feel like I just barely transitioned out of the monthly appointments, and now here I am with weekly appointments. You know you're one of the regulars at the office, when:

1. The receptionists have been calling you by name for the past couple of months.
2. You and your doctor have inside jokes.
3. You know the names of the medical assistants, the nurse, the RNP, and the receptionists.
4. You recognize two or three other expecting mothers who are often at the office at the same time you are.
5. You no longer get confused trying to find your way to the front desk upon leaving your exam room.

My pregnant belly really pops once I hit around 32 weeks. Now, at 36 weeks, I feel HUGE. My maternity shirts aren't loose anymore, they actually fit. What?! What is that?

I'm not sleeping very well at night. If Reece wakes up and needs help in the bathroom any time after 3:30am, I will be awake for at least two hours afterward trying to fall back to sleep. I'm constantly waking up because I'm no longer comfortable. And I'm having really weird dreams that keep waking me up.

The other night I had a dream that I looked down at my hand and my wedding rings were gone. Then, I tried to find Derek and couldn't find him anywhere. And then all of these random guys kept coming up to me, proposing, giving me a ring, and demanding that I marry them. I refused because I desperately needed to find Derek, but kept getting so angry because he was nowhere to be found and my hand was full of these awful engagement rings from all of these awful guys. What spurred that dream? No idea. But it was frustrating! My heart was pounding when I woke up, but I breathed a sigh of relief when I looked over and saw Derek sleeping next to me. My dreams have been especially terrible this pregnancy, making it even more difficult to get a decent night's rest.

But, I have to say, my favorite thing right now is being able to go out in public in sweatpants and not have people give me funny looks. Don't get me wrong, I go out in public in sweats even when I'm not pregnant, I just get funny looks from people. Looks that say, "Jeez, doesn't she have the time to put on real pants?" Anyways, when I go out to the store now in sweatpants, people don't look at me like that! They see my giant, pregnant belly and immediately they understand why I'm wearing sweats. Because let's be honest. No pregnant woman can stand jeans for much longer than an hour or so once they hit 32-36 weeks.

Life has been a little crazy lately, but I love Friday nights. And while I love the night once Reece is in bed, I get the most joy out of being home with Derek and Reece. Seeing them play together and just being together as a family brings me more peace than I ever thought it would. Yes, there are those wonderfully joyful times when Reece is in the throes of threenager-hood, but most of the time being together as a family is everything I need it to be. I am so excited and anxious to see how our family grows and changes with the addition of this next little girl.

Four more weeks!

Carving Out the Time

I had always heard how important it is to make the time to spend with each child. I completely understand and agree wholeheartedly that one-on-one time with each child is incredibly important. I have yet to experience the need to do this because I'm currently pregnant with Morgan Baby #2, so I have had all of my spare time available to Reece. And I feel as though I have been spoiled with how much one-on-one time I have been able to spend with her. 

The age difference between Reece and her little sister will be just two months over three years, which seems to be longer than most age differences between siblings among the young families that I know. I will have had over three years of time where it has been just me and Reece. Granted, after she was born, Derek and I did finish up our last two semesters of school as both students and full-time employees, so there were many demands on our time and attention. My point is: I have gotten to spend so much one-on-one time with Reece, and I love it.

I haven't had to "carve out time" to spend with her. Since I graduated with my Bachelor's Degree, I have been a full-time stay at home mom. It was a big adjustment for me, but I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world right now.

Reece helped me make some treats tonight for the missionaries in our ward. It was an incredibly simple thing, but it made me ridiculously happy. 

She stood there and helped me sort out the candy corn; she helped me unwrap all the Hugs; and then she helped me place the Hugs on the pretzels. It melted my heart to see her standing on that stool and very carefully placing the candy. She's growing up too fast and she just has too much cute for one little person.

And even though she will almost never make a normal, happy, smiley face for me when I try to get a picture together, I still love her guts.

Kitchen towels make the best skirts, didn't you know?

And here she is, smiling proudly with the finished product. Should I be hurt that she'd rather smile with a bunch of salty, chocolatey, candy corn goodness than with me? Nah. It just goes to show that she's mine!

Oh, how I love this little girl. She is my world. I'm ready to add another beautiful little lady into my world come December. But it's going to be a new thing for me to have to carve out time just for Miss Reece. I'm hoping and praying that we both make that transition smoothly, because we only have 5 weeks left! 

Reece Turns 3!

Reece is three. She turned THREE YEARS OLD. It's crazy to me that my once little tiny newborn baby is now three.

Isn't she so cute? And she's only gotten cuter over these three years.

We started her birthday with the opening of a present. It was a new outfit that she could wear for the day. After we opened the present, got dressed, fixed hair (just how she wanted it), we went to Fred Meyer to get donuts and chocolate milk! That was her requested breakfast.

After she finished her donut and chocolate milk, we went to the park to meet up with Grandma Jerri, Courtney, Piper, and Cooper. The kids played and played and played, and then we stopped and had a picnic lunch together.

These two kill me. They play together so well and are two little peas in a pod. Even when it comes to taking pictures, neither of them can muster up the desire to give a smile. They're still too cute for words!

The sun was really bright and was shining right in their eyes, thus the matching poses where they're shielding their eyes. The park was a lot of fun, but eventually it was time to go home and move on to other things.

When we got home Reece got to choose a movie to watch. I popped her some popcorn and she happily sat and watched Big Hero 6. While she was watching her movie I baked her birthday cake. It was my first time making a funfetti cake from scratch, and I had so much fun! Reece loved that I was making her a "sprinkle cake". I am no professional cake decorator, but I was fairly proud of the final product! Reece loved it, and that's what most important.

We had macaroni and cheese with green beans for dinner. Reece would live her entire life eating nothing but macaroni and cheese, apple slices, and grapes if I let her. But I don't. Meanest mom ever, I know. After dinner we had family come over and we got the party started!  

I didn't get any pictures of the birthday girl being sung to and blowing out her candles, but I know that my mom did. I'll have to snag those pictures from her phone. The party was wonderful, Reece had a blast, and most of all I think she loved having her family there with her. Grandmas, grandpas, cousins, aunts, and uncles are the best!

This picture was taken after the festivities, so I had already changed into my sweats. I can hardly stand to wear jeans for a few hours at a time any more. Yay pregnancy!

Reece is a sassy smarty-pants and she's too cute for her own good. She makes my days brighter by filling them with love and laughter. Reece Averie, Mom and Dad love you so, so, so much!

Our Perfect Fourth

I don't know why I haven't blogged about this yet, but I'm pregnant! And expecting another little girl around December 2nd. I'm currently 34 weeks (will be 35 tomorrow), and it just occurred to me today that I haven't blogged a single bit about this pregnancy. I had more time when I was pregnant with Reece, probably because this time around I have Reece to chase after and take care of.

When I got the positive pregnancy test, I was excited and a little nervous. My pregnancy with Reece was so easy.

I never got any morning sickness.
I was able to stay really active with my exercise.
Overall, there were no complications. It all just went so smoothly that I was sure I was in for a really difficult pregnancy this time around. But so far, it has all been fairly similar!

I haven't had any morning sickness.
I've been able to stay quite active with my exercise.
No major complications!

There have been a few differences:

I started to swell a lot earlier (I said goodbye to my ankles weeks ago).
I felt achy in my joints earlier.
My headaches have been worse this time.

Other than that, everything has been really easy! This little girl is just as active and punchy as Reece was. She really likes to stretch into my sides, and it HURTS. She has been head down for the majority of the pregnancy as well, so any squirms or stretches always, always, always push on my bladder. If you want to know discomfort, try having your bladder pushed on from the inside. Super fun.

The little peanut at just 8.5 weeks. She has always measured small. At this ultrasound they estimated that, according to her size, she was 6 days later than my clinical due date. So if I had to guess when she will be born, I would guess December 9th. But she could surprise all of us and come earlier than that. 

The top picture is Reece at 27 weeks, and the bottom one is this second little lady at 20 weeks. If you look you can see that they both have top lips that stick out father than their bottom lips. Reece's top lip was never bigger than her bottom one, so it makes me wonder if she was just sucking on her bottom lip, and maybe her little sister does the same? I'm not sure. But it was so fun for me to see that image on the screen at the ultrasound and instantly recall Reece's 27 week ultrasound and see the similarity.

18 weeks

21 weeks

22 weeks

24 weeks

28 weeks

32 weeks

I cannot wait to meet this little girl and see what she looks like! We are so ready to add another sweet little person to our family. She will be our perfect fourth.

"Caught"

It was an average day full of laundry, cleaning, and chasing around my crazy, and totally awesome, child. Reece was in her room looking at books while I was putting laundry away in my room. I usually despise putting away laundry. I don't mind the washing, drying, and folding part. But when it comes to putting away the laundry that I've taken so much time to wash, dry, and fold: Torture.

On this day, it wasn't so bad. My mind was filled with thoughts of someone I love very much and a trial they were going through. As I walked to my closet to hang up some shirts, I felt impressed to say a quick prayer for this person. So I got down on my knees and prayed silently to my Heavenly Father. As I was almost done, I heard Reece call my name and start walking to my room. My instant reaction was to hurriedly close my prayer and stand up. I can't remember what it was she needed, or what question she asked me, but I do remember what I felt. I felt silly! I laughed at myself. Why did I feel the need to hurry and finish praying so that my daughter didn't "catch me in the act?" What would have been so wrong about that?

I've never been someone who is all that comfortable praying in public. I am more than happy to say a prayer at church if called upon, but I can hardly ever muster up the courage to raise my hand when volunteers are asked for. But that doesn't matter. I want my children to see me living my faith. I want them to see and feel, through my actions, my faith in our Father in Heaven, my faith in the power of prayer, and my faith in the love that our Heavenly Father and Savior have for us. I want them to see me living my testimony! And even though this moment from months ago was a small thing, it has stuck with me, and I think I will carry it in my heart forever.

Perfectly Clear

Have you ever had a moment where your life seems to come into a perfect and clear focus? I couldn't sleep last night. Among all the tossing and turning, my mind was constantly running around with silly, pointless thoughts, making it even more exhausting trying to find restful sleep. And then as I was laying there, feeling the kicks and punches from baby girl number two, I looked over at Derek. An unstoppable smile spread across my face and, as school-girlish as it sounds, my heart started to pound.

This picture melts my heart.

My mind filled with thoughts of my little family, all the fun things we had done this weekend, and all
of the good memories we have already made. I thought of the excitement, joy, stress, sleeplessness, and headaches that will come with another little lady being added to our family. And it all just felt so right. It was a moment that reaffirmed to me that I am doing what I am supposed to be doing.

Being a mom is rough. Really rough. You love these little people with everything you have, even on the days when they get mad at you, yell at you, and do everything they know they shouldn't. It is mentally, emotionally, and physically exhausting. But as I laid in bed last night, it all made me smile. I'm sure being a mom is going to get even more exhausting come December. But you know what? I know that this, being a mom to my precious and crazy girl (soon to be girls), is what I am meant to do. Yes, there are other things that I do that aren't directly connected with being a mom, and yes, they still make me who I am. But being a mom is the biggest part of me right now, and it will be for the rest of my life.

All of this flooded my mind within thirty seconds. It was a rush of happiness and peace. It filled me with gratitude for everything I have been blessed with. At that moment my life came into a perfect and clear focus. And I wish I could say that afterward I settled into my bed and fell right to sleep. But I can't. And that's okay, because I get to hang out with this beautiful girl all day and hug my husband when he gets home from work.

Life is good.

Trip to Oregon!

Derek and I took the first vacation, just the two of us, since we had Reece. It was so good to just be us again. It had been so long since we'd been able to spend real time together between him working weird hours with his funeral home job, to then getting in to school, continuing to work for the funeral home, and then his internship during the winter... needless to say, it was good to not have a busy schedule and have time to spend together.

It was so much harder to say goodbye to Reece than I ever imagined it would be. As we were hugging her to say goodbye, she was cheerful and happy saying, "Bye mom! Bye dad! Have fun!" And I'm walking as quickly as I can to the car to hide the tears running down my cheeks. I cried from the moment I was in the car all the way until we got on the freeway. In Reece's two and a half years of life the longest I had been away from her was less than 18 hours. Leaving her, even though I knew she would be completely happy and so well taken care of, was so hard on me. As we were rounding the corner just after my parent's driveway, Derek turned to me and said, "You wanna go back and get her? I do!" We both missed our crazy little monster!

Our first stay was at Starfish Point in Newport, Oregon. I found this place as I was browsing Groupon one day looking for fun places to stay. It looked kind of old and worn down on the outside, but the price was great and the pictures they had of the inside looked pretty nice. So I booked us there for two nights. It was so nice! The condos were secluded, and there was a path down to the beach specifically for guests of Starfish Point. Everything inside was really nice, and I loved having a full kitchen so that we didn't have to eat real "vacation food". My favorite part was the giant soaking tub upstairs. I love to take baths. They're basically my answer for everything. Feeling stressed? Take a bath. Have a headache? Take a bath. Need some time to yourself to relax? Take a bath! I love baths. So this tub made my heart stop.

The main downstairs area had the kitchen, eating area, living room, a full bathroom, and a bedroom. Up a few stairs there was a little landing with a couple of chairs set up that had an awesome view of the beach. At the top of the stairs was a loft-style master bedroom, with this gorgeous tub! There was a window just on the other side of the bed that had a direct view of the beach. We left that window open at night and we could hear the surf all night long. I love that sound. And I love that I got to wake up to views like this:

Amazing. It was so beautiful! On our way out of town on Wednesday, we stopped at the Yaquina Head Lighthouse. It was really cool! I've always thought lighthouses were neat. We walked around, climbed on some giant rocks, saw tons of seals, and tried to see a whale (didn't happen).

Our next stay was in Astoria, Oregon. The hotel we stayed in was right on the Astoria Riverwalk Trail, or something like. It was basically a long, paved trail that went right along the river. Our first night there, we walked down to a restaurant for dinner. The next morning, we got up, exercised in the hotel's workout room, had breakfast, and rented some of the complimentary bikes at our hotel and rode on the riverwalk trail. Then we got ready and went down to catch the Astoria Riverfront Trolley. It was this 103 year old trolley car that ran up and down a section of the trail. The conductor and the engineer on board were both volunteers, and as we enjoyed our 50 minute ride they gave us a history of the town and of the buildings we were seeing. It was pretty cool! 

We got off the trolley at one end and walked to a pizza place for lunch. The pizza was great, and I just enjoyed getting to sit and talk with Derek without any distractions. We caught the trolley on the way back and rode back to our hotel. The next morning was our last morning in Oregon, so we went to the Pig'n'Pancake for breakfast, and then left for home! 

It was a little sad to know that we were going back to real life, but we were both SO excited to see Reece. We had missed her like crazy! My parents were awesome and sent us pictures of her each day and we did a Facetime with her each night before she went to bed. We are so grateful for wonderful family members that helped make this trip possible. It was so fun, and we needed this vacation!