Mayan's Birth Story

Mayan is almost 3 months old so it's about time I wrote this, while it is still fresh.
Disclaimer, this post contains many "womanly issues" if you don't want to hear it then don't read it.
If I could title my last few weeks of pregnancy I would call it "The Waiting Game". Lily was born 3 weeks early and in the back of my mind I always thought Mayan would come early too. My parents flew in from Charlotte 2 weeks before my due date and we all waited.
The day before my due date I went in for my 40 week check. My cervix had not dilated any more since my 39 week appointment. This was despite the fact that I had my membranes stripped and 12 hours of contractions for 5-6 minutes through the night. My doctor told me that the position of my amniotic sac was blocking Mayan from putting pressure on my cervix thus allowing it not to dilate properly. He said I should have gone into the hospital the previous week when I was in labor. He stripped my membranes again and told me to wait an hour and then go to the hospital.
I called Seth and told him to hurry home. He was working an hour away and had a crew of men with him, so this was not an easy task. He hurried as quickly as he could and while he did my Mom helped me prepare to go to the hospital. The whole time I was contracting every 5 minutes or so.
When I got to the hospital it was packed.It was about 1 in the afternoon. There were 2 women waiting in front of me and before I was taken back 2 more came. I knew that since my water hadn't broken I could be sent home. I was taken back into a room and checked again and I still had not progressed past the 3 cms I was at a week earlier. The nurse stripped my membranes again and told me she would check on me again in an hour. The nurse that hooked up the heart rate monitor put it on too loosely, so every time I moved (which is impossible not to do while laboring in a very uncomfortable hospital bed) Finally the nurse called my doctor and he told them to admit me and he would come to break my water. This was at about 245. They checked me again and I had only progressed to a 4 even though I was in active labor.
As my luck would have it, I got a "nurse in training" to put in my IV. She splattered blood everywhere and left a nasty bruise.
This whole time I was in the triage department of labor and delivery. There were no open delivery rooms at the time. I finally got into my room at about 430. The anesthesiologist was waiting there to administer my epidural.
The epidural worked wonders- at first.... Then my blood pressure started to drop.... and then it started creeping up my right arm and through my chest.I could not lift my right arm. Then the left side started to wear off... (which is what it did with Lily also)
At about 530 my doctor arrived and broke my water. I was still only at 4 cm. The next time he checked- over an hour later I was still at 5 cm.
40 minutes later I had alot of lower back pain and pain on my left side. This really worried me because Lily was born "sunny side up" (which is why I pushed for 3 and a half hours with her)and knew that lots of lower back pain could indicate that Mayan was face up also. My doctor came and checked me again to find that I was was 10 cm dilated and ready to push. 3 contractions later and Mayan was born. 6 pounds 12 ounces and 19 inches long.
Seth noted that she was blue and my doctor's response was "Don't worry- she's not an Avatar" I really liked my doctor. I again required no stitches. The nurses let us enjoy our little girl for a good while before they even took her to clean her up and weigh her. It was a very calm and relaxed birth. Nothing was rushed and I felt very peaceful. We were discharged within 24 hours of the birth. We wanted to get home in time to introduce her to Lily before bedtime.
Overall I would say it was a very easy birth. From the time the doctor broke my water to Mayan's birth was about 2 hours. My labor prior to that was painful, but not unbearable. It was all worth it for my sweet little girl.

The Backyard and garden

Here are a few pictures of the backyard. It was hard to get a good picture of the whole thing. We put in 22 tons of rock around the edges. 2 garden L shaped beds that are 12 feet long and 4 feet wide and 18 inches deep. We (well, they) also put in curbing and sod. The whole yard is set up on timed irrigation including lines laid under the rock for future plants. (Citrus trees are soon to follow) The garden is doing well. We have probably 80 tomatoes between 10 plants that are waiting for a little warmer weather to turn red. We also have several peppers. This weekend Seth also planted 3 different kinds of melons, cucumbers, yellow and green zucchini and way too much okra. Lily planted every seed this weekend. She loves being in the garden with her Dad.
The flower picture is one Seth asked me to take for specifically for Katie. It is from one of our Passion vines.

Easter in the Morris home

Yes I know it wasn't actually Easter, but for a few reasons (mainly that I thought it was Easter) we decided to celebrate today. Here are a few pictures of Lily's egg hunt... and my attempt at a pretty sister picture on the new grass. Overall a good day, except that I found out Lily is now the nursery bully... wonder who she got that from :)
Lily thought I had to take a picture of every egg she found. Note that she is wearing the same dress she wore last year for Easter. I would put a little link to it, but I don't know how and I still want to blog about our backyard.

this is how I found Lily the other day

I guess its a step up from the other thing she asked me to suck on this week.

baby smiles

Mayan is 6 weeks old today. She is still a very easy baby. (she is sleeping in her swing right now) She is smiling alot now. Her favorite thing is when Seth sings to her. She tries to sing along. She coos and even laughed yesterday. She is getting bigger every day. She has grown out of most of her newborn clothes. She is a little chunkier than Lily was at this age, but she still isn't really fat. Soon I will post about out backyard... it's finished, but the patio is still a mess, so I haven't taken pictures yet.

Mayan is one month old!

So I started this almost 2 weeks ago when Mayan turned a month old... Inlaws came, backyard got finished, Seth got in a wreck Lily with a double ear infection and pink eye... Mayan in her 6 week growth spurt. life happens... so here is what I wrote originally and someday I will write about the rest. In the mean time enjoy a bunch of pictures.

I can't believe she is already a month old. She is still a very easy baby. She still naps in her swing and starts the night out in her co-sleeper. she only nurses 2-3 times in the night. She enjoys her tummy time and focuses on pushing up on her legs. She still eats like a champ (except when she is gassy) She has a bit of a tough time in the morning, but she still doesn't cry- even when she is hurting. The only time she really cries is if you change diaper when she is tired and hungry or if I make her wait a long time to eat when she is hungry. Overall she is a very easy baby. Her favorite past times include: nursing, staring at her daddy and sister, smiling and peeing most times we change her diaper (which is why she is sleeping naked in my bed in some of the pictures)

Lily has gotten a little better. She isn't rebelling so much at bed time, but still just wants to watch tv in the loft most of the day (which I make sure to limit)She is enjoying having her grandparents here for the week.

Oh and to make everyone jealous I included a picture of the bacon wrapped mango orange shrimp my dear hubby made for dinner tonight :) I love having a man who cooks.

More pictures, including the blessing

Mayan is doing well. She still has some congestion and a cough, but is eating and sleeping pretty well. She is still a pretty easy-going baby. She is very patient and rarely cries. She is already obsessed with her daddy. She looks for him whenever she hears his voice and loves to stare at him. She will hold her head in the most awkward position to watch him.
Lily is slowly adapting to being a big sister. She adores Mayan, but is a little bitter towards me. She struggles with me not being able to get up and get her whatever she wants whenever she wants it. She often says "you don't need to nurse Mayan right now" or tells me to put her in the swing. She is finally over her sinus infection, so she is less grumpy now.
Yesterday was Mayan's baby blessing. We did it at our house (it was our stake conference) We only invited a few friends and some family in an attempt to keep the germs away. My mom got Mayan a beautiful dress and made her an adorable headband. Mayan kept herself happy during the blessing by watching Seth.
Today is my first day home with both girls. It has been raining all day. At about 1045 Seth called to tell me he wasn't working today ( because of the rain) He was at Walmart getting his oil changed and asked me to meet him there. I hurried and dressed myself and the girls and got to Walmart in about 40 minutes. When I walked up to Seth he was on the phone with his boss, who was calling him back to work to clean up a fallen tree branch. We got him for about an hour while the oil got changed and then he went back to work, where he remains now.
Sorry this post is so random, between Mayan's Sleep Apnea monitor sending off false alarms all night and her RSV (and just being a newborn in general) I didn't get much sleep. Here are a few pictures.