Arrival of the Princess!

Giving up roller derby, throwing up multiple times a day for 4 months, severe back pain for two months, bleeding a couple times during the pregnancy, all the fears of positive Strep B and low platelets....it was so worth it for this day, Saturday, July 31, 2010! In fact, the birthing experience was so incredibly amazing, I am ready to do it again!

Here I am at my most pregnant state. This is about 4:30 am as we headed up to the Center for New Life. Although I was a scheduled induction, I began having contractions the day before.

When we arrived they said my contractions were 5-7 minutes apart, but were not intense (yet). The only bad part to this day was that the nurses had a lot of trouble getting my IV started. In fact, it took 3 nurses 7 tries to be successful. And those IV needles hurt a lot! Today it looks like I am a heroin addict, with the brusing up my arms. Thankfully the NICU nurse (on her third attempt) was able to get it started so around 5:50 am we had Pitocin, electrolytes, and the antibiotics all going. They came and drew my blood, and about 30 minutes later we found out my platelet count was 106! Yay, potential for an epidural, by 6 points!!!!

Then we waited......

Around 9:15, I had still not progressed much so Dr. G came in and broke my water. The contractions really began to intensify at this point. After breathing through a couple rounds (I think Pitocin was about at 12), I decided to go ahead and take advantage of my 6 point lead and got an epidural. This was a totally different experience than the one I had when Nathaniel was born, it did not hurt when I got it and it completely took away the pains. I guess this is how it is really supposed to work - and it was fabulous! My hat still goes off to those of you who opt for a natural delivery, but to me, natural delivery means having a baby without putting your makeup on!

At noon the wonderful nurses came in and said I was 4-5 cm dialated but the baby was still high (-2 station). So I sent Ted out to get lunch for himself and my mom. At this point Mom (who is a labor and delivery nurse) began noticing baby girl's heart rate dropping. The nursing staff and my doctor came in and Ted made it back with lunch! They turned me and put an internal lead on the baby's head to pick up her heart rate, which came up nicely. It tended to drop only during contractions.

I was quickly dialating, 6 cm, 7 cm, anterior lip....and at 1:00 Dr. G said "start pushing". This is a wild experience when you cannot feel the contractions much, all it felt like was when I had to pee really bad. So I pushed for 15 minutes and out she came! It was awesome (quite different from the 1 hour 1 minute marathon, with intense contractions that I had with Nathaniel).

Daddy cut the cord.

Mommy got to hold her for a few seconds.

All the measurements were taken

She was 19 inches long, 7 pounds 5 ounces

And looks a whole lot like her big brother

The staff gave Daddy a hat with her tiny little feet prints on it.

She was very alert at the beginning, trying to take in all these new sites and sounds.

We spent a lot of time, just gazing at her beauty!

Then Nathaniel got to meet "baby Rissa". At first he was a bit hesitant but that quickly turned to excitement!

She ate and slept really well the first night. Nathaniel was more difficult and could not understand why Mommy had to stay. He was pretty upset about leaving Mommy and "baby Rissa".

The next day he was screaming down the hall "See Mommy and Rissa!"

Because we were doing so well, and she got all the antibiotics needed on board before delivery, we were released to go home on Sunday. However we had to make 2 major decisions....1) The name of the baby and 2) see pic below....if Ted was the biological or presumed father (what has society come to?)

We decided to put him as the biological father :)

And her name is officially Marissa (named after my grandfather, Maurice, who is one of the most amazing men I am blessed to know). Her middle name is Michelle (same as mine, which was Ted's choice).

Nathaniel was practically running to get us all home!

And life with two begins! We are loving it!

She is fearfully and wonderfully made!

She's Here!

July 31, 2010 is a significant day in the Yancy household. Marrissa arrived on the scene and Nate became a big brother.

We are not sure who is more excited, Nate or Mommy and Daddy.

Either way we are blessed with becoming a family of four.

She is perfect in every way and looks so much like Nathaniel did when he was born.

More pics to follow later, these are just some of my favorites so far.

Isn't she precious????

Last night as an only child....

At my last appointment, my doctor agreed to go ahead and induce me this week. So tomorrow we will head to the birthing center at 5:00 am. It is exciting....and a little scarry since I have no idea where my platelets are right now and there is the possibility of no epidural. I would rather not have to have pitocin or anything that makes contractions stronger, but I do want/need the antibiotics on board for her healthy arrival. So...here we go!

Tonight we decided to just have some fun with Naterbug since it is (as he knows it) his last night as an only child. This mysterious "Marissa" that we talk about is going to rock his world, in ways he cannot imagine. So we had the bright idea to take him out for ice cream (pictures will come eventually) - and he ate a lot.....and was pretty irritable the rest of the night.

We then went to a friend's birthday party where Nate was clingy and grumpy most of the time (great idea following the sugar overload!). And the fits continued well into the night. Bed time routine, which is usually a sweet time of singing, praying, and hugs and kisses ended up being screaming, hitting, and a horrible bloody nose. It was not at all how I envisioned my last night with him for a few days. And to top it off he just kept saying "No Mommy Go Bye-Bye" - which is not too unusual for him to say when I leave at night, but it was especially heartbreaking tonight since I will not be able to tuck him in for a few days.

Pray that this transition will be easier on him than tonight was and please pray for a smooth delivery! We will post more soon.

Gigi is here - everyone is happy!

Anticipating an early arrival of baby girl Yancy, Gigi came on the 21st to help with things. Being a labor and delivery nurse, this is a huge relief to Mommy....however, baby girl does not seem to want to come out. Regardless, it has been awesome having a personal maid, cook, and nanny around. We just hope the little one arrives before Gigi has to go back in a few weeks.

Saturday we went down to Galveston and took a ferry ride. I think this was Nate's first time on a big boat. He was a little intimidated at first, but quickly warmed up.

It was picture perfect. We fed the seagulls, saw dolphins jumping, and had a great time. Then we got to stop for ice cream on the way home.

And some freebie, random pics of fun around the house! I love these guys!

Mommys Pity Party

Monday night, my stomach started doing some strange things. I did not even think about how I never had to monitor my body, time contractions, etc. with Nate. Things were textbook perfect, my water broke so I went to the hospital then (thanks to friends who talked me into going and actually driving me there!). The nursing staff monitored everything for me. Well, I guess I was having Braxton Hicks contractions on Monday night. After several calls to my mom, and laying awake thinking of all the things I still need to do (clean my desk, get things organized) I finally fell asleep without further complication.

The next morning was my weekly appointment so I figured I would stroll/waddle into the office and upon examination the doctor would exclaim I was in labor and needed to get to the hospital. Things did not turn out that way, at all. The nurse informed me that I was positive for a bacteria (Strep B) and will have to have extra antibiotics and they will have to monitor the baby a little longer for any potential breathing problems, but she really made it sound like it was not a big deal. Then the doc came in and informed me that my blood platelets are lower than normal and I will have to have my blood drawn again and platelet count checked to see if I can get an epidural. She said it so nonchalantly....WHAT DO YOU MEAN TO SEE IF I CAN GET AN EPIDURAL???? With Nathaniel, I had a half an epidural (it only took on my right side) and I cannot imagine not having anything....so yeah, now I am freaking out! Then she informed me I was HIV negative (not really sweating that one at all) and the baby was in place. So two good things. Then came the pelvic exam....this is where I expect her to say "wow, you are already dilated to 6 cm, let's get you to the hospital". No such luck. The outer cervix is slightly changing and there is no dilation at all.

Boo.

Hence the pity party.

Please pray that my platelets go up, that she arrives safely, quickly, and is in perfect health. And that I quit worrying about all this that I have no control over anyway.

Go 'Stros!

Although they are not having a stellar season, we had a great time taking Nathaniel to his first Astro's game.

We joined the Oberts in rooting on the good guys....and they actually won!

But it was quite a nail biter

The guys at the game

The girls at the game...I guess, technically it was Marissa's first game too. Next time she goes, she will have a better view. (I am 37 weeks now, just a few to go).

All the excitement tuckered the poor kid out!

The Weekend of the 4th

We had a fantastic 4th of July weekend. On the 3rd, Mommy and Daddy had another amazing date (Mommy really can get used to this!) and went to see the musical, Wicked. It is the untold story of the witches of Oz. It was a great production and was thoroughly enjoyed - especially since this is probably the last time Mommy and Daddy will be able to get out for awhile.

Although we missed celebrating Gigi's birthday this year, with the rest of Mommy's family, we still had a great 4th of July with our church family. Of course, it was kid-palooza and so much fun watching them all run around. Thanks to the McMurrays for hosting this crazy bunch at their beach house!

Abby and Izzy

Nicole and Dillon

Avrey and Colton

Nate was able to experience a lot of firsts this year - he threw his first black cats at the kids and thought it was hilarious! Dillon did not care so much for the noise!

All the Mommies, and the older kids, walked down to the pier to watch the sunset. It was breathtaking.

And after the sunset, the fireworks, sparklers, and Roman candle wars began. Nathaniel loved the fireworks this year, each time some would go off, he would say "Cool".

Then the night ended with more food, extended time playing the slot machine, and eventually crashing out on the dog!

It was so fun!