Peas & Love For Us

Ever since we played with chickens while care taking the Entrada Ranch near Moab Gary has wanted a flock of his own. So he decided this was the year. Ellie and Gary picked out 6 chicks to bring home the day we had to say good bye to Bada and Aunt Danielle. They lived in the house in a big box for almost two weeks. Now they are out in our shed in a homemade “box” with a warm lamp awaiting their coop. They are getting big now flying around in their wee space and chirping up a storm. Hopefully soon the weather will cooperate and we will get the coop-de-lux built. They have been fun and Ellie loves to check on them, feed them, and show them off. They are growing on me. I was expecting we would get 2 or 3 and was surprised with 6. I’m looking forward to fresh eggs. I love that they will eat up my kitchen scraps reducing the amount of garbage we contribute to the landfill. I also am thrilled for Ellie to have a hands on experience with raising chickens. There is much opportunity there for her to learn and discover. Wish us luck with our new little chicks.

It has been two weeks now and I really need to write this down before my inherited bad memory looses the details. We are slowly finding a new rhythm in our home and I’m taking small steps to go out and conquer trips to the g-store, park, library, ect. I have been lucky to have a lot of help from Bada, Danielle, and my Mom these last two weeks. They have helped ease the transition. Gary has been awesome as well paying special attention to his little girl and waking up to burp or change Owen after a middle of the night feeding frenzy. And my little Owen, oh my little Owen he is such a good baby, he is content and peaceful. He doesn’t like the car seat too much perhaps he is just protesting the shopping like all the other men in my life.  He is trying to find a rhythm. Our nights have been a little inconsistent but he has given us some 4 hour rest every now and then. He is a chow hound and grows every day. He may even earn his Dad’s nick name “Beach” as in beach ball here pretty soon.

So, on to the birth story. On Monday the 22nd of March I had my weekly appointment with our midwife Danielle. We learned that my body was getting ready I was 70% effaced and dilated to a 3. So we went home knowing that he was getting ready to come out. I was feeling good and wanting to get things done before the big arrival. Bada and Danielle flew in on Wednesday after a 6 hour delay in the Detroit airport due to bad weather. We got home and settled in for the night and slept well.

Around 5:30 am Thursday morning I rolled over and told Gary I thought I was feeling contractions. We laid there for a while waiting for Ellie to wake up and trying to time my contractions. I finally got out of bed to start my day and the contractions weren’t going away. I called our MW Danielle and she said to wait until they were about 7 min apart. So, I continued waiting it out and trying to do normal things while Gary and Bada kept a close eye on me and Aunt Danielle played with Ellie. Finally the contractions got stronger and closer and we called the midwife who said to come in. Gary took Adah for a quick walk that didn’t feel so quick to me. Then we got in the car and drove with a quick pace to the hospital.

Danielle checked me as soon as I got there I was dilated to a 7 and totally effaced so we walked down to the maternity ward and checked in. It was about 10 am by that time. Once we were settled in the contractions became stronger and closer. I was having some back labor so I sat on a big exercise ball, which helped a lot. Ladies if you have back labor use this! It opened up my hips and relieved some of the pressure on my lower back. My dear sweet husband also helped by massaging my back and applying counter pressure. At this point I was starting to feel a little weak and tired and whoosy. I was getting what I call tunnel vision. I think my body was telling me to start to focus.

Around 11 am Danielle recommended that we break my water to help things move along. When she broke my water she saw there was Meconium (Owen had had a bowel movement). So she called in a respiratory specialist to be there when I delivered. As soon as she broke my water my contractions became exponentially more intense. They were very powerful and overwhelming. I was having a hard time wanting to move. I laid on my side for a little while and remember gripping the bed very tightly. Danielle was right there with a very soothing tone talking me through it and telling me how good we were doing. She was very comforting.

After a few of these crazy strong contractions, Danielle began to tell me to bare down and not fight against them. She encouraged me to work with my body, so I turned on to my back and began to push. Gary was by my side encouraging me as well. He didn’t have to say anything he just had to be there and hold my hand. Which I couldn’t let go of. I remember at one point Danielle asked him if he wanted to change positions a little bit and he tried but I had such a grip on his hand and I couldn’t let go. At this point I was aware of everything going on and everyone in the room but I could not respond to anything. My body was in control. It was the closest I will ever be to an out of body experience. It didn’t take long at 12:18 Owen was born. He cried immediately which was a good sign the Meconium wasn’t inhaled. The umbilical cord was “loosely” around his neck and one of his arms was in an awkward position when he was exiting that all made it a little tricky, but he came out fine and was immediately put on my chest for skin to skin contact while Gary helped cut the cord. He was checked over by the respiratory specialist and cleaned up a bit soon after.

In all I was in labor a total of 6ish hours. I had no medicated pain relief and Owen came into our world with out incident. It was a beautiful empowering experience to have a natural birth. We were very fortunate that the “planets lined up” that day and no obstacles were put in our way. Owen nursed right away and was alert and so healthy. My recovery was relatively quick as well. I felt fine and had energy and a veracious appetite. Most likely some endorphins left over. We stayed one night in the hospital and came home the next afternoon after passing all our tests and receiving important visits from Ellie, Bada, Aunt Danielle, and Grandma and Grandpa McKenney.

Tags: Birth Story, Natural Birth, New Baby

Gary here…Guess it’s time to update the About page on Peas.

Danette is so strong. She was in labor for about 6 hours, and the delivery was 100% all natural with no pain medication, nothing. As with Ellie’s birth, I was in awe watching this process unfold.

Slide show below from today, starting with pics of us leaving the house this morning. More will follow in coming days.

Owen Greeley Marcoccia was born at 12:18pm on March 25th 2010, 7lbs. 15 oz.

3/28/10 Updated with a new slide show from a spontaneous photo shoot “Evening Light”

Tags: baby, birth, family

Oh how I love him let me count the ways. He super cleaned the house yesterday even the nasty smelly space under the sink where the garbage is stored.

Just a precious little moment captured at the the park. They put their arms around each other as they were watching the other kiddos play yesterday. As if to say “I’m glad your here your my best friend”. Jen and I watched with pride, giggles, and that warm feeling a Mom gets when she see something special happen.

Last week I bought a bottle of Bubbles for Ellie because she was so good for me at the grocery store. They were a hit and we have had hours of fun playing with them. She cracked us up the other night when she decided to start catching them with her mouth. She looked like a little guppy getting fish food. It’s so fun when the simplest of things can bring us together for a little bit of fun.

Yep, we are on 34 weeks now. Just had a midwife appointment and all is well, good blood pressure, good weight gain, measuring right on target, and a strong heart beat from the little fellow. I’m attempting to mentally prepare myself as well thinking about how I want the labor to go and facing what ever fears come and go. I would like to have a natural birth this time around with no Pictocin what so ever. I’m not saying I wont get an epidural I don’t think that I am super women but I think that the less medicated the labor and birth is the better. So I want to give it my best effort. I want to let my body do it’s job and I want it to be a beautiful experience.

Bada and Aunt Danielle have bought their tickets to come help support us and be here for Ellie. Hopefully we will get the timing right. I’m looking forward to having them here with us. My Mom, Dad, and neighbor Jen are on call in case the timing isn’t right.  I’m so thankful for the support system we have makes me feel very good.

In trying to prepare Ellie and I took a trip to the library yesterday. We picked up some books for Ellie about new babies and families. I also picked up some name books for Gary. He is starting to get stressed out about names. I’m not too worried it will come to us when we see the little fellow. I picked up some books on birthing. One book in particular we had a chuckle over last night it was a little dated and seemed as though some hipppie wrote it long ago. It had some really graphic pictures in it. That I kind of wish my brain didn’t take the time to process. You know the kind that make childbirth look like a horror show. It also had recommendations for conditioning and preparing for labor, like squatting and such, according to this book and the pictures your supposed to do all these exercise naked with the assistance of your partner who is supposed to be in 70′s style short shorts with white trim. Hmm… Also Gary read that I’m not supposed to sit in cushy chairs. My reply “Do you want to sit in a stiff hard wooden chair after a long day of carrying around an extra 25 plus pounds?” I don’t think so. Needless to say I took that book back to the library today.

Here is a few nuggets from Ellie. We all know she is a fan of Elmo and his songs and Gary and I are fans of Adam Sandler and his funny songs. So, when we saw the two of them do a skit on Sesame Street we were all very happy and it has resulted in this

“This is a song about Ellie” She plays the uke better then me!!!

Also, her new favorite spot for watching a movie

Last week Gary’s sister Sarah came out for a little visit and a ski vacation with her fiance Mike and our nephew Kevin. They stayed Monday to Friday and we had an awesome week with them. On Tuesday we all skied at Alta. Ellie took her first ride on the chair lift. She loved it and was in awe of the views, trees, and mountains. I skied two runs myself. Two was all I had in me though. It’s not easy when your carrying an extra 20lbs. But I will say it was definitely worth it. Ellie got right into it she was super excited and kept saying “go fast” and whooping it up. It was a thrill to ski next to her and Gary and watch her thoroughly enjoy herself with a big smile and wide eyes. Kevin is a fabulous skier and I think a natural athlete.  He did very well and we were pleasantly surprised by his good attitude. I wish I could have spent more time with him out there.

Gary was so proud of Ellie he had to buy this picture taken by Peak Photo on the mountain. It is a great shot and I’m glad we have it.

On Wednesday we took Kevin and Ellie to Soldier’s Hollow to go tubing. Kevin was very patient with us as he had to wait a few hours while Gary finished up some work before hand. Once we got there I think he had a good time and was running laps around Gary and Ellie.

I think Gary had just as much fun as the kids.

Unfortunately I didn’t take all the pictures I should have or wanted to. Sarah and Mike got away without even one photo for me. Dang. On Thursday everyone went skiing while Ellie and I had a chill out day at home. Then we all reunited for some dinner. It was good to visit with Sarah, Mike, and Kevin. Kevin was so sweet to Ellie he brought her some toys and helped her make a big tent out of blankets in her room. He is an expert at tent making. He was a good sport to hang out with us and play with Ellie. The visit was too short and I wish we could have had just a few more days to play. It did cure some of the winter blues that always seem to come around in February. Thanks to Sarah and Mike for coming out and bringing Kevin with you. We miss you a ton.

Tags: Alta, Skiing, Soldier Hollow

Gary got me a special Valentine this year. He knew that he would be down and out over the weekend due to getting his wisdom teeth yanked out. So he bought something that he thought would make me comfortable and cozy and made sure it would be here while we were in the thick of wisdom teeth misery so that I would have something nice to open. He said he over heard me talking about how great Ellie’s pj’s are with the footies in them and how warm and cozy they would be. They are great for the Wee Ones. They do sound good in theory, but…. In reality when an adult tries them on especially a pregnant women, well I’m not so sure.

I will admit they are warm and soft and cozy just like you would imagine them to be, just a bit snug for me right now… I love Gary for this gift it was thoughtful of him, and he was being attentive when he over heard me chatting about the qualities of wee pajamas.

By the way the wisdom teeth yanking has gone relatively well thanks to pain pills and tea bags. Our weekend was mostly spent like this…

With CNN or some other nonsense playing in the background. It’s hard to see someone you love in pain but he has been a trooper with a good attitude.  Even helped me move some boxes around as I took the opportunity to try to get the house organized this weekend. I think I’m in the “nesting” stage. I have some serious urges to get organized for the little fellows arrival.

We sent Ellie up to Grandma and Grandpa McKenney’s house this weekend while Gary recovered and I attempted to organize. The twins Coleman and Parker were spending the weekend with them as well. I think she had a good time hanging out with the boys. We are ready to get her back though and have our home filled with her presence. She was definitely missed.

We caught three good videos of Ellie being Ellie this week. She is so funny I love this stage where she mimics and repeats nearly everything and is trying so hard to grow up. It’s happening too fast really all that baby time with her is gone. She is becoming a “big sister”. I think she is going to be an excellent “Big Sister”.