Tis the Season

It truly would be impossible to recount all of the wonderful details of our Christmas...impossible and probably a little boring for you guys!  I will say that we had an awesome time hanging out with family--Stephen, Michelle, Mom, Dad and Mumsie all came to visit and it was amazing!  Here are a few pics of the visit...

                    

 

One of those weeks...

So, I don't think I would be exaggerating to say that last week was the week from, well, um...not Heaven.

It started with Monroe coming down with a cold and me soon following.  Her cough and congestion seemed to get worse and worse and I decided to stay home on Tuesday so we both could rest and hopefully start feeling better.  I started getting worried about her and ended up calling the pediatrician.  I described her symptoms and they didn't seem too worried, but they said they would see her, if I thought her cough sounded deep.  I took her in and right away they did an RSV and H1N1 test.  They came back negative for both, which was a relief, but her symptoms were so similar to RSV, that they decided it was a virus almost identical.  They sent me home with a nebulizer and I was instructed to give her breathing treatments every 4-6 hours.  They also wanted to see her back the next afternoon.

I decided to keep her home on Wednesday as well.  She didn't improve and at her appointment the doctor decided to admit her to the hospital.  I guess the highest an infants breaths per minute should be is 40, and she was at 70!  This of course brought back all the memories of her in the NICU and I went to pieces.  I hated the thought of going back, but we packed up and headed to Florida Hospital South.

They didn't have any Ped's beds available, so they had us go to the Emergency room.  The pediatric ER is brand new and pretty snazzy, to say the least.  While she was there, she got a chest x-ray and the respiratory therapist administered a breathing treatment and suctioned her nose (which she HATES).  Finally after a few hours of waiting we were wheeled up (Yes, I had to be taken up in a wheel chair!  They gave me the option of being wheeled up with Monroe in a bed or in a wheel chair...I went with the latter.)  to the Ped's Unit on the 14th floor.  The 14th floor is actually not the Ped's permanent floor, but only until the Disney Children's Hospital is finished.  The 14th floor is actually for VIP's so the rooms are huge and the TV's are VERY big:)  They told us that we both could stay and we had a little couch that made out into a bed.  I'd love to say that this little bed was super comfy, but I would be lying.  It was horrible, but it didn't really matter, because Monroe woke up every 10 to 15 minutes anyway, so we didn't get to sleep until 4 ish:)   Poor little thing.  Mark ended up going to work and I hung out at the hospital all day. Throughout the day her breathing seemed to improve, but she seemed to get more and more listless.  They said it was normal.  I did get to watch the Hannah Montana Movie, which I had been dying to see, while Monroe slept:)   They discharged her around 5 pm.

Since then, I hadn't seen much improvement, until yesterday.  She had another Dr.'s appt and the Dr. said she felt the congestion was mainly in her nose now, instead of her lungs.  She was starting to get an ear infection, so she prescribed her an antibiotic (the pink medicine...my favorite as a child).  She is supposed to continue with her breathing treatments for awhile. 

The best part is that Monroe is starting to smile again!  I am so happy.  I would try and try to get her to smile during this whole ordeal and she would just stare at me blankly.  Before she got sick she would smile constantly, so to see it starting back, makes me joyous! Especially since my family is arriving today!

Stephen, Michelle, Mom, Dad and Mumsie are all flying in for Christmas.  what a treat!  I can't wait.

So anyway, that's been our last few days.  Our bosses, have allowed us to work from home half days this week, so that we can keep Monroe at home.  I work the morning shift and Mark works the afternoon.  That has been such a blessing.

Through this whole thing, I really started to realize how blessed we are.  It is so easy to get down on your life when things like this happen, especially when they affect you financially.  I mean we already paid (a non-refundable) $1,050 for Monroe's daycare this month which she hasn't attended two weeks of, I stayed home and wasn't getting paid because I used up all of my PDO on maternity leave, and we had to pay for a hospital ER trip and Dr's visits.  For a second there, I started to get overwhelmed, especially with the Christmas presents to buy!  I took a step back and realized that there are so many others that have it soooo much worse and are as up beat and happy as can be.  I have a wonderful, loving amazing husband, a beautiful little baby, a roof over my head, food to eat and family that love and support us!  Can it get any better than that?  I think not.  Merry Christmas!  I love you all.

p.s. I finally sent out Christmas Cards today.  I guess I should call them Holiday cards, because they will not be arriving before Christmas:)

Weekend Update

I swear this weekend flew by!  I can hardly remember it all.

Mark usually picks little missy up from daycare, but on Fridays, I do because I get out early.  It was so fun to see her little smiling face, all ready to go home.

We got home and were able to relax and play a little before I had to start baking cupcakes for the Annual White Elephant exchange at the Ellis'.

The party was a blast!  The food was yummy and the company was oh so entertaining.  The highlight of the evening for me was trying on a long blond Hannah Montana wig on Monroe.  She was sleeping through it all, but it was pretty hilarious.   

I went home from the party with a Paris Hilton cd:)  Yes, you read it correctly...Paris Hilton.  Mark got a game, which I am excited to play.  

We got home and crashed.  I guess the week had caught up with all three of us.  On Saturday morning, we had the "Reindeer Run".  It's a 5k that benefits the Girl's and Boy's club of Orlando.  I had planned to walk the race with Monroe, instead of run this year, but realized the night before that no strollers were allowed.  So instead, we waited with Tasha and Colton at the Finish line.  It was a fun time.  We were very proud of daddy and enjoyed cheering him on. 

Later that night we had the Tacky Christmas Sweater party at the Ducketts.  What a fun party.  Those Duckett's really know how to have a good time.  The games were fun, the food and snacks were so good, and I hadn't laughed like that in a long time.  I am very proud to say that I won the Tacky Sweater Contest!  I had some VERY fierce competition.  I mean there were even sweaters that lit up!!! Actually, Mark had the second most votes.  The Murrill's brought it!  Monroe too had a tacky outfit, but she preferred to nap in the guest room.

There was a white elephant exchange there as well. I had made it through the whole thing with a Starbucks giftcard, but the last person stole it and I ended up with toliet paper!  I was so bummed.  I had my eye on the Glee Soundtrack and this Scrabble card game I had been wanting.  Then after it was over, the guy who got the Glee CD, asked if we could trade!  He had no idea how magical the cd was and figured he would use toilet paper more.  I traded, no questions asked!  Then, if my night couldn't get any better, the fellow who had won the scrabble game, told mark he could have it if he gave him his Christmas tie...you know the one that was pictured earlier?!  He gladly handed it over and the Murrill's pretty much had the best night ever!!!!

Sunday was pretty low key.  We did a little Christmas shopping and went for a walk at Cranes Roost.  Monroe and I both have colds and we crashed pretty early.  So that was pretty much our weekend!  I hope everyone is well.  I can't believe that Christmas is only like 12 days away and I haven't even started on Christmas cards!  I apologize to everyone.  Man, motherhood has truly slowed this girl down!  I used to be so on top of things.  Oh well, it's worth it:)

Great Christmas Songs

I am always looking for good new Christmas songs.  I really love these three.  They have great lyrics and the tunes are pretty catchy as well.  I hope you enjoy! 

Crying for a Christmas - Scott...

How Many Kings - Downhere

The Night Before Christmas - B...

A labor of love...part 2

Continued...

The nurse anesthetist came in to administer the epidural and that's when my tears started.  I don't know what exactly set it off, but I couldn't stop.  I was really scared at this point.  Luckily I had the best birthing coach in the whole world, Mark.  He stood right in front of me and tried to make me stay focused.  Finally as that was done, they decided to go ahead and move me to a real L&D room.  I was wheeled across the hall and the nurses and CRNA all helped move me into my new bed.

I was now feeling pretty sleepy.  My body felt all tingly and warm from the epidural and I decided to take a little nap.  Mark was starving and went to get a bite in the cafeteria.  At one point the fetal monitor stopped beeping and both Terri and the nurse kept moving my body from the left side to the right side trying to get it back.  It wasn't working and they started getting worried that Monroe was getting distressed and they had to end up giving me oxygen.  At that moment, Mark walks back in.  He left with me sleeping and he came back to me crying and wearing an oxygen mask while Terri and nurselady nervously worked.  He looked very concerned, but things settled down and my contractions continued to progress.

In some cases the epidural can cause intense itching.  As most of you know, I suffered from crazy itching the last month of my pregnancy, and this only intensified it.  They gave me benadryl,but that didn't seem to help.  My epidural started to wear off and I decided, that instead of making the itching worse, I would try to make it through, without pushing the little button to administer more.  The contractions at this point were getting harder and I could really tell that things were getting close.  Terri checked me and found that I was at a 10 and she could feel Monroe's head.  It was time to start pushing.

Now, because we were a little delinquent to some of our birthing classes, we missed the one about breathing while pushing.  Oops!  It turns out, I'm no good at it.  They kept saying,to take a big breath and hold it.  Every time, I would take a big breath and then let it out, instead of hold it.  They got a kick out of it, but it was like my brain really wasnt working anymore.  I finally got the hang of it and after about 20 minutes of pushing Monroe Mary-Jean Murrill arrived at 10:57pm!  Mark cut the cord, which he hadn't been so sure about doing until then.  He really was a trooper through the whole thing.

Seeing and holding your baby for the first time is the most amazing thing in the whole world.  The little person that was growing within me for so long now had a face.  When she laid her on my chest I couldn't help but cry.  I truly was overcome with gratefulness.  Mark was just as excited as I was.

We were so surprised when the nurses seemed concerned.  To us she seemed perfect.  They said that she had a grunty cry which meant there might be something wrong with her lungs.  They whisked her off and we were left questioning what had just happened.  I was so tired and my itching had gotten worse.  It was a hard night because we didn't find out until around 3 or 4 in the morning what was even going on with Monroe.

We found out that her little lungs weren't all the way developed since she had come early.  They had to give her surfactin so her lungs wouldn't collapse and put her on a breathing machine.  Then the combination of the two created a hole in her lung.  It was so hard to see her on all the machines.  It was also hard to leave the hospital and not have have your baby.   It still makes me sad to think about, but she's a trooper and about two weeks later, she came home.  What a blessing and relief.

So, there you have it.  There is the story of Monroe's birth.  I hope you enjoyed this very thorough:) account.

A labor of love...Part 1

I realized the other day how abruptly my pregnancy blog came to an end.  The last entry was August 24th and we had Monroe on the 25th.  It all happened so fast, that I never really got a chance to tell you all about giving birth to Monroe.  My Pregnancy Blog

Caution: The tale to follow is not for the squeemish.  I am totally open and honest about the whole thing!  Just telling ya!

When we left off...my parents had come for a visit and were leaving that day (which was a Monday).  My induction date was scheduled for the next Monday.  I had gone in for my Dr.'s appointment, and Terri had done an exam, hoping for a little thinning of the cervix, so that my induction wouldn't be so hard.  Well, she found that I was dilated to a 2 at that point.  That seemed super exciting to me, but I knew that a person could sit at a two for weeks.  Later that day, I did lose my mucous plug (i know that sounds disgusting, but it's what happened).

Well, anyway, that night we had some friends over for dinner and throughout all of dinner I was having contractions that were about five minutes apart.  I really started thinking it was the night, but I didn't want to be the lady that has to be sent home from the hospital because of false labor.  I got on the internet and found that if the contractions go away if you lay down or change position, then it is false labor.  So I laid on the couch, and sure enough, they went away.

The next morning, I felt fine and realized, that it must have been a fluke.  Around 9am, the contractions started back, but I had a hard time timing them.  They continued throughout the morning, and into the afternoon.  I calmly told my boss, but told her not to get excited, because it was probably nothing.  She had me call Mark's boss that works in my building (he used to be a Med. Tech) and ask him how to tell if you were going into labor.  He told me I probably wasn't, but really needed to start timing.  I called another friend, who had just given birth a few months prior, and she gave me the same advice.  I started writing down each time the contraction started and by around 4pm I realized that they were consistently 4 minutes apart.  I called Terri (my midwife) and she said to come on in for an exam, just to see what was up since I work just a few minutes away from their practice.

After a quick exam, she was surprised to find that I was dilated to a 6!  She told me to go home, get my bag and meet her at the hospital.  This was a shock to say the least.  I hadn't even packed a bag yet!  I asked her if I could go back to work and finish up a few things there.  She told me I had 10 minutes there:)

I called Mark and told him the news.  He seemed so flustered.  He cracked me up.  He headed home to start packing for the both of us and I ran back to the office.  I told everyone goodbye, changed my voicemail and my out of office reply on my email, and I headed out.  I think everyone was as shocked as I was.

After I got home, I helped Mark pack up.  It was so hard to think clearly of what I needed to bring.  We tried our best to remain calm and stay relaxed.

It just happened to be rush hour on our way to the hospital:)  Oh well...it gave us a chance to call/text/facebook anyone and everyone with the news.  Monroe was about to make her appearance!

We got to the hospital around 6pm.  I guess all the babies got together and decided August 25th would be a great day to make their entrance, because the hospital was at capacity in the OB wing!  They actually put me in a storage room for the first few hours:)  Well, "storage room" sounds much worse than it was.  It was a former patient room, that had been changed over and used for storage.  I changed into my gown and hopped into bed.  I make it sound like I was so light on my feet at 38 weeks pregnant:).  I think actually Mark had to help me get into bed:) Terri arrived, I met my nurses, and they hooked me up to all the monitors and the whole process began.  To be honest, I think the worst part of the whole night, was getting my IV.  The nurse had the hardest time and kept having to stick me again and again.  Then blood shot out all over my arm.  

I was dilated to a 7 when I arrived at the hospital and my contractions were coming strong. They were strong, but nothing like I had seen on TV.  I thought I was going to be yelling and screaming and wanting to hurt people.  It was more pressure than pain at this point.  Terri told me that she was going to be breaking my water.  I had never really thought about how they break people's water until she pulled out this horrible looking metal hook.  I have to be honest, this frightened me, but although it kind of hurt, it wasn't that bad.  The bad part was the amount of fluid that came out.  Terri said she hadn't ever seen that much amniotic fluid.  It just kept flowing and it continued flowing periodically for the next few hours.  I had to have my linens changed 5 times and my gown changed twice.  Sitting in amniotic fluid made me itch more and made me start to shake from the cold.  They had to get me blankets because my whole body was shaking so badly.  Mark thought this all was pretty amusing:)

They gave me pitosin to help speed up the process.  Terri stayed with us the whole time.  It was so nice because we just chatted and I got to learn all about her family and her career.  I was dilated to an eight now, and I was feeling the contractions, but they weren't killing me.  I felt a little like super woman.  I remember thinking, "What's all the fuss about? Having a baby isn't hard."   At this point, I looked at Mark and said with confidence, "I think I can do this without an epidural".

Literally two second later, I had the worst contraction ever.  I looked at Terri and said, "Let's see about that epidural."

 I didn't realize how long this story is...I'll give you a break and continue this later.

A Christmas Quandary

Okay, I think I am probaby the only person in the world who hasn't even started Christmas shopping yet.  I am horrible!  I don't know how I will finish in time.  I had all of these grand ideas of making many people's gifts this year.  I figured that I would have all of this free time when I stayed at home with Monroe, but sadly I had none.  And now that I have started back to work, I want to spend all my time with Mark and Monroe when I get home.  

We did go shopping last night, but all we came away with was sweaters for the Tacky Christmas Sweater Party we are going to on Saturday night.  We thought it would be super easy to find a really tacky one at goodwill...well, we were mistaken.  I guess everyone and their brother wanted one of those sweaters this year, and we literally could not find one..NOT ONE!

We didn't give up, of course.  You see we have been doing some major trash talk with the host of this shindig as to who will come with the tackiest sweater.  We had to find something!  So we changed our strategy and tried some other stores  that we thought would probably carry holiday sweaters (Walmart, Kohls, Ross, TJ Maxx, Burlington Coat Factory, JC Penny's, Macy's).  Can you believe NONE of those stores had any?!

We ended up finding some at Dillards but they were $40!  We are competitive, but not THAT competitive.  There is no way I'm spending $80 on a Christmas sweater I will never wear again.  Just when we thought there was no hope, we tried Sears.  Lucky for us, they had an array of Christmas attire, on sale.

We purchased our items and were headed on our way, when we came across some lovely christmas brooches!  We purchased a nice "Christmas Cat" brooch to adorn my lapel and tried again to leave Sears.  We had almost made it out the door, when Mark found the most amazing Christmas tie ever!  I've never seen anything like it.  The cashier must have thought we were completely nuts as we kept coming back with these "interesting"items.  Oh well!  We'll have to take some pics the night of the party in all of our Christmas glory:) For now, you can gaze in awe at these amazing Christmas finds.

The Amazing Christmas Bulb Tie

The lovely cat brooch that will adorn my sweater.

The two Christmas Sweaters (left one: mine right one: Mark's)

I started working on Monroe's Christmas sweater tonight.  It involves bells, white fur and a glue gun.  Yikes!

Anyway, I totally lost track of what I was thinking at the beginning of this blog.  I haven't gotten any Christmas presents.  Part of me just really wants to forget all about presents and just focus on the amazing gifts God has given us this year.  I feel so blessed to have such a wonderful family.  I truly couldn't ask for more!  Monroe has really been the icing on the cake:)

Here are a few pics we took of her tonight.  She must have woken up on the wrong side of the crib today, because she's been a little cranky.  But even her cranky, is so sweet:)

Brag Book

So, I have to admit...part of the reason I am doing this blog is to have a better place to post pics of my sweetie, Monroe. I think people get annoyed with the constant uploading of pics on Facebook, so I needed a place that I knew was a safezone from all of that pressure. So here are a few taken this past week. Enjoy:)

Smiling on Daddy's lap

Sugarplum Fairy:)

Meeting Santa for the first time.

Pondering life

Something's Missing

One of my favorite poems as a kid was by Shel Silverstein, called "Something's Missing".

I could explain it, but it will make more of an impact if you read it for yourself.

"I remember I put on my socks,
I remember I put on my shoes.
I remember I put on my tie
That was painted
In beautiful purples and blues.
I remember I put on my coat,
To look perfectly grand at the dance,
Yet I feel there is something
I may have forgot—
What is it? What is it? …"

Above the poem was this picture...

I thought this was hysterical then, and to be honest, I still do today. (Yes, I have the sense of humor of a 6th grader.)

During my pregnancy with Monroe, I kept a blog and had such a wonderful time doing it. It was a great way to keep all of our family and friends up-to-date with what was going on in our lives and also was the perfect way to document the whole experience. I realized the other day, that I missed doing it. I loved writing my blog every few days. It served as an outlet for me--a way to express my creativity, if you will. I guess I felt a little like the guy in the poem...missing something. I needed to start a blog.

So here it is. It will be a little different now. No pregnancy pics or morning sickness stories, but I can share all about new momhood and how the light of our life, Monroe, is growing and developing.

Anyway, so here is my new blog. I hope you enjoy. Love ya!

Steph

Picture and Poem by Shel Silverstein.