Myka- day 1

 6/8- I woke up this morning and enjoyed some good snuggles with Miss Myka before the day began.  Couldn't resist snapping a few photos of her in my arms.  There's nothing quite like the quiet morning moments with a newborn.  Luke slept at home last night, so I was alone in the room, in the peace and quiet, staring at my beautiful girl.  These are moments I'll cherish forever. 

Our first visitors of the day... OUR BOYS!!   Boaz walked in with a present for his sister.  He was so proud and so excited to see her.  We called them at Grandma's house last night and I told him I had good news... that he had a little sister.  "Hooray!!! That's so great!"  I told him that her name was Myka and he gasped really big and told his grandparents "Oh, Myka!!"   I think he approved of the name... whew!

 Meeting his little sister for the first time. 

 Boaz was really really interested for abotu 3 minutes.  He wanted to see her cord (umbilical cord), her tummy, and her toes.  After he did the inspection and held her for a second, he wanted to explore the room instead. 

 Cainan was pretty intrigued by Myka.  He immediately wanted to give hugs and kisses- ones that were way too rough, of course!   :)

 Then Cainan decided it was more fun to flop around on the couch and explore the room, too.  Man, he seemed big today!!

 Our attempts at a family picture... good luck with that!!

 Meeting Grandma Bartlett... this is the first girl she's ever had in the family!  She grew up with all brothers, Ron grew up with all brothers, and she had two boys.  This girl stuff will be pretty fun for her, too!

 The boys enjoying a snack. 

 Say cheese, Myka!

 After the boys visited, we went on a short walk down the hall to see our friends Mark & Kris before they checked out of the hospital.  I hadn't been able to meet their little guy, Jace, yet.   We were excited to get a couple pictures of the two babes together!!   Jace & Myka

 Jace & Myka

 Mommy & Myka

 Uncle Justin....

 Great Grandma Shirley & Great Grandpa Jerry.  Today was Jerry's 84th birthday!!

 My sister, Katie, and her family stopped by as well.  Adrian was born just two months ago.  It will be fun for these cousins to grow up together! 

 Wondering why I left this crazy hospital hat on for these pictures??   Adrian & Myka

 Grandma Glace took off work early to come see us!!  I was so excited to have her here!  Just nothing like introducing a new baby to his/her grandparents. 

 The proud grandmas-  love them both so much!

 Grandma Bartlett had the boys for the first two days of our hospital stay, then they stayed at our place with my mom for the next two days.  It was fun to have the boys visit again tonight for the exchange.  Cainan really liked the new teddybear Myka got from Grandma Glace!

 Saying hello to 'Baby Girl' again.   (Boaz still calls her Baby Girl more than he calls her Myka)

 This is going to be the hardest part about having her around two toddler boys... they don't really understand the term 'gentle' yet. 

 Whew... what a day!  It was so fun to introduce Myka to some family today.  But now we're tired and ready for a good night of sleep!!

Myka is here!

 6/7/11-  Myka is here!!  Here's a recap of the eventful day...   (disclaimer... 2 of the pictures below are of her being born via c-section!  skim pictures quickly if you don't want to see it!)

I'd been having lots and lots of contractions the past couple of days and called Kim (my midwife) the previous night to let her know.  She asked that I come in Tuesday morning to get checked and we thought that if I'd progressed the way we thought, I might have a c-section at noon.   I got into the hospital about 7:30 and they proceeded to hook me to an IV and a monitor.  Got checked and was only at 4+cm.  (really thought I'd be 5-6)   Bummer!!  I was only 37 1/2 weeks along, so they aren't real eager to do a c-section (and legally can't) unless there is some real proof of being in labor.  They didn't want me to walk around and stir things up, but wanted me to lay there, hooked to fluids that would slow contractions down if I wasn't in labor, and see what happened.  My contractions always reduce when I lay down and rest, so I wasn't real excited about that plan.   Drs came back and checked me again about noon... and I had progressed to 5+.   They checked again about 3pm, and I had progressed a bit more.  I was really really wishing they'd just make the call and get this thing done!!  The triage room I was in was tiny and claustrophobic... and I'd heard just about enough about Anthony Weiner on all the daytime talkshows!  :)    At 5:00, after 2 hours of contractions coming every 2-4 minutes, they finally decided that I was indeed in labor and we were off and running!!!    Here's the wonderful room I spent 8 hours laying in....   Our friends had a baby the day before, so Luke was glad to run over to their room a couple times and get a break from this place!

 They wheeled me back to the OR at about 5:45 to start getting prepped for the c-section.  I've been praying for weeks that the spinal would go better than it did last time.  With Cainan, it took 4 different tries, my legs were kicking involutarily, it felt like lightening shooting down my legs, and they leaked spinal fluid.  I was begging for them to just knock me out.  I sat on the table this time and was seriously praying and pleading with God for this anethesiologist to get it right.  And he did on the first try!!  I wanted to cry and profusely thanked him for a job well done!!   Drs came in to get things situated, Luke arrived in his scrubs, and away we went!  Myka made her presence known at 6:12pm. 

 Here's our beautiful Myka Michelle.   (Michelle is my middle name) 

 Our lightest baby yet- by a pound!!    She weighed in at 8 lbs 5.2 oz.  She was 20 1/2 inches long. 

 Luke is so calm under pressure... I love having this man beside me during the births of our children.  Here's proud papa before we headed back to our room. 

 We got back to our recovery room a little after 7pm.   We decided that I was too loopy and it was too late for the boys to come and visit.  We had them do normal bedtime at Grandma & Grandpa Bartlett's and we'd see them in the morning.  My parents weren't able to come that night either, so we anticipated a quiet night.   We made a few phone calls to family and then sent out a couple of texts.  Luke was in charge of texting our small group... who just happened to be down the hall visiting our friends who'd had their baby the previous day!!  I told Luke they might as well swing by our room also and get two visits done while they were there... as long as they didn't mind me being totally loopy and out of it!!   :)    So- here are a few of our first visitors- and great friends!!    Shelby, Tim, (& their baby Tobias)...

 Kris (and Mark)... who just had their boy, Jace, the previous day!

 Mark, Jonny & Katie.   Katie is one of the most helpful people I know in the world.  She was getting me cool washcloths for my neck, water to drink, etc.   I sure do love my friends!   And friends-  I apologize for anything crazy I said in your presence 1 hour after surgery!!!   :)

 After they left, Luke and I enjoyed calling a few more family members and snuggling with our precious little girl.   A GIRL!!   I can't really explain it, but I definitely look at her a bit differently than I did the boys.   She is absolutely perfect in every way and we are so thankful to have her here and part of our family. 

 We love you, Myka!!