»

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Announcing Jenna Mullen!

Announcing Jenna Mullen:
8lbs 11oz.,
born 7:40
on May 19th




Tues morning at 5:00am our alarm went off. I thought to myself, well, she didn't come, I guess we missed our last chance of having her come on her on. Then at 5:15 my water broke! The timing was great as everything was packed and ready to go and we were out the door by 5:30.

We were very excited and had a fun ride into the hospital as I wasn't having any contractions yet. Just as we turned in front of the hospital I felt my first contraction but it was pretty mild and pretty close to what I had been feeling all these last weeks. We checked in and the nurse was very annoyed I didn't have a photo ID. I hadn't brought my driver's license -- what, are there women out there trying to pull off fake deliveries? She did let me slip through the system and we walked down to our room.

Our nurse was awesome and we had a great time filling out paperwork and getting the process started. We saw our Dr at 6:30 and he informed us that although I had started labor on my own (mild contractions about every ten minutes or so) we had to go forward with the pitocin since I had meconium in my water and this meant the baby was showing signs of distress.

Let me (Ryan/Dad) interrupt now to bring you my side of the story. You think that baby was distressed? You should have seen me: I nearly fainted four times. When Mary Karlee got her epidural and was feeling the worst contractions that labor can throw at you, I was overpowered by the epidural scents and had to go sit down on the couch. And did any of the dozen or so trained medical staff in the room come check on me? No, sirree. It was a flurry of activity all centered around this baby and the woman delivering it. I felt (and the birth certificate application later confirmed) that I am merely a footnote in this whole story.

Back to me (Mary Karlee/Mom). So in went the pitocin at 6:50 and wow, labor really kicked into gear fast. Now the contractions were right on top of each other and growing in intensity. We opted for the epidural since I was scared of pitocin contractions and were assured the anesthesiologist would be in just after 7:00am. Things were getting a little rough on me and I got out of bed and started swaying. Ryan and I had watched a video to prepare us for a natural childbirth just in case, and we were glad we did! We worked through the contractions as we waited for the anesthesiologist. The man showed up at 7:20 and by this time I was moaning pretty loud. It was kind of embarrassing considering there were like seven Dr's and nurses in the room at the time. It was so hard to sit still for the epidural to go in, but I was dying for some relief.

Just as it kicked in, somebody checked me and shouted, "She's complete." The next thing I know they are pulling out stirrups and I'm thinking, "Hold on, I just got my epidural. Can't I relax for a minute??" By the way, the epidural felt soooo good coming on. My Doctor said, "We're stalling so your epidural can take effect. Let's start pushing on the next contraction." Ok. So much for relaxing. We pushed though about three or four contractions and then Ryan shouted, "It's a girl!" They threw that baby onto my belly and Ryan and I both laughed and cried as we saw our little girl for the first time.

I was amazed it was all over so fast and elated to be so "with it" while they cleaned her up. My memories from post Marielle's birth were of pure exhaustion and relief that labor was finally over. This time I just felt joy. However, I was slightly annoyed that they gave me the epidural. If I had known I was seconds away from pushing our baby out I would have just gone for it. Oh well, hindsight.

Jenna was born at 7:40am just 50 minutes after the pitocin came on. She weighed 8 lbs and 11 ounces. (One ounce lighter than Marielle, in fact.) She was completely healthy and her blood sugar stayed nice and even the whole day. I got to eat a breakfast of pancakes with cherries on top, orange juice, and fruit. Even though hospital food is horrible, I loved it! I tried to get a nurse to check my blood sugar later, but they all just told me the diabetes was gone. Jenna and I have both been eating like champs and feeling great since the delivery.

Jenna is such a sweet baby. She hardly ever cries, loves to be bundled up tight, and smells heavenly. Her skin is soft as a rose petal and I love kissing her smushy little cheeks. Marielle is excited to be a big "stister" and hasn't shown signs of jealously...yet. Ryan is of course the adoring father and is so happy that he was right all along. (He swears he could tell it was a girl on the first ultrasound.) We both love the sound of saying "our girls." We are already mixing up their names and can't wait to buy the first set of matching dresses. Stay tuned for a new header and possibly new blog address as this ain't just the MARIELLE SHOW anymore. :)

19 comments:

The Hamiltons said...

congratulations!! she is SO Cute!! I love the pics and I going to put in our blog those pics that I toke when Sherrie and I went to visited you.
Ben said that your daughter looks like Mica when she was born but with different color of hair :)
XOXO.

Sister Mullen said...

Welcome, welcome little Jenna. We're so happy for all of you. Sisters: matching dresses and lots of dollies and shared secrets... what fun. We're glad you survived Ryan. Take good care of all those ladies in your life. We're excited to watch both your little girls grow. Marielle, show Jenna all the things she needs to learn. Love, Uncle John & Aunt Jana

Alayne said...

Yay!!! What a great story! You a such a trooper (you to Ryan)! We are so excited to meet her. Oh, and Mary Karlee, you look absolute fabulous in the pictures; like you spent the day at the spa and not giving birth!!!

Cooper Squared said...

Congratulations! Can't wait to see your little bundle of joy! Alayne is right, you look great!

Quite Content said...

Congratulations!!! I am so happy for you! Sounds a bit like Sarah's birth. I am glad that you are doing well. I can't wait to see more pictures.

jenn said...

Thanks for the pictures of sweet little Jenna, can't wait to hold her for myself!!!

erica e said...

congrats! how great to have two sweet little girlies! she's a cutie and i'm so glad things went so smoothly and quickly for you! can't wait to see her in real life.

Anonymous said...

Had to laugh with Ryans comment - I know that Darin feels the same way. Congrats on another girl! It's so nice to know that there are all girl fams to even out my all boys. They gave me an epidural before they checked me too and I was 9 cms! I still had to push for 1 1/2 hours though so I was so glad they gave it to me! She's a doll!!! Have a great day! I always forget my password - so I am anonymous.....okay it's Heidi S.

123 checkoutourfamily said...

oh, how exciting to finally have her here. Man, you pretty much did it on your own sounds like. I'm surprised they gave it to you so late when you were that far dilated. I wish I would dilate fast. I'm sooooo sllllooooowwww. Congrats again!

The Nance Family said...

Congratulations, it's a girl! Crazy, right, so much for all the boy clothes- when's your garage sale :)! I am so happy for your girls, let me know what I can do and also if you need a dinner one night. Way to go Ryan!

Nathan and Sarah said...

Congratulations!!!! She is beautiful!

Pat said...

Congratulations!

The Dunhams said...

Oh, that is so great! Congratulations to the both of you. Jenna is darling.

Kate said...

Congrats!! How exciting! I felt the same way about the first meal I ate after I had Ellie--it was nothing special, but the carbs tasted SO good!

Can't wait to see more pictures! Enjoy that little bundle of joy!

Stacey said...

she's a cutie, congrats! love the name jenna. Mary Karlee I hope you are feeling great, and that your family adjusts well to having a new baby around. Ryan, be helpful and let your beautiful wife get some much deserved sleep:)

S+S said...

yay! Marielle looks SO PROUD to have a little sis.

MEB said...

Congratulations!

Kent and Char said...

Welcome little Jenna. What fun you will have with 2 girls. We are sorry, Daddy Ryan. You soon will figure out you will be outnumbered! What a sweet and beautiful baby!!
Love,
Char

James, Cameo, Jacob, and Eli said...

Congratulations!! I am so jealous you had such an easy delivery. I'm glad all is well. I think it is perfect to have 2 of the same gender in a row. It will be so fun for you to have 2 little girls!!