This is more for my journal than for anything so if you are already bored then just skip this post. On Tuesday, July 20th, I had my last day of work and I was so excited to have a few days to just have to myself to get things done and finish up the baby's room. So Wednesday and Thursday I was able to run errands, watch TV, relax and do what I wanted. My parents came to stay for a few days and were prepared to stay longer if the baby came. Friday morning about 1:30 I woke up to contractions, just small ones. I had been having them for a while now so I wasn't concerned. But then I noticed some spotting so I woke dave up and said we needed to go to the hospital. I was really nervous and couldn't calm down but Dave was calm and said to just call the hospital to see if we should come in. The hospital said that if my contractions were 3-4 minutes apart then I should come in, well they were only 6-7 minutes apart so I tried to go back to sleep. Well all day Friday I was having contractions, which I guess you could say it was labor. I couldn't do anything but lay down, I had the whole day planned out to get stuff done and even take my mom to go get a pedicure, seeing as I couldn't reach my toes. Well everything was put on hold because of my contractions. Around 3 I was getting really tired and didn't know how much longer I could go on with the contractions, they were not that painful but it was taking a long time for any change. My worst fear was knowing when I should go to the hospital. I called the hospital one more time and they said the same thing. Mean while Dave, my mom, and my dad were doing major yard work and cleanup on our yard. I just had to sit there and it was killing me. After Dave got back from the dump we were going to head over to the hospital but we decided to wait a little bit longer to see if the contractions would get closer together. My parents went to get us some dinner about 6 and when they got back I tried eating Panda Express, my favorite, but was too nervous and had no appetite. Around this time, about 7 p.m. the contractions finally started getting closer together, and more intense. I told Dave that I was pretty sure it was time to go to the hospital. We got our bag, my pillow (best idea ever!!) and headed down Bangerter to Jordan Valley Hospital. Luckily we are only 2 minutes from the hospital and we got there quick because I was so nervous. We walked into the women's center and got checked in and they said I was dialated to a 3 and they wanted to monitor me for an hour to see if my labor progressed at all. So Dave and I hung out and watched TV. I was still so nervous and was not sure what was going to happen. An hour later the nurse checked me and said I was a 4 almost a 5 and that they would keep me because I was in active labor. I was so relieved. The contractions were getting more and more intense and the nurse (who was absolutely fabulous!!) said to call her when I wanted the epidural. Well I didn't know how long I could go and I didn't know how painful the contractions were going to get. She came in an hour later and I was a 5, about this time I decided I might as well get the epidural and not be in pain and enjoy the fact that I was going to have a baby. The epidural was not that painful (actually it was more painful to get the tape ripped off your back after labor) and afterwards I felt like I was in heaven. The staff were so nice and the anesthesiologist even helped get warm blankets and tuck me in my uncomfortable hospital bed. After that Dave and I talked about how scary and exciting this all was. Dave was pretty tired but the bed/chair there was not that comfortable for him to lay down on. About 10:45 the nurse came in and said the baby was being naughty and that his heart rate was dropping so they wanted to put me on oxygen. This scared me but the nurse assured me it wasn't anything serious but they wanted me to have oxygen for the baby. Well this meant that I couldn't sleep and was only focused on the baby's heart rate monitor and breathing in the oxygen so that the baby would be ok. About 11:30 one of the on-call doctor's came in to break my water, I didn't feel a thing. By this time I was a 7 and getting really excited to see this cute little baby. I tried to talk the nurse into pushing the labor along so that we wouldn't have a 24th of july baby but she said it wasn't going to happen. Dave and I wanted any day but the 24th of July because all his parties will have friends out of town during that time. But we realized we had no control. About 2 a.m. the nurse came in and said we were going to start pushing in about an hour. I was getting so nervous but really excited. I hadn't slept a wink but Dave was out. I just watched TV and kept thinking about this little baby in my stomach ready to come out. Well at 3 the nurse didn't come in so we waited and waited and at 3:30 she came in and said that she wanted to wait until 4. So dave got up for nothing but he was able to sit with me and calm me down while I was on oxygen. At 4 the nurse came in and said the doctor wanted to wait until 5 to start pushing because he was at another hospital but on his way. (my doctor was out of town, or course the one week he takes a vacation I have to deliver) So about 5 the nurse came in and said we were ready to start pushing. I didn't realize what hard work it would be to push even though I couldn't feel pain. The nurses were great and Dave coached me through the pushing. I pushed for about an hour and a half from 5-6:30. The doctor came in a few times and was great to coach me along. When he came in and put scrubs on I knew it was close. I was able to see little marcus's head thanks to the mirror that the nurse suggested I use so I could see the progress of pushing (Dave and I were dead set against a mirror but I would do it again in a heartbeat). When I saw his little head I could tell there was a lot of hair and I asked the nurse if that was in fact his hair and she smiled and said he has a lot of hair. I got so excited to see his little face and count all his fingers and toes that it encouraged me to push faster. Well at 6:32 as I was pushing the doctor finally said, "This is it, he's coming" and I was able to see him pull little Marcus out and put him right on my chest. Even typing this I get emotional. It was unbelievable to see this little baby right before my eyes. He looked up at me and I just cried. It was so amazing to see a little spirit that Dave and I had created right in front of me. Words cannot describe how I felt. I immediately started balling and so did Dave. We just could not believe how incredible he was. After that we kept saying how adorable he was. I was preparing myself for an ugly baby because most babies are not that cute when they come out. So I told Dave we would be honest and not say he was cute unless he really was. Well even the nurses could not believe how cute he was. He was so alert with his big eyes open just looking around. He sat on my chest while Dave and I just cried and cried over how perfect he was and how amazing the miracle of life really is. I will never forget that moment of seeing Marcus for the first time and realizing that he will be Dave and I's child forever and that he is a part of me and Dave. About an hour later as Dave and I were still just marveling over him we finally decided on the name Marcus. We wrote all the names on the white board in the delivery room, and then eliminated them as we said them out loud and looked at him. It came down to Miles and Marcus and he didn't look like a Miles to either of us so we went with Marcus and it fits him perfectly. So there is the long story, more for my journal sake than anything. I LOVED the hospital we delivered at and loved being waited on hand and foot and spending alone time with my little Marcus. He is amazing and wonderful and Dave and I will never be the same again.
We painted the ceiling white and patches the walls, the walls are still not perfect but a lot better than before and better than deciding to re-sheet rock.
We put up new baseboards that look amazing!
Here it is finished without the carpet
