A baby story...

We got to the hopital bright and early at 6:15am

I got all comfy in my bed and was induced around 8:00am

one last shot in all my pregnant glory

Maddie's artwork for the delivery room

Things to do while in labor: read emails, eat popsicles, flash peace signs, talk to mom, kiss husband.

Speaking of husband... let me share a funny story.

I chose to be induced this pregnancy in order to insure that Brent would be there. Many of you know that his commute is a grueling 5 hour round trip daily, and the thought of him missing the birth of our last;) child, was hardly an option that I could imagine, and so we scheduled an induction. We even chose a day that would mesh well with his work schedule, allowing him to miss days that would be less important etc. Keeping that in mind...

I was induced around 8:00am. Historically my babies come fast. Maddie in 6 hours, Brody in 4. Expectations were high that things would go fast and smoothly. I got my epidural early this time, before I was even having contractions; I would say cramping is more the word. I didn't ask for it, but didn't turn it down either (obviously). After getting it, I stayed dilated to a 3... for 4 hours!! i was totally kicking myself, thinking that I slowed down the labor by getting it early. Everyone, was picking on me, that I was "taking forever." Talk about pressure... even my sister was calling from Las Vegas every 10 minutes telling my mom how depressing the number 3 was turning out to be. So (in their boredom apparently) around 12:45 everyone decided to go to lunch (Brent, my mom and Brent's mom) leaving me in the room alone to sleep.

At 1:10 I awoke to a sharp pain and felt as though I needed to push. Only problem was, I was just checked and was a 3..and there was no one there to tell! My legs of course were numb from the epidural, and I couldn't find my call button anywhere (which turned out to be on the floor)...and EVERYONE WAS AT LUNCH! So i started yelling for my nurse (literally) who didn't hear my until the third yell. Turns out.. it was showtime, and Brent wasn't there. I held off pushing and kept telling the nurse..my husband has to be here..."WE MADE SPECIAL ARRANGMENTS!!!" Luckily my mom left her cell number just in case...but didn't answer it because she didn't recoginize the number (and this was my support team?) lol.

The baby was born 10 minutes and 3 pushes later. He made it just in time.

Introducing... Marley Grey Fishel. Born at 1:29pm. Weighing in at 6.0 pounds, 18 1/4 inches long.

Isn't she beautiful? Being that she was only in the birth canal for about 10 minutes...everything looked just perfect when she came out.

we're so in love

I can't believe she's mine. There was a bit of a disconnect for me this pregnancy. I didn't really feel pregnant. Strange I know; but life was busy, and taking care of two other kids didn't leave alot of time to sit around and day dream or read baby books. Having her in my arms here, after the easiest labor on earth, just felt completely surreal. I just feel so blessed.

she looks a lot like Maddie in the nose and mouth don't you think?

long toes

her brother and sister seem to be just as in love with her as we are

special thanks to Amy for caring for my little monkey's while we were in the hospital. I'm so thankful for you.

me and my girls

How (perfect) funny is this picture?

proud daddy

Going home

Marley is so TINY. She was 5 10 when we left the hospital. her head is the size of a large orange.

She and her Grandpa Fishel share the same birth date! Hopefully she counts as his birthday present this year (oops).

Yep...we're all this excited.

I always worry about bringing home a new baby. What will things be like. How will the dynamic change. What will happen to the routine, the workload. What will emotions be like?

I'm proud to say...so far so good. I feel really great (for just having a baby), and things are pretty much running smoothly round these parts. We'll see what the coming days and weeks bring but for now...life is just sweet.

Thank you to everyone for everything; We feel really blessed and loved.