Monday, July 28, 2008
Our Precious Gift
I just love taking pictures of our little miracle. I still can't believe she is here and is ours!! The first week flew by, and I can't even believe she is almost 2 weeks old now! Eric is back to work today, and even though of course we miss him dearly, so far Darby and I are fairing well on our own!
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
The Cutest Cutie
According to Eric's little cousin Jordyn, (she was the flower girl at our wedding), Darby is the "cutest cutie" and I happen to agree with that! Here are a few reasons why:
Monday, July 21, 2008
The Birth Story of Little Miss Darby Lynne Murray
On the morning of Wednesday, July 16, 2008 we were off to the hospital to be induced! Eric and I were both so happy that my sister Emily, who had been in town since July 3rd, was still here to come with us. After we were set up in our room and settled in, the pitocin was started.
When we started, I was still just 1 centimeter dilated. The contractions picked up pretty quickly, but even still I was not progressing with dilation. By 2pm I had only made it to 2 centimeters and was experiencing the MOST intense and painful contractions. They were one on top of the other, barely time to take a breath in between. Dr. Gonzalez came in and broke my water to try to get dilation moving. Eric was desperately trying to get me to do the breathing techniques we had learned in our childbirth class. I was just in WAY too much pain to count breaths. My sister was rubbing my legs and trying to help me relax.
A little while later, our nurse Stacie (whom I LOVED by the way, she was so great!) checked me one more time. I was more then 2 Cm's but not quite a 3! I had been at it for 8 hrs at this point, in horrible pain. Stacie told us that when she checked me she could feel lots of hardened scar tissue that had been a result of the 2 d&c's I had after we lost both of our heaven babies. The scar tissue was preventing my cervix from opening any further. She explained that what would probably happen was that at some point it would eventually snap open from the pressure of the baby's head once she came down some more. I wanted a break, but obviously that's not a choice, so I opted for an epidural.
You aren't usually given an epidural until you are 4 Cm's, but Stacie agreed that an early epidural was definitely appropriate in this case and called in who I refer to as "the magic worker". Let me tell you though. It was NOT easy having an epidural placed in my back while in the middle of contractions! I sware, nurse Stacie was my sanity at that point helping through each step of the epidural process. Once it was in, well, all I have to say is it was magic!
I was still able to FEEL the pressure of the contractions, but they were in no way anywhere close to as painful! I was able to relax more and tried to take a nap. My sister and Eric did some crosswords and tried to nap themselves.
At 2am I was STILL just 3Cm's and was contracting like crazy. They had upped the pitocin but it wasn't making any changes to my cervix because of the scar tissue. I also had a high fever and they started to wonder if maybe the baby just wasn't coming down because my body just wasn't able to fit it! I was so scared, I didn't want a c-section at all, but Eric was so cute. He just kept saying "Babe, we are both c-section babies, and we have beautiful heads!" :-) They have me some antibiotics and some benadryl and told me to go to sleep for another few hours if I could.
The magical hour of around 4am they checked me again and I had popped open to 5Cm's! I can't even tell you how happy we all were to hear that news! The talk of a c-section was put on the back burner and it looked like things were finally moving in the right direction!
At 6am I had reached 10Cm's. We decided that after everything the baby and I had been through, it would be best to wait a few more hours for the baby to move down further on it's own before I started pushing. I could feel the contractions in my butt, so we knew she wasn't far from where we needed her to be!
At 8:15am I started pushing. I have to say, I knew Eric was going to be great during the delivery, but honestly, he was MORE then great. With every push he had the best encouraging words a laboring woman could hear! He was so sweet and I could hear his excitement in his voice!
I can't begin to tell you how special it was to have my sister there by my side too. Our sisterly bond is something I cherish and the birth wouldn't have been the same without having her there.
Dr. Gonzalez showed up just in time and with a few pushes, and after hearing her explain "This baby has a big head!" (not something I wanted to hear at that point!) Darby was born at 9:19am on July 17th!
Darby was born with a fever, probably due to my high fever, but her temperature came down pretty quick. She was healthy, alert and just perfect. Her eyes were WIDE open, looking around the room, following voices. It was a dream come true.
Even so, Eric would not leave my side. After I delivered the placenta I begin gushing blood. I have to say, it was a really scary frantic few moments! They gave me a shot to help me clot and it eventually slowed down and after a few stitches, it was all over! My first words were "We are adopting our 2nd child!" but of course, here I am a few days later, telling myself I could do it again, and it would be worth it. I hope the next time will be easier, I could really do without another 25 hour labor with all the drama.
Now. Here are a few facts about July 17th, and reasons why it really was simply the PERFECT day to have Darby.
First - July 17th is Eric's Aunt (and Darby's Great Aunt) Lynne's birthday. Hence the reason why she was named Darby Lynne. There was NO question about it once we realized we were going to have her on the 17th that she had easily resolved the great middle name debate. Plus, we LOVE Aunt Lynne! Eric spent lot's of time with her growing up, and always called her Aunt Nin. We know Darby is going to love being named after such a wonderful Great Aunt!
Second - July 17th proves we have come FULL circle in EXACTLY one year. A year ago to the day, we were at Los Alamitos Hospital, with Dr. Gonzalez, for my 2nd D&C after loosing our heaven baby #2. If we had only known then that in just one year we would be holding our beautiful baby girl in our arms and would finally be parents.
Well. There you have it, all the details! Darby Lynne Murray is finally here with us and we just could NOT be any happier. She is perfect. Her face is flawless and I just can't wait to get to know every little thing about her. She is a good baby, loves to eat and hasn't been too much trouble at night (knock on wood!).
My sister was in charge of pictures during delivery and she did a great job! I have to do some cropping though, things moved so fast she didn't have time to think about censoring! We were so lucky to have her in there for the support and help and we just love her so much! I will post some of the pictures she took as soon as I have a little time to crop them and do a bit of editing! I promise to get them up soon!
When we started, I was still just 1 centimeter dilated. The contractions picked up pretty quickly, but even still I was not progressing with dilation. By 2pm I had only made it to 2 centimeters and was experiencing the MOST intense and painful contractions. They were one on top of the other, barely time to take a breath in between. Dr. Gonzalez came in and broke my water to try to get dilation moving. Eric was desperately trying to get me to do the breathing techniques we had learned in our childbirth class. I was just in WAY too much pain to count breaths. My sister was rubbing my legs and trying to help me relax.
A little while later, our nurse Stacie (whom I LOVED by the way, she was so great!) checked me one more time. I was more then 2 Cm's but not quite a 3! I had been at it for 8 hrs at this point, in horrible pain. Stacie told us that when she checked me she could feel lots of hardened scar tissue that had been a result of the 2 d&c's I had after we lost both of our heaven babies. The scar tissue was preventing my cervix from opening any further. She explained that what would probably happen was that at some point it would eventually snap open from the pressure of the baby's head once she came down some more. I wanted a break, but obviously that's not a choice, so I opted for an epidural.
You aren't usually given an epidural until you are 4 Cm's, but Stacie agreed that an early epidural was definitely appropriate in this case and called in who I refer to as "the magic worker". Let me tell you though. It was NOT easy having an epidural placed in my back while in the middle of contractions! I sware, nurse Stacie was my sanity at that point helping through each step of the epidural process. Once it was in, well, all I have to say is it was magic!
I was still able to FEEL the pressure of the contractions, but they were in no way anywhere close to as painful! I was able to relax more and tried to take a nap. My sister and Eric did some crosswords and tried to nap themselves.
At 2am I was STILL just 3Cm's and was contracting like crazy. They had upped the pitocin but it wasn't making any changes to my cervix because of the scar tissue. I also had a high fever and they started to wonder if maybe the baby just wasn't coming down because my body just wasn't able to fit it! I was so scared, I didn't want a c-section at all, but Eric was so cute. He just kept saying "Babe, we are both c-section babies, and we have beautiful heads!" :-) They have me some antibiotics and some benadryl and told me to go to sleep for another few hours if I could.
The magical hour of around 4am they checked me again and I had popped open to 5Cm's! I can't even tell you how happy we all were to hear that news! The talk of a c-section was put on the back burner and it looked like things were finally moving in the right direction!
At 6am I had reached 10Cm's. We decided that after everything the baby and I had been through, it would be best to wait a few more hours for the baby to move down further on it's own before I started pushing. I could feel the contractions in my butt, so we knew she wasn't far from where we needed her to be!
At 8:15am I started pushing. I have to say, I knew Eric was going to be great during the delivery, but honestly, he was MORE then great. With every push he had the best encouraging words a laboring woman could hear! He was so sweet and I could hear his excitement in his voice!
I can't begin to tell you how special it was to have my sister there by my side too. Our sisterly bond is something I cherish and the birth wouldn't have been the same without having her there.
Dr. Gonzalez showed up just in time and with a few pushes, and after hearing her explain "This baby has a big head!" (not something I wanted to hear at that point!) Darby was born at 9:19am on July 17th!
Darby was born with a fever, probably due to my high fever, but her temperature came down pretty quick. She was healthy, alert and just perfect. Her eyes were WIDE open, looking around the room, following voices. It was a dream come true.
Even so, Eric would not leave my side. After I delivered the placenta I begin gushing blood. I have to say, it was a really scary frantic few moments! They gave me a shot to help me clot and it eventually slowed down and after a few stitches, it was all over! My first words were "We are adopting our 2nd child!" but of course, here I am a few days later, telling myself I could do it again, and it would be worth it. I hope the next time will be easier, I could really do without another 25 hour labor with all the drama.
Now. Here are a few facts about July 17th, and reasons why it really was simply the PERFECT day to have Darby.
First - July 17th is Eric's Aunt (and Darby's Great Aunt) Lynne's birthday. Hence the reason why she was named Darby Lynne. There was NO question about it once we realized we were going to have her on the 17th that she had easily resolved the great middle name debate. Plus, we LOVE Aunt Lynne! Eric spent lot's of time with her growing up, and always called her Aunt Nin. We know Darby is going to love being named after such a wonderful Great Aunt!
Second - July 17th proves we have come FULL circle in EXACTLY one year. A year ago to the day, we were at Los Alamitos Hospital, with Dr. Gonzalez, for my 2nd D&C after loosing our heaven baby #2. If we had only known then that in just one year we would be holding our beautiful baby girl in our arms and would finally be parents.
Well. There you have it, all the details! Darby Lynne Murray is finally here with us and we just could NOT be any happier. She is perfect. Her face is flawless and I just can't wait to get to know every little thing about her. She is a good baby, loves to eat and hasn't been too much trouble at night (knock on wood!).
My sister was in charge of pictures during delivery and she did a great job! I have to do some cropping though, things moved so fast she didn't have time to think about censoring! We were so lucky to have her in there for the support and help and we just love her so much! I will post some of the pictures she took as soon as I have a little time to crop them and do a bit of editing! I promise to get them up soon!
Saturday, July 19, 2008
She's Here!!!!!
We are SO thrilled and proud to introduce:
I just wanted to hop on really quick to let everyone know we are home from the hospital and doing well. We have lots of pictures and I plan on posting more in the following days (I have a LOT of cropping to do!!) so hang in there waiting!
We are absolutely in LOVE with our daughter!!
Darby Lynne Murray
Born: July 17, 2008 9:19 am
8lbs 0.6oz, 20 1/2 inches long
After a long 25 hours of labor, Darby was born just as perfect as can be! She was SO alert and recognized both Eric and my voice right away. I will post more details about the whole birth story later.
I just wanted to hop on really quick to let everyone know we are home from the hospital and doing well. We have lots of pictures and I plan on posting more in the following days (I have a LOT of cropping to do!!) so hang in there waiting!We are absolutely in LOVE with our daughter!!
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Bye Bye Baby Belly!
Before we leave for the hospital, I really wanted to post one LAST picture of Darby while she is still in my belly! She has definitely run out of room and the world is ready for her! I am so excited, and a bit nervous, but really just SO anxious for this life changing event to finally take place.
We really thank and appreciate all of you who have traveled this bumpy road with us, prayed and been such a great support for us. We love ALL of you and can't wait to share our joy and happiness with you once she arrives!
There will be LOTS of pictures to see!!
Monday, July 14, 2008
Finally!!!
So here's the latest!
Today at the DR's we got bad news, and good news.
The bad news: I am only dilated 1 centimeter and have passed my due date... the Dr. is going on vacation on Friday... and going past my due date makes me SO nervous since we have gotten this far and are practically kissing our baby girl on the cheek.
The GOOD news: I was hooked up to the monitor for about a half an hour and the baby looked beautiful! The Dr. understands my concerns about going much past my due date, and wants me to be successfully delivered before she goes on vacation. She stripped my membranes to try to get things moving.... and said my cervix is favorable, but...
... drum roll please...
Wednesday, July 16th, at 8:00 am we will be at Los Alamitos Medical Center for a scheduled induction and our dreams will come true!
I am a bit nervous about the pitcocin, I've heard that the contractions are very painful. BUT, at the same time, we have come a long way to be at this point and I would rather go through more pain and have our baby girl here, then risk waiting. We are so ready!!
If you know we have your cell number, you can expect text message updates on Wednesday. (if we don't and you want to be on the list, email me mrsanniemurray@gmail.com)
We will be sure to let everyone know how things are progressing and of course once she arrives!
Today at the DR's we got bad news, and good news.
The bad news: I am only dilated 1 centimeter and have passed my due date... the Dr. is going on vacation on Friday... and going past my due date makes me SO nervous since we have gotten this far and are practically kissing our baby girl on the cheek.
The GOOD news: I was hooked up to the monitor for about a half an hour and the baby looked beautiful! The Dr. understands my concerns about going much past my due date, and wants me to be successfully delivered before she goes on vacation. She stripped my membranes to try to get things moving.... and said my cervix is favorable, but...
... drum roll please...
Wednesday, July 16th, at 8:00 am we will be at Los Alamitos Medical Center for a scheduled induction and our dreams will come true!
I am a bit nervous about the pitcocin, I've heard that the contractions are very painful. BUT, at the same time, we have come a long way to be at this point and I would rather go through more pain and have our baby girl here, then risk waiting. We are so ready!!
If you know we have your cell number, you can expect text message updates on Wednesday. (if we don't and you want to be on the list, email me mrsanniemurray@gmail.com)
We will be sure to let everyone know how things are progressing and of course once she arrives!
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Waiting... and Waiting!
Just wanted to let everyone know that we are still here, still pregnant and still waiting!! We've been walking up a STORM - we went to the Orange County Fair last night for hours - but little Darby just seems laid back and content in there. I am beyond ready though!
My next DR appointment is on Monday! I will update on my progress then, if nothing exciting happens before that!
Personally, I think tomorrow, July 13th, would be a perfect day for Darby to join the world. Here is why:
As you all know, getting to this point (9 months pregnant) was not an easy journey for us. With our first pregnancy, on Feb. 7th, we found out we had lost our little bean. This time around, Feb. 7th happened to be the day we found out we were expecting a little GIRL! Last year, on July 13th, we lost our little munchkin. So I tend to believe that THIS year, on July 13th, would be a perfect day for us to finally hold our baby! Although we will NEVER forget how we felt on those 2 days in 2007, we will never forget the happiness felt in 2008.
Come on little Darby! We have SO much waiting for you!!
My next DR appointment is on Monday! I will update on my progress then, if nothing exciting happens before that!
Personally, I think tomorrow, July 13th, would be a perfect day for Darby to join the world. Here is why:
As you all know, getting to this point (9 months pregnant) was not an easy journey for us. With our first pregnancy, on Feb. 7th, we found out we had lost our little bean. This time around, Feb. 7th happened to be the day we found out we were expecting a little GIRL! Last year, on July 13th, we lost our little munchkin. So I tend to believe that THIS year, on July 13th, would be a perfect day for us to finally hold our baby! Although we will NEVER forget how we felt on those 2 days in 2007, we will never forget the happiness felt in 2008.
Come on little Darby! We have SO much waiting for you!!
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Still Waiting!
Just wanted to post a quick update! Here we are working on week 40, just ready and waiting for Darby to decide it's time. I am still just about one centimeter dilated, but the Dr. did say my cervix is very soft. She said it "might be" this week, but DUH! It could be any day.. or night.. all I know is that I am SO anxious! I have had some contractions, but nothing in a regular pattern. Hopefully soon!!
So here we wait, with my huge swollen elephant feet!
So here we wait, with my huge swollen elephant feet!
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Making Progress & A VERY Special Birthday Suprise!
First things first, my Dr. Appointment on Monday! Well, I am happy to report SOME progress is being made. Nothing too miraculous, but something none the less, and I'll take it!! I am 25% effaced (thinning of the cervix for those who have no idea) and a finger tip dilated (so I'm guessing that means just under a centimeter). I was hoping for more of course, or to hear "You are in labor!" (haha, I can dream!) but hearing something was better then hearing nothing! So for now lots of walking to try to get things moving!
Yesterday (July 1st) was my birthday, and while Darby didn't decide to come out, it still turned out to be a perfectly special day! Eric had given me my gifts on Saturday, he is HORRIBLE at waiting once he has bought them. He gave me a beautiful Tiffany's silver heart necklace, and a really cool bluetooth thingy for my car (the law just changed here in Cali and you have to be hands free). I love them! I mean seriously, you can't go wrong with Tiffany's! But being as it was my birthday, he wanted me to have something to open up.
On his way home from work, he decided to stop at Walgreens to pick up a bunch of little fun things to give me. It was so fun to get so many things that I loved as a kid! He got silly string, a punch ball, a puzzle, a light up koosh ball, a candle, a plastic bubble making kit thingy and a Winne The Pooh and Friends coloring book!
This is the special part -
Eric picked the coloring book TOTALLY at random. He said he picked it because it came with a set of crayons. It was so cute, I love coloring books (come on, who doesn't!). When I pulled it out of the gift bag, I opened it to look at some of the pages. I didn't open it to the center of the book, just to a completely random page and what I saw made Eric and I speechless. This what we saw -
How WEIRD and AMAZING is that!!!! I don't know about you, but neither of us had ANY idea that DARBY was a character on Winnie The Pooh these days and we were completely stunned. It was a rush of every emotion! It brought tears to our eyes and at the same time we could not stop laughing!! Eric gave me a big hug. I had wanted Darby for my birthday and in a weird way, there she was! :-) I'm sure she is never going to find much with her name on it as a kid (no pens, license plates or souvenirs), so I'm going to make LOTS of photocopies of that page for her!
I promise to TRY and update on here before we head to the hospital, unless of course there's an emergency! We have a contact list put together and plan on sending out a text both when we go to the hospital and when Darby arrives. If you aren't sure if I have your cell number, and want to make sure you are on the list, you can email me: mrsanniemurray@gmail.com
Yesterday (July 1st) was my birthday, and while Darby didn't decide to come out, it still turned out to be a perfectly special day! Eric had given me my gifts on Saturday, he is HORRIBLE at waiting once he has bought them. He gave me a beautiful Tiffany's silver heart necklace, and a really cool bluetooth thingy for my car (the law just changed here in Cali and you have to be hands free). I love them! I mean seriously, you can't go wrong with Tiffany's! But being as it was my birthday, he wanted me to have something to open up.
On his way home from work, he decided to stop at Walgreens to pick up a bunch of little fun things to give me. It was so fun to get so many things that I loved as a kid! He got silly string, a punch ball, a puzzle, a light up koosh ball, a candle, a plastic bubble making kit thingy and a Winne The Pooh and Friends coloring book!
This is the special part -Eric picked the coloring book TOTALLY at random. He said he picked it because it came with a set of crayons. It was so cute, I love coloring books (come on, who doesn't!). When I pulled it out of the gift bag, I opened it to look at some of the pages. I didn't open it to the center of the book, just to a completely random page and what I saw made Eric and I speechless. This what we saw -
How WEIRD and AMAZING is that!!!! I don't know about you, but neither of us had ANY idea that DARBY was a character on Winnie The Pooh these days and we were completely stunned. It was a rush of every emotion! It brought tears to our eyes and at the same time we could not stop laughing!! Eric gave me a big hug. I had wanted Darby for my birthday and in a weird way, there she was! :-) I'm sure she is never going to find much with her name on it as a kid (no pens, license plates or souvenirs), so I'm going to make LOTS of photocopies of that page for her!My description doesn't highlight the moment at all. Words really can't describe how we felt when we saw that color book page knowing we are so close to holding our own Darby. I mean seriously, what were the chances, it's not like DARBY is a common name you hear all the time. When we tell most people that is what we are naming our baby people are usually suprised. It was such a great moment and really made my birthday!
After that we went out to dinner and then for a walk on the pier in Seal Beach. It was a fabulous birthday!
I promise to TRY and update on here before we head to the hospital, unless of course there's an emergency! We have a contact list put together and plan on sending out a text both when we go to the hospital and when Darby arrives. If you aren't sure if I have your cell number, and want to make sure you are on the list, you can email me: mrsanniemurray@gmail.com
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