The time has come....

Our baby is over a month old....as of today actually she's one month and six days old....not that either of us are counting or anything....

She's gotten so strong these last few weeks...holding her head up longer and actually showing some control of it..

She has also found her voice...she can cry when she needs to...which isn't very often.

As we continue on our way through parenting I am quite satisfied with how things have gone...we are still cloth diapering (thanks Carin and Denise!) and we have tried a few baby wearing slings and like being able to wear her places instead of carrying her either on her own or in a car seat. Her stroller has been used though and that was fun..that thing corners on a dime!!! LOL

Our family has some pretty big news to announce and we figured this was the best way to let people know.

As most of you know, we have been unemployed for some time now and even though we have both had a few interviews even those calls have stopped....we can't keep the house(luckily it was a land contract and we are working it out). Lansing has always been a place we have loved. We have family and friends here and we love seeing everyone lots. We have tried and tried to make the best for our family here and now our family is bigger and requires a lot more...and Lansing can't seem to provide that anymore.

So we have sat down and made a decision...as a family - Heather and I - we made a decision to give a try to a move that we have always dreamed of doing. So at the end of August we will be picking up our family and moving to the Pacific Northwest. We will be staying with my parents and grandma and crashing Heather's cousin's sometimes too.

This is something Heather and I have always wanted to do...move to Washington and the time seems to have been thrust into our laps. This will give us a chance to find jobs in a state that's in better shape than Michigan, and it will give Heather a chance to legally adopt Lucy which is an amazing thing.

We hope everyone will be able to come visit at some point. Once we have a place of our own, our doors will always be open to friends and family visits....we'll take you to the ocean, the mountains, camping, hiking, and anything else you would like to do!!!

Please keep us in your thoughts and hopes as we make this big transition in our lives.

Jessica

Long Time No Blog

Wow...didn't realize how long it had been since we last blogged as a family!! I hope the blogs during labor kept everyone updated on what was happening...it was a crazy process but we have our baby girl safe and sound and that is the most important thing.

We are learning alot these first few weeks....a few highlights for your enjoyment....

We have learned the virtue of cloth diapers over disposables. The cloth ones hold ALOT more!! not saying that we don't change her often...but our major blowout was cause we forgot we had used a disposable instead of a cloth and she pooed all over her Great Grandma Burton....oops....

We have learned that even if the kid just ate..half an hour later she can actually be hungry again....

A boppy pillow is really a necessity!! It can not only be used to feed....but to help prop up tired arms while holding the baby, great for putting the laptop on when the baby is sleeping, wonderful for resting a book on while feeding as well as a great holding spot for the blackberry so I can check my facebook at three in the morning during a late night feeding break! Life without the boppy would be a bit tougher.....

We never knew how important it was to have a change of clothes for us when we are out...until we had to cut a visit with Grandma and Grandpa Church short because of needing to go home and change.

We had always heard that when you have a kid, you won't be able to believe the amount of stuff that you need to pack up to go anywhere....and dang if that isn't true!! We have filled the trunk of the car for an overnight visit...now that does include our stroller and the portable crib..but just a trip to the store involves checking the diaper bag, making sure we have at least a change of clothes, diapers, wipes, the bag for the dirty diapers, changing mat...the list keeps going. The funny part is that sometimes the items you know were in the bag have managed to make their way to other areas of the house.

Getting a task done around the house takes alot longer....We feel accomplished if we can pick up a little, don't have dirty dishes everywhere and get a load of laundry done....this would be a seriously great day.....let alone change diapers, feed, hold, burp etc for the baby.

The learning about how to take care of our little girl has been amazing. We have been blessed by family and friends who are willing to help out with things other than just holding Lucy...there aren't enough words to say thank you to those who helped us do common household chores while we were in the hospital and once we had come home....

We have loved the visitors and if you haven't come to see us we hope you do soon!! Lucy is great at sleeping in peoples arms....it's what she does people...she's an infant..the pediatrician says it's normal at this age!!!!

Thanks to everyone for their support and good thoughts!!

Jessica, Heather and Lucy

Lucille Nora Martinson

Lucille Nora Martinson
8 lb 8 oz
21.5 inches long
3:26pm
June 15, 2009

2 tired Moms .... going to bed. Sweet Dreams for us .... and God's blessings for our daughter!

incoherent .... lack of sleep

running on 6 hours of sleep since Sat at 9 am ... ugh.

Sometime around 11:30 pm, Jessica accepted the epidural. She was feeling too far apart from her labor process because of the magnesium. It was making her groggy and she was sleeping, contracting, sleeping, contracting .... etc.

She has since gotten more consistent sleep. And when checked about 1/2 hour ago she had FINALLY progressed past 4 cm. (Our number for most of yesterday.) She is now 8 cm!!!

We will have a baby soon that give her mom the best birthday present ever.

I'm not going to promise another blog from me soon. I may pass it off, or you may just have to wait till she born .... I'll see what I can do.

Off for 1 more catnap before we start the real work ... pushing.

-- Heather

Love you all!!! And thank you sooo much for all your well wishes. I will let you know after she's born if Jess is up for visitors and where to find us. :)

Water Balloons

Around 2 pm they broke Jessica's water. She is progressing much better now.

Her contractions are stronger, she is having more and more often.

Lucy looks great! She is a strong girl ... and they are really happy with her readouts.

I am going to try and do another update soon. My brain is little fried and Jess needs a hand to squeeze.

BTW -- We are at Sparrow Hospital in Lansing in case people are interested. :)

Pitocin Party

Having a mini party in the Labor and Delivery room. :) Not really, but lots of folks showed up to visit the sleepy Jess. Just minutes before this was taken they hooked up the Pitocin and it could start a reaction in as little as 20 min or more like and hour or two.

Thanks for all the well wishes!! I can't wait to show you my daughter! :)

Oops ... fixing something I said

The hospital mandate is a 3 hour wait between the suppository and the petocin.

The nurse says that she gave the most recent suppository at 11 pm which will put us a time of 2 am for the petocin, if they choose to go that route. They are currently (really! as I type) discussing a 4th suppository to finish giving her cervix a "flex boost". LOL

The nurse checked her cervix about 15 min ago and she is finally anterior (her cervix is dropping and it is really thin.)

-- Heather