Loving Friends

Summer has lots of friends who love her already. Here are some of her favorites that she has met in person...(sorry we missed our photo op with our first friends Lisa & Philip).
Summer and Kallie









Summer and Rachel










As I mentioned, Summer has found her thumb and here is a short clip of her going to town on it.

9 days old

Here is a video of Summer and Mommy at 9 days old.

I have to say that our two dogs have really adjusted well to their new baby sister. We knew Sampson would be good but we were sure that Lucy would want to lick her to death. Surprisingly Lucy has not even attempted to lick her and really doesn't care much about her. They both just want to sniff her (really close) and are interested in any sound that she makes. Sometimes Sampson walks back into her nursery before I can even hear a murmur on the monitor. Here is a picture of Sampson and Summer's first interaction.

Fun with the Flip Ultra HD

Yesterday we went to Summer's 1st pediatrician appt and she was great. She didn't get upset at all when the doctor stripped her down and checked her out. She gained 2 ozs from the time we left the hospital which is perfect, 5lbs 4 oz now. She is on track to be back to her plump birth weight of 5lb 9 oz by her 2 week birthday! We took thank you cookie bags to all of her doctors and nurses and it was fun to show her off.

BIG thanks to Mimi (my mom) and Gramma (Chad's mom) for flying out and helping us out with the cooking, cleaning and emotional support in these first few days after Summer's birth. She is lucky to be so loved!












Here is Summer and me on her 1 week birthday! We have noticed that around 3pm she is awake and we caught her with her eyes wide open. She and daddy holding hands after a feeding watching the basketball game.












We have been having fun with our new video recorder...the easy Flip Ultra HD.
Summer's Nursery Tour



Sweet Face

Summer's Birth Story

Here is the story of how Summer came into the world...(I am a proud mama so this will be a long story).
On Monday I went to my regular doctor's appt and there was no change from the week prior (1.5 cm dilated, head down). See the video (recorded Monday evening) for mine and Chad's opinion on when we thought she would be born...we were a bit discouraged at the news. I had begun recording myself everynight just in case my water broke or something.

Monday night was painful. I was up pacing the house ALL night with pains at the top of my uterus and my right shoulder was absolutely killing me. I googled my symptoms and thought there might be a sign of preeclampsia (from the right shoulder pain). I called the doctor first thing Tuesday morning and she said come in for a check up. I had dilated to 3cm and she told me she expects Summer to be born in the next 24 hours. She was on call that day and all night at the hospital and Chad and I were thrilled. We called our moms and on planes they hopped! P.S. I said to the nurse could this be preeclampsia and she said I had been reading too much that my blood pressure had been fine this whole time and not to worry (in hindsight I am not upset with her she is still great). Chad and I went home and walked around the neighborhood and timed contractions. I had no clue what a contraction felt like and seriously thought my pains were from gas or Summer kicking. Shows how much I know my body! We went to the hospital around 4pm when the contractions were 3-5 minutes apart. I was monitored for 4 hours but the contractions were inconsistent so they released me with an Ambien to help me sleep throught the night. They did blood work before I left and said they would call me if there was anything to be concerned about. Two hours later, after the Ambien had kicked in, Chad received a phone call saying I needed to come back to the hospital. My blood platlettes were low and I had high toxin levels in my liver, signs of preeclampsia. My doctor said she was going to induce me. Honestly, Chad and I were thrilled. I wasn't in pain and the sleeping pill made me feel really good. I was put on pitocin to induce me and magnesium to help my liver. We slept through the night. At 7am my doctor broke my water and the contractions which had only been a sight on the monitor changed to dynamite pain feelings. I immediately asked for pain medicine and they gave me a shot through my IV that would last for an hour and then the anesthesialogist would be available for an epidural. The IV kicked in immediately and I was out, actually snoring so says Chad, as the contractions spiked off the charts on the monitor. Well, as the nurses said the pain medicine wore off after 1 hour and I woke up at 8am to major pain. There was no time for an epidural and they said I couldn't have any more medication through my IV. I gave birth to Summer Marie at 8:29am.
We have recalled these moments many times in the past 6 days and we will be doing so for the rest of our lives. I will definetly be one of those mothers (like mine) who relives Summer's birth every year.

Parenting Summer

Thank God for Medela! I have to say that this parenting job is hard.
I had a complete meltdown this morning after a very hard night of breastfeeding. I was concerned that Summer was dehydrated and not getting nutrition. I called the doctor hotline this morning and an "Angel" doctor phoned me back calming me down and giving me instructions to go purchase a breastpump and then I will know how much she is getting. WOW what a sigh of release! I CANNOT tell you how emotional I was and how this breast pump was a gift from GOD.

You can see the relief in Chad and my faces as we give Summer her first breastmilk bottle.

Here is Summer and her content look after she had a full tummy!

Summer after ANOTHER great feeding.

Summer Marie Martin

Summer Marie Martin has arrived!

Chad and I were blessed with her arrival on Wednesday, May 20th at 8:29am. She weighed in at 5lb 9oz and was 18inches long. She joined us 3.5 weeks early and we couldn't have been happier to have her. I am proud to say that I gave birth to her withOUT any pain medication however that was only due to her speedy entrance into the world. And I have now joined the group of mothers who have endured pain but only remember the sweetest parts of that day! And THAT, my friends without kids, is WHY we are always so surprised about the things noone told us about...there is just too many positive moments that outweigh those negative ones.

Here are some pictures that sum up Summer's life so far...

Impatiently Waiting

Holy Moly I didn't know how big I was until I took this picture tonight!
Notice my little Lucy by my side...all the time:)
Today I am 2 days shy of 36 weeks pregnant and I have officially started praying every night for Summer to come. I look forward to the HOPE that maybe my water will break in my sleep and we will grab our packed bags and head off to the hospital. My personality type is one who loves instant gratification which is why I love to paint, plant flowers, make lists and check them off, etc. Therefore, waiting for this unknown day when our life will change for the BETTER is absolutely killing me. And by the way, my doctor said Summer would be healthy if she was born now which is why I am wishing her out (because I want to meet her and love her, not because I am tired of being prego). So please pray with me tonight that my water will break and Summer will arrive!

Getting Ready for Summer

Yesterday I went to the doctor for the first of my Weekly visits.
As I suspected, Summer is head down and has "dropped."
The doctor thinks she weighs about 6 lbs right now and would be ok if she was born any time going forward.
I am 1.5 cm dilated already and would be very excited to meet Miss Summer in person as soon as possible!

I wasn't feeling good at the doctors appointment (just felt uncomfortable with tightness) and she asked me if I had the nursery ready and the only thing I could say is that I haven't bought any baby wipes yet. She said if that was all I lacked then we were in good shape. By the way, I bought some today:)

Today I began packing our hospital bag. We will be using Summer's new monogrammed tote to carry our items.
A few things we have included are:
ipod and speaker (so we can chill out or maybe rock out while I am pushing, ha ha that is a good idea but I doubt we will think to DJ while the pain is at its peak)
3 onesies
Alabama beanie & socks (it is so tiny it may only fit in the hospital)
swaddling blanket (although we will try to take the hospital one as I hear they are the best)

I NEED YOUR FEEDBACK - What did you bring your baby home from the hospital dressed in? I have been told your baby only comes home from the hospital once so dress up...Should she wear an outfit/dress or a onesie? Please post your response.

River Festival

Today was a great Saturday.

It all started when Chad put me into a coma (what we refer to when one person closes the drapes, shuts the door, and in this case put a pillow over my head) this morning and I slept an extra hour or so. Once I woke up we had banana pancakes with cinnamon, yum!

On a side note, sometimes Sampson lays down flat in the back yard and I go to look for him and don't see him at first. It reminds me of looking at a zoo exhibit trying to identify the leopard.

Back to our day...in the afternoon we went downtown to the Truckee River Festival where there were kayaking tournaments (or whatever you call a kayaking event) and the weather was wonderful. We brought a blanket...I packed a sandwich and fruit which Chad never takes me up on eating, and hung out in the sun!

Yesterday was Marley Rose's 2nd Birthday. I remember being there for her birth and also her 1st Birthday so I hate to miss this tradition I had started but travel across country is out of the question now. She was having a party with a jump house AND ice cream sundaes...sounds delicious. In honor of her birthday, Chad and I went to McDonalds and got an ice cream cone. Thanks for the reason MR!

Just 2 years ago this is what life looked like for the McLaughlin family!

Petunias

Today I planted 72 Red Petunias.

I was very excited to finally jazz up my flower pots and I was on a mission to buy anything yellow. I just love yellow flowers outside a house. However, I didn't find anything yellow so my next option was solid red.

My Mums from last year (pictured below) came back but only in one pot. Ironically, the pot you see is the one that didn't come back...and they looked so healthy.

So today, I separated the three of them and surrounded them with my sweet petunias.

I kind of overestimated how many I needed so I have Petunias EVERYWHERE.

Two pots like this on either side of the front door.

Two pots that look like this on either side of the back door.

Two pots on the right of the sidewalk.

Plus, they are surrounding two rosebeds by the road. I will be very surprised if these live because the soil is so rocky even with extra planting soil.

By the way, gardening + 34 weeks pregnant do NOT mix well! Which is a shame because the whole idea of gardening and watching something grow seems so pregnant-like but it is the bending over and squatting that is the killer. Oh well, a little pain never stopped me before.

I often have conversations with myself...and while I was planting I was thinking how I feel like a grandmama (during my painful bending over moments)...but then I was like, both my Grandmama and Chad's Grandmother are excellent gardners so that isn't a fair analysis.

Playing

Chad and I watched our sweet friend Nico one morning this week and due to our lack of toys we were forced to play like the good ole days. Neither of us could find cartoons on tv in the early morning hours, go figure!
However, we learned that a little boy can have just as much fun playing with the dogs, picking up rocks in the back yard and running down the hallway. We sent him home with 2 pockets full of rocks, ha ha. Hopefully mom finds them before laundry time.

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday Mom!

Here's to wishing my Mom the best birthday year ever. She is the sweetest, most loving mom a daughter could ask for.

Happy Birthday Bud!

My sweet brother's birthday was last weekend (2 days after mine) and he deserves a spot on the blog as well. He is now at the beach celebrating 1 year of wedding bliss. Happy Birthday Bud and congratulations Jay and Jen on your anniversary. Bud, like his mother, is the sweetest and most loving brother a sister could ask for.

Love yall both!

Diaper Shower

Chad and I are so blessed to have friends in town who care enough to shower us with love and diapers! I just couldn't stop saying how impressed I was at the effort they put into the day. From the cute invitations to the decor and all the recipes made from scratch...it was just perfect!

*Kara, Rachel, Me, Lisa*

And thanks to the guys (not pictured) who helped out as well; Phillip, Jim and Chris.

I also want to congratulate Ethan and Nico for a day of extremely good behavior.

So, in typical Jana fashion I took pictures of everything to share with you (and for me to remember years from now).

Diaper Cake, Chocolate covered Strawberries, Delicious cupcakes & the beautiful table setting.


Lemonade with mint & rasberries, fruit and cheese plate


Roasted Yellow Pepper & Parmesan cheese Crostinis, Grilled Veggies

Chicken Satay, Beef Wellington (so good), tortolini pasta salad

Kallie and I digging in!

Did I already say the cupcakes were good...grab me another one!

I believe we have about 600 diapers here. Thanks to Aunt Kiersten for sending some all the way from NC. Summer should be set for a while...