The first week of Lyell's life

Here are a few pictures of Lyell's first week outside the womb...

Recreating the in utero position inside his sprout pouch.

Hanging out with daddy on the porch.

The whole family... including our two kitties on the railing.

All bundled up after Lyell's first bath with Nana.

A little more about Lyell

Lyell's name comes from our favorite place on earth, the place where we met and fell in love, Yosemite. Lyell is the name of a mountain, a valley and a river. Mt. Lyell stands at 13,114 ft, and is the highest peak in Yosemite. From its peak the water runs down on four sides to four different watersheds. One side leads down to Lyell canyon where the Lyell fork of the Tuolumne River flows. Here is a picture of me on our honeymoon as we hiked through Lyell canyon.

Welcome Lyell Todd Marcis!

Born June 24th, 2009 at 2:54 in the afternoon at Clovis Community Hospital.

Matthew and I celebrated our 2nd wedding anniversary on Tuesday, June 23, with a trip up to Wawona. It was a warm day and we had lunch by the river, swam and rested. Then we went up to the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias for a walk. I wanted to take Matthew up to the upper grove but I was feeling tired and in the back of my mind I had an idea that something was up. It was such a beautiful, loving day for us, and set the stage perfectly for what was to come. We were debating where to go out to dinner, when I had some bloody show and we decided to go with the take and bake option and head home.

Things started happening from there. We called my parents and our doula, who told us to start getting ready. I walked up and down my driveway watching the sunset and feeling the rythyms of contractions- which made me so excited and giddy- I had no idea what was to come! Alison (my doula) came over and we made parsley tea from our garden and got in the car. The car ride was actually pleasant as my contractions were not so strong.

When we got to Clovis, we checked into a hotel and stayed there for about 3 hours laboring. Alison and Matthew helped me walk and sit on the birth ball, which really helped. My folks and brother arrived and my mom joined the team. They were constantly massaging my back or neck and right there helping me.

When we got to the hospital at 3am, I was only 2cm dilated, but almost totally effaced, and then let me stay to see what would happen. The next 10 hours are something of a blur to me, although I am sure that Matthew, Alison and my mom remember much better. I just remember the waves of contractions coming on and trying my hardest to ride them through. Every step of the way someone was there to guide and support me through it. As it got more intense for me I stopped moving around and just knelt on the bed. The big issue was that my water hadn't broken, and it seemed that my labor was stalling. We discussed artificially breaking my water, and decided to wait a little longer. Actually, I didn't do any discussing- I just screamed and everyone else discussed. About 2pm I was leaning over the bed with a contraction when I felt a whoosh, and down the water came.

Things went very quickly after that. I got into position to push, but I couldn't figure out how to do it. My midwife coached me until I started to bear down. My eyes were closed the whole time (I actually broke many blood vessels in my eyeballs and eyelids.) I felt like I was pushing so hard and there was no way I could keep going. Everyone could see the head and kept telling me he had brown hair. His head was so big that it wasn't coming out very easily. His pulse was getting low, and the midwife had an idea that he had some trauma going on. She did an emergency episiotomy and his head was able to come out, but his shoulders were stuck. Apperently he has big gardening shoulders just like his daddy. So the midwife performed an amazing maneuver (which has a name that I forget) where she manipulated one shoulder back inside to pull the other out.

Lyell was pretty blue when he entered the world, with the cord wrapped around his neck and meconium (sp?) everywhere. I didn't see any of this as my eyes were still closed, but he started breathing within 20 seconds and all was well! His shoulder wasn't broken, which is very common with this kind of birth, and he came over to meet me.

Our afternoon and evening in the hospital is a time I will never forget for the rest of my life. As my body relaxed and started to recover I could meet my son for the first time. His little body clung to mine as we just stared at eachother through the night. My hospital room had a window out to a small pond and fountain outside. He seemed just as in awe as me as we passed the night together looking the fountain outside.

Lyell recovered very quickly from his grand finale trauma, and we were discharged the next afternoon. Now we are home with dad, grandma and grandpa VK, uncle Peter, Lyell and me.

Nine and a half months

Well, little one, we are ready for you. Seems that you are not quite ready for the world, and the first lesson you are going to teach me is one of patience. I had this notion in my head that you would come floating out a few weeks early and give us the whole summer to enjoy you. But patience, you say with you little kicks and flutters, I'm not quite ready yet. So we are easing into the heat of summer with house projects, lazy afternoons of reading, baking projects, and my new hobby of braiding garlic that Matthew grew in the garden.
I didn't realize how big I was until we took a few pictures this morning...
This afternoon we are going to the river for what will probably be the final raft of the season.

The Pregnancy Journey

Matthew and I were just reminiscing at dinner tonight that almost exactly a year ago was when we first were TTC in earnest. We decided that we were in a good place and if we planned it right, I would have our first child at the end of March, which would give me a good amount of time off before I started the next school year. It didn't quite work out like that, and as my nurse/midwife chuckled as she listened to our plans, "You need to relinquish control."

Three months of TTC and nine months of pregnancy later, I am still meditating on that thought, as I try to relinquish control over when this baby will choose to exit my body. It has to be time, already, doesn't it? I thought for sure once I finished up with doing my grades, the baby would know that all my major obligations were complete and he could come out now. But he hasn't chosen to present himself yet... and I am getting ahead of myself.

Pregnancy. I waited a good two days after my period was due to think it could be happening. Even when the doctor confirmed it I couldn't believe it was real- that we had actually created a new life that was developing inside of me. I took a trip down to Santa Cruz to see some good friends, and it took all of 10 minutes of me thinking it would be best not to mention anything, before it all came tumbling out. "I'm five weeks pregnant!" Which, of course, really means three weeks, because they give you those first two weeks free before conception even happens. Nine months wasn't fathomable to me; I woke up every morning expecting my belly to be bigger. I stopped running right away as I had this vision of my poor baby being knocked around like a pinball every time I moved. I craved some sign, some indication that it was really true.

And then came the morning sickness. I would rename this phenomenon, "Feel Like DooDoo All The Time." I have never felt so not like myself. I have never been squeemish, or a picky eater, and all of a sudden I couldn't stand to be in the same room with the smell of coffee. I bought rasberrries at the store for ridiculous prices, and ate them out of the carton in the car. It didn't help that I was trying to work full time and finsh up my Master's thesis all during this lovely first trimester. However, there was now no doubt that a small child was growing inside of me, and I kept my eyes on the light at the end of the tunnel.

That light first showed itself in the form of a trip to Hawaii during Christmas break after I turned in the final copy of my thesis. I hit fourteen weeks as we flew to Honolulu to visit my sister, and I felt born again. Hawaii was absolutely blissfull, and I slid into my second trimester in a new state of health and energy, my stomach slowly pushing itself into the "hmmm, is she pudgy or pregnant?" phase.

The second trimester came as a burst of energy. Winter was in full force, and we went cross country skiing at every opportunity. I also managed the ski program for my school which took me up to Badger every Friday. I felt great, and all of a sudden I could not get enough to eat. My doctor raised her eyebrows as my weight shot up, and there were several days when I had finished my carefully packed lunch well before first recess. My little fourth graders started to see my belly grow, and I slowly retired all of my regular clothes for the lovely maternity styles. We skiied out to Glacier Point a few times, and Ostrander Ski Hut for the annual "Teacher's Retreat."

We also got a chance to visit Matthew's family in Florida.

All of a sudden, spring burst forth in the Foothills. Truly a magical time of year, the hills turned green, and then burst into flames of color as the poppies bloomed in full force. At seven and eight months, I was still feeling great, and continued walking and doing yoga as much as possible. We revelled in our beautiful home and surroundings, as wildflowers astounded us and water poured down the canyon. Here I am on a particularily hot day on our porch.

May was full of events; we were showered with baby showers... and the nursery (the other half of our bedroom) filled up with the essential baby paraphenalia. More importantly, the showers infused me with the wisdom of all the beautiful women and mothers that have been a part of my life. I was alternately overwhelmed and inspired. Am I prepared for the great responsibility of motherhood? I dont know the answer to this question, but I do know that I have an incredible community of women in my life who share and support this journey.

And now it is June. Now I can't remember what it feels like to not be pregnant. I said goodbye to my students two weeks ago, and now my house is clean, my files are organized, dinner is cooked, and we are trying to savor this waiting time.

The Marcis Family

We are creating a blog in order to share this exciting time with family and friends near and far.