She's here! We are so happy to introduce the newest addition to the Marcis Family, Dana Rose. Dana arrived on February 11, exactly one week past her calculated due date. We had a bit of an extended trip to Palo Alto for the delivery, as our home in El Portal is about 2 hours from a labor and delivery hospital. We had also come to Palo Alto for Whitney's delivery, and my labor had started just a few hours after walking up the local hill called "The Dish." This time around it took 4 walks up the Dish, as well as some serious patience, to start things moving. As with Whitney, I was in early labor for about 3 days, which fortunately coincided with the start of the Olympics. I have never watched so much ice skating or luge in my life. Finally, on Tuesday morning, the contractions started to "organize" themselves, and I went to my scheduled dr appointment, where my doctor confirmed that I was 4 cm. dilated and said she would probably see me later today. It was a crisp and sunny February day, and Matthew and I went out to lunch in downtown Redwood city. Interesting the things you remember about labor- I will never forget sitting in the Redwood City plaza with the sun beating down on me and watching all the people rushing around in the usual lunch hour buzz. As my contractions strengthened I was thinking how it's just an ordinary day for the rest of the world, but this day will be forever etched in my soul. Two hours later we were at the hospital, and after a short but intense active labor Dana joined us at 7:29pm.
Dana is now almost 2 weeks old, and every day is a miracle! I want time to stand still for these few precious newborn weeks, as I know so well how quickly they will pass. I am so thankful for my husband and my amazing community of friends here who are keeping us nourished with food and visits and playdates for Lyell and Whitney. I wish I could have captured on camera the scene in our kitchen a few mornings ago...Matthew was carrying Dana on his chest in the Ergo while cooking eggs for Lyell and Whitney- all so mommy could have a break to take a shower! Here are a few images from the past few weeks that we did manage to capture (much harder to pull out that camera with three kids around!)
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| On February 4, which was Dana's due date, we took a trip to Half Moon Bay for the day as I was not feeling any kind of labor. On a weekday in February we had the beach to ourselves to fly kites and make sand sculptures. |
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| Here I am, 40 weeks pregnant! |
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| Watching a flock of white pelicans swoop over the ocean. It was a lovely day, as we all tried to cultivate patience until Dana let us know it was time for her to join our world. |
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| 5 minutes old. She went straight from my belly onto my chest and has pretty much stayed there for 2 weeks. I fact, as I am typing this sentence Dana is sleeping on my chest (hands free, thanks to baby carriers.) |
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| On the scale, she weighed in at 7 pounds, 8 ounces. |
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| Sleeping like a baby. |
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| Lyell and Whitney came to visit first thing the next morning. They were a little tentative at first, I think they were in disbelief that after 9 months of talking about it, a little baby had actually arrived. |
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| Our first family-of-5 photo. |
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| Lyell and Whitney got to take a special big brother and sister trip to the Carousel park in San Francisco, while mommy and Dana rested. |
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| Whitney on the huge rope climbing wall at the park. |
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| Lyell also got his first ski day of the season in, as Badger finally opened (the first week of Feb.) after a no-snow Dec. and Jan. for us. |
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| He also learned to drive a snowmobile! After all, he is almost 5 :) Just kidding, but our ranger friends did let him play on the snowmobile. You can see the scary lack-of-snow we are experiencing here in the background. |
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| Back to Potluck Preschool after an extended stay in Palo Alto. Lyell and Whitney were so excited to see all their friends. |
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| Dana's first preschool at 1 week old. |
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| Lyell earned his Yellow Camo Belt in Karate. Here he is at the belt ceremony with Master Angie. |
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| The best part of the belt ceremony is he gets to yell as loud as he can at the end (called a kiya) while breaking the seal of the belt. |
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| Back to little Dana Rose. Here she is cuddled into her nighttime bassinet. |
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| Whitney loves to push Dana in her swing. She brings Dana an endless supply of blankies, stuffed animals and toys to play with. We have had several talks with Whitney about how covering Dana with toys will not actually help her learn to play with them. |
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| Newborn hands and little smiles. |
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| The usual spot for us, snuggling with baby and getting a few things done. |
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| The Marcis girls. |
