Our Birth Story

"On the way home from Austin I had 3 really good contractions but they were 8 minutes apart and 20 minutes apart. We got home about 8:30 and Willard wanted to do our acupuncture pressure points again. Willard lit some candles, I got out my iPod and got comfy on the bed awaiting the pampering to begin. He started out like he had the night before and I practiced my deep breathing techniques. After about an hour of that I told him we should get some paper and start timing contractions. I was beginning to feel them pretty regularly. I didn't want to get out of the zone and zen-type feeling we had going on so I didn't go downstairs to tell anyone goodnight. He came back and went back to my toes and feet. I tapped his phone whenever I had a contraction and he'd take note of it...

This is where our birth story begins..... "

Before Willard started pampering me with my acupuncture pressure points I had to use the restroom. At 9:40pm I had some bloody show. This can happen hours before labor begins or during labor. I was so excited about that happening that I came out of the restroom with a huge grin and told Willard all about it! I bet he was thrilled. =) So, Willard got out the pen and paper and started taking note every time I tapped his phone. For about an hour he rubbed my feet and legs and pushed on the pressure points. We both began to notice a little consistency with the timing of the contractions. They didn't feel like braxton hicks contractions but I was still skeptical that I was actually in labor. My back was hurting with the contractions and I was fearful that it was back labor. I had back labor with Madison because she was posterior and at our appointment earlier in the week Illysa said that Marley felt a bit posterior. Willard and I talked and couldn't remember how long we were suppose to time before we called Illysa, our midwife. She had instructed us to call when the contractions were 5-7 minutes apart. She said she'd need a little extra notice since she lives about 45 minutes to an hour away from us. After 2 hours of timing contractions and noticing that a lot of them were about 5 minutes apart we called Illysa at 11:30. She talked with us and wanted to hear me go through a couple contractions. She noticed that I wasn't breathing hard and could talk through them, I even made a joke or two. She told us about a really cool application for the iPhones that times your contractions. She instructed us to download that application and for me to relax. Illysa said she felt like she didn't need to come yet and that I still had a while. She wanted me to get a warm bath, have a half a glass of wine and try to take a nap so I'd be rested for the stronger labor and birth. Willard got me the wine while I filled the bathtub. He set up a little table next to the bath with his cell phone, with the newly added "Contraction" application, my iPod, and the glass of red wine. I laid in the tub for about 45 minutes and noticed that the contractions were beginning to get a little longer (about a minute long) and a little closer together (about 4 minutes). I decided it was time for me to get out of the bathtub and try to take a nap like Illysa instructed.

As I was drying off I felt this small gushing feeling. I looked down and saw some liquid that had some blood and mucus in it. I called out to Willard in the bedroom, "Hey Willard.... I think my water broke but I'm not sure. I'm pretty sure that this stuff doesn't come out of your pee hole." LOL.. He said to me that he wouldn't have any idea if it was my water breaking and I told him I thought we should call Illysa back. By this time it's 12:45 am. Illysa said that it did sound like my water broke and that she had everything in her car and would head our direction in a few minutes. Willard suggested that I get into the cute, comfortable birthing dress that was purchased for this occasion. A lot of women will walk around naked during labor but I don't feel comfortable enough which is why we bought the dress. I had bought one sundress for this occasion but my mom found an even better dress at a little boutique in Gruene. So I get my pretty little dress on and continue to time contractions. By this time the contractions were becoming a lot harder. During the contractions my right leg kept cramping up and it was becoming pretty painful. Willard was going to wake my mom up to let her know we were in labor and I wanted her to go to Walmart to get me some bananas. My thinking was that the potassium in the bananas would help with the leg cramp. Illysa said I could eat during labor but to try and make sure to eat things I wouldn't mind if they came back up. I figured that if I threw up a banana it wouldn't be to big of a deal. After Mom gets up and is getting ready to go to Walmart I decide that maybe Dad should go instead. I wanted mom to be around for the birth and wanted her to be able to experience it with us and I knew that Dad wasn't into the whole "seeing" thing. So, Mom goes and gets dad up and lets him know that we're having a baby and I'd like a few things from Walmart.......

By this time the contractions were closer together, now about 3 minutes apart, and the duration of the contractions was about a minute and a half. The contractions were really hurting and every time I had a contraction I swore that I needed to use the bathroom. I was trying to find a more comfortable way to be during the contractions and thought that it'd be more comfortable if I sat on the toilet backwards so I was straddling it. I asked Willard to bring me a pillow so I could lay my head down and rest when I wasn't having a contraction. When I had a contraction I was basically screaming to release the pain. I even yelled at Willard "WHY DID I DO THIS?!" Later Illysa told me that almost every woman says this in one way or another and that is usually when you're about to birth your baby..... Well when Willard wasn't running around getting things ready for Illysa he'd come check on me and rub my back. He would let me know how great I was doing and how much he loved me. He was being a wonderful birthing partner. At 1:40 am, an hour after my water broke, I informed Willard that I was ready to push and started to freak out because Illysa hadn't arrived yet. I asked Willard, okay I told Willard, to call and find out where she was. When he called Illysa said she was walking in the front door.

She immediately came upstairs to the bathroom to check on me. I told her that I wanted to push and she told me that she wouldn't tell me not to push if that's what I was feeling. She did tell me that I should move so I wouldn't be having our baby on the toilet. She didn't do an internal exam like they do in the hospital which is nice. She did feel to see if she could feel Marley's head and she told me "we're having a baby!" I moved from the bathroom to the bed. I crawled up onto the bed on all fours and stayed there. Immediately Illysa put my mom to work being her assistant. The backup midwife was on her way to our home but hadn't arrived yet. My mom jumped right in trying to take care of everything Illysa threw her way. Willard got up on the bed with me and provided his shoulder for me to lay my head on. Illysa got some olive oil and warm compresses to put on me to help with the stretching. It felt like heaven! Whenever I had a contraction I began to push. I didn't pay attention to anything else going on around me. I don't even remember when the second midwife came in. Whenever I pushed I was completely inside myself. I didn't have a thought going on in my mind. I made very primal noises and could feel Marley moving down into my pelvis every time I pushed. Willard stayed right there with me and gave me such encouragement. Later he told me that during one contraction I started to bite him on the shoulder and realized what I was doing and stopped. Sorry honey! There was a couple times that Illysa told me to breath through a contraction to allow Marley's head to better form for birth. That to me was the hardest part of labor. It was so hard NOT to push during those contractions. At some point during the pushing Illysa told Willard to come get behind me so he could catch his baby girl. Mom got on the bed and took over his post of being my head holder. I started talking about how much it burned "down there" and I said "oh that must be the ring of fire that we've heard all about." Illysa confirmed that it was and said to me "Vanessa reach down and feel your babies head.".... Willard told me later that I made a giggle noise when I did this. Sometime during this the second midwife, June, made her arrival so Mom was able to help in other ways. She was still being my support person while Willard was behind me awaiting the arrival of Marley. I pushed again and Marley's head came out. I heard Illysa say she needed to check the cord to see if it was around her neck. It was and she unwrapped the cord. I pushed again and the shoulders came out and Willard was able to catch his baby. He said that he caught her head in one hand and her butt in the other. Meanwhile, while this was happening mom went into the girls' room to get them for the birth of their new baby sister. I am not sure if the girls saw Willard catch Marley but I know they were there for Marley's very first moments in her new world... Just like we wanted.

After I birthed Marley, June, the second midwife, and Illysa helped me lift my legs up and around the umbilical cord so I could face and see my baby, my Marley. Willard and I chose to keep Marley's cord attached to her for as long as we could for the major health benefits. I turned around and ended up laying on the bed with Marley still attached to the cord and the placenta. When I laid over I heard Illysa say that there was a separation. The placenta separated and I needed to birth it right away. Usually the placenta is birthed roughly 30 minutes after the baby, i believe =). I birthed the placenta and we were told how wonderful and beautiful the coloring of it was. Willard, my mom, and I had never seen a placenta and were very interested in seeing what mine looked like. It's so interesting! We took pictures of it and Illysa showed us what side faced which way, etc. It's smooth on one side and rough on the other. We have some fabulous pictures of it, but I was spare you. I will show anyone who would like to see though! Marley was still attached to her cord which was still attached to the placenta. The placenta was wrapped up and covered.
Keeping Marley attached to the cord until it stops pulsing allows her to receive important nutrients that a lot of babies miss out on because in a hospital they cut the cord right away. It's sad if you read the research... anyway. After Marley was born she was handed to me and we started nursing. She latched on right away and we nursed for a long while. She was bright-eyed and alert the entire time. No drugged baby here this time! I'm not sure of the time frame after the birth but after Marley had been nursing for awhile Illysa needed to do the newborn exam. Willard's parents couldn't come down to New Braunfels for the birth of Marley since his mom can't travel far from home so to show off Marley and to see the newborn exam we hooked up our web cam and gave them a call. Illysa started checking Marley out, doing her measuring and weighing. She was 7 pounds 12 ounces and 19 3/4 inches long and was born at 2:12 am.

After Illysa was done checking her out Willard got to cut the cord. He was so adorable and such a proud proud daddy. Something I forgot to mention is that during all this time, about an hour, the girls were hanging out with us on our bed. Illysa didn't interfere with our family bonding, only checking on Marley and myself when she needed too. I also got to eat after birth. Dad brought back muffins and fresh fruit from walmart and made me up a plate. Madison and Makenna took turns feeding me while I laid nursing Marley. They both were completely fascinated with their baby sister and that mommy had given birth at home. They enjoyed getting to be such a big part
of everything. Madison became a little mini midwife. She was very concerned about me and wanted to make sure that I was okay and stayed by my side. Makenna was her usual self and was back and forth here and there. Sorry, this part of our birth story is being written 6 months after the fact and I'm trying to get things mentioned and put in the right spot. Another thing I should mention is that dad left to go and get a few things from walmart which is only 10 minutes down the road and when he got back there was a baby! Things happened so fast that he didn't even have time to get back before miss Marley was born. After the fact I was so happy that I had changed my mind about mom going. I'm glad she got to be there for this extraordinary event. I'm also very grateful that mom thought to grab the camera! We wouldn't have these amazing and beautiful pictures of Marley's birth if she hadn't been quick thinking.

One of my favorite parts of birthing at home was Marley's first bath. June and Illysa ran a bath for Marley and I in our bathroom. For her very first bath I got to be in it with her. And the best part?! was that we weren't alone. New Big Sister Makenna wanted to join us. So she striped down and hopped in the tub with us. I asked Madison if she wanted to get in also but she didn't, not even with a bathing suit on. While Marley, Makenna and I were soaking in the tub Madison would get her hand wet and rub warm water on my shoulders. She was wonderful. During our bath Marley got hungry again so I nursed her a little in the tub and then it was time for us to get out and try to get some rest. By this time it's probably 4:30 in the morning, and we had been up all day. The previous day, Friday, had been a busy and fun day for all and the birth of Marley just topped it off so we were all beat. We got out of the tub and Illysa and June got Marley all dried off and swaddled up all nice and tight. I put on a tshirt and climbed into bed. Illysa went over the instructions for Willard and all the charting he would be doing for the next few days for Marley and me. Dad went downstairs and fried up some bacon, scrambled eggs, made a fruit salad and toast for me, Willard, the midwives, etc. He was such a wonderful help. Everyone had their little jobs that they started taking over and it was lovely. The scary part of my experience happened after eating breakfast. I felt the need to use the bathroom so I got out of bed. I felt a lot of blood start running down my legs onto the floor. I said to mom "am I suppose to bleed this much? I don't think I am, will you get Illysa for me?" She went and got her and Illysa had me lay back down... Long story short Willard and Illysa had to carry me to the restroom and when we were in there I lost a huge blood clot and was hemorrhaging. Sounds worse than it probably was but it was a little scary. Illysa carries pitocin and oxygen with her for cases like this. She gave me some oxygen, she and Willard carried me back to bed and Illysa kept an eye on the bleeding. She gave me a few herbs that she uses but June suggested giving me the pitocin (in a shot) to make my uterus contract. Let me say... I cussed more when she gave me that shot than I did at any point in the labor or birth. Illysa had to inject it into my thigh and it HUUURT. I am not a baby when it comes to pain or needles so I was surprised at the pain I felt. Illysa stayed and slept a little before she made her drive home and Willard and I finally got some sleep. The girls had gone back to bed and I believe that dad did too. Mom stayed up and chatted with Illysa for awhile and I think she might have eventually gotten some more sleep.

Giving birth to Marley at home in the comfort and privacy of our home was by far the most amazing experience I've ever had. I felt completely empowered and euphoric. I've had people ask me if childbirth hurt and the answer is "yes" BUT and it's a big BUT it was bearable. I never actually thought I was going to die and I know that if we ever had another baby that I'd go the same route and give birth naturally at home. Americans need to be better informed on our options for pregnancy and childbirth. Only 1% of our births are with midwives and this is to small a number. In Europe it's closer to 30 +% and they have lower maternal and infant mortality rates. I won't get on my soapbox right now but I wish more women would do their homework and research when it comes to this important topic. Society and media show childbirth in an unrealistic light. It's the most beautiful thing a woman can go through and we aren't taking advantage of the power we hold. If I could go back in time and change the births of Madison and Makenna to be unmedicated births I would. I believe that our birth is reflected in the demeanor of Marley and her personality. She's so calm and laid back. She's also very very healthy and I also contribute that the fact that we've been exclusively breastfeeding for 6 months. She had her first taste of formula the other night. She hasn't been sleeping very well at night so I thought I'd try a trick that my sister started trying with my niece and giving a formula bottle at night. Formula is harder for babies to digest so it stays in their system longer than breast milk and they can go longer between feedings. She's only had a few bottles of it and now she's refusing to drink from a bottle at all, even breastmilk. What a titty baby! lol.

I have a hard time getting on the computer anymore and I really miss writing and blogging. I am going to try and be better about it. I think about writing nearly everyday but actually getting on the computer is hard with a 6 month old baby who wants attention all day. =)

Until next time.....

The days before

I've been wanting to write about our birth story this week but have been tired. I've been updating my facebook and myspace via my iphone lately but have not been on the computer. I'm going to start our birth story a little earlier than just the night/morning of......

I'm going to go back to Tuesday, March 24th.

Tuesday was a day that Willard and I had an appointment with our midwife, Illysa. We got a call that day that she had another client who was in labor. I was a bit disappointed that we were having to reschedule because I was becoming very uncomfortable. Even though I was disappointed I was very excited for her other client. The couple in labor had been in our birthing class with us and I was thrilled that she was having her baby. This client also had another child, age 6, who was in the sibling class with the girls that our midwife had. They had asked about us and thought we would have already had our baby.... but nope! =) Anyway, so Illysa gave us a call later in the day to reschedule our appointment. When I spoke with her on the phone I asked her about maybe finding natural ways to induce labor. I had heard about Castor oil working well. She suggested we first try acupuncture. Illysa referred us to an acupuncturist, Genevieve, that she's used with other clients before. We made an appointment for Wednesday morning at 8:30 with Genevieve and then would just follow up with Illysa afterwards......

Wednesday, March 25th...

We had to leave our house in New Braunfels pretty early to make it to Austin at 8:30am. Genevieve works out of her home and it's a cool place. Willard and I were both very impressed with her amazing piece of property. It feels like it's in the country but is actually only minutes from downtown. We were also very impressed with Genevieve. I'm very glad that Illysa recommended her to us. I liked that she talked to us and spent a lot of time showing Willard pressure points on my legs and feet to try before and during labor. I have always been very curious about acupuncture and am glad that I finally got to experience it. To answer peoples question, no it doesn't hurt. The needles are so tiny! Once she had them placed in the correct spots I did have a moment where I thought I'd throw up. I got very, very hot and my mouth started watering. Genevieve said that was a good, normal sign that my hormones were flowing. She quickly took out the needles and I raced to the bathroom. Lucky for me I didn't throw up and I felt better almost instantly. A few moments later she added back in the needles and added two others in my wrists to help with the nauseousness. I was completely fine after that! When she started with the needles Marley automatically started moving. In the womb Marley was a night mover. She didn't move much during the day and if she did they were small movements as if she was stretching. However, when those needles were placed on my baby toes and legs she started moving everywhere. Placement on the baby toes is suppose to help babies turn and Marley had been a bit posterior. I also had a few contractions so I was feeling very hopeful when we left. After that we went to Illysa's for our prenatal appointment. Everything was going well with Marley. She did an exam and I was only 2 cm dilated and hadn't effaced at all but I was still good and "mushy." Marley was also still high and hadn't engaged into the pelvic area yet. I was disappointed that I wasn't more dilated than that since I'd been having some pretty good braxton hicks contractions for a few days. But at least everything was great with Marley's heart rate, etc. During our appointment Illysa suggested that we spend the afternoon with just the two of us for a little while. She told us of a place called Mount Bonnell that was only minutes from her apartment. After seeing the beautiful views from there and climbing the MASSIVE staircase up to those views we texted McCoy, Willards FOH buddy, and had lunch at a great tex-mex restaurant in Austin. After lunch we went back home to my mom and the girls and later Willard practiced the pressure points Genevieve showed him. I had some contractions but nothing that said I was in labor.

Thursday, March 26th....

I'm not sure what we did on Thursday. Dad and mom were both in town and we may have played Wii all day.

Friday, March 27th....

When I woke up on Friday morning I was having severe cabin fever. This was the week of Madison's spring break and dad had been making sales calls while he was down here but hadn't spent much time with the girls. Dad had talked about going home but mom and I had convinced him to stay one more day and spend it with all of us. The day started out gloomy outside and I was pretty depressed that we might have to spend another day around the house. I decided that I'd get a shower and hoped that the weather would get better. After we all got ready we went to eat lunch at our favorite cheap mexican place in town. While there we tried to think of somewhere fun and different to go. We got in the car and headed towards Austin with a few ideas in mind. After some debating we decided on going to Peter Pan Miniature Golf. The girls had a lot of fun having mimi and papaw here to play golf with them. Madison even got a few hole in ones! When we were done with our game Willard and I decided that we wanted to show my parents Mount Bonnell. Even though my dad had lived in Austin, once upon a time, he hadn't ever heard of it. PLUS Willard thought me walking up those stairs, again, would be a good idea. Mom and Dad were just as impressed with the views as Willard and I had been. We walked around a bit and looked at all the massive and gorgeous houses in that area and then everyone decided that a nice cold beer sounded good. Since none of us are very familiar with Austin we had a hard time deciding where to go for a drink and some food. We ended up going to the original Chuy's. By this time I was having contractions off and on but nothing painful. In fact they felt like braxton hicks contractions and I didn't even mention them to anyone. We were seated and we all split two orders of nachos and were full. It was about 7:30 and we knew the puppy dogs would be starving to we started home. On the way home from Austin I had 3 really good contractions but they were 8 minutes apart and 20 minutes apart. We got home about 8:30 and Willard wanted to do our acupuncture pressure points again. Willard lit some candles, I got out my iPod and got comfy on the bed awaiting the pampering to begin. He started out like he had the night before and I practiced my deep breathing techniques. After about an hour of that I told him we should get some paper and start timing contractions. I was beginning to feel them pretty regularly. I didn't want to get out of the zone and zen-type feeling we had going on so I didn't go downstairs to tell anyone goodnight. He came back and went back to my toes and feet. I tapped his phone whenever I had a contraction and he'd take note of it...

This is where our birth story begins.....

It's come and gone...

Our due date that is....

Yesterday was our official due date and also my father-in-laws birthday. I had more contractions than I've ever had in a day yesterday but nothing that said "You're in Labor!!" Since I last updated we've had two midwife appointments. I had an appointment on Saturday the 7th and I was 1 1/2-2 cm dilated and really "mushy" (haha). Everything was going well with Marley and I was measuring wonderfully, etc. Illysa, the midwife, said that I could go into labor at anytime. Willard came home a night early because I was really overwhelmed and getting nervous. My mom also came down to be with me and help out with the girls. We had another midwife appointment on the 17th of March. We didn't do an exam so I don't know if I've progressed or not. I did lose my mucus plug a few days before that appointment which is an impending sign of labor... but it wasn't for us! We've all been going a little crazy playing this waiting game with miss marley. I've been wanting to get out of the house so we've been to the park mulitple days in a row and we went to the botanical gardens in San Antonio on Saturday. When Mom was here we all took Madison (and Makenna) to see the Alamo. Madison has been studying Texas history in class and we knew she'd enjoy seeing the Alamo. She had a wonderful time and enjoyed getting to see the Alamo in "real life."

Mom is headed back down to the house this afternoon to spend a little time with Madison on her spring break before the baby arrives. Dad is also heading down here with the dogs in a day or two, unless he gets a phone call that says "SHE'S IN LABOR!" We have another appointment tomorrow with the midwife and I'm going to ask about starting things off by using castor oil. We've tried every other old wives tale ideas about getting labor started. I'd like to go into spontanious labor but to be truthful we are running out of time for Willard to be here for the bonding expierence. He has taken a new job and will be living up in the Dallas/Fort Worth area and he starts on the 13th of April. The 4 of us girls (wow, 4 of us) will be living down here in New Braunfels until we can get our house sold. Hopefully we'll have better luck this time around... We are all very excited about this change. We will all miss the Ragweed guys and wives but this will give Willard a great opportunity of being home more with his family.

I will leave you with a few pictures taken yesterday on the big Due Date Day...

i haven't felt.....

I haven't felt much like updating lately... In fact I haven't really been on the computer much. We've been busy around the house trying to prepare for the arrival of Marley. Willard did a lot of work on the nursery. He put up crown-molding and chair-railing and painted it the most gorgeous color called "frivolous". The nursery is almost finished there are just a few things that Willard needs to hang on the wall. We still need to hang her adorable letters that her cousin jennifer had made for her and also my belly cast. We will take pictures sometime when he gets back home - which is on SUNDAY! He's been gone for 2 weeks and I'm anxious for him to get home. I've been feeling overwelmed for some reason. I'm just so uncomfortable and I don't sleep at night much. Our midwife appointments have been going well. Marley is still growing and I'm still measuring a little larger than my due date. Yesterday Madison got sent home from school with a 102 fever and the nurse at school said she saw "white bumps" on her throat. My first instinct was " Oh great, strep throat!" Luckily her pedi's office was able to get her in right away and the did the strep test. It was positive. I knew it would be. They even said that there has been cases of mono going around the younger age groups. Kids everywhere around this area have been getting sick. We've got her on antibiotics and today she seems to be feeling fine. On Saturday I have an appointment with our midwife and after that the girls have a sibling class with Illysa, the midwife, and another young girl whos parents are having a baby in March. Illysa is going to let the kids watch a movie of a home/water birth and talk with them, etc. I have already shown the girls a few homebirths from the movie The Business of being Born. I didn't want them to be scared if they heard me making noises or yelling and I also didn't want them to be scared of seeing Marley being born. Willard and I are getting very very very anxious for the little one to be born.

An update on my Mother-in-law. She's was finally released from the hospital this past saturday and had to continue her rehab and nursing care there. She ended up having three surgeries when she was at the hospital. She's coming along but is still extremely tired. I'm sure that she's happy to be home. Since she can't make it down to New Braunfels for Marley's birth we are going to hook up our webcam's for her to be able to see Marley soon after birth. True it's not the same as being here but it's better than missing the event completely.

Here are some pictures of me and willard that my mom took of us at the same spot where we were married. Those were taken when I was 35 weeks pregnant. I will also post my 36 & 37 week belly pictures. I'll be 38 weeks this sunday!

36 Weeks

37 Weeks

My Mother-in-law

Right now my mother in law, jerri, is in surgery. Whoever reads this blog, please, please pray for her. She's been battling cancer for many years now and this surgery will either help her a great deal or not. We are all praying and hoping for the best..... Willard is off on the road tonight and as a wife I wish I could do more than just listen on the phone. I feel so helpless right now.

Belly Pictures

Here are my 32 week and 33 week belly pictures. I'll be 34 weeks tomorrow!! The last part of the pregnancy is flying by. I feel as if we are running out of time to get things done..... I'll post a couple of pics of the girls on their new trampoline that mommy & daddy, mimi & papaw, grandma jj & pops and aunt debbie & uncle larry got them for christmas. Yes, Yes, we know... trampolines can be dangerous but we got one with a great safety rating and there are rules for the trampoline. I think most accidents happen because of parents not paying attention or thinking that the net is a babysitter. They haven't had much time to play on it since Madison's been pretty sick the last two weeks and we've been super busy during the day.

32 weeks

33 Weeks

Make up your mind!

I think Marley is breech again. I was just getting use to feeling her feet kick me in the ribs and now if feels like her head is back in it's comfy spot. I put my iPod on last night and put headphones on my lower belly for Marley to listen to some music. She listened to some Bob Marley and some Bruce Springsteen. She liked them both but was really active during the Bruce Springsteen songs. I guess she has rhythm already! Marley is also not utilizing all the room she has in my womb. She prefers the right side of my body and the left side never feels much movement. It's as if she's curled into a sideways ball or something. My right side ribs would like it very much if she'd move over a little. =)

We took Madison to her doctors appointment on Wednesday. I'm glad we didn't have to pay a co-pay because all the did was tell us what we already knew. We still needed to get a doctors note for school, so I guess it accomplished something. The nurse did a swab for strep and for the flu since both have been going around but neither of them came back positive. I believe Madison had the flu but that we had waited it out. I now have a bad cough and a very scratchy sounding voice. I haven't gotten a fever and I'm only a little achy. I'm at the end of whatever it is I've got. Makenna has been feeling just fine and Willard has been doing everything he can NOT to get sick. He has finally gotten over all that crap he had when he was gone in January....

For Christmas mom gave all of us kids web cams... I've been a terrible daughter and hadn't gotten it set up. So, this morning Big Mak and I set it up and got our skype account all put together. If you have skype and want to add us we're thewillardstx. I think it'll be a fun way to stay in touch with my sisters and parents whom we don't live by. Especially since Meredith and our niece and nephew live in Montana! I know Makenna and Madison will think it's fun to be able to see Morgan and Weston on the camera and vice versa. In fact!! Makenna and I already tested out the camera and took a picture which I'll post below. She wanted to do a funny face and email it to Mimi and daddy. You'll have to excuse me, I have on no makeup! ((GASP!))

Everything else around here is pretty boring. Willard and I picked out a fabric we like for Marley's room. We are going to have curtains made and some throw pillows to put on the extra bed. Willard will be home on Sunday and he's going to primer the nursery. We still need to pick out a paint color but that will be easier now that we have a fabric picked out. The nursery bedding was on backorder and wasn't suppose to ship until the 20th of February but I got an email yesterday saying it was on it's way here! That was a nice surprise! I'm glad we'll be getting it sooner than later since we are convinced that Marley will be an early arrival. Which reminds me... If you haven't put a guess up on our baby guessing site you should. Here is the link: http://www.expectnet.com/games/KendallFamily Go and make a guess of when you think Marley will arrive.... do it!! right.this.minute!

Well Makenna and I are off to do some chores and perhaps we'll go run some errands.