Jolie's Baby Blessing

Our sweet baby girl was given the sweetest blessing at home by her daddy on Saturday, May 16th. LDS baby blessings are usually done at church, but due to Robby's work schedule and with my surgeries, we were thankfully, able to have it at home with our closet family members and our Bishop in attendance. We we're sad some family & friends couldn't make it though :(

^Bishop Johanson, Robby, Uncle R.J. (my brother) and Uncle Mike (Robby's brother)

Jolie LeClair Magee | Her Birth Story

On Monday, April 6th at 10:15, Robby and I went to my 36 week ultrasound and doctors appointment to check on Jolie. I noticed the ultrasound tech was having a hard time getting measurements and getting a clear picture of Jolie was close to impossible. The ultrasound tech said, "you might be having this baby soon!" Robby and I looked at each other in shock. The tech was having such a hard time getting measurements and seeing the baby because my fluid was so low. After the ultrasound, Robby and I waited in the room to meet with my doctor. She walked into the room and said, "this baby is full of surprises, huh?" I didn't think so because my fluid was kind of low throughout my whole pregnancy, but she informed Robby and I that Jolie was also breech, which meant I needed to have a c-section that week. Surprise was right! After meeting with the doctor, I had to go into a small room with a monitor and a recliner. They had to monitor the baby to check her heart rate to see if she was stressed. Everything went well with the baby so we headed home (still in shock).

Our check-in time for the c-section was 5:30 AM on Wednesday April 8th and the c-section was scheduled for 7:30. Robby and I went up to the third floor where we were greeted by our nurse and escorted to our room. I changed into the hospital gown, was asked tons of questions and then the nurse stuck me twice with the IV needle but kept hitting a valve inside my vein, so she wasn't able to advance the needle. She didn't want to poke me a third time, so she got another nurse to try on my right arm. That nurse was able to get the IV in without hitting a valve, but for some reason blood went everywhere. 

4 MONTHS LATER:
I can kick myself for not finishing this post sooner because now (it being August 1st) I forgot a lot :( My nurse gave me the nasty sour drink, which I kept down and then the anistiologist came in to talk to me and my mom convinced him to let her go in along with Robby. He said yes as long as it was okay with my doctor (she said yes). My doctor came in while I was in the bathroom and my mom was in there helping me out. It's not easy walking with all those IV bags. I remember them finally being ready and strolling me into the surgical room. I was in there by myself which was a bit awkward and lonely. I was pretty dang still when the anistiologist gave me my epidural, which was in a sitting up position and all I remember was it sort of feeling like a bee sting, which wasn't painful at all. Then again, I've never been stung by a bee ha! 

I remember the most awkward part about the whole c-section experience was when the nurses put my catheter in... Yuk! So embarrassing. After that, the anistiologist kept poking me with a needle asking me if I could feel the difference between my lower stomach and upper body. I kept feeling it which kind of scared me but he said the doctor would pitch me eventually to see if I felt anything. Sure enough, she said "did you feel that? I just pinched you!" I felt so relieved because I didn't feel her pinching me. Before they got started I asked her if she could pinch me ONE MORE TIME just to make sure haha. So the anistiologist pinched my upper body joking around. I remember them letting Robby in and he was by my side the whole time. It took them awhile to get the baby out (come to find out... the incision was small). I felt them tugging and I felt pressure. Right before they took the baby out, they called my mom in so she could record and take pictures for us. She also promised not to talk but the excitement of her first, having her first after FIVE LONG YEARS got the best of her and she chatted away ;) I'm so grateful for her though. We would hardly have any footage if it wasn't for her. Anyways, I was a little sadden at how quiet everyone was. I did feel more pressure when she was coming out but I wasn't 100% sure if it was time. I remember seeing the baby being carried to the table where they cleaned and measured her, and I remember my mom saying "she's definitely a girl!" I kept watching her on the screen they had above me and I kept asking Robby and my mom allllll sorts of questions, like: 

What time was she born?
How much does she weigh? 
Is she cute? 
Does she have all fingers and toes?
How long is she? 
Does she have a lot of hair?

I would have liked my doctor and nurses being a bit more vocal but besides that, our experience was so peaceful. Jolie did had bruises all over her bum and legs for them tugging to get her out.

They FINALLY brought her over to me and words can't describe the feeling I felt. It was surreal. Not to sound cheesy but it felt like a dream. When I saw them carry her to the table after getting her out, all I kept thinking about was "Is she really mine?" For nine months all I ever wondered was if she was healthy and what she was going to look like and she was RIGHT THERE.... just a few feet (felt more like a mile) away from me.

Jolie LeClair Magee

Jolie LeClair Magee was born on April 8th at 8:17 AM, weighing 5lbs 10oz and 19 inches long. 

It felt like FOREVER for them to get her cleaned up and over to me. I kept asking my mom and Robby questions about her and couldn't wait to see her up close. It all happened so fast and I wish I could relive that moment over and over again. Having our baby girl was the BEST day of my ENTIRE life and not a day has gone by when I don't think of her birth day. Some may think I'm crazy, but I actually really enjoyed the hospital stay. Those three days with Robby and Jolie were so peaceful (minus a situation with two nurses & breast feeding) and special and I loved the bonding time we had has a family of three. 
I will NEVER forget it!

I plan on making a video going into greater details of Jolie's birth but I'm debating whether or not I want to post it :/

By the way, the c-section scar is the ONLY scar on my body that I'm MORE than happy to have. I was smiling and getting teary eyed the other day while I glanced at the scar in the shower, because that's how our sweet baby girl came into this world. 

^daddy's first time holding his baby girl

^skin-to-skin

^daddy holding her after her first bath

^jolie's coming home outfit

One Month

Bored much? ;)

How has it been four weeks already?! NO, really. I know people say time flies by, but I didn't think it would fly by THIS fast. We even get less sleep at night, which means more hours with her and time still seems to go by super fast. Robby and I have been trying for a baby for almost five years. Five LONG years! Five LONG years that have DRAGGED. So now that our sweet baby girl is here, I want to make sure we soak EVERY. SINGLE. SECOND. UP!

Size Diapers: Newborn. She did fit into preemie diapers for a couple of weeks. 

Size Clothes: Newborn. Grandma Magee (can't wait to hear what she'll call her grandmas and grandpas) did buy some preemie clothes, which fit just right for about a week, but now they're too small. 

Eyes: Dark Blue. They are getting lighter around her pupils. Mommy and daddy are guessing her eye color will be hazel. 

Hair: When she was first born she had a good amount of dark hair, but now she's losing it and it's getting lighter. Or maybe it's getting lighter because she's losing it ;)  

Sleeping: She wakes mommy and daddy up about every two hours. She sleeps really good in our arms, enjoys sleeping in our bed in the mornings and likes her mamroo, but once we put her in her bassinet she'll move and grunt till she falls alseep. 

Eating: Breast feeding has been a challenge! I'll just leave it at that. She usually eats 3oz of formula every two hours. She did drink 4oz with daddy the other day. She had really bad constipation about a week ago so we took her to the doctors and he told us to give her an ounce of apple juice with an ounce of water and she LOVED it! 

Milestones: She picked her head up when she was a day old and she continues to pick up her head. She also copied mommy FOUR times making mommy and daddy's favorite "kiss face." I made the face and she would make the face. I would stop and she would stop. She did it four times which surprised all of us because she was only a few days old. 

Nicknames: Baby girl, angel, sweetheart, beautiful, my aunt calls her "little butterfly" and my brother calls her thumbelina. Robby and I have been calling her "babysorus," because she grunts, makes noises like a baby raptor and tries to eat us when she's hungry. :)

Funny Moments: My oh my does baby girl have an attitude already. I'm pretty sure I captured it in the first photo above. She will grunt after you say something, which almost sounds like a talking back grunt. 

It's also hilarious when she tries to suck on our hand or thumb when we try to burp her. Home girl does not like taking burp breaks. 

Yesterday Jolie was in her mamaroo and while I was in the middle of saying the dinner prayer, she grunts and makes the funniest noises after I got done saying how thankful we are for her, which made her dad laugh and then of course, I started laughing. Funniest. Thing. Ever!

Favorite Baby Items: 

• Pampers Swaddlers Diapers. I bought and tried the honest brand but didn't like them too much. Pampers have been the best for us so far. We love them!
• Water Wipes.
• Avent Pacifiers. 
• Comotomo Silicone Bottles.
• Little Unicorn Swaddle blankets.
• Headbands from Lou Lou & Company. They are so pretty and true to size. 

Loves:

• Eating
• Car rides
• Being held/Snuggling
• Mommy singing to her
• Laying on mommy and daddy's chest
• Her head being covered when she sleeps
• When I rub her face gently with my fingers. Puts her to sleep quick!

Hates: 

• Diaper changes
• Bath time. She hated her first and second bath, but once her cord fell off and we were able to use her 4moms infant tub, she enjoyed it a lot more. She just hates being cold. But then again, who likes being cold?
• Waiting to eat
• Changing clothes
• Having to toot
• Doctor visits