Snow, Snow, and More Snow...

It has snowed all week. (In fact, on the news they were calling it the Artic Blast of 2008; as if it doesn't happen anywhere.) While the rest of Portland has shut down snow has opened up a world of opportunity for the Schmidt Family.

Saturday was the worst. Airlines were shutting down, cars were forbidden from the streets, but Tim and Anthony took this opportunity for a make-shift adventure. Stores don't really stock sledding equipment and the ones that do, sold out all of theirs sleds and saucers hours before. As a last resort, Tim and Anthony at about eight o'clock at night went to BiMart in hopes that they would fufill their need for high speed sled equipment. Just as they were giving up, on the wall in bright yellow (to them it appeared to have an almost majestic glow) appeared a two person floation raft. Normally used in pools of course but they knew better. They took it to the steepest hill they could find (the road by the park where they play tennis), a road that was closed to traffic due to weather and raced all the other junior high kids that had the same idea. They probably would never have come back were it not for the hot chocolate waiting for them.

So, Tim tried to get the car out of our parking lot after a full day of snow but couldn't get more than five feet before he called me to help him push the car back into the parking spot. So, the entire family, the three of us, bundled up (even little Macy) and walked a full three miles to the only place in town we knew that had chains left. Six inch snow is quite difficult to walk in, you have to high step it all the way. Tim tried walking in the road for a while where the cars had compacted it, but with little Macy in the Baby Bjorne and crazy Portland drivers in the snow that didn't last long. When we finally got to the store, they were sold out of the size that we needed. Yet, they were getting a new shipment in, in an hour... at least that is what they said. You know, BiMart is an interesting place, or at least for the first hour. If you ever find yourself needing to purchase gun ammunition, tupperware, and a cheap tool set at the same time... BiMart's your place. Two hours later and after the all you can eat pizza buffet next door we got our chains and were able to make it with a cold, hungry baby all the way home.

What is a snow day without a snowman? We were short on supplies but managed to make a great snowman. His name was Henry Junior (named after the original Henry, born and deceased in the Winter of 2006). One of our sweet old retired neighbors, Bryce, brought out the nose (a carrot) and a kettle with his secret hot citrusy blend... Tim tasted a hint of alcohol, so the rest of us ended up sneaking it into the bushes and put on a smile to thank Bryce for his kindness.

Santa

Tim came home from church last week just beaming and couldn't wait for me to guess why... So, we started playing 20 questions and of course I had no clue why he was so excited. The box in his hands should have given me a clue but having a new baby I think is making me lose my mind a bit (maybe it is just the lack of sleep although I have been blessed with a baby who will usually sleep about four hours at a time)...

So, out of the box came a bright red suit... and of course Tim had volunteered to play Santa at our ward Christmas party. I think it is one of his dreams to play every holiday mascot and it all started when he got to be the easter bunny a few years ago for Calie and Anthony. Anyways... Tim was a great santa and in the process Macy was able to sit on Santa's lap this year without any of the risks of getting sick that would result from going to the mall. I do have to say though that this Santa was a bit on the skinny side and missing a few wrinkles.

But, the fun didn't end there this week... We had a bunch of first events (I guess that is what happens when you have a newborn):

Macy had her first visit to the dentist (well, visit to the dental school to have lunch with daddy).

We had many different naps going on here... We love to sleep on the couch, on the floor in front of the fire, hanging with the bottle, and of course while studying with daddy.

Our first snow day... Portland is crazy when it snows, they shut down just about everything in the town and in fact Sunday morning Macy and I were in bed and Tim was getting ready for church when he came back in and laid down saying that church was cancelled... I didn't believe him, in fact I thought he was just trying to get out of going to church to stay home with me, but when we woke up a few hours later I had a bunch of messages on our phones saying that the Bishop decided to cancel Church... Who cancels church? I've never heard of it before, but then again it isn't just the church that decides to cancel everything. The whole town of Portland has been freaking out this week. In fact, Tim had a snow day on Monday and almost all of the School Districts have been shut down this week due to threats of inclimate weather.

Overall, our little girl is doing great and we love all the time that we get to spend with her.

Macy's first photo shoot.

We took Macy in to Kiddie Kandids tonight to get some CUTE pictures taken to remember her as a newborn. They turned out so great. I'm excited to put them up around the house and send them off to the grandparents. In fact, I'm so excited that I just had to post them and share them with you.

I think that this one is my favorite. She is just adorable!

Our happy little family.

I just love this one of Tim and Macy. Definitely a keeper.

She had a few bubbles that she wanted to blow.

She is quite the sleeper.

A week old...

My little Macy Claire is a week old today. I can't believe it. It seems like just yesterday that I found out I was pregnant and now I get to hold this sweet little angel in my arms all day long.

Here are just a few pictures of the fun things we have gotten to do this week.

Family photos for christmas cards

Tim loves feeding her a bottle --- Going to dinner at Olive Garden for Lisa's birthday

She loves her swing (even though you can't tell) --- Misha keeps a watchful eye on the little bundle, very careful not to get too close.



She always has her hands up in her face --- Tim playing Wii with Macy

Special Delivery

Exciting news! Our little Macy Claire Schmidt was born early this morning at 12:48 a.m. She is 7 lbs. 2 oz. and 2o inches long. We are excited to report that mom and baby are doing well.

Here are a few photos for your enjoyment.

Labor and Delivery

Waking up Monday morning never did the thought cross my mind that I was going to have my baby any time soon. I still had just under two weeks. I hurried to get ready and soon was out the door to my doctor's appointment. Getting on the scale is never the best of the day but soon I was seated in the room and Misha was checking my blood pressue. My blood pressure is usually kind of low but this particular day it was high, like 130/9o. Misha was a bit surprised and had my lay down to see if resting would help bring it down. Ten minutes later, Misha came back in to check it again. It was still a bit high but manageable now.

Dr. Karrlson came in a few minutes later. We exchanged the usual pleasantries and got down to business. After a brief check the doctor announced that I was dilated to one and about 80 percent effaced. Good news I thought, maybe this little girl will come pretty soon. Hurray! Yet- Dr. Karrlson had other plans on her mind. Because my blood pressure was so high she was a bit worried about pre-eclampsia (seizures due to high blood pressure). I had two choices, I could either go to the hospital to be induced or I could go home and be on bedrest. I didn't spend too much time considering my options and soon decided to be induced. I was scared out of my mind and close to tears but excited at the same time. Luckily, it wasn't bad enough that I had to go the hospital right away but had the chance to go home, eat, and get my hospital bag. Saying good bye to the doctor I gathered my belongings and pulled out my phone. I was desperate for some company but of course Tim was with a patient and wouldn't answer his phone. In the mean time I called my mom almost in tears not knowing what would come next. Being the great mom that she is, she quickly called my dad, packed a bag, and was on the road within half an hour. It was such a relief to know she was on her way. Finally after about ten phone calls to Tim with no answer he finally called me back. Confused by my constant calls he never knew what was coming.

Tim had quite the experience getting to the hospital and loves to tell the story of how he was in the middle of a root canal when he got the call. Freaking out, he tried to figure out what he should do. Finish the root canal or jump on the next bus. We finally decided that since it was an emergency I was going to call Megan and see if she could meet me at the hospitla and stay until Tim could there.

It was funny how just the day before Megan had offered (as we picked them up from the hospital) to leave work if I ever needed anything and couldn't get ahold of Tim. The timing was great though and Megan left work just in time to meet me at the hospital at 11:00.

Arriving at the hospital was quite the experience. I followed the instructions of the nursing staff and soon was headed up through the purple elevators to the Labor and Delivery Department. The nurses were great and got me settled into my room. Hooked up to the monitors it was kind of fun to see my little girl's heartbeat all of the time.

I had heard horror stories from a lot of the girls around here about how bad the pitocin is. I silently hoped that this wasn't true as they hooked in my IV. By the time Tim got to the hospital around 1:00, I was settled in and the pitocin was dripping. I could see the contractions on the monitor but still they weren't very strong. We said good bye to Megan and settled in for the long haul, not really knowing what to expect.

Dr. Karrlson came to check in on me at the end of the day. Unfortunately, she wasn't the doctor on call that night but if I still haven't had this little one by the next morning she would be the one to delivery her. She reassured us that she would check in on us in the morning and said good night.

Around 7:00 the on-call doctor came in to check on us. As my contractions were progressing he decided that it was about time to break my water. Just after he broke my water, my mom walked through the door. It was another strong relief to see her.

Not too much later with my contractions progressing to the point where they were starting to get intense the anesthesiologist came in and started my on my epidural. The needle going in was the least of my worries as the contractions were closer together now.

The epidural was AMAZING. After a few minutes the pain had all subsided and the only way I knew what was going on was to look at the monitors and of course all of the wires surrounding us. The nurse also checked me for the first time since getting to the hospital and I was progressing nicely along at a four.

Not really expecting anything to happen in the next few hours, Tim settled down for a nap but I had a hard time sleeping. So, my mom and I had a nice little chat and tried to stay calm.

Around 10:00 the nurse came in to check on me and started me on oxygen. Gross! It was supposed to make sure that my blood pressure wasn't increasing again. Not too much later I felt like I was going to puck. Running around like crazy my mom tried to find something for me to lose my stomach in. Everything is gross coming up but at least all I had had during the day was tons and tons of cranberry juice. The pucking didn't really get better over the next two hours but around midnight all of a sudden the pressure started to increase. I didn't know what it was but thought that the nurse should check.

Surprised to see that I had progressed from a four to a ten in four hours the nurse hurried to get things ready and call the doctor. It took about half an hour for the doctor to come in and for them to get me ready to start pushing.

At 12:30 we started pushing. Although there was no pain the pressure was still great. Lucky for me, Macy Claire Schmidt was born at 12:48 on December 2, 2008 just 15 minutes after I had started pushing.

It was amazing to lay there and be able to hold my little girls in my arms. She was just a little girl at 7 pounds, 2 ounces and 20-1/2 inches long. but to me she was perfect with a full head of dark brown hair. Beautiful!

I didn't even notice when the doctor started stitching me up down there.

I would have to say that the worst part of the whole experience was the pucking as I went into transition. Overall, I would have to say I think I had one of the best experiences. The nursing staff was great, my epidural amazing, and luckily I didn't push very long. Hurray!