Roman Meets Hunter

Throughout my pregnancy I felt so lucky to have Heather O going through the same journey. As both of us expected our 1st, we were able to share stories, symptoms and support. She was about 2 months ahead of me, so I was always checking in with her for advice.




Now that our little ones are both here, we couldn't wait to get them together. Although they probably won't remember their 1st date, we will be able to share these pictures. We look forward to a lifetime of fun memories, playdates and adventures with the O'Briens. We love you guys so much! Cheers to fun times ahead!

2 Weeks

I can't believe our "Little Prince" (as I call him) has been with us for 2 weeks already. It has been such an amazing adventure and every day gets better and better. This morning he went in for his 2 week check-up and is already up to 7 pounds, which is great since a week ago he was under 6. Roman has been eating like crazy and we love all the noises he makes as he feeds away. We really feel lucky that we got a pretty mellow baby since he is rarely unhappy (lets hope it stays this way). I am getting used to the sporadic sleeping and now that Jason is back to working, Roman and I enjoy our lunch dates and days together.

Thank you to all our visitors this week. I always look forward to friends visiting and catching up. Barbara brought over such a delicious dinner, Danielle and her mom brought over Morucci's and today Maddie and Jen made us grilled cheese and french fries, we feel so spoiled with all the love. Jamie and Maya also stopped by to meet Roman and both got the opportunity to meet him while he was awake.




I'm hoping by next week that I will be feeling almost back to normal and hopefully can start going on some walks with this beautiful weather. I know Marley can't wait to go on her 1st walk with Roman.

Here are some of my favorite pics of the week.

Family Resemblance?

So I can definitely rule out that Roman looks like my baby picture. I really don't see any similarities, especially since my head was the size of a bowling ball. Most people have said that Roman looks like Jason and Scott. Lucky guy since both of them are pretty handsome.

Here are some pictures to compare.

Roman


Jason


Heather



Scottie Dog

Can you believe his brown hair?

Our Weekend of Visits

This past weekend I started feeling better, so it was great timing for friends to come and meet Roman. I loved being able to hang out with friends and also show off our new little guy. For the most part, Roman slept but did open his eyes a few times for everyone to get a good look at his curious and expressive faces. Jason and I feel so lucky to have so many wonderful friends that have sent their wishes and spoiled us with delicious meals. Thank you!


Scott loved holding Baby Roman and was so careful and quiet when he held him. He glowed and since is anxious to bring Roman on his 1st walk around the neighborhood. A lot of people think that Roman looks like Scottie.


Danielle stopped by with lunch and to watch the ASU vs. Temple game. She went to Temple and Jason, Dan Noll and I were excited to cheer on ASU. She bought Roman a cute "Future Sun Devil" hat, which he wore during the game. ASU won so we were excited.




Jason's company sent this beautiful arrangement of balloons and flowers made by his boss's wife. What a nice surprise!


Kelli and Grady stopped by on Saturday to bring us lunch. I loved being able to ask her for advice with boys and we can't wait for the guys to become friends.


Jen and Maddie stopped by with a delicious lasagna that we enjoyed for days. They stopped by again this weekend with Keith and Maddie made us laugh and smile with her hilarious comments. She is so good with Roman and also loves Marley. She is the sweetest little girl, I just love seeing her.



Meg came with a Martha Stewart inspired meal that even had a theme. It was so thoughtful and tasty that we overstuffed ourselves and felt so special. She loved holding Roman and he loved it too.


She even brought over baby Coronitas, which Jason enjoyed. How cute was this meal?


Jeremy and Jason watched the games and kept track of their brackets. There were some pretty exciting games on Saturday, so we had fun cheering.


Chris and Meredith came out from the city and were both naturals with Roman.


Someone called us to let us know that the sign lady in Downtown Walnut Creek made us a sign. We took a trip to take a picture of the sign.

ALSO...a huge THANK YOU to Paris, Knute and Ellie for having us over on Friday night for dinner. It was so nice to get out of our house for a little while and enjoy a change of scenery. We had a wonderful time and an excellent meal. We love having them as our neighbors.

Lastly...my favorite picture of the week. Roman is beginning to like sleeping in his basinette, however when I get up in the morning to shower I put him in bed with Jay. He sleeps so peacefully next to him.

Man's Best Friend...

...Becomes Babies Best Bud.



I'm so proud of Marley. She is so gentle with Roman. I think her motherly instincts have kicked in. This picture illustrates why labs are such amazing family dogs, you can trust them to always be loyal, loving and gentle. We are trying to work with her right now to only give Roman one kiss, usually she tries to sneak in 5.

March Madness Begins

Roman's arrival couldn't have had better timing for Jason since his paternity leave matched up perfectly with the start of March Madness. This is a man who would take off 2 days every year from work for the opening days of the tournament. So needless to say, we are snuggled up on the couch and ready to watch lots of basketball. I actually love watching basketball and betting, so we have our brackets filled out and ready to cheer.


We entered our brackets into Jason's work pool, but we also have a side bet. Whoever scores higher will get to pick where we head for our 1st weekend away with Roman. (I know it is a little while away, but gives me good motivation to get into the tournament.) Jason is excited to teach Roman all about the game.

Roman is all set-up with a front row seat. He is cheering for Cal and ASU, but knows they both have tough games to play.


Here are our brackets:

Heather

FINAL 4: Louisville, Missouri, Villanova, North Carolina
Champion: North Carolina

Jay

FINAL 4: Louisville, Connecticut, Pittsburgh, North Carolina
Champion: Louisville


Who do you have winning it all?

Happy St. Patricks Day

Wishing everyone a Happy St. Patricks Day! Thank you Hunter for the adorable Shamrock onesie and Rohrlicks for the delicious cookies.

We Are Home

We got home on Sunday night and there truly is "No Place Like Home." After spending 4 nights in the hospital, we were very ready to be back in our beds and couldn't wait to introduce Marley to Roman. I wasn't quite sure what to expect, but it has been great. Marley understands that she needs to be gentle and I am able to totally trust her. Most of the time, Marley just follows us around and tries to pretend to help (I guess that is what any new big sister would be doing).


Roman is doing great and is such a sweet, loving baby. I could just stare at him for hours and just smile. I love thinking that he is half of me and half of Jason and trying to figure out all his little features.


Monday was eventful and a little stressful, as Roman started looking yellow and luckily a visiting nurse took a blood test that later revealed he was jaundiced. Plus he was down over 10% of his birth weight, which for him was now under 6 pounds. The doctor called and told us that within the next 12 hours our goal was to flood him with formula (as much as he would possibly eat) and to wrap him in a bili blanket that was delivered to our house. The bili blanket is a portable contraption that allows you to be at home for light treatment versus having to be back in the hospital. We were so thankful for this since the last thing we wanted to do was be back in a hospital. As of this morning, he had another blood test and his counts are better and he even gained a little weight, so things are much better. He just has to continue the bili light treatment for 2 more days at home and continue to feed him like crazy.

Being away from the hospital also gave me some time to breathe and reflect on everything that had happened. I had a few moments yesterday when I just had to breakdown and let it all out. The whole labor, birth and surgery was somewhat traumatic emotionally and physcially and it all kind of hit me yesterday. I feel like a new person today and am now just focusing on having fun with our new family and celebrating all the good that came from it.


I love being blessed as a mom, I love seeing Jason as a Dad and I love Roman! It is such an overwhelming feeling of joy that I can't even explain. I thank God every morning for sending us such an amazing miracle.

Welcoming Roman

We are so happy to announce that Roman Walter Maddox made his debut into this world on Friday, March 13th at 9:31am weighing in at 6 pounds 10 ounces. The love and connection you feel is so instant and to finally have him here feels like a dream come true.

The labor was LONG...lasting 47 hours from start to finish, but in the end it is all worth it when you hear that little cry. I had my ups and downs throughout the process and by Thursday night had a major breakdown. Not eating, pain and being confined to a bed for 2 days can really drive you crazy, but thank God for Jason, our families and friends that kept me motivated along the way.

Roman's birth was quite an event. We had 15 doctors and nurses in attendance. We felt like somewhat of celebrities (in the physicians world). Since he had to be born via forcep assisted delivery it made for some extra precaution. I won't go into the graphic details of the delivery, but after 30 minutes of trying to get him out we almost had to have an emergency c-section. Thankfully the Chief of OB was at the hospital and got him out. I just watched Jason the whole time and kept asking him do you think everything was OK. He kept reassuring me and I had such peace knowing that he was by my side to make sure everything would be fine.


After the birth, Roman spent some time in the Nursery to make sure he was OK. He passed with high marks and was shortly back with us. At that point nothing else mattered but that he was here. I had some complications yesterday after the birth and had to have minor surgery done to get rid of some clotting. Luckily after recovery, the doctor's felt like they had fixed the problem and that everything should be complete. Jason and I laughed about it later since with this pregnancy and birth we realized that you just never know what to expect even at the very end. I got back to the our room at 5pm and was exhausted and wiped out. But to see your babies face gives you all the energy you need to start caring for him. Jason was awesome throughout the night and due to my pain and lack of mobility was able to change all diapers and perfect the act of swaddling. I was reminded of all the reasons why I love this man so much and what a great Dad he is going to be and already is in just 1 day.


We are relaxing today and I'm starting to get some energy back. I feel so thankful to have received the best care at UCSF. It really is one of the best hospitals in the world and we were reminded of every reason why.

Now on to the real important stuff, some pics of Roman. I think he is the cutest and sweetest. I just love his little face and could stare at it for hours. He can't wait to meet everyone.

Almost Midnight

Well...I've been here since 9am and it is almost midnight. Feeling good since I have my epidural and have been relaxing. Contractions have started to pick-up and Jay and I have been trying to sleep for the last 2 hours, but no luck. So we are listening to Bob Marley and enjoying our panoramic view of the city lights from our 15 floor suite. It is pretty amazing (I'll post some pics later). Thanks for everyones messages and love. We can't wait til Roman is here.

Due to having an assisted delivery (meaning they will be using forceps to get him out due to my aortic coarctation), he will be born in the O.R. We had planned on having my mom, Betty and Heidi here, but they only allow one to wear the scrubs, so looks like it will be Jay and I and 10 other doctors and nurses (not kidding, I asked). I really am getting treated like royalty. The highlight of my day was the visit from Dr. Stanger who was my pediatric cardiologist and oversaw my open heart surgery at UCSF when I was three. Life really does come full circle and he holds such a special place in my life.

Next message to hopefully come soon that Roman has arrived. Now I must try and pretend to go back to sleep in case the nurse comes back in.

UPDATE...
Almost 1:30pm on Thursday and still no baby and probably not for a little while longer. Lots of contractions, lots of pitocin to keep them going and the edpidural is working but starting to feel some pain so need to start pushing for a higher dose. Don't want to bore anyone with details but doctor's feel that things are still progressing, so they are not discouraged yet. The hardest part for me is I haven't been able to eat since 6pm last night, so starting to get hungry. Hoping for an arrival before midnight, but if not we have a little Friday, the 13th baby in our arms.

Some pics from the 2 day labor day party (I can joke about it now)

This is the view from our labor and delivery room. Can you believe it? Penthouse suite!




Happy on March 11th


My mom, Betty and Heidi came to visit when we thought he would be coming on the night of the 11th


This was one of my favorite nurses, Rita. She never left my side for 12 hours on the afternoon/night of March 12th and kept me motivated. Loved her. In all, I had 5 total nurse shifts. Each one would encourage me by saying, Oh you will definitely be having the baby by the time my shift is over.


This is early morning on the 13th. I told the doctors that if he didn't arrive by this day that I may jump out the 15th story window. Jason thought that it would be funny to take a photo of me. I obviously was not happy. The only items I could eat was clear liquid and ice pops. Here I am enjoying one at 3am.


My rockstar roomate, Jay. One night I tried calling his name 10 times and he never woke up (I later found out he had drank a whole bottle of wine due to the stress). I almost had to call the nurse to make sure he was still breathing. Luckily he was just tired and completely passed out.