Martin Crew, Party of Five

I am so excited to introduce our newest crew member!

Nikolai Darius Martin

September 24, 2019

8lbs 6oz

21.5in

Our first picture featuring both the boys

Almost looks like I have mama's boys doesn't it?  Those close to us know that little Spiderman sure loves his mama, but is a Daddy's Little Dude all the way!

On Monday, I had an appointment and was 38 weeks 4 days.  Because we live 40 minutes from the base hospital without traffic, and with Potatoes rushing into the world in a rapid 22 minutes,  I opted for a membrane sweep and a room for the night at the base hotel.

After my mom and I said goodbye to Uncle Ryan, checked in and had a hotel nap, Daniel and Potatoes came to meet us.  The Martin trio headed out for some bowling while my mom got her things together for the night. 

We played disc golf hours before I was admitted to have Alexander, so I was hoping going bowling might help move things along. 

After bowling, my contractions started getting stronger and more frequent to the point I felt it was time to give L&D a call.  This meant Daniel wasn't yet going home to Zoey, and my mom and Potatoes posted up in the hotel room.

I progressed quickly at first, and they said they were going to keep me based mainly.on the fact that Alexander's delivery was so very fast.  I opted for the epidural this time, since I was a bit traumatized by the experience of last time.  Unfortunately, it made me itch like crazy- from the inside- which is apparently a side effect experienced by nearly.half of people to various degrees. 

At 10pm I was nearly 7cm; by 2am I was still at 7cm and my contractions had slowed down.  They kept.advising me to rest but the itching skin was too intense.  Luckily, at 4:45 they opted to manually break my water.

It was a far different experience pushing with the epidural and required some coaching from the doc.  Though it felt like the whole process took forever, Nikolai came into the world at 5:59am, just over an hour after my water broke.

This boy is strung like his brother!  He lifted his head and tilted it towards the voice of both his daddy and his brother within 30 minutes of entering the world.

He looks a lot like his big brother!

Because of the timing, that night was the first night Zoey was ever left alone all night.  We were so sure he would come by midnight and then Daniel could run home to snuggle her when baby and I fell asleep, but this guy had other plans.

When Gammie told Alexander his brother was here, big brother jumped out of bed, got dressed and brushed teeth in record time; racing to meet the new addition.  Finally, Daniel was able to go see Zoey, who smelled the baby hat, ate her meal from the previous day (hunger strike!) and promptly passed out.  She was probably up all night stressing- poor princess.

Gammie is in love already 

Alexander is absolutely smitten.  He has been so gentle and giving lots of kisses, but also keeping things true to Alexander style at the same time.  Hopefully Nikolai has some spunk!

He wanted to sing songs to his little brother.  We started with Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star and Wheels on the Bus.  Then I told Potatoes that this day was his brother's birthday so he could sing him a special song, expecting Happy Birthday.

"I'm your big brother! You're my little baby! I will always protect you, but when you get big we will be able to FIGHT!!"

Big Brother is a perfect balance of sweet and salty!

We had the BEST team!!! I cannot begin to explain how much love everyone poured into our stay.  We had so many laughs and hugs and just a beautiful experience.   I didn't know if it was weird to ask for the phone numbers of my favorite nurses, but I absolutely would've loved to.

We are battling jaundice and trying to figure out feedings but after three days, they finally sent us home!

Here's to our first night all together under one roof!

Happy Gotcha Day, Princess Zoey!

We may have a lot going on in our family right now, but September 22 is a monumental day for the Martin crew.

Seven years ago, we woke up at the crack of dawn to make a four hour trip (each way) to meet a puppy named Splash.  Before I was offered the Martin name, this princess was adopted and renamed Zoey Splash Martin.

Our first born, our princess, our baby girl

In honor of her Gotcha Day, we invited her new boyfriend over for a cookout.

Ozzy is a year and a half year old German Sheppard, Husky, Lab mix who lives in our neighborhood with his awesome mama Jessie, and his dad Al, who I have yet to meet, but assume he must be cool based on the rest of his household.

The first time Zoey met Ozzy, he played right into her personality.  He basically allowed her to be the boss.  She has been extra playful since we moved here, so she seems excited to have a friend to run around and even rough house a bit with.

They enjoyed running around the pool and some Frosty Paws ice cream treats!

It was a good crowd and good company.

After Ozzy and Jessie headed home for the evening, Zoey got her big present....the t-bone!

No matter the changes our family is blessed by, this puppy holds our hearts and will always be treated as royalty rather than simply 'the dog.'

Gammie even made Potatoes a shirt to express how we feel about her!

Family Time! Nesting Time!

With baby birthday looming, we have been blessed to have help finish preparing the house and be there in case baby boy #2 makes his arrival....which has yet to happen.

Jan came for a week while my mom wrapped up her summer in Michigan and prepared for her extended stay.

While Jan was here, Daniel got to work on a crazy cool Stegosaurus Bunk Bed for Potatoes.  No blueprint; all from his own planning

We got a great package from Grandmomma including pjs for the baby, these Mickey threads that Potatoes couldn't wait to put on, and a blanket crocheted by Daniel's grandmother for him as a baby

When the bed was complete enough for Alexander to spend the night in it, he immediately set to work creating a play space for baby brother.

Bunk bed built....ready for paint!

At my 37 (and a half) week appointment, they realized this baby is transverse.  I had never heard of this, but when the doctor says four times, "This is not good," you know something is just not right.  Apparently a breech baby causes far less complications than transverse.  My boy was sideways, resting up under my ribs, with the entire umbilical cord laying right by his head. Many doctors will consider a transverse baby an automatic c-section, but my doctor, the medical director at the base hospital, was ready to give her best.

The next day, I spent the entire day at the hospital, with Jan by my side keeping things light and making me laugh.  Dr Rosa, who would be leading the procedure, explained to me that an epidural would offer my best chance at success, as she and my own doctor said, my strong abs would fight their efforts otherwise (why thank you!).  This was my first experience with an epidural, and everything had to be done in the operating room in case of the need for an emergency c-section, so Jan scrubbed up to join me.

My AMAZING nurse, Qianna, brought Jan size small scrubs.  Jan was flattered, but a bit snug in the process of getting them on.

They ran out of booties, so she got knee high boots instead.  She rocked her HAZMAT-like suit!

Jan really helped keep the smile on my face through the very long day.

The procedure was successful!!  The doctors rocked it, and were so excited, they were patting each other on the back and telling me over and over how great this was.

I hated the epidural...just an unpleasant sensation... and am now bound up by a band to try to keep this guy in place.  They monitored baby and me for three hours before sending us on our way.  Now I just pray he is in position.  My belly definitely looks different than before, and I started gaining weight again, which I hadn't put on a pound for six weeks, but sometimes I still feel him under my ribs.  Daniel is confident it is just his feet.  We will see tomorrow at my appointment!

Friday, my mom and Ryan flew in!  Ryan landed three hours before my mom so we headed to Caesar's Palace for the brunch buffet.  We had so much fun having a day with everyone in town.  

That night we said goodbye to Jan.

 She was such a blessing during this difficult week!

This kid loves his people so very much

38 weeks!

Baby hopefully dropped into position!  I definitely look bigger than when he was up in my ribs...

Saturday night, we all stepped away from a difficult Georgia game....the Martin crew for a movie in our neighborhood park, and Ryan and my mom to see Rod Stewart on the strip.  We all had a blast, and the Martin crew managed to make it home for the last play of the game and to see the Dawgs pull out the victory.  That was a tough game to watch!

This kid...

 

The restaurant where we went to watch the Falcons game was cold and only Daniel had a jacket...

He enjoyed Gammie snuggles, too

We finished the Stegosaurus bed this week, and I cannot begin to describe how cool it is, or how much Alexander loves it.  When Daniel asked if he liked the rope lights that run underneath and can change to any color, Alexander said, "Well, really, I love ALL of it."

Complete with tail spikes, a chalkboard and dry erase board, as well as a book shelf, this bed is one of the coolest things I have ever seen.  I see many memories being made here!

Hero Heidi Saves the Day

Aunt Heidi is loved by the whole Martin crew!

When we found our Vegas house, we loved the yard, and the location, and the neighborhood, but knew the actual house needed some work.  Daniel immediately tackled the downstairs flooring (replacing 5 of the 6 different types in 700 square feet).

The floors totally transformed the house!

Even with the new floors, the layout is a bit challenging.  The sellers had their couch shoved under the kitchen bar...

I asked Heidi if she would be willing to come help us decorate, since that is her specialty, once we were more settled.  She asked if I wanted her to come earlier to help unpack.  No way!  I can unpack!  I needed Heidi's DESIGN eye.

A few days before her visit, I realized unpacking while pregnant was just not a speedy process.

Enter Hero Heidi!

We juggled fun dates with Potatoes (possibly Aunt Heidi's biggest fan), shopping, doctor's visits, unpacking and decorating!

Somehow Heidi (and Craig via Atlanta) managed to treat US to dinner during the massive amounts of help she offered.

Whoops....preggo brain picked up the bar stools instead of the chairs... luckily Heidi is an IKEA wizard and had the bar stool pulled apart and the chairs put together in no time.  She also built our patio table and helped us pick the perfect couch!

Our tight space requires an interesting table

But we love to entertain so we made it work with this expandable table!

Heidi treated baby boy to this adorable laundry basket

 She also completely set up the nursery...a project I was putting off because it just felt too overwhelming

Many hours will be spent in this swing from Alyssa and Serena!

Not only did Heidi extend her trip by a day, but when we had just two hours before her flight, and I asked that we just sit and watch TV, she insisted on doing so while running a load of laundry, making sure it was folded and set up before leaving.

We still have some work to do, but the progress made with Heidi still takes my breath away.

We love you Aunt Heidi!

Heidi treated baby boy to this adorable laundry basket

 \She also completely set up the nursery...a project I was putting off because it just felt too overwhelming

Many hours will be spent in this swing from Alyssa and Serena!

Not only did Heidi extend her trip by a day, but when we had just two hours before her flight, and I asked that we just sit and watch TV, she insisted on doing so while running a load of laundry, making sure it was folded and set up before leaving.

We still have some work to do, but the progress made with Heidi still takes my breath away.

We love you Aunt Heidi!