Teach Your Children Well

Well, it's happened! We are parents as of May 11, 2010! Michaela came into the world after a tumultuous 23 hour labor. She was 7 pounds 1 ounce and 20 1/2 inches long. She has dark blue eyes and lots of Blonde hair! We couldn't believe it when the nurse said, "oh look, she has blonde hair." Mahan babies are not usually born with hair and I was expecting a baldie for sure. She has the prettiest little newborn hair! The general consensus is: she has Stef's nose and lips and Matt's chin and eye shape. She is the most beautiful thing that we have ever seen or been a part of in our lives. We are truly blessed to have her.

We came home from the hospital on Thursday the 13th and are just taking it easy here now. We already have amazing friends who are helping us with meals and we are so grateful for that. That's one of my favorite things about LDS people. Something happens and we bring food! Michaela is adjusting well. She is having trouble latching on to breastfeed. We are trying a lot of different techniques and will get it eventually. We are giving her formula from a bottle in addition to trying the breast at mealtimes so she has the nutrients she needs. I am not going to give up though. I really want her to be a breast fed baby. Hopefully when my milk comes fully in, we will get more in the habit of it. She is such a sweetie who loves to be held and swaddled. She will let us know real fast if she feels uncomfortable or upset about something. Her dad is already smitten. We both just can't stop looking at her!
Thank goodness she decided to wait until Tuesday. Her Aunt Jen flew in from Texas on Monday morning and my water broke on Monday afternoon... perfect timing. So, Jen and Matt were in the delivery room with me and I am soooo glad they were there to support me. (Literally, they held up my legs for me while I was pushing.) I couldn't have done this without them. I had written out a birth plan and was planning on going totally natural for the delivery. However, since my water broke first, they ended up giving me pitocin after I labored for 12 hours on my own since I was only dilated to 2 cm. I was able to endure 3 and a half hours of labor on the pitocin before I ended up getting an epidural. I couldn't believe how quickly the contractions came and how INTENSE they were.
They were pounding me one after another! I couldn't stand, sit, move, lean forward, anything! It was definitely the worst pain I've ever felt and at the end of 3 hours, I was still only 2 cm dilated. That was discouraging and we decided the best option was for me to get the epidural so I would have the energy to push later. It was the best decision I ever made! I got to sleep and, though it was really weird not being able to move my right leg, it was completely worth it when it only took 2 and half hours to get to 6 cm and then another 4 hours until I got to start pushing. I was dilated to 10 cm for 2 hours but didn't feel the pressure to push so my nurse let me wait until my body was ready on its own. I really appreciated the helpful nurses. We had an overall great experience at the hospital and I'm glad for the way it turned out.
So, now a new chapter of our life begins. We have the tiniest, cutest little daughter and the most supportive friends and family. We would like to say a genuine Thank You to all of you for your well wishes, messages and support of us in our life. We feel so blessed to have the special people in our lives that we do. We are looking forward to the future and all of the limitless possibilities that come along with a new life. We miss everyone in Colorado and look forward to all of the visitors that are coming in the next few months. Now if only Stef could get rid of this jelly belly quickly...

WE LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH!!!!!!!! Matt, Stef and Michaela

Pictures and Video

Water...

And lots of it. Nashville is currently in a state of emergency due to the massive flooding all over middle Tennessee. People are saying there hasn't been flooding like this and rain in this magnitude since May of 1984. That's the year I was born. Here in our area we have received about 16 inches of rain in the last 36 hours. Luckily, our apartment is on the second floor and we are up on a hill so we are currently doing well. (Knock on wood.) There are over 36,000 houses that are without power and there are houses, cars and light poles etc that are floating down the "rivers" that used to be regular streets. The images on the news are so unbelievable. There are hundreds of people that are being rescued and a good portion of the city is under water. We are talking it could be days before they can even get power back or open up the schools again. We are so very blessed. We can look across the parking lot and see what used to be a green field that is now a brown "pond." If you can, please pray for all of the people who are without homes and belongings and transportation. Matt is out taking pictures right now since the rain has stopped for the moment. I will post them when he gets back in. A lot of the interstates are closed in various places so we are pretty much stuck here at our apartment until we can navigate the roadways. There have been over 600 water rescues in the last 36 hours by emergency crews and that doesn't include the citizens who have been helping out their neighbors. Boats are floating down the roadways full of people. Mother nature definitely reminds us that we need to respect her.

Matt's birthday is tomorrow! He turns 24 and it looks like we will be celebrating at home. I got him an awesome shirt for his birthday. (Pictured above). I love it. He is adorable:) I'm so excited for him to be a daddy. I will add the pics of the flooding as soon as he gets back. We will update the situation this week as we know more about what's happening.

Oh, and please pray that Michaela decides to wait just a little longer until she comes. At least until we can get to the hospital... Thanks.