Samuel Fulbright Mayfield

Okay it’s been two months and I’m finally ready to relive my birth experience to share here on my blog. Mostly I don’t ever come on the computer…and as great as the iPhone is…I am still waiting for a free blogging app that would make this much easier on me. Because when it comes down to it I’m too lazy to wait for Safari to load.
So after being ten days late anyone that was in contact with me could tell you the raging bitch I had become. I think Sam was trying his hardest to stay in there because he was terrified of meeting his mom face to face. I had gotten to the point where I was completely exasperated and given up hope of ever having this baby…and then Shadlie convinced me to go see an acupuncturist. Actually her actual text was “Afterward you should go home take a nice warm bath have a glass of wine while jeff puts Simon to bed then have some sex with extra semen and then stick some primrose oil up there and go to sleep.” I hope I’m not in trouble for posting that for the world to see…but it made me laugh in an otherwise bleek world.
So let me finally get to the part about me pushing out this cute kid…
I went and saw Anna Dolopo (best lady ever!) and she filled me full of needles. While I was laying there full of needles Sam was beating me up internally. I went home and despite Shadlie’s advice I fell right asleep. I woke up at around 2 in the morning and thought I was in labor. Then again, I thought I was in labor every night for three weeks prior, so I tried my hardest to just go back to sleep. About 2:30 I realized I was actually in labor and was unable to stay asleep. I told Jeff (who was aware of my false labor every single night for three weeks) and he responding with “that’s great babe” right before he rolled over with his back to me and went back to sleep. At about 4:00 in the morning I was going pretty strong so decided to get into the bath to relax. At that point I see Jeff come in all bright eyed as he blurted out “Oh wow, you are REALLY in labor!” At about 4:45 we finally called my mom to come over to the house to watch Simon. It was escalating so much faster than it had with Simon and I realized I should probably go to the hospital soon.
Let’s go 9 months back when the doctors prepare you for having a baby at the hospital…they give you a step by step instruction of what to do when you go into labor. So being the good learner I am, we called the exchange just like the paper said and told them I was in labor and ready to go to the hospital. They told me they would page the doctor (I know my doctor was on vacation…perfect timing!) and that the on call doctor would call me back ASAP. Well he did…and although I won’t get into details…I was very comfortable yelling profanities at him due to demeanor. He literally asked me why I was calling and waking him up…at that point he found out he would come nowhere near me or my baby! Thankfully shift change was at 7 in the morning and I knew I wouldn’t be pushing this baby by then.
By the time we got into the hospital room and got me all set up it was rounding 6:30. Unlike with Simon I actually decided to have an epidural (long story which I may explain in a post another time). However because it was shift change it was taking them an extra long time to get it to me. With Simon I knew for certain I was not going to have an epidural so I was very strong willed and able to live through the pain…but this time I knew pain relief was in sight so had no strength to hold out. It was seriously like a knocked up moment where I wanted to bite everyone’s head off until they were able to stick me with that needle. As delirious as this may sound (which I know it does) every time I had a contraction I would picture myself being a dead cat (Seriously ask Jeff I would arch my back and my neck so my head was nearly touching my back).
Shadlie showed up at 7:00 which was a total relief. She was able to let Jeff go get some food as she sat with me and comforted me. Honestly even with the epidural (which was absolute and perfect heaven) it was really nice having someone sitting by your side that knows all the pain and the emotions that you are going through. Shadlie is the perfect person for me because I love her so much and she isn’t afraid to yell at me and tell me when I’m being a baby (although she never did this because she’s so kind and gracious). So she sat with me while I waiting and was pumped full of warm fuzzys.
The remainder of the afternoon may be too full of gory details so I will try to be brief. When the doctor came into my room to break my water apparently very little water came out. The nurse asked me how big Simon was (6lbs 1oz) to which she replied “well this one is going to be a lot bigger.” I kind of brushed off the comment because everyone is always telling you things about your baby that are complete bull that I really could care less. The doctor then left the room to deliver a baby down the hall. Shadlie was monitoring our signs and noticed Sam’s heart-rate dropped so went out to inform the doctor and nurse. He came back and set up. He had me start pushing even without contractions which was slightly freaky only because anything that seems like a sense of urgency when in regards to your children is always terrifying. When he told Shadlie to stop video taping my heart really sank. However at 12:56 we welcomed into the world Samuel Fulbright Mayfield. The nurse was more than right when his weight ended up being 8lbs 13oz and 21 inches long.
Honestly because it was such a relaxing experience I had so much energy to love on him that day and welcome the million visitors who came to share their excitement.
So I should just shut up because if you’ve read this far you must be pretty darn bored with your day.
Anyway here are a couple pictures of my beautiful boy.

Our little man

So we took Simon to Irvine Park this week and really splurged and let him do every activity possible. The horses were by far his favorite. These pictures don't really do him justice but the look on his face was classic. He was so proud and happy it was precious.
Of course the Train was a hit with him and he was amazed every time the whistle blew...and he wore his conductor hat. He actually got this hat at H&M last week when we were shopping. Jeff was over in the men's area looking for shorts (which he did not find) and I decided to take Simon over to the kid section so I could look for clothes for him and Sam (which I did not find) and I turned around and he was literally wearing this hat. I have no idea which display he got it from...but he picked one that fit so I just took off the price tag and let him wear it out.

Happy Due Date

Okay so today is supposed to be the magical day that Sam is going to be coming into the world...however we are not so lucky.
I am an angry pregnant lady...so if you see me in the next couple days please just pretend I do not have a "huge" belly and whatever you do do not say "OH MY GOODNESS YOU ARE SO HUGE YOU LOOK LIKE YOU ARE GOING TO POP" because the only popping that will happen is me punching you.
We are very ready to have this baby and I can't wait to see his cute little red wrinkly face, and I also can't wait until he stops kicking me in the bladder constantly.

I can't think of much else that is going on in our lives to report. Our house is nearly finished and I'm loving that. We raised the ceiling in the front room and added recess lighting. We also redid the kitchen to update it a little and move the laundry room inside which has been great. Having a new washer and dryer has transformed my life a little. The next home project is putting hardwood floor in the backroom...but we decided to wait until Sam is old enough to appreciate that. Oh...and I realized property taxes are coming up so that put a little bump in the road. haha

Here are pictures that our friend and neighbor Michelle took for us! She is an amazing photographer and these pictures help me realize pregnancy is not all horrible so that's why I am posting them now. If you want to take a look at her website it is http://michellesullivanphotography.com/ you will be amazed! Not only does she take amazing photos but she is so easy to be natural around that you forget you are getting your photos taken to begin with.
We are lucky enough to be surrounded by amazingly talented people. Not only do we have Michelle but our good friend Adam has also started offering his services to the world and you will be amazed by this also! You can visit his website here: http://www.haasphoto.net/ He recently took pictures of our friend's newborn and they will seroiusly just melt your heart. Okay I'll shut up now.

Lauren and Bobby Graduate

So after going to sleep at 4:30, we woke up at 8:30 in order to get home in time for Lauren and Bobby’s graduation party! I am seriously so full of taco adobe right now I have skipped dinner and am walking around half asleep.

I’m mostly very excited about the graduation because selfishly this leaves Mondays and Wednesday much more available to see Lauren. Haha I sound like a huge weirdo…but it’s true. Tomorrow is Katie’s graduation party…quite the party weekend!

Anyway…I suck and I didn’t have my camera for the party so you won’t see pictures of us…but I will resort to my default photo subject: my cute little man.
Here he is playing outside (these are going to be bribery photos someday), and also getting caught climbing on what will soon be our new kitchen!

Andy's Birthday

This year for Andy’s birthday we went up to an amazing (seriously amazing) house up in Ojai and celebrated. Although we only could stay one night, it was great…and much to my surprise and definitely to Jeff’s surprise I was able to keep up with everyone until 4:30 in the morning. The last time I have stayed up that late was when I had Simon…and before that I can’t even remember.

Jeff actually got in the water (which was impressive due to the temp) and I sat on the deck eating a cookie pizza and strawberries all afternoon.

Jeff brought up his game which has now been named “The Viking Game” thank you very much Pat. For once I didn’t totally suck…but maybe that’s just because I was probably the only one not enjoying drinks!

The evening was filled with dancing, hot tubs, and drum circles...I kid you not.

So as you see most of my spa experience was spent above water...and the spa decided to punish me when I did decide to warm up by going under...and this is evident by the gigantic bruise that now resides on my rear. As I dipped down my now rather large butt got stuck in the filter and I seriously have what Jeff likes to refer to as my "shark bite." Oh...and no...that's not a g-string swimsuit on me in reverse...I'm just large.

Oh...and if you don't believe me on the drum circle...here is your proof:

Happy Mother's Day!

So Jeff has been working like a mad-man on his thesis this month, so I have literally not seen him at all. He has been going to bed at 3 in the morning and waking up at 6 every day trying to get his paper done. Basically our family had consisted of a single mother, a sleep deprived father, and a teething baby. So this Mother’s Day Jeff took the day off and spent it with us! Which was the best gift I could have ever gotten right now. As if that weren’t even both of my boys (Simon and Sam) got me the cutest jackets ever. They both fit me right now in my current state…but that didn’t keep me from running over to Lauren’s house to see a non pregnant lady try them on...I am excited for August...or actually next winter to be sporting them!

For my mom my sister and I took her out to Islands (sounds cheesy...but it was perfect for us haha). Simon joined the girlfest and I think he seems to like it. I seriously have the best mom in the world, so I never feel like we can do enough to show her how great she has been!

Jeff's family came over to our house for pizza to celebrate Mother's Day with his family. Simon seriously loves Jeff's grandma!

In other April news Jeff’s dad came out to visit for a day!

Simon seriously loves his Grandpa Griz and I’m sure you can tell by the pictures!

The Mayfield men took Simon out to dinner…and as you can tell by this picture I definitely wasn’t there! Haha Simon really enjoys his dipping experience.

Here are a couple other photos of Simon from the month of April…he’s becoming such a real boy it’s freaking me out!

Easter

Simon hasn’t quite grasped the idea of Easter Egg hunts or the whole Christ rising from the dead part of Easter…but he sure did enjoy himself.

We woke up in the morning and let him open his Easter Basket in our bed (mostly because I was exhausted and wanted a little extra time to lay). He then proceeded to color, draw outside with his sidewalk chalk, and put stickers on everything before we got him ready for church.

This was our first Easter at our new church Southlands, and we really enjoyed ourselves. After church we headed over to my Grandparent’s house for brunch. I think he realizes how much attention he gets over there and how he can get away with murder…so he just ran around enjoying himself. He also got a couple more Easter baskets just to ensure he understands how completely spoiled he is.

We had a little self timer fun to get a picture of my adorable family with my grandparents…I think Simon was pretty confused.

After our afternoon nap we went and enjoyed tacos over at Jeff’s family’s house. Stephanie’s mom was there and made seriously the best rice you have ever eaten. Simon once again got to run around and enjoy the attention he gets whenever he is around our extended family!

Catching up - My Birthday

So for my birthday I worked. Woo hoo a ton of fun haha

After work we gathered at Zito’s for pizza and friends.
I really am not a fan of birthday parties in my honor, so this was nice and mellow which I totally appreciated and enjoyed.

Thank you to everyone that came!

Getting Caught up - St Thomas

So I know I need to get caught up and I will start with our vacation a couple months ago. haha We went to St Thomas and honestly did absolutly nothing but relax. It was amazing and just what we needed. I was absolutly terrified for the plane ride..but Jeff really took a huge burden off me and watched Simon...and Simon did a lot of ipod watching. On the way there he actually had his own tv which made it super easy and he just played games and watched movies...however on the way home was s different story. Not only did he not have a personal tv...we couldn't see the shared one either. It was kind of a nightmare. Plus we were stuck in the middle of the row which meant getting up and walking him around was a nightmare as everyone decided sleeping was a good option. I really don't like flying American and that's the end of that.
(Oh...and I can't figure out how to get rid of the underlining...wow I'm bad)

Enough complaining...although I think that's probably the only thing I could possibly complain about for this trip. It was an amazing trip and it was so fun to let Simon explore the beaches and relax. Although a lot of people were worried for us taking him, it ended up to be so nice. We would go to the beach and just at the same time I got sick of being there he would need to go back to the hotel for a nap. So it just ensured our own comfort level having him around...and watching him play in the water...forget about it. It makes me into that mom that can't stop talking about her kids.

We stayed on St Thomas but spent half of our time over on St John which we really liked. It was much much less populated so it was a little slower paced (although I'm not sure how much slower it could possibly get). But that being said we did eat on St Thomas everyday...at the same place. When we went on our honeymoon we discovered Ital food which is the best thing in the entire world. So we did a little research and found a place called Rootsie's...which is honestly the best food you could ever ask for. Simon took a liking to Rootsie and he even learned how to give knuckles and eat with a fork. A very educational experience overall :)