She is Here!

So surprise- our baby decided to be born 10 days early! Reese Lorie Watts arrived at 11:25am on Monday March 15th, 2010. She weighed in at a nice 8 pounds 2 ounces and is just about 21 inches long.

Here is the short version of the story (longer version is below if you're interested): water broke at 2:00 am, hospital by 5:00am, active labor by 7:00am, started pushing at 10:15, Reese was born at 11:25am.

As some of you know, Spencer and I had decided to try for a natural birth. There are a lot of benefits to Mom and baby, and we have had several friends who have had amazing experiences. We took several classes and practiced a lot of relaxation techniques at home. We were successful, and delivered Reese without an epidural. Due to back labor (intense pressure in the lower back because the baby has not fully turned) I did take one dose of an IV medication to "take the edge off" during the transition phase (when the cervix finishes dilating and you move into pushing.) But we still considered it a success.

Child birth was the most physically and emotionally trying experience of my life, but also one of the most gratifying ones. Spencer and I were able to connect on a new level, and I truly could not have done it without him as my partner. He is the most amazing husband and my absolute best friend. He is an awesome Daddy- Reese loves him so much.

Being a Mom is the absolute best. I have never felt anything like it- that first moment of looking at and holding our sweet little baby. It was all worth it, and I love being with her every second of every day. She is such a doll and brings an added sweet spirit to our home. Her cry is very small and sweet and she coos all the time.

 Longer version of the story: Sunday was a totally normal day- the baby had not dropped at all. We went to church and then to Mom and Dad's for games. I wasn't contracting and felt totally normal. At 2:00am my water broke. I wasn't positive that was what happened, but after about 30 minutes and a contraction or two I woke Spence up.

We labored at home until about 4:30. My contractions were already coming about 5 minutes apart and were getting stronger. I was handling them just fine, but we decided to head to the hospital. We gave birth at Evergreen Hospital which is about 30 minutes from our house. We arrived and got all checked in and settled. I had not been checked by my doctor at all, so we weren't sure what we would find but I was already dilated to 4 cm.

By 7:00am I was in active labor. I had been handling my contractions well, but the baby had not fully turned so I had a lot of back pain. Half the time I wasn't even concerned about the actual contraction, just the pressure in my back. After trying several different positions and techniques, we decided that I needed some help to keep going. I was dilated to an 8 by this point, so we decided to try one dose of an IV drug to "take the edge off." I am so glad we made that decision, as it allowed me to move through transition and proceed without an epidural.

At 10:15 I started pushing. Our doctor was there for the last 4 pushes and Reese was born. Like I said, that first moment of seeing our baby and holding her for the first time made it all worth it. She is meant to be ours and I can't imagine life without her. We love her so much!

11 days and counting! We are so ready- except she doesn't seem to be in as big a hurry as we are. She hasn't dropped an inch and I still get regular kicks in my rib cage. I am starting to get some contractions though, so that's good. Her room is ready and waiting for her and we have our car seat all installed. Now we just need a baby to put in it!

Turn up the hearing aid Grandpa!

So I was at my parents' place for dinner tonight (sadly Spence is home sick, so he missed out on the tasty meal.) I was just standing there in the kitchen and my dad came at me with the stethoscope. It was pretty funny. We aren't sure he really heard anything, but he is so excited to be a Grandpa. My dad LOVES babies, and I know he is just going to spoil our little girl rotten.

My Grandma Jones has requested that I post more "Fat Pictures." So here I am at 35 weeks.

And the winner is...

Like I said in my post about our weekend trip, Forks is not a super nice place. Actually, lots of places look like a scene right out of a horror flick. We thought we would help you visualize it by nominating some homes for awards...

Although this one is scary, it lost points because it had no trash outside, so it gets the "Cleanest Creepy Place" award.

This one gets the "Yes We are Poor, but we Still Have Satellite TV" award.

This is the obvious winner- as you can see we actually took the picture from our moving vehicle (we were too scared to get out .) This home receives the "Can't You See Yourself Being Murdered Here" award.

This is an honorable mention- it is not a house, but a shelter in the woods near the Sol Duc Waterfalls. We were the only ones on the trail that day and I was just waiting for Sasquatch or a crazy hobo to come after us.

All this- and more- are waiting for you on the Olympic Peninsula.

Olympic Penninsula

Last weekend we took a trip out to the Olympic Peninsula. We had such an awesome time. The natural beauty is really amazing. We wish our pictures could really capture it- but we did our best. We stayed in Forks (No, not because of Twilight but because it is a good central location.) But let me tell you- that place is a hole! No wonder they didn't film the movies there. But we did see some Twilight locations including La Push, First Beach (pictured above), Forks Outfitters etc. They have a store there called Dazzled by Twilight with all the collectibles and stuff. Unfortunately, it wasn't open when we tried to stop by, so Spence couldn't get his "I Heart Edward" bumper sticker.

Our first stop was Kalaloch Beach #1. It was rainy and windy, but it didn't stop us from having a good time. As much as Spencer hates my galoshes, I wore them and was so glad because I actually sunk knee deep in some sand. We bought Spence some manly boots too which was good because he didn't see a wave coming in and got a little wet. But we had fun looking at all the drift wood and found a sand dollar. We also saw this neat tree that looked like it was floating because the waves had washed away the soil. It was pretty rad.

Kalaloch Beach #4 was more fun- the tide was out so we were able to go tide pooling. We saw green sea urchins, orange and purple starfish and lots of barnacles.







The next day we went to see the Hoh rain Forest. It was crazy- and kind of creepy looking too. The forest is mostly made up of Sitka spruce which can grow to be huge and everything is covered with moss. They get around 140 inches of rain fall every year.
We also went to Ruby Beach. There was a river (the Sol Duc maybe?) that emptied into the ocean there. It was probably my favorite beach- maybe because the sun finally came out while we were there.


Our last day we hiked to the Sol Duc waterfalls. The actually falls were fairly big, but really hard to get a good picture of because the ravine was so narrow and deep. These are a smaller set of falls we saw along the hike. It was a great end to a great weekend. We drove home through Sequim and Port Angeles, and then took a ferry which is always fun. We are enjoying living up here, and hope to take advantage of any three-day weekends. Friends are always welcome!

Long Distance Baby Shower

Because Spence and I are both away from our extended families, my cute mom organized a long distance baby shower. We received lots of packages and cards and were able to open them together the weekend of Valentine's Day to shower the baby with love. We are so appreciative of our great families- thank you for the wonderful gifts and the money as well. We love you all!


An awesome diaper bag and stroller "bundle me" from Ed and Lorie.

Diapers from Grandma Jones- I wish I could say we won't need them all, but I know we will!

Cute outfits from Ken and Lisa. Their kids are always dressed so cute, so I'm glad our little one will be able to fit in.

A super soft blanket and baby doll from Grandma Edna and Aunt Shirley. My legs were cold the other day and I used this blanket- I just couldn't resist.

Another cute blanket from Aunt Michiko. It has the coolest pattern quilted into the back. It will be one of the baby's favorites.

Another cute dress from Amy's cousin Trish. I can't wait to dress up this sweet little girl.

That won't fit Spencer- but his Aunt Leslie sure has great taste.

Like I said, we also received lots of cards, so many thanks to Aunt Connie, Grandma June, Grandpa and Grandma Porter, Grandma Edna and Aunt Shirley. We will let you know what fun things we buy with your gifts.