Mallory Renea

Claire came to meet her future sister in law

Official Big brother

"She pooped, I'm outta here"

"Seriously, she's really coming home with us?"

Miss Mallory

Big Brother

First family portrait

Brady is a big brother! His itty bitty sister decided she didn't want to miss his par-tay so she decided to enter the world 4 weeks early. She is healthy as a horse, minus a solid case of jaundice. Mallory weighed in at 6.6lbs and is 19 1/4" long. Most of those inches are consumed by her feet. I'm thinking she will be more of sneaker girl vs. stilettos.

Here is a brief summary of her arrival:

Tuesday at 3:00 am my water broke, but not in the text book fashion I was thinking. I thought if I was the 10% of women whose water does break then the pacific ocean would come crashing in. Not the case. So life went on throughout the day. I went to my scheduled 3:00 massage and when I got up from the table half of the pacific ocean did decide rain down upon me. Thank God for dimly lit massage rooms and a close parking spot! I made a mad dash for home, called Jeff 23 million times, packed a bag for the family and headed to the hospital. Oddly enough I didn't start having contractions. So my lovely midwife started an induction around 6:30 pm on Wednesday. I labored the old fashion natural way for about 7 hours and had only progressed to a 3! A THREE!!! AHHHH!! I was having back labor, which is like taking an ice pick and jamming it into your back for the entire labor. I couldn't take it anymore so I opted for an epidural. WOW! What a difference. Minus the fact that medical intervention is not my cup of tea, that baby was awesome. I napped for 2 1/2 hours.... WHAT? a nap during labor?? Crazy talk! I had a completely natural birth with Brady so this was a whole new ball of wax. I have to admit I loved it. It was relaxing, calm and peaceful. After 4 quick pushes Mallory popped into the world at 4:40 am. Due to her rush on life she did have a bit of trouble breathing at first, but quickly snapped out of it. She has lost some weight and now owns the heavy weight title at a whopping 5lbs and 13ozs. Don't worry, Brady has already offered to feed her ice cream and cookies to help compensate.

How is Brady taking this? Well, he isn't so keen on her cramping his birthday style, but due to the fact that she is family, he is willing to over look this "flaw." Today he offered to give her a bottle, but then remembered that that little bottle contains the golden sauce he so cherished for 18 months, and he drank it himself. Seriously.

The past few days have been a blur! Brady is off to a swim party tonight, while Mallory and I are stuck at home. She is spending some time on "South Beach" due to her jaundice. (fyi South Beach= light therapy). She will be tanning for the remainder of the weekend. Tomorrow we are headed to grandma and grandpas for a Mexican fiesta to celebrate Brady's 2nd birthday! Unfortunately all this baby jazz has over shadowed his birthday, but I promise to make it up to him next year. Until then, he has drafted a list of demands in order to ensure that no permanent psychological damage has been done.

The list:

1. Large birthday cake complete with exploding bikini models

2. 2011 Audi wagon (ok I might have added this one)

3. Pedicure

4. Dog

5. Small parade complete with large banner stating

(July 31st is National Brady Shannon Rocks Day)

So life is a bit of a mess right now, but we will get things back in order in no time. Feel free to visit if you would like. Just give Mallory a heads up. She is prefers to do a bit of primping before she meets her new friends.