Anthony James Marinelli

We welcomed our Anthony James into this world on January 17, 2011 at 6:40pm at Winter Park Memorial Hospital. After 24 long hours of labor, and an additional 2.5 hours of pushing he made his debut into the world. I wish I could say the minutes following his birth were amazing, but they weren't. Instead, they were down right terrifying. Anthony was as blue as could be and was not breathing. They carried him to the warmer and had to bag him for over 2 minutes. His APGAR score was 0 at birth, 4 at 2 minutes and then 9 at 5 minutes. JJ went with him and was not allowed to take pictures. He finally whimpered, then cried and I knew our baby boy was going to be okay. But what an awful first 5 minutes. The first time I got to hold him was incredible. He was absolutely perfect. 10 fingers and 10 little toes. No, I didn't actually count them in the moment. :)

In the warmer

My contractions started around 4:30pm on Sunday, January 16th. I had already had one run in with being in Early Labor, so JJ and I decided to go for a walk around the complex to keep them coming. About 9pm the contractions were so frequent and intense we collected all of our belongings and headed to the hospital. Upon first exam I was 3cm dilated and 70% effaced, and my contractions were 4 minutes apart and not letting up. The doctor decided they were going to admit me and if I wasn't progressing on my own, they would start pitocin in the morning after the new shift started. I labored all night, contracting steadily the whole way through. At 7am the doctor did another exam and I was 4cm dilated and 100% effaced, and still contracting. Around 10am Dr. Breit came back and broke my water and started the pitocin. My Mom and sister were there to keep us both company. About 1pm I got my epidural (and was told I became a completely different person), and by 4pm it was time to start pushing. 2.5 hours later and Anthony James was born. 

The Marinelli Family

We had only family visitors while at the hospital (at our request). We all were so exhausted the whole time, it seems like such a blur now. We spent a little over 36 hours at the hospital and were sent home on Wednesday, January 19th. 

Leaving the hospital

The past 2 weeks have been amazing, crazy and trying. Anthony still hasn't gotten the memo that you're supposed to sleep at night and stay awake during the day. He had his first doctors appointment the Friday after we left the hospital and he was only 3ozs under his birth weight. 

At the doctors for the 1st time

The following Tuesday he had his circumcision, which was a terrifying experience all in itself.  I thought it would be a good idea to go with him for the procedure and hold his hand (I definitely don't recommend any Mom do that, by the way). He goes for his 2 week checkup tomorrow, and we hope he has gained some weight. We think he looks thinner, but longer. He is a really good eater and feeds every 2-3 hours, 2-3ozs per serving. He isn't a big fan of his baths, but we sleeps really well after them.

My First Bath (at home)

It's incredible the strong emotions that come with being a parent. We love and adore our little boy and can't even seem to remember what life was like without him. Watching TV has taken a back seat to watching our little guy make different faces, including smiling after he eats and is "milk drunk". We will try to update as often as possible, but am sure it won't be nearly as often as before.