Introducing Our Baby Girl!

We welcomed Lyla Grace Murphy into our world on February 23, 2009 at 2:59 pm.  She weighed 8 pounds, measured 20 1/2 inches and is perfect in absolutely every way!  It is truly impossible to describe the joy Mark and I felt the moment we laid our eyes on her.  

The labor and delivery went fairly smoothly, with a few hiccups along the way. On the night of the 22nd we began the process of evicting Lyla from my body.  She was a great tenant, but it was time to come out.  We watched the Oscars (which ran way too long) and tried to relax as I was hooked up to a million monitors.  The biggest complaint came from Mark, who had to sleep in a semi-reclining, lumpy chair.  He described it as like sleeping in the middle seat in coach on a transatlantic flight.  

In the morning, Lyla decided to play "hide and seek" with the doctors and nurses and suddenly disappeared from the monitors -- no heartbeat and no signs of movement.  In a matter of seconds, our room filled with nurses and doctors trying to figure out what was going on with our baby girl.  Mark and I looked at each other with a sense of total panic as I was wheeled into the operating room for an emergency c-section.  But, alas, Lyla came out of hiding and order was restored.  I was wheeled back to my room to proceed with a traditional delivery.  Do you think we have a drama queen on our hands?

The rest of the day was much less dramatic, and Mark and I actually managed to take a nap during the labor (thank you epidural).  Mark was a great labor partner and Lyla was born safe and sound at 2:59.  It was love at first sight.

Over the next few days, we were taken care of by the wonderful nurses at Lenox Hill and had lots of visitors who brought us yummy snacks. Proud grandparents and great grandma! Mark is the newest addition to the "dad club." Is Ali next?? Cousin Eileen Crumbs cupcakes...yum. Thanks, Marla! We took Lyla home on February 25 to begin our life together!

The Big Day!

Tonight we go into the hospital to start the induction, with the plan being that BLG will arrive sometime Monday afternoon.   We are as ready as we are going to be and can't wait for her to be here!

We had a nice, relaxing weekend doing many of the things we won't be able to do for awhile. On Saturday, we slept in, read the paper (coincidentally, there was an article in the Times about couples in our neighborhood having babies), took a walk through Tribeca, and had lunch at Landmarc, one of our favorite local restaurants.  I took an afternoon nap while Mark watched Maryland upset North Carolina in basketball.  He tells me that is a really big deal... (he was nice enough not to wake me up with his screaming and jumping up and down when they won).  Saturday night we watched a couple of Oscar-nominated movies so we are fully versed in the nominees prior to the show tonight!  

Today, we both really slept in -- we didn't get up until almost 11 am!  We did some stuff around the apartment, I got a manicure and pedicure (no reason not to try to look good in the hospital, right?), and we downloaded a couple of movie rentals from iTunes to watch in the hospital tonight.  Lots of family and friends called to wish us well.  Thanks to everyone for your very kind words!  Jack and Donna arrived in New York and came by to say hello and brought us more gifts and yummy soup.  And, of course, I am watching a little of the red carpet on E! before we leave for the hospital (how cute are the kids from Slumdog?).

I'm actually less anxious today than I have been for the last few days; just really excited.   Next time I post we will be back home with BLG.  Wish us luck!

Our Last Pre-Natal Appointment

Yesterday we had our last appointment with Dr. Russell and BLG had her last non-stress test before being induced this weekend.  That is me somewhere behind the big belly with the monitors on it.  BLG looked great and Dr. Russell thinks she will be a long, lean, beautiful string bean.  I'm further dilated and effaced this week so it could be any day now.   Assuming BLG will hold out until Sunday, Dr. Russell explained what we can expect when we check in to the hospital on Sunday night.  It sounds like it will be a very long couple of days so I am just resting and relaxing for the rest of the week in anticipation of the big day.  We are so excited!!

Mark's New Gig

Mark recently changed jobs . . . no, make that changed careers.  He left Clyde & Co to take a position as Vice President, Head of Public Affairs at a company called SecondMarket, which provides a platform for trading illiquid assets.   The company was started by Mark's good friend Barry about five years ago and is doing really well.  Barry's accomplishments are pretty amazing.  Mark's job is to serve as a liaison with the government to get SecondMarket's name out there and explain how the company operates and how it can help the government in the current financial crisis.  (I know I'm not explaining this great, but I'm just learning it myself...)  This is right up his alley.  He loves politics, loves talking to people, and people are naturally drawn to him.  I know he will do awesome in this new position.  I am also so proud of him for following his heart, taking a chance, and trying something totally new.  He's my hero :)

I went to visit him at work the other night to check out the new digs before BLG arrives (BLG is our nickname for Lyla -- Baby Lyla Grace).  The space is really large and impressive, especially considering that Barry was operating the company out of his small apartment less than five years ago.  The office is located in the old Standard Oil building, which is so beautiful. 

It is directly across from the famous bull monument on Broadway.

Mark's office has amazing views of the Statue of Liberty, which I miserably failed to capture during my visit.

We love Mark and are so proud of him!

The Murphy/Giles Gallery

This week we re-hung the gallery of old family photos we have collected over the years.  It's harder than you'd think to find old pictures and its taken us about five years to put together our current collection.  We tried to select pictures that were unique in some way, either the era in which the picture was taken, the pose, or the story behind the picture.  The gallery was hanging in our "home office", but that has been converted to Lyla's nursery, so we had to find the pictures a new home.  It fit nicely on the wall opposite our kitchen, with room to expand as we uncover additional pictures. 

These are some of my favorites:

This one is my sister, Dina, and my dad, Fred, after my dad returned from a sharking contest.  I think her son, Nicolas, looks just like her in this picture.

This is of Mark's parents, Jack and Donna.  Look at that tux and those sideburns!

The next one to go up once I frame it is this one I found of my parents, Fred and Linda, when I was looking for old pictures to celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary last summer.  My mom was in high school when this one was taken.  How beautiful is she?

A Sneak Preview

I've been thinking about starting this blog for quite some time.  I'm not really the blog type, but there are two reasons I thought it was a good idea.  First, I hope it will be a great way for our out of town family and friends to watch Lyla grow up and keep track of what we are up to.  Second, the sentimental side of me thought it would be great if one day Lyla could look back on it and see herself as she grew.

Lyla is set to arrive on February 23, just over one week away.  In anticipation of her arrival, I thought I'd share a sneak peak of our little girl.  I've been very closely monitored this whole pregnancy, so Mark and I have lots of videos and pictures of her already.  I've become somewhat of a pro interpreting fuzzy sonogram pictures, so bear with me and I can explain exactly what you are seeing.  If all you can see is a Rorschach inkblot, I completely understand.

Here is a short video of her at 20 weeks. At some point, you can see her sucking her thumb and swallowing.

Here are a couple of more recent pictures with my best efforts to describe what you are seeing.

Here she is sleeping at 36 weeks. If you look closely, you can see she is lying on her left side. You can see two black holes, which are her eyes, a rather wide-looking nose, and cute lips. Under her chin you can see her arm and her hand, which looks like a giant claw (I promise she has five fingers). Isn't this such an endearing way for a mother to describe her daughter?

From LIFE WITH LYLA

Here she is yawning at 37 weeks.  Kind of looks like Munch's "The Scream".  Do you sense a pattern?  I think (I hope...) she likes to sleep a lot just like her mother.

From LIFE WITH LYLA

We think she's pretty darn cute already but can't wait to see the real thing.  Stay tuned!