A New Addition

 

Mackenzie Jewel has made her appearance. She decided to arrive on her own 5 days before her due date. She took us by surprise to say the least.

June 11, 2013

5:51a.m.

7lbs. 9oz.

20"

 

Birth Story follows:

I started having contractions on Sunday night and we went to labor and delivery where they told me that "contractions that are 10 minutes apart aren't doing anything." They added that they DID think I would be back for the 'real deal' by the end of the week. So all day Monday I sat around having contractions that were between 8 and 15 minutes apart. Since they never became regular and they weren't getting any closer together, I decided that I wasn't going to the hospital because they would likely send me home.

Around 2:30a.m., my water broke. Mind you my contractions were still only 8-15 minutes apart. I woke up Mark and told him we needed to head to the hospital. I also added that we probably didn't need to hurry since my contractions were still so far apart. We woke Chloe up, grabbed our bags and headed to the hospital.

{Chloe was with us for a bit, until we decided to call Mark's dad to come get her. There was a point where I told Mark. "I love her, but you have to get her out of here." I couldn't focus on managing my pain (I didn't want to scare her) with Chloe in the room. Plus, Mark was having to focus on her and I needed his attention. Furthermore, a three year old has no business in a delivery room (IMO). We didn't really have a plan in place for this type of delivery because Chloe was induced so we weren't thinking in terms of a more urgent birth.}

They checked me in and got me hooked up to monitors at 3:00a.m. I immediately asked for my epidural. They have to give you one bag of iv fluids before you can get the epi and they also had to run blood work. So we waited...too long. By the time the anesthesiologist arrived, I was ready to have a baby. I told the nurse. The anesthesiologist continued to work his magic. But before the medicine could take effect, we had to call the doctor in the room. It was time. I had a drug free birth...that I DID NOT want. haha. It worked out. Mackenzie was in my arms by 5:51a.m.

The part that was the worst was having to wait for the little bit of epi to wear off. It didn't start taking effect until well after Mackenzie made her appearance, but I got enough 'juice' to make me rubber legged for a bit.

We left the hospital after one night...as soon as the 36 hour jaundice test was complete they released us. This experience was so much different that the one with Chloe. Her birth was hard on everyone.

Mackenzie is one week old today. She is doing fabulous. She sleeps a lot. I know that sounds dumb (what do you expect? newborns sleep), but Chloe NEVER slept. We joke that we were cheated out of a newborn with her because she was so alert from the beginning.

Chloe is in love with her new sister. She tells me all the time how cute Mackenzie is. She talks about her little feet and hands. She tells me to 'put her down.' Which is my cue to lay her on the floor so that Chloe can look at her.

 

Today is our first day home without help. I have Chloe and Mackenzie all to myself. I actually think it's going to be a great day!

Shorty, Chloe and Mackenzie

 



Mark, myself, Chloe and Mackenzie

Shorty, myself and Mackenzie

Josh, Claire and Mackenzie

Pop and Mackenzie

Don-Don and Mackenzie

Shorty and Mackenzie

Big sister, Chloe!

10 Days until my due Date

It's officially 10 days until my due date. Due dates are such an arbitrary thing. I suppose they pack a little more significance this day in age. Most everybody I know was induced or had a scheduled c-section pretty close to their doctor-determined due date. If we still let people go into labor on their own, then these dates would be even less important since babies, who have no concept of time, come when they are good and ready when left alone. I'm not taking a stance on this hot topic. I will say that I chose my doctor because I trust her and her judgement and believe that everyone should choose a doctor that they trust with their life.

I went back to see what I was thinking/feeling during my pregnancy with Chloe around this time...I found this post from 11 days before her due date. It's the top 5 things I was looking forward to post-pregnancy.

To summarize and compare, here are the top 5 from three years ago and my thoughts on it this time:

5. Sleep on my stomach - I still miss this, but the inability to sleep on my stomach hasn't bothered me as much this time. I think it's because we have a better mattress and after having a child you learn to sleep when and however you are able. You don't get to be picky about sleep when you're a mom. I also know that I won't be getting to do this right after I have Mackenzie. It was quite a while before I was able to return to stomach sleeping after having Chloe. Partly because your stomach takes a while to return to it's pre-pregnancy state and partly because milk production and stomach sleeping do not work well together in the beginning.

4. Do Yard Work - I've mowed a few times. I've planted a few plants, but our new yard doesn't need as much work as the previous home's.

3. Have a Beer - This is still on my list. It's just that the time of year I like to have babies is the best time of year for back porch sitting and beer sipping. I will be imbibing occasionally once the new addition is free and clear of my blood stream. haha

2. Move (meaning my body) - I seem to be having less trouble this time. I would like to be able to play on the floor with Chloe and get up without having to grunt or groan.

1. Go Running! - I actually ran for most of this pregnancy (including two 5k races...one at 7 months pregnant while pushing Chloe in a jogging stroller). However, I stopped a while back and switched to walking. I really am ready to start running again and am even thinking it might be time to do a half-marathon. I'm not sure that I want to do another full ever...we'll see. I think a 13.1 mile run might be a good goal. Now to find a double jogger.



A note to miss Mackenzie: 

Your parents and sister are getting impatient. Everybody is ready, but you. It's time to go. Let's do this. 

Things That Keep This Pregnant Lady Up at Night...

Sleep is a vain effort these days. Here are a list of things that keep me awake at night:

1. My tiny bladder which is being further compressed by a ~7 pound baby. (I usually have somewhere between 4-8 bathroom breaks a night...usually one an hour).
2. Braxton Hicks which lately are seeming more and more like the real deal.
3. Heartburn.
4. Mackenzie's acrobatics in between aforementioned Braxton Hicks.
5. The Cicadas in my backyard.
6. The tiny little frogs that chirp all night long.
7. My husband snoring...it's gotten worse in the last week. I slept on the couch Tuesday night.
8. The little, yappy dogs that live in the house behind ours and like to bark at our fence line. --Not gonna lie. I've had some pretty terrible thoughts on how to resolve this problem. I wouldn't actually follow through with any of them, but a girl can dream...if she could actually fall asleep over the barking.-- 

Things that will keep me up in the coming weeks:

1. Numbers 5 through 8 in the above list.
2. A sweet, little baby girl who will be adjusting to life outside my tummy. 
3. Possibly a big sister who can't sleep through her new sister adjusting. 

I'm so excited! I have about 18 days to go...

I'm going to go take a nap now. 

G2 Nursery Reveal

It's the moment you've all I've been waiting for...

The nursery is complete with the exception of G2 sleeping soundly in the crib. Nope, she still doesn't have a name. Why is this so hard? We still have a theoretical 6 weeks to decide. Still, it's really bothering me.

If you can remember, this is what the room looked like before it became a nursery.

Now...

 

It's a bright cheery yellow with coral and teal accents. I have to confess that my inspiration for the room came from the fabric we used on the valance.

If you can't tell, it's a frog pattern. Of course, Chloe and her sister have to have a frog of some sort in each of their rooms. Mark used to think I was odd for incorporating frogs in Chloe's room. He's learned to appreciate (some of my) peculiarities.

My mom did so much to help with this nursery. She knows how to do everything and has really good ideas when it comes to DIY. She helped me create the valance, sewed the bed skirt and painted the nursery.

The bed skirt is ingenious. It was designed so that as the crib is lowered with each stage of development (laying, sitting, standing) a ruffle from the bottom can be removed and the skirt won't drag on the ground. This was huge for me since I cannot stand it when skirts touch the ground (long story).

 

These bad boys are just fabric wrapped canvas. Well, the middle one is actually paint. I'll be putting the baby's first initial on the middle one if she ever gets named. I wanted to incorporate more of the fabric into the room. Since we won't be using bumpers this time, I felt like the room looked a little stale without added pattern that comes from the bumpers.

This was fun (see above)! I really wanted to reuse all the furniture we used when Chloe was a baby. But, the crib wasn't safe so we purchased a white one. (We buy pretty inexpensive cribs.) I then decided I needed the dresser to match, so I painted the one Chloe used white. If the drawers would have been white, it would have been too much. That was when my mom suggested painting the drawers a color. I decided on two different tones of pink...both of which are in the chevron fabric from the bed skirt. I just loved how this piece turned out. I'm so glad I took the time to do this project.

I really love the way this nursery turned out. I do not think the pictures do it justice. No matter.

Here's to six more weeks. I'm praying for five. :)

32 weeks -8 more to go-

Nothing in particular going on around here. Today is exactly 2 months until G2 is expected to arrive.

Chloe is starting to get excited. She has asked if we are going to get 'sister' on several occasions while we are running errands. She also tells random people that she is going to be a sister. I think that's probably a good sign. I'm not overly concerned about Chloe being 'de-throned.' She is in a stage where she really wants to make mom and dad happy and she loves to help. I'm fairly certain that she will really enjoy helping out with the new baby as long as we make sure she still gets some one-on-one with Mark and I. Nothing revolutionary about that concept...I just hope I'm not being a naive second time mom.

I'm posting from my phone so I'll try and come back with a Chloe comparison bump photo later. But, here is a 32 weeker...we were about to head out on our run/walk hence the reason I look so fabulous.

{edited to add: the Chloe bump picture comparison.} Man, oh, man. It hurts to look at this comparison. haha. Look how puffy I was with Chloe and at two weeks early in the pregnancy. Ugh.


G2 32 weeks

Chloe 30 weeks

Lastly, Chloe is just so much fun these days. It kills me that I don't have the energy to keep up with her like I want nor do I have the ability to lay on the floor with her and play cars and color. I can tell she finds it frustrating. But with the amazing weather we've been having, we have been able to be outside which she seems to be an acceptable substitute for my lack of entertainment.

Pepper photobomb

Working in the yard...it's hereditary.

The wheelbarrow is full of rocks. I'm sure it's pretty heavy for her, thus the tongue protrusion.

First time to eat Nutella! Mark says she reminds him of 'V for Vendetta.' 

Oh and I almost forgot! Chloe had her first haircut. Her hair was staying really matted at the ends so we went for a trim. Her hair looks so much healthier now and it's not getting tangled which is great now that summer and swimming season are quickly approaching.

1st haircut.

A little shorter; a lot prettier.

My Songstress

Chloe has quite the repertoire when it comes to music. I caught her singing "Part of Your World" from 'The Little Mermaid yesterday.

Some of her favorites to sing:

• ABC
• Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
• Bear Necessities (Jungle Book)
• Row Row Row Your Boat
• Old McDonald
• You are My Sunshine

This is her singing You are My Sunshine. She memorized it pretty quickly. I'm not kidding when I say this video brings tears to this pregnant, hormonal mom's eyes.

Tomorrow we plan to go to the rodeo. I'm hoping to have some pictures to share along with a bump photo. We only have 13 weeks left until G2 gets here. I've been working on the nursery with some help from my parents. I think it should be complete in the next few weeks and I'll post pictures.

A quick poll. What are your thoughts on a girl having the initials B.J. The middle name for this girl is set in stone, but we are struggling with a first name. We have found some 'B' names that we like, but the middle initial is 'J.' Is it a don't? Or am I just dirty-minded and paranoid about my kids being made fun of for no reason?

20 week bump

I've been really bad about taking bump progress pictures with this baby. I'm really glad that I was so good about it with Chloe. It's been kind of fun to go back and compare each week.

I finally remembered to take a photo last night.

 

I think it's a little bigger this time. Maybe? Oh well. At least I don't get stretch marks since my belly takes it's time 'popping.' ha

 

Let me also say, "Hooray for being half way finished." I really am trying to enjoy this in case it's the last time for us, but I really am not enjoying this pregnancy much. The only thing I've enjoyed is feeling her kick. She is strong.

 

 

Look, the bump is even smaller when the shirt isn't covering it up...

At 20 weeks, I'm finally back to my pre-pregnancy weight!

 

 

 

For good measure, here are some highlights of Chloe's week.

She is starting to drop her nap. Sometimes even though she doesn't want one, her body does a force shutdown. Here, she crashed out on her little couch. How cute is this? I tried to wake her up for dinner, but she wouldn't budge.

 

We took her to feed the ducks and geese. If you don't know, geese are pretty aggressive. I got bit by one while we were feeding them. But, we kept a really good eye on Chloe and she was untouched. Don't think I won't punt a goose if it attacked my precious daughter. ha.

 

Chloe and her buddy Rocco coloring.

 

Rocco and Chloe rested for about 5 seconds before they resumed chasing each other in their game of tag.

The Big Reveal

Do I have any readers left?

I spent the last few weeks preparing for our gender reveal party. I didn't have to do much. My mom came in town to help and my friends Stephanie and Katie made all the food. Even with all the help, one of the only things on our minds lately has been the 20 week anatomy scan where the doctor reveals the gender.

Of course this gender reveal party was not my idea, I ripped it off of Pinterest. But since I've requested no baby shower for this second pregnancy, the gender reveal party was a way to appease the masses.

I'm not sure Chloe understands what is happening, but she seems excited.

I made this sign from a Goodwill find. It was easy and fun. Maybe I'll do a tutorial.

Cohen is a ham.

We asked all our friends to wear wax lips or mustaches based on their prediction.

This is the guessing table. All of our guests made a guess and we drew a name from the winning guesses. Our friend, Mike, won a gift certificate to the movie theater.

The box you see in the picture was filled with either pink or blue balloons. We didn't know what color was inside until we opened it (see: picture below). We accomplished this by having the doctor seal an envelope with the gender written inside. The doctor did not share the gender with us. We took the envelope to Party City where I asked an employee to open the envelope and put the corresponding color in the box. The employee was only too eager to help out! We wrapped the box at home and we were none the wiser to the color inside.

Chloe helped Mark and I open the box once our friends were at our house.

It's a GIRL!

Mark and I were both pretty certain it was a girl. We were right about Chloe and this one. I'll let you in on our secret for guessing. We use roulette philosophy. If it's hitting black, it's bound to hit red sooner or later. haha. See, everybody we know either has boy/girl combos or boy/boy combos. Nobody has girl/girl. Even both sets of neighbors have boy/boy. So we knew somebody had to have a house full of girls. We were right!

I'll try and post a "Half-Way-There" bump picture later tonight.

New Home Tour: Part 3 or ~A Surprise~

This is the last of the home tour. I'll probably show before/after pictures as we do some updating on the house. Right now we don't have any work planned, but we know what our projects are for the future.

Below is Chloe's room. I decided to go with a blue since her room at our other house was pink. I needed to change it up a bit. She seems to like it. I knew I wanted polka dots, but I wasn't really sure how to accomplish the task. I've never used a stencil, but I was pretty sure it would be messy and smudge everywhere. After checking out the InterWeb, I came across this YouTube video on Polka Dot Wall Painting. It was a perfect solution. It was so easy and fast! Chloe loves it and she tries to lick the wall the dots on the wall...she seems to think it's ice cream.

As you can see, I only did one and a half walls with the dots. I didn't want the whole room to be so busy.

This is the laundry room. It's directly across from Chloe's room. I'll eventually paint and put some organizational shelving and such in here.

Now, don't judge. I was going to clean this room for pictures, but then I decided to just be honest. This is the second guest room. It's not decorated. I use it to sort and fold my laundry. I haven't bothered decorating it, because it's going to be a baby room in a few short months! That's right...

We are having baby G2 in June of 2013. We are about 14 weeks right now...starting the second trimester.

Chloe turns 3 in May and this baby will make his/her appearance shortly after her celebration. We are so excited!

Chloe is very adamant that she wants a brother. Mark is sure it's another girl. I have no idea nor do I care. I really don't. I would love to have son and think I would be sad to never have a boy. But, Chloe's so much fun that another girl would be a wonderful addition...plus I have a lot of girl clothes. We'll know more in January!