First Road Trip

McKenzie and I ventured up to Fayetteville last week to spend some time with my parents. What a trip! My dad actually drove down to pick us up, which turned out to be the best idea. I was pretty nervous about driving up there all by myself. We just had to stop once to feed and change McKenzie so the trip went quite well.

The week was great! McKenzie took a stroller ride outside a few times and I was able to have lunch and dinner with friends (well, let's be honest, with a friend. I have just the one friend in Fayetteville). My parents got to spend lots of quality time with McKenzie, so they were thrilled. Mostly thrilled. There were those 2am and 3am fits of crying that my mom might not have described as quality time. She also saw her aunt and uncle again. I'm posting a picture of them with her that is actually from a few weeks ago. It's a good picture... they are annoyingly photogenic!

The biggest trouble we had was McKenzie's upset stomach. I am in the process of moving from breastmilk to formula and it wasn't exactly an easy thing to do. For one, I feel really guilty about it but I'm slowly getting over that. But two, it's hard to watch her in pain with an upset stomach! After switching to a formula for sensitive stomachs and mixing in gripe water (this is an herbal supplement that seems to work well for her!) I think McKenzie is doing quite well. She still gets an upset stomach at times, but not nearly as often or as bad. I can't thank my parents enough for helping me through this process. I could not have done it alone!

This week is going to be a big week for us. I'm going to try to take McKenzie on a few outings. Mostly quick trips to show her off to people and maybe have lunch a few times. I'm a little nervous about getting her out and about, but I know we'll make it. I'll try to post some more pictures soon.

New Pics

If you haven't checked the McKenzie Photo Album link (to the right) lately, you might want to. I uploaded a few new pics. And when you do click on that link, does it take you to Snapfish and say "View Jennifer's Album"? Just wondering because that's what it says when I click on it and I have no idea why Snapfish has nicknamed me Jennifer.

New Dad

I have to take a minute to recognize Brant once again. He has been an awesome dad from the start. And just when you think you can't love your husband any more than you do, watch him become a dad. It's pretty amazing.

Whereas I might get a look of frustration on my face when McKenzie starts to cry, Brant just scoops her up and starts laughing. And if we were keeping count, I'm pretty certain that Brant would still be well ahead of me in the number of diapers changed. He's a pro! And perhaps the best sign of how great he is, he let me sleep an entire night last night. I prepared a few bottles and he stayed with his daughter in the guest bedroom for the night so that I could get some much needed rest. McKenzie and I are very lucky girls!

Thanks Jenny!

McKenzie and I wanted to say thanks yet again to my great friend Jenny. Pretty much anything cool about my blog can be attributed to her. For instance, the photo album link to the right. How cute is that? I will be updating that album as frequently as possible. In fact, there are new pics in there now. At any time, you can click on it and see if it's been updated. I'll try to make a quick post everytime I am able to add new pics.

And hopefully you've noticed the new header. Once again, that's all Jenny. She's very talented and I'm lucky that she not only likes me but now LOVES McKenzie so she keeps our blog looking snazzy! Jenny, I asked McKenzie to say thanks and this is what I got...

She went with pure cuteness as opposed to writing you a note!

Victory!

McKenzie went to her first doctor's appointment last Tuesday and it was a success! First of all, we were on time. Considering it has been hard to even take a shower these days, it was quite a feat for my mom and me both to arrive at the appointment on time, clean and with a happy baby. After being weighed, measured and checked out by the doc we got great news... she had surpassed her birth weight by 3 ounces! Apparently this is a great thing, as the doctor said only about 5% of her patients surpass their birth weight in a week's time. It shows that she's doing great and growing strong. We are so proud!!

First Appointment (7/7/09)

Weight: 7lbs, 7oz - 37th percentile

Head Circumfrence: 13.5in - 21st percentile

Length: 20in - 51st percentile*

*She measured 21.25in at birth so since we're pretty sure she didn't shrink, there's obviously a difference in measuring methods. For the time, her length is debatable. As you can see below, the appointment just wore her out!

Here's How It Happened...

Around 12:15pm on June 28, I was chatting with my mom on the phone. I had just told her not to worry about staying the night at the lake, because this baby wasn't coming anytime soon. I felt no pains or any changes that made me think her arrival was imminent. I was fully counting on the induction the following Wednesday. So I got off the phone, got up to use the restroom and sure enough, my water broke!

I yelled for Brant and after we both agreed that my water must have broken, I called the hospital. Since I told them I had not had any contractions, they told me to take my time, eat some lunch, pack our stuff and come on up within the next few hours. So, I jumped in the shower and Brant began packing up the car. As I was drying my hair, it hit... the first contraction. Ouch. Brant was trying to heat up some lunch but I told him I was in some pain and we were going to need to leave pretty quickly.

On the way to the hospital, I continued having contractions. I have no idea how far apart they were, but I do know that they hurt. We made it to the hospital and I signed in to Labor and Delivery, almost doubled over the counter. The secretary sent me straight to a delivery room, gave me a gown and told Brant that this baby was coming TO-DAY. We were both stunned. By this time it was about 2:00. The nurse checked me and I was at a 5! A 5! My body had shown no signs of this for four weeks and all of the sudden I'm at a 5! Reality hit pretty fast.

The nurse gave me a small dose of pain medication while I waited on the epidural. By the time my bloodwork had cleared and the guy came to give me the epidural, I was already at a 7. Again, contractions are painful. Once the epidural went into effect though, I was just fine. We called the family back and they all chatted for about an hour until the nurse came back to check me. I was at an 8 by this time. I had my mom come back and I was on the verge of telling everyone else they could come back in the room when my doctor stopped by. Luckily for me, she was on call that weekend. She was on her way to do another procedure but decided to check me real quick. Well, good thing because I was now at a 10 and ready to go. I think my doctor, who had seen over the last four weeks that my body was refusing to budge, was in shock!

After an hour of pushing, which is incredibly exhausting by the way, my little McKenzie shot out with avengence! If there are any doubters, just ask my mom. Let's just say she had to wash her clothes that evening! McKenzie came out crying and was a perfect little baby right from the start. By this time, it was 7:32pm and our lives had changed forever.

Oh Man...

To understand why this picture makes us laugh, you must understand my dogs. Bailey (the lab) is the sweetest dog on the planet. Gulley is sweet to people, but not so much to Bailey. They aren't enemies, but I don't think friends is quite the right word either. Long story short, they have never shared a bed. Ever. In over five years time.

As I was holding McKenzie on our first day home from the hospital, we captured this moment between the girls. You just have to wonder what they are thinking! In fact, feel free to leave your own caption.

Although they appear to be planning how to get rid of the newest addition, they have actually been great. Bailey sniffs around McKenzie every now and then. Gulley is pretty much uninterested, expect that she does follow my every step when I get up to feed or change McKenzie.

Pics

I'm working hard to get pictures to people who have asked. There should be a link to the side of the blog that goes to a slideshow of pictures. I have a lot of posts in mind, but McKenzie is wanting to be fed right now so I better do that first. She's so demanding! Look for updates tomorrow!