Going home!

By Wednesday morning we were very anxious to get out of the hospital and get home. We couldn't wait to be home with both our girls and truly begin our life together as a family of four. From the beginning of our journey to becoming a family of four David and I made sure to include Morgan in every moment of preparing for her sister. We wanted her to know what a special thing it was going to be becoming a big sister. We planned that when we left the hospital we wanted to leave as our new family of four.

Morgan stayed at home on Tuesday night enjoying a sleepover with my dad and stepmom, JoAnne. In the morning they got Morgan all ready to bring her sister home. Morgan and JoAnne decorated the house with welcome home signs for Makenzie. Then around 11 they headed up to the hospital so we could bring Makenzie home.

Makenzie all dressed to leave. Thanks Aunt Georgia, Uncle Matt, Lucas, and Macie for the adorable going home outfit.

Our family of four ready to go home.

One last quick visit with Karen and Dede.

Morgan making sure Makenzie was secure and ready to go.

Just like she did with Morgan 5 years earlier Karen had to help us get our little peanut nice and secure in her carseat.

This time I got the true experience of leaving with your baby. The wheelchair ride out!

Morgan was stuck in a corner of the elevator....it looked like she was in time out. Having two wheelchairs and three adults was a tight fit.

Morgan and I racing for the door.

Almost there!

Our two girls in the backseat together!

On a side note.... I had to post this picture so you could see how the two girls compare:

Morgan all ready to leave on May 14, 2007

Makenzie all ready to leave on May 16, 2012

Visitors at the hospital

During our stay at the hospital we had some very special visitors. First thing Tuesday morning we were visited by Dr. Merabani, the hospital pediatrician. He is the same pediatrician who took care of Morgan 5 years earlier during her hospital stay. In fact, it was Dr. Merabani who first utter three words that would forever change our lives: arthrogryposis multiplex congenita. Since leaving the hospital 5 years ago we have remained in contact with the staff of the NICU including Dr. Merabani. We stop by about once a year to say hello and so they can see how fabulous Morgan is doing. So when Dr. Merabani came in to meet Makenzie he was very excited to see her. He also wanted to see Morgan which he did later that morning. Makenzie checked out great! She had a slight heart murmur that first morning which he said usually closes within 24 hours, and sure enough by Wednesday morning when we wanted to go home it was gone!

After his visit we were visited by two of the nurses who took care of Morgan in the NICU, Karen and Dede. Karen was Morgan's main nurse for the four days we were in the hospital. It was because of her that we were able to stay with Morgan in the NICU and not have to leave the hospital without our little girl. We adore her and we were so excited that she was able to meet our newest addition.

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Karen meeting Makenzie

Big sis Morgan then came to visit. She loves loving on her sister. 

Morgan checking out Makenzie's toes and helping put lotion on her feet.

Morgan hung out with her sister for a while and then left with my dad and JoAnne for a while to go shopping for the afternoon. While they were out we had a special visit from Georgia. She brought us some lunch and snuggled with Makenzie while we ate.

Aunt Georgia and Makenzie.

Morgan returned in the afternoon after her shopping trip to visit some more. We enjoyed a family dinner of Chipot.le around the tiny hospital room table. It was then getting close to 7 and Morgan needed to head home for bath and her bedtime routine. We said goodnight to Morgan, but not before she first got to introduce her sister to her teacher, Ms. B.J. (who also happens to be my very good friend).

BJ visiting with Makenzie.

It was so nice to be able to have so many special people visit us in the hospital. We were just so excited to introduce Makenzie to all these people who are such an important part of our lives.

Makenzie Ryann Spies

 We are so very proud to announce the birth of our newest little girl Makenzie Ryann Spies. She was born on Monday, May 14th at 7:33 pm weighing 7 pounds 3.3 ounces and measuring 18.5 inches long. She is perfect in every way and makes our family complete!

   Here is the story of Makenzie's birth:


  We made it through last week and Morgan's 5th  birthday...I was so nervous that she would decide May 10th was a great day too.  On Mother's day we went to Donna and Charley's for breakfast. The rest of the afternoon I spent resting. I was just feeling funny and was really tired. I just felt like she was going to be coming soon. Sunday night I was up off and on with contractions....but they didn't want to stick around so at about 2:45 am I went back to bed. By 6 Monday morning when I woke up they were back and were much stronger. I was also feeling lots of pressure down low. I was nervous that because she was already positioned so low if we didn't go to the hospital soon to be checked she might be born at home. We called Donna and she was at our house a little before 7.  David and I then headed to the hospital. We were checked into triage around 7:30. As soon as we checked in David and I both recognized the nurse that day, her name was Holly. She was the same OB nurse that worked with us 5 years before when Morgan was born. We knew it was a good sign and meant to be. Holly checked us in and examined me. Unfortunately I was still where I had been a week before 4cm, 80% effaced, and a -1 station. I could hardly believe it with how I was feeling. After a little while of monitoring my contractions Holly talked with Dr. Weisert and they decided to have me try walking the halls for an hour to see if I would change. As soon as we walked into the hallway to start walking we ran into Dede and Karen, 2 of the NICU nurses who cared for Morgan that we have stayed in contact with (I had two of Dede's daughter's in class). We stopped to say hello to them and then started walking. Within a few minutes my contractions were picking up steam. By the time an hour had past they were only about 1-2 minutes apart, lasting 45 seconds to a minute and a half and were pretty strong. Again I was feeling intense pressure down low. We went back in and were checked again....again there wasn't much change. I was so frustrated. Holly called Dr. Weisert to see what she wanted to do. Dr. Weisert decided that it seemed liked I was in the early phase of labor and that it was just being slow to progress. She asked if we wanted to go home or stay since we were scheduled for Friday to be induced. David and I  both said STAY! without hesitation. We were so ready to meet our new little girl. Dr. Weisert then asked Holly to admit us to the hospital and instructed her to begin pitocin. Holly decided that she really wanted to stay with us and be our nurse for the day so she arranged to leave triage and follow us to labor and delivery. Holly later told us that it was her very last day at work....she too was preparing to have a baby and would be a stay at home mom once he was born. It was so special that she was there to take care of us while we labored and that she was able to see both our girls be born.
          Around 12:30 we were finally settled in our labor and delivery room, hooked up to an IV and were about to start the pitocin. By 3:00 the contractions were getting pretty strong, around a 5 on the pain scale. Shortly after 4 when my contractions were about every 2 minutes Dr. Weisert came by to break my water. At that time I was still about 5 cm, 80% effaced and a -1 station. Almost instantly with the water breaking things began to change. As soon as the water broke my contractions hit it into high gear and I jumped from 5 cm to 7cm. Unfortunately the anethesiologist was in a c-section, so I was going to have to wait until about 5 pm to get an epidural. At first I thought it would be okay but the contractions got intense VERY fast. By 5 I was in a lot of pain. By 5:10 I was intense pain and wanting the epidural badly. The doctor was finally available around 5:20 at which time I was in the worst pain I have ever felt, but was being asked to hold still and not move so she could get the pain meds. A very hard feat. David was an amazing support and really helped me through it all. By the time they were finally ready to put in the epidural I was 8 cm and very close to being ready to push. The dr. decided to give me a spinal tap to help instantly relieve some pain and the epidural that would kick in in about 15 minutes. The spinal tap helped, but the contractions were still very strong. I was able to hold still through one and she got the epidural in, however, when she went to do the cathedar part of it, it fell out. I was so upset...I was hurting so bad. Another contraction later and she was able to redo the epidural. About 15 minutes later I was totally relaxed and in complete heaven. The epidural is completely magical.
          By that time it was almost 6 o'clock. They were calling dr. weisert to let her know how we had progressed and that we would be ready very soon to push. They wanted to let me "labor down" so that I wouldn't have to push very long and since I was now peacefully enjoying my contractions pain free I was fine with that. We were called Donna and Charley  to let them know that we would probably be having our little girl soon and they should prepare to bring Morgan up. By a few minutes after 7 the doctor was in, we were ready to go. She asked me around 7:25 to give one practice push and as we quickly saw (I was using the mirror) it wasn't going to take much. Her head was right there. We could see the tiny amount of hair that she has and we were just so excited. On my next contraction close to 7:28 or so the dr. asked me to push. I pushed through 3 contractions and her little head was totally out. Dr. Weisert asked me to just breathe while she suctioned her mouth and helped remove  the cord that was tangled once around her neck. On my next contraction she asked me to push again and with just one push her shoulders, arms, and legs came right out and before I knew it she was lying there on my tummy squirming all around. We were so happy to finally meet our little girl! We burst into tears and showered her with kisses. David then cut the cord, grabbed the video camera, and followed her over to the table where they would weighed her and did all the birth assessments. While they were doing that the dr. and other nurses took care of me. I watched Makenzie in complete awe as the dr. helped deliver my placenta. It made me nervous as it took a while to do that since the placenta was not wanting to detach from my uterus. But before long and with some help of the nurses and doctor pushing on my tummy it finally came out.
             Makenzie was officially born at 7:33 PM on May 14, 2012 weighing in at 7 pounds 3.3 ounces and measuring 18.5 inches long. She was completely adorable and perfect and completed our family! We couldn't wait to introduce her to her big sister and grandparents who were all anxiously waiting outside, but first we had to try to feed her. She instantly took to breastfeeding like a champ.  By a few minutes after 8 David was ready to head out to the lobby to get the big sister. We told everyone that Morgan got to meet the baby first. When David brought Morgan in I was just finishing up feeding her. David placed Morgan down in her walker and she had the biggest smile on her face. She walked right over to the bed and looked at Makenzie in awe. She was so happy to finally meet her. David then helped Morgan into bed so she could hold Makenzie. It was the best moment ever seeing my two girls together for the first time. Morgan told her how much she loved her and gave her a kiss. Then she went to open her big sister present. She got a new backpack and lunch box for school. The backpack was full on fun presents including Meet the ....videos, a coloring book, a new kid tough digital camera, and a Baby and Me scrapbook.
        After a short while we decided that all the grandparents were being tortured and we should probably invite them in to meet our newest addition. David went out to get them.  Morgan held Makenzie while she introduced her to everyone and then all the grandparents took turns holding her. Everyone stayed for a while taking all sorts of pictures and Morgan watched Makenzie get her first bath. Shortly before 10 it was time for them all to go home for the night. We were then transferred upstairs to our room. Around 11:00  Makenzie had her second feeding. She fed like a champ again. By midnight we were all settled down to bed. She slept amazingly well that first night. I woke up at 4 to feed her because the nurse said if she didn't eat they would poke her foot to do a sugar level test. I really had to work hard to wake her up. She then slept til about 8 and woke again to eat. She  has been eating about every 3-4 hours since then. She seems to be on a great schedule already, but we will see how that changes over the days to come.
          We came home from the hospital on Wednesday and have been doing great. Both girls are adjusting so well and are so in love with each other. I am going to try my best over the next few days to post more pictures of all the wonderful changes happening in our family.

Holly (the Labor and Delivery nurse) and Morgan.

Holly made this same kind of bow hat for Morgan when she was born.

Big Sis holding her baby for the first time.

She was in total awe of her.

Me and my girls!

Morgan talking with Dr. Weisert about her baby.

My amazing doctor! She wasn't even supposed to be working that night but she stayed late so she could deliver Makenzie. She truly is the best doctor.

All cleaned up from her bath and ready to go upstairs.

38 Weeks!

My belly at 38 weeks!

We are now officially on the count down. The little one could potentially arrive any day...although it seems like she has become very comfortable (wish I could say the same) and decided to stay put. Last Monday I had a doctor's appointment. At that time my blood pressure continued looking good, my weight was good (gained 1-2 pounds in a week), and I was progressing. My doctor measured me at 4 cm dilated, 80% effaced, and at a -1 station. Although my doctor is doubtful that I will make it to 39 weeks I went ahead and asked her if she would set an induction date, just so I could have an end in mind. She was fine with that, so we set our date for Friday, May 18th at 5:30 am!!!! It is so good to know that if she doesn't come on her own by Friday she will be here. I am just so thankful that we made it through all the major events we had in late April and early May, most importantly through Morgan's birthday. The only event left is on Thursday the 17th, Morgan's preschool promotion. I am hoping this little one either comes early this week or just waits until Friday so I can be at promotion. Of course I am really hoping for sooner rather than later as I am very uncomfortable and tired. I really do not feel like having to continue working this week so it would be great if she would come before Tuesday. We will keep you all updated.

Happy Birthday 5 Year Old!

Where has the time gone?  It seems like just yesterday that Morgan was born. I can remember just about every detail of that day as though it just happened and now she is five! We are just so proud of our little girl and the amazing kid she is becoming. She is such a sweet girl who is always well mannered and very well behaved (of course she does have her occasional moments, but they are far and few between). She has a love for life and is always so excited about each day and the activities she will be doing. She never wants to miss a thing (just like her Mommy). She definitely has her Daddy's sense of humor and ear for music. Morgan loves to joke around, use sarcasm, 'pimp' her grandma, and quote movies. One of her favorite lines to say is "good talk Russ" when someone isn't listening. It is too funny. 

Anyway, we celebrated our sweet little girl on Thursday with a full day of birthday partying. She woke up first thing with the sun to find her birthday sign above her door. We then made her some pancakes with 5 candles!

Opening her birthday card from her Memere. It of course had a horse on it!

Blowing out her candles. Having 5 it took her a bit longer.

3 down...2 to go.

That evening after we were all home from school and work Morgan's grandparents and her Uncle Brad joined us for dinner. Since it was her birthday Morgan got to choose what she wanted to do for dinner. She could have chosen anything she wanted including going out to eat, but she said she wanted pizza at home. So that is just what we did. She ate about two bites of her pizza though and then handed us her plate saying she wanted presents and cake. Since the rest of us were full from actually eating dinner we opted to do presents first. 

Morgan opening a gift from one of the teachers at preschool. She has them all wrapped around her little finger.

Thanks Ms. Patti! Morgan loves her new Woodstock doll.

Morgan's big birthday gift.

 Yes....I know....she is only 5 and we gave her an ipa.d, but for some really good reasons. Number 1 it is amazing to see the things she can do independently on this without our help. Number 2 we currently use the one I have from work daily for watching Net.flix while I stretch her legs and I have to turn mine in over the summer. Number 3 I am going to need something she can do on her own for like 20-30 minutes several times a day so I can feed her sister. I could continue going on but I won't. In the end we are letting her call it 'her ipa.d' but it will be something for the whole family to use and enjoy.

Checking out her new ipa.d

Donna made some cake pops (Morgan and David's favorite!)

We opted for the #5 candle at dinner since it took her a while to get the 5 candles out that morning.

A Birthday Celebration Fit for a Cowgirl!

Yesterday we celebrated Morgan's upcoming 5th birthday. I just can't believe that in four short days she will be five. It still seems like just yesterday that she was born. Anyway, we celebrated yesterday with a small family party (we wanted to keep it small in case we needed to postpone it at the last minute).

Since my dad and stepmom were here to help celebrate they decided to introduce Morgan to one of their birthday traditions. Every year on her big cousins' birthdays the girls get to do a scavenger hunt at Nanny and Pa's house. Her cousins have told Morgan all about this and she has been anticipating it for a while now. So, my dad and stepmom decided that now that Morgan is 5 she can start a modified version of the scavenger hunt. They made 5 birthday signs each with a picture of something 5 on them and hid them around the house. Morgan was so excited to hunt them down!

Morgan finding one of her 5 birthday signs!

After the birthday hunt and a short little nap (I could hardly believe she took one, but she did stay up til 10 the night before with our community fair) it was time to get ready for her party. This year we were having her party down at Donna and Charley's house. You'll find out why we chose to have it there as you continue reading, but if the title of this post didn't already give you a hint I will tell you that Morgan wanted a cowgirl party.

Our little almost 5 year old cowgirl ready to go to her party. She even wanted her lasso.

 

We arrived at Morgan's party just in time to watch the start of the Kentucky Derby. While Morgan was enjoying the race there was a knock at the door. Morgan got in her walker to answer the door and this is what she found:

Dillon, the pony, had come by to surprise her for her birthday!

Morgan was so surprised. It was adorable to watch her face. At first she didn't know what to make of a pony at Grandma and Grandpa's doorstep.

Morgan giving Dillon a kiss hello.

Morgan of course did not hesitate to hop right on and start riding. She only got off for about 5 minutes the entire time he was there.

Morgan did share her pony friend, but as you can see she 'shared' but never once got off. Here she is giving her cousin Tyler a ride.

And here she is giving her 'best buddy' Lucas a ride.

They had a blast together!

Doesn't she look like an official cowgirl. She was just so happy!

The only time Morgan did get off was to paint Dillon and then to help give him a bath at the end.

While she was painting him Morgan also examined all his tack.

Checking out his cinch.

After the painting it was time for more riding. Lucas decided he wanted to help out by being the lead rope walker.

We wanted to get a pic of all the kids with Dillon, which at this age of course required some of us adults to be in the pic too. Can you tell we were all staring straight into the sun. Morgan and Miss Macie both wouldn't even attempt to look up and the rest of us have the worst squinting eyes. Oh well.... we tried.

Morgan then rode Dillon out to say goodbye at the trailer.

When she got to the trailer she got an extra surprise. Dillon's 'best buddy' Mosie was there waiting to say hello. Morgan decided that he needed some carrot treats too.

After Dillon and Mosie took off it was time to grill up some cowgirl grub and break out the other horse, Cookie. 

Here's Lucas testing out cookie. Love his expression!

Then Morgan had to get on to show the boys how it is done.

Love this sweet face!

Taking a break from being a cowgirl to pretend to be a pirate. Arr!

When our little cowgirl was full and her buddies were well feed we decided it was time for some cake, ice cream, and presents! Donna surprised Morgan with a home-made, gluten free, horse cake! It came out so cute and Morgan was so excited. 

The horse cake Donna made from scratch.

Morgan checking out her cake for the first time.

Happy birthday to you....Happy birthday to you....

Happy birthday dear Morgan....

Happy birthday to you! 

 For those who have been at her party over the past few years you probably remember how much time we spent teaching Morgan how to blow, especially for her 3rd birthday and how much wax was on the cake by the time she finally got it out. Not any more. No practice required. Morgan is now a pro. Before we finished the song she pulled the cake plate over to her, took a deep breathe, and out went her candle. On her actual birthday I may just attempt 5 candles instead of the number 5 she is getting so good!

Can you tell Morgan enjoyed her cake?

Oh my gosh.... a Spl.at the Cat book! I love that my girl loves to read and is so excited to receive a new book!

Morgan had a blast yesterday! I know that if you had asked me 5 years ago if I would ever have a pony at my child's birthday party I would have laughed hysterically in your face and said I would never be one of 'those' moms. Well folks, I am smitten for my little girl and will do ANYTHING to see her smile, so yes.... I am one of 'those' moms. Sorry. Deal with it.

I have to say though I would do it again in a heart beat (not that I really think I will, this was something special for a milestone birthday), but it was so worth it. As I laid with Morgan in bed last night (yes...she is almost 5 and I still have to lay with her each night, but that is a whole other issue for another post)..... as I laid with her in bed last night she drifted off to sleep recounting the day repeatedly telling me how Dillon and Mosie surprised her at her birthday. It was a memory that I know will last a lifetime for her (even if just through pictures).