Mackenzie Lately:o)

I wouldn't trade anything for the blessing of Mackenzie.  Sure motherhood is hard.  To say it's been a breeze would be a complete lie, but I wouldn't take it back.  The first couple months have just flown by, and my little Mackenzie will be almost 3 months.  So far she has been able to meet all the great-grandparents, and see extended family.  Although she does not truly know who they are, I know she was blessed by each and every one of them. 

I've learned a lot about myself in these past couple months, and God has definitely grown me in ways I never thought he could.  Let's take patience.  Haha. I'm sure those that are parents already know exactly what I mean.  Patience on all accounts -- less sleep, tending to someone else's needs besides your own, and dealing with a crying baby when it seems like there is no answer as to why.  I have learned the concept of "overtired", and learned the lesson of over stimulating a baby.  I am getting better of  paying attention to her need of sleep, and so she really doesn't fuss unless she's been up a little longer than she needs to be.  I tell you what though, there is just a sense of proudness when you go out, and people ooo and ahh at her.  I may be biased, but she is the cutest baby I have ever seen (and I thought I was cute as a baby haha). 

Mackenzie has come a long way since she was born.  She is holding her head up very well now...she is filling out, and not with her adorable chubby cheeks but with little leg rolls, etc.  I can't believe how much she has changed.  She doesn't look anything like how she did in that first week or two. I'm trying to take tons of pictures to remember these moments. She has been sleeping through the night (at least 9 hours give or take a few hours).  Those first nights she began sleeping longer, I think I went in her home like several times to make sure she was still breathing.  :o) Mackenzie LOVES bath time.  She can just lounge in her tub it seems like for hours.  I can't wait until she begins splish splashing around in the tub.  Other milestones, she is quite the "cooer" now, and smiles like crazy.  I love seeing her smile.  One of my favorites is when she first gets up in the morning, and I go to her, and when she recognizes my voice, she just smiles and coos like crazy.  It's pretty irresistable.  I bought her her Christmas outfits -- yes outfitS -- she needs to have one for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. :o) 

I imagine some of you might be wondering how my little Bella is taking to the new addition.  Well, at this point in time she doesn't particularly care.  I think she felt a little left out when we first brought Mackenzie home, but she still follows me around, and loves to snuggle with me, so I know she is not upset.  Lately, she goes up to Mackenzie and sniffs and then licks her face.  It's pretty cute.  We'll see how she when Mackenzie is more mobile, and begins to pull on her hair. haha

Well that's it for now....I am excited and anxious to begin our own unique holiday/family traditions as Thanksgiving and Christmas are quickly approaching! 

Mackenzie's First Month

The first month definitely had its ups and downs or highs and lows, however you want to term it.  The first week seemed like a breeze as all Mackenzie did was eat, sleep, poop/pee.  I was able to get some sleep, as I had my mom and mother-in-law with me in a two week span.  After they had left, it was still quite the challenge learning to be a mom, and trying to make sure all Mackenzie's needs were being met.  She wasn't much of a crier so that wasn't so bad.  However, I began to miss sleep time as she was feeding every two hours.  I truly have a great husband, and not father.  Zach was such a great help.  Month 1 flew by so fast. 

Some pictures to commemorate Mackenzie's first month in the world. 

 

Mackenzie Kay Schaeffer

So clearly it has been quite sometime since I last wrote.  I will try to continue writing on a daily basis, to share my thoughts, and the milestones that I am entering into with our new addition to our family. 

My last post I was just a little over halfway through my pregnancy.  Well, I am definitely not even there anymore...this child of mine has entered the world! I thought I would share the "birth" story (how it all happened...not those "other" details) :o)

August 26, 2011 will be a day I will remember forever. 

It all started actually on Thursday August 25th.  By this day, I was so ready to have this baby.  I had gestational diabetes, and was on a strict diet, so I was ready to go back to normal, and not have to worry about blood sugars.  For those that don't know, gestational diabetes goes away after pregnancy but should continue to eat a balanced diet to avoid a risk of Type II.   Anyways, I always pictured the "birth" moment to be like those you see on TV.  Water breaks in the middle of night, franctically grab your "hospital" bags, call the parents on the way there, and have the baby not too long after.Because of the gestational diabetes, there is always a fear of a bigger baby so the doc was not going to let me go past my 39th week.  I was scheduled to be induced on August 29th if she did not come on her own.  As that date was approaching, I had come to terms that I was going to need to be induced, so I began planning around that with family and work.  I was not really dilated, and had NO contractions whatsoever.   So as the 25th approached, I treated it like any other day.

Well I woke myself up that morning kinda thinking I had "tinkled" a little bit, afterall they say as you get closer to your due date, your baby begins to drop, and put more pressure on your bladder, so I again, didn't think anything of it.  I did begin wondering if there was something more going on, when it happened a few more times after that while getting ready for work.  I told Zach, and he said to call the doctor later if it happened more.  Well ironically enough, I had my last weekly appointment that day anyways, so I decided to wait until my afternoon appointment.  My afternoon doc appointment came, and they did the usual stress test first to check on the baby, and talk any updates with me, or find out if I had any questions about the induction process.  I didn't have to many questions, so then the doc was going to see if I had dilated anymore.  Just before she was going to check, I had told her about the little "tinkles" I have had leading up to this point.  So the doc decided to check to see if possibly I had a "slow" leak of amnoitic fluid.  She used a test strip, and when she did the test, sure enough, it was positive for amnoitic fluid.  Which meant, my water had not fully broke, but that there was a little tear somewhere and I was slowing leaking.  Needless to say, the doc was like "you're going to the hospital".  And just like that we went to the Labor and Delivery Unit (which was in the same building as my doc so we didnt have to go far), and got set up to have our baby. 

Well seeing as I had no contractions at all, they had to give me pitocin to help speed along the labor.  Let's just say, I was admitted at 2:30pm in the afternoon, and didn't start feeling contractions till 10:00pm that night.  From that point on, I started to progress but at a slow pace. For those that don't know, I wanted to try this delivery without any drugs.....but at about 4am on August 26th, the contractions were getting bigger, but I was only dilated maybe 5cm, and at that point, I did not want to go any longer feeling the pain.  4:30am I got the epideral, and was the greatest decision I made.  :o)  After waiting several more hours, by 10:30am I was finally told we were ready to begin pushing, and at 11:04am, our beautiful daughter Mackenzie Kay entered into our world.  8lbs 2oz, 20 inches long.......The greatest day ever! :o)

Pregnancy at Week 25

Well as you can see I am trying to catch up in updating.

I can't believe that I am in week 25 of my pregnancy.  When you do the math, out of 40 weeks (for a typical pregnancy), I only have 15 more to go! I can't believe how fast this has been going so far.  I mean, I know there are times I feel like this is taking forever, but when you look at the numbers like that, it's like "woah" where did the time go?  I am in my 5 month, and only have 4 more to go! It just gets me more and more excited to meet this little one. 

As for other pregnancy fun I'm having, I no longer have any morning sickness, although there are smells out there that will make me want to gag.  My belly has definitely gotten bigger.  Sometimes I feel like I am small from where I am supposed to be, but at my last doctor appt, I measured at 24 cm (since I have completed 24 and in 25, so she says I'm right on track.  The heartburn is not very fun, and I'm told the old wives tale is that my baby will have a head of hair with all the heartburn I get.  That should be interesting considering I was a bald baby for awhile.  Back pain has started.  It is not excruciating by all means, but there are times I get up and walk to where I need to go, and I do get a little "Ooo that kinda hurts" feeling.  Not sure if that makes sense at all.  I know as the baby continues to grow that that pain will most likely get sharper.  I just keep telling myself that it WILL be worth it in the end. 

In other words, hopefully the remaining 4 months will go by fast so I can hold my little girl in my arms!

As always, prayer is most welcomed and appreciated for a healthy baby, pregnancy, and momma.  Thanks! :o)

22 Weeks (sorry this was the last one I took)

A Note From God to You -- For Those that Need Encouragement or a Friendly Reminder

Dear [insert your name here],

Today, I will be handling all your problems.  Please remember, I do not need your help.  If a situation you cannot handle happens to appear, DO NOT attempt to resolve it.  Kindly put it in the SFJTD (Something For Jesus To Do) box.  It will be addressed in MY time, not yours.  Once the matter is placed into the box, DO NOT hold on to it or attempt to remove it.  Holding on or removal will delay the resolution of your problem.  If it is a situation that you think you are capable of handling, please consult me in prayer to be sure that it is the proper resolution.  Because I do not sleep nor do I slumber, there is no need for you to lose any sleep.  Rest my child.  If you need to contact me, I am only a prayer away.

Love ALWAYS,
God

Psalm 55:22: “Cast your cares on the Lord, and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken.” AMEN!

I got this out of a book I'm reading so I can't take any credit but it sures makes me feel good! :o)

 

It's A Girl!!

So I have realized I have not done a good job keeping up with this whole blog thing.  Hopefully I will get better at this, most of the time I forget about this, which is why I am bad at blogging.

Well on April 14th, Zach and I found out the wonderful news that we will be having a little girl. :o) I know Zach, as most guys do, would have liked having a boy first, but now that we have been planning for the arrival of our precious little one, he is getting more and more excited for this little girl.  I know he will be such a great dad to her, and that they will have this wonderful father-daughter relationship. 

We are so excited for our new addition! Will try to keep more up-to-date on this!



Here is how we decorated our soon-to-be nursery room
when we announced to our families (our moms and
sisters came down for this).









April -- A Time to Celebrate Christ's Death and Resurrection

I have been impacted by my dad to get just as excited about Easter as I do Christmas time.  Christmas is a significant time of year as it is the time of the birth of our Savior, and the worldly decorations make the holiday such a warm and joyful time of year.  However, Easter is just as, if not more, important than Christmas. 

There are countless scriptures in the Old Testament that refer to the coming of Jesus and what He will do for us.  It was not until the New Testament that what the Old Testament prophets came true.  Even Jesus himself tells his disciples of what is to happen, and that there is nothing they can do to prevent it.  His first predictions of his own death (and the meaning behind it) are found in Matthew 16: 21-28; Mark 8:31-38; and Luke 9: 21-27.  Take a look at those verses as sometimes we lose sight of why it was necessary for Jesus to go through with the crucifixtion. 

After seeing the movie "The Passion", my viewpoint of how much pain Jesus truly did endure changed.  When you are given a visual of what he went through (which the movie did a pretty good job), it changes your perspective a bit more.  Seeing what how the movie depicted Jesus crucifixtion, and everything leading up to him on the cross, was definitely eye-opening, and made me truly thankful for what he endured for all of us.  It also makes you realize how much God really LOVES us.  I don't know any human father that would be so willing to let their son go through what Jesus did for the sake of others.  It goes to show how great our God is and how His love is so deep for us.  I don't know about you, but I wouldn't want to go through what Jesus went through. 

Take this time to thank God for all that He has done, and use this time to really celebrate the life we can have in Heaven because of what Jesus did for us on the cross!!