McKenna is here!

Well McKenna Mai Willard has arrived!

McKenna was born on June 12th, 2009 at 11:17 AM. She weighed in at 7 pounds and 4 ounces. She was 19 inches long. I little bigger than Jonah.

McKenna's Name

McKenna's name was a difficult one for us. We had a list of names selected when we got to the hospital, but none of them really stood out to us while we were there. We had the middle name picked out and that was not an issue. The middle name is a combination of Mary (Carrie's mom) and Hai (my mom). So we ended up with Mai. In Vietnamese, this means beautiful flower... there are some other meanings, but this suited our little girl. Finally after much deliberation, we decided on McKenna... and we love it.

Our First Week Home

So we get back home from Northside on SUN the 14th. It was nice having an early delivery and being able to get home in the early afternoon. After arriving home with Jonah near midnight, getting home and having time to adjust to each other was nice. When we brough Jonah home, we all went straight to bed! Our first couple of nights were good. I knew there would be some adjustment period and really completely forgot how hard it was to keep up with a newborn. The first night was especially tough as I had conveniently forgotten the attention required... But the next couple of nights got easier as we were getting in the groove. I made the comment to Carrie that we were extremely fortunate because McKenna seemed to be easier than Jonah! McKenna's personality was just as sweet and mild mannered as Jonah. She was easy and we didn't have any of the breathing issues to deal with... And then came the crying!

We took McKenna to the pediatrician the following THU (less than a week after birth) and she was diagnosised with acid reflux (fairly common). Go figure... Jonah had acid reflux as well. But Dr. Meckleberg told us that she "couldn't remember putting a week old baby on prescription medication". OUCH. To presume that I knew my little girl... :)

For the next three nights, McKenna had to be held in just the right position at all times or she was crying. I honestly don't know how parents of colicy kids do it. Not only did we not sleep the entire weekend, but it was mentally draining to see your child in such pain. Thanks to Mary for coming over on FRI and staying until SUN to help us. I don't know how we could have done it without her! It wasn't until about SUN afternoon that the medication actually started to excercise the acid demons from McKenna. And now we have our sweet and perfect little girl back.... and here is our proof.

When will she arrive?

OK so the full moon didn't work out for this pregnancy like it did the first one. I told James today that I don't remember waiting around like this for Jonah to come. Not knowing what to expect is a good thing - makes the time fly by. 

I went to the doctor today and I'm 3cm dilated and "everything is favorable". I didn't ask for a lengthy explanation of what favorable means. I'm going to assume it's a good thing. I went to work and hung out in a meeting for a couple hours, catch up with my co-workers and jetted out. 

I resume my position on the couch this afternoon to watch the last 3 episode of "True Blood" on HBO onDemand. Boy, I got addicted to that show. I'm not sure what my fascination is with sci-fi/fantasy but I do get lost in it. It was good to vegetate on the couch for a few hours. 

DILEMMA - James and I had came up with a list of girl's name that we like. James announced to my family on Sunday that he wasn't crazy about any of them. Therefore I have challenged him to come up with new suggestions. Will baby girl have a name upon arrival or we will discussing it in the days after.? Anyone who is reading this blog knows that this is out of character for me. I usually have everything prepared, listed, and checked off. I think my age and experience has mellowed me out a bit. I don't even have my hospital bag packed yet. I've been laying on the couch and don't have a to-do list in sight. And you know what - it's feels good not checking items off a list. 

The full moon

Tonight is a full moon. My water broke with Jonah on a full moon. I think I have my hopes set too high that it will happen the same way again with baby girl. We are definitely ready to welcome her into the world. Her room is completed and I can't think I one thing we are missing except for her.

We've been enjoying lazy days with Jonah. "Taking it easy" has been my motto lately. I took a long nap yesterday. Today, I fell asleep in my mom's hammock. I have noticed that Jonah has been more clingy with me then normal. He say's "Mama, up" a lot. Saturday morning he called out "Mama" from the crib in the morning. Of course, it was the cutest thing ever and I rushed right in to scoop him up. Probably a big mistake but you really don't get heart melting moments like that all the time. 

Hard to believe...

In just a few days, we will have another addtion to the family. This time things have been much different than when we had Jonah. Time seemed to trickle by as we waited for our first baby. The closer it got to delivery time, the slower time creeped by. Not this time! It seems like just yesterday we found out we were pregnant again. The ultrasounds and doctor visits seem to be daily... And now we are down to less than a week before baby girl gets here!

The feeling is still much the same. I can't wait to meet Jonah's little sister and be able to see the look on his precious face. I wonder how much different her personality is going to be from Jonah's. I know that everyone says they are two totally different people, and I realize that. But all I am asking for is that she be just half as easy as Jonah has been. PLEASE!

I also wonder who she will favor... for her sake I hope she favors her beautiful mother. If you can imagine me in a skirt, you'll know what I mean. Anyways, just a short time now. I can't wait to meet her!

Have you met my amazing husband?

I thought I would dedicate this blog to my amazing husband. Since I've been pregnant I have done a bad job of letting him know how thankful I am to be his wife. I guess I have been preoccupied with the little one growing in my belly and the little one running around my feet. James does alot in our household. The roles of husband and wife are definitely not defined as the women cleaning and runs the house and the man makes the money. It's a 50/50 split with us. Although James does more of the cooking and I'm glad that he does. I don't cook well with limited time and I'm not as adventurous to try complicated recipes. But I can bake some yummy treats for dessert. 

James is an amazing father as well. Jonah and him have such a great time together. James never minds jumping in to change a diaper, wake up at 3am with Jonah, watch him while I take a break, and is understanding if I need to work later. I love watching him and Jonah interact. Every night that James put Jonah to bed, he always walks into the den and tells me, "You don't know how much I love that little guy. He is so sweet." 

James is my best friend and I love him dearly. And I'm grateful to have him in my life. And I want to thank him for giving me a wonderful little boy and soon to be precious baby girl.

 

My first jury service

Today was an interesting day. I left the house around 7:45am to report to the Dekalb County Courthouse in Decatur. In typical Carrie fashion I got turned around in Decatur and than was late getting to the courthouse. I'm not sure why I always  lose my way in Decatur - it's not a big city. I arrived at the courthouse, took my seat and awaited being called. Of course, I sit down beside a gentleman who decides he wants to take a snooze and snores on top of that. I quickly made my way to the bathroom hoping to find I different seat after that. As soon as I sat down again, I was called to the back of the room for a jury selection. 

Having never serviced before, I didn't know what to expect. I was one of 15 jurors brought into the court room. The questions revolved around car accidents and injuries. I haven't had too many of those and I, thankfully, have never been injured in a car accident. I did notice that one of the lawyers for the plaintiff, who must have been 95 years old, had fallen asleep. I would have been ticked if I were the plaintiff. Out of the 15 juror, six were picked for the trial. Of course, I was one of them. The judge promised we would be let go today so they proceeded with the trial. 

I have to say at this point I was nervous. My opinion was going to decide the fate of something - money in this case. Would I be able to understand everything? Could I not be biased? Lots of questions ran through my head. Once the witness took the stand and we had more of an idea of what the case was about - I was definitely more comfortable. 

The lawyers were nothing like I had seen a million times on "The Practice". One could barely get his thoughts together and the other sounded like a preacher. There were several incidents where I just wanted to turn the channel - oh wait, I'm actually living through this!

All and all, it was a good experience. Everything moved like clockwork. I didn't have to sit anywhere too long and be bored out of my mind. And now I feel good that participated in the process. And the judge had a great sense of humor so that helped as well. I can check this off my list of "I never have.  . . "