Welcome to the World Mckenzie Isabel!





We are pleased to announce that our newest little girl came into our lives yesterday at 8:03am at Overlook Medical Center in Summit NJ.  She was 21.5 inches long and weighed 9lbs 6 oz. 

This time around the c-section experience was so different.  My anesthesiologist was AMAZING this time... Dr. Megan Rosenstein... her amazing bedside manner and ability to communicate made the whole thing just another world than what it was the last time!  She also had 2 different color eyes so it was neat to focus on that in the OR.  My OBGYN was also different this time around. Dr. Rubino has a scheduling conflict so Dr. Allan Kessel delivered Mckenzie.  He even let Brian watch as they pulled her out... Daddy cut the cord and off the the nursery he went with her to get weighed! 

All of the nurses in recovery and the post partum unit were great... except for 2.  I was up and walking that night instead of waiting the next day.  My milk also came in right away on Day 2 - which made things a bit easier!  Although Mckenzie ended up losing weight (down to 8lbs 1 oz) and she was really jaundiced... they almost released me without her... but luckily we kicked ass and got her bilirubin levels down prior to discharge!



False Alarm.... or the Beginning of a very long 2 wks!~

So this past Friday we thought our bouncing little baby was going to make an entrance... well at least I THOUGHT SO. Brian was so swamped at work (he has been due to year end close and audit stuff) so we had not really spoken often during the day. I was having contractions about every 30-45 minutes all day long with bad heartburn and my lower intestines were not cooperating... so I was in the bathroom ALOT. Once he got home and we ate dinner, I decided to take an early shower... when I got out, the contractions sped up to about 10-15 minutes and they were kicking my ASS! I called the Dr. and he said that we should head over to the hospital b/c they needed to see if I was dilating. We finally got here after someone showed up to stay with Kayla. They hooked up the machines and we started watching the contractions go off the charts! I think that is when I turned to Brian and said "do you finally believe that I have been having contractions all day?" It was a shock to him and for a little while we thought the baby was coming that night! They checked my dilation and it had not changed since my appt at the Dr. the week prior so they hooked up an IV and started pumping liquid into me! A few bags later and the contractions slowed down a bit... although everytime I had to get up to pee, they started again.... THey ended up discharging me to bed rest until my next appt. I spent most of the wkend on my butt - which for those who know me, is NOT easy...

Fast forward to Tuesday: Dr. Kessel told us the baby is approx. 8 lbs 5oz (give or take a half pound). The baby has amazing lung function and he is confident that if the baby comes early, then it will be fine! So bed rest is truly up to me... I can clean the house if I want to get this show on the road... or take it easy until the scheduled c section - when I know my cousin will be here to care for Kayla and we won't be inconvincing anyone else! I choose the later... You know me and my need to plan and have control :)

The Perfect Help...

Finding the "perfect help" to welcome into your home... someone to be a mother's helper or Nanny to your children is such a hard thing to find! Recently I visited a friend who just had her second child... she was new to the area and needed to find someone to help out with her two year once the new baby came. When I went for the visit, this "nanny" opened the door, took my coat and offered me a drink... she showed me to the living room and told me (as a matter of factly) to take a seat and get off my feet... I am guessing my overly bulging waistline had something to do with her demands. But during my visit, this nanny cooked the family dinner, took their 2 yr old daughter AS WELL AS MINE to the potty, reminded my friend that it was almost feeding time for the newborn and offered to get him changed... GREAT SCOTTS - is this woman the new Mr. Belvedere or Tony Macelli?

The idea of having someone there to help me think about the trivial things when this new baby comes home sounds like something I would LOVE to buy into! The only 2 problems are the fact that i have NO time to look and then there is the avenue by which I actually do this search. I want someone that fits well into our home and our family. Someone I trust and feel comfortable with and someone my kids can feel the same about. Someone that respects my wishes and follows my rules!

My search begins... wish me luck!