The McGarys : September 2012

My due date was September 12th (a Wednesday) and originally I wanted to wait until the baby was ready to come naturally because I'm sure it's better for mom and baby to let nature take its course (however since Kallie was a week early I had high hopes that Jayda would be early as well) but a week early came and went and every day past that became more and more torturous. Every part of my body seemed to hurt all the time (especially my back) so I couldn't sleep worth anything. On the Saturday before my due date I simply stopped caring about nature taking its course so I called my doc and scheduled an induction for the day before my due date.

Kallie feeding her new baby doll

Last picture as a family of 3

Brad's mom, Debi, flew in the night before my induction and I was SO worried Kallie wouldn't have enough time to warm up to her before they'd be alone together. I found out later that Kallie was all about Grandma from the very start! She was a tiny bit skeptical when Debi went in to wake her up but by the end of the day she was signing/saying "Grandma", hugging her and everything. I of course didn't sleep a wink the night before but luckily we were scheduled to be at the hospital by 7:30am. Action at the hospital moved along slower than we expected; we felt like we waited a long time just for the nurse to come in and hook me up to IV fluids, then another hour and a half before they started the Pitocin, then they wanted to wait until they knew the Pitocin was working and actually helping me to dilate before they gave me the epidural. I was surprised how fast it did start working. I had been having painless contractions for a couple weeks but all the sudden I got an actual contraction and I thought, "Oh no, we didn't review our hypnobirthing book! I don't remember the breathing techniques!" so when the nurse came back in and asked me to identify the severity of the contraction on the pain scale I blurted out "8!" but after she left Brad helped me to realize that was my FIRST contraction and it can't get too much worse than 8. I realized I had simply been startled by it so when the nurse came back in I clarified that I probably wasn't at an "8" on the pain scale quite yet. She replied, "I know :)". I felt kinda stupid. I really do hate that pain scale; I'm horrible at it.

Leaving for the hospital

Enjoying labor (they told me to bring my own pillow)


Jayda needed a little oxygen

I labored for a few hours before I finally told the nurse my pain was at 5 or 6 and they gave me the epidural. I didn't feel it at all. The hardest part was trying to stay hunched over during contractions because mine were pretty close together so there was no perfect window of opportunity to quick stick in the epidural. I spent the rest of labor watching movies, sleeping and munching on ice chips. It was wonderful. With Kallie I was in active, hard labor without an epidural for 15 hours so this labor was BLISS to me. And all I needed was the lowest dose of Pitocin to keep my contractions going.

Around 5:15pm the nurse said I was fully dilated and ready to start pushing. I only did two sets of pushing when the nurse said, "Ok, let's stop until the doc gets here. This baby is coming out way too fast". After the doc arrived it only took one set of pushing for her to come out!

Grandma McGary and Jayda

Jayda Lee McGary was born on September 11th (we did not plan for that to happen!) at 5:42pm at 8lbs 10.4oz and 21in long. I couldn't believe she weighed even more than Kallie! We were sure she was gonna be smaller. I think my stomach looked smaller this time around. It was a really weird feeling to know I had another baby besides Kallie. And even weirder is the fact that she looks exactly the same! Red hair and everything. It's crazy.

This hospital didn't have as many perks as the one Kallie was born at but it was still a really good experience staying there. Breastfeeding seemed to go well the first day after Jayda was born but during the second night at the hospital the pain became unbearable and I realized I hadn't felt it until then because I had been on awesome pain killers. At this point I decided to feed Jayda formula for a little while. The next day it didn't get any better so as soon as I got home from the hospital I stopped nursing for about a day and a half and pumped so I could heal. Ever since I started up again it's been going really well! Jayda definitely became constipated from the formula and had a rough night or two but at one point she EXPLODED in her diaper and has pooped at every feeding since. How many time in life are you so excited to see poop?

Already trying to be a baby again

First doc appt. She's so excited!

Kallie's morning hair.

Kallie had a bit of a hard time on the day we brought home Jayda. She was pretty fussy and threw a handful of tantrums but ever since then she's gotten pretty used to her sister and even seems to like her. She frequently asks to hold Jayda, kisses her forehead and even says "I love you!" and "Hi! Hi! Hello! Hi!"

Debi was here for almost two weeks and was AMAZING. I honestly don't think I would have survived without her. She spent SO much time with Kallie (and got her some fun gifts like a cradle for her doll and a super cute ballerina outfit!). She took her for a long walk every single morning in the muggy heat, cooked three meals a day for us, sewed TWO crib quilts (one to match each bedroom) and made a purse for Kallie with the leftover material, helped me altar my clothes, shopped for us, cleaned and MORE. Thank you SO much Debi! I can't even express how much we appreciate it. Brad's dad, Steve, flew in for the last three days with Debi so he could participate in Jayda's baby blessing. For some reason the first time I bring a new baby to church is always nerve-wracking for me but Jayda's blessing went really well. She slept the whole time! The only down side was that Brad forgot his phone in our pew so he couldn't voice record the blessing. We also didn't get any pictures that day because I left to bring Jayda home before sacrament meeting was over. I put her back in the dress and took these pics though:

Brad's parents (Debi & Steve)

Kallie & Grandma relaxing on the porch

Crib quilt for Kallie's room (it does actually match the room decor but you can't see any of it in this pic)

Crib quilt for Jayda's room

The purse Debi made from the leftover quilt material

I've been really nervous for Brad's parents to leave because I'll be taking care of both kids all by myself for the first time. I was scared that Kallie would get really bored cuz it might take awhile for me to feel comfortable taking them out and thinking of activities to keep Kallie occupied at home all day. I knew I wouldn't wanna be taking Kallie for walks everyday like Debi did because it's still too hot outside for me. However, this morning I went out to the porch and the weather was cool and breezy! The DAY after Brad's parents flew home the weather cooled down enough for me to not dread going outside. So that's what we did today...the only exciting thing.

Our first walk together on my first day being a mom of two by myself :)

Crazy hair after laying on my chest

Cradle swings are amazing

Baby hula dancing

A few weeks ago Brad told me his co-workers wanted to throw me a baby shower and the first thing I said was, "I don't deserve a baby shower from them; I don't visit you at the office enough!" And since it's our second girl Brad told them to downgrade to a "diaper sprinkle" because we really don't need a whole lot. I'm really pathetic; Brad works less than three miles from home and I can count on one hand the number of times I've visited the office since he started working there over a year ago. This whole time I've been meaning to plan one day every week to bake a tasty treat and bring it to Brad and his co-workers but I keep forgetting about it and plan other stuff with Kallie throughout the week. His office is really small; there's only about nine or ten employees so it's pretty intimate. They have a lot of fun.

The diaper sprinkle was of course really fun. They ordered in Chinese food for lunch and then I opened my gifts, which were obviously mostly diapers and wipes but I got this little stuffed animal with a tail that holds a bottle so if I need to go do something while Jayda's eating she's all set! I also got a super cute display of diapers.

Then this weekend my friend Molly threw me a diaper shower as well which was lots of fun. It was themed "Ready to Pop" so there was lemon poppy seed cake, jalapeno poppers, oreo truffle pops, white chocolate popcorn, and a couple other things like cake, sandwiches and a Shirley Temple bar. We played a game where everyone had a piece of paper from which they tore out a shape of a baby but they had to do it behind their backs. Since I had already been given a bunch of diapers I asked if everyone would contribute toward a video baby monitor because that's the only other thing we're planning on buying for this baby (that and a double stroller). Some people of course gave cute gifts on the side like clothes and books. Molly made this adorable letter for Jayda's bedroom (it's gonna match perfectly!).

3 girls had already left before we took this pic :(

Kallie will soon be growing into a new shoe size and it has, yet again, been one heck of a hunt finding ones that fit her pillow feet. We really scored her last couple pairs of sandals because they worked as church shoes AND matched all her regular clothes. This time we had to accept that she'll need church shoes and street shoes separately. And yet again after looking in lots of bizarre places because we assume she needs special shoes, we ended up finding the perfect fit at Payless. I really need to start looking there first.

I discovered Kallie is afraid of the train ride for kids at the mall. I take her to the play area there and every 20 minutes or so the train circles the play area and parks next to it hoping to recruit riders. As soon as she hears it coming she cries and runs over to me to cuddle. As soon as it stops though, she excitedly signs/says "Choo choo twain!" I don't think she'd be afraid to actually ride it. For some reason hearing it approach freaks her out.

Last night we had the cutest experience yet as a family. Brad and I were on the couch and Kallie asked us to help her up. She was sitting on the opposite side of me than Brad and suddenly she turned to Brad for a kiss. Brad leaned over me and kissed her and then she turned to me for a kiss, back to Brad, back to me, etc...finally both Kallie and Brad laid their heads on my chest and stared at each other. I could see Brad on one side of me, Kallie on the other and my pregnant belly right in the middle.

Other than that, not a ton of exciting things have been happening lately. Brad and I got into a TV show called Castle but it started airing about four years ago so we've had fun catching up on unlimited episodes. We tend to get a little addicted and carried away so we made a rule for ourselves in order to minimize our TV watching. It's been a fun distraction as I wait for this baby to come out.