Happy Two Month Birthday, Hannah Faith!

Hannah,

You are two months old!  I know you are supposed to grow, but does it have to be SO fast!!  We really enjoyed this second month - you started showing us some of what makes you, you - personality!  You really started 'talking' good this month and it always makes Mommy and Daddy smile.  You love to lay on your changing table and stretch and 'talk' to whoever is changing you.  We have tried to have Daddy feed you a bottle a day, but it doesn't always happen.  But when it does, your Daddy is very happy!
Mom took you to the doctor at the beginning of December to have your belly button looked at one more time and to ask the doctor about the possibility of you having reflux.  Shortly before Thanksgiving you started this thing during feedings where you would pull off of Mommy, arch your back, throw your head back and scream, then come back for some more.  After eating when it was time to burp, Mommy could hear a 'wet' burp and then you would scream like someone had pinched you.  Your face would turn bright red, the vein in the top of your head would pop out, and there was almost no consoling you.  This was a very trying time for Mommy and Daddy.  It was very hard to see you in pain and we would've done anything to take it away.  But the doctor gave us some medicine and you turned into a different baby!  Granted, getting you to take the medicine is sometimes a challenge but Mommy will take that over you screaming in pain!  (At this Dr. appointment you were weighing 10 pounds, 4 ounces.)

Here's a few things to remember this month:

 - Grandfather and Grandma came to see us at the beginning of the month.  We really enjoyed their visit and taking them to the Collin Street Bakery, Russell Stover Factory, and to see Richland Chambers Lake.  (Mommy really enjoyed this as it was the first time she had been to most of these places too!)  We didn't manage to get a picture with Grandma but I'm know she enjoyed feeding you a bottle while they were here. 

Grandfather was able to get a few smiles out of you!

-  You had your first real bath in your bath tub!  You seemed to enjoy it much more than the sponge baths you were getting!  I think you come by your love for water naturally - Mommy would take a long bath every day if she could!  When you were in Mommy's tummy, you would kick and move like crazy when I took a shower.

This is one of our very favorite times with you, right before bath time!  You are all smiles and you do this thing with your feet that Mommy needs to get on camera.  You are almost doing it in this picture but not quite...you like to put the bottom of your feet together, right over your belly button.

At first you weren't sure what to think, but then you really started smiling!

Cuddling (napping) with Daddy after your first bath.

-  You had your second big roadtrip!  We headed out to St. Lawrence for your first Christmas.  You did really good in the car!  We had to stop and feed you twice on the way out there and only once on the way back.  I think your Aunts and Uncles on Mommy's side of the family were really excited to get to meet you finally!  Abigail wasn't too sure what to think of you at first, especially when she saw her Mommy holding you. 

But once she figured this out, as long as her Mommy wasn't holding you, she was ok!

Meeting Granny and Popo for the first time.  (And Lexie!)

Your first Christmas was a White Christmas - it snowed 3 inches Christmas Eve and Christmas Morning!!

Family picture after Christmas Eve Mass

Your first picture with Santa - this Santa was especially sweet on you!

- While we were in St. Lawrence for Christmas you slept through the night for the first time!  I guess playing with all your cousins wore you out!  Mommy and Daddy didn't mind! :) 

- You had your two month well check and shots at the end of the month.  You weighed in at 11 pounds, 1 ounce and measured 21 1/2 inches.  Mommy wasn't sure what to expect with the shots, but you did really well!  You only cried for about 10 minutes. (Mommy only had one tear roll down her cheek!)  We checked out of the doctors office and once we got to the pickup and Mommy fed you, you fell fast asleep.  After we were home for a while, you started to get fussy and didn't like having your legs moved or touched so I gave you some Tylenol and you went back to sleep!  During the night you started to run a little a fever.  I didn't want to wake you to give you medicine so I just uncovered you and stayed awake watching you.  The next day you were back to yourself but the third day was a little tough.  We survived though!

- Mommy packed away all your newborn clothes this month because you outgrew them!  We also moved you to size one diapers shortly after Thanksgiving...hopefully you'll stay in those for a while!

You are an absolute joy to Mommy and Daddy and we are so blessed to be able to call you our daughter.  We can't wait to see what the future holds for our family!  We love you, Hannah Faith!

Love,

Mommy and Daddy

Happy One Month Birthday, Hannah Faith!!

Hannah, you are one month old!  Mommy and Daddy can't believe how fast the last month has flown by!  We are so happy to finally have you here with us and love you so very much.  Every time you look at us and smile or hold on tight to our fingers just makes us fall more in love with you!! 

At your 48 hour check-up, you were almost back up to your birth weight.  You weighed in at 7 lbs. 10 oz. and the nurse at the doctor's office only got you measuring 20 inches long.  (in the hospital they had you at 20.5)

At your two week appointment you were weighing 8 lbs. 7.5 oz. and measured 20.5 inches. 

Here's a few things to mark your first month -

 - You had lots of visitors in the hospital - Mimi and Pops, Grandma and Grandfather, Great-Grandma Monie, Great Aunts Shirley, Helen, and Pamela and cousin Kealey, and Uncle Tony, Aunt Crissy, and cousins Bailey, Max, and Chesney. 

From L - Grandma Monie, Shirley (by window), Pamela,

Kealey, and Helen

Grandma Monie

Max, Bailey, and Chesney

 - You celebrated your first Halloween!  (only 3 days old!)

 - You had your first trip to church at only four days old to celebrate All Saints Day. (and haven't missed a Sunday yet!)

 - You first bath at home was kinda long - Mommy and Daddy were still learning what to do!  You didn't really like your first bath, but now you like bath time! You like to kick and look in the mirror!  You are still getting sponge baths because your belly button is having some issues.  Your umbilical cord fell off, but you have what is called an 'Umbilical Granuloma' which means that when the cord dried up and fell off, a stalk of tissue remained.  A quick trip to the pediatrician and a simple swab of silver nitrate, we are still waiting on it to heal completely.  So until then, sponge baths it is!  (You were 4 weeks when Mom took you in and you were already weighing 10 lbs. 1 oz.!!!)

 - You are still sleeping quite a bit, but when you are awake, you are a very happy baby!  You love to lay on your changing table and have your diaper changed.  Mommy loves this time because you smile really big at her!

- You love your swing and will fall asleep right away when put in it.  Mom loves to have you sleep in her arms or on her chest!  Daddy likes when you sleep on his chest too!  At night time, you sleep in the Nap Nanny!  You are sleeping really good and have pretty much put yourself on a 3 hour schedule for eating during the day and a 4 hour schedule at night.   

 - Daddy got to feed you for the first time, which means you had your first bottle!  You probably would've done better if Mommy hadn't been in the room, but you did eat pretty good for Daddy.  You still needed to nurse a little after the bottle, but only that first time.  We have tried to give you a bottle a day since then.  You take the bottle really well and Daddy really enjoys the times that he gets you all to himself!

 - You had your first big roadtrip!  We took you to Shiner for Thanksgiving and for a baby shower for you!  (check the baby shower post for pics!)  Mommy was VERY nervous about how you would handle the trip, but probably more worried about how she would handle the trip!  After all, you were only 3 weeks old and Mommy is still trying to figure this whole 'Mommy' thing out!  But you did EXCELLENT!  Your feeding was timed just right that you were ready to eat about the time that Daddy got home from work.  So Mommy fed you while Daddy loaded the truck and then we hit the road!  You slept for 3 hours which allowed us to get to La Grange where we stopped and fed you and got back on the road.  You fussed a little bit once we got to Flatonia, but thankfully you like the pacifier!  The trip back home was about the same...we got just outside Giddings before you were ready to eat.  So we pulled over on the side of the road and fed you!  You slept until we got home!  The trip to St. Lawrence at Christmas will be your next long road trip - hopefully that one goes as well as the first one did!

Hannah's First Thanksgiving

Mommy had to steal some Hannah/Mommy time!!

(and what better way than a nap!)

Hannah, you have brought so much joy to our lives and we can't imagine life without you!  We love you so very much and can't wait to see what God has in store for you!

Love,

Mommy and Daddy

More Birthday Pictures

But let's start with one last look at Mommy.  These were taken on October 26th - just two days before you were born.  (FYI - there are pictures from just mere seconds after she was born...if you are squeamish, don't look past the thrid pic!)

40 weeks 6 days

Daddy trying to talk Momma through a rough contraction just minutes before you were born!



Mommy and Daddy were SO glad to finally see you!!

And to learn that you were a GIRL..it was a long 9 month wait, but so worth it!!

THE BEST feeling in the world!

Getting our first look at you!

Mommy's first kiss!

You weighed 7 pounds and 11 ounces and were 20 1/2 inches long.

Your head measured 13 3/4 inches.

Where am I and what is so bright?!?!

He fell in love pretty fast!

So in love!

Checking us both out.

Grandma and Grandfather with Grandkid #12

Mimi and Pops with Grandkid #5

Just cuddling with Mom - trying to stay warm!

(something was wrong with the thermostat in our room and it was SO cold the whole time we were there! Since it was a weekend, there were no maintenance people to fix it!  But we had a big room so we weren't going to complain!)

Welcome to the world....

Hannah Faith Machacek!! 

 Mommy and Daddy are SO glad that you are finally here!

You decided to make your debut on October 28, 2011 at 1:04 PM.  You weighed in at 7 pounds 11 ounces and were 20.5 inches long.  (Thank you for not being as big as Dr. Cook thought you were going to be!)

Hannah's (Long) Birth Story

On Wednesday the 26th, I had an appointment and a sonogram. During the sonogram, the technician kept saying, "Are you having a contraction?" and "That feels like a contraction!"...all I could feel was a tightening/hardening in my stomach.  I just figured it was Braxton-Hicks beacuse they never hurt.  The sonogram showed that Hannah weighed in around 9.5 pounds!  I was surprised by this because I didn't feel huge and Dr. Cook said the prior week that he felt like the baby was 'average size.'  (by average - I was thinking 7.5 pounds...but I found out after Hannah was born Dr. Cook meant 8.5!)  They hooked me up to a machine that monitored my contractions as well as Hannah's heart rate and the machine showed that I was definitely having contractions. 

Dr. Cook hadn't checked my cervix the whole pregnancy.  He said that he doesn't like to check (especially first time mothers) until they are past due simply because he doesn't like to give them false hope that labor is closer than it really is since a woman can be dialated and effaced for several weeks before they actually go into labor.  I was totally ok with that reasoning!  Finally at 40 weeks and 6 days, he checked me and said that I was dialated 2 centimeters and 80% effaced.  He then proceeded to tell me that he was on call over the weekend and would be very surprised if Monday rolled around and we hadn't had a baby yet.  And if we hadn't had a baby yet, he was going to induce on Monday the 31st. (yes, Halloween)  I was very against having a Halloween baby because, well, it's Halloween and what kind of party would you get every year for your birthday - a Halloween one.  That sounded fun - but only for a year or two!  So we left the doctor and went straight home to take a long walk to 'hurry along the process."  (For several weeks prior to delivery day Matt and I walked a few miles each evening.)

Thursday was an uneventful day as far as contractions.  I made one final 'pregnant' grocery shopping trip and just relaxed and tried to rest as much as I could knowing that by Monday at the latest we would have a baby!  Matt and I were watching the World Series game Thursday night and Pumpkin was going CRAZY inside my tummy kicking and moving.  I kept telling Matt that the baby was going to just kick through my stomach and come out!  It was amazing to just sit and watch my stomach stretch and move and know that the precious little baby inside of me that we had prayed, and waited for was the one doing it all! 

I woke up Friday morning at 4:05 AM with a cramping feeling in my lower abdomen and thought 'is this a contraction?' The pain lasted for about a minute and then went away.  I decided that I wasn't sure it was a contraction so I figured I would go to the bathroom and crawl back in bed.  (Hey, when your pregnant and awake at night, you always go to the bathroom before you crawl back in bed!)  I got comfortable and just about the time I was dozing off, the pain came back.  I looked at my phone and 10 minutes had passed.  I couldn't handle the pain while laying in bed, so I got up and stood beside the bed.  That seemed to help the pain.  Again, I headed for the bathroom to find that I had lost my mucus plug..at this point I realized that yes, the pain I was having was indeed contractions and that hopefully we were going to have a baby today!  The second contraction passed and I thought to myself 'Ok, you better rest in between contractions' so I crawled back in bed.  Ten minutes later, I was back out of bed!  Since this was indeed contractions, I started timing them.  I didn't wake Matt up yet because I figured it was going to be a very long process and one of us should be rested up so that we could make informed decisions.  I say this because our birth plan was simply to 'take things as they come' but to stay drug free and to 'be prepared for anything.' 

The fourth contraction came only a mere 5 minutes after the 3rd.  At this point I wanted to get excited that in several hours we would have a baby but tried to remain calm as I knew that it could take many more hours before we actually had the baby!  So, it's 5:30 AM now and contractions have continued to be 3-5 minutes apart lasting anywhere from 45 seconds to 1 minute and 15 seconds.  I decided to wake Matt up because my back was starting to hurt and I wanted him to rub it.  So I went over to his side of the bed and gently shook his shoulder.  He raised his head off the pillow and I asked him, "Are you ready to have a baby?" and he immediately responded, "Did your water break?"  I told him no, but I was having contractions and needed him to rub my back.  So he quickly got up and started to rub my back during contractions - which were starting to get stronger.  I decided to get in the shower and just stand under the hot water.  While in the shower, the contractions seemed to not be as strong so I was thinking that it was just false labor.  So I washed my hair and got out.  Only after getting out, the contractions started to get even stronger.  By this time Matt had already made a pot of coffee and was getting ready to make breakfast.  In the middle of blow drying my hair, I had a fairly strong contraction and told Matt that as soon as I was done I was going to 'pack my bag' and we were heading for the hospital.  I had most of the stuff I wanted to bring in the suitcase already, so I just had to throw in a few last minute things.

So at 6:45 we were in the pickup on our way to the hospital!!  This was when it really sank in that we just left the house for the last time as a family of two!  The next time I walked through our front door, we would be bringing baby home!  We made 'the call' to our parents to let them know we were headed to the hospital.  We got to the hospital shortly after 7:00 AM and by 7:20 AM we were in a room, in a gown, and the nurses were checking me.  I was dialated 3 centimeters and 100% effaced.  They got me all hooked up to the monitors and one of the nurses had mentioned something about staying in bed.  I absolutely could not sit or lay during a contraction - there was no way that I was going to labor in bed.  So I asked if I there was any way that I could walk around or at least stand...the only way I could was if I stayed right by the bed so that they could keep the monitors on me.  The only way I was 'comfortable' was leaning over the bed and having Matt put pressure on my lower back.  We continued to labor like this for a few hours.  Around 9:15 my Mom arrived.  They came in and checked me shortly after Mom got there and I was dialated 5 centimeters!  Woohoo - making pretty quick progress for a first timer or so I thought! 

We continued to labor leaning on the bed and sitting on a birthing ball.  I'm fairly certain that my water broke around 11 or so because I felt like I peed myself and there was fluid on the floor, even though I was sitting on an absorbent pad.  They checked me after the fluid was cleaned up and I was dialated 6 centimeters.  Several times during labor the nurses came in to check the monitors because while I was leaning over the monitor would 'lose' Hannah's heartbeat and they would have to move it.  The monitor for my contractions also wasn't really picking them up as well as if I would've been laying in bed so they made get in bed.  I'm not sure how women lay in bed and labor - it was way more painful!  Since I was in bed, they checked me again and never really told me what I was at - or I was in the middle of a contraction and never heard them.  Dr. Cook came in to break my water and nothing came out...this confirmed the fact to me that my water had broken on the ball earlier!  Since they were making me stay in bed, my 'focus' to continue drug free (coupled with the fact I thought I was going to be pushing out a nine and half pound baby) had me rethinking the 'no epidural' decision.  (I still thought I was only at a 6.)  So in all my pain and fear (of pushing that really big baby out) I wanted some drugs!  I had told Matt before we went into labor, on several occassions, to talk me out of getting drugs and encourage me that I could continue to do this drug free.  He tried, but I told him that I needed something to just 'take the edge off.'  So I succumbed to the pain and fear and asked for some IV drugs.  They checked me and told me they would have to call Dr. Cook and double-check that I could get something.  They came back and gave me half of the lowest dose of Stadol.  This helped me relax enough to allow my body to reach full dialation.

I remember several people telling me that when you feel like you need to poop, you are probably ready to push!  All of a sudden I had a contraction and felt some intense pressure.  Apparently I was louder during that contraction than any other because the nurse came in and asked if I was ready to push!  I told her I thought so and she checked me.  My cervix wasn't quite ready...so they made me wait to push.  Several contractions later, that feeling was a little stronger.  So they had me do a 'practice push' and called Dr. Cook.  I'm not sure what time I started pushing but to me the whole pushing thing didn't seem to take too long.  Matt and Mom said it was probably between 30 and 45 minutes.  It seemed like 15 to me!  I will never forget the moment that Hannah came out and Dr. Cook held her up and said "It's a GIRL!"  I was kind of surprised because all pregnancy long I had felt and had SO many people tell me that we were having a boy.  There was a small part of me that thought it was a girl and during months 6 and 7, I had a very strong feeling it was a girl. 

I was a little worried when she first came out because she wasn't 'screaming' but it wasn't long and she started crying - the most beautiful sound!

It was the most amazing feeling when they placed her on my stomach!  It is definitely a feeling that no one can prepare you for or ever describe to you.  I was in awe of the little person that just the night before was kicking me like crazy!  She was absolutely beautiful!! (and I'm crying as I write this remembering the feelings!)  I have never been so proud of myself as I was at that moment - that I managed to carry, keep safe, and bring into the world a beautiful baby girl!  We love her so very much!!

What a Year It Has Been!

This is one of my favorite pictures of Matt and I!!

Only because of the emotions that were running through me -

Excitement, Relief, Love, Joy (just to name a few!)

A year ago today was one of the best days of my life!  My husband came home safely from his deployment in Afghanistan!!!  In some ways it seems like the last year has flown by and in others, it seems like it's been several years.  The last year has been a crazy year for us!  Matt was able to have a month off between coming home and going back to work so we were able to travel and see family and friends.  We really enjoyed that time together and made LOTS of miles across the United States in that time.  Here's a recap of the last year!

-  We found out that Matt would be working in Colorado City once he started back to work so I found us a rent house and got us moved before he came home. 

Our rent house in Colorado City

-  Both of our sisters had little girls while Matt was deployed and we are happy to be the Godparents to both of them!  In November, we flew to Las Vegas so he could meet his sister's daughter, Averi and then flew to Idaho Falls so he could meet my sister's daughter, Abigail.

Little Miss Averi - I don't have a picture of Matt and Averi

actually meeting so this will have to do!

Abigail meeting Uncle Matt for the first time!

-  Matt started back to work at the beginning of December.

-  In January, my brother and his wife welcomed twins Hudson and Henley into the world and we were delighted when they asked us to be Hudson's godparents!

Hudson (top) and Henley in the hospital

Henley - around 6 months (love her little smile!)

Hudson - around 6 months (check out his eyes!)

-  In February we found out that God had blessed us with a little miracle!! (who is welcome to join us at any time now!)  (this picture is obviously not from when we found out - I just can't find the picture I'm looking for.  But we actually found out the night before Valentine's Day!)

-  March brought about morning sickness and a hospital stay for me due to dehydration and another job opportunity for Matt.  He was promoted which brought about another move for us.  Corsicana would be our new home!  So we decided that it would be time to make that 'grown-up decision' and bought a house!

So I'm a horrible homeowner....I don't have a picture

of the outside so I had to google it and found this one!

-  In April, we 'officially' became homeowners and got our keys!  Matt started his new job and we moved into the house!  The first few days of home ownership were kind of crazy for us!  (this is more for my memory than anything)  The day before the movers were set to get here, I ended up in the ER!  More of a precaution than anything but I had been throwing up for 12 hours straight and didn't want to end up dehydrated again. Oh yeah, this was also the day that Matt STARTED his job.  I felt like a horrible wife making my husband take off work on his first day so he could be at the hospital with me, but I was SO glad that he was there.  Once I got settled into a room and an IV started, Matt left to head out to the house and make sure things were ready for the movers to come the next day.  After he left, the weather took a turn from nice and sunny to cloudy with tornadoes.  While he was at the house, they put the hospital on lockdown due to a tornado in the area which meant that he couldn't get in if he came back.  So he waited out the storm at the house.  Things finally settled down and we made it back to the hotel and got some rest.  The next day the movers came and went.  The first night in our new house was a little crazy!  We noticed the weather was not looking so good.  We went outside and noticed that there was some rotation in the clouds above us.  Our neighbor was outside and said that the Dallas News had storm chasers sitting less than 1/4 mile from our house (we could see them on the bridge behind our house) watching the rotation in the clouds right above our house!  Lo and behold, I looked up and there was a funnel that started dropping and I beelined it for the house!  Thankfully it went right back up and left!  We did get some rain and hail out of that storm, but Thank God no tornadoes!  And the craziness of April subsided!

-  May was a pretty slow month.  We got together with my side of the family at the beginning of the month for Hudson and Henley's Baptism in Fredericksburg.  Jill and Abigail spent the week after the Baptism at Mom and Dad's house and so I drove out to spend some time with them before they headed back to Idaho.  Tara braved a 2 hour drive with the twins and Holt by herself to come out and join us and I had such a great time with everyone and was very thankful I was able to head out that way!  Aside from family time we spent alot of time getting the house in order!

Mom and Dad with their kids and grandkids at Baptism

-  June, July, and August brought about lots of visits from my Mom as she came and helped us paint, organize, and decorate and we really appreciated all of her help!! July also brought about a chance for us to see our little miracle during the big ultrasound where they check all the parts of the baby.  I was so amazed at how well you could see everything on the screen and enjoyed getting to see our little miracle!!  Matt was in a wedding for one of his college buddies that luckily was just right down the road from the house! (which meant no packing, no driving out of town, no hotels!)  We actually opened up the Machacek Motel for any of Matt's buddies that wanted to come stay and ended up with a houseful - which we loved!  In August, Mom and Dad came up and helped us put in hardwood floors and they look amazing! Thank you, thank you, thank you Mom and Dad!

I haven't uploaded any pictures to my computer of the house yet -

so you'll just have to imagine all the work we did! :)

-  September brought about all the 'last trips' before Baby M joins us!  Labor Day weekend we headed to Shiner for the church picnic and to just visit with Matt's family.  We had a great time and are ready to head back for Thanksgiving - just with Baby M in our arms this time!  My final long road trip was out to West Texas for a wedding and our baby shower in St. Lawrence.  Jill and Abigail flew in a week before the shower.  I was able to fly to Lubbock and stay a night with Tara and the kids and then ride out to Mom and Dad's with her.  We had a great time watching Holt, Abigail, Hudson, and Henley play together!  It was crazy - but a lot of fun!!  Matt drove in on Friday night and joined the craziness!  One of my high school friends got married that Saturday and it was great to see everyone and she made a beautiful bride!  The following day we had our baby shower and were beyond blessed by all the gifts and blessings that we received!  We can't thank everyone enough for thinking of us during this special time!  Jill and Tara did a great job of pulling everything together for the shower from so far away!  Thank you, thank you, thank you!!

I'll upload some pictures of the baby shower after I get some!

-  October.  Oh, October....Baby M's birth month! (hopefully)  Matt and I have just been getting everything ready for Baby M to make his/her debut...whenever that might be!  The 'estimated' due date was October 20th, but we are officially overdue now!  We are just waiting for Baby M now.  Crazy to think that this time last year I was enjoying seeing my husband for the first time in 7 months and now we are getting ready to welcome our first child into the world!

One last maternity picture!  Just waiting for Baby M now!

Baby M - Mommy and Daddy can't wait to meet you.  Today would be a great day to come out and meet us since it marks such a special day for your mom and dad, but really any day that you get here will be even more special and we can't wait to hold you in our arms and watch you grow up!!  We love you so much already and can't wait to meet you!!