Introducing Kendall Jane

Here are some of the pictures and birth announcement from Kendall's newborn shoot when she was just twelve days old.

photos courtesy of CnC Moments Photography


I was going through so much after Kemper was born that I never got around to doing his birth announcements. It honestly has bugged me for years so when I ordered Kendall's I had some made for him. ;)

Heartbroken Part 2

6/24/2013 

I didn't mention this in Kendall's birth story post, but while she was in the hospital she failed her new born hearing screens. Four weeks later she failed her ABR and multiple other hearing tests. It is now confirmed that like her brother she too has a profound hearing loss. She is deaf.

It was like we were replaying the same scene from four years ago, but at least we were prepared this time. We knew that Kemper's hearing loss was genetic and that we had a 25% chance of  passing this on to any future children.  It had taken us a while to decide on having any other children but ultimately we knew we were not done. In addition we never wanted K to think that if we never had any more children it was because we were afraid they would be deaf too. We went into this pregnancy knowing this baby could be deaf and we were at peace with that possibility. The entire pregnancy I did my best not to think or worry about it. I took the Scarlett O'Hara approach to it " I'll think about it tomorrow."
  So when it came time for Kendall's hearing test we had a plan. When we had originally checked in the hospital we told the staff that we wanted her hearing test to be done at the latest time possible . We just wanted to enjoy her and this special time and not have to deal with it for a couple of days. We knew that either way the results went we were going to cry. It was going to be a very emotional time so we were in no rush.

The night before the test I was nursing Kendall and I couldn't believe how much she was like her brother. She looked, felt,and acted so much like him. She made the same noises, nursed,cuddled, cried all the same way. As I handed Kendall to the nurse that was gong to take her back to the nursery she made a comment about how Kendall was the quietest best sleeper in the nursery. Right then and there it hit me right in the heart. She was deaf.  I remember the nurses saying the exact same thing about Kemper after he was born. That gut feeling/ mothers intuition  I had been waiting for finally came. I immediately broke down crying and told my mom and husband what I felt. I think they were shocked because I hadn't voiced any thoughts before and I just blurted it out of nowhere. They tried to calm me down and tell me it was just hormones and nerves, but just like with her brother, I knew.
The next day when they came to take Kendall for the hearing screen we asked them if they could do it in the room with just my husband and I watching as opposed to taking her and then bringing her back with the results. They agreed and started the test. Shortly into the screening we could already tell what the answer was. When they get real quite and start nervously shifting in their seats you know something is up. Finally when it was over she turned to us and stated that she did not get a response in either ear. She quickly started giving us the "it could be fluid in her ears speech" blah blah blah. We knew what it meant. This wasn't our first rodeo.  Even though I already knew the answer in my heart it was still just as painful as was when we had received Kemper's results. Except this time for a brief moment I was pissed. This was the one thing I desperately wanted to be wrong about. I remember looking around as if looking for something to throw. All I could think was why? Why again? Did we not learn what we needed to the first time? We had a 75% chance of normal hearing, more than half!! WTH?? My husband and I just cried, hugged, and kissed our baby girl. I think one of the hardest parts was telling our family. To see their crushed expressions after we told them broke my heart. I know it's stupid but for some reason I felt like I let them down, I don't know why I felt like this but I did. Thankfully we have the most supportive family and just having them there was a reminder that we were not alone in this journey.

Later that evening my husband and I were treated to a celebratory dinner of lobster and steak by the hospital. They do this for all the parents of new babies, and in case you are wondering it did not taste like hospital food it was wonderful :).  We had originally planned to eat our dinner together privately so we could talk and mourn over Kendall's test results. K had a different idea. He wanted to stay with us and refused to go back home with his grandma. We tried to convince him he would have more fun if he went but he still said no. So we let him stay and had one of our family members pick him up his version of steak and lobster- chicken nuggets and fries from McDonald's. Turns out letting him stay with us was what we really needed at the time but didn't know it. He had us laughing and smiling the entire time. He was just talking and talking and talking.... Then it dawned on us, what are we worried about??? Look at him! he's perfect! He's a happy boy doing great. His sister is going to do just fine. We did it once and we can do it again. Enough tears and worry, we were not going to let this rob us of special moments like it did before.

I look back at this picture of myself and K and I can still remember the pain and agony I felt after his diagnosis. I was in a fog, my world was collapsing, and I couldn't even enjoy my nephew's first birthday party. I wish I could go back in time here and tell myself that it truly was going to be okay. Thankfully this time with Kendall I can.

We were at the Perot Museum and couldn't help but take a picture in front of this. We know all about the Genetic Lottery!!!

Kendall's birthday

The day has arrived!

Kendall's birthday

 May 28, 2013

  

Ready to go to the hospital.

 Our very last picture as a family of three!

The plan towards the end of my pregnancy was for me to be induced at 38weeks. My age, gestational diabetes, and Kendall's size were some of the factors. Although, instead of being induced I decided to have a c section instead. I had a rough delivery/ recovery with K and some lingering issues afterward so I decided this was best for us.

 The whole process went by SOOO fast.
We went into the OR a little after 2pm and she was out by 2:26!
She came out screaming and screaming, that girl had some good lungs!

I know I'm her mommy but she was just so stunningly beautiful, and I swear she was already smiling at us in the recovery room. I also could not believe how pink she was! I guess I'm around so many "blue" babies at work that I kinda forget how pink they really should be!

 Kendall had her entourage waiting.  My sister Christine kept Kemper entertained with a game of peek-a-boo with all the nurses and babies in the nursery.

Proud Daddy showing Kendall off to everyone while I was in recovery.

K wanted to give her a high five!

First picture with my babies!

Kendall had a few visitors ;)

K was so excited yet so nervous to touch her.

The next day while I was resting Kemper and his Daddy went to Build-A-Bear to get a present for Kendall. K picked out and made her Tinker Bear!! He also gave me some beautiful flowers. He said the card read " To Mommy From Kemper"

First official pic as a family of FOUR!!

Finally it was time to leave. We took Kendall home in K's former car seat. It may be boyish, but she's all GIRL dressed in her pink dress and bonnet!!

 Kemper insisted on pushing the stroller, such a great big brother already.

Home sweet home. We feel so complete.

Before we became FOUR

                                           Time to catch up, better late than never!!

 I decided to get some last pictures as a family of three before Kendall arrives.

It was a warm beautiful day at the Dallas Arboretum.

My  first "Baby K"

Age 4 has always been my favorite age for kiddos.

All grown up but still a baby.

pictures courtesy of  CNC Moments photography

Tummy Tracker 39 weeks

YIKES!!!

  My baby is 5 months old and I'm just getting around to writing on my blog. I have several posts started but I'm just having a hard time getting around to finishing them. Kendall isn't the best sleeper, so more often than not I pick napping over blogging ;) So I guess it's true the second kid kinda gets the shaft when it comes to documenting memories, but don't worry I've got lots of Kendall to come!!!

where I left off.....

How far along?:  Would have been 39 weeks. Kendall is one week old

Total weight gain/loss:    gain-23.5   lost- 7lbs 11oz of baby

Cravings:  anything and everything! Nothing like nursing a baby to get your appetite up! So happy to not have a restricted diet.  Right after Kendall was born they would not let me have solid foods until I "passed gas". I was so hungry (it had been almost 24hrs since I had solid food) I lied and said that I did. I totally took my chances doing that, luckily I was able to keep it all down. Desperate times...

Maternity clothes:  yep to cover that squishy post baby bump, one of my least favorite parts of pregnancy.

Stretch marks? : one small one that showed up after I gave birth. UGH so mad. Hope it fades!!

Symptoms: week later and my milk has FINALLY started to come in. I've got the big boobies that girls pay money for, too bad they are not sexy when filled with milk and paired with a squishy belly!

Miss anything? feeling my sweet girl kicking in my belly, knowing that I will never have that feeling again.

Gender: GIRL GIRL GIRL! still can't believe it. I love all the girly stuff! so much fun!!!  I love having one of each!

Belly Button in or out: sunken hole, not cute at the moment. My Linea nigra also showed up after I gave birth too. So weird how you can't see it while I'm pregnant.
This week: Taking it easy and getting to know our baby girl. My husband stayed home from work and K went to school for his last week before summer break. My niece Alaina, from Georgia, came for a visit. She was such a great help to us.She kept K entertained so that we could get some rest. K was truly sad when she had to leave.
 How's daddy doing?: need I say more?   J/K he's been a great help.

How's K doing?: Great adjusting to his baby sister with no problems. He's even very protective over her.He doesn't really like it when other people hold her. Once his cousin Nolan was holding her and he came to me saying " mommy I think you should go and get Kendall now, tell him she needs to sleep."
 Oh and he's still a little confused with this whole breastfeeding thing. " why does she drink like that?" "where does the milk come from?" " why does she eat all the time?" He even asked his aunt " do you have milk in your breasts?"

All my Tummy Trackers put together. I can't believe it's all over. It went by so fast!

Another year come and gone.

I was a little worried about Kendall coming when K still had one week left of school, but it actually turned out great. We were able to rest and he was able to keep up his daily routine.

K showing off his baby sister to his teacher Mrs. Adams. We are going to miss her so much next year. words can't describe how much I love this teacher!!

K with his cousin Alaina.
She was so helpful in helping us transition into a family of four. When we were busy with Kendall she was there to give K that extra special attention. Heck, he had so much fun with her I think he  forgot about us at times!

I'm here!!

Hello World!!!