Welcome Kenley Adeline!!!

At 4:00 this morning, our journey began. Even before the alarm I woke up and could not sleep another wink... well okay I could've... but not with Jana's snoring.

I nudged her awake, and after a quick shower, she was ready to go. So we sneaked out into the darkness and headed to the hospital.

Preop went on without much to tell about (I slept through most of it)... and then at 7:30 they came in, tossed me a pair of scrubs and took Jana to the O.R.

I had to wait out in the hall while they prepped her, then they called me in. I was shocked at how FAST everything went from that point. I barely had time to hold Jana's hand and ask her how she was feeling, before we were jostled about, and the doc started describing the baby's position.

As it turns out, the C-Section was a God send. She had turned face up and the umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck.. both of which would have made for an eventful traditional delivery.

Seconds later we heard the first feeble cry. It didn't stay feeble for long...

I went with Kenley to the nursery while they stitched up Jana Kay. I got to hold her hand, and watch as the poked and prodded, and just generally made her mad.

She is definitely a McHam in looks. In fact, we see a lot of Pop in her!

A few hours later Oma and Jayden showed up, followed closely by Pop. We had to wait a while longer before they FINALLY brought her in to the recovery room, and Jana got to hold her for the first time.

Jayden was very intrugied and seemed excited at the thought of a baby doll in the room... just wait till she realises it's coming home with us... AND IT'S STAYING!!!!

Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers...

Stats:

9 Lbs

20 Inches

Born 8:15 AM.

And it is time...

It is 4:10 AM on Tuesday morning and I can not sleep! My body is so exhausted and my mind is so tired. I haven't gotten a good night sleep in a very long time. I'm thinking I just might get the best night sleep I have had since getting pregnant, right after I have Kenley! Wouldn't that be nice...

The big day is Wednesday. Technically, that is TOMORROW! Wow...I can't believe it is actually here. My second baby's birthday is here! We are so excited! Oma is here to help take care of Jayden and Travis' parents live right around the corner, so they will be here to help out as well.

I know that having a c-section is major surgery. I know that there are some complications that could occur. I know that the bonding between me and Kenley will be delayed. But I'M SO EXCITED! She is going to be HERE! I'm going to be able to hold her. She will no longer be a dream of mine, but an actual living, breathing child that God has blessed our family with.

Travis has been working on a special project for Kenley's room over the last few weeks. He has built, from scratch and no plans, a new changing table! It is beautiful! Here is a picture of the finished product!

So, before I am laid up in the hospital for a few days and completely exhausted from becoming a mother of two...I thought I would post a few pictures of the McHam Thanksgiving and Christmas celebration that we just had.

This year, Travis and I "hosted" Thanksgiving for his side of the family at our house. I had great big plans for this event. However, Kenley decided to act up a little and pretend like she was coming early. I have had contractions for about 3 weeks now. Not Fun! Anyway, long story short...I made two trips to the hospital for observation and nothing happened, so my plans for Thanksgiving didn't really happen. My mother-in-law, Judy took over the cooking and made Thanksgiving dinner sooooo good!!! I think the best part of the entire meal was her gravy...made to perfection! :) We had Mark (Travis' brother) and his family stay with us from Monday until Thursday. Thursday night they headed over to Mimi and Pop's to spend the rest of the weekend.

On Friday, we went over to The Woodlands to have Christmas with everyone. We opened presents and played...A LOT! It was so much fun. I love it when Mark and Jenny get to come visit with the boys! They are so much fun and we don't get to see them enough. Hopefully, we will be able to take a trip to see them soon after Kenley is born. Here are a few pictures of the whole weekend. Enjoy!

I at least made the desserts! :)

Jayden loves her Pop! Just a sweet picture of her using him as a prop...

Jayden loves her Sweet Pea doll that she got for Christmas.

Jayden and her new sunglasses and purse! Thank you Aunt Jenny! We love to play dress up! :)

We will keep everyone posted as things unfold for our sweet little blessing coming on Wednesday! :)

Quick Update

Hi Everyone! I know it has been awhile since I posted last. It has been busy around here and then the holidays hit! Where did they come from!? Anyway...I just have a few minutes to let everyone know what is going on.

This past week, we had Mark and Jenny and their two boys stay with us for Thanksgiving. They came in Monday and stayed at our house until after Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday. We had so much fun! Jayden LOVES her big cousins and had so much fun waking up to playmates every morning. Thursday through Sunday, Mark and Jenny stayed with Mimi and Pop over in The Woodlands and we went over Friday to have an early Christmas celebration. Jayden and Kenley got so many great toys and so did Travis and I! :) I will update with details and pictures later...

During all the holiday hub-bub...I have been having contractions. Yup...I went to the doctor on Friday, the 20th (10 days ago) and I was dilated to 2cm and had noticed some contractions, but didn't think much of it. Friday night, however, we made a trip to the hospital because my contractions had gotten a little more intense and they were coming 3-4 minutes apart. By the end of the hour that they monitored me I had only dilated to a 3 and so they sent me home. Contractions continued through the weekend and I called my doctor on Monday. They had me come into the office and sit on the NST monitor for awhile. Then they decided they wanted to admit me into the hospital for observation. Ugh! So...I spent the night in the hospital, having contractions and at 8:00am the doctor checked me and I was still at a 3! Grrrr... So, here we sit...a week later and the contractions haven't stopped (they are mild and not too bad at all though). My body is tired, I'm tired and uncomfortable! It is kind of like Chinese water torture...just annoying and continuous!

So...as of right now...I'm not planning on this baby coming anytime soon. I get to tell Kenley, when she is born, that I was in labor with her for weeks! :) I'm resigned to the fact that she is not coming early.

And that brings me to my last piece of news: They moved my c-section from the 7th to the 9th. That is right! I'm having contractions with a planned c-section and they moved it forward 2 days!!!! I think they hate me!

So...if you get a chance and don't mind...send up a quick prayer that either this baby comes early, or the contractions stop all together. I'm not sure it is quite fair that I have to labor with a c-section. :)

I'll post again soon with pictures and details from the holidays!

We do plan to post during this delivery as well. It will be more about preparing for and then afterwards, but we will keep everyone updated (especially if we do go in early). Love to all!

Halloween and Update on Kenley!

Halloween was a blast! Mimi and Pop came over along with a few of our friends. We all ate dinner and visited and then got Jayden all dressed up for Trick or Treating! She did awesome! It only took one house for her to catch on to the fact that everyone was giving her candy! :) She would prance right up to the front door (or people sitting in the driveway) knock, grab some candy, put it in her basket, say "Thank you" and turn and RUN to the next house. She knew the routine and she wasn't going to let slow poke Mommy hold her up! We were so proud!

After we got a basket full of candy (meaning the basket got too heavy for Jayden to carry and she would get mad if we tried to hold it for her) we headed back home to hand out candy to the neighbors. This year was a weird year. Last year our circle was swarming with kids in costume. This year...not so much. We did manager to give away a whole bowl of candy, but only because we started giving away fist fulls of candy. It was an off year...but a great one! :)

We have some neighbors who just love our baby girl! They have three girls of their own and Betsy (the mom) has always made their costumes. They have recently cleaned out the dress up closet, so they brought Jayden

over some old costumes. She didn't take these off all last night...

Okay...so I got in on the fun too! :)

I had my last appointment with the Perinatologist yesterday. He said that Kenley is doing just fine! Her one kidney is fully functioning and there are no other findings. She is 5lb 3oz. The doctor said, "Well...she isn't TOO big!" Ugh! I think Kenley is going to be big like her sister. I also had my regular weekly check up today. Everything looks good and I have my c-section scheduled for December 7th. I am really praying that Kenley comes before then. I would like to go into labor with her since we induced with Jayden. We will see what happens!

Jayden - 15 months (231 photos), by Jana McHam

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2 for 2

Well...we are 2 for 2 now. Jayden skinned her knee on Monday and then busted her ear on Tuesday. My poor baby! She does tend to do this though. She will hurt herself every day for about a week and then we won't have any more incidents for awhile. She just gets adventurous and over confident. It is fun to watch her though! She is sooo proud of herself when she accomplishes something new!

She did this by trying to climb up on her tv table in the playroom and coming down on her ear right on the edge of the table. The swelling went down pretty quickly, but she has a nice big purple section on her ear now.

We went outside that day to play with Nikki. I love that there are days when Jayden will not stop begging to go outside and play. Usually she isn't content until we go in the back and play with Nikki. She loves that dog! :)

We went to the park last weekend and got some fun pictures:

I went to the doctor today for my weekly appointment. They checked the amniotic fluid around Kenley and it all looks good. They put me on the NST monitor (they watch the baby's heartbeat and check for possible contractions for about 20 minutes) and everything is good there too. We are still having a little trouble regulating my sugar levels. We adjusted my insulin again by just a little and I hope it works! I had several days where I crashed this past week and I hate that feeling! It is not something I want to happen when I am alone with Jayden. It makes me nervous. Anyway...we will see what happens.

I go back to the Perinatologist on November 4th. He wants to check and see how big Kenley has gotten. I'm excited to see a 4d picture of her again!! :)

Nothing But Daddy Will Do!

This weekend was fun!

Saturday:

Travis and I went to see Where The Wild Things Are. It was really good! It is most definitely NOT a kid movie. It is much darker than the children's book. If you read the book as a kid, though, go see the movie!!

That evening, Jayden went and spent the night with Mimi and Travis and I went over to our friends' house. Carlos and Emily are new at our church, but we adopted them pretty quickly and it seems like they have been here forever! :) We were there along with another couple of our friends, Leigh and Tong. We had dinner and carved pumpkins! It was so much fun...

Sunday:

We celebrated our firefighters on Sunday. Each year, our church puts on a lunch for our local firemen. We have a big bar-b-q and it is fun to get to visit with and meet the men who serve our neighborhoods. After we ate, I took Jayden to say, "Thank you" to the firemen. She acted all shy until we were starting to leave and then she decided to blow kisses at the men. They all melted and there was a simultaneous, "Awwww". It is so fun watching grown men buckle under the power of a little girl! :)

After church we went and bought Jayden's Halloween costume. I love it!!! She kind of picked it out herself. She walked right up to the package and started making her monkey noises!

Today:

Well, today Jayden had a rough morning. She really Really REALLy wanted her Daddy and since he works downtown it makes it a little more difficult to get a quick fix. So, I tried to console her and we went outside. I tried to take pictures of her with the jack-o-lantern, but she didn't want anything to do with it. We started to go on a little walk down the driveway, but the entire time she was calling out to Daddy and when she realized he wasn't there...she broke down...

After that last picture I decided we had to do SOMETHING! We went inside and called Daddy. That didn't help very much. She just kept crying for Daddy. So, we loaded up the car and headed downtown. We had a great lunch with Daddy and then headed home for a nap. Her day was much better after that! Daddy fixes EVERYTHING!

This evening, Jayden and I went out to check the mail, like we always do and Jayden fell down...like she always does! She always trips and falls on the way to the mailbox. Today...it was different. We got our first really big ouchie!!! My poor baby! She was so brave though. She did cry...really loud and really hard...at first. But by the time we got upstairs to the first aid kit, she had calmed down and let me clean it up without much of a fuss at all. I was so proud of her! It is a little uncomfortable for her to walk on it, but she tries if asked to.

That is about it for now. Kenley is still growing and I am becoming less and less comfortable. I think I have started to have a few contractions (the feel very different at this point, but could still be braxton hicks). I go to the doctor on Thursday, so I will be sure and update everyone then.

15 Month Update

Hello everyone! We are all doing so much better here at the McHam house. I still have a little congestion and a bit of a cough, but those can linger for a couple of weeks after the flu is gone. I pretty much have all of my energy back and I was able to clean my house and entertain some guests this weekend! :) Yay!

When I was sick, Travis took Jayden to College Station for a Memorial Boogie. This was a 10 year memorial to remember 5 skydivers who were killed in a plane accident in 1999. Travis'

cousin Jonathan Warden was one of them. It was a good weekend and they were able to see some old friends and reconnect. Jayden had fun running around and getting dirty! :)

She also got a chance to hang out with her two cousins on the McHam side of the family. This picture sums it up:

I took Jayden for her 15 month check up on Tuesday. She is doing great! Here are her stats:

Height: 30 inches (36%)

Weight: 21 lb 1 oz (22%)

Head Cir: 17.6 (18%)

Our little girl is growing up! She is still a football watcher! The first picture is her at 3 months old:

12 months later...nothing has changed!

Yesterday we spent some time outside while Daddy worked on the yard. We had fun and got a visit from our neighbor's yard Dude:And here is our little girl this morning. She is starting to look like a little girl now instead our baby!

Flu Bug Shmoo Bug!

Unless of course you are pregnant!

I spent all day yesterday in the hospital to find out that I have the flu. Yuck! Being pregnant and having the flu...NOT FUN!

My mom drove in today to take care of me and Jayden is staying at a friend's house for awhile. Travis is having to work late all week (what timing) so at least he will be far away from me most of the time! I have never had the flu before...EVER! Ugh!

Since I last posted, I have been diagnosed with gestational diabetes and we found out that baby Kenley has one kidney. She is still healthy and technically, she only needs one! :) She just can't play any contact sports when she gets older. That is OK!

What that means for me is...I might be diabetic anyway...even when not pregnant. Diabetics tend to have babies with kidney problems, spina bifida, etc. They will just watch me very closely after I deliver baby Kenley and I will start going to a specialist on a regular basis just to make sure we catch it early if I do develop diabetes.

Lots of prayers are appreciated, but we are all very confident that God has a great plan for this baby and we fully trust His plan for us! :)

Life Goes On...

Well, not a lot has happened since I last posted. School is back in session so we are all starting to get back into a routine again. We have started Ladies' Bible Class again on Tuesdays. We are doing a study that I am really excited about. The book is "A Different Kind of Wild: Is Your Faith Too Tame?" We have a great mix of young mothers and older women. I am glad that I am getting the opportunity to learn from these women and get to know them better.

Jayden and I have been cleaning up at home and decluttering! :) Yes...I meant to say that my 14 month old is helping me...check this out!

And she has really enjoyed helping her Daddy with the home projects...

She has been working really hard to learn how to feed herself. She loves it!

And here are just a couple of cute shots...