Category Archives: Chloe

more fall fun

Friday night we had our first annual (hoping there will be many more in the future) International Student Pumpkin Carving and Chili Party with American friends from our church and their “friendship partners” through UNT. It was so much! I didn’t get a pic of the finished pumpkins, but they were sooo good! who knew that they would be so good talented at pumpkin carving?!

the kids painted little pumpkins… Lydia was super into it.

Halloween week 2015

Our third annual Halloween Party with the McGough clan! We ate, talked, laughed, celebrated the fall birthdays, decorated pumpkins with stickers and glitter glue and the cousins had tons of fun running around. Always a fun time when we all get together. Thankful for this tradition!

Happy Birthday to Uncle Scott, Daddy, Colin & Liddy bug!

we love Papa

These two are so much fun to watch as they interact with each other. Lydia now calls Chloe, “chlo bo”, which is the cutest thing ever. They have started to “play” together, Chloe follows Lydia everywhere, they love to hug and kiss each other goodnight, Chloe can’t wait for Lydia to wake up each morning, we have heard them giggling and “talking” as they both fall asleep, they have started to fight over toys because Chloe now claims things as “mine”, Chloe likes to slug Lydia when she is doing something she doesn’t like (she even tried to pinch her the other day for sitting in my lap… guys, I am little nervous about 2s with this one! ha), they love each other and I pray they become the best of friends and that they will always love, laugh, cry, encourage and pray for each other as they walk through life. Sisters are the best!

    Posted in Chloe, Family, Food, Holidays, Lydia | Comments Off on more fall fun

    my little pumpkins

    we had the opportunity to take one of our Saudi family friends to the Flowermound Pumpkin Patch last night! It was there first time, after living in America for 5 years, to go to a pumpkin patch and they LOVED it! It was so fun to see our girls run around with their girls and enjoy the pumpkins, dirt and playhouses. As we were walking around my friend leaned over and told me that she had coffee, tea and dates in the car and asked if there was a spot we could sit and drink them together. This made my heart so happy and made me miss our time in the Middle East. In Arab culture they always plan to have picnic with their community and family wherever and whenever it is possible. I love how community oriented and hospitable they are. I think that Americans can learn a thing or two from them about how we interact with community and host people.

    Chloe Jane, 18 months

    Chloe is our little spunky sweetheart. She melts our hearts with her smile, her hugs, her kisses, and just her general cuteness. She loves baby dolls, her big sister, oranges, reading books, playing outside, singing nursery rhymes, her pappy (pacci) wrestling with daddy, cuddling, giggling, and talking on the phone. She is saying a few words. Some of her go tos are: “bye bye”, “two”, “ball”, “tant you”, “more”, “dawn (done)”, “mommy”, “daddy”, “puppy”, “pappy (pacci)” and she loves to giber jabber. She still does not have all her teeth, but we are working hard (i.e. having a tough time) at getting them all. She is not a great eater at the moment- not sure if she is just picky or if its because of her teeth and because we have had a nasty cold that has lasted for over two weeks! Loving Chlo Bo at this age, wish I could just bottle her up and keep her my little peanut forever. She is 19.8 lbs and 3% in height and weight and 50% for her head.

    Lydia May, 3 years

    Lydia is becoming such a smart, fun-loving, empathetic little lady. She is at such a fun age and is just absorbing everything around her. She is such a quick learner. This girl loves to talk and hardly ever stops. She has stopped napping for about a month now and just has “quiet/alone” time in her room. This has been a hard transition for me because she comes out every 20 minutes or so to ask for help (i.e. interrupting my down time), but she hasn’t skipped a beat and doesn’t act tired what-so-ever without her nap. She is sleeping a good 12 hours a night, so this is probably why she doesn’t need her nap. She does a great job with wearing her “guck-kez” (glasses) and reminds me that she needs them in the mornings- such a blessing! We have been done with diapers even at night for about a week now and she is doing GREAT! She is so proud of herself for waking up dry and not wearing a pull up anymore… she hasn’t had any accidents yet. I am not gonna lie, I am a little shocked about this, I was prepared for lots of nights waking up to change sheets. I guess she was ready. She is 30 lbs and about 50% for height, weight and for her head.

    Yarah and Weam our sweet little Arab friends.

    #keepinitreal #reallife #toddlerlife

     Side Note: I am going to try something new with my blog… once we have an event or something I want to post, I am going to try and upload the pics and do a blog post right away and not feel overwhelmed with trying to play catch up. When I have some extra time I will try to slowly go backward and catch up, but if I don’t then at least I am recording the now. Wish me luck!

      Posted in Chloe, Everyday Life, Family, Holidays, Lydia | Comments Off on my little pumpkins

      a 5, 6 & 7 month Chlo Chlo

      Oh my goodness, here we are again, 3 months have passed and I haven’t posted about our sweet Chloe. I don’t want to forget all the little things she does and her sweet little personality. I have had so much fun looking back at Lydia’s blog posts and comparing the two and remembering how Liddy was at each stage that Chloe is at now.

      Sleep: Around the middle of her 5 month of life Chloe decided that sleep in the night was overrated 🙂 She started waking up anywhere from 1-4 times in the night!! This has lasted up until now (7 months), the past few nights (November) she has only been waking up once around 12;30 or 1 am and then early in the morning around 5:30 or 6 am. So, I would say we are getting there… We thought that maybe she was just hungry and needed to start eating more food. But that only seemed to help a little. We did quite a bit of traveling these months and so I think that threw her off to, with sharing a room with us and such. But, phew, it has been a tough few months… not getting a full nights sleep for 7 months get weary! And of course the nights she would maybe sleep a little better Lydia would have a bad dream or something and wake up! Chloe is still taking 2 naps a day one in the morning and then once usually with Lydia (at least 5 times a week I can get them down at the same time! woo who!) At 5 & part of 6 months she was still taking an evening nap for around 30 min to an hour. It worked out perfect because it was usually right when I needed to cook dinner 🙂 Thanks Chloe!

      We have tried to let her “cry it out” a few times, but then we went to visit family and didn’t want her to wake everyone up and then she got sick… so we are hoping to get back on it once she is feeling better.

      Food: Chloe is a fast little nurser. Most of the time she nurses between 5- 10 min total! I often have wondered if she is getting enough, but she is growing, peeing, pooping and happy so I guess so! We gave her solids for the first time on October 6. We gave her oatmeal and she liked it! She has done much better with baby food than her sister did. So far we have tried: apples, pears, sweet potatoes, carrots, peas, prunes, green beans (her least favorite- at least the kind that I have made), bananas, avocado, and squash. I gave her a little yogurt on November 17 and she wasn’t a huge fan, but I am hoping after time she will like it…. that was a staple for Lydia. Poor second kid, we have had to feed Chloe a few times around midnight because she woke up super upset and we realized that we hadn’t fed her all day! But as of late we have been on a better routine and she eats when we eat. Lydia loves to ‘help’ me feed her and Chloe just get wide eyes and giggles at her. Chloe also loves puff snacks and she has had pancakes which she loves too! 

      first bites of solid food

      she loves to eat! 

      She is still nursing every 2 to 3 hours during the day and we are trying to not nurse her in the middle of the night any more. (oh sleep training… you are not fun!)

      She had her first bottle at the beginning of October. I had some milk that was frozen and still good at my mom’s and so when we were visiting so we decided to try it out! She did so goo with it and Chase loved feeding her. We have done several since then… wish I could give her more, but in order to get a bottle I have to pump in the middle of the night, so that’s not always easy to wake up for!

      Travel: We did quite a bit of travel the past few months. September 12 we went to West Texas for Landon’s 2nd birthday and Claire’s baby shower. Love that we are close enough now to get to be part of the small stuff. September 21 we drove to Oklahoma City for a few days to visit Boompa & Grandma and some cousins. Then me and the girls headed to Albuquerque with my dad and Linda. We flew to Arizona from there for my cousins wedding. Then Aubrey and I went back to Albuquerque for a week to hang out. We were supposed to have a week with Gramzi, but she ended up being in West Texas with Brooke for my niece’s birth! November 4th we went back to West Texas to finally meet my sweet baby niece, Claire! And Gramzi came to visit us for a week after that… so fun! Phew a buys few months. Chloe does great with travel, but woke up a lot more in the night- I think its because we are in the same room as her… who knows?!

      Other: 

      *When you say Chloe’s name, she looks up at you and smiles really BIG. It brightens our day. Aubrey (my sister) said, she makes you feel so special when she smiles at you, but then you realize she smiles for everyone. She is one smiley girl.

      *She loves her big sister… she watches everything she does, she giggles at her, smiles at her… can’t wait to see their friendship grow.

      can’t wait to see these girls become best friends

      *She is still really chill. However, if you leave her sitting for too long now she squeaks at you really loud.

      *When she sits (she started sitting at the end of September) she looks up at you, smiles, and flaps her arms… super cute.

      *She rolls all over the place, but also still is ok with staying in one place to play (complete opposite of her sister and this age).

      *She has gotten up on her knees a few times and rocked back and forth, but don’t scoot yet, just rolling.

      *She is the BEST smuggler there ever was. She is always putting her head on our shoulders and lets you just cuddle her as long as you want.

      *She loves to be rocked to sleep and when you run your fingers through her hair.

      *She fights falling asleep and cries/gets stiff for about a min or two and then relaxes after you hold her tight and falls asleep pretty quick.

      *She makes spitting noises all the time.

      *She loves her pacci, almost as much as her sister. She will now take it in and out of her mouth and look for it on the ground, grab it and put it in her mouth herself.

      *She likes to be feed really fast.. no patience when it comes to waiting for her food.

      *She likes to be held and in the same room as us.

      *She smiles at Chase every time he walks into the room and comes home from work.

      *She hated her carseat a lot, but is getting a little better. We moved her from her infant carseat in the middle of September because we were borrowing it from my sister and she needed it for my niece who was born on September 28 so we got her the next one up and so I think it has taken some time to get used to.

      *She can put her pacci in by herself now… she is such a big girl!

      first Halloween 2014

      *Her favorite toys are: the baby Einstein music/radio toy, maracas from Lydia’s birthday party, the giraffe musical puzzle, the stackable music stars.

      *She got sick for the first time in November… a bad cough, runny nose and congestion We went to the doctor and she gave her a nebulizer to help with the cough. It was so sad to see her sick, but she was still a happy sweet baby girl. At this appointment she weighed 14 1/2 lbs.

      *Chloe’s nicknames: Chlo Chlo, Coco, Chloe bear, Angel baby, Chlo bow, Chloe Baloney

        Posted in Chloe, Everyday Life, mcpeanut | Comments Off on a 5, 6 & 7 month Chlo Chlo

        2, 3, & 4 months of Chloe

        Our baby girl is growing fast and I haven’t had much time to update and post pics of her. And now that she is already 4 months I decided I should post a few from 2, 3 & 4 months! (I want to have it for my records & for her to see them one day as well!… poor second child! ha)

        Weight: 9 lbs 8 oz (10%) (almost one pound smaller than Liddy at 2 months! and I thought she was tiny)

        Height: 22 1/2 in (50%)

        Clothes: She was still wearing newborn and some 0-3 month stuff. And was in newborn diapers still at 2 months. I have loved seeing her in all of Lydia’s old outfits- seems like yesterday that Liddy wore them!

        Month 3 she moved up to size 1 diapers and started wearing 0-3 month and 3 month clothes. She pretty much stopped wearing headbands and just wears bows! She has so much hair… it just keeps getting longer and thicker. She has crazy cowlicks– I am going to have fun trying to fix her hair once it gets longer!

        Sleep: She had started sleeping through the night during month two! What a glorious day that was. We are quite spoiled with a good sleeper. She still slept on and off most of the day with probably 4-5 naps during the day in between feeds, but was defiantly having more awake periods.

        She started to discover her hanging toys in her swing and floor mat. Around 3 months she started reaching for them and “talking” to them. Often times I think she is upset because she is so loud when she “talks” but when I check on her she is smiling, kicking her legs and waving her arms. She moves so much less than Liddy did, but talks a whole lot more.

        Towards the end of month 3 and all of month 4 she has been waking up again at night!! I am hoping it is just a phase that doesn’t last forever. I haven’t really tried much to change it yet, but all I know is she isn’t near as good of a sleeper as she was! Even naps are between 30 min- an hour. Sometimes I will get a 2 hour stretch from her. She is forced to nap on the go more often than not because Lydia and I want to get out of the house. So lots of her morning naps happen in the car, stroller or in the carrier 🙂

        We painted her toes for the first time in month 3 and Liddy loves having matching toes with her sis. Lydia also always makes sure Chlo has a bow in hair too! I love seeing them interact- it is just so sweet.

        There is lots of this that goes on around here. Lately Lydia intentionally goes and plays with Chloe, tickles her toes or her belly, kisses her, waves toys in her face… which sometimes turns into tears for both girls- Liddy doesn’t like it when Chloe cries!

        I love dressing the girls in matching outfits… yes I am “one of those moms” esp while they will still let me 🙂

        Chloe celebrated her first 4th of July! We went as our little family of four to the square in downtown Denton for a parade, which Chloe slept through in the carrier. Then we went to brunch at a new place we now love, came home and made 4th of July crafts and took naps. Then we headed to Nanny and Papas house for swimming, BBQ and fireworks! It was a fun filled day after daddy’s first week at his new job!

        And of course both girls had two adorable outfits for the day, so we had to do a wardrobe change 🙂

        This pose was all Liddy’s idea!

        Chloe has always loved bath time. She loves the warm water and has started kicking and splashing while big sis is in the tub with her. When we wash her hair it lays flat but as soon as it dries it sticks straight up!

        Working on tummy time. Depends on the day and moment if she likes it. She like it a lot more in the beginning, but lately not so much.

        Chloe loves to giggle when we talk to her, tickle her chin, her belly, play “patty cake” or “how bigs the baby” with her. She has such a sweet little spirit.

        She has started the teething process this month… lots of drooling, finger biting, and more fussy. Poor girl. I am not a fan of teething! I know that every momma hates this stage… its amazing once they are past it (even though I know Liddy’s 2 year old molars are just around the corner) you forget how annoying it is for them. Her fussy-ness and more neediness has really shown how impatient I am! I have had to ask for lots of grace and forgiveness lately as I get more impatient with her…. it is pretty sad because looking back she is still way less needy and less fussy then Liddy ever was, but I have gotten spoiled/used to her being so chill that when she isn’t it throws me off!

        we go to the dr. on August 19– so I will update this then! I know she has grown though cuz I am super sore at the end of each day, but she is still a little peanut, but has super chunky legs… I l.o.v.e. baby rolls!

        Height: 24 inches 35% (same as Lydia at 4 months)

        Weight: 12 lbs 8 oz – 23% (Lydia was 12 lbs. 14 oz)

        Getting better at tummy time! And we rolled over from tummy to back on August 2 and on August 11 she went from back to tummy! And discovered her toes on the 9th! Lots of firsts coming up.

        I call her “angel baby” because she truly is a little angel baby.

        We have gone swimming at Nanny and Papas twice and once at a tot pool with slides and water fun in Flower Mound with all the cousins last week. She was a perfect baby while we were there- not a peep… even in the sun and heat!

        Daddy’s fingers taste so good!

        And so do hers… this is what she looks like most days 🙂

        So big sitting up in her Bumbo chair! She has really gone from a newborn to a baby in the past month… makes my heart a little sad, but am loving watching her grow. She is still so snuggly and loves to be rocked and held better than anything. She also like to face out now and see the world. Her fav position is to lay against my legs facing me while my knees are up…. this way we can talk, play and giggle together.

        New sister activity… tickling toes during breakfast!

        She has started blowing bubbles and gurgling! I think we will have a talker on our hands! And we are in trouble again with those eyes and that smile.

        Well, I better go both girls are up from their naps and needing me… after a week of trying to get this post done I wanted to finish it!

        Chloe Jane– Chlo Chlo… 

        We love you oh so much. Thank you for teaching us how much we could love someone, for growing my faith and patience. You are truly a gift and we are truly a gift from God. I am going to go pick you up now 😉 

        Momma & Daddy

         

         

         

          Posted in Chloe, Family | 2 Comments

          Chloe at one month…errr 7 weeks.

          6 lbs 8 oz at 2 weeks! 

          about 9 lbs (I weighed her on my scale at home so not exact)

          Can my baby already be over one month?! She is actually 7 weeks!! NO WAY! I can’t believe it. I know every mother says this, but really it just seems like time is flying. And I have a feeling it is just going to get faster as time goes on.

          Chloe has been such a doll. We have been so spoiled blessed to have had such an easy first 6 weeks. We have forgotten at times that she is around. She is such a cuddle bear and loves to be snuggled, swaddled, and held close. I love love cuddling her and will often stay up later than I should just to hold her. She loves to sleep and lay on her belly against your chest- melt.my.heart.

          Clothes:

          Chloe is wearing newborn clothes and diapers still. I think in the next week she will start graduating to size 0-3 month. She mostly hangs out in pjs or onesies with pants and a bow headband. It is fun to see her wear things that Lydia used to wear, but also fun to dress her in new stuff! Her hair is adorable and what makes her her. It is so so soft, long and sticks straight up, even if you comb it down. I think it is getting longer and thicker already. She has some crazy cowlicks- which will be fun to tame one day!

          Chloe’s little “nursery” area in our room at my mom’s house 

          Sleep:

          So far we have no routine and no patterns. She just sleeps a lot. The past few days/week she is starting to have more awake time though, which is fun! I want to try and start putting her in her crib for nap time and start establishing nap times so that once its just me and the girls I am not in big trouble (I am afraid I might me..), plus I think Liddy is craving/needing some time with just me with no baby sis in site. I will let you know how it goes next Chloe update post. At night she has mostly slept 3 1/2 – 4 hours with a surprise occasional 5- 7 hour stint (not very often though).

          bath time! Her cord fell off on day 5, so she got to have a real bath pretty quick! We have to wash her hair often because it gets oily from all of us touching it so much 🙂 

          matching sisters … there will be lots of this! 

          Other: 

          My family says that Chloe looks just like me as a baby- same hair do, skin color and eyes. She has moments where she looks like Lydia, but mostly she is her own little self. She is a very chill baby and just goes with the flow. So far she has traveled to west Texas (Aunt Brookes and Lubbock), Angel Fire for her first family vacation, and Dallas where she helped us house hunt! She has traveled by car and plane and has done great with both. We said that we wanted Chloe to be a flexible traveler like her sister and so far she is! Hope we get to take her to Oman before she turns two. She loves being in my carrier, which helps free my hands to care for Liddy.

          Mother’s Day in Angel Fire 

          We have another pacci baby on our hands (at least for now!). Which of course can cause some problems with big sis as she wants to steal Chloe’s often, but she is sweet and also will bring me hers when she is crying.

          She has started to coo and smile in the past few weeks. Oh so much fun to see and hear. It is such a joy to see her develop and start to grow her own little personality. I am amazed at how quickly the newborn- sleep all the time- phase ends, but thankful for each step.

          just a few days old

          We have be spoiled by having lots of hands helping us adjust to life with two babies under two. However, soon I will be by myself and we will go through another adjustment period…. I will let you know how that goes! So far life with two has been fun, exhausting, and such a joy. Lydia has been a lot more fussy, demanding and clinging with me lately. She is super sweet with Chloe, but just doesn’t like my attention to be divided… I know we will adjust and she will be fine, but some days it is tough when both girls want their momma at the same time. But I know this season is oh so short and so I am trying to soak it all up and not take anything too seriously.

          Boompa & Grandma

          Gramzi & Jaju

          Papa & Nanny

          I am spending most of my free time snuggling and loving on sweet Chloe when Liddy is sleeping or otherwise occupied… since I know from experience this time how quickly this phase passes. And at night when I think about editing pictures or posting on the blog I would rather snuggle my baby and watch Gray’s Anatomy (yes, I have started watching it on Netflix… its become my wind down/nursing show)

          Thank you Jesus for my sweet baby girls!

          Chloe,

          Daddy and I love you so much and are so thankful to call you ours. You have made becoming parents of two so easy! Thank you for your sweet, chill spirit, your sweet smiles, and wonderful snuggles. We cherish you and love you SOOOO much. Welcome to our crazy family- there will be lots of dancing, laughs, and silliness! We pray that you would know Jesus loves you and that you would follow Him one day. 

          love, momma & daddy 

            Posted in Chloe, Family | 1 Comment

            Birth Story: Chloe Jane

            Finally getting around to post this… have been working on it for over two weeks! (welcome to life with 2 under 2!

            As you all know miss Chloe was breech and we were given a 10-15% chance that she could flip back on her own. My sister suggested that we go to the pool and do flips and handstands to try and get her to turn. So, on Sunday, April 6th we headed to the pool and did just that- summersaults and handstands (it was a sight to see I am sure…a 9 month + preggo woman flipping around). We said lots of prayers and asked all of you to pray…. and trusted that whatever happened the Lord’s hand was in it. We went in for an ultrasound on Monday, April 7 and sure enough she was head down! Praise Jesus!! Now we were just hoping that she would stay that way till Thursday, when we had our c-section scheduled…

            Thursday, April 10 at 7:30 am we drove to the hospital to get another ultrasound and make a plan for when we would get to meet our baby girl. Our doctor hooked us up and scanned my belly and low and behold she was still head down and in perfect position to have vaginally!! So, no need for a c-section, now we just had to decide if we wanted to induce due to a “unstable vertex” (meaning she could flip back at any point) or if we just wanted to wait it out. I was ready to meet our girl that day and we had all the grandparents in town… but I also wanted to make the best decision for us and the baby. So we had our doc check to see how far dilated I was (Aubs had checked me the night before and I was still a 1 … so I wasn’t expecting much), but again much to my surprise I was a 3!! That made me decide to go ahead and induce! But first I needed food since they made me fast in case we would have a c-section 🙂

            Around 9:30 am we got checked into our room, that Aubrey had picked out for us- with a great view and lots of natural light- perks of having a sister as a nurse! Our doctor decided that we would start with a cooks catheter (a balloon they insert to cause you to dilate to a 4 or 5) and wait on pitocin. However, as soon as she inserted it, it wouldn’t stay because I was already around 4.5 cm! So, she said that there was no need for an induction at that point, we were just going to wait and see what my body would do! At this point I was not having consistent or painful contractions, so we decided to walk the halls to try and get stuff started…

            Chase caught me at just the right moment and he just thought HE was tired… 🙂 

            About 12 pm I was still around 4.5 cm and not having much action in the contraction department (we almost started playing a round of “BS”, but decided to walk around some more instead) so my doctor suggested we get pitocin started. About and hour or two after they started pitocin I started feel contractions and getting a little more uncomfortable (finally!… I know as strange as it sounds I was looking forward to the “can’t-talk-inbetween- contractions stage because I wanted to get this show on the road). We did a lot of walking the halls and sitting on the birthing ball. About 4 pm my doctor came in to break my water and thats when labor really kicked in… I was now getting to experience the “can’t-talk-inbetween-contractions stage and was quickly reminded that I wanted that stage to be over!

            I had such great support during labor…. my own personal nurse, hand masseuse and back masseur  🙂 

            At some point (I don’t remember when) I wanted to get a little relief from the pain so I requested for some Fentanyl, which takes the edge off and allows you to rest in-between contractions. This stuff was great and lasts about an hour. As soon as they gave it to me I felt a lot better and felt almost like I was high. I leaned back on the bed and my family asked how I was and I just gave them a big smile and a thumbs up! ha During this time I requested to use the “peanut ball” to help open the cervix (Aubs had told me what a miracle worker they were), since I was just laying there… this was super painful during contractions, but I was thankful to rest a little bit in between. After all this they checked me and I was at 7 cm. So I got up to change positions…. then started to feel like I could/wanted to push, so they checked me again… I was a 7 again… sigh. At this point I started asking for the real drugs (epidural)… I was just hesitant because I didn’t love they way it make me feel last time, but was D.O.N.E. and needed to rest.

            I am so thankful for the partner I have in Chase, he was so patient, kind, loving and encouraging before, during and after labor. He is more than I deserve or could ask for. I really enjoy the closeness that labor brings… what a gift from God! 

            As we were waiting for the anesthesiologist to come and work her magic, I felt like I could push again, so they were thinking maybe I could be complete! So they checked me… nope now I was an 8. I said, “get me the drugs” after this news… So I got them… it was SO painful and SO hard to sit still while she poked my back, but Chase was my support and helped me through it. During this time I felt an even stronger urge to push… so they checked me again and I was a 9!! (all of this was around 9:30 pm or maybe a little later) They were telling me that the drugs probably wouldn’t fully work or take effect by the time I was ready to push… but it would give me some relief…. I was totally fine with that, in fact that sounded way better to me- I wanted to be able to feel when it was time to push. At 10:15 I was at a 10 and they called the doctor and by 10:28 pm Chloe was here! I only pushed twice and she came 🙂

            Chloe’s cord was wrapped around her neck really tight and so the doctor had to cut it before she could be delivered completely. She was put on my chest right away, but then they took her to the table to get fluid out of her lungs and just make sure she was ok… and about 3 minutes later she was back on my chest. So thankful for the doctors and nurses and for their care for us. What a little miracle Chloe is.

             in love all over again… 

            Chloe’s doting fan club 🙂(papa, grandma and big sis weren’t able to be there, but admired from a far! – Jaju came by earlier as well) 

            I am super thankful and happy with the way my labor went. It was such positive and fun experience. I loved being at Aubrey’s hospital and seeing her in her element (she is great), getting to meet her co-workers, getting to have family in the waiting room, getting ice chips (yup, didn’t have those in the Middle East) and for the food that was delivered to my room while we were in the hospital. I was happy that I labored naturally for the most part, and am even happier that I was able to get the “good stuff” in the end to help me finish strong. All in all it was a really great experience! Can’t wait for my next baby, however we hope to wait a little longer this time! 😉

            (sorry for the Loooong post… good job if you made it to the end!)

              Posted in Chloe, Family | 2 Comments

              She’s here!!

              Our sweet baby girl Chloe Jane McGough was born on April 10th at 10:28 pm!

              I know I am a little late on announcing it on here, but things have been super busy with grandparents, aunts, cousins, and friends in town, baby snuggles, chasing a busy toddler, trying to catch up on sleep, and finally getting all the pics I have taken so far (there are lots… ) on my computer. So I apologize (even though I have posted a ton of pics on fb and instagram), but I assure you we have been enjoying Chloe to pieces and trying to soak up every moment of the sweet “newborn-ness” as possible- because it is over oh so quickly.

              We are overjoyed to have her as part of our family. She has been such a little blessing. She is SO chill. (just like her daddy) Sometimes when we have her in the swing we forget that she is even here because she just lays there quietly and hardly makes a peep. I know that she is only 9 days old and all of this could change any day, but we are enjoying it for now and praising Jesus for her health and sweet self.

              6 lbs. 4 oz, 19 inches and lots of dark hair!

              (she left the hospital and was 6 lbs and 3 days later had already gained an ounce! She is a great little nurser! I am sure she will be back up or if not past her birth weight at her 2 week check-up)

              There are parts of her that look a lot like Lydia, but at the same time she is her own little person (she actually looks a lot like me when I was born- my parents keep saying that it feels like they are looking at me when the hold her)

              Chase is head over heels for his girls. He is such a wonderful girl dad, I am so thankful for him and how he serves our family. We are 3 blessed girls.

              Our little family of four! Makes my heart happy. Praise the Lord whom all blessings flow.

              Lydia’s reaction to her baby sis could not have been any better… she was so gentle and sweet with her. She LOVES her already. She wants to hold her and kiss her and takes her baby dolls and wants to swaddle them, feed them, burp them and even lifted her shirt to nurse once! We haven’t seen a ton of behavioral differences since we brought Chloe home, however, Chase feels like she has been a little more testy with him and the past few days she has been pretty clingy to me. But overall, we have been blessed with a great big sister for Chloe… can’t wait to see them grow up together and become best of friends!

              When we came home from the hospital we were welcomed by all her grandparents (except grandma linda- we missed you!) and Auntie Aubrey! They had balloons and this welcome home sign hung up for us. It was fun to come home to a house full of family and much different than our experience with Lydia. We are thankful that we were able to share this special time with our family.

              Chloe – fruitful grace and beauty Jane- gift from God; Jehovah has been gracious

              We chose Jane for her middle name because we feel like she is our little gift from God in this season of life. She was a surprise and came in the midst of lots of transition, but such a GREAT gift and we couldn’t be happier.  Thank you for your prayers for my pregnancy, her healthy and her delivery.

              Hope to post her birth story soon! Until then I will be snuggling a newborn and chasing a toddler around 🙂 Thankful to be these girls momma. 

              “Behold, children are a heritage form the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. ”

              Psalm 127:3

                Posted in Chloe, Family, mcpeanut | 2 Comments

                38 weeks {5 days}

                We have had a crazy couple of weeks with miss Chloe Jane (yes we finally decided on a middle name!!). At our appointment last week (37 weeks) we saw a different doctor and when she was listening to her heartbeat it was lower than it should have been (112 and then went back up to 120 and 130… ) so she wanted us to go get a BPP (bio physical profile ultrasound test) just to make sure that everything was ok. During the test Chloe did great and her heart rate was back up in the 130s and 140s. Then they put me on the monitor for 30 min for an NST (non-stress test) to have a longer reading of her heart rate. During this time it looked great- she had lots of variability (Aubrey tells me this is a good thing and what they look for- when the heartbeat has accelerations), but at one point she had a slight deceleration (which could have been her sitting on the cord or something else), but turned out to be nothing to be concerned about. However, the on call doctor was relayed incorrect information about the readings and wanted us to come down to the hospital for a longer reading/testing, but luckily there was a mid-wife that came back after lunch that read the strip and heard the report and said that everything looked great and that it wasn’t necessary to go down for more testing that day (Aubs read the strip too and said the same thing- so thankful for her!). They compromised at me going in for twice weekly BPP’s and a growth scan up until she is born. It was such a long day with lots of emotions, but at the end of the day we were super thankful that everything checked out fine and has been great ever since. Even though it seemed like unnecessary worry and tests, I am glad that we got to check in on her and know for sure that she is doing good! Praise the Lord!

                On Thursday (yesterday) we had our second BPP for the week and as the ultrasound tech was looking for Chloe’s head she instead said, “Ummm, thats the baby’s bladder…” and I responded with, “What?!” because the position of her bladder was in the same spot that her head was in on Monday… she continued to move the wand up toward my ribs and said, “yup, there’s her head. This baby is breech!” I could not believe what I was hearing! I was in TOTAL shock. That little stinker had somehow turned herself around between Monday and Thursday and is now no where near the correct position for birth!! Everything else looked great though.

                So we went down to see my doctor afterward and discussed our options. We talked about doing a version to externally try to get her to flip around, going to a chiropractor or getting acupuncture. We decided that we didn’t want to force anything that could cause risk to Chloe (even if the risk is low), so we decided to go for praying (and maybe doing some fun gymnastic type moves at home) to get Chloe to flip on her own and if she doesn’t then we have a c-section scheduled for 9:30 am on Thursday, April 10th! If she happens to be head down that morning then we will induce and try to have her vaginally but if she is still breech we will get to have our sweet baby girl in our arms before lunch on Thursday!!!

                I have lots of mixed emotions about all of this. Mostly still in shock– didn’t think she could actually flip this late in the game esp when there is NO room left! Of course a c-section was not at all what I had in mind for this birth and so I am having to come to terms with it and all that it entails. It is a blessing that we are living with my mom and to have her help. I was really looking forward to laboring with my sister and getting to experience it again with Chase, but I know that it will be just as special and just as sweet when we get to hear her cry and hold her for the first time. I am thankful for a healthy baby and excited/nervous for next week! Chase keeps telling me that I love a plan and now I have one, so that’s a positive too!

                How far along? 38 weeks (5 days)

                Total weight gain: I think I am up to 25 +/- lbs now! – just can’t seem to resist having dessert every night… !

                Maternity clothes? yup, and sick of them at this point

                Stretch marks? I found a couple :/

                Sleep: been sleeping pretty good except for potty breaks

                Best moment this week: when Lydia kissed Chloe and gave her milk from her baby doll’s bottle… cannot wait to see her reaction to her baby sister! (hoping and praying she adjusts well…)

                Miss Anything? laying on my stomach and back- regular clothes

                Movement: apparently lots since she did a summersault to face the wrong way!

                Just saw this comment from last time… guess I spoke too soon!! We went to the doctor today and she is head down, back up and in perfect position for birth! Hoping she stays this way and just continues to move downward 🙂

                Food cravings: steak, yogurt with fresh fruit, popsicles

                Anything making you queasy or sick: not really

                Gender: girl!!- this has been confirmed several times in the ultrasounds

                Labor Signs: I was 1 cm and long yesterday… which now I hope I just stay the same since I can’t go into labor and have her breech anyway… still having Braxton Hicks daily thou.

                Symptoms: sore back, cramping, big belly!

                Belly Button in or out? out

                Wedding rings on or off? on

                Happy or Moody most of the time: happy and nervous about the c-section

                Looking forward to: kissing and holding Chloe on Thursday!!

                  Posted in Chloe, Everyday Life, Family, mcpeanut | 3 Comments