Heeeeerrrrrrrreeeeee'ssssss Mackenzie!

Just minutes after she was born. That's the wonderful, multi-lingual nurse.

Meeting her big brother for the first time.

Finally home, after he first sponge bath.

All dressed up!

I came up with a thought today. Why not celebrate my children's birthdays with a celebratory blog post? Since its Mackenzie's birthday the day I thought of it (today, May 18th) she gets to be the lucky first one, even though she is the second born. So, happy 12th birthday Mackenzie Lynn!
I figured a good place to start is the beginning, so to the beginning we go.
Picture it, Clarksville, TN, 1998......
Mike and I were discussing adding to our family. Joey was almost 2, it seemed like a good time. So, that summer I went off the pill. Now, when you first go off the pill it is suggested still being careful for at least 3 months before really trying to get pregnant. That was the intention, BUT....well things happen and by August I was pregnant. I know some people wait a couple of months before announcing it to the world, but we have never been that way. It was way too good to keep secret for long.
I never really suffered from morning sickness with any of my pregnancies. I would get some gnarly headaches, and had certain food aversions (I still have a hard time eating chicken), but no real nausea. Everything went pretty textbook. About my 5th month I had my first ultrasound. We decided to find out the sex. We didn't with Joey, but now we're "old pros" and the need for surprise was gone for us. Mackenzie wanted to be sure that we could be as sure as possible that a girl was on the way and positioned herself just so for the tech. So sweet of her! It also made it easy on mom because I'd been required to drink 2 liters of water just before my appointment, and like a good girl I had. Only problem, they were running late and I had to sit there in the waiting room holding my already squished bladder for an extra 15 minutes. That was worse than the birth!
Not long after that, in February we were shipped off to Bonn, Germany. We were going to the U.S. embassy that was in the process of shutting down and moving to Berlin. We were an hour and a half from the nearest military installation, so I was prepared to have my daughter in Germany. But I prayed like crazy that I could at least find an English speaking doctor!
My prayers were answered, I actually found an American OB/GYN with a German practice. She was pretty full, but took me on because of my special circumstance (I'm American, already 6 months along, and speak NO German). Dr. Harder-Faigle was awesome! I received two further ultrasounds, and had a fairly easy pregnancy. My only complaints were the occasional gnarly headaches, leg cramps that kept me up at night, and no Taco Bell (my craving of choice). I was able to substitute Taco Bell with European chocolate though, so not a bad trade off really.
In Germany things are a little different. Usually, you chose a doctor/midwife, and then choose a hospital where that doctor/midwife has privileges. Assuming of course they take your insurance. In Germany, being military meant we had "private" insurance (not government provided), being in a remote location meant we could choose whoever we wanted without need for insurance approval. In other words, the red carpet was rolled out. I chose to deliver at Johanniter Krakenhaus. It was the closest to home. Private practice doctors generally do not have hospital privileges, so I would not get to have my doctor there, but she did assure me that it was an excellent hospital.
So my due date came and went and my doctor sent me to the hospital for a non stress test to check that the baby was still ok in the cooker. They gave me meds to start a few contractions, and monitored the baby's heart beat. Everything was good. They then gave me the choice, go ahead and continue with enducing, or go home and wait for nature to take its course. Well, Mackenzie was a little too fond of my ribs, so I chose NOW! They suggested I go home for a couple hours, eat, walk around and see if the medicine they already gave me would start things in motion on their own. We snuck past the neighbors that were watching Joey and did just that. Nothing. Nada. Zilch.
When we arrived back at the hospital, they checked me in, got me changed and put me in a labor bed. It was about 8pm when I really started feeling the contractions. About an hour later, they convinced me to get an epidural. Around midnight, the nurse made Mike go across the hall and lay down a little. I wasn't thrilled with that, but since the epidural I was ok, so I decided to get some sleep myself. Around 1am, I woke up with some rather startling pain. I'd had a continuous epidural with Joey, so I really had no idea what "time to push" pains felt like. I sat up and realized I was alone in the room. I didn't want to shout, so I just started saying something like, "Um, hello, it hurts, um, someone might want to check me out." The nurse finally heard me, checked me, then got the doctor. By this time I didn't mind yelling and screaming. I'm not ashamed, child birth hurts darn it!
I was on my third shift of nurses. Every one spoke English, except the one that helped deliver me. Spanish, French, Dutch, German, but not English. Curse me for not taking more French! But, through sign language, and the fact that everything was going smoothly got us all through it. Mackenzie made her debut screaming not long after. And I might add, that she didn't really stop for 5 months!
She weighed in at about 8 1/2 pounds and about 19 inches. All the measurements were metric, so I didn't memorize them, and only have an approximate conversion. But, she was great, 10 fingers, 10 toes, good color and healthy lungs. We named her Mackenzie Lynn (which really confused the Germans).
By German standards I should have stayed in the hospital 5 days. After 2, I was so stir crazy I begged them to let me go. They thought I was crazy, but they discharged us and home we went. I might add that while Mackenzie does have a German birth certificate, she does not have dual citizenship, it takes a little more that being born there to be German. But, she does have a Consular Report of Birth. How many people can say that?