The Gatchel's add a Mikayla

It has been quite awhile since I have actually taken the opportunity to blog. I think I have a bit of an excuse ;-) I apologize for the blog being somewhat lacking since October. Once things started getting a little dicey with Mikayla I didn't get on and blog as much as I didn't want to use this as my venue to vent and complain. Now that she's here, been home for awhile and things are 'back to normal' (more on my new opinion of "normal" to follow) as possible at the moment, I feel like I can stop and catch my breath and get back on here. I can't promise that it's going to be every day, but I will try my best to update 4 or 5 times a week at least.

So what can I say about our newest addition? Her birth was almost as much of a huge surprise as her brother's was. I went to the OB for an NST and my regular twice a week appointment, my blood pressure was high and she wasn't moving much so they sent me to the hospital for some monitoring and just over an hour later the nurse at the hospital was asking me when the last time I ate was so they could figure out when was the earliest time possible for me to get into surgery. Mikayla was born on December 14, 2009 at 9:01pm, at 34 weeks 5 days - the same exact day in my pregnancy as Noah was born.

She is a fabulous baby! For the most part (knock wood) she is very easy going and laid back. She doesn't cry that much, except when you try to stick her hands in her blanket so they stay warm. She hates to not have her hands free! She's still sleeping quite a bit during the day, but she's sleeping well at night except for one fluctuating 3 hour period where she seems to think it's the middle of the day. She loves to be cuddled, she could hang out in someone's arms for hours. She looks A LOT like Noah did, but she has quite a bit more hair than Noah. She is very stubborn and I can already tell she is going to do things on her own timeline without a thought for how it will effect anyone else. She was in the NICU for 12 days (11 1/2, really since she was born later at night), and didn't make it home for Christmas, but came home the next day. She gained almost a pound in the first 10 days after she came home, and I'm anxious to see how big she will be when she hits her actual due date next Wednesday. I have completely fallen in love with her - even if she gave me quite a bit of difficultly for nearly eight months ;-) (And I'm sure for the rest of my life.... ;-) )

Noah is a WONDERFUL big brother. He calls Mikayla Kay-Kay or Bay-bee and loves to help take care of her. When she needs to be changed he brings me diapers or wipes, he likes to give her her binky or cover her with a blanket. He's held her (with help!) a couple of times and he loves to give her kisses. We had a couple of rough days when she first came home and of course there are moments every day when I'm with her that he wants my attention that he doesn't quite understand why Mama can't be there 24/7 for him, but he is doing really well for the most part.

Grant is a FABULOUS daddy to both of them. He is of course really great with Noah, but he is much more comfortable with Mikayla than he was when Noah was born. He was off for nearly three weeks straight, which was a HUGE help, especially when Mikayla was still in the NICU. Even though she was early, Mikayla picked kind of a good time to come, since Harris shuts down between Christmas and New Years. It was really nice having Grant home and knowing that he is crazy about both of the kiddos.

Shell has been a HUGE help. I honestly don't know what we would have done without her. She is going home (we're not sure for how long or if it will be permanent) tomorrow, and I am honestly a little terrified about being by myself with both of them. I know that I can do it, that I am perfectly capable of being a great Mom with both of them, but it still scares me a little bit. It's going to take awhile, for sure, but we'll get there :)

Alright, I've rambled enough for tonight. Hope this kind of caught people up a little bit on what we've been going through here. I will do my best to keep every updated from now on. Enjoy the pictures!

The cheese monkey

Mikayla after her bath

My sweet baby girl

Look at all that fuzzy hair!

I decided I'd had enough of the toys taking over my living room. So this is our new organizational toy area! Yay!!

Noah and Daddy

Snoozin'

Pretty pretty princess

Thanks for the PJ's Aunt Sarah!