Getting so big! :)

This picture is from when Mackenzie came home for the first time back on November 7th! I have to give the picture integrity, though, by letting you know that Sydney is reaching for the car seat straps - thus the reason for her joy - to get to check those out!
Last Tuesday, the 25th, at Mackenzie's weight check, I was blown away when she was at 7 lbs., 9 oz. That is a pound more than her birth weight, and truly, since her weight went down and all after her birth, she gained that pound in about 10 days! That was really encouraging, because feedings have been laborious at times lately. It is an absolute gift of grace that Mackenzie loves to sleep so much, but she started not being attentive enough to nurse last weekend (seemed to be holding out for the much easier bottle that we were needing to supplement with), and feedings were taking an hour to an hour and a half - mostly to keep her awake to feed. In light of that, we are transitioning to her taking the bottle only, and I am bummed and having a hard time letting go of nursing. I know that it will all be good, though. I am so glad that she is doing so well, and want to do whatever is needed to keep that growth going!
I will aim to get some current pictures of her on here soon! :)

Mackenzie's Birth Story :)

We are so very happy to introduce you to Mackenzie Elise Korzyniowski! She is eight days of age today! Here is her special birth story...
On Monday, November 3rd, I started having regular contractions in the morning and felt like she was on her way. After a labor check that afternoon, we found out that I was in early labor and that we needed to go on over to the hospital to deliver the baby. We had a c-section planned for Friday, but Mackenzie couldn't wait that long to come! The c-section went really well, and I was so thankful to hold that baby girl for the first time. She was born at 8:23 p.m., weighing 6 lbs., 9 oz., with a length of 18.5". She stayed in the room with me the whole time, and it was so enjoyable to spend so much time together in the hospital, for I did not get to do that with Syd due to her being in the NICU. I was looking forward to being discharged on Thursday morning, but an infection developed above my incision Wednesday night. After 36 hours of periodic doses of IV antibiotics, it looked much better, so we came home early on Friday afternoon. I was so thankful that my dad could come to see us in the hospital and be with us over the weekend!
Now, here we are at home, a dear family of four. The hours of breastfeeding are pretty tiring at times, and we are needing to supplement for her to get what she needs. I will keep trying a little longer, but am not going to stress out over it like I did with Syd! :) We are so glad that Susie is here to help and be with us at this time. Without her amazing help with Sydney and everything else I don't think I would be able to give breastfeeding a shot or have time to rest. :)
Mackenzie is a gift from the Lord in so many ways. She is precious, healthy, a snugglebug, and (so far) one laidback baby. She loves to sleep and needs coercing to wake up. There were so many challenges last year with Sydney's first few months - it really makes us appreciate this great start! :)
Thanks for all of your kind thoughts and prayers! We can't wait to introduce you to her in person! :)

Halloween Fun!

Sydney made Halloween a treat for us this year - she was so funny in her puppy costume! We visited Dunn's parade on Thursday, trick-or-treated at Ryan's work Friday afternoon, and went to a few houses in the neighborhood that night. This was the first time that Ryan and I got to take her out for trick-or-treating, and there was just something so special about heading out with her, with her cat flashlight's beacon lighting the way, and seeing her experience it all for the first time! :)