And Janae, being all cute:

I remember playing with the “Santa praying to Dearest Eight Pound, Six Ounce, Newborn Baby Jesus” figurine when I was a kid:

1. Your last update was at Christmas, and it’s now past Labor Day.
2. Your account and password were disabled due to inactivity.
3. The “About” section of your blog mentions a baby on the way. You do indeed have a baby on the way. It’s the younger sibling of the one mentioned…
4. You forgot which blogging platform you use.

Key -

1 match = Your blogging skills are questionable.

2 matches = It’s bad. Real bad.

3 matches = You are an embarrassment to your species.

4 matches = You’re just like us! Yay!

Janae met Santa (who arrived in a vintage fire truck, thanks to Dundee Fire Dept)

Look who can sit all by herself!

Yummy bows and ribbons…

… and this present is delicious, too!

Janae loves Christmas this much!

Merry Christmas, everyone!

For more McDonough family pictures, click here.

(Or you can type it in on your own, if you want to.  http://picasaweb.google.com/jmcdonough)

I’ve added some photos to the link on the right, and PROMISE I’ll get something new up soon.

This was the munchkin’s first overnight trip as well as her first excursion to the beach– what a fun time!

Janae is a total trooper in the car, so the actual travel to the beach and back went really well.  It was how long packing the van took that surprised Jeff and I, however.  It’s amazing how much stuff such a little person needs just to go on the road for a few nights!  We brought multiple outfits for each day we would be gone (in case of baby blowouts… you know that’s what happens if you neglect to bring an extra outfit), multiple sleepers for night (same reason as the daytime outfits: avoiding blowout issues), tons of socks, hoodies, hats, blankets, binkies, the pack and play, monitors, diapers, wipes, diaper cream, bottles and formula just in case she decided to stop breastfeeding while on vacation, bath supplies, vitamins, toys, the bouncer…   The list goes on (and on, and on…) So much stuff!

Thankfully, we didn’t forget anything important at home.  New parent gold star for us!

We had a blast getting away from our normal routine and our house!  The weather at Lincoln City was gorgeous– we were able to enjoy sunsets over the ocean each night, and listen to the crashing waves through the open window in our bedroom.  The accommodations were wonderful– especially the delicious meals!  (Thanks Mom and Dad!)

After eating a particularly delicious breakfast one morning, we decided to go for a walk down to the bay by Mo’s, walk along the beach, play in the sand a bit, and then back to the house.  It was such a nice day that we had to take a few photos along the way!

Here’s a shot of the entire family (including Katie and Josh’s puppies, Bella and Baxter) by the fish sculpture by Mos,

a snapshot of the three of us on our first family vacation,

and a close up of Janae with the Bay in the background.

After indulging in the family photo op, we walked along a beach trail that runs from the bay, around the bluff, and ends up at the ocean.  As we walked along this route, we ran into a special spot for us– the place Jeff and I stood to escape an Oregon Coast downpour shortly after getting engaged!  It’s a funny little hideaway that you don’t really notice unless you know what you’re looking for– it’s quaint, peaceful and gorgeous.  We couldn’t resist the opportunity to hike our way in and take a picture with our new daughter in the exact same location as when we first decided to commit to life together!

Here’s a view of us with Janae in front of the ocean for the first time!

Jeff and I also had a fun treat during the weekend getaway: our first date alone since Janae was born!  Grandma and Grandpa took the little one for the evening so we got a chance to head out on the town.  We went to the most unique and sketchy bookstore on the Oregon coast and walked through room after room of fabulous used books (that bookstore is really worth an entire post in it’s own right…), enjoyed dinner and drinks at the Lighthouse McMennamins, went to a local farmer’s/artisan’s market, and walked along the bay after picking up delicious lattes (Yay, Stumptown!).  And, if this relaxing outing wasn’t enough, we returned to the house and Grandma and Grandpa had just put Janae down for a nap!  With the munchkin sleeping, Jeff had a chance to play poker with the boys and I was able to read and knit (maybe I’ll actually finish those socks after all!).  What a great way to reconnect with each other and relax– thanks Mom and Dad!!

Here I am, “helping”:

“Helping” included encouraging remarks, bracing the left leg (a nurse had the right), and supporting the back of her head during pushing without forcing her chin into her throat (no small feat, just ask my brother-in-law.)

I personally had three stressful moments in the hour that followed:

1. When the water broke, a nurse immediately made a call to the neo-natal unit to advise of “mec”. In the EMT class I took last year, I remembered that “mec” means meconium, which often is the result of fetal distress, and can lead to some fairly significant complications. Stressful.
2. When her head crowned, a surplus of scalp folded under the pressure, which is not a problem, but from my angle the fold looked like a caved-in portion of skull. Which in my ever-looking-for-connections brain, would definitely qualify as the fetal distress leading to the meconium staining. Not a fun moment.
3. When her whole head emerged, the cord was wrapped twice around her neck. Now there were competing sources for the fetal distress.

So when the doctor asked if I wanted to cut the cord, I did a quick gut check, and decided against it. Last thing anyone needed was me going down in the delivery room. The one thing that helped me keep it together was watching the reactions of the doctors on hand. Other than advising the neo-natal staff of the meconium issue, no other personnel was requested, and everyone seemed downright at ease. I kept telling myself that if anything was going drastically wrong, the room would quickly fill up with more doctors.

Despite all the drama, she was born within an hour of the start of active labor, got her first breaths in, and was on her way! First she had to get a bath:

Then it was back to meet mom, and get a family photo:

We spend the next two nights at the hospital. The expertise when we had questions was nice. Sleeping on the floor and moving around a cramped little room was not nice. It was an amazing feeling to pack up, get in the car, and drive home as a family of three.