2 Week Check-up

Ainslee had her 2 week check up yesterday. I can't tell you for sure how she is growing because I think their scale was malfunctioning and nurse was on crack!

The 1st time she put her on the scale she tried to tell me she weighed 11.6 lbs. I questioned this measurement, but was immediately silenced by the nurse who assured me she was correct. I attempted to question her again, then decided to just let it go and ask the doctor about it. So when her doctor came into the room I asked her what she thought and she laughed when I told her that the nurse said she weighed 11.6 lbs. The Dr took her back to the room to get weighed again and came back saying she weighed 8lbs 11oz. I thought once again there is NO WAY she weighs that much! So I really have no idea how much she weighs I would guess around 8 lbs. She has grown about 1/2 in length.

The doctor also suggested that I limit my dairy intake to help with her gassiness and her reflux. So far last night and today she did great. We will see if that will be enough to help settle her stomach before we resort to medication. Kaylee spent the night at grandma's house last night which made my night MUCH easier! THANKS GRANDMA!!! And what's even better is she is staying at Ceire's tonight! Yipee.........I wont even know what to do with myself, only having Ainslee here.

Radio Announcement

After being born, Ainslee was an instant celebrity. Memphis Mark, a KIX106 DJ, made her birth announcement on the radio Thursday afternoon. We just got our hands on the sound clip from that announcement last week, and i have been trying ever since to figure out how to upload it to the blog. needless to say I finally figured out how to do it.

They did the same type of announcement when Kaylee was born too.

Kindermusik

Here are a few pictures (and a video) from Kaylee's Kindermusik class.

Grandma's Girls

Ainslee napping

We had a little photo shoot this afternoon for Ainslee. Friends of Auntie Ceire wanted to update their portfolio and they needed a pregnant belly and a newborn. So a few weeks ago, I got some more maternity pictures taken by them, and today was the day Ainslee had her pictures taken. I am REALLY excited to see how they turned out. After we were done Ainslee past out from all the trauma we put her through, you know being naked and posing isnt the easiest job. She did pretty good though only peeing once when her diaper was off (no projectile poo......thank God).

OH NO!!!

I leave my daughter with her Auntie Ceire, and this is what i get when she comes back.


Between her Auntie Ceire and Auntie Mary she will be the biggest make-up wearing, fingernail painting, girly-girl. Apparently she already knows where all the different make-up stuff goes. She was entertained for the longest time the other day at a restaurant with a simple little makeup brush. She pretended to put it all over her face, and LOVED it! These are all things that I can not teach her, simply because I have no idea myself. So does this mean that the soccer playing, tom boy dream I have for her is gone? She is so proud of her little toes. I guess I better learn really quickly all about this "girl" stuff!

Daddy with his 2 girls

Its really hard to get a picture of Kaylee when she doesnt look like she is half asleep or smoking something. But either way daddy LOVES his 2 girls! And they LOVE their daddy!

Ainslee's Favorite Pasttime

Ainslee chillin' on her boppy! It's her 2nd favorite place to nap

(on mommy's chest is her 1st favorite)

Ainslee has been doing much better at night time. I have finally found her favorite way to sleep. I know that "they" (whoever "they" is) say that it is best for infants to sleep on their backs now. But I feel like each baby has their own preference on sleep postition. Kaylee was sleeping on her belly from a very young age, because that is what worked for her. Ainslee likes her side, and she wants to be swaddled, with her arms out of course. Her favorite blanket to be swaddled in is one similar to this one. Kaylee hated being swaddled at the age of about 5 days. Ainslee likes having her hands up by her face, it is really funny, because that is exactly what she did during our ultrasound. The ultrasound tech had trouble getting the necessary views of her face because her hands were always blocking her view. During the video ultrasound, Ainslee played peek-a-boo for a few minutes. Her little personality was developing when she was still inside my belly.

It is amazing to see the differences that are already evident in the two girls. I know they are each their own little person, but it is funny how they develop their personalities so early. I am so eager to watch as the 2 grow older together. Dont get me wrong though, i am not wishing away their days, I am excited to go through all their little stages.

An End to the Anticipation

Today we received a very important letter in the mail (well important in my eyes). Marcus and i knew from the outside of the envelope, that it contained the news we have been waiting on. Almost a month ago, we registered Kaylee for Mothers Day Out. We have not heard anything yet, and I was beginning to think we needed to explore other options. But today we learned that in fact she has been accepted to the Incarnation MDO program, and we even got the days we choose.

So YEAH we are going to be starting our first real "school" this fall. I am looking forward to this new adventure.

Marcus commented when he was opening the envelope, "is this how we are going to feel when she starts applying to colleges?"

My baby is growing up! boo hoo hoo

Just a Little Poo

1 week down..........countless weeks to go

I cant believe that Ainslee is 1 week old already! Sometimes it feels like she has been here forever and other times it feels like i was pregnant yesterday. Kaylee is still doing great adjusting to her new sister. She loves to sit with me when I nurse Ainslee. I am so thankful that Kaylee has not shown signs of jealousy when it comes to that. She has though, however, become more attached to daddy. I guess she sees how much of my attention is occupied by Ainslee so she is demanding daddy's attention.

I would like to tell you a funny little story.......The story starts when we were still in the delivery room, and Bethany was taking some pictures of Ainslee. Bethany was busy getting some naked booty pictures of Ainslee on her belly. Ainslee was pulling her legs up, and practically crawling off the bed. Marcus, Bethany, and myself were shocked at how she was attempting to move around. We joked about how she already knows how to crawl and Bethany asked, "so you going to start working on potty training next week?" We all laughed. I haven't thought too much about this little comment until the other day. Auntie Ceire has been helping out at the house with both girls, changing diapers is her speciality! It turns out that Auntie Ceire needs a minimum of 2 diapers for every "changing session." It never fails, Ainslee pees or poos either right before the new diaper goes on or immediately after. It has become quite comical to say the least. But the best diaper change happened when Ceire was changing Ainslee on the couch. Ainslee's head was all the way at one end of the couch, when Ceire was just about to put the new diaper under her, she had another bowel movement that had so much force behind it that it shot ALL THE WAY ACROSS THE COUCH! When I say all the way across the couch I mean like 5 FEET! And it hit everything in its path. Ceire and I about died from laughter, while Marcus was frantically trying to clean it up. We could not believe that such a little thing could project her poo such great distances. So i guess Bethany was correct in assuming we would start potty training, we have successfully trained her to pee and poo on Auntie Ceire.

Kaylee welcomes Ainslee Home

Kaylee welcomes Ainslee home for the first time

First Days Home

Ainslee has been so awesome the first few days! She really is a good baby, we have been blessed with having 2 good babies. That's not to say we haven't had any rough patches, they just are very minimal.

Kaylee has adjusted well, so far, to Ainslee being a part of the family. She has her moments were she wants to climb all over her, because looking is just not enough. Yesterday when she came home after being away all day, the first thing she did was look for Ainslee. When she wakes up from bedtime or nap, the first one she looks for is Ainslee, not mommy or daddy anymore......we got put on the back burner for now.

We even made it out of the house Sunday. We went into Collierville to my parents house for my dads birthday party. It was weird having to pack all of the baby supplies needed for an outing. Afterall I haven't packed a diaper bag in probably 6 months or so. I packed the bag according to what I would have packed for Kaylee, and turns out I didn't need anything but 1 diaper. With Kaylee I would have needed 4 diapers, 3 outfits, and an entire box of wipes.

Kaylee immediately brought her toys in to where Ainslee was, and starting "eating" and "drinking." She wanted to include Ainslee and give her bites.

More Pictures

Here are some of the pictures that my friend Bethany took in the early minutes after Ainslee was born.

(Above) Kaylee walks in with daddy to meet her new sister for the first time

(Below) The first shot of Kaylee as she walks in the room to greet her new sister

(Above) Kaylee reluctantly gives mommy kisses while keeping her eye on her new sister

(Below) Kaylee watches her new sister from a distance, I dont think she realizes that she will eventually be coming home with us

Introducing Ainslee Rae

Well we welcomed our second daughter, AINSLEE RAE, into the world at 12:34 pm this afternoon. She was 7lbs 4oz and 20 1/4 inches long. She came after a VERY quick and almost painless labor. She actually practically "fell" out, surprising us all at how early she arrived. It was such an enjoyable experience! We have been busy getting acquainted with her and enjoying all the visitors that came to welcome her. We actually didnt get too many pictures with our camera (my friend Bethany was pretty much in charge of that) so I am going to post a few of our pictures tonight and then more tomorrow. We are about to try and get a little rest now, so hopefully at some point tomorrow I can get some more pictures up.

Ainslee has been such a good baby so far. She is not quite the eater that Kaylee was, but she is learning. She does have the full head of hair like Kaylee did, but we all think that she looks TOTALLY different than Kaylee looked. It is amazing how much you forget from the 1st child to the 2nd, all their little noises and grunts, I love listening to her. Kaylee was a little nervous at her first introduction to her sister, but I think she will warm up to her more once we get home. Kaylee actually was even scared to sit with me or just give me a kiss. I think all of it was a little too overwhelming for her. Ok I feel like i am just rambling now, I am quite delirious at this point........more updates coming tomorrow

Last Day

Today marks my last day as "a mommy of 1"

A world of emotions have rocked my pregnant, hormonal head for the past couple of weeks now, and I am happy to say that the end has come for many of those thoughts/concerns/emotions and I am looking forward to an entirely new set of emotions that will begin tomorrow. I am so excited to start this new chapter in my life.

Today I have been busy getting the house ready to bring the baby home. I have done about 12 loads of laundry over the past 2 days, I think our 11 year old washer might just explode. I told Marcus that I want to come home to a clean house, that way I wont have to be bothered with any of that for a few days, and we can concentrate on the baby and enjoy life. So pretty much I have been doing chores all day, and now as i sit on the couch and type this post i am deafened by the silence i hear. I am the only one home! When is the next time that is going to happen? Kaylee is spending the night at my moms, Tahoe is at Ceire's, and Marcus went to school. So here I sit, for the last time in the foreseeable future with a few hours of peace and quiet.

Today I have also been busy answering the huge outpouring of phone calls, emails, and text messages that have flooded my phone. So many friends and relatives have called or written to check in on me and give there well wishes for tomorrow's big event. I am so surprised at all of support that we have, and the love that everyone has for our little baby! So many people are just as excited for this baby as we are, and that is so comforting to know! We will be sure to keep you all posted on tomorrows events, and also try and post pictures to the blog as soon as possible.

By this time tomorrow night I will be happily holding our new son or daughter. Everyone, please, feel free to come visit us at the hospital. Just let us know and we can give you our room number.

Here is the video from yesterday of myself and Kaylee jumping on a trampoline. She loves jumping and wanted me to get on with her. I felt like the baby just might fall out. Anyways it was fun for both of us and it looks like we are going to need to get a trampoline soon.

Note to self

Today we (Kaylee, Ceire, and myself) headed out of the house to run some errands, but I soon realized that i had forgotten a very important step in the "how to get out of the Martinez house safely" manual. Rule #1 is "ALWAYS MAKE SURE KAYLEE GOES TO THE POTTY BEFORE LEAVING THE HOUSE!"

We got about 5 miles away from the house when Kaylee says "pee pees mommy." As I look back she is holding her crotch. Immediately 4 things rushed through my head
1. I forgot to make sure she went to the bathroom before we left
2. she had had a LOT to drink prior to leaving the house
3. she was wearing panties (no diaper or pull-up)
4. I have no spare clothes for her in the car

I said to Ceire "where should i stop?" She and I both agreed that the bank across the street would be the 'cleanest option,' so into the bank Ceire goes with Kaylee. I am waiting in the car for about 1 minute when all of a sudden i see them coming back out of the bank, and a horrible look on Ceire's face. She gets back in the car and says that they would not let her use their bathroom because we were not customers of the bank. my immediate response was "are you kidding me? They wont let a 2 year old use the bathroom?" I was appalled to say the least. But i still had a problem to solve. So we headed to the bank next door. Their response was "sorry but our bathroom is located in a secure area." Back into the car they come. By this time it has become quite a comical situation. Kaylee is again saying "pee pees mommy," to which I replied, "Kaylee, baby, mommy is trying to find somewhere to take you, please just hold it in for a few more minutes." Then Kaylee says "home." Ceire and I died, she wanted to go home to use the bathroom. We decided instead to take her to a gas station down the street. I really like to try and avoid obviously dirty places to take my child to use the bathroom, but i had no other option at this point. As we pull into the parking lot we are greeted by a flashing sign that reads something like this "Come in and enjoy some of our famous livers and gizzards...." I about peed in my pants myself. That's how I knew that we were still in Fayette County! Are you kidding me? Anyways so Ceire rushes Kaylee into the bathroom, for the 3rd time, and successfully makes it in. I am pleased to say that Kaylee was able to hold it through this whole ordeal. But my gosh what a way to begin your day of errands.

Note to self-
Never ask to use a bathroom at a bank

Still hanging out

Apparently this baby does not want to come out!

Despite being 4 cm and 70% effaced (as of last Thursday). There are still no signs of labor. Oh and the babys head has dropped and is engaged in my pelvis, but still nothing! I was shocked to hear my doctor tell me that she has patients walking around for weeks who are 5cm and 6cm dilated.

I have come to the realization that this baby isnt coming until Thursday. I am going to be induced Thursday morning, so we will be the proud parents of 2 by Thursday afternoon.

I have decided that with all the problems that we are having with Kaylee sleeping that the longer I can just have her to take care of at night the better.

So for now I am content with spending my last few days with her and enjoying all her new accomplishments (a list of those will come later).

Sensing Change

I realize that change is inevitable, especially when dealing with a fast growing toddler. Some of the changes we have been experiencing with Kaylee have been different than i had expected. Kaylee has recently started having trouble going to bed at night. When I say "trouble" I mean that she acts completely normal up until we put her in the crib and leave the room; she BURSTS out into a horrific sounding cry. She is fine up until that moment, she will even tell you she is tired and wants to go to bed!

The first night it happened I was completely caught off guard, I wondered if she might be sick or not feeling well. After about an hour of trying to get her to go down, I decided to let her get out of bed. She kept saying she was hungry, so I fed her more dinner. She ended up eating an entire plate of food, on top of the food she had just eaten for dinner. So we played for a little while and when I saw that she could barely keep her eyes open, it was time to go to bed. And this time she went down without a fuss, like she usually does. This little event got me thinking what could be the problem, but since it was a one-time occurrence i didn't think too much about it.

Then a few nights later the exact same thing happened. Except this time she wasn't hungry, she wouldn't eat anything. I was baffled! Why has she done this now twice in less than a week? And on top of it she had spent the night with her Aunt Ceire and had no problems going to bed over there.

Then it happened a 3rd time. By this point i figured that this obviously has something to do with me (and possibly Marcus). I really do think that she is sensing some changes in the house, and possibly herself too, and that is the reason for this unexpected onset of separation anxiety when it comes to sleeping. The 3rd time this happened I decided to deal with it a different way than usual, I surely don't want her in the habit of thinking she can cry and get to stay up late........oh the problems that will cause after I have the baby. I decided to just rub her back, like i used to do when she was little, then slowly stop rubbing, and just stand by her crib. If she lifts her head off the bed i tell her to lay back down. This process only took about 15 minutes to work before she was completely past out and I was able to leave the room. But then I think to myself, "great, now I have to be in there for her to fall asleep, that doesn't seem feasible when I have another child."

So last night she stayed at my moms house and went down fine over there. This is the second time she has slept there since we have been having these problems at home. Both times at moms house she went down fine, NO crying or waking up. And like I said before she went down fine at Aunt Ceire's as well.

And then tonight......she does it for me AGAIN! She goes into the bed without a fuss and the second I leave the room, she crys as if someone has chopped off her arm. I decided to use the same tactic as last time, actually she asked for it this time. Usually she says, "up, ups, mommy" and wants me to pick her up, but this time she said "back, mommy," and laid down for me to rub her back. So I did, and it worked again. It is like she just needs a little extra attention and knows that that attention is about to be divided between her and the baby.

I thought these sort of changes would come AFTER the baby was born, not before! But then again there are other changes that are going on with herself that could be the reason for the problem as well. She has all of a sudden taken an interest in her vocabulary, up until this point she has had little interest. She actually attempts to say words now instead of just saying "ga-ga" and laughing. She learns around 2-6 new words everyday! I remember from my college child development classes (and reading online) that when children learn to talk there minds don't necessarily stop at bedtime. So I am thinking that that could be another factor.

Anyone have any ideas or insight in this matter? Suggestions or comments are very much welcomed! I would like to have this sorted out before the sleep deprivation sets in from the new baby. Crista.....that means you too! Call me with your advice and suggestions.....PLEASE!

The vote is in.......

Looks like the majority of you voted that we will be welcoming a little boy into the world soon. I have to admit that I think I have changed my mind I'm thinking this just might be a boy now. It is safe to say that it will definitely be a surprise either way.

Recently, I have been asking Kaylee what she thinks the baby is going to be, I really don't think she understands the question but the majority of the time she says it is going to be a boy too. Sometimes I ask her if she wants a "brother" or a "sister" and she looks at me like I am crazy.

I have my bags packed for the hospital, infant seat in the car, and everything ready at home to welcome this little one. I can't believe any day now we will be a family of 4!