Background: The Girls' Birth Stories

Im back.......and with LOTS of news........lets just say I REALLY need to think of a new name for this little neglected blog of mine


I wanted to post a little background info on my previous births before getting to "the most recent" amazingness i am so thankful I was able to experience. Don't get me wrong each one of them was super special in their own way. Let me just recap them all, as I remember them.

Kaylee my strong willed, mothering type, who can NOT wait to grow up. She was born at 5:15pm Sunday, January 7th, 2007 at GMH. She weighed 7lb 15.4oz. I added the .4 because the nurses actually argued as to whether or not they should list her at 7lb 15oz or bump her up to 8lb even. Whoever voted for the 7lb 15oz won, because that's what ended up being her official weight. She measured 20.75 inches long and pretty sure she scored 9 on both APGAR tests. I was induced with her somewhere between 5 and 7 days early; mostly because I was terrified of going into labor while teaching 18 4yr olds. I totally wish I would've know better. So we basically picked her birthday, told no one, showed up to the hospital in the wee hours of the morning, started the typical induction protocol and things started moving along rather quickly. I had decided I wanted to try going without the epidural, but when it came down to it I felt bullied by the nurses and sad to say Marcus scared me into it too. I think he was persuaded by the nurses as well. I dilated quickly the contractions were strong and close and when the nurse came in and said "you know it could be up to 2 hours before you get pain relief from the time you ask for your epidural". So I caved. Had my epidural shortly after and progressed even faster. I could only lay on my right side because if I ever tried to switch to my left side, move in the slightest way, Kaylee's heart rate would be affected and that didn't sit well with the nurses. So I was banished to my right side no matter how uncomfortable I was. And I also remember them trying to screw that fetal monitor thingy to her head, but thankfully she had so much hair they couldn't get it attached. What was I thinking? Oh I forgot to mention I had one of those "nurses in training" assigned to me too, which I didn't really have a problem with, they have to learn sometime right?? The reason why I mentioned that was because when it came time to push she had me sitting in a nearly upright position. My body was basically in a "V" shape. The baby could not descend any further due to this position so all my attempts at pushing, for like 1-2 hours mind you, were fruitless. I was beginning to tire, when I perked up and heard the doctors and nurses talking quietly by the door about a possible C-sec. I piped up rather loud and said "I will NOT have this baby by C-sec, so you might as well stop discussing that as an option". I tend to get really moody and hostile in labor. ;) shortly after that my head nurse came in to check on me and asked if I was comfortable and why I was in such an upright position. She suggested they lay the table back flat and BAM like 3 pushes later out pops Kaylee into our world! Why didn't I think of that? Total time in labor was about 9-10 hours and I required a few stitches for a minor tear. I was able to attempt nursing her almost immediately. Had a bit of trouble, knowing what I know now I had lots of trouble, and we were off to our postpartum room. She got all the routine procedures done to her accept that I asked that she be bathed in my room, not sure if it was her real first bath or not but they did bath her in my room. I had to be catheterized a few hours after having her because I had no feeling in my right leg, due to the epidural, so I was unable to get up and go to the bathroom by myself. It wasn't until the next day that I regained my mobility. So NOT cool! She went to the nursery each night and during the day when I requested it. We were discharged with a healthy baby 2 days later and our little family became a little bit bigger.

Ainslee my super sensitive, caring, thoughtful child was born at the same hospital at 12:34pm Thursday, February 12th, 2009. She weighed 7lb 4oz and was 20.25 inches long. Both her APGAR scores were also 9. I was also induced with her approximately 7 days early, it was originally scheduled for 15 days early due to our move to Hawaii. But when that fell through we moved the date back. I chose induction again primarily because I still felt such a high about Kaylee's birth, in my eyes it was perfect. (You know how they describe that feeling of your first high, that is never attainable again which is why people get addicted to drugs so easily. I wouldn't know firsthand but I clearly remember learning about it in school.) so for that reason only I chose to attempt to recreate the amazingness and induce again. Why didn't I realize that the amazingness I felt came from the fact that I brought home a beautiful, perfect baby girl. It wasn't the manner in which we chose to bring her home (make sense). Anyways, so again we picked the birthday, we told people about our induction this time, kaylee spent the night at my parents house the night before so we could go to the hospital early the next morning to start the routine all over again. Again I wanted to try and go without the epidural, especially with the complications I suffered after delivery last time. I asked if I could get up and walk around or squat or just try and manage my pain naturally. All my requests were denied. Finally, I was able to convince them to just let me get up and go to the bathroom. Labor progressed much faster this time and again I caved and got the epidural. I bet if they would've checked me prior to giving me the epi they wouldn't have given it, because I bet I was 9-10 cm dilated. She was born about 10 minutes after getting the epidural with little effort pushing. We were shocked and elated to hear we had another beautiful baby girl! I nursed her immediately and introduced her to her big sister shortly afterwards. Total time in labor was about 4-5 hours and I didn't require any stitches. During our second attempt at nursing, in delivery room, the nursery nurse came in and attempted to take her to the nursery for "evaluation and tests". I protested and said she was nursing and they could do the tests in my room when she was finished. They stated it was "hospital protocol" to take all babies to the nursery within 1 hour of birth." WHAT? So she came back at the one hour mark and physically took her off of my breast and whisked her away to the nursery for "testing".  To say I was pissed was an understatement. When they finally brought her back, not sure how much time had past, they informed me that her blood sugar was low and they needed to give her formula to raise it up. I thought my head was going to explode. I said "so you took her while she was nursing, and bring her back to me saying that she needs to eat because of her blood sugar?" Seriously? By this time she was so exhausted she wouldn't perk up enough to nurse. I was bullied more by the nurses about this whole blood sugar thing but thankfully I won and she was not given formula, at least to my knowledge. I asked if she could be bathed for the 1st time in my room, they again gave me trouble but finally agreed to the inconvenience. I didn't learn until days later that they actually bathed her for the 1st time in the nursery and then lied to me about it! I did allow her to go to the nursery at night but kept her in my room each day. Nursing came easier to me this time around. We were discharged 2 days later and our little family got a bit bigger.

Brynlee my OCD, impatient, game changer, but super lovable one came into our world at 6:54 am on Tuesday, December 13th, 2011. She weighed 8lb 10.6oz so they rounded her up to 8lb 11oz. She was 21 inches tall (but still think they measured wrong). I'm pretty sure I recall her scoring an 8 on one APGAR and 9 on the other. She is what I like to call my "unassisted hospital birth." I was adamant I didn't want to be induced, I didn't want to pick her birthday, I wanted what I set out for 5 years earlier when I was pregnant with kaylee. I deserved to labor and deliver how I wanted. This decision, I felt, was met with slight resistance from Marcus, as I don't think he could understand why I wanted to be in pain when I could have relief and why I wouldn't want to do the convenient thing and induce again. Thankfully he came to support my decisions.  I went into labor with her while Marcus was at work about 2:40ish that morning. Got up, cleaned some toilets, straightened my hair, called Marcus and my mom.....you can read her whole birth story here.  Basically this was more in line with what I had in mind when I pictured how I wanted originally to give birth. Well minus the trauma of it all. I wanted no interventions I wanted to be able to labor as my body dictated. And I didn't want them telling me what was "protocol". Again, I became hostile in labor when they attempted to do things I wasn't comfortable with, but for the most part I was pleased with this experience (again minus the trauma). I kept her by my side, literally, for the entire time we were in the hospital. I even had the nurses say to me when they came to check my blood pressure at all hours of the night, "you are going to put her back in her bassinet when you finish nursing....right???" Yeah sure whatever I need to say to make you go away and leave me alone. I struggled postpartum. I had issues I hadn't dealt with after my previous deliveries, and thankfully I was able to work through them in the weeks following her birth. She didn't have any of the typical "newborn protocol" done to her. I'm pretty sure all I let them do was the heel prick and the hearing screening. Nursing was super easy for me this time and we were discharged 2 days later.

In a nutshell those are the stories of my first 3 births as I recall them 7, 5, and 2 years later. Stay tuned for the most recent birth story.....

Kaylee getting Brynlee dressed

This is a funny video. I missed the funniest parts while I was trying to get the camera rolling. Everytime Kaylee would try to put her clothes on Brynlee would try and roll away!

Kaylee even picked out her outfit

I HAVE A KINDERGARTENER!!!

Kaylee has been begging me for weeks now to start her Kindergarten curriculum that has been sitting in a box in the school room for a couple of months now. Finally I gave in and decided I would let her start it because she was so determined to do so. That is the beauty of homeschool, if she wants to start school in June......so be it. If we want to take the month of September off.......we can! The first day went well and after the 2nd day I noticed that she had already completed ONE TENTH of her entire curriculum for Kindergarten. Now after less than a week she is ONE FIFTH of her way through!  If we continue on this pace (mind you I am not forcing her to do any of this, she comes to me throughout the day asking to do more schoolwork) she can finish Kindergarten and start 1st grade by this fall! Now dont get your feathers ruffled (the person I am referring to, you know who you are), Im not saying thats what I am going to do. im not exactly sure what I am going to do about this situation yet.

I knew when the curriculum arrived it was going to be easy for her. I even tossed around the idea of finding another curriculum. But a great friend and homeschooling expert advised me to stick with it even if it was too easy. I am glad I did! I think I will continue to use this curriculum throughout our homeschool experience. I love it and it is apparent that she loves it too. I love the fact that it is gentle and encouraging, I love how it is repetative and she knows what to expect. And I dont want to bounce around from curriculum to curriculum each year. I want to stick with what we start with (unless we hate it, but obviously we dont) and that way she is where she needs to be to move on to the next level. My fear is that she might be behind when/if we out her in school. Hopefully that will never be the case!

Kaylee has also been asking me to start the 1st grade math curriculum I purchased. The girl LOVES her math! YAY for that! So I am getting the teachers manual for that curriculum and we will be starting it soon, per her request.
Also, Kaylee has asked on numerous occasions about electricity. She says, and i quote, "mommy can you teach me about electricity in Kindergarten. I want to know all about it!" How can I NOT teach her about electricity when she is dying to learn about it! So I have ordered a science kit pertaining to electricity. She also seems super into blood and guts and that sort of thing so I bought her a science kit and a few books pertaining to that topic as well.



Now I have to decide what the heck Im going to do when she finishes Kindergarten this summer! Any ideas/suggestions???

Horse camp picture

I just found this picture they took of the campers during Kaylee's horse camp.

 It was too sweet not to share!

She is at the bottom left of the circle. She is covering her fave with her eyes and wearing a purple shirt.

Funny things kids say....

Kaylee:
When I dropped her off for her first day of horse camp I hadnt told her about the camp prior to that day. I didnt want there to be any problems with Ainslee feeling left out or Kaylee having trouble sleeping beforehand from being excited. Anyways so we were walking up and Kaylee kept asking questions about what was going to happen and what they were going to be doing. As I was saying good bye to her she says "Mommy I might get to touch a horse today!" Little did she know then that she would be riding one. And to think that she was SOOOO excited about the thought of even touching one!

Ainslee:
we were driving one day and she asks "Mommy where are we going?" I said we have to find somewhere I can park so I can nurse Brynlee. She then noticed the car in front of us was making the same turns as us and appeared to be going the same place as we were. Then she asked "Mommy is that car going to find somewhere to nurse their baby too?"

Kaylee:
One night we were out to eat dinner and we ordered fries. As Kaylee bit into her giant steak fry she looked inside of it. She leaned over to me and whispered "Mommy there are potatoes inside these fries!" and I said "YES Kaylee that is what fries are made out of." She immediately leaned over to Ainslee and said "Ainslee we are eating potatoes!"



There have been MANY more things they have said lately but I failed to remember them or write them down, so they are lost and gone forever, unless they ever say them again

1st Camp

Kaylee went to her first camp this summer. She has been to VBS, which I dont consider a camp, but it is sort of like camp. HA! anyways, I signed her up for a horse camp. I couldnt pass up the Groupon deal when it rolled through my email. It was $125 for a 5 days, 6 hours/day camp. I think she was a bit young for the camp, but I think she still enjoyed it. The days were SUPER long for her and she crashed hard every night. I really enjoyed the extra time with Ainslee and Brynlee too. While at camp she learned not only how to ride, but also about horse equipment and general info about the horses. Like I said she was a bit young for the camp (even though they allow 5 year olds) but one day she came home so excited that she got to take the horses' temperature she said "mommy I even got to stick the thermometer in its booty!" She can be so disturbing sometimes. One day they rode the horses in the water, and while I think she thought that was the coolest thing when we got her home and found TWO ticks on her she quickly began to DISlike the whole situation! Then after doing her laundry from that day I noticed tons of seed ticks on her socks and her shirt. I did not count them all but there had to be over 60 ticks on her clothing. DIS-GUSTING!!! And while she wasnt a fan of the long hot days, I wasnt a fan of the dirtiness! But we all made it through the week. Oh and on top of the "horse" stuff they did and the educational part of the camp they also threw in some crafts. One day they decorated horseshoes to bring home, one day they cut out pictures from magazines and made a wish list of horse things, one day they tye dyed shirts, and I cant remember what they did the other days.

The final day the parents were asked to come early to watch them "perform". My parents wanted to join us so Kaylee had a pretty big crowd. Before the riding began the campers showed us a dance they learned during their "down" time. You can tell where she got her dancing skills.....from her parents! (neither of us like to dance!) And you can also tell how incredibly exhausted she is! But it sure is funny!

Here she is riding her horse. The camp leaders told me that Kaylee always chose to ride the biggest horse they offered her. That didnt surprise me! Oh and she also learned how to trot at camp, which she was totally proud of. They gave the kids the option to show off their skills to the parents and Kaylee chose NOT to show her steering skills. This totally bummed me out. The counsellors said that she could in fact do the skill which made me a little happy, but sad she wouldnt show us. :(

As of right now I do NOT forsee horses in our future......THANK GOD!!!

Our birdhouse

I think I told you guys a few months ago my dad gave the girls a birdhouse he made with the children at Madonna Learning Center. Well I never got around to doing any lessons on birds like I wanted to, but they have gotten some lessons the ol' fashion way.......by experience!

Here is Ainslee checking out the eggs for the 1st time!

 Kaylee shows her emotions way different, but she was so excited. She was trying to wrap her brain around what she was looking at.

Here are the 3 tiny blue eggs. It was really hard to get a picture through the plexiglass

I know you can hardly tell, but there are 2 little birds in there

This shot seems to be a bit better. Im not quite sure why 2 of the eggs have hatched and the 3rd has not. I hope that baby bird is going to make it into the world safe and sound.

This one is ready to eat

This video reminds me of Brynlee (and the big girls too) when they are itty bitty newborns and they are trying to nurse. They look like blind little baby birds trying to find food from their mommy. It is so neat to witness this perfect slice of nature.

Zoo

I enrolled Kaylee in a homeschool class at the zoo a few weeks ago. She was more than ecstatic about this, and I was thrilled that she had a great time. Too bad I didnt get any pictures of her spider monkey she made, or her behavior chart, or even her on this day........but here are the shots I did get.

This is the first time since last year we've been able to ride the rides. Ainslee was SOOO excited about riding the train! And NO I'm not pregnant again! That's Brynlee in the sleepy wrap

Amma came with us too

We have to ride the cow, she nearly fell off this time

stopping to smell the flowers.......man I love this little girl!

over Spring Break when Johhny was home we went to the zoo. He and his girlfriend joined us.

Here they are on the bridge

It was so cute watching them walk and talk

This video was taken a little too late. Ainslee had been walking over the grates all day. She insisted on holding someones hand, and she was VERY cautious when standing on the grate. Each time she would walk ever so delicately and then jump off at the end. I tried to get it on video, but this time happened to be the time she wasnt as exaggerated, but it was still cute.......to me at least!

Kaylee's New Room

We I finally moved Kaylee up into her new room!
I removed all the office "stuff", and cleaned it out
I paint it
repaired parts of the wall thanks dad
I drug the bed rails out from the back of the tiny attic crawl space and set them up just to realize they dont go down to a full size. So i asked my mom if we could trade rails. She had a set just collecting dust in her attic.
I set up the new rails
Put the foundation together, its my old select comfort bed, so it is a solid foundation made of plastic, not a box spring
I fixed the zipper on the cover of the mattress, which included ripping it apart and resewing it, after watching a YouTube video......YouTube is awesome for stuff like that!
put the mattress together and inflated it
washed all her linens
hung the curtains my mom made for her
and am almost finished with her desk....so far i have painted 3 coats of white on the desk, and 3 coats of purple on the drawers, my mom has decorated it ever so awesomely with a quote and some flowers.........see pics below, I have put 3 coats of shellac on it to seal/protect it. And when doing a 4th and final coat on the top surface I accidentally grabbed the wrong paint brush and ruined it! UGH! Now there are little specs in the top coat of shellac because of lint/dust/paint residue from the darn paint brush! Oh well it is definitely a one of a kind piece, and I know Kaylee will just adore it!

Here she is coming into her room for the first time when I told her she was going to sleep in it.

She was so excited. Even though she has no furniture**, the desk isnt completed, and there are no decorations are not on the wall, she LOVED it anyways!

She walked around looking at everything. This is her beloved "fishy light" Amma gave her for her birthday. It is a source of power when it comes to naps and bedtime. If she doesnt do as she is told she gets her fishy light turned off. Which is a huge deal to her!

Climbing into bed for her first nights sleep

All tucked in

The first night went surprisingly well. The second night not so much......

 

This was the end of a nearly 2 hour fit she threw. i didnt catch the good stuff on camera. Since this night she has slept much better in her new room, but man that fit was C.R.A.Z.Y!!!

Now if Ainslee's bed would just arrive and then I can get her moved into her room and Brynlee in her crib. Brynlee is now spending her nights and naps in the bassinet in Kaylee's old room. We have gone 2 nights now with her out of my room. I have to ask, why are transitions always harder on the parents than the child? Part of me wants her back next to me, and part of me is thrilled to pieces that I have my room back. She is growing SO fast, but anyone with children knows thats the way the cookie crumbles!

notice the highlights on the word Imagination

**Kaylee is getting my grandmother's furniture. It is still at the furniture repairman getting a make over. More on that in another post.

A Little of this and a LOT of that

This post is ALL OVER THE PLACE! I had some pictures and videos I wanted to share so I just threw them all into this post! But I have to admit the reason why I've been able to get all these blog posts together is because of these first few pics.

My parents took Kaylee OUT OF TOWN with them! They are a bunch of travelling fools now that my dad is retired, they are always on the go! I mentioned on FB to my mom something about Kaylee wanting to join them on this trip and sure enough mom called later that day and told me they wanted to take her. What was even better was that the trip was A WEEK LONG! Dont get me wrong, I love my little girl, but in most cases (especially this one) absence makes the heart grow fonder. Here is what my big girl has been doing with Amma and Abba. Im sure there are WAY more things that have happened that I havent been told about ;)

on the steps of the castle at Ha Ha Tonka State park where they went hiking

riding a ride......because thats what Amma and Abba let her do

outside the Mexican restaurant where they ate

in the condo before bed, she has gotten to stay up WAY past her bedtime every night, I hope she doesnt think she can do that when she gets home

Amma did put her to work......she has to earn her keep 

playing a photo scavenger hunt inside on a rainy day, mom has even been squeezing in some of the school work i sent

there is a playground on the property, Kaylee has been a regular visitor

out to eat AGAIN

Then she got to drive the boat, and everyone survived

AND drink a ROOT BEER!!! This is a big deal since she never gets drinks like that!

Needless to say she isnt missing us too much. And we have had a productive week at home. It is amazing how much of a difference one child makes when taken out of the mix. I am ever so thankful and grateful to my parents for this opportunity not only for me but more importantly for her! She is making memories that will last a lifetime and that is just plain awesome!

 Ainslee's 1st swim of the year, the water was FREEZING cold! But she still tried to talk me into getting in with her.

The girls saying the "Our Father"

I converted Ainslee's crib into a day bed. She wasnt too thrilled with it at first. She demanded her crib back, but overall it was a pretty smooth transition. And she now sleeps in the big girl bed at Amma's house. We are still waiting on her's to arrive so I can move her into her new room.

Kaylee came down from playing in the playroom one day with this get-up on. She claimed she was "wearing" her baby, and she made this wrap. I did not approve of the strap tied around the baby's neck, I have no idea where she got that idea.

Brynlee chillaxin' in the wagon on a walk

We've been clothing diapering around here! And LOVING it! It started when I borrowed a few diapers from a friend and I fell in love, so we bought some. So we are officially cloth diapering. Im so thrilled that Marcus is totally on board with the whole diapering thing too. I am just regretting not going through with it when Ainslee was little like I wanted to.

Could she be any cuter/fatter? 

I always knew about sunning diapers, but Ive obviously never tried it until now! Do you know the power of the sun? Holy Crap it is amazing how it just zaps those stains right out of the diapers!

While on the diapering subject, I might as well update you on the potty front. She goes on the potty EVERYDAY! Some days she doesnt poop in her diapers at all. I would like to think that she doesnt like to poo in her diaper, I mean who does? But she will tell me when she needs to go, and if I happen to miss her cue she will only go a little in her diaper and then finish in the potty. She gets so proud of herself when she goes. Here she is on the throne in all her glory

This is evidence of our first attempt at a new hairdo. Ainslee took it upon herself to cut this chunk of hair off her sister's head. This wasnt even all the hair

And this happened 10 minutes after the hair cutting incident

can you see the huge dent in the wall? That was from Kaylee's head hitting it! 

I went to the homeschool conference a few weeks ago. This is the stack of paperwork I came home with on the 1st day. It was so fun and informative, and I was SO happy I went. A lot has happened in my head over the past few weeks. I have made up my mind to change a lot of things in my life and approach things differently. And I have to say that the changes have made a huge impact on our family. It has been nice! 

oh and Kaylee's curriculum arrived in the mail yesterday! I am so excited about the coming year. While at the conference I also decided to not be so consumed by all the hype that can come with homeschooling. I am not going to try and cram 5 subjects and a foreign language down her throat when she is 5 years old. We are taking it slow and easy and just taking time to be a kid and grow as a family. I dont think that this approach will put her behind in any way should we eventually put her in school. But the more I delve into this whole lifestyle Im beginning to become more open to the idea of continuing on the homeschool path longer than originally planned. Im not saying for sure what will happen in the future but i know that for now i have an open mind.

Kaylee's New Room - phase one

Kaylee was scheduled to move upstairs by now, but my plans have not quite gone as planned! The walls are just now getting painted, i wanted to that have completed before Brynlee was born. And as I am painting the walls I am noticing problems with the dry wall. My dad has already been over three times to repair various spots, and I think he still has to come back a third time to finish up........what in the HELL would I ever do without the help and support from my parents?

Here are a few shots of the project so far.....

I bought and hung the blackout curtains that will hang behind her fancy schmancy curtains my mom is in the process of making right now. Once again what would I do without my parents?

Here is a shot of the color Purple Ice

This is one reason why I am NOT a professional painter!

Here is the dry wall repair. My dad told me I needed to put down an oil based primer (I cant remember the reason why, something about moisture) and he had some left over from his last project so I just used that.

I still have to finish cutting in, then 2 coats with the roller. We are planning on purchasing her furniture with our tax return money and then she is moving up there. At first i was really nervous about moving her up there but now I CANT WAIT!!! The room she is currently in is right by the living room. She lays there each night and watches and listens to what we are doing. She trys not to fall asleep until we go to bed. She gets out of her bed just to see what we are doing. And it is so frustrating! When she goes upstairs I have grand plans of saying good night to her, sending her up, and then still being able to monitor her using the new fancy monitor I got; I can talk to her and watch her every move with it. I hope that her moving upstairs without distractions will help her sleep better at night. But somehow I think i am a bit crazy for having such high expectations......a girl can dream cant she?!?