Ainsley Month 11 and 12

Sure, I didn't do month 11 and we're almost to month 13, but it's been a busy couple of months, so bear with me.

It seems like around this age, everything starts changing fast. You wait, and wait, and wait for milestones, and the seem so few and far between, and then BAM, all of a sudden they seem to happen every other day.

Over the past few months, Ainsley has started sitting up from lying down, waving, saying "bah bah" for bye bye, pointing at things she wants, standing all over the place (including in her crib), cruising along, walking with help, and babbling her head off (we've heard attempts at yellow, doggy, moo, moon, knees, boo, Pippin/puppy, and even pumpkin!) She makes mmmm noises when eating something yummy and says bye bye and hi, as long as you don't expect it on command. Daycare is getting better. She's still not napping nearly as much as at home (3 hours at home vs 1 maybe at daycare) but she's not screaming bloody murder when I drop her off either.

We've also got a climber on our hands. G was never that interested in climbing anywhere, but even though she can't walk, she hoists herself up onto the back of the couch, tries to climb on the windowsill, and treats me and James as a jungle gym. I have a feeling baby proofing will need to be a bit different with this one than with G.

We're still nursing! She's pretty good about solids, but we still nurse a few times a day. I've decided I'm going to let her decide when she's done, but I'm also not going to continue pumping or using fenugreek or worry about supply. So once she's done with the freezer supply of my milk, we'll switch to cow's milk for daycare and I'll nurse when we're together til she decides she's done.

She and G have been getting into some sibling rivalry too. Mostly about toys, since she always wants what G is playing with, and he likes her toys too. This ends with her "scratching" or trying to bite him, or just screeching at him. Then he tattles (no, really), or screeches back at her. Sometimes he knocks her over, but we're working on all that. I'm sure it'll get worse in some ways and better in others as they grow up, but we're trying to teach them how to behave while still letting them be little.

Here are the pictures from the last few months:

11 months

Bathtime fun!
(Photoshop courtesy of Amanda, since I had two photos, one good of A and one good of G and she spliced them together!)

12 months!!

My adorable 1 year old!

The end result of the cake!

Quick mama update:
-I've lost all the baby weight, plus 20-25 lbs more, bringing me back down to my normal, pre-SD weight. Usually this would be awesome, but it's mostly because I don't feel like eating because of all the stomach issues I'm having.
-My PPD is being handled pretty well between medicine and therapy, which has been hugely helpful to me.
-Hips and the diastasis rectii are still an issue, but hopefully at some point I'll find something that actually works. For now, the PT, chiropractors, etc I've seen haven't really been much help.
-I'm still job hunting. I've had a few interviews, but nothing that has gone farther than that.
-I think I'm up to thinking I've got this mama thing down about half the time now, which is pretty good. At least, the kids seem relatively happy and I get love from them, which always makes me smile. <3

Ainsley Month 10

June 24-July 23

-She is 15 lbs 15 oz, 27" long
-No common food allergies! She's had all the most common allergenic foods as of this month: peanut butter, eggs, strawberries, and shellfish (shrimp) with no reactions
-She babbles all the time!
-Teeth! Up to 4 now

Her naps have been a little off lately. Even though shes nowhere close to needing only one nap, she's been consolidating like crazy, often taking one monster 3 hour nap in the middle of the day instead of two naps. It drives me nuts, but our schedule while at camp is making it really difficult to find a decent sleep schedule for her. She also refuses to nap anywhere but her crib/pack n play, so I've become a bit of a hermit lately, or else I end up with a crabby babe.

She's saying stuff! While I was skyping with a friend I jokingly said "Say Angela!," and she fully said "an he ha!" I know that might not sound amazing to most, but it was so cool seeing her try to imitate our words. She also said "pup pup" when I was pointing out the puppies to her and she's said "baba" when we've told her to say "bye bye!" The mama and dada are getting more distinct too and she seems to know that they mean us!

It took nearly two weeks, but her two top front teeth have broken the surface! They're still coming in all the way but at least they're through. I took her in for a routine blood draw to test for anemia, and she didn't make a single peep as they put the needle in and found a vein, just looked me them and at me. She must have a pretty high pain tolerance.

She's had a lot of firsts lately. Her first day at daycare was on the 21st, and she only drank one ounce of milk. Her second day she didn't drink any milk. She hasn't slept well there either. We'll give her a few more weeks, but if it's still causing more stress than it's saving, we'll pull her out. She clapped, or rather just brought her hands together, but she's so exciting about it! Then a few days later, I picked her up from daycare, said "Say goodbye to teacher" and she waved! Up and down with her hand. It was adorable. So now she waves and claps on and off.

She has become one of the most happy babies I've ever seen. She still has her moments, but overall, she is just such a happy, content baby. She enjoys being held, but also enjoys crawling around on the floor (scooting really) and getting into anything we don't want her messing with. It'll be good to get back to our house when camp is over. It'll be  bit of a hassle to move back in, but I think everyone will be much happier; G will have all his toys, which will feel like new toys to him, and Ainsley will love exploring a new place. (I will enjoy having tv, internet, and cooking again).

When did she get so big?

Hardly ever holds still

Ainsley Month 9

May 24-June 23

-Said Dada May 24
-Spent her first day in the church nursery on June 7
-Pulled up on her own on June 23

She's continuing to grow, grow, grow! This girl loves music! She dances in her seat during meals at camp, and smiles and laughs when the music plays. At church, she held herself up on her own on the pew and danced to the music that was being played behind us.

She's continuing to eat well, whatever she can feed herself, and pieces of what we're eating too. A lot of carrots and cucumbers from the salad bar at camp. She had ice cream for the first time at the beach when James' parents visited. She really, really loved it, and Jimmy had a great time sharing his ice cream with her. (It was also my first time getting ice cream from an ice cream truck! So I can check that off my bucket list. No joke.)

She's still army crawling around, but will also scoot on her butt, much like G did. She can't move from sitting to her tummy, or from her tummy to sitting on her own yet. The counselors at camp love to hold her, but she's showing extreme separation anxiety, so we're working on it. As long as she can't see me, she seems to do alright, but if she catches sight of me, it's all over.

One day she saw her reflection in the glass door of the oven. She started waving her arms and smiling and talking at it. She had such a blast, acting like she'd made a new friend. It was great! I guess I've gotta find her some playdates soon!

Cutie!

Look at those faces!

Ainsley Month 8

April 24-May 23

-New foods: pickles, eggs, blueberries, meatball, egg noodles, macaroni and cheese, chicken, grapes, strawberries, sweet potato, chocolate cake. This girl LOVES to eat!

-First word! On May 8 she said "mama!"

On May 14, Ainsley spent her first night in the crib in her room, and she slept 11.5 hours straight! We moved her after she went from sleeping through the night to waking up 3+times a night and nursing wasn't helping her fall asleep anymore. I think she was waking up because she could hear us moving around (or more likely snoring), and then could see me right next to her. If she couldn't see me, she'd go back to sleep. So I guess we've officially moved to the crib. It's a little sad, but we've ALL been sleeping much better, and her naps have improved to. I give partial credit to the zipadeezip, which is an amazing product for transitioning from the swaddle (even though mine is a bit big for her.) She was getting her feet stuck in between the crib slats, so we bought those mesh, breathable bumpers, and it's seemed to really help. They're pretty cute too, since they have safari animal scenes on them, which goes with her animal/giraffe demi-theme.

She's started really army crawling on her belly and can get pretty far,especially when she's going after one of G's toys. She's also starting to realize cause and effect with her noisy toys. She especially loves the music ones and will bounce around when they play music.

She adores feeding herself. She's not much for purees, so we've been steadily pursuing the baby led weaning path for her. If I manage to get food into her mouth, she spits it right out again until she feeds it to herself. Purees have much the same reaction, with much more mess. G has always hated being messy, but Ainsley couldn't care less and can make an astounding amount of mess with her food. It's adorable. And aggravating sometimes since she's not too fond of the cleaning up process

Getting a bit big for these pjs!

One of the best parts of having a girl is the clothes!! Thanks, Grammy for the dress!

Like I said, loves to make a mess :)

Disneyland

When I tell people I want to go to Disneyland or DisneyWorld, they always tell me to wait until my kids are older. If you have told me this, I'll try to put it gently: this is when I want to slap you. My kids aren't the reason I want to go to Disney. I want to go to Disney for ME. I love Disney. I love the fantasy, the movies, the songs, the rides, the food. So when my parents suggested Disneyland while we were in California I jumped! OF COURSE.

It was our second trip to Disney with kids. Our first had been right before G's first birthday, and had been a success, in my opinion. We met Mickey, went on a few rides, saw World of Colour, and I even rode my favourite ride (Indiana Jones). This trip went even smoother despite the addition of a second child. Ainsley was only 6 months when we went, so she was even more flummoxed by the sounds and sights than G had been the last time. But G. Oh G was old enough to enjoy himself this time. It was SO much fun to see him enjoying the rides and meeting characters and exploring.

Here's what we did:
-Realized we had no SD card in the camera and were held hostage for one on Main St
-Grabbed pins!
-Went to the firehouse and played on the horse drawn fire engine
-Rode the train to Toon Town (no room left on the Lille Belle car) This was by far G's favourite part. He was so excited to ride on the train and hear it whistle. It was so fun to see his face light up.
-Met Pluto. G loved getting hugs from Pluto.
-Met Mickey. G enjoyed exploring the house while we waited in line, but got really shy when actually confronted with Mickey.
-Played in Toon Town, exploring all the vehicles and the jail.
-Headed to the teacups, which he had a BLAST on. James and I (with Ainsley strapped to me) rode in a teacup with G, while my parents were in the neighbouring one. G loved looking for them and spinning around and around. PS: I am super proud of myself for managing to nurse A in the ergo while we were in line.
-Rode the carousel, which was closed last time. G had fun, and my dad wore Ainsley, though I'm pretty sure she slept through her first carousel ride.
-Stopped for lunch, and G crashed in the stroller. So we had a grilled cheese that wasn't eaten, but oh my gosh, he was so cute because he just curled up in the stroller to sleep.
-Went on Dumbo. I stayed off the ride; 5 people doesn't split up well. James rode with G, and my parents rode together, with Dad carrying A.
-Met up with my little Joy and her boyfriend and another friend of theirs as we stopped for snack since someone was hungry. Not surprising, since he didn't eat lunch. We got him a hot dog and I got my delicious cream-cheese filled pretzel. YUM.
-We all rode the train to Toontown again, and went on Small World. G seemed mesmerized by it, but I enjoyed riding it with him.
-Joy and her friends had to go afterwards, though we saw part of  the new parade. G enjoyed seeing Donald Duck.
-We decided to head toward Jungle Cruise, which was RIDICULOUSLY busy! It took forever to get through, but everyone seemed to enjoy it. G obviously didn't get the jokes, but he did seem to enjoy the boat ride, the people laughing, and the surprises (like the hippos)
This is where my mind goes fuzzy on what happened when.
-We went on Pirates of the Caribbean. We waited for a front row seat for G. Incidentally, I was wearing A and we found out that when I wear her, we count as two people, so James and my Dad sat with G in the front and my mom and I were behind them. And we all got splashed. G seemed to enjoy it, though he was a smidge freaked out by the drops. James said he grabbed on to him, but he wasn't scared enough to say anything, and seemed to enjoy them by the end.
-We ended up in Downtown Disney for dinner at the cajun place. Definitely not where I thought we were eating, but the shrimp and grits were good. And yes, I traveled halfway across the country only to eat traditionally Southern food. I recognize the irony.
-We were planning on leaving after dinner, but G fell asleep in the stroller again, and A was perfectly happy to be sleeping on my Dad's chest, so we decided to take advantage of that, and James and I got to ride on Indiana Jones, and the new Star Wars, which was awesome!
-We headed home on the bus, which G loved :)

Firetruck

Train time!

Pluto hugs

Pluto

He was totally shy in front of Mickey

In front of the castle

Waving at Daddy

Being silly

Hugs

Train again! With his "looking eyes" on

Worn out

Ainsley Month 7

March 24-April 23

-14 lb, 8 oz, 25" long

-Ditched the swaddle (waaah!)

-Still in the cosleeper next to mommy

-Absolutely adores her big brother. He can always get her to smile (or calm down)

-Her first real giggle from nuzzling her cheek with my nose

-Attempting to crawl!

-Teeth. I forgot how much teething sucks

-Everything she can grab goes in her mouth. Everything

-Loves her jumper! She has a blast jumping up and down and playing with the toys. Gives my arms a break!

Ainsley rolled over swaddled the very day she turned 6 months (3/24). This meant we had to ditch the swaddle, which has resulted in a lot of hit or miss sleep lately. She's sleeping pretty regularly in a sleep sack or her zipadeezip (though that's a bit big and we've only used it for naps). 

She's also becoming way more mobile: she'll get up on her hands and knees and rock back and forth, a definite precursor to crawling (which G never did). She also pulled herself to "standing" with her belly supported on the arm of the couch--what?! She definitely gets frustrated when she wants to get somewhere and can't.

Since she's done much better with feeding herself, we're using a modified baby-led weaning approach. and being very inconsistent. Poor second child. Yogurt gets put right on the tray for her to play in, and she has a little silicone feeder musher thing that seems to work pretty well. She's had carrots, yogurt, red bell pepper puree, avocados, cucumber, and some lettuce with balsamic vinaigrette she thieved off my plate one night. You've really got to watch your food, because she'll lunge for it. She'll also just watch you eat if she's not eating; it's kinda creepy. She's got two teeth now, so it's on (it being teething crankiness). 

We're still experimenting with babywearing. She usually ends up in the ergo because it's the fastest and what I'm most proficient with. I love her ring sling, but she's kicking all the time, and manages to pop her butt out of it quickly. I also can't wait to try out the mesh water wrap I got for this summer, so I can take G swimming at camp. I have a woven wrap I borrowed to practice with this month, and I fell in love with a beautiful mei tai I borrowed. For now, I'll just keep drooling over pretty ways to carry her until I make a decision on what "one last thing" (-James) to get.

Ainsley Month 6

February 24-March 23

-First bottle; Nuk brand finally worked (like her pacifier)

-Going down awake, but drowsy. Sleep trained halfway through last month to avoid a maternal meltdown

-First food this month: oatmeal. Verdict: ugh

-Loves to talk, smile, and flirt (smile, then hide her face, the look up and smile again)

-Car rides are going much better

-Started shaking her head back and forth

-Food: Baby mum mum, french fry. She does well if she can hold the food and "feed" herself

-First airplane ride

-First trip to Disneyland

-Loves swings!

Ainsley Month 5

January 24-February 23

-13 lb, 8 oz
-Rolled back to tummy
-Reaches for toys
-Laughed/squealed for the first time!!
-Tries to do sit ups when she's lying on her back
-Sat up unassisted for a few seconds
-First double bath with G
-Plays on her playmat for tummy time, but always rolls to her back
-Trying to grab food off our plates
-Felt tooth buds! Eek!

Ainsley Month 4

December 24-January 23

-12 lb, 4 oz, 24.5" long
-loves to coo and talk, all the time
-better at being put down (we're practicing)
-can grab toys and move/shake them
-reaches for things
-distracted nursing sucks
-tummy time is going better
-teething? lots of chewing and drool
-double swaddling has been a life saver: the miracle blanket, then a muslin swaddle blanket over that
-first time leaving her with a non family member on January 20
-wakes up in the morning and stretches as I unswaddle her, then gives me the biggest grin
-knows the sound of my nursing cami unhooking and what it means
-stops smiling when the camera comes out
-loves her paci/schnulli now

EYES. EARS.

4 months 

Ainsley Month 3

 November 24-December 23

-10 lb 10 oz on 12/19
-11 lb even on 12/22
-is starting to nurse without a shield (HALLELUJAH!!!!!)
-loves to chew on her fingers, and mommy's too
-can bring her hands together, and to her mouth
-is trying to sit up
-has crazy good head/neck control

-has full gurgling conversations and smiles back at people

-likes to "stand up" (bears weight on her legs)

-rolled belly to back!!

Merry Christmas! 

Ainsley Month 2

 2 months! 10/24/14-11/2314

-9 lbs, 15 oz, 22.5" long
-Getting a little bit better in the car
-Loves the ring sling!
-Gurgles and big smiles
-Swaddled to sleep; usually midnight to ~9
-Hates being put down; she is a velcro baby!
-Has the longest, curliest eyelashes I've ever seen
-Eczema on her hears, baby acne on her cheeks/temples/chin

Chillin'

Wha' 'choo lookin' at?

Ainsley Month 1

Ainsley's first month! 9/24/14-10/23/14

-8 lbs, 9 oz (almost a full pound gained since birth!)

-Loves: having a clean diaper, lying on mommy's chest, nursing, being held like a monkey on daddy's arm, the swing, the ceiling fan, going to "baby world," sticking out her tongue (she looks like a dinosaur from Land Before Time when she does this!)

-Hates: changing clothes, the process of diaper changes, being dirty/wet, pacifiers, the cosleeper/bassinet, car rides, tummy time

-Can: grunt/coo, go through 15 diapers a day hold her head up during tummy time, roll onto her side, smile? (maybe just gas, but it's cute!)

-Eyes: dark blue

-Hair: auburn

-Clothing size: newborn

Ainsley's Birth Story

I put the start of labour at 9 am, since that's when I started to think that these contractions might not be just Braxton-Hicks. At 10 am, I was 4 cm dilated and by the time I got into labour and delivery, I was at 5 cm. This was when I realized that my hospital bag was nicely packed in my closet at home. And that since James and I both had our keys with us, there was no way for my parents to get to the hospital. Luckily, we have an amazing contractor, and Dan came to pick up keys, twice, since James gave him the wrong keys the first time! The anesthesiologist took over an hour to arrive, despite their original assurance that he would be there within 20 minutes. Needless to say, I was a little frustrated by this, which was exacerbated by the nurse checking me right before and saying "Oh, you're at 8 cm, no wonder you're in pain!" Really, lady? My frustration turned to anger when they made James leave the room while they started the epidural. So instead of leaning on my husband's arms and having him talk and love me through my anxiety about the needle I was leaning on a nurse I'd never met. 

My parents arrived after that with my hospital bag, but Mom had to leave to pick up G pretty quickly. Dad stayed until Dr Shoemaker came in to check me, when I kicked him out. I was at 10 cm, but my water hadn't broken yet, so he broke it for me. I was incredibly shocked at the results, because I wasn't really sure how he would break it, or what the result would be. Embarrassing at the time, hilarious in hindsight, it was very much like the movies and the doctor had to change his scrubs (and I hope his beeper was waterproof). James was out of the room for a few minutes (getting my dad keys and showing him to the car), so he missed the first push. Dr Shoemaker was there and James came in right after. I pushed again, and the doctor said he had to do an episiotimy (if you think you might ever want to birth children, don't Google this!!) I wasn't too hot on the idea, but he explained that I was going to tear again, and along the same line I tore last time, which would result in more painful scar tissue after I healed unless he did an episiotimy. I consented, and on my third push, Ainsley Grace Lawrence was born! We hadn't even had time to put on music!

Ainsley Grace Lawrence was born Wednesday, September 24, 2014 at 12:45 pm, less than 4 hours after labour started. She weighed 7 lbs 10 oz, and was 19.25" long.

I wanted to wait to cut the cord until it stopped pulsing this time, and they laid her on my chest while we waited. James cut the cord and she pooped on me. She had a spike in heartrate and temperature, as well as some trouble breathing. It turns out there was a little meconium in the amniotic fluid, and she inhaled a little, causing some mucus in her nose/lungs as she coughed it up. They asked me to wait on feeding her until she was breathing easier, and I asked to hold her skin to skin to help her temperature. Within a half hour, her temperature had normalized and I got the ok to feed her, because she seemed incredibly hungry. She latched on immediately and nursed on both sides for 30 minutes each!  As soon as she ate, her breathing and heart rate normalized.

As soon as G woke up from his nap, Mom brought him to the hospital. He wasn't too interested in the baby, though he did give her a kiss. He wanted to sit on the hospital bed and watch "TB" and play with his new puzzle, a gift "from the baby."

Differences this time:

-3 hr 45 min vs 12+ hr

-3 pushes vs 2 hrs pushing

-The epidural kicked in within 1 contraction instead of taking 25 minutes

-I was still able to move my legs this time

-Contractions with G were front and center, but with A, they started in front and as the contraction subsided, my back would ache indescribably

-Though possibly more painful than G's contractions, I wasn't screaming myself hoarse with each contraction

-The shaking was much more pronounced this time, though that might have been because it took so long to get the epidural. In fact, I could tell when I was having a contraction because it was the only time I stopped shaking.

-The recovery was easier and I wasn't half as sore. I had more energy and wasn't as out of it. I can remember so much more about her birth than about G's.

-I didn't have to pump at the hospital at all and she was an amazing nurser!

Quick loose end points:

-She only lost 5 oz of her birth weight, and had gained it all back by her first appointment, when she was only 6 days old!

-Dad broke his foot just by walking. He said he heard a snap, but he didn't tell anyone for three hours, because "[I'd] just had a baby!"

-They did save my placenta, and my parents took it home that night. I came home from the hospital just as the encapsulation lady was finishing up. I got 194 capsules!

-The hospital and nursery protocols weren't ideal, especially compared to St. Joseph's, but I don't really feel like rehashing that. Suffice it to say they didn't bring me dinner that first night and they kept A in the nursery way too long, and she was beyond way too hungry when they finally brought her back.

Daddy and his little girl

Mommy gets a snuggle before leaving the hospital

With Daddy's toy, sleeping peacefully