Ainslie’s 1st Easter April 12, 2009

Last week we took Ainslie to the mall to have her picture taken with the Easter Bunny. I know it is a little bit creepy (okay, it’s a lot creepy), but seeing as it’s her first Easter we thought it would be cute to have a photo of her as a tiny little baby in the arms of a giant rabbit. She slept through the whole experience so don’t worry, she isn’t scarred for life!

Today we got her dressed up in a cute little outfit and headed down to the Marietta Square. It was a GORGEOUS day and we enjoyed walking around the square and window shopping. I even took a tiny break from my baby weight diet to enjoy an ice cream cone with Eddie. I figured that since I only have 5 more pounds to lose until I get back to my pre-pregnancy weight then it wouldn’t kill me to have a little treat. And boy was it good! I had chocolate peanut butter cup and Eddie had pistachio.

Afterward we set up the tripod and took some Easter family portraits at the gazebo in the middle of the square. I only got a few shots before the battery on my camera died. Poor planning on my part, but I think these two turned out pretty well so it’s OK!

After we left the square, we went for a nice drive through the countryside and then when we got home Ainslie had a surprise from the Easter Bunny waiting for her. She got three board books (one of them is my favorite – Guess How Much I Love You) and a snuggly bunny rabbit that plays lullabies.  She was absolutely thrilled… LOL

No really, it had been a long day for her and these photos were taken right in the middle of her evening “gas attack.” Yep, she has been a VERY gassy baby and she screams whenever she passes gas (usually it’s worse at night). Her doctor thinks it’s Acid Reflux, but I think it might be just good old fashioned Colic. Maybe it’s both… She started out on Zantac and that did absolutely nothing for her so the doctor added in Reglan, which I found out is a very bad drug so I took her off of it several days later. After a nurse at my OB’s office recommend Prevacid (it worked wonders for her baby), we decided to try that. She’s been on it for 4 days now and last night was the first time that she slept through the night. Five hours of sleep was heavenly! She’s also been less colicky the last few nights (cried for 5 hours straight on Thursday, but only for about 30-45 minutes Friday, Saturday, and Sunday) so our fingers are crossed that Prevacid will be our wonder drug. Anyway, I am totally rambling…

Here are the rest of her Easter pictures…

And I have some other random pictures to share before I sign off. These ones were taken on Friday night when we were hiding in our tornado “safe spot” which is a little walk-in closet in our downstairs guest bedroom. We had some really severe weather pass through on Friday evening and when the tornado sirens went off we headed to our safe spot for about an hour. No damage was done and we just ended up with some nasty lightning and hail. Ainslie had no clue what was going on and enjoyed looking at all of our junk in the closet!

And I have some cute doggie photos. Tana and Dexter are just in love with Ainslie. Whenever she cries they get very concerned and want to lick her.

Dexter absolutely adores her and wants to be with her ALL of the time (and sometimes on top of her as you will see in the next pictures).

And finally these ones were taken this past week toward the end of a “gas attack.” On this night the only thing that would calm her down was a pacifier and snuggle time with Mommy. It really seems like sucking on something, whether her pacifier, a bottle, or even her fingers or shirt helps her focus and get the gas out. Poor thing, we’ve tried everything we can think of (and that the doctor recommended) – switching from breastmilk to a special hypoallergenic formula, Mylecon Drops, herbal remedies like Colic Calm, rubbing her tummy. Nothing seems to help her… Hopefully she will just outgrow it soon because it is hard to see her so upset.

On Friday my baby girl will be 8 weeks old! It’s incredible to believe that she was born almost two months ago. We love her so much and can’t even begin to imagine our lives without her. She is such a sweet little angel! The following week she will have her two month appointment with the pediatrician and we are anxious to see how much she has grown.

That’s about it for me, but I hope that everyone had a very happy Easter and that you were able to spend it with your loved ones! We missed having Grandma and Grandpa and Uncle Neal with us, but we will see them soon in July!

Can’t Believe… April 4, 2009

I can’t believe that my beautiful little girl is already SIX weeks old! Where is the time going?! I wish I had a remote control for my life because I would definitely be using that pause button!

The last six weeks have been a whirlwind. I don’t even know where the time goes, but it is speeding by. Ainslie has definitely done a lot of growing and changing. She is awake a lot more and is way more alert than she was in her earlier days. In the beginning, she slept pretty much all the time and we were lucky if she even opened her eyes at all. Now at six weeks old, she has her eyes open a lot. Yesterday she was awake for most of the day. We had such a fun time talking and playing. She’s also started smiling which is just the cutest thing in the world!

One Week Old

Two Weeks Old

Three Weeks Old

Four Weeks Old

Five Weeks Old

Six Weeks Old

Visit from Grandma & Grandpa April 3, 2009

We were so lucky to have my parents here to help out with the new baby. My mom arrived when Ainslie was 2 weeks old and we were so glad to see her. She stayed with us for 18 days and was so very helpful. She helped us out around the house and watched Ainslie so that we could take naps. Having her here was great!

Mom and Ainslie really bonded and I know that it was really difficult for her to leave at the end of her visit. Luckily, we will be visiting my parents in Montana this July and in the meantime we are sending her lots of photos.

Toward the end of my mom’s visit, my dad flew here to join all of us. He was here for five days and was also very helpful around the house – He is such an awesome Mr. Fix-it! Thankfully the weather cooperated and we were able to take walks around the neighborhood, play in the yard, and even take a picnic at the park.

It was a little difficult adjusting after Grandma and Grandpa went back to Montana, but it was so nice to have them here during the most difficult part of the newborn period.  Thanks for the help Mom and Dad!

Home Sweet Home March 4, 2009

1st Night @ Home…

We arrived home from the hospital this evening and settled in for our first night at home with baby Ainslie. We tried to watch a little TV before bedtime and took turns snuggling skin-to-skin with the baby. I am still in a lot of pain after my c-section and getting in and out of our bed at home has been so painful. We didn’t get much sleep the first night, which is to be expected since we have to wake Ainslie every 3 hours to eat. She is a very good baby and doesn’t cry very often. All she does is sleep and eat!

1st Day @ Home

Our first day at home started with a visit to Ainslie’s new pediatrician, Dr. Clements. At birth, Ainslie weighed 6 lbs, 7 oz. At her lowest, she weighed 6 lbs, 1 oz on the 3rd day of her life. On the day of her discharge, she weighed 6 lbs, 2 oz and we were excited to see that she was up to 6 lbs, 4 oz at her first visit to the pediatrician. Dr. Clements also said that her coloring looks great and that he would have never known that she was jaundiced if we hadn’t mentioned it to him. That was great news! Ainslie will go back for her 2 week visit early next week.

We are totally loving the pack n’ play that my parents bought us for Christmas. We have it set up down in our living room and it is like our downstairs nursery. The diaper changing station is super convenient for downstairs changing and Ainslie loves the vibrating mattress and nature sounds for naptime.

We haven’t been getting much sleep but we are hanging in there. Eddie sleeps like a log and actually sleeps through the baby crying (how is that possible?!), but I hear every little noise she makes and am constantly getting up and checking to make sure that she is still breathing. We are trying to take frequent naps when she sleeps during the day, but it is hard when you feel like you have so much to do around the house!

Ainslie is finally starting to open her eyes a little bit and we have noticed her focusing in on our faces a couple of times. It is so rewarding to look down into her eyes and see her looking back up at you!

2nd Day @ Home

We stayed around the house today and just tried to get some rest. I am feeling a bit better after my c-section, but still have quite a bit of recovering to do. Thankfully it is getting easier to get in and out of bed on my own though.

3rd Day @ Home

We are still having to supplement Ainslie with expressed breast milk and formula because of her poor latch and suck. Ed and I work together with the feedings – I breastfeed and then he bottle feeds her while I pump. It has worked out very well for us so far!

Today we had an outpatient appointment at the breastfeeding center at the hospital to work on Ainslie’s latch and suck. She is still having to use a nipple shield in order to breastfeed and we need to try to wean her off of it. The lactation consultant attempted to get her to latch without the shield but she wasn’t successful so I will have to just keep trying at home. After I breastfed Ainslie for 20 minutes, they weighed her on a special scale to see how much she had taken in – it turned out that in 20 minutes she had only gotten 12 ml, which was pretty disappointing. We will continue to supplement and to practice more with breastfeeding and hopefully the older and stronger she gets the better she will get at it. We have an appointment next week to see how she is doing.

4th Day @ Home

Today was Ainslie’s first sponge bath at home and she was not loving it. She screamed and screamed the entire time. Normally she is a very calm and quiet baby, but not during sponge bath time!

5th Day @ Home

Today was another lazy day around the house. We had previously planned on heading out to Sam’s Club to stock up on diapers and wipes, but snow changed our plans. Yes, I said snow! It actually snowed the entire day and we decided just to stay warm and safe at home.

6th Day @ Home

Today was Ainslie’s 2 week appointment with the pediatrician (even though she won’t technically be 2 weeks old for 4 more days). She is now up from 6 lbs, 4 oz to 6 lbs, 12 oz which is really exciting for us because it means that she is back up to her birth weight and then some! Part of her umbilical cord fell off last night, but there is still a little bit hanging on and it is a little bit bloody, so Dr. Clements took care of that for us. She has also been slightly congested, especially at night, but he said that a vaporizer in our bedroom should help with that, so we will have to try that.  Ainslie’s next appointment will be at 2 months on April 21st.

7th Day @ Home

We went back to the breastfeeding center at the hospital for our follow-up appointment today. The lactation consultant was super impressed with how much Ainslie has improved. She said that her suck is looking a lot better and she is more alert and doesn’t fall asleep at the breast as easily as she used to. I am so proud of her! We breastfed for 15 minutes and she took in 36 ml. That is so good compared to last time! We also practiced latching on without the nipple shield and she did a little bit better this time, but definitely still needs a lot of work. We also decided to rent one of the Medela BabyWeigh Scales from them to use at home. Basically it measures the baby before and after breastfeeding and then tells you how much she took in. It has really been helpful just in the day we have had it. This evening she fed for 35 minutes and took in 66 ml – boy was I proud!

The last couple of nights have been pretty long around our house because Ainslie seems to have her days and nights mixed up. During the day, she mostly sleeps (and lately she MUST be held by either Ed or myself or else she will scream), but at night she is wide awake and busy. She lays in her cradle by my side of the bed and kicks her feet and babbles for most of the night. It is really cute, but I wish that she would do it during the day instead of in the middle of the night. After nighttime feedings, her eyes are wide open and she looks like she is ready to party, which is hard when all Ed and I want to do is sleep. I hope we can get her days and nights turned back around soon!

As our first week at home comes to a close, I can’t believe that my little angel is already 12 days old! Time is going by so quickly and she is growing so fast (already she was up to 6 lbs, 15 oz when we weighed her this morning). The other night when I was feeding and rocking her in the nursery, a song came on called “It Won’t Be Like This for Long” by Darius Rucker. I had never heard it before, but it really struck a cord with me and as I listened to the words I started to cry. It made me realize how fast time flies and how quickly my little girl will grow up. I really need to enjoy every moment no matter how tired I am because she won’t be like this for long. The laundry and dishes can wait and take-out for dinner again will be just fine – I’d rather curl up on the couch and enjoy every little moment with my little miracle that I can.

In case you’re interested, here is the link to the song that I am talking about. Maybe I am just tired and hormonal, but it makes me cry every time I listen to it. If you have children of your own, I am sure you will be able to relate!

Meeting the Pets March 4, 2009

The dogs have been absolute angels with baby Ainslie since we arrived home from the hospital. They have been super gentle and calm around her and love to sniff her. Tucker the cat is pretty much indifferent and usually just stares at her from afar.

Tana gets so worried about Ainslie when she cries and will come running into the room to check on her. If Ainslie makes any kind of noise from her cradle in our room or from the pack n’ play in the living room, Tana will peek her head over the edge to see what’s going on.

Dexter has been super calm which is kind of usual for him. He is mostly interested in Ainslie when she gets her bottle supplement. Apparently expressed breast milk and formula smell really good to him! He hasn’t shown any jealousy at all as of yet, but he has been acting out a lot. He has peed on our living room rug a few times and even chewed on the cushion of our leather couch. Not good!

Overall, Eddie and I are very proud of the dogs and how well they have taken to Ainslie. We can’t wait to see the two of them playing nicely with her someday!

Going Home Day March 3, 2009

We were discharged from Northside Hospital four full days after Ainslie’s birth on Tuesday, February 24th. That was an exciting day!

Because she was pre-term, Ainslie had to do a special carseat test to make sure that she got enough oxygen, but she passed with flying colors. Before we left, we got Ainslie all dressed up in her going-home outfit and then we got her all setup in her carseat. We also had to get together all of our things – thankfully they provided us with a cart to push them out because we accumulated a lot of stuff while we were there!

We were a little worried about the drive home since we were discharged in the middle of the evening rush hour, but thankfully she was such a very good baby and slept the entire way home.

Isn’t she so sweet? She really is such an angel and we love her so much!

At the Hospital March 3, 2009

Days 1-4

Eddie and I spent Ainslie’s first four days of life with her at Northside Hospital. We honestly couldn’t be happier with the care that we received there – the nurses and doctors were all so warm and kind and I don’t know if it was just because I was starved, but the food wasn’t even all that bad!

Ainslie was born at 5:43 pm on Friday, February 20th. That first night was rough, not because of the baby (she was an angel), but because of my blood pressure. To prevent me from having seizures, Magnesium Sulfate was added to my IV. That was all fine and dandy until it gave me the most awful headache EVER! Like I said, that first night was tough.

Other than that, things went pretty smoothly for us at the hospital. Ainslie did have a mild case of Jaundice, but within the first couple of days her bilirubin levels went down and she got a clean bill of health. My recovery from my c-section was a little harder than I had expected, but I am getting better every day. The first time up and out of bed was excruciating, but each time has gotten easier.

Eddie and I are lucky to have such wonderful friends and family. We recieved beautiful flowers from my Aunt Karen & Uncle Gary, Aunt Diana & Uncle Jerry, my best friend Christine & her husband Patrick, and from my wonderful parents. It really helped brighten up our stay at the hospital!

Because Ainslie is pre-term, she has had a difficult time with breastfeeding, but we were really lucky to be able to have a lactation consultant come work with us each day of our stay in the hospital. They were so helpful and encouraging and worked with us for at least an hour each day. Due to her jaundice and because she has a poor suck, she is having to be supplemented with expressed breastmilk and formula. This was a little disappointing to me at first, but it has also been nice because after I finish each breastfeeding session, Eddie is able to bottle feed her and they are able to bond in that way. Ainslie is still not able to breastfeed exclusively, but we have continued to work with a lactation consultant since our discharge. We had our first outpatient visit last week and Ainslie’s suck has been improving by leaps and bounds since then. We have a follow-up appointment today and hopefully they will be impressed by her progress.

Speaking of Eddie, he is the most amazing daddy! He has exceeded my expectations and then some. He is so incredibly in love with his little girl and is just so amazing with her that it brings tears of joy to my eyes to see him with her. He told me the other day that he’d never been so tired in his life, but he’d also never been happier in his life either.

As far as I go, I couldn’t be more in love with my little miracle! I sometimes stare at her and am amazed that she was inside of me. It is so surreal. Sometimes I miss having her inside and so close to me, but I am so excited that she is here and I love snuggling her. She is such a little angel!

Stay tuned for more photos!

She’s Here! February 27, 2009

Ainslie Eleanor Dordea

February 20, 2009 at 5:43 pm

6 lbs, 7 oz and 21 in

——————–

I’m so excited to finally be able to make this post! Last Friday, I gave birth to a beautiful and healthy baby girl. We were actually scheduled for a c-section today, but last Thursday my blood pressure started to really spike. My OB ordered some bloodwork to be done on me and on Friday he called and told us to head to the hospital because we were going to deliver. What a surprise!

Eddie and I got to the hospital at around 1 pm and we were both super nervous and excited at the same time. I was so scared that something would be wrong with the baby since she was going to be a month early. I was worried that her lungs may not be developed or that something else would go wrong. When we got to the hospital, they put me in a room and got me started on an IV. They continually monitored my blood pressure and the baby’s heart rate. They also monitored my contractions, which I was surprised to see that I was having. At around 4:30 pm, the anesthesiologist came in to give me an epidural and that was not very fun. I had a bad reaction to it and my blood pressure went way too low, which almost caused me to pass out. Finally, at about 5:20 pm, they wheeled me into the OR and prepared me for surgery. Ed was allowed to join me after they had me all prepared.

I was so nervous during surgery, but I put on my brave face and thankfully it didn’t take too long for the doctor’s to deliver the baby. Ed was brave and even looked over the curtain to watch the surgery! He said it was so surreal to watch them pull her out of me. When they delivered her, you could just see the excitement on his face and he jumped up and went with the nurses as they cleaned her up.

It felt like it took forever, but when I finally heard that first cry I started to cry. I felt so much love for her and I hadn’t even seen her face yet!

Eddie was an awesome photographer and documented everything for me. He was so sweet and kept coming over to give me updates, like her weight and length and that she had 10 fingers and toes.

I remember wanting so badly to see her and hold her. It felt like forever before they brought her over to me! When I saw her for the first time it was amazing. I can’t even describe how it felt, all I know is that I didn’t know it was possible to love someone so much. I couldn’t stop crying – it was just such an amazing experience!

After we had been introduced, Ed accompanied the baby to recovery room while the doctor’s stitched me up. This part of the surgery took a lot longer and I was so anxious to get to recovery to see my baby. I kept thinking, “hurry up, hurry up!” Finally they finished and wheeled me into recovery to join Ed and the baby. They had just finished up her first bath and were getting her dressed and swaddled.

FINALLY they put my beautiful baby girl in my arms. I was so relieved to see that she was healthy. I couldn’t stop staring at her and kissing her. It was so amazing to see this little person who was inside of me for 8 months. I felt so much love I was afraid that my heart would burst!

I just want to thank my wonderful doctor, Dr. Michael Echemendia, for taking fabulous care of me and baby Ainslie these past 8 or so months. With my PIH condition, things could have gone really badly, but Dr. Ech was really careful and was constantly monitoring Ainslie and I. I am so thankful to have such a perfectly healthy baby!

Be sure to check back in the coming days for LOTS more pictures. Even though she is only 7 days old, I already have hundreds and hundreds of photos to share, but right now I have a precious miracle baby to snuggle with!

Keeping Busy! February 6, 2009

A lot has transpired since my last post. For one, I am now on bedrest here at home.  Secondly, it looks like our baby girl will be delivered in just 2 short weeks!

At our 33 week OB visit, my blood pressure was way up again and they found that I had protein in my urine so I was diagnosed with mild pre-eclampsia. I was put on bedrest and had a bunch of bloodwork and urinanlysis done. They also did a quick ultrasound (baby is still breech) and a non-stress test to check that she is doing well. Thankfully, she passed with flying colors!

At my 34 week visit this past Tuesday, I was told that my urine and bloodwork all came back within normal ranges and they switched my diagnosis to gestational hypertension. I am still on bedrest and was put on some medication in an attempt to lower my blood pressure. We also did another non-stress test and Ainslie is still doing fine.

Due to the pregnancy induced high blood pressure (and the possibility of it developing into pre-eclampsia), my doctor says that we will deliver Ainslie at 37 weeks. That is just 2 short weeks away! After Ed and I got over the initial shock, we started getting really excited! It still looks like I will be having a c-section as she is still bottom down, but that is probably better for us anyway because of the high blood pressure. I’m also secretly hoping for a c-section since we had to cancel our childbirth preparation classes due to the bedrest.

This coming Tuesday we will have our 35 week appt where we will have a formal ultrasound to check her measurements and amniotic fluid levels and we will also do another non-stress test to make sure she is doing OK. I also have to do more urine and bloodwork on Monday to make sure that I haven’t developed pre-eclampsia. The best part of Tuesday’s appt though is that he said we will schedule the date and time for her delivery!

It’s been hard getting all of the last minute details of her nursery ready to go from my bed, but Ed has been so helpful. Not only has he been cooking, cleaning, and running errands, but he’s been bringing me projects to work on in bed so that I don’t go totally stir-crazy. Good thing that he works from home because I don’t know what I’d do without him!

Here’s a couple of the projects that I’ve been working on this past week….

First off, I came upon the idea for this canvas as I was browsing through the February issue of Scrapbooks, Etc Magazine. I loved the canvas that Maggie Holmes created for her kids’ playroom and since I happened to have a few spare canvases laying around, I decided to make one of my own for Ainslie’s nursery.

I also did another canvas using Golden Gel Medium and some torn up pages out of an old book. After the gel had dried, I created a wash using some lime green paint and water and painted over the top of the torn up book pages. I used my favorite Winnie-the-Pooh quote (”Sometimes the smallest things take up the most space in your heart”) and left three spots to place pictures of our baby girl. I am really loving the way it turned out and I think the colors look fabulous next to the quilted wall-hanging that my Aunt Karen made for Ainslie.

Lastly, I created a door hanger for Ainslie’s nursery using an extra acrylic page out of one of my albums from My Acrylic Album. I think it turned out rather cute if I do say so myself!

Now the only thing left to do in her nursery is to get some wooden letters spelling out her name hung up above her crib. Deb Damboise (from Say it With Letters) and I just finalized my custom order yesterday and they should be on their way very, very soon. I can’t wait to get to work on them and have been busy brainstorming on how I will alter them. Once they are finished and all hung up, I will post a bunch of photos of Ainslie’s completed nursery so be sure to check back in the next week or two. I hope you will love her room as much as Eddie and I do!

Happy Friday!

It runs in the family… January 28, 2009

Creativity, that is! Check out this beautiful handmade quilted wall hanging that my Aunt Karen created for baby Ainslie’s nursery. Isn’t it gorgeous? I love all of the detail that she put into it and it looks fabulous in Ainslie’s room! Thank you again Aunt Karen!

Yesterday the Fed-Ex man brought me another surprise! It was this super adorable quilted “blankie” that my mom made for Ainslie. This is a little embarrassing, but for the last 27+ years, I have slept with a blankie that my Aunt Karen made for me when I was a baby. Well, actually it is a replica of the original blankie that she made because Ed accidentally lost the original at a hotel in Arizona a few years back. I was so sad and had a hard time sleeping without it (silly, I know!), so my mom made me a replica. Anyway, this cute blankie is going to be Ainslie’s! Thanks Mama!

I also need to share these beautiful handmade felted baby booties that my mom made for Ainslie. Aren’t they precious?! So creative!

Well, I’m off to go watch a movie in bed with Eddie (the best way to spend a rainy day!), but be sure to check out my post below of the pregnancy album that I created.

Have a GREAT day!