My first bath!

Hooray! My cord stump came off today, and I officially have a belly button! :) To celebrate, Mommy and Daddy finally got to give me a "real" bath, (which I think Mom's been dying to do, knowing her.) I responded much like my big sister did when she was my size...I relaxed and closed my eyes. Maybe I'll be a water baby too!

I love my daddy

Camryn has always been a mommy's girl. There's no doubt about it. She looks like me, talks like me, and has basically been my shadow for the past three years.

Things have changed a bit this past week, though. Although she adores her baby sister, I sense bit of hesitancy towards me. Kind of like, "Where exactly were you for three days?" and "Why is that baby always attached to you?" I don't think we can call it jealousy quite yet, or sibling rivalry, but maybe just a sense that she's a little peeved at me for not giving her my undivided attention 100% of the time anymore.

It's going to be a tough adjustment, but I'm sure she'll pull through. In the meantime, I think she's turning into a bit of a daddy's girl, which is both so sweet and heartbreaking at the same time.

Welcome, Aubrey Lynn!

After what seems like an eternity, our family is happy to finally announce the arrival of Aubrey Lynn!!!

Wednesday night, I was awakened by a very strong contraction around 11:45 p.m. Five minutes later, my water broke, and we were off to the hospital. At 5:31 a.m., on Thursday, February 21, after less than 30 minutes of pushing, we welcomed Miss Aubrey Lynn Bailey to the world. She was happy, healthy, beautiful, and eager to make her arrival fast and memorable.

Aubrey weighed in at 7 lbs, 3 oz, and measured 19 inches long (only one ounce less, and the exact same length as her big sister was at birth.) It turns out she wasn't the giant baby we all thought! (Thank goodness!)



She is a good sleeper, a light eater, and has some great hair! Mom, Dad, and big sister Camryn are thrilled, and besides being sore and a bit sleep deprived are doing great! Thank you for all of your congrats and well wishes. Once we have a bit of time to settle in at home, we'd love to visit with you all, and introduce you to our new addition!

Still at home

Yes, it's true. I'm still here. Despite the dozens of "How are feeling?" and "Isn't that baby here yet?" phone calls, I'm still at home. Sitting. Waiting. Having strong but infrequent contractions. And waiting some more.

After Monday's appointment, I got my hopes up, and kicked into high gear. I finished all of our laundry. I cleaned house. I went and got the oil changed in my car. I finished final shopping for baby, and for upcoming birthdays. Now I'm left to wait, and we all know that sitting and waiting, and not "doing" is not my strong point. Today I even walked laps around the mall by myself (there is only so much window shopping one can do.)

Hopefully soon I'll be able to post that there has been a change, or that we're on our way to the hospital, or that Aubrey is here! But for now, I'm zoned out to daytime T.V. I wonder if there is a world record for the number of "A Baby Story" episodes watched consecutively...?

Could this really be it???

Today, I am officially 38 weeks pregnant. When I went in for my weekly doctor's visit this morning, Dr. S. found that I was dilated to 2 cm!!! Yahoo! This is big news, considering even after my water broke with Camryn, I didn't actually begin to dilate until they administered pitocin.

I'll spare you all the rest of the details, but Dr. S. did a brief procedure in order to (hopefully) help bring labor on. Then, my mom and Camryn and I hit the mall for a nice power walk!!! My contractions have been stronger and more frequent this afternoon, though not consistent yet. Perhaps we will head out for a stroll around the neighborhood this sunny afternoon, and eat something spicy for dinner! :) Who knows, today could just be the day...

Whirlwind Weekend!

Wow! What a weekend of special events, fun times, and celebrations! We hope Camryn doesn't expect life to continue at this pace, because we can't keep up with her!


We started off our weekend Friday night by taking in Camryn's first "concert," Playhouse Disney Live! We went with some of her friends and their parents, and she had a BLAST! She was intrigued that her favorite TV characters, The Little Einsteins (note the shirt), were actually there, in person, (with much smaller heads than their animated counterparts. I think she was actually a bit perplexed by that... ) In any case, by the end she and her friends were literally dancing in the aisles. So much fun!

The next morning, she woke up to a pile of presents and "letters" (a Happy Birthday banner). We enjoyed watching her as she opened up her birthday gifts in her PJs. (Waiting until after breakfast was not an option.)


By that afternoon, Camryn was ready to PARTY with her friends. Her "Big 3" celebration was held at Pump It Up Jr. with about a dozen of her little buddies. They ran, jumped, climbed, and played, until they were all literally red in the face. Then we finished off the afternoon with the infamous banana cake and banana ice cream (yes, this was truly at her request.) She received so many wonderful gifts from her friends...I think she really did feel like a princess. (Bonus: now you too, can come over to visit, and dress up like a Disney princess. We have plenty of dresses, tiaras, and magic wands to go around!!!)

We finished her day with a family dinner at Camryn's favorite hangout, "The Birdie Restaurant," aka Red Robin. She thoroughly enjoyed her spaghetti (in case you can't tell) and loved the extra attention she got from the staff who sang her a special song. At three years old, does life get any better than this???

Big sister

This is Camryn getting her "tummy picture" taken, just like her mama. She has come to enjoy this monthly ritual, and always asks us to make sure we get one with her shirt down, and one with her tummy exposed.

I think she is the one feeling the most anticipation towards Aubrey's arrival. She loves to kiss and hug my belly and say, "Hi Baby Aubrey!" as often as I'll let her. This weekend we went to Build-A-Bear and Camryn created a teddy bear to bring to her baby sister when she's born. I have a feeling we'll have more "help" than we can handle once Aubrey's actually here...

36 weeks. Ugh.

Don't say it. DON'T say it. I know what you are thinking right now. (Internal monologue: Oh my god. Look at her belly! She looks like she's going to fall over forward! She's going to have that baby any minute now! Quick, somebody boil some water!) It goes something like that, right?

Yes, I am fully aware that at 36 weeks pregnant, I look like I'm smuggling a beach ball under my shirt. However, I assure you that there is no spare room for any summertime paraphernalia. There is barely room enough for my tummy, as it's begun to peek out from underneath my shirts lately. (This is what I've been told anyway, as I can't see it!)

Amazingly enough, according to my doctor at my appointment today, I have actually gained LESS weight with this pregnancy so far than I had with Camryn at this point. Who knew??? It must just be ALL out in front of me, because yes, sometimes I DO feel like I am going to tip over.
In any case, it sounds like I may have to keep finding ways to hold myself upright, because Dr. S. found that I hadn't progressed any more than at my last appointment two weeks ago. Camryn, Brian and I are hanging onto hope that Aubrey can wait to arrive until sometime after the 16th, at which time I will be through with work, and Camryn will have had ample opportunity to be the star of the show at her third birthday party.

If she waits much longer than that however, I may just have to bring back the "bared midriff" look out of necessity. I bet THAT would inspire some internal monologue for all of you!