A Night Off

A couple weeks ago, Kenny and I got the pleasure of having a ‘kid free’ evening. One of the guys on his shift got married. Their wedding was beautiful, the bride gorgeous, and the food delicious. I had asked my mom about a month before the wedding if she would mind having both girls. I hated doing it but I also wanted it so badly. By the time the wedding would be, Hailey was 5 months old, and I was confident she would be on a better schedule.

Well a week before the wedding, Hailey was diagnosed with RSV. I was really worried about whether I should even leave her or not. But my mom and sister both told me that I needed the break and that she would be fine by that time. So the morning of the wedding, Hailey was doing awesome, her breathing was better, she wasn’t as cranky, and she was eating normal again. I was feeling more confident about leaving her with mom.

We left them about 1:30 and may our way to Charles Town. The service was nice. I held Kenny’s hand and was taken back to November 1, 2008 when we said our vows and pledged our love for the rest of our days together. We hadn’t had a wedding since this time last year.

I texted mom a few times but got no response. Made me a little nervous but figured with two of them she was busy.

Kenny and I had a ball. It was one of the best times we have had in a long time. It was really needed. The most important thing I can say about having a marriage and kids is you need to still date your husband. Yes you are married, yes you love each other, but you need to show it. You need to let that person know you are still attracted to him, that you still like having fun with him, and you still need him. The best time about that night is that we danced every slow dance the DJ played. Anyone that knows my husband knows that this is not in his character at all. At any wedding previously, ours included, I got one maybe two dances and he was done. But this time we danced, we talked, we laughed.

After having two pregnancies, two periods of newborn stage, and now having 2 its a little harder to find a sitter willing to take them overnight. I will say that we don’t do it often but maybe that’s what makes that time so special. We don’t go out much on our own without the girls. Not that we can’t it’s just that we like being with our girls. Family time is important but after this night, I think we see that time alone as a couple instead of parents is also important.

Now that Hailey is almost 6 months old it is a little easier to have someone take both of them. We are hoping to have more ‘date’ nights.

RSV...the Winch got Hailey Tooo

Last week Hailey started with a small cough and runny nose, by the end of the week she was running a fever and coughing alot. So we headed into the doctors office where she was diagnosed with RSV. Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a very common virus that leads to mild, cold-like symptoms in adults and older healthy children. It can be more serious in young babies, especially to those in certain high-risk groups. Ava had the virus when she was also 4 months old. So we have been down this road before but Hailey's seems a little worse and she isn't taking being sick as well as Ava.

After the mean doctor examined her and swabbed her nose for RSV, which made her mad, we headed to CVS to pick up her medicine for the breathing treatment machine we were given at the doctor. She slept the entire time we were there and then the whole way home.

Later that afternoon, Kenny took Ava to run a few errands so Hailey and I were able to rest and lay around. She just looked sick. I hate it when you can see it in their eyes, pink and tired looking.

Over the weekend, Ava took over taking care of Hailey. She has been such a big helper, she is very concerned about her. After Kenny finished listening to Hailey's chest, Ava decided she needed to check this out too.

So Hailey has been home all week with Kenny while she has been recoverying. When Ava went to Vickie's she told everyone Hailey was sick and went to the doctor and when it was time to go home, she actually didn't fight me but got in the car so she could come home to check on Hailey.

So it's been a week since Hailey's symptoms started. She is getting a little better, her cough is lingering which I don't care for but hoping it will clear up soon. She still isn't eating well and just started sleeping a little better. So a rough week for everyone, I haven't sleep more than two hours at a time and feels like we are back in that newborn stage. Cannot wait for her appetite to return and sleeping to return. We are just doing what we need to keep her comfy and happy.

4 Months Old

Yep, already, Hailey is growing like a weed. She now can hold her head up most of the day, without getting too tired. She has begun more tummy time even though she still hates it. She has begun to play with more toys, grab things, and recognize that it is actually 'playing' time. She smiles at you all on her own, she looks at you wanting attention, and she wants to make eye contact. It still amazes me, even though we have done this once, how fast they grow and learn.



She is laughing, yelling, and cooing. She just talks and talks. She wants to play so badly. She will swing herself while propped up on a knee. She chews on her fingers, not a big BINK baby. Her big blue eyes will follow you across the room. She loves her sister. She will try to jump forward to try to get to Ava. She knows her daddy, that's for sure. As soon as Kenny begins talking, her little head turns to his direction and she smiles so big. She is eating baby food, 4-6 ounces a bottle, and sleeping better. Not sleeping through the night yet but sleeping better.



She is 14 lbs and probably 24/25 inches long. I havent measured her, but we weighed her last night, so that is accurate. She has rolls in her arms and legs. She is starting to get interested in trying to roll over but only when a toy with noise and lights is out of her range and she trys to grab at it. Watching her learning to play is a joy, her smile is contagious, and her laugh is delightful.



Her love for Ava is amazing. In the mornings, she wakes up looking for Ava. Once they spot each other, there is a big smile by both. I always tell Ava to tell her "Good Morning, Hailey" with a kiss. Ava is always happy to do it. My heart melts watching them together.

Baby Food

Yes, don’t shoot me, Hailey isn’t 4 months old yet but YES I have begun to give her some baby food.  My little chunky monkey is hungry! She is doing great with it also. I started about the 10^th of February, at 3 ½ months.

I did it one evening, just to see, giving her some oatmeal, she isn’t a big fan of it so the next evening I put a little applesauce in it to flavor, and she gobbled it up. So I bit the bullet and decided she should start some solids. My wonderful Mamaw had given me some for Christmas as a present to Hailey. So we started with the basics: apples, bananas, sweet potatoes, pears. I am going to keep her on the yellow/orange baby food for a while and move her to others at a different time. I want to take it slowly since I have begun so early with her.

Yes, I know people will criticize but she’s mine. And I believe she was ready, she does great with the spoon and when she sees me getting everything ready while sitting in her highchair, she starts kicking her feet. I cannot believe how big she is getting.

She’s eating between a half a jar and a full jar depending on when she signals to me that she is done. I can tell when she doesn’t want anymore; she will begin to just let it drain out of her mouth.

My only big obstacle with feeding her has been her big sister, Ava. Ava is old enough to ‘help’. Most of the time she is good help with chores around the house but when it comes to feeding Hailey, she is in the way. She doesn’t always pay attention, she puts way to much on the spoon, and she will have baby food all over Hailey’s face and highchair. But despite all these things, I still let her help. She loves it and I love trying to keep Ava involved. It’s really hard sometimes because she is young but I love that she wants to try. Some nights are worse than others and I have to kick her out of the feeding process but most nights I try to roll with it, while holding my breath.

As Hailey grows I know it will get easier, one of the best things of already been there and done that. Cannot wait to watch her grow and become more coordinate with her hands to mouth movement. I know it’s all coming in due time, as sad as that is.

A Girls Day...

Today I did something that I rarely do, I left my babies at home with their daddy and went to lunch with the girls. It was really nice. I seriously need to do it more often. It feels like I do it once a year or so. It takes a lot to get me to do it. We all have our families now so we begin planning about a month or two out. It's the way it has to be. It's amazing how much work it takes just to get together for lunch.

I had a wonderful time. I got to talk to adults, get other views of other mothers, and eat a meal without sharing. I love the girls I went out with, one being my sister in law and the others being my cousins. We had a great time and there was lots of laughter and lots of story telling.

Once the girls get a little older, I hope its easier for me to leave them. I feel guilty even though I know I shouldnt but after working 40 hours during the week, to leave them is hard. They are my world. My husband is always telling me to plan something and to go. I think I might take him on it eventually but right now I dont want to miss anything. I miss too much as it is.

But if I could do it like today, I think I would do it more. We ate lunch, ate, shopped a little (formula for the babies), and then I came home and played with my girls. Ava and I built with blocks, Hailey cooed and yelled at me. Once the evening came, we cuddled up in bed and watched a movie.

A perfect day.

If you agree all mommies need a day, vote for me!

A Special Connection

When changing babysitters, the girls were moving from one cousin’s household to another cousin’s household. It was scary, exciting, and I was an anxious momma until I picked them up on their first day. They have been there for a month now. It seems like they have always been there. Ava fits right in with the other kids and has a great time there. My little chunky monkey, Hailey, is being taken care of and loved very much when I cannot be with her.

Vickie is my mom’s first cousin, my second cousin, Ava and Hailey’s third cousin. She is on the Raines side; her mother and my grandfather were brother and sister. My pap pap Rawhide has been gone for about 15 years now.  Aunt Kathleen, Vickie’s mother, is 86 and battling Alzheimer’s disease, but still moving and able to interact with the kids.  

For whatever reason, Ava just gravitated to Aunt Kathleen. The kids call her ‘grandma’, so does Ava. Aunt Kathleen has a stuff dog toy that she holds onto and treats as if it alive, she cuddles with it, takes care of it, and usually has it right under the blanket with her. Ava has began to carry around a dog toy of her own, (a gift from her Aunt Gail), and has ‘grandma’ take care of it during the day while Ava is playing.

When we walk in the house, she must know where ‘grandma’ is and when she will be up. Vickie has told me that Ava will follow ‘grandma’ around the house and makes sure she stays out of trouble. When Vickie has to take care of grandma and bathe her, Ava has been going in with her and helping. Keeping ‘grandma’ company and talking to her during her bath. I absolutely am amazed about my kind hearted little girl. A 2 year old is being gentle and making sure that this older generation is being taken care of.

One day when we picked them up, Ava and ‘Grandma’ were at the door looking outside, Ava had the biggest grin on her face. To watch Ava interact with her is nice.

My mom thinks that Ava only being 2 and a child of pureness and innocence can sense that something is wrong with Aunt Kathleen and she needs attention. Ava has taken to Aunt Kathleen quick and wants to make sure she is okay. Aunt Kathleen spends her day in the recliner or on the couch; Ava usually has her cup and dog or baby doll next to Aunt Kathleen. She will tell me that ‘Grandma’ is watching it all for her so she can play. I am tickled that Ava is able to be with a generation.

I am proud as a mother that Ava does not pick on her, does not take advantage of Aunt Kathleen’s condition, that she isn’t mean to her, and that she is helping her during the day.

Who has time for Post Partum?!?!

The other evening, when I was sick and thinking how as a mom I don't have time to be sick and that it needed to leave my body very quickly, I also began thinking, where is this post partum stuff that should have happened. Granted yes I am 3 months post partum and maybe it has passed. After I had Ava, I wasn't depressed I would say, I was just lonely, Kenny was very busy and not home a lot while I tried to figure out the stuff called parenting. I got lucky, I had my crying and fits and after about a month it was done.

During my pregnancy with Hailey, I cried all the time, way more than I ever did any time before that. I am not a crier, things don't make me sad, and I am more aggressive. However during those 9 months, I would cry at a commercial that wasn't even sad! So I thought, 'okay I have been a cry baby for 9 months, post partum is going to suck because I will have 2 people to take care on top of recovery.'

Life has been so busy that I just realized this week, that I haven't really had a bad post partum moment. Not that I am asking for it to show up and turn me into a crazy lady or a weeping woman but just surprised. I thought for sure as strong as my hormones have been that I would be worse this time than last. I am very thankful that I haven't. Kenny hasn't been as busy as he was with Ava, yet he still has his schedule and isn't home when he isn't home. I have had my moments, but they have been more 'I am going to lose my mind if I don't get 10 minutes to myself' instead of crying and feeling overwhelmed. I am chalking it up to being busy. Life with 2 and working full time I don't have time to be sad. Sad over nothing. I don't sit up at night after they have gone to bed, I am sleeping too. I don't have a break in the day to ponder this or that, thinking too much can cause a lot of issues. I have been lucky. Some women have a really bad time with post partum, some need medication, and some need time by themselves.

My time to myself, my bath, yes I can take a bath again! My time! My 20 minutes in the tub, at that time, I go through a to-do list, what I didn't do that should have been done; things I would like to do, and listen to the noises outside of the bathroom. Sometimes there is just the TV, sometimes Ava is screaming at the door for me to come out, sometimes Ava is laughing, running through the house being chased by her daddy, Hailey can now be heard cooing or crying. It's amazing how calming just sitting in the tub can be sometimes.

I don't know what I would have done if my post partum would have been worse, just a few crying spells, mainly when both girls were upset and I was just exhausted. Now we are in a good spot. I know the post partum phase can last a while after delivery, it can affect you at any time, but I am keeping my fingers crossed that my time is over and my hormones are shifting back.

Hormones are weird, I wish husbands could just have one week of the ups and downs and they would never want them back. I felt out of control sometimes while pregnant, angry for no reason, or snapping at someone for a something that they didn't even mean to be put into that context, and like I said, crying for absolutely no reason at all other that the feeling was there and it made me feel better.

I hope life continues to balance itself out and my hormones adjust as challenges come my way. Life can get pretty crazy and unpredictable at times but I hope to keep it under control (or at least try to).

Laundry Fairy!

So there are all these people that make the life of a kid great and magical: Santa, Easter Bunny, and the Toothfairy; but what about a magical helper for MOMs. I want a laundry fairy! This week has been hard on our family; the stomach bug hit 3 out of 4 of us. And guess who got to take care of everyone while they were sick while taking care of her own sick butt. You guessed it! Good ole MOM. While I was down and out, also working full time, and home most of the week on my own while Kenny was working, the laundry just piled up sky high. Hailey's laundry is even in a separate hamper to be washed in dreft so her clothes aren't even in the pile I am referring to. Laundry is one of my worse chores. It seems like it is endless. As soon as I get the hamper empty on Saturday afternoon, Kenny will take a shower and there are clothes back in it in no time. Starting the icky cycle all over again.

So for now I am wishing for the laundry fairy to appear: Please wash, dry, fold, and put away accordingly!

2 Month Check Up

Hailey was 2 months old about 2 weeks ago, but her appointment was this past Tuesday. Everything is going great. The doctor was happy with her eating and growth. He said she sounded good when listening to her lungs. She was cooing and starring at him, so he knew that she has developed as she should be. She is growing so fast.

Her weight is 11 lbs 12 oz, she is 23 ½ inches long, and her head is 15 ½. She is my little chunky monkey. That's what I call her anyways. She has gotten through all her just getting out of the womb grips and is starting to settle down. She isn't as fussy anymore and is staying awake more during the day.



In comparison at this age Ava was only 9 lbs 4 oz and 22 inches long and her head was 15. I know that having a second one, I was more prepared and actually knew what I am doing and the doctor said we are doing a great job. We have corrected her gas issues with a new bottle, gotten her on a somewhat steady schedule, and she is beginning to recognize her name and definitely knows voices because she will turn her head right around to see whoever is talking.

He Held My Hand

Last night, Kenny and I got to enjoy a rare thing: we enjoyed dinner without having to help feed little ones, sharing our food off of our plate, or switching Ava from one side of the booth to the other. It has been over a year since Kenny and I had dinner without a kid, without pregnancy making me sick and tired, and on a Friday night. My baby sister Ashley and her boyfriend graciously agreed to come babysit so that we could go out for a little bit.

So we went to Outback, we had giftcard and were told it would be a hour wait just to be seated. Kenny said "forget that" and we walked out. We didnt want my sister and her boyfriend to be here until midnight just because Outback was crowded.

So we went to Piccadilly Brew & Pub and enjoyed the evening. Even though we talked about the girls a lot, they are our life, we had some adult conversation. It was nice. We ate dinner, talked, and connected.

The best part of all this is when walking to there and back, he grabbed my hand and we walked. For anyone with children, you know hand holding goes away when you have diaper bags, carseat carriers, and little ones that hands need to be held. It warmed my heart.



Usually when we are out, we are so busy with the girls that we are lucky if we even walk with each other, he'll go away to get what we are at the store for or I will have the cart and walk ahead to keep the girls entertained.

A Different Bottle, A Different Baby

Two weeks ago, we switched Hailey from the Playtex drop in liner bottles to Similacs new 'no air no gas issues' bottle. I can honestly say the switch was a great one. I began using the Playtex drop in because they worked so well with Ava. She had no gas issues and was always a happy baby. So when I got pregnant with Hailey, I decided we would use them again. But within weeks, Hailey was always having gas pains and screamed in the evenings for hours on in. The gas issues were horrible.
So my evenings after working all day were jam packed with a screaming newborn and a toddler wanting some attention too. I felt so bad because I couldn't really give Ava the attention I wanted to because Hailey would be screaming.

Similac sent an email out letting their fans know of a new advanced bottle they had developed. I wanted to switch then but they are expensive bottles and you could only get them online. So I would be paying for the bottle, shipping, and still may not work. So I held off, hoping that her screaming was just part of this 'witching hour' that everything I had read had diagnosed it as. Kenny went to Wal-Mart for groceries one day and called saying that the tubs of formula we buy had a free bottle on them and he got one. I was super excited. All I wanted to do was enjoy the evening with Hailey and Ava. I knew it wouldn't be scream free, someone was going to be upset at some point, but to have an evening with them that wasn't consumed with screaming.


So after a week of using this one bottle we went back to Wal-Mart and bought a few more of the formula tubs to get the bottle for free. Can you say AMAZED at how different my child's attitude is now? Hailey does still have her moments and I believe now teething is becoming an issue HOWEVER there are no more 2 hours of screaming in pain, and I can't fix it. Now she smiles and coos, she watches cartoons with Ava.  I highly recommend this bottle for any mom dealing with gas issues with her little one. I would also still recommend the Playtex bottle liners, they really helped Ava. And now that we are using the new bottles, I have boxes of the liners available for anyone who is using them.

December 31st

The last day of the year! Last post of the year! We are enjoying the day as a family! We are all off, and still trying to clean up from Christmas.

Tonight we are going to a friends house, let Ava run wild with their daughter, hopefully wear herself out and then will be home before 9. Yes we are an old married couple with 2 small kids, midnight has not been seen in a few years in this household.

I wish for everyone to have a happy New Year. Cannot wait to see what 2012 has in store for us.