A Cute Big Sister and Her Cute Little Brother

Here are a few shots of the kiddos...as you can tell, it's quite a challenge to get both children to cooperate for the camera! Walker is a week old today. He's a good baby and is eating and sleeping well (as well as newborns do) and he seems to like us! He has discovered that being swaddled and sucking on binkies are wonderful things but diaper and outfit changes are not. We're doing well; things are just a little busy and Ben and I are definitely still adjusting to life with two children. I'm sure it'll take us awhile to get into a routine, but I have to have faith that we will at some point!

Walker, 4 Days Old

My sister-in-law, Allyson, took this picture of Walker on Sunday when she and her husband and their kids came over to meet Walker. I think it's so sweet. We love this little baby to pieces and Ben and I feel so blessed to be his parents.

Some Visitors

Welcome to the family, little Walker. Meet Uncle Chris and your cousins Cally, Collin, and Ella!

"Okay, baby. Okay, baby."

the big sister

snuggling with Aunt Allyson

Sister and Brother

One thing is for sure...Walker seems to love the bouncy seat as much as Lainey did!

Lainey

Walker

Our Family of Four

Welcome to the World, Walker Gordon Harris!

Walker Gordon Harris

Born on February 17, 2010 at 3:45 p.m.
7 pounds, 7 ounces
19 and a half inches long

On February 17, 2010 Ben and I arrived at the hospital around 6:00 a.m. for my induction. I was 5 days past my due date and it was time for us to meet our sweet baby boy! After about 8 hours and very little progress, things suddenly started happening very rapidly and at 3:45 p.m., our little Walker was born! He was born with something called a "true knot" in his umbilical cord but thankfully, this didn't cause any problems. From my perspective, this labor was much easier than my first and I think the recovery is going more smoothly, also. I am so thankful for that! Walker is a good baby and eating and sleeping well (so far). The only things he really doesn't like are diaper changes and being cold! Poor baby. I understand that! I am a bit anxious about our first night at home...we'll see how it goes. We're expecting Lainey home any minute now, and I'm praying that she is happy to see her little brother. Their first introduction was a bit rocky. She kept repeating, "Mama, no" over and over again and did not enjoy seeing me in a hospital bed holding a baby. It was hard for me to see her so upset, and I couldn't move because I was still numb from the epidural so I couldn't hold her or comfort her. We asked her if she was a big sister now and if Mama was holding her new baby brother...she adamantly shook her head and answered both questions with a firm "no" and the tears started falling a few minutes later. Lainey did much better during her second visit with Walker. She didn't take much of an interest in him, but she did show considerable interest in his binkies and the portable crib where he went "night-night." I know that eventually she'll warm to the idea of being a big sister and grow to love her baby brother. I am excited to see what the future holds for the two of them! We are thrilled to be welcoming this newest family member into our home. Thank you to everyone for their kind words and support! :)

It's about to happen!

Hello, Walker!

kisses from his big sister

dressed to go home

about to leave the hospital

Here is Walker, snug and warm in his car seat. It was chilly outside!

arriving home for the first time

The Induction is Scheduled

It seems as though our sweet baby boy Walker needs a slight nudge in the right direction! Tomorrow morning, at 6:00 a.m., I will be induced. I saw my doctor today and learned that I actually have made some progress; I was only 1 cm dilated last Thursday and today I'm 3 cm dilated! I'm glad that my body has started to figure out that it does need to have this baby at some point. :) It looks like we will meet little Walker Gordon Harris on February 17th, 2010!

Record Snowfall

A record 12.5 inches of snow fell in the DFW area all day yesterday and into the early hours of this morning. If Walker chooses to arrive today, on my actual due date, he'll be born in a winter wonderland of snow!

After-School Snack

Lainey didn't much care for playing in the snow, but she sure enjoyed eating it! She called it "ice" and probably had about 20 handfuls. :)

Lots of Snow, No Baby (Yet)

We woke up to snow this morning! It's Plano's third snowfall (where snow has actually accumulated) since the beginning of December. Crazy! We never get snow like this in North Texas. It's going to continue to snow throughout the day and thankfully, the roads haven't been affected that much. Tomorrow morning might be a different story, however, if all the slushy snow turns to ice.

After I dropped off Lainey at school, I went to my weekly appointment with my doctor. There isn't much to report. I'm holding steady! My doctor scheduled an induction for Wednesday, February 17th (if needed). We shall see what this next week holds for us. We'll definitely be meeting Walker very, very soon!

Another Short Update

It appears as though both ears are infected, not just the left one as we had originally thought. This morning Lainey woke up with both ears leaking fluid (normal for kids who get ear infections after receiving tubes). I was so happy to see this because it means that the fluid is draining out of her ears and the pressure that she's been feeling is diminishing. She's having a good day today and I'm planning on sending her to school tomorrow. :) Thanks for checking in on Lainey. We appreciate everyone's kind words, prayers, and support!

As if things weren't exciting enough...

Lainey has an ear infection in her left ear. After a rough night/morning/day, we finally got her in to see a doctor at 4:00 this afternoon where they declared that the tube in her left ear was blocked. So, we have a ten-day supply of antibiotics and ear drops for Lainey. At this point in time she's playing with her dad (and watching the Super Bowl), but up until now she's been a crying, clingy, hurting child. I am grateful because I know that the medicine will start working soon to clear up the infection. And, as a side note, I think I have come down with a nasty cold. Please pray that our family gets well before the arrival of little Walker! :)

Bubblehead

Last night during her bath, Lainey kept saying "mo bubbles" over and over again and would try to pile the soapy suds on top of her head. She thought it was the funniest thing, especially when she caught a glimpse of her reflection! The girl loves her bubbles!!

Saturday

We are still hanging out at our house, waiting for Lainey to be well enough to be around other kids. I think by tomorrow she should be okay. She really wants to watch the Super Bowl with her friends (well, part of it at least - then it's bedtime).

First, Lainey played dress-up by putting on her pink tutu, her bracelets, her purses, and Brooke and Kate's outgrown Minnie Mouse costume. (Thanks, girls!)

Then she worked on her buildings.

After that, she thought that baking cookies would be a good idea.

She happily banged this bowl around on the counter for a good minute or two (until my own head started banging) and then we got started on our project. After she helped me put the eggs and butter into the bowl, she wanted to play with the eggs and butter. She quickly lost interest in making cookies after I wouldn't let her play with the mix!

After a giant clean-up of the kitchen and a little lunch, Lainey decided to show off her dance moves. In both of these videos, she's watching her favorite Barney and Friends episode about horses and she's trying to imitate what the characters and actors are doing on TV.

We hope that we are able to get out and about tomorrow! I don't want to push it, but I feel that she's making progress and definitely not contagious anymore, so that's a good sign! :)

Officially Feeling Better

Lainey is doing much, much, much better. In fact, she now is excited for her breathing treatments because she gets to put the mask on her "nose" and help me push the inhaler so that the medicine can travel through the tube. She'll stand at the bathroom door and cry "nose" over and over to let us know that she's ready for her treatment. She doesn't quite understand that we have to follow a schedule! We have decided, however, to try to give Lainey the breathing treatments during the day only. Last night we didn't want to try to awaken her for a treatment because she was doing so much better before bedtime and she had quickly fallen into a deep sleep at her normal bedtime. Throughout the night she slept pretty soundly which allowed us to sleep pretty soundly as well.

She's also quite amused with the humidifier in her room. It's one of those animal humidifiers; we have the one that looks like a cow. She tries to take it apart and pick it up and has made "messys" because she has spilled the water on the floor (more than once). We hung out around the house all day today and she hasn't had a fever since yesterday evening so I think we're on the mend... :) I hope so, at least.

In other news, I went to the doctor today for my weekly checkup and I'm still just 1 cm dilated and about 50% effaced. The baby is very comfy inside my tummy, just like Lainey was. She said that we could schedule an induction for sometime during week #40 (the week of the 15th), but we'd make that decision at my next appointment. :)

Quick Update

Since my last post, I am happy to report that Lainey already seems to be feeling better. :) The fever broke completely (thank you, Motrin) and that seemed to help her tremendously. After dinner she was doing normal Lainey things and that was so nice to see. We've given her one dose of medicine and three breathing treatments so far (the long 10-minute one at the doctor's office and then two much easier ones at home where we just give her puffs of the medicine through a tube with a face mask). After her first dose of medicine and the first two breathing treatments she was so happy to be finished that she clapped her hands and said "yay" even though she was sobbing and big tears were still streaming down her face. The last breathing treatment we gave her before bedtime was a piece of cake. She took it like a champ, didn't cry at all, and clapped for herself when it was over (we joined in, too). I hope the rest of them go that smoothly and I hope that tomorrow we see even more improvement in Lainey's health. :)

Sick Girl

Miss Lainey is sick, sick, sick. What I thought was allergies or a cold has turned into a full-blown viral infection called bronchiolitis. She developed a fever last night and after a very rough night of sleep, we took her to the doctor this morning where he prescribed some medicine (to reduce the swelling in her lungs, I think) and taught us how to give her breathing treatments at home. We are supposed to give her the breathing treatments every four to six hours, throughout the day and night. Thankfully we only have to give her the yucky-tasting medicine a total of three times. Poor kiddo. This is the absolute sickest we've ever seen her. She doesn't want to play or color or really do anything. Her breathing is rapid and she coughs constantly and her nose is runny. It's quite worrisome to us to see her so uncomfortable and miserable; we miss our active, playful child! We hope that she starts to feel better soon. After Lainey's tooth incident last week and her illness this week, I'm totally fine with this baby boy hanging out in my tummy for at least another week or so. He does seem quite comfortable there... :) I'd love for Lainey to be well before Walker makes his entrance into this world!

Lainey's Beauty Shop

Lainey loves to put barrettes in her hair. She loves to put barrettes in my hair. Nearly every single day she dumps out my entire little bag of barrettes and hair clips onto the bathroom floor. (I think she especially enjoys the "dumping" part.) She'll grab one at a time and either say "Yainey" or "Mama" so I'm clear as to who is supposed to wear that particular barrette. She'll then try to put them in her hair or my hair. While she succeeds at this most of the time, she sometimes still needs my assistance to actually close the barrette. After all is said and done, we both end up looking so pretty and fashionable!