Laylin Jane - What I think about your first year...

As you are just 9 days shy of turning one. I hold you and think about you growing inside me. I think about the miracle of my pregnancy. I think about your little body intertwined in mine. I think about our first ultrasound. I think about how perfect God make you. I think about the pain I felt during labor. I think about the indescribable joy I felt holding your tiny body for the first time. I think about your first breaths. I think about what I thought was your last breaths. I think about how beautiful you were the first time I saw you. I think about those first few months. I think about the long naps and how content you were. I think about what a good baby you are. I think about the night I almost lost you. I think about the miracle of waking up that night to find you not breathing. I think about your little grey lifeless body laying on the floor. I think about that faint cry you gave that reassured me you were still breathing and broke my heart all at the same time. I think about how strong you are. I think about the hospital stays, doctors appointments, worry and fear. I think about the miracle of your life. I think about the alarm sounding from your monitor and the panic we used to feel. I think about the sleepless nights. I think about all the time we spent together in the dark. I think about how you love to be held. I think about how loving you are. I think about you growing and thriving. I think about your sweet voice saying mama for the first time. I think about how petite you are and how much you love to eat. I think about your feistiness and independence. I think about your strong-will. I think about how determined you are. I think about seeing you crawl for the first time. I think about you standing tall. I think about you clapping and waving bye backwards. I think about your sweet grin and your one and only tooth that's only a fourth of the way in. I think about the joy you have brought to my life. I think about you lighting up every time you see your sissy. I think about God's plan for your life. I think about the blessing that you are. I think about how much God must love me to bless me with you.

My girls...

My girls have been keeping me busier than ever lately. Since Laylin's choking incident right before she turned two months old, we've all been in overdrive and I've mostly been unplugged from writing. We're getting back to normal, or I should say our new normal and Laylin is doing well. She's on a cardio-respiratory monitor which both keeps me up and night and gives me peace of mind at the same time. We're not sure how long she'll have to be on this or her medication at this point, but likely for at least another month if not longer. 

At 9 1/2 weeks old she finally tipped the scales over 10lbs. At two months she was still coming in under 10lbs at 9lbs 10oz. Our little peanut is in either the 20th percentile or below on the charts, but is growing proportionally from where she started at 6lbs, 9oz. I could really tell a difference in her weight while we were in the hospital. I could see her chunking up and her little rolls forming on her thighs and under her chin. I love a chunky baby! Isla had rolls like that too, even more so. 

Laylin is so so sweet. I look at her in awe every day. She has the tiniest dainty features. Small face and head, tiny hands and sweetest expressions. She even looks precious when she cries (which before this recent incident, she didn't cry much at all). I feel like God has blessed me with the best baby! 

She loves to cuddle, take baths, suck on her paci, swing, coo and she is even starting to laugh out now. I've noticed she really hates to wear hats, but other than that I haven't noticed anything that she notably dislikes. She is, for the most part, a vesry content baby. 

My other "baby" has really taken off growing a lot recently too. Isla loves to sing, dance, tell stories, color and anything princess or Tinkerbell related. But her most favorite thing in the whole wide world right now is SHOES! She loves shoes. She probably changes shoes at least ten times a day. I'm forever picking up tiny shoes all over the house and find them stashed all over the place. I think little Miss Isla is going to be a girly girl. She is so much fun and each day these two girls bring more joy to my life than I ever thought imaginable. I seriously feel like the richest person on this earth to be their Mommy!

Isla's got a BIG personality!

Isla's BIG personality has really been shining lately. She is such a talker. She enunciates really well, doesn't shy away from big words and repeats EVERYTHING. She'll even sing the last lyrics of a song right after it goes off.

My little mimicker is so fun at nearly 28 months old. She loves playing with her baby dolls, making us lay down and play like she is our mommy, tinker bell, wearing her wings and high heel shoes, stickers, stamps and going outside. Oh, she also LOVES her little sister Laylin. She can't stand for Laylin to sleep. She wants her to be awake and be two inches from her face at all time. She loves to help out when Laylin needs a diaper change or if Laylin is crying she will try to sooth her by saying "it's okay Laylin" and giving her the paci.

My little Isla Rae has finally become a good sleeper. She sleeps in her big girl bed all through the night now with no fuss about going to bed. We have a great routine down now and she looks forward to story time. One change recently is that she likes to "read" to us now since she has many of her favorite books memorized.

She doesn't like brushing her teeth, so this is always a battle. She also doesn't like a ton of veggies, but she is starting to try more. Most recently she started liking broccoli (score!). She's still crazy about her staple foods, oatmeal, noodles and cheese. It could be worse I guess. At least I can sneak berries into the oatmeal and veggies into the noodles.

Besides talking a lot, she is also singing a lot now too. She loves to sing the songs she has learned at school, church songs and "let it go" of course. She also loves to dance. Fridays have become "Dance party nights" at our house. Joel and I pick a Pandora station and we all dance together for about an hour or so. I love these fun, goofy Friday nights!

Now that Isla is getting older, we also started game night on Wednesdays and movie night on Thursdays. I love these little traditions in our household. It gives us all little simple things to look forward to and its such great family time.

Isla has such a fun sweet heart. I'm so thankful for all the time I've been able to spend with my two sweet girls lately! So far the terrible twos haven't been terrible at all!

Laylin Jane Arrives!

We were blessed to welcome Laylin Jane into this world on August 9th, 2014 at 3:28am. She weighed 6lbs 9oz, and was 19 inches long.

Our little peanut only made us wait 2 days past her due date, unlike big sister who was 9 days late. I went into labor on Thursday after our 40 week check-up. We knew the contractions were different and stronger, but we couldn't get them to be consistent or in any kind of pattern for the 30+ hours I was in labor.

We headed to the hospital on Thursday night, August 7th, only to be turned away as I was only 2-3cm dilated. The contractions kept getting stronger so we went back to the doctor on Friday around lunchtime, but was sent home again. I was at a standstill and just wasn't progressing enough. I needed to be at least 4cm before being admitted to the hospital. The midwife suggested maybe it was false labor because I had been having contractions since late July, but we knew this time was different. It was more intense, and they weren't going away. With much disappointment (and a few tears) we headed back home to continue laboring. Luckily we had a lot of help from our mothers taking care of Isla during this time. I was fortunate enough to do most of the hard labor in the comfort of our own home and Isla was so good through it all. Somehow we managed to mask that I was in any discomfort or pain at all. At one point we told her I was cheering and she would cheer along with me.

I continued to labor at home with the best coach in the world, my husband, until 10pm Friday night. At this point it had been well over 24 hours since I went into labor and we knew I was getting exhausted, feeling defeated and well, in a lot of pain. We decided it was time to give it another shot... third time's the charm, right? We headed to the hospital and were so excited to learn I was 6cm. So excited that I cried tears of relief and pain all at the same time.

They admitted me and I ended up getting an epidural at midnight when I was 8cm. Things moved pretty quickly from there on out. My contractions were finally consistent at 1-2 minutes apart and my water broke. Around 3:10am on Saturday, I told the nurse I felt the baby coming. Sure enough, she was ready to make her big debut and came so quickly that the midwife couldn't get there in time. Our nurse, Racheal, delivered Laylin at 3:28. The ironic thing about our nurse is that her name is Racheal, just like my mother and they both spell it the same unique way. Neither one of them had ever met another Racheal that spelled their name that way. I thought  this was so cool.

After 3 big pushes, they laid Laylin up on my chest and it was one of the sweetest moments of my life. It was so intimate. It was just the nurses, Joel, Laylin and me. I held Laylin in my arms for a few hours before we even weighed her or did any of the other required stuff. She barely even cried.  She has been so content since her arrival. We feel incredibly blessed to have such a special, healthy, tiny girl.

Big sister, Isla, was the first visitor. She came to see her around 10am on Saturday and we explored Laylin together. Isla especially loved her tiny feet and toes. Because we had such a smooth delivery, we got to come home on Sunday at 11am. Isla was there waiting to welcome her baby sister home. She has been very excited about being a big sister and helping take care of her little sister. Besides occasionally wanting me to hold her when I'm holding Laylin, she's been adjusting very well. Her sweet heart is so refreshing and I can tell these girls are going to be lifetime best friends.

It's been a while...

Since I'm also blogging over at The Mommies, it has been a little more challenging to post my thoughts on here. I've had so many precious moments with Isla lately that I've wanted to jot down on paper so that I don't forget, but between work, motherhood, being a wifey and just plain being 40 weeks pregnant, I haven't had the time.

Isla is in the cutest stage now if I haven't told you already. She is having big girl conversations and saying the sweetest things. She has been praying for her pink ball nearly every night for a week now. I think she is concerned because it is dirty and I keep telling her I need to clean it. She also started praying for her paci since we have been trying to slowly persuade her to give it up. She prays for Joel and I, her sissy... (which we aren't sure where the phrase "sissy" came from because we have been calling baby #2 her little sister) and her cousins at night too.

She likes to talk to her sissy in my belly right now too. This morning she even disciplined her for the first time. I was walking around and the baby kicked me in an uncomfortable spot so I yelled out..."Ohhh!"

Isla responded, "You okay, mommy?" In a very concerning voice. I told her I was fine that it was just her baby sister moving around and kicking. Isla then lifted up my t-shirt, looked straight at my stretched belly and said... "No, no baby <insert baby's name>. Don't kick my mommy. That's not nice. Time-out!"

It was all I could do to keep from laughing. I squeezed her so tight. She has been giving the best hugs and squeezes lately and always so excited to see her dad and I if she has been away from us for any length of time.

I think she is going to do really well with the baby. She loves babies and doesn't seem to mind when I hold other children. I know there will be an adjustment period, but she is already so excited about the thought of a baby.

We have decked out the nook under our stairs with babydolls and babydoll furniture along with her other play things. We turned the unused space into a play area for her and she loves it! Of course, she always wants me to go in the tight space with her and sit down in the floor to play... or even lay down in the floor so that she can pretend to be my mommy and pat my back.

She's a constant reminder of one of my greatest purposes on this earth and we feel so blessed He entrusted us with such an awesome toddler!

Baby #2 is officially due tomorrow. We are as ready as we'll ever be and I'm looking forward to it finally being time as I've had so many false alarms in the past few weeks. These last weeks have been hard for me. I can't seem to get comfortable and sleep is no where to be found, but I'm trying to enjoy these last few days of pregnancy in case this happens to be our last child. We don't know what the future holds for our family, but we sure are grateful for today and the growth He has blessed us with!

Praises!

On this day two years ago, my body was getting ready to go into labor. I started laboring with Isla around 6:30 pm, but she didn't make her debut until the 4th, two days later.

I can't believe it's been two years already. It's so emotional to think about. It seems when you want something to hurry up and get here, time goes by so slow. But when you want the hours, days and years to last forever, they go by in a blink of an eye.

These past two years have been the best years of my life so far. Filled with unimaginable joy, laughter, challenges and strength. God has opened my eyes and heart to a new found love. An unbreakable love I share with my husband as we parent and partner together on everything. An unconditional love I have with my daughter... as even on her hardest days, I know deep down, I will look back on these days as the best ones of my life. What amazing gifts He has blessed me with!

Isla's first two years have been such a learning experience for me too. I've learned so much about her and Joel, but also so much more about myself. I've learned I have more strength and patience than I ever thought possible. I've learned I can go on a very small amount of sleep and still manage to function. I've learned the value of "me" time. I've learned about a love I never knew before. I've learned how much my own mother loves me. I've learned more about God's unconditional love for me. I've felt a greater sense of compassion, gratitude and empathy. Children open our lives to seeing so much more if we allow ourselves to be truly present and engaged in the moments.

Twice, I was told by doctors that I would have fertility issues and likely be unable to carry a baby on my own without medical assistance. God has prevailed and reigns in my life. He has answered our prayers with not just one pregnancy, but two. As I feel baby #2 kick in my belly, I'm reminded of His love, blessings and power.

Psalm 113:9

He settles the barren woman in her home as a happy mother of children. Praise the LORD.

It's a...

We are so thrilled to announce that baby #2 is a GIRL!!! We did our gender reveal this weekend and had fun with silly sting and balloons. Isla was a little confused by all the silly string. She couldn't figure out if it was pink noodles or slime. It was so cute to watch her run around during the shoot though. Big thanks to Joel's talented sister who took all the pictures! We cannot wait for our little girl to arrive!

Almost half way there!

Almost half way there! This week we get to find out the gender of baby #2...if the hubby lets me! We found out with our first as I could not stand to wait. Joel was fine to wait and actually preferred for it to be surprise, but not me... the planner with slightly OCD personality traits had to know ahead of time. I've agreed to compromise and go with his wishes for baby #2, but I am still using power of persuasion to make him want to find out. We'll see if he bends at all.

I have a feeling its another girl. A lot has been the same with baby #2 as with our first. I've been VERY sick with ongoing nausea and indigestion. I have had headaches this time on top of the nausea which is new. No weight gain either...I've actually lost weight. I did the same thing with our daughter, so we're trying not to worry. With Isla, the sickness lasted until around 28 weeks and didn't revisit until I was in labor. Hopefully, will subside a little sooner with baby #2.

I've realized how luxurious my first pregnancy was, even if I was sick the majority of the time. The first time around I could go straight to bed, take a nap whenever I needed, not make dinner if I didn't feel like it, eat whatever I wanted, take a bath whenever I wanted and basically have many freedoms I do not have this time around. This time, I have a wide-eyed toddler watching my every move. She can tell when I'm sick, so I have to fake feeling well, put on a happy face and tell her everything is ok. She needs dinner or a snack, to be held or mommy time nearly 24/7 . She also watches my every move...if I'm craving ice cream or something she shouldn't have I have to sneak away or strategically plan my cravings. Especially since she is already a fussy eater. It's been an interesting journey already with baby #2.

We're starting to prepare Isla for her new sibling already. We've explained that there is a baby in mommy's belly, but now she thinks there is a baby in daddy's belly too and even her own! It's so cute to listen to her talk about babies and the fact that she is baby crazy right now makes us even more excited. We can tell she is going to be a very loving big sister to her little brother or sister. Hoping to find out the gender and share with our loved ones soon!

An Update on the Bradbury's

Wow, it's been over a month since my last post. You may be wondering what have the Bradbury's have been up to...

Well... First of all, Joel and I have both been very busy with new jobs! The Lord blessed both of us with a new job in October/November of 2013 and with any change, it has taken us a while to adjust and get settled. We are so grateful for the time we had together at our previous company and also feel incredibly blessed to both be in positions we love!

My new position allows me to work from home and the amount of extra time I get with our little nugget has been priceless! I have been busy working from home, spending more time with Isla, growing a human :), and also blogging over at The Mommies!

My friend Kristen and I launched The Mommies in the Fall of 2013 and we have loved the path that God has been taking us on through this blog. If you haven't already, please check us out at The Mommies and join for ongoing updates. Also, please message me if you would like to be a contributor at The Mommies! We love for other moms to share their experiences, blessings and tips.

Little Miss Isla Rae has been busy growing and changing into a little girl! That's right, her baby ways are leaving her and she is becoming more and more like a little girl rather than a baby every day. Of course, she will ALWAYS be my baby... and I'll never stop thinking of her in that way, but it's been so amazing to watch her develop over the past few months. Just this year alone, she has changed tremendously. She is more independent, the way she plays with her dolls and toys has changed... she is much more interactive now, she is VERY animated and loves to carry on a conversation, with anyone.

I feel so incredibly blessed to be her mommy and for the growing little bean in my belly!

Baby #2 Due 8-7-14

I'm excited to finally announce, Isla will have a baby sister or brother this year!

I'm overwhelmed with emotion and beyond grateful to God for His continued blessings to and allowing our family to grow.

Isla will turn two years old in June and Baby B. will be born sometime in August. With only two years between them, we hope the two will be close and develop a strong loving bond.

Here are a few snapshots of our announcement. I love how Isla is cracking up in some of these!

So Proud!

This weekend, we are heading to Whitelake, NC for a little R&R ,time with family and friends and... for my husband to compete in his second triathlon at Whitelake!

He has been training for over 18 weeks now and everyday he amazes me with his dedication and strong will. His commitment to be great and do great is just one more reason why I love him. Not only has he been committed to training, but his commitment to being a great husband and father has never wavered as he was undergoing a demanding training schedule. His dedication to our family, his work, my honey-do list and his personal endeavors is so admirable and I know I can always count on him.   I am so impressed and proud of all of his accomplishments.

 Isla and I are looking forward to watching from the sidelines and cheering him on as he conquers yet another great milestone.

Not sure why, but the clip from Robin Hood came to mind when writing this post - YAY DAD!

 

Isla goes to the Zoo!

On Sunday, we took Isla to the zoo for the first time. I wasn't sure what to expect as the stroller has not been her best friend in the past.

To sum up the trip, she LOVED it! She was as content as I've ever seen her in the stroller all day. She didn't squirm, fuss or even want out.

Her favorite exhibit was the bears. They put on a show for us! They walked along the rocks right in front of us, in plain site for Isla to see. They moved their lips and paws up and down, splashed and jumped in the water and shook all over. Isla screamed out in excitement and pointed to them over and over again. She really got the most excited at this exhibit.

She called all the animals with a tail a dog. She would yell out, "daaaw" and we would correct her saying, no Isla that's a zebra or no Isla, that's an elephant... and she would say, "No, daaaw." It was so cute.

Later that evening while we were giving her a bath, Joel asked her what does a dog say and she responded, "moooooo." Haha - we got some work to do on our animal names and sounds, but she loves all things bears!