At the Hospital

Brad and I stayed in the hospital for 4 days while I recovered from the c-section and we got to know our little boy. He is so sweet, and he has been a very chill, relaxed baby right from the start. He has moments where he opens his eyes and quietly looks around, taking in everything. He likes to hold his little hands against his cheeks, and he must have been a thumb sucker in my tummy because he has an easy time putting his thumb or fingers in his mouth to soothe himself.

Noni and Grandpa Winchester brought Delaney to the hospital to meet Owen the day he was born. We were all so eager to see her reaction, and I had a brand new baby doll ready to give to her as a gift from Owen. The plan was to present her with her very own baby to hold and take care of whenever I was preoccupied with Owen. She got to the room and was so excited to see Brad & me, I don't think she even noticed I was holding Owen at first. Grandpa Gary put her on my bed and she crawled up to us, looked at Owen, and then saw my IV and immediately became more interested in the IV tubing than anything else. I held Owen closer to her, thinking that maybe she didn't see him, but she looked at him for 2 seconds and then turned to play with the TV remote controller. Apparently we didn't have to worry about her feeling jealous of the new baby, because she couldn't have been less interested. We gave her the baby doll, and she was thrilled with her new toy - success! She was mesmerized with its blinking eyes and little eyelashes, and she loves dragging it around with her as she crawls.

Delaney came back a couple more times during our hospital stay and eventually started to notice that mama was holding onto a real baby. The first time she acknowledged Owen, she looked at his face with a huge smile, said "Hiiiiiii," and meant to pat him on the head but accidentally slapped him in the face instead. We'll work on that… Fortunately, Owen was too sleepy to notice. 

I've thought of Laney as my itty bitty little baby since the day she was born. Then all of the sudden Owen arrived and it reminded me how small newborns really are. He was teeny! Laney came to visit and all I could think about was how huge she looked next to him! When did my little baby girl become a little toddler?? It felt like it happened overnight and I wasn't prepared for it. She's 20 lbs, starting to talk, and about to walk, and it all happened so fast! It's such an important reminder to me that no matter how crazy it gets with two little ones, I need to treasure every single moment with both of them because time flies by way too quickly. 

Before I left the hospital, I asked my OB, Dr Fok, when it would be okay to lift Delaney on my own. I knew I'd have my hands full with little Owen but I was eager to take care of Laney again as well. His first response was, very seriously, "You can lift her in 3 months. Until then, no lifting anything heavier than the baby." I was shocked and almost burst into tears. He must have noticed the look on my face because he then said, "At the very least, 8 weeks. But we'll have to see how you're doing at that point." I wasn't prepared for this news, and it was difficult to absorb. I realized that having a second c-section one year after the first c-section would be tough on my body and recovery wouldn't be easy, but I hadn't even considered that I wouldn't be able to pick up my little girl. Not only would this be difficult for me emotionally because I'm very attached to her, but it would also be challenging logistically. Brad would be gone during the week, and I can't take care of her if I can't lift her. I can't put her in her crib or take her out…I can't lift her on or off the changing table…I can't carry her up or down the stairs. If I can't do any of those things for at least 8 weeks, I can't watch her on my own while I'm at home. What a disappointment. Fortunately, I have the most incredible in-laws in the entire world. Noni and Grandpa Winchester stepped forward and offered to take care of her whenever we needed until I'm able to take over again. How on earth did I get so lucky?? Laney absolutely loves her Noni and Grandpa and feels very comfortable with them, so it was such a relief to know that she'd spend weekdays in their loving and capable hands! Not only was it a relief to know that she would be happy and well taken care of, but it was also nice to know that I would have some time alone with Owen to bond with him.

Our first family photo

Our hospital had the BEST chocolate milkshakes. We had at least one everyday. They were so good, they deserved their own photo.

 Laney was so excited to see us!

Giving Laney her baby doll

Owen's first bath

Noni in her element

Proud papa

Showing Laney videos from when she was born

Ready to go home!

Home sweet home

Welcome, Owen Christopher Winchester!

On Sunday, July 20, 2014, we delivered our son! Owen Christopher Winchester was born at 8:57am and weighed in at 7 lbs 4 oz, 19.5 inches long.

12 1/2 Months Old & 38 Weeks Pregnant

Since Delaney's 1st birthday, she has really picked up on her cruising skills. She can pull herself up on just about anything and swiftly walk alongside it to move across a room. She hasn't tried letting go and taking steps on her own yet. She's also tall enough to climb onto the couch by herself, although she doesn't mind using Cash as a stepping stool if he's in her way.

She loves saying "Hi!" and will put words together to say "Hi dada!" or "Hi Cat!" (Cash). She doesn't say mama much, but I don't take it personally. It's so cute when I walk into her room to take her out of her crib and she says "Hi!" with a big grin, or when I open the car door to get her out of her car seat and she says "Hi!" and waves at me.

Laney had her first dentist appointment right after she turned 1. It might seem silly, considering she only has 8 teeth, but there were a few good reasons to bring her in. 1) It's a very informal appointment to get her comfortable with the dentist's office. We took a ride up and down in the big chair, and she was able to pick out a toy as a prize for being such a good patient (all the toy options were choking hazards for a 1-year-old, so I didn't actually give it to her…but still…). 2) The dentist was able to look at the teeth that have already come in to make sure they were developing properly, and we talked about helping Laney develop proper tooth brushing habits. 3) She's now established as a dental patient, so if she has an accident involving her mouth, we'll be able to reach a dentist at that office or bring her in at any time, day or night. Now that she's cruising everywhere and about to walk, accidents are bound to happen and it's reassuring to have a dentist on call, just in case.

She loves books. Looooooooooves them. Brad is especially good at reading them to her because he uses the best silly voices, and he's very engaging. Laney will lie down next to him, snuggle in, and help turn the pages. She points at the pictures and makes monkey sounds ("ooh ooh ooh ah ah") whenever she sees a monkey. Brad absolutely loves story time because it's the only time he can get Laney to lie down and snuggle with him - she's usually too eager to crawl, play, and explore and has very little patience for lying down and snuggling.

Last week, we celebrated Laney's first official 4th of July in Minocqua with her cousin James, Aunt Elizabeth and Uncle Danny, and Noni and Grandpa. The two kids had so much fun playing together, but their playtime was limited each day. They're 4 1/2 months apart, and they're on completely different nap schedules right now. Laney takes two naps, usually around 9am-11am and 3pm-5pm. James takes one nap, around 12pm-3pm. When they were both awake, it was loud, crazy, party time at the cabin! Both babies were able to make it to the 4th of July parade in Tomahawk. James took it all in from the sidewalk, and Laney was a little less excited about it. She was tired, crying, and ready for nap #2, but she calmed down once I sat her on my lap and let her sip on ice water from a straw sippy cup. Since that was all that kept her calm, we didn't move for the entire parade. Brad would have stepped in to help, but he was too busy entertaining the crowd. He debuted his Ernie the Eagle costume this year, and I don't think the 4th of July parade will ever be the same. People were getting such a kick out of him, and everyone was getting their picture taken with him. He actually walked in the parade a few times and pulled some pretty hilarious antics. In a way, he made himself the mascot for the Tomahawk Parade. I'm eager to see what Ernie the Eagle does next year...

I am 38 weeks along with Baby Boy Winchester, and it's quite difficult to move around. I'm waddling nonstop. I'm eager to find out how big he is, because he feels huge! I think my tummy is stretched out as far as it can go. If he moves around while I'm walking, sometimes he hits a nerve or something because it feels like my thighs cramp up like a charley horse. It always catches me off guard and it feels like my legs are going to give out. He's very strong when he moves around, and I can see his little arms and legs protruding all over the place. I can't wait to meet him! My c-section is scheduled for next Sunday, July 20th, so our countdown is finally in the single digits. This pregnancy has felt like it has taken so long and it has gone so slowly, but now that we're a week away, these last few days seem to be going too quickly. We're soaking up as much time as we can with Laney while she's an only child, but we're so, so excited to make her a big sister.

Her first trip to the dentist! She doesn't look thrilled, but she actually had a great time.

Spending time with cousins Cora and Liesl. She also met her newborn cousin, Jane, who was busy eating during this picture. :)

With Noni, watching her papa play at a charity hockey game. She loved it! She smiled, screamed, and bounced when she saw her papa take his helmet off and wave at her during warmups!

Playing with James at Great-Nona's 90th Birthday Party

The kiddie pool at the cabin was much warmer than the lake!

Ernie the Eagle

Ernie with Uncle Danny

Sitting with mama in an air conditioned sandwich shop during the Tomahawk 4th of July Parade. Laney was happy with her ice water sippy cup, and I certainly wasn't complaining about sitting down in air conditioning.

Fresh curls after bath time. We can't believe how adorably curly her hair is getting!

Relaxing in the hammock with papa

Rainy day

Noni set up a photo session for the two little ones. They were so good (and so cute)!

Happy 1st Birthday, Delaney Evelyn Winchester!

On Sunday morning, June 22, 2014, the birthday girl woke up around 6:45am, ready to eat. After a big bottle and diaper change, she played for an hour and we decided to take her to our favorite coffee shop, Oasis Cafe. We weren't there long before Delaney was yawning and rubbing her eyes, so I brought her home for her first nap of the day at about 9:00am. While she was napping, Brad and I hung up pink streamers and pink and white balloons.

Laney woke up at 10:45, and Noni and Grandpa Winchester came over for lunch and a little birthday celebration. Laney's great gramma Ev called from Calgary to wish her a very happy birthday, and Noni made delicious paninis while Laney opened a couple presents. She got a stroller walker from papa and me, and a few cute outfits from Noni and Grandpa. After lunch, we served Laney her first taste of sugar - a slice of strawberry shortcake. She was a little bit tired and wasn't sure about this slice of cake we put in front of her, so she stuck her hands in it and squished it around a little bit. After a few bites, she was hooked! She perked up and kicked her feet as she stuffed her mouth with chunks of cake and frosting. Happy girl! We had so much fun watching her dig in, and she devoured the entire slice. All together, I think we took about 500 pictures of her eating birthday cake.

After cleaning her up, which was a team effort, she opened her big present from Noni and Grandpa. She got a very cool Smart Trike that I'm sure she'll enjoy for the next couple of years. After she took a quick spin on it around the living room, she completely crashed from all of the sugar and excitement. She took a nap at around 2:30, we cleaned up, and Noni and Grandpa headed home.

She woke up from nap #2 around 3:30, and Brad and I took her to the pool for a birthday swim. Playing in water is one of her absolute favorite activities, and she screamed, squealed, and smiled the entire time. Brad was in the water with her, and I sat on the sidelines because I'm almost 9 months pregnant and move around very slowly these days. He put Laney up on the edge of the pool, and she would lean forward and "jump" into his arms in the water. He also threw her high up into the air and caught her without letting her go completely under water. She had SO much fun! After swimming, we came home, gave her a bath, played, and she was completely wiped out by 7:30pm.

Laney's first birthday was very low key! We didn't have a big party, but we were completely focused on making sure she had a fun day. We definitely achieved that. :) It couldn't have been more perfect for her and for us. We're so lucky to have this happy, silly little girl in our lives and can't wait to see what the next year brings!

At the coffee shop. Proud to be 1!

Papa is showing her videos of when she was a teeny little newborn

So excited!

Using her new stroller walker

Unsure about the cake...

She loves it!

The birthday girl is too busy to smile

Being 1 is the best!

Trying out her new tricycle.

Pre-swimming selfie!

In the pool with papa 

12 Months Old

Lately, Laney loves standing. She crawls around and tries pulling herself up to a standing position on every piece of furniture in the house. There have been a few moments where she lets go of the furniture and stands on her own, but it's only for a second or two. We've had to take baby proofing to another level by removing everything within her (now much higher) reach. If you look around our house, the only things you'll find within a 3 foot distance off the floor are her toys. We're constantly on the lookout, because she keeps surprising us by grabbing things we didn't think she could get her hands on.

We've also been saying "No" more often. We try not to say it too much because we don't want her to start tuning us out and ignoring that word. We want it to retain some sort of value so she recognizes it as something serious whenever we say it. If she's doing something we don't want her to do, and we can distract her or easily stop what she's doing, we'll do that instead of saying No. But if she's doing something that could result in her getting hurt (like pulling herself up on the television console and slapping the TV, which could tip over), or if it's something she will repeatedly do no matter how many times we try to pull her away (like splashing her hands in Cash's water bowl and tipping it over), we'll give her a stern "No," pick her up (kicking and screaming), and move her away from that object. At this point, she has definitely learned which activities are off-limits, and she'll test us… For example, recently she crawled up to Cash's water bowl, looked right at me, and stuck her hand in the water. I said No, and the second I started walking towards her, she quickly turned and crawled away from me at top speed, smiling and squealing. I try so hard not to burst into laughter! She's such a stinker, and it really is the cutest thing, but I have to try to keep a straight face so she doesn't think I'm playing a game with her.

It's also difficult not to laugh when I tell her No and she keeps doing whatever she's doing over, and over, and over again. I do my best to give a consistent reaction so she understands that the same action will produce the same results, and I won't give in and let her get away with something if she's persistent. There was one time she pulled herself up on the TV console, I said No and pulled her away, and she crawled right back over to it and pulled herself up again. We repeated this about 10 times, and she never lost steam. By the 10th time she pulled herself up on the console, I was having a hard time not laughing. I couldn't hold back my giggles, because her determination was so cute and hilarious. I had to put her in her jumper to contain her and force her to do something else (she happily started jumping and forgot all about the TV).

At 1 year old, Delaney is FINALLY sleeping through the night on a pretty consistent basis (knock on wood)! She falls asleep around 8-8:30pm and sleeps until 6:30-7:00am. It's heaven for me! (Just in time for baby boy to arrive and the sleepless nights to start all over again… but that's okay, it's worth it.) Before having Delaney, I always imagined I would start sleep training around 6 months and my baby would would instantly start sleeping through the night. HA! Looking back on that, it's pretty hilarious. I was so wrong. She's an excellent sleeper, but when she would wake up in the middle of the night, she was hungry and she would NOT go back to sleep until she had a bottle. I got into the routine of letting her cry for 5-10 minutes to see if she'd fall back asleep (rarely she would), but if the crying grew louder and hit the 5-10 minute mark, I would just hop out of bed and get her a bottle. Every few weeks, I would let her cry to see if I could break the habit of waking up in the middle of the night for a bottle. Those nights, she could cry longer than an hour without losing steam. She'd just get louder and more angry as time passed, and the only way to get her back to sleep was to fill her little tummy. Knowing she was crying for a reason and not just to play, I couldn't let my hungry child cry (especially since she was growing so much - she needed that food) so I just resigned to the fact that I would have to get up and feed her each night. The bottle, burp, and diaper change only took about 20 minutes total, and she'd fall right back asleep. I, on the other hand, would get back into bed and lay there for an hour or two, trying to fall back asleep…thanks, pregnancy hormones. Fortunately, she seems to have settled into an awesome sleep routine. She still cries in her sleep once or twice every night, but it only lasts 2-3 minutes. She takes 2 long naps each day and falls right asleep for those, too. Good sleeper = happy mama!

Laney loves talking. We can't understand most of what she says yet, but a few of her favorite words that we can understand are "dada" (this makes Brad very happy) and "oh wow." Brad, Noni and I never realized how much we say "oh wow!" until Delaney started saying it. Now we notice ourselves saying it all the time, and she says it nonstop. It's so cute! When she wakes up from a nap, I can hear her on the monitor saying "oh wow wow wow," and she'll look at something, point, and say "oh wow!" She also repeats what a monkey says ("ooh ooh ooh ah ah ah") and what a bear says ("grrrrrr"). It's so much fun hearing her say things in that little girl voice.

Her first trip to the zoo, and she got a major close-up of a giraffe!

The giraffe was so exciting for her to see!

Standing up is her new favorite thing, and trips to Target will never be easy again.

She's very impressed with the Fudge Shop in Minocqua

In the boat house, looking out at the lake. She loves the cabin!

Enjoying her new book with papa on Father's Day

At the library, this is her favorite activity. She plays with the letters, pulls off a few, chews on them, and then crawls around with them.

She squeezed herself into that box. And I'm 8 1/2 months pregnant.

11 1/2 Months Old

Our little sweetie is almost 1 year old! I can't quite comprehend it yet. Every time I look at her, I still think of her as a teeny little baby, not a soon-to-be 1-year-old. I can't believe it has almost been an entire year since she joined our family, and I can't imagine life without her!

Little miss Laney bear started waving. She doesn't do it consistently yet. We constantly encourage her by waving "hello" and "good-bye," and every now and then she'll wave back at us. It's exciting to see her understand the gestures we're making. It always amazes me when she makes a connection and communicates with us somehow.

She has also just started pointing at things, and it's fun looking at whatever she's pointing at and talking about it with her. In a way, it's sort of opening my eyes to her world. I get to see exactly what she's looking at, and I have a better understanding of some of the things she's interested in.

Occasionally while I'm feeding her, she will offer me a handful of her food. She'll reach towards my face and offer to put the food in my mouth, the way I do it for her. It's so sweet! Sometimes, just as I'm about to take the food from her, she quickly pulls her hand away and puts the food in her own mouth. Bait and switch. :)

Delaney knows when she's doing something she shouldn't be doing. We're sure she understands the word "no" because she often responds to it by stopping whatever it is she's up to. She seems to be a selective listener, though. She loves picking things up off the floor and putting them in her mouth, even though she knows we don't want her to. She'll find a little tuft of Cash's fur on the floor and look me in the eyes as she slowly picks it up and moves it toward her mouth. As I start walking towards her, ready to take it away and saying "no," she quickly shoves it in her mouth and crawls away from me as fast as she can. Then I have to chase her, pry her mouth open and grab the spit-soaked fur ball off her tongue. Sometimes she'll find a blade of grass or a carpet fiber fuzzball and sneak it into her mouth, and I won't realize it until I see her drooling and smacking her lips on something. She knows when she's been caught, because as soon as I start walking towards her, the chasing game begins.

One interesting new challenge is changing Laney's diaper. She hates it when playtime is interrupted for a diaper change, and it has really become a struggle to keep her entertained on the changing pad. The second I start carrying her up the stairs to her bedroom, she starts protesting - kicking her feet, pushing against me, and crying. As soon as she touches the changing pad, she kicks both of her legs really hard, tries with every ounce of her strength to twist around onto her stomach, screams, cries, flails her arms, and tries to knock every item around her onto the floor. I change her diaper at least 6 times each day, so it gets old pretty quickly (for both of us). She used to enjoy playing with new stuffed animals or toys during the diaper change, but that no longer interests her. Singing "Wheels on the Bus" used to work - she loved it when the kids on the bus went UP! and DOWN! Then she was entertained every time I sang a song called "Five funky chickens." (Brad discovered that song, and it gets stuck in my head constantly. I wake up in the middle of the night with the song glued to my brain.) Brad is pretty good at distracting her with songs, noises, and funny facial expressions, but he isn't able to be around for every diaper change. The funny part is that the second I'm done and reach to lift her up off the changing pad, she stops everything she's doing and happily smiles like a little angel. It's so ridiculous, I can't help but laugh. I know this is just a phase and it will pass, so hopefully it passes soon!

Another phase I'm hoping passes quickly is her new biting phase. This week, she has bitten me 3 times. It has only happened to me so far (thank goodness!). It happens when she's frustrated, and she doesn't yet know of another way to communicate her frustration with me. For example, if she's happily playing with her toys but I notice her getting sleepy, I'll interrupt her playtime by picking her up to bring her to bed. She kicks, screams, and then leans over and latches onto my forearm. I'm left with a teeny little 8-tooth bite mark. Over the past few days, I've received many different recommendations to stop a child from biting. I decided that I would just immediately say "No biting!" very sternly and then try to calm her down. I'm hoping that helps break the habit. I'm sure that once she gets a little older and learns how to communicate better, the biting phase will eventually pass.

First cabin trip of the season.

On a boat ride with Noni

Having a blast on our enormous bean bag chair

Laney is the captain of this ship!

Upset because I wouldn't let her dive off the side of the couch, face first.

Those curls!

Her very first trip to the zoo! And I'm 8 months pregnant with her little brother.