Week 2 Of our photo challenge. I have been organizing Ailyn's medical bills all week. And, WOW this little nugget is one expensive baby! But, O so worth it!!
(each week I am doing a photo challenge with a couple friends. The theme is "To sum up your week")
Camden was born at exactly the same time I am writing this 5 years ago! Camden came into this world 5 weeks early, weighing 5 pounds 4 ounces. 17 inches. At 10:38PM. Today was bittersweet. I didn't know whether to be happy or sad. So I chose both. From day one, Camden has amazed us with his strength. Being 5 weeks early, he was very healthy and needed no NICU time. He came home 8 days later with me. He has had to deal with some small preemie issues but amazed us all. Camden has always been on the small side. His doctor told us if we lined him up with 100 children, he would be one of the smallest. I blame his father for this one ;) I have been told all the brothers (and, there are a lot of them) started out small and caught up in high school. Looking at Aaron's high school pictures make me laugh because he is so teeny! I do remember him being short. But, today he is 5'7 and perfect. And, I like my babies tiny....I wouldn't want it any other way ;) Camden is an AMAZING big brother. From the day we told him he was going to be a big brother, he took his new title very serious. Running to get Mommy the throw up bowl, rubbing my belly and telling Ailyn to stay in and cook a little longer. Then when Ailyn came 12 weeks too early, his world turned upside down. He was told he was going to meet Mommy at the hospital. He showed up at the same time the ambulance did. I will never forget the look on his face when he saw me. I tried so hard not to scream and show him I was in pain. He was so brave that weekend. Sleeping over a friends house when he had never been overnight without Mommy or Daddy. Over the next 3 months, he continued to be brave. He only got to meet Ailyn once in the 3 months she was in the NICU. To him, Ailyn wasn't a person, just pictures and small clips of video. But, that didn't stop him for loving her. The day she came home was one of the happiest days of his life. He was so happy to have the family all together. For months he would make us all sit together on the couch and he would say "We are all together now, this is our family" He has had to make so many sacrifices for Ailyn. He has never showed any jealously towards her for it. He is very happy being home with us. When Ailyn is ok to fly, we are taking him to Disney World. That is a promise. We will make this year up to him! If you know Aaron, you know he is a goof! Well, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Camden is Aaron's mini me. He makes up songs and will repeat them over and over until my head spins. They have jokes between them that only they know. They have an amazing bond. BUT!! Camden is still a Mommy's boy all the way!!! I got a call one day with the possibility of very bad news on Ailyn's health while pregnant. I got off the phone and cried so hard. He put his arm on me, then wiped my tears away. It's a moment I will never forget. Makes me so proud to be his Mommy. I wanted to make his birthday extra special today. I made him his favorite breakfast with his favorite "Bunny" Milk, chocolate of course. I found a new babysitter for Ailyn (her first!!) and we took Camden out to dinner at the Outback. We told him how much we loved him and how we are so proud of him. He loved the one on one attention. After dinner we took him to Target to pick out any gift he wanted...below is a picture of the ugliest toy I have ever seen!! Happy Birthday to our "Monkey", "Monkey man", "Monk", "Peanut", "Cammers", "Cam"!!!! Daddy, Mommy and Ailyn are super lucky to have you in our family. We love you!!!
I have been concerned about Ailyn's development for a few weeks now. I talked to her pediatrician and he made me feel a lot better. He doesn't expect Ailyn to be meeting 5 month milestones, he wants her to be in the 3-4 month range.I was told by the doctor (and my Mom) that we have to give her the 3 months that she was in the hospital, she didn't have the normal start on life.She spent weeks trying to survive. So I have been trying to say this to myself over and over and give her a break! If I had to put an age on her I would say she was 4.5 months old. I also brought up my concerns to her therapist. She agreed that Ailyn is a little developmentally behind in some areas. Socially, she exceeds her adjusted age, she has always been very social. We have been working on reaching for objects. She is grabbing more and more but it's not in a controlled way. We work on rolling, she can roll from her tummy to back. She does not seem the least bit interested in rolling to her side and over. We practice playing on her side, but she fights us.We do daily "therapy" with her, which is playtime. We have never pushed her to do more. When she is tired she will let you know :) Her therapist said there is nothing wrong (like Cerebral Palsy) she is just delayed. It's so hard not to worry about each and every milestone. And, when she meets the milestone, it's a relief instead of happiness. I did this with Camden as well, he was always exactly 5 weeks behind. Last night I looked at baby pictures (awww) of Camden at Ailyn's adjusted age. The pictures were very similar to what she is doing and WOW do they look so much alike! So if this is true, she will be sitting and creeping like a pro at 6 months.
Ailyn will start having therapy every week now to help her a little more. I can not say enough great stuff about the Infant and Toddler program here. They are amazing people and so caring to your child's needs. We are super lucky to have them in our lives.
Ailyn has found the cats. She will stop what she is doing and just stare. Last night was the first night she grabbed Raegan's hair. She was very interested. Raegan our fossil, is so good with MY kids (hates other kids). Our other cat, Rage is not that into the kids but has been showing interest in Ailyn! Camden is working on letter S this week. We have a ton of projects to do. He is really starting to understand letter sounds make words. He is catching on really quick. Aaron and I are looking into schools for next year. With Ailyn's medical bills, it might be hard to afford the school we really wanted. If anyone has suggestions for schools in the area, please email me!!
*** I am fully aware that the Johnny Jump-up that Ailyn is in is not good for preemies. She is never in it long enough to worry. Her therapist said it actually might help with her shallow bone in her hip. *****
10 years ago, Aaron proposed to me under the fireworks. It's been a crazy 10 years, but I wouldn't trade it for the world!! We have two miracle babies, our health and are still best friends. I love you Aaron!!! Here's to another 10 great years! I rang in the new year all by my lonesome. Aaron fell asleep 20 minutes before the ball dropped. I would have woken him up but I was liking the quiet. It gave me time to sit and think about the past year. WOW, what an insane year! We made it through some extremely tough times and are stronger because of it. All four of us!! As the ball was dropping, I had Ailyn breathing in my ear, Aaron next to me and Camden looking so sweet sleeping. I honestly could not think of a better way to bring in the New Year! We lost a couple friends this year, but have made new and reconnected with old. We are so lucky to have such great friends and family. The count down is on for my sisters arrival with her fiancee and baby!! They all got their shots and are doing their best to stay healthy. Can't wait to see you guys!!!!
A couple of my photography pals are doing a weekly photo challenge. Each week we have to submit a picture that sums up our week. The picture above pretty much sums up my week. Camden half naked, and if you were able to see his face, you would see a chocolate milk mustache. Ailyn dressed better than all of us. If you zoom in on the picture you will see my living room trashed with Legos, baby toys and crumbs from snacks Camden helps his self too. Our tree is still up, which is killing me. Aaron and I have an agreement that I will not throw the tree out until New Years. He claims I throw the tree out the door the second Camden finishes opening his last gift.
Overall it was a great week. Ailyn got her second RSV shot today. she weighed in at 10 pounds 8 ounces, up from 10 pounds 2 ounces last week. Her doctor was very happy with her great health and was extremely happy Ailyn did not get Camden's cold (knock on wood).
I have to admit I am very happy this year is coming to a close. As much as it was one of the best years of our lives, it was also the worst. I am ready to start a new year and put all the bad memories behind us. In 2010, we get to celebrate Camden's 5th birthday and Ailyn's first! Happy New Year to all of you!!!!
All day yesterday I thought it was Saturday. I was excited to have another family day and to sleep in one more day. I stayed up very late watching a movie, fed Ailyn so she would sleep 6 hours for me. Aaron came in to say goodbye to us and I was very confused. Needless to say, it was a very long day for Mommy!!
Camden and Ailyn are really enjoying their new toys. Our favorite gift was a Wii. The boys are playing as I type this. I am so sore!!! But, it's a lot of fun and something we can all do together.
Ailyn's new trick is spitting...not raspberries, just good ol spitting. She must really like the sound because she does it all day long. She was able to sit unassisted for 4 seconds. Of course I had to be right there to catch her because she falls quick! She is getting stronger so hopefully she will be able to meet the milestones her therapists are waiting for.
Camden got a really bad cold last week. I went into panic mode, cleaned every room, tried to keep Camden away from Ailyn. He was very good about not touching her hands. Knock on wood, his cold is gone and we are all healthy. I can not tell you how stressful keeping her healthy is!!! She did get Camden's pink eye. I was not surprised since it's very contagious. We had drops so I started them right away.
I was very happy to hear that you all are keeping up with our blog. It was nice to talk to everyone on Christmas and not have to explain what is going on with Ailyn over and over. Of course I don't mind talking about her, but the story gets to be very long.....Thank you!
It's going to be a quiet Christmas here at our house this year...but we are not complaining!!! We miss everyone. Hopefully we can make it home for Christmas next year. Look for pictures tomorrow!
Wow, 8 months old! I can not believe we are starting to think about planning her first birthday party!!! Ailyn's personality is really starting to show. For her 8th month birthday post, I thought it would be fun to give you some fun facts about our Ailyn.
Ailyn is so quiet. She is not a talker. When she coos, everyone will stop and listen to what she has to say. She thinks she is very funny and smiles really big after her stories. Her voice is also very soft, we love to hear her sweet voice. Ailyn is always happy. She has a different cry for hunger, tired or boredom. She never cries for nothing. It's very easy to settle her down if she is upset. She just looks around and takes it all in. She loves to be held, she would be happy to be held all day everyday. And, we don't mind. Ailyn has always been an amazing sleeper. Well, compared to her brother who never slept until he was 3! During the day she will take cat naps all day. Every 2 hours she is ready for a small nap. I think her mind is conditioned to eat every 3 hours since we have had to wake her up around the clock. Now, we are able to let her sleep 6 hours at night. AND, she does! I will feed her at 12:30am and she will sleep until 6:30 when Daddy wakes her up to eat. He will hand her to me and she will sleep until 9am. This makes Mommy and Daddy very happy. Don't ask where she sleeps ;) No food yet. I gave her prunes for the first time today because she is constipated. Poor thing won't eat if she has to poop. We had already tried cereal once and she did an amazing job....like she had been eating forever! The GI doctor and Nutritionist want to hold off on the food for a couple more months so she can gain some weight. Doesn't make sense to us but we are putting our trust in the doctors. Ailyn has spotted the cats. She is SO adorable when she sees them. She stares and smiles. Our one cat Raegan is very good with kids and doesn't mind hanging around for her to see. But, our other cat is mad at us for having another child. Big brother Camden, rocks!! If she is upset he holds her hand. He helps with her therapy. He calls belly time "push ups" and holds toys up for her to see. She has a certain smile she gives Camden. We can't figure it out yet. We are not sure if she thinks he is crazy or just a very cool "thing".
Well, Ailyn's 15 minute nap is over and she is ready for some cuddles. Thank you for keeping up with Ailyn's story. She is so amazing to us and we love to share her with you.
Camden was born at exactly the same time I am writing this 5 years ago! Camden came into this world 5 weeks early, weighing 5 pounds 4 ounces. 17 inches. At 10:38PM. Today was bittersweet. I didn't know whether to be happy or sad. So I chose both. From day one, Camden has amazed us with his strength. Being 5 weeks early, he was very healthy and needed no NICU time. He came home 8 days later with me. He has had to deal with some small preemie issues but amazed us all. 
Camden has always been on the small side. His doctor told us if we lined him up with 100 children, he would be one of the smallest. I blame his father for this one ;) I have been told all the brothers (and, there are a lot of them) started out small and caught up in high school. Looking at Aaron's high school pictures make me laugh because he is so teeny! I do remember him being short. But, today he is 5'7 and perfect. And, I like my babies tiny....I wouldn't want it any other way ;)
Camden is an AMAZING big brother. From the day we told him he was going to be a big brother, he took his new title very serious. Running to get Mommy the throw up bowl, rubbing my belly and telling Ailyn to stay in and cook a little longer. Then when Ailyn came 12 weeks too early, his world turned upside down. He was told he was going to meet Mommy at the hospital. He showed up at the same time the ambulance did. I will never forget the look on his face when he saw me. I tried so hard not to scream and show him I was in pain. He was so brave that weekend. Sleeping over a friends house when he had never been overnight without Mommy or Daddy. Over the next 3 months, he continued to be brave. He only got to meet Ailyn once in the 3 months she was in the NICU. To him, Ailyn wasn't a person, just pictures and small clips of video. But, that didn't stop him for loving her. The day she came home was one of the happiest days of his life. He was so happy to have the family all together. For months he would make us all sit together on the couch and he would say "We are all together now, this is our family"
He has had to make so many sacrifices for Ailyn. He has never showed any jealously towards her for it. He is very happy being home with us. When Ailyn is ok to fly, we are taking him to Disney World. That is a promise. We will make this year up to him! 
If you know Aaron, you know he is a goof! Well, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Camden is Aaron's mini me. He makes up songs and will repeat them over and over until my head spins. They have jokes between them that only they know. They have an amazing bond.
BUT!! Camden is still a Mommy's boy all the way!!! I got a call one day with the possibility of very bad news on Ailyn's health while pregnant. I got off the phone and cried so hard. He put his arm on me, then wiped my tears away. It's a moment I will never forget. Makes me so proud to be his Mommy.
I wanted to make his birthday extra special today. I made him his favorite breakfast with his favorite "Bunny" Milk, chocolate of course. I found a new babysitter for Ailyn (her first!!) and we took Camden out to dinner at the Outback. We told him how much we loved him and how we are so proud of him. He loved the one on one attention. After dinner we took him to Target to pick out any gift he wanted...below is a picture of the ugliest toy I have ever seen!!
Happy Birthday to our "Monkey", "Monkey man", "Monk", "Peanut", "Cammers", "Cam"!!!! Daddy, Mommy and Ailyn are super lucky to have you in our family. We love you!!!
I have been concerned about Ailyn's development for a few weeks now. I talked to her pediatrician and he made me feel a lot better. He doesn't expect Ailyn to be meeting 5 month milestones, he wants her to be in the 3-4 month range.I was told by the doctor (and my Mom) that we have to give her the 3 months that she was in the hospital, she didn't have the normal start on life.She spent weeks trying to survive. So I have been trying to say this to myself over and over and give her a break! If I had to put an age on her I would say she was 4.5 months old. I also brought up my concerns to her therapist. She agreed that Ailyn is a little developmentally behind in some areas. Socially, she exceeds her adjusted age, she has always been very social. We have been working on reaching for objects. She is grabbing more and more but it's not in a controlled way. We work on rolling, she can roll from her tummy to back. She does not seem the least bit interested in rolling to her side and over. We practice playing on her side, but she fights us.We do daily "therapy" with her, which is playtime. We have never pushed her to do more. When she is tired she will let you know :) Her therapist said there is nothing wrong (like Cerebral Palsy) she is just delayed. 
It's so hard not to worry about each and every milestone. And, when she meets the milestone, it's a relief instead of happiness. I did this with Camden as well, he was always exactly 5 weeks behind. Last night I looked at baby pictures (awww) of Camden at Ailyn's adjusted age. The pictures were very similar to what she is doing and WOW do they look so much alike! So if this is true, she will be sitting and creeping like a pro at 6 months.
Ailyn has found the cats. She will stop what she is doing and just stare. Last night was the first night she grabbed Raegan's hair. She was very interested. Raegan our fossil, is so good with MY kids (hates other kids). Our other cat, Rage is not that into the kids but has been showing interest in Ailyn! 
Camden is working on letter S this week. We have a ton of projects to do. He is really starting to understand letter sounds make words. He is catching on really quick. Aaron and I are looking into schools for next year. With Ailyn's medical bills, it might be hard to afford the school we really wanted. If anyone has suggestions for schools in the area, please email me!!
10 years ago, Aaron proposed to me under the fireworks. It's been a crazy 10 years, but I wouldn't trade it for the world!! We have two miracle babies, our health and are still best friends. I love you Aaron!!! Here's to another 10 great years! 
I rang in the new year all by my lonesome. Aaron fell asleep 20 minutes before the ball dropped. I would have woken him up but I was liking the quiet. It gave me time to sit and think about the past year. WOW, what an insane year! We made it through some extremely tough times and are stronger because of it. All four of us!! As the ball was dropping, I had Ailyn breathing in my ear, Aaron next to me and Camden looking so sweet sleeping. I honestly could not think of a better way to bring in the New Year! We lost a couple friends this year, but have made new and reconnected with old. We are so lucky to have such great friends and family. 
The count down is on for my sisters arrival with her fiancee and baby!! They all got their shots and are doing their best to stay healthy. Can't wait to see you guys!!!!
A couple of my photography pals are doing a weekly photo challenge. Each week we have to submit a picture that sums up our week. The picture above pretty much sums up my week. Camden half naked, and if you were able to see his face, you would see a chocolate milk mustache. Ailyn dressed better than all of us. If you zoom in on the picture you will see my living room trashed with Legos, baby toys and crumbs from snacks Camden helps his self too. Our tree is still up, which is killing me. Aaron and I have an agreement that I will not throw the tree out until New Years. He claims I throw the tree out the door the second Camden finishes opening his last gift.
All day yesterday I thought it was Saturday. I was excited to have another family day and to sleep in one more day. I stayed up very late watching a movie, fed Ailyn so she would sleep 6 hours for me. Aaron came in to say goodbye to us and I was very confused. Needless to say, it was a very long day for Mommy!!
MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!! 
Wow, 8 months old! I can not believe we are starting to think about planning her first birthday party!!! Ailyn's personality is really starting to show. For her 8th month birthday post, I thought it would be fun to give you some fun facts about our Ailyn.
Ailyn is so quiet. She is not a talker. When she coos, everyone will stop and listen to what she has to say. She thinks she is very funny and smiles really big after her stories. Her voice is also very soft, we love to hear her sweet voice.
Ailyn is always happy. She has a different cry for hunger, tired or boredom. She never cries for nothing. It's very easy to settle her down if she is upset. She just looks around and takes it all in. She loves to be held, she would be happy to be held all day everyday. And, we don't mind.
Ailyn has always been an amazing sleeper. Well, compared to her brother who never slept until he was 3! During the day she will take cat naps all day. Every 2 hours she is ready for a small nap. I think her mind is conditioned to eat every 3 hours since we have had to wake her up around the clock. Now, we are able to let her sleep 6 hours at night. AND, she does! I will feed her at 12:30am and she will sleep until 6:30 when Daddy wakes her up to eat. He will hand her to me and she will sleep until 9am. This makes Mommy and Daddy very happy. Don't ask where she sleeps ;)
No food yet. I gave her prunes for the first time today because she is constipated. Poor thing won't eat if she has to poop. We had already tried cereal once and she did an amazing job....like she had been eating forever! The GI doctor and Nutritionist want to hold off on the food for a couple more months so she can gain some weight. Doesn't make sense to us but we are putting our trust in the doctors. 
Ailyn has spotted the cats. She is SO adorable when she sees them. She stares and smiles. Our one cat Raegan is very good with kids and doesn't mind hanging around for her to see. But, our other cat is mad at us for having another child.
Big brother Camden, rocks!! If she is upset he holds her hand. He helps with her therapy. He calls belly time "push ups" and holds toys up for her to see. She has a certain smile she gives Camden. We can't figure it out yet. We are not sure if she thinks he is crazy or just a very cool "thing".
