Two bulldogs and a baby + 1

It's a girl!!! Ainsley James arrived Feb. 1st at 10:12 a.m.  After having contractions for a few days I took matters into my own hands to get her here.  Heavy lifting, a spicy chicken sandwich and a serious pedicure had my baby on a one way ticket to meet her anxious mommy and daddy .  We left for the hospital around 2 a.m. that morning :) and a few short hours later our baby girl arrived.  Here is my beauty.

I read many blogs about how difficult it would be to bring a new baby into the home with a toddler.  Many of the blogs had me anticipated days and weeks of crying and jealousy.  My anxiety only increased when I found out that the hospital had band children under 18 for the maternity ward due to the flu.  I immediately started crying, but there was no turning back, I was already hooked up to the IV and baby monitors.  I immediately regretted trying to get her here and basically tossing my son out of the car in the middle of the night.  I would have tried my hardest to labor at home longer and kissed him goodbye a few more times.  Not only did I just disappear in the middle of the night, he wouldn't be able to see me for a few days.  My husband and mother reassured me that it would be okay and that I would be able to facetime with my son whenever I wanted.  This only comforted me slightly.  I was very excited to meet my baby, but knew I'd miss my son terribly and didn't want my son to be angry or hurt.  It was challenging to keep my focus on bringing a new life into this world, but the painful contractions kept reminding me what I was there to do.

The second I was allowed to leave the hospital and pick up my son; I did.  My stomach was in knots with the anticipation of our son meeting our daughter.  When I walked into my parents' home (where he was staying) he gave me the cold shoulder.  I expected that, but didn't let him know it bothered me (even though I was crying inside).  He saw the baby and walked right up to her and pointed and said "baby" in his cute little voice.  We immediately headed home to begin our journey as a family of four.

When we came home he did have a few tantrums, but it wasn't the nightmare I had pictured in my mind.  It was typical 17 month old's frustrations.  I held him and cried with him.  He needed mommy's hugs and undivided attention.  We immediately began to include him in the care and excitement of the new baby.  This seemed to help ease what I can only imagine might have been fears of being replaced.  After a few days home and daddy headed back to work and Blake was falling into his roll as a big brother, perfectly.  I am one proud momma.