first bath

First bath went amazingly well -- she almost slept right through it, in fact!

3 days old

little Rachel taking a snooze actually found her thumb! She has found it one more time, but has yet to acquire a real habit. We haven't convinced her about a paci either, so mom is doing the trick for now!

Kate loves to spend as much time as possible with her baby sister every day. She wants to be next to her, checking on her, even cuddling with us when I'm nursing. I cannot believe how in love Kate is with her new little sister. She is always telling us about how cute her ears, toes, hair, etc. are. After one day of practically coming to tears every time Rachel cried, she has come to terms with the fact that babies cries aren't always sad.


Great story (and a little scary)! I was putting some q-tips into a small container on Rachel's changing table. Kate saw me & asked if they were for baby Rachel.

Me: Yup
Kate: But, one ear is out and the other ear is sleeping!

Assuming that I was going to use the q-tips to clean Rachel's ears, she had gone over to check on Rachel in the swing. Little one was lying such that one ear was exposed but the other was hidden. The connection between the two didn't dawn on me until a bit later, when I caught Kate leaning over the swing with one of the q-tips in hand! yikes! Lots of love, but sometimes 2 year old discernment is a bit frightening!

Introducing. . . .

Rachel Claire Bailey
born on May 8, 2009 at 9:45 AM
7 lbs 4 oz (I still can't believe I grew such a "big" baby!)
19.75 inches

*detached lobes (commonly known as "Bailey lobes)
*lighter brown hair
*long, thin fingers & toes
*in a word, beautiful!

Big sister proudly holds little sister for the first time! Kate is inquisitive yet VERY gentle & loving towards her little sis.

The new Bailey family, day after baby Rachel joined the ranks.

all ready to go & then . . .

nothing.

Around 8PM, we were all ready to go, and then my contractions started getting shorter, although still strong. Now, they are REALLY erratic. So, I'm trying to "rest" & I'm so glad we didn't head to the hospital.

This post is publishing at some weird time. It's actually 10:26P.

the beginning. . (maybe)

After one of the worst sleepless nights of my pregnancy, contractions began around 3 a.m. I didn't get lots of sleep after that, either. They were pretty strong last night, but have petered out in intensity today. BUT, unlike w/ my 1st pregnancy where I labored one night & then stopped during the day & then started again in the middle of the next night -- I'm continuing to have contractions. . .so. . we'll see.

Kate has been talking to baby a lot -- today she was trying to ask her to come today. . but instead said, "Please come to the hospital with us!"

catching up

My usual shutterbug tendencies have been shriveling up as life gets busier. This results in fewer pics taken, and longer periods between downloading the photos. Today when I sat down for this project, I got a real cornucopia of subject matter. Hope you enjoy!

Time for a haircut! (Sorry, no post haircut pic -- she basically just got a trim, so it doesn't look that different to the untrained eye).

Silly dress-up girls!

Time to put those leotards to use! The girls had great fun at their friend's gymnastics party.

38 weeks (and so the countdown begins!)

All 3 girls!