It’s been two years!

Two years since the day I went into the hospital to be induced to have Raylee. Two years since I was in labor for close to 30 hours, on no sleep, after then induced me. Two years since I cried all night and just wanted to have that dang baby OUT! Two years since a brother-in-law of mine told me “it’s easier in than out” and I was like, “uh, yeah right. I can’t breath, or sleep, or bend over.” Well he was right, but I wouldn’t change those two years for anything.

She was really an easy baby, except for the fact that she never slept. I laughed when people when tell me “just sleep when she sleeps!” That would have left me sleeping for about 10 minutes every 45 minutes. For someone who thinks naps are ridiculous and a waste of time, that wasn’t going to happen. I would think about all the things I could be doing, and just end up laying there with my eyes closed until she woke up again.

But she never really cried that much, which was great. There were a few nights that she would flip out for hours, but definitely wasn’t colicky. I think God did that for a reason, because he knew I wouldn’t have another if the first was horrible. She would fuss when she was hungry, or poopy, but other than that, she just wanted to be loved on. At least for the first few months. Then, for her to sleep, she had to be down in her crib. That was nice because I didn’t have to hold her for hours when I was out and about, but made it REALLY hard when we went to church, and she wouldn’t fall asleep but just cried and cried until we got home.

Things got easier as she got older. She started sleeping better, eating better, I stopped breastfeeding her because she wasn’t gaining weight like she should have been, and I think that made us both happier. I had many mom’s in my life tell me how great breastfeeding was. How relaxing it was and how it built this bond with their child. I waited for that experience. I wanted to love it. I wanted to be able to provide her with the nutrition she needed and love doing. It just didn’t happen for me. I held off for 6 months, but I think it got to me and Raylee. I wasn’t producing like I should have been, and she wasn’t gaining weight. We started introducing formula, and I realized just how hungry she was after she bf and then we quit completely, like a week after. She started gaining weight better, sleeping better, and was a happy baby, with stinkier poopy diapers.  She’s still smart, and stubborn, and growing fine, even though I didn’t keep BF. And I think we’re both ok with that.

She started crawling around 4 months, walking about 9 months, and then kept growing and learning and getting into everything. When she was teething, I hardly even noticed…..until she started getting molars. I never really had an issue with her getting diaper rash, but when she was getting molars, she had this acid poop that would eat her little skin apart after being in contact for like 2 seconds. I can gratefully say she has all of her teeth now, so we won’t be worried about getting more until she’s 6 or so! YAHOO!

She took her first plane ride at 10 months old. We went and visited my sisters in Utah. She did GREAT on the way down, practically sleeping the whole way, but the way home, the pleasant (read:not-so-pleasant) flight attendant was banging her cart around the cabin, and woke Raylee up about 10 minutes into the flight…and then I was THAT lady. You know the one. The one with a crying infant and there’s NOTHING they can do about it. It was fabulous. Luckily, I got only a few stares from other passengers and I wanted to just hand her to one of them, but we landed and everyone was still in one piece. OH. But she did get sick for the first time while we were down there. She got a stuffy nose, and then because of all the boogies in her throat, it would make her gag. One on particular trip from going from one sister’s house to the next (about a 3 hours drive), she puked EVERYWHERE. In the car. Yuck. Thank goodness for older sisters that helped me deal with it. We all lived. Raylee still gags when she gets too many boogies in her throat, and I hate it when she’s sick. I have flashbacks of her exorcism style vomiting in the car. Yuck. Sorry for the graphic description…haha. Moving on.

We had a bunch of fun trips between then and now. We got to go to the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle with cousins. We headed to Long Beach, WA for a sand castle contest. She’s an expert in playing in the mud, and is kind of horrible when it comes to sharing. I watched one of my friend’s little girl a few weeks ago, who is also an only child (at the moment). Neither of them like to share. That was fun. But at one point, Raylee was playing in the mud, and I told my friend’s little girl it was ok to play in the mud with her. She looked at me and said “but it’s dirty!” HA! If you knew her mom, it would all make sense. Raylee LOVES to be dirty, or playing in the water/mud. Just being outside, ALL. THE.TIME. She loves it.

I really can’t believe it’s been two years though. They have FLOWN by, and I don’t even know how it all happened. Between the great moments, the crazy moments, and the moments that I just wanted to throw in the towel, I wouldn’t change it for the world.

Happy Birthday, Raylee Jo!

I can’t wait to watch you continue to grow! 🙂 Love,

Mom.