Precious!

At least I have one child that doesn't run away when I pull out the camera!

more More MORE pictures!

Me and my two little ones have been doing so great this week. Drake has been a good boy and we have been adjusting well. We haven't left the house by ourselves.... so that might be another story, but we are working on getting back to normal!

This shows just how little she is. She weighed 5lbs 13oz when she was born. When we left the hospital she was 5lbs 1oz and a couple of days ago she was 5lbs 10oz. So she is starting to gain her weight back.

Drake is getting more and more interested every day. He is going to be the best big brother and take care of his little sister- I just know it!!

A lot of people have asked me about when Laynie's surgeries will be. We meet with her plastic surgeon next week, so I don't have exact dates, but this is the surgery schedule:

6 weeks: She gets a palatal prosthesis. This attaches to the roof of her mouth and it gets tightened every other week. It slowly starts to bring her gap closer together. I heard that this is the easiest surgery, so I am glad to start with this one.

3 months: Lip and nose repair

9 months: Soft palate repair

Those are the surgeries that she will be having in the first year. There are some other surgeries that she may or may not need. Or some surgeries may need to be done in two separate surgeries. It is just a case-by-case basis. Her hard palate doesn't get repaired until she is 3 or 4 though!

Family of FOUR

Our family of FOUR!!!!

It is crazy to look back and see two kids. I love being a mom of two! We took our first outing tonight- to my mom's house for dinner. It was nice to finally see the outside world again. Our doctors have advised us not to take Laynie out (at all) because of her upcoming surgeries. They don't want her to get sick before them and cause complications. I think it is going to be a long couple of months indoors, but that's okay!

She sleeps all day long and usually has a really rough time in the evening and then she is okay again. She is soooo tiny and lovable!

Sleeping beauty!

Today was the first day that I could get Drake to show any interest in her. He actually wanted to hold her! He did great and he is getting better with the adjustment every day. I am on my own this week with the kids and I am terrified. I won't have my mom or husband to help me with anything I need. I have been spoiled the last week! Wish me luck!!!

Bedrooms

Here is Laynie's bedroom...

We got it finished just in time...

We think it is adorable...

Just like her!!!
I painted this cute little sign

And made this window/wreath
And I love her careseat cover. My mom bought the material and her friend sewed it.
Drake was so excited to help daddy carry in his new big boy bed. He jumped on it and thought it was so cool............. until it was time to go to bed.

We are still working on his sleeping issues in his new bed. It is getting a little bit better, but I only hope it gets much better! I still need to get his bedframe up, paint his room, and do a few other things before his room is complete.

Laynie Deborah Petersen

Here we are after arriving at the hospital and hearing the news that little Laynie was going to join us that night. We were so excited and scared at the same time! Well, Trevor was sooooo excited and I was sooooo scared!
My two sidekicks... They were waiting anxiously to join me in the operating room while I was getting prepped for the c-section. They kept coming out and bugging everyone to make sure they didn't forget about them before the c-section began.

Here she is!!!! 5lbs 13oz and 18 1/2 inches long.
She is sooooo precious.

She uses special bottles to help her eat. She is eating well, but it takes a little bit of extra work to get her fed.
The proud big brother!!!! He was saying cheese with his big brother sticker on!

3 days old and we are loving every bit of her!!!!

Laynie has arrived

The past 3 days have been so crazy. I can't believe our baby is here already! We are so happy to introduce...

LAYNIE DEBORAH PETERSEN
AUGUST 14, 2010
1:24 A.M.
5LBS 13OZ.
18 1/2 INCHES

Well, we went up to Trevor's family cabin on Friday morning for a family reunion and I was having contractions all day long. I thought that they would probably go away but they just kept on getting stronger. Trevor offered to take me home, but I didn't want to be a baby and go home because of a false alarm. Plus, I know how much Trevor looks forward to our week at the cabin every year and I wanted to enjoy it! Around 6:00 they started getting fairly uncomfortable. We were in West Yellowstone getting ice cream about that time. We came home and Drake fell asleep so I decided to go lay by him since I wasn't feeling so great. At that time my contractions started getting very strong. Trevor was out in the boat so I texted him that it was time to go home. I just wanted to be closer to home in case it got worse, but I still wasn't convinced I was for sure in labor. We left about 9:00 and about 5 minutes into our drive I was pretty sure I was in labor. We decided to go straight to the hospital. My mom met us at the hospital and drove Drake home. I was still embarrassed because I thought we would get sent home. But my contractions were hurting soooooo bad by this point. At 11:00 we got to the hospital and I was dilated to a 5. I couldn't believe it. She was still breech, so they decided to do a c-section. Not even an hour later I was dilated to an 8!!! Holy cow- I never thought this would happen to me. My mom rushed back over after Afton arrived to tend Drake. They were wheeling me in the operating room when she got there. Trevor and my mom were both able to come in and watch. I have to admit, I was quite a basket-case during the whole ordeal. I just couldn't believe this was happening to me. The c-section went great and little Laynie was born at 1:24. The experience is one I will NEVER forget!

Laynie is doing great! She was born with a cleft lip and cleft palate. She is so tiny and precious. She is eating well and we love her so much. In fact, I have already said that I love her cleft because it is what makes her Laynie. I feel so lucky and blessed to be her mommy. She never cries and when she does it is sooo soft (unlike her brother). She also has a little conjoined toe. The doctors say it is nothing to worry about and it can be separated if we want. It is cute though. Drake is doing well, but doesn't pay much attention to her. He is having fun hanging out with Grandma though. I miss being able to be with him and play with him so much, but I am grateful to be able to rest and know that he is getting taken care of so well. We have taken about a million pictures but I haven't had time to put them on the computer so I will post pictures later!

We feel so blessed. We have been taken care of so well by our doctors, nurses, and family members. We love Laynie so much and are so happy she is in our family!!

Bye Bye Crib...

I am very sad to say bye-bye to Drake's crib, because I have said bye-bye to Drake sleeping. He became petrified of being in his crib after a bad dream, and he could climb out of it by the time I reached his door. So, it wasn't safe anymore for him to be in it. We put a big boy bed in his room and let's just say he is not too fond of it. I wish it had huge rails to keep him in. The poor kid has been sooooooo incredibly tired from lack of sleep and he has become a new child this past week (a naughty child). Let's hope he can catch some zzzz's and be happy again!!!

My mom ROCKS!

Trevor has been gone since early Sunday morning on a business trip to Oregon. My mom offered to stay with me while he was gone. Of course I wanted her to, but I felt bad to make her and I tried not to let her. But she ended up feeding us dinner and coming over every night anyways. Drake had his WORST NIGHT EVER the first night she was here. He woke up about an hour after he went to bed just screaming and terrified. I went in his room and he was SOOOOOOO UPSET! Finally, we ended up going out on the couch to watch T.V. He wouldn't fall asleep no matter what I tried, and was crying on and off all night as I tried to get him to go back to bed. He finally ended up falling asleep on his bedroom floor at 3:30am. I felt so bad because my mom got up at 5:00am to go home to get ready for work. Needless to say, none of us got a lot of sleep that night. The next night was okay and the third night was a little rough again. Me and my mom took turns laying on his floor with him trying to get him to fall asleep. He hasn't let me put him back in his crib and he has been sleeping on the floor. He woke up crying last night and I went in there to find him all the way under his crib. Naps and bedtime have been a nightmare lately. I guess it is time for a big boy bed! Anyways, all I can say is THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, MOM!!! You are the best and I would have been lost without you the past 4 days! And I am sure you are more excited about Trevor coming home today than I am- haha!!! I love you!