Our 2 Month Well Visit

Yesterday, we had our 2 month well visit. After rushing yet again to get out the door and to the appointment on time (don't ask me how I am going to get to work on time when I go back), we made it to the office.

Our pediatrician is amazing. We are going to the same office that I went to as a kid. I loved them so much that I wanted Kay to go there too. So the day she was born, Dobbie called them to sign Kay up. The next morning, one of the doctors came to visit me in my hospital room. We hit it off right away. She was so nice and warm. With Kailyn in the NICU, she didn't have to stop by my room and stay for so long. The practice is huge, and I know how many babies she probably had to see that day. She sat down, and we chatted. I love her! Since that first meeting, I have scheduled all of my appointments with her.

So as we waited for our favorite doctor, Kailyn weighed in at 9 pounds 7 ounces. She was 22 inches long! She is getting to be such a big girl. I had a list of a ton of questions that I wanted to be sure to ask. When the Dr. came in, I felt so relieved. We talked about Kay's development and her adjusted age, her gas, feeding & sleeping, and her tendency to only turn her head to one side. She is getting a bit of a little flat head on one side so I have to do some neck stretches with her! The doctor made sure to tell me how beautifully Kay is doing, and that makes me feel reassured and happy!

Then, Kay had to get 4 shots and an oral vaccine. The poor little thing cried her heart out. She even cried her first real tears! Her face turned bright red and she wailed! The shots made her a little cranky during the day, but she slept for most of the evening.

I put her to bed at 10 (a little earlier than usual) and she was wide awake, and in five minutes she was out. She slept 7 and a half hours! Then, I gave her a little of a bottle to put her back to sleep and she slept until almost 8 am! She is such a good sleeper like her momma!

A few more days until her first Christmas! I can't wait!!! I am still not done my shopping, but with the cutest baby in the world...who could blame me for not wanting to go running around.

Groundhog Day

Wake Up.
Snuggle, kiss, and love.
Change diapers and give a bottle.
Snuggle, kiss, and love.
Do the laundry.
Clean the bottles.
Snuggle, kiss, and love.
Couch and Macbook.

Repeat 6 times daily.

And every once in a while, we break our routine because our amazing Daddy needs to get in on the action.

Happy 2 Months!

Yesterday, Baby Kay turned two months old! 2 months ago my life changed forever. Happy 2 months baby girl! You are growing so fast!

At 2 months...

* You weigh 9 pounds 3 ounces. I think you slowed down a little bit on growing. I thought you were going to be at least 10 pounds when I weighed you. You go to the doctor next week so I will be interested to see what their scale says.

* You are sleeping like a champ! You have been consistently sleeping for 6 or 7 hours (for the past week). Two nights ago, you slept for 8 hours straight! Daddy and I are very happy, and we have a nice system down. Now, I am anxious to start putting you to bed earlier. I put you to bed around 10:30 or 11:00 every night, and I know that isn't going to cut it when I go back to work. Oh, and you are really liking your new crib!

* You are eating 3.5 ounces at each feeding, and you eat every 3 hours. You have been having trouble the past few days because you have so much gas. You get a little belly ache, and then you cry when you get your bottle. I hear your little belly rumbling as you eat. I hate seeing you wince in pain. I give you belly rubs and we do bicycle kicks to help you get that gas out!

* You love to be held and snuggled! I hope you don't give your Grammy a hard time when I go back to work. I don't think she will be able to sit and hold you all day!

* You still focus on lights and stare at them. You love the Christmas tree lights. In the past few days, you really looked into your mommy's eyes. It melted my heart, and I have been waiting and waiting for you to really lock eyes with me. I might just die when you finally give me a smile! You are starting to recognize me more and more, and I am just going to keep being patient.

* You are starting to hold your head up. When you are on my chest, you can push yourself up and look around. I love watching you. Your held wobbles back and forth and it is so cute! Your daddy and I are constantly saying, "Look, Look!" to anyone who will listen! It is still a little too hard for you when you are flat on the ground, but you are getting stronger and stronger every day!

* You are wearing 0-3 month clothes! You wore your first pair of jeans, and you are looking very cute these days. Baby Gap is your favorite store... you just don't know it yet.

* You just started wearing size 1 diapers!

You are the most beautiful baby in the world! I love spending time with you. You are awake for long periods of time, and you learn new things everyday! The past two months have been so wonderful. I am going to enjoy this next month with you before I go back to work!

Look at that chub on your arm! Getting so big! 

Hello Sleepy baby! 

Best Gift Ever  

The little peanut...notice her peanut ornament on the tree from Aunt Tracy!

Waiting for Santa! 

8 weeks old? 5 weeks old? 3 weeks old?

As I turned 30, Kailyn turned 8 weeks! I had a wonderful birthday... it was exactly as I had hoped. It was a day filled with snuggling Kailyn and visiting my mom. Dobbie made my birthday special by taking me to Ocean City for a drive and a nice dinner. It was perfect! I didn't need much to make me happy except my family (and an iphone of course).

With Kailyn turning 8 weeks old, I am surprised by how much she has changed since she was born. She is getting to be a big girl. Wearing 0 to 3 months, I can finally put her in some really cute clothes. Do you like her first pair of jeans? She rocked them at the mall with her BFF Addie.

As she continues to change, I decided to start reading about her development and expected milestones. It must be the teacher control freak perfectionist in me, but I want to have information to guide my expectations. Being a first time mom, I have no idea what she "should" be able to do and when she "should" be able to do it. So I got out the Week by Week book and read up until week 8. That was my first mistake.

I felt discouraged and worried. How come at 8 weeks Kailyn hasn't smiled at me? How come she hasn't looked into my eyes? When will she hold her head up when she is sitting up?

I talked to some friends and family about my feelings. I was feeling a little frustrated. Everyone kindly reminded me that all babies develop at their own pace. Everyone kindly reminded me that she was born 5 weeks early, and she missed out on 5 weeks of developing. I wasn't frustrated at her development, but I was anxious. I cannot wait for her to melt my heart with a smile. I can't wait for her to look into my eyes and recognize me. I am excited for our bond to grow stronger every day.

I hear so many people talk about adjusted age. Adjusted age is simply using the baby's age according her due date. This would make Kailyn 3 weeks old. I started going back in the Week by Week book, and I am looking for milestones and changes that seem to fit Kailyn. As much as I don't want to believe it, her development seems to be on par with that of a 3 or 4 week old.  So as she develops at her own rate, I will love and support her. I will encourage her and celebrate all of her achievements that she makes regardless of when they happen.

I have never taken Kailyn's adjusted age into account because she was so healthy and she has done so well since her birth; however, as the weeks pass, I am starting to think I should take her adjusted age into account. I think it will help Dobbie and I manage our expectations for our baby girl. As we wait for her to look into our eyes, smile, hold her head up more, I will enjoy what she can do today. I will enjoy every little piece of her.

Christmas Card Woes

I just sent out the most gorgeous birth announcements. I loved them, and I got so many compliments on them. Now,  my standards are set way too high because I am having some a crazy amount of trouble trying to create a holiday card that will compare. I had planned on making my own holiday cards on shutterfly, but I can't get a good picture.

I have just started using my camera, and I do not know how to fully use it properly. You know, having a newborn doesn't leave a lot of time for internet research and self teaching. Anyway, I can't get a good picture. Either the baby doesn't cooperate, the background looks horrible, or the picture turns out blurry, dark, overexposed, or just plain bad. Here are some attempts to get it right...

Of course, they are cute, but I can't get it just right. I need someone to teach me the in's and out's of my camera, and more importantly, I need help learning how to use editing software! Oh photography gods...I hope you can hear me!

Traditions

I have been working to get the house ready for Christmas. I mean it is December! I would like to say I have been working as hard as an elf, but we really don't have that many decorations yet in our two and a half year marriage so it isn't too hard. The way I see it, the tree is the most important part and our tree is looking beautiful.

As I have been working (or walking by the boxes of decorations thrown about the house), I have been thinking about holiday traditions. My parents gave us the most magical Christmases as we were growing up. My brother and I were lucky to experience these magical Christmases. Writing letters to The North Pole. The anticipation of Santa and waking up Christmas morning. Opening our stockings while we waited for mom to get out of bed! The smell of a big Christmas breakfast cooking while we played with new toys.

The thrill of Christmas day is one of the greatest things on earth for a child, but the weeks leading up to Christmas were more important to me. After Thanksgiving, we would put on Christmas music. We would decorate the tree as a family. Pulling out those old ornaments and talking about the stories behind them. Picking our favorite ones to hang on the tree and fighting over where to put our favorites. Driving around admiring Christmas lights (and secretly wishing my Dad would go Clark Griswold just once).

This is the magic of Christmas traditions. The traditions that light up your memories and fill your heart with happiness. I want to provide that for my daughter. I want to take my family traditions and introduce them to my daughter, but I want to create new traditions with my own family. I just hope I can give my kids such meaningful and heart tugging memories that my parents gave me. One day, I want my daughter to start a family of her own, and I want her to pass on the Christmas traditions that we created for her.

Dobbie and I have already started talking about things we want to do for our daughter. Car rides with Christmas music and hot chocolate to admire the Christmas lights around town. Christmas tree lightings and holiday parades (they have the best in Collingswood)!  Baking and wrapping Christmas cookies for friends and neighbors. I really want to start decorating the tree as a family. We haven't done that yet, but when Kailyn is bigger we can do that. I can't wait for future Christmases with our little girl. Seeing her experience the thrill of Santa and the magic of Christmas is something I am looking forward to.

For now, I will enjoy the only Christmas present I need, my sweet baby girl.

My Favorite Cell Phone Pictures

Her first minutes at home

Our first family photo

Only a few days old...look at the tiny hand

First trip to the Dr.

Swimming in my newborn clothes

Look at this skinny little peanut

Starting to wake up

12 days old at my the photoshoot

The turtle coming out of her shell!

One of my first times awake 

The following pictures were taken with my new iphone!

Looks like half a smile! 

Going out shopping with mommy & my BFF Addie

Our friend Addie got us out of the house for the day! 

The following pictures are taken with my new hipstamatic app on my iphone! I love it!

Napping in my swing

Napping again with mommy!

All decked out! 

Look who is a big girl wearing 0-3 month clothing finally! (Almost 7 weeks later)