Sears Pictures

This is my favorite one of me and Kaitlyn.

I like this one as well.  Not sure why it is sideways!

Here are the cousin pictures.

Kaitlyn was tired and fussy at this point.

We'll try professional pictures again when she is a little older.

Growing Up (Second month)

So Kaitlyn ended the last week on a bang!  While some of the evenings were rough, as we were sleep training, and she was crying for spells of time at night, the end result was good.  I felt horrible not responding to her cries, but it is better for both her and us if she is sleeping sufficiently.

Last night, Kaitlyn slept throughout the night without any crying or waking!  She was double-swaddled (with the thermostat set at 73) and had both a sound machine and a fan in her room.  I actually woke her up at 6 AM, after putting her down at 7:45 PM and dream-feeding her at 10 PM.  It was so nice to get a full night's sleep (although I got up at 3:30 and went in her room to put my hand on her chest and make sure she was still breathing!)  Tonight, she wanted to go down at 7 PM.  So hopefully, we'll have another success story tomorrow morning.  She will now be down to 6 feedings per day instead of 7, which is appropriate for her age according to the book, Baby Wise.  I'm so thankful she has crossed this milestone before I go back to work.  Here is a picture of what she wore last night (it says "Daddy's Princess.")  "Princess" is one of my favorite things to call Kaitlyn.  Other nicknames include Katie Sue, KatieBug, Baby K, Be-bu, and just plain Katie.

This past week, we went to Sears to take pictures with the cousins.  It was quite interesting to photograph a 4-year old, 11-month old, and 2-month old together!  The pictures of the kids together turned out okay.  There were some really good pictures of Hunter and Caleb together.  My favorite picture was one taken of Kaitlyn and me together.  I was so pleased with it because I don't feel as though I photograph well.  One of my prayers was that we would get a good picture together, since I'm always on the other side of the camera. The photographer at Sears couldn't get Kaitlyn to smile and she wouldn't let me move in front of her to try to help her smile (as she wanted me to be next to her in case she fell or Caleb dropped her).  This was taken after the photo shoot.  Mommy can make this baby smile!  This is the only blue dress she has and I think it's so cute.  Too bad the matching hat is way too big.  The lady who gave it to her is the daughter of the woman who kept me as a baby (Katie).  I wish big Katie could meet our Katie, but she has passed away.

Kaitlyn has now rolled over from her tummy to her back 3 times.  The third time, I was able to get it on film and we posted it on facebook.  All the tummy-time we have been doing has finally paid off.  The child still does not enjoy being on her stomach for long periods of time, but now she has learned that she has a way to fix it herself!

A few days ago, we were playing in her room and I took some pictures of Kaitlyn sitting.  Once, I was able to count to 60 (about 30 seconds).  Of course she was bent way over, and was using her elbows to support herself, so I'm not sure if that counts or not?!  She has a funny expression on her face in this pic.

Katie Sue is a very happy baby 99% of the time.  She usually pouts with her lower lip protruding before she cries.  Her evenings are no longer fussy now that she goes to bed sooner and takes an evening nap.  We are aiming for a bedtime of 7 to 7:30, so that Micah still gets to spend some time with her at night.  This also gives us some much needed together time.  The past 10 weeks have revolved around the little one (as they should at first!)

We spend time each day working on her speech.  I know it is WAY early to expect her to do much, but she will occasionally imitate vowels and mouth positions that I make.  She says "oh, oo, /m/, /h/, /n/, ah" at this point.  No babbling yet or laughing.  I can't wait to hear her laugh!  Her little voice is so sweet.  I plan on starting sign language very soon.  She watches my hands now when I occasionally sign to her.  Usually kids can start picking up signs at 6 months and responding with them around 9 months.  I also read in a magazine (and agree as an SLP) that a child learns best when the parents uses 30,000 words per day with them.  This involves commenting on everything you are doing throughout the day.  I have tried this the past few days, and it is tiring, as you feel like you are talking to yourself, but it will be rewarding one day when she has a good vocabulary!

Wednesday is my first day back at work.  Up until the last few days, I was dreading it, to be honest.  While I do enjoy my work, I just don't want to be away from her all day.  Several events have occurred that have prepared me more for my return to work.
1.  I feel like it's what I'm supposed to do at this point, which gives me the grace to be away from Kaitlyn- in fact, in some ways it may be good for both of us.  She is starting to get a bit fussy at times when other people hold her.  If I'm the only one she is ever around, she won't learn to be comfortable with others.  If it is too rough and the two of us just cannot adjust to it, we will re-evaluate, but for now, this works best for our family's budget.
 2.  I now know my work schedule and it is manageable.  The after school times are full, but I'm getting back all patients whom I had in the past, which is nice.
3. I have enough breastmilk stored up for awhile, especially since I will be pumping at work too.  I don't want to supplement with formula any sooner than we have to.
4.  We have gotten to hang out with Natalie and her girls some, which makes me feel more comfortable with the situation.  It will be good for Kaitlyn to be around other children (especially older ones whom she can learn from).  Nat is a great mom- a good disciplinarian, a very talented artist, and so different from me- all things that will help K be more well-rounded.  I'm so thankful that we don't have to do daycare with her being this young.  I'm also thankful that she is with a good friend who loves the Lord and will love her.  I know the first few times dropping her off will be hard, but she will adjust to a new routine (and like my Momo says, it will probably be harder on me than on her).

I have complete peace about living a bit more simply and on less income.  We will work it out. I just need to stay away from Wal-Mart, Target, and the children's bookstores.  I've decided that since Kaitlyn has sooo many outfits (more than she can wear before she outgrows them), I'm going to spend money on books for her, not clothes.  I just love children's books and really enjoy reading to her.  She likes it too!

I feel like this is my first evening off in 10 1/2 weeks!  So what have I done?  Gone to the grocery store, called my mother and grandmother, and blogged for all of you!  Thanks for reading :)

A couple more pictures from tonight- the Texans are playing the Cowboys, and we are Texans fans!  The hat just doesn't fit anymore...

Sleeping Through The Night

Kaitlyn has only technically slept through the night twice (about 7 1/2 hours).  She seems to do so on the days that she takes fewer and shorter naps, so is more fussy in the evenings (which we don't like).  Now when she was younger, sleeping through the night was considered 5-6 hours, which she always does.  According to BabyWise, if you follow their concepts, an infant should sleep through the night at 9 weeks (75% of them do).  Today is week 10.  It says the other babies get on a routine where they are used to waking up between 3-4 AM.  I wonder if this describes Kaitlyn.  I have tried to re-swaddle her to see if she will go back to sleep, to no avail.  Weight wise, she is plenty big enough to make it 7-9 hours at night.  When I follow the concepts of BabyWise throughout the day, she just won't sleep as long as they say she should at night.  Their suggestion is to let her cry it out at least 3 nights in a row at 4 AM (and that she will cry from 5 to 35 minutes each time).  I tried this last night and could only take it for 10 minutes.  They say she will then settle in to a new routine if we do this 3 nights in a row.  As much as I want her to sleep uninterrupted through the night (especially before I go back to work), I'm not sure I have it in me to make her cry like that.  I just want her to sleep longer on her own.  I guess if that doesn't happen soon, we will re-evaluate.  I thought moving her to her own room might help.  Other suggestions?

Visiting Aunt Crystal and Mrs. Natalie

On Wednesday, we (Joyce, Kaitlyn, and I) got up early and drove to Austin to see Aunt Crystal and Glenn.  Crystal had not seen Kaitlyn since she was born and was dying to see her.  Since she is the only family member not in Waco, poor thing always has to drive to see us.  This time, we felt like it was our turn to go visit.

We arrived about 9:30 and got a tour of her nice new house.  It is two-story with 3 bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths, and an office. Then we went to Cannoli Joes for lunch at Glenn's suggestion.  We thought about going to the mall, but ended up just hanging out on their comfortable leather couches and talking all day.  Kaitlyn was a good girl until it was time to go home.  She was very fussy in the car.  We stopped and Joyce got in the back seat with her.  She talked to her, but Kaitlyn did not calm down until a blanket was placed over her legs.  Then she was happy and slept all the way home.  Good thing to remember for the next time we travel.  We got home close to 10:00.  Long day, but it was fun!  It's so nice to be off in the middle of the week.

On Thursday, we went to "Aunt" Natalie's house, where Kaitlyn will be spending much of her time (Mondays and Wednesdays while I work).  Lucy greeted as at the door, saying "It's baby Kaitlyn!"  River was a bit jealous when Natalie held Kaitlyn instead of her.  It seems like poor Nat will have her hands full with all 3 of them.  Less than two weeks until I go back to work part-time.  It will be hard to be away from her, but at least I know baby K will be in good hands.

1st Trip to Dallas

Kaitlyn had her first trip this past weekend when we went to Dallas to meet up with some college friends.  People drove in from Arkansas, Houston and Oklahoma.  We had a great time catching up with everyone.  Traveling is a bit different with a baby.  Lots more stuff to bring (and in the past, Micah has always complained that I bring too much for myself.)    I only packed 5 outfits for Kaitlyn and 20 diapers.  She used 3 of the outfits and about 14 diapers in two days.

Kaitlyn is a good traveler.  She slept the whole time in the car except for the way home from the grocery store on Saturday night.  She likes to go and not stop too often.  Of course, we had to stop at every light and she did not like that too much.  The last time she cried that hard was at the photo shoot mentioned above.  As soon as we went about a mile without stopping, she fell asleep.  Poor baby was just tired from being hauled around Dallas all day.

She was such a good traveler that we plan on going to see Aunt Crystal in Austin soon.

Fear versus Faith

I have found that being a parent brings in a whole new element of fear that I never knew before.  Is Kaitlyn still breathing?  If she doesn't burp, will she spit up?  Will she choke on her spit up?  If she goes outside, will she get too hot?  If people touch her, will she get sick?  Is her head going to be uneven to the point that she will have to wear a helmet?  The list goes on and on.  I even had one night where I stayed up for 30 minutes worrying about her and whether she would be okay.  If you know me, that is very unusual.  Most of the time when my head hits the pillow, I'm asleep.

I guess I have a choice.  Do I give in to this fear?  Do I become a "worrier"?  I never have been one before really, and especially not since I have been walking with the Lord the past 10 years.  Or...do I choose faith.  Do I choose to trust the Lord with this little life?  He gave her to us and I don't think he wants to take her away just yet.  I have to trust the God loves her more than I do.  That he is her protector and her shield.  I cannot always be with her and always be watching her.  But Jesus can.  And He does.  I can trust Him because He is good.  So I choose to walk in faith for Kaitlyn's sake.  I choose to not have a spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind (2 Tim 1:7).

Adjusting to a routine

Kaitlyn and I are getting used to each other now.  I'm so thankful that I have 12 full weeks off rather than just 6.  And, as Micah keeps reminding me, I'm only going back to work part-time (2 days per week.)  She continues to sleep well at night.  She usually goes about 6 hours the first stretch and then an additional 3-4 after that.  I rarely feel tired, and if I do, I take a little nap during the day.  I'm so thankful that she is a good sleeper.  I guess I have the techniques of BabyWise to thank for that ( as well as the suggestion of good friends).

Baby "K" is so observant.  She is always looking around the room, listening to the sounds around her.  She is starting to notice Sophie.  I must say that Sophie is doing a great job with the baby.  I think she understands that she is ours.  Sophie likes going on all the extra walks in the mornings, even if it means she has to walk next to the stroller.  Sophie also enjoys playtime on the floor, because sometimes she gets the ball thrown for her as I play with Kaitlyn.

We read several books every day.  Kaitlyn is starting to attend to them more than the first few weeks of life.  She usually prefers to watch my facial expressions rather than look at the pages in the book.

Kaitlyn's head control is great and has been for two weeks.  She can hold her head up when she is lying on her tummy for a little while.  She is a strong little booger.  She likes to push up on her legs into a standing position.  She has a good grip, like most babies.

Kaitlyn is good natured most of the time.  She rarely gets upset.  Once, last week, I was doing a little photo shoot of her and changing her outfits multiple times.  She was fine with this until the last outfit (the beautiful white and pink dress Momo gave her to come home from the hospital in.)  She did not like the bonnet that went with the outfit and started crying uncontrollably.  It took me 20 minutes to calm her back down.  So she is slow to anger, but when you do make her mad, watch out!!  This is a very rare occurrence though.  She hardly ever cries more than 5 minutes a day.

I am starting to put Kaitlyn into her crib during naptimes.  She sometimes fusses a bit at first, and fights her swaddle.  After a few minutes, I go in there, re-swaddle her, and she sleeps.  I'm still not quite ready to have her sleep through the night in her crib.  It seems so far away from us.  Maybe at 8-10 weeks old?  She is about to outgrow the bassinet in the pack-in-play though.  I hope she sleeps as long in her crib as she does in the bassinet.

I'm enjoying getting out of the house once a day.  Monday, we brought Sonic to Micah at work.  Then he showed Kaitlyn off to his co-workers again.  Yesterday, we went to see his grandmother at her home.  Today, we plan on going to the Mayborne Museum with some friends.  As long as I have something planned each day, I don't tend to get bored, and each day looks a bit different.  I certainly have caught up on my movie-watching, between Netflix and the cable movie channels.  I've also been disciplined to set aside time each day to listen to the voice of God.  He has been faithful to speak to me each day and I have been e-mailing what he says to a friend, to hold me accountable to listening.

The Lord is so good!  I am so blessed to be a mom and to be at this stage of my life.  I am very thankful for a wonderful husband, a beautiful baby girl, supportive family, awesome friends, and to have a job I love.  I'm still not ready to go back to work yet.  It's going to be very difficult leaving Kaitlyn, even with someone I know and trust.  I don't know how moms drop their infants off at daycare.

Here are some pictures of the photo shoot I mentioned above.  Isn't she cute?!  (I know I am a bit biased.)