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.)

Kaitlyn's Cousins

Who needs toys when you have boxes?!?

So I figured that we have had a lot of pictures and stories about Kaitlyn on the blog and it was time to branch out a little.  Melissa, my sister-in-law, sent this picture she took of her two sons.  Caleb and Hunter apparently really like cardboard boxes.  Now I know what to get them next christmas!

This is a great picture and wanted to share it with everyone.

1 month old

Today Kaitlyn is 1 month old.  Hard to believe it has already been a month. 
Here is her schedule thus far today: 
After going to bed at 10:00 last night, she woke up at 2 and 5 to eat, then went immediately back to sleep.
She woke up for good at 7:50 AM, said bye to daddy and ate
8:40-10:15 drive to and visit the zoo (she slept the whole time!)  We went by ourselves today, after going yesterday with some friends. 
10:15 stop by and have a cup of Starbucks with dad (a little fussy, but the pacifier actually soothed her this time)
10:45 eat again
12:15-1:45 nap
1:45 eat
2:30 until now- nap again

Tonight we are having dinner with some friends, so I hope she is good.  Night time tends to be her fussy time, usually starting at 7.  Yesterday, I tried the Baby Bjorne, at the advice of a friend, and she was very content for the 30 minutes I had it on. 

She is a good eater, pooper, and sleeper.  I am so fortunate that she is considered to be "sleeping through the night" at this early age (which is only 5 hours this young, according to most experts).  Thankfully, I am not very tired.  I get about 8 hours of sleep total at night and then take 1 nap in the daytime. 

Kaitlyn is very expressive.  She has many facial expressions up her sleeve.  In 1 minute's time, I can take pictures of her and she has multiple different looks on her face, from pouting to smiling, to mischievous looking.

We seem to have the nursing thing down, although that was very frustrating at first.  I will tell other moms to stick with it through the first few weeks, even when it's hard and painful.  It will save you $80 a month not to have to buy formula.  It's also a neat bonding experience.

I'm glad she is at the age now that I feel comfortable getting out of the house more.  We don't go anywhere that there are a lot of people or germs (like the grocery store), but we enjoy getting out about once a day to run by Sonic, go to the zoo, go visit daddy at work etc.  I have also brought her up to Providence twice for my co-workers to meet her. 

Micah's mom has been very helpful and willing to pick up anything we need at the store.  My parents and grandparents came the first week (for about 3 days) to help with Kaitlyn.  It was nice to let other people hold her while I slept and to have good meals (as well as not having to do the dishes). 

We also have wonderful friends who brought meals every other day for about 2 weeks.  We ate everything from chicken spaghetti to Rosa's mexican food.  It was so nice not to have to cook early on. 

My goal is to get better about blogging in the next month.  Now that I know her schedule a little better and everything doesn't feel quite so new, hopefully I will be able to do so.

Here are some pics from the first month.

 My favorite hospital pose

Grandparents and great-grandparents

Our favorite picture of her to date.  Micah got her to smile by saying her name.

Another cute one..

1st walk at age 2 1/2 weeks

1 month old- picture from today at the zoo.

More Pics

Some Quick Pics

Now for the real stuff...

Well the fun and games of joking about taking care of a baby don't seem so funny anymore. :-)  Kaitlyn Sue Lamb was born this morning at 6:20 am after keeping her mommy up for about the last 24 hours.  We came into the hospital last night at about 11:30pm but they sent us home at 1:30 because stephanie wasn't far enough along.

At 4am Steph's water broke so we headed back up and got to the hospital at about 4:30.  Two hours later we were parents.

It feels strange.  It's amazing.  It's terrifying.  I recommend it.

More Tips

Another friend of mine saw these and sent me some more...

Some Helpful Tips

A friend of mine passed along some helpful tips to me the other day.  Since he knew I was a visual learner he put them in a form I could easily grasp.

Family Reunion and Tummy Picture week 32

These pictures are in front of my parents' azalea bush in their front yard in Moncla, LA. My parents helped organize a family reunion for the Moncla family this weekend. Over 200 people attended. It was a lot of fun! The food was great- cochon de lait (pig), dirty rice, chicken, crawfish, sweet potato casserole, rolls, green beans, and tons of desserts. Mom and dad hosted a cook-out at their home last night and then this morning, we had brunch at my Aunt Carol's house. Lots of fun and lots of laughs :) It was also fun to meet some of my Moncla facebook friends. One of my favorite parts of the weekend was getting to swing on the front porch at the old house and talk to my cousins/ husband. (Even though the cousins shared some scary birth stories with me!)

Me and one of my favorite cousins, Barbara.
32 weeks- how much more is my tummy going to grow? I'm hoping at least for 5 more weeks.
If we look tired, it's because we were! Micah sold t-shirts at the reunion and I had to register people as they came in.

Waco Baby Shower

The baby shower on Saturday was lots of fun! I felt so loved by friends and family members! People came in from Arkansas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Austin, Houston, Temple, and Dallas. It was fun to hang out with college friends, roommates etc.

These are the thank you notes and a framed scripture that my friend, Natalie designed for me. It matches Kaitlyn's bedding perfectly. You can look at her website at www.nwarddesigns.com

These are the shower hostesses. My sister-in law, Melissa, Mandy, Natalie, and my other sister-in-law, Crystal.



My friend, Kathy, surprised me and drove all the way in from Oklahoma. Raegan is always so trendy.
Look at this little premie outfit! Isn't it the cutest? I doubt Kaitlyn will be a premie since I was a 9-lb baby, but we'll see! At least she has 1 thing to wear if she is small.
Crystal and Melissa did the food. Melissa made the little tags that match the bedding to indicate what we were eating!
This looks like fun!
Mandy made the most beautiful butterfly cake. It was very tasty too! I was so impressed!

Dream

I had a dream about kaitlyn last night. She was cute. Brown hair and blue eyes. Fair skin. Hair was curly. She sounds like another baby I know well. :). Micah did a genetics survey for Kaitlyn. She has 50% chance of green eyes, 25% brown and 25% blue. I'm hoping for blue, but like green too. I didn't know that only 2% of the world population has green eyes. That makes me pretty special, i guess.


-- Post From My

iPad

Micah bought me an iPad today at the Baylor bookstore. He talked about how much he loved them and how he thought it would be perfect for me b/c it does e-mail, facebook, words with friends, internet etc. I really like it and have played with it all evening. I did have a little trouble posting on our blog from it, but otherwise have had no problems. It's 1/2 computer and 1/2 large I-Phone with a cool screen.
He wants to take it to work tomorrow because Baylor's iPad shipment had not yet come in. I hope to show it to my co-workers at some point this week!

First thoughts about the iPad

So the Waco Best Buy had a few iPads.  As it turns out they got 15 iPads in for sale starting on April 3rd and they were all purchased by people that had lined up outside the Waco Best Buy starting Friday night.  I never would have dreamed that the Waco Best Buy would have had iPads in stock on the first day of availability. (It is probably best that I did not know...)

I am pretty sure the Best Buy salesman thinks I am a jerk.  I sat there and poured over the device and just smiled and nodded while he tried to sale me on the iPad.  He told me about how Apple had developed a special chip just for the iPad called the A4.  He told me that the iPad could run iPhone apps.  He told me that he likes to refer to it as a tablet.  Smile and Nod.

Enough about that.  What did I think?

First, it feels solid.  It is going to be interesting to see how they sell to people that come in and use them at a Best Buy or Apple Store or something.  I think there are going to be a lot of people that want to use one before they buy one.  However, the "theft-prevention" cable coupled with the lack of chairs makes it difficult to imagine using the device normally.  I found myself a little tentative while using it. (not wanting to set off any alarms.)

The concerns I have heard about the iPad mirror that of the pre-released iPhone.  Most center around the on-screen keyboard.  I ran the keyboard through all the tests I could think of and have to say that it works very well.  I think the central difference between learning to use the iPhone keyboard versus the iPad is going to center around how much more similar the iPad is to a real keyboard.  The iPhone keyboard was different enough from a normal keyboard to basically allow me to learn a new skill as I learned to type on it.  The iPad, however, is close enough that it taps into my preexisting ideas of where the keys should be.  This is both good and bad and makes it feel really natural to a point.  Have you ever starting using a new keyboard where the keys are just a little bit different than your old keyboard?  That is how it felt.  Only time will tell how long it will take for it to feel completely natural.

Easter

Usually we spend Easter in Louisiana with my family, but this year I was on-call for work, so we stayed in town. Micah's family started celebrating Easter a couple of years ago when my nephew, Caleb, was old enough to start hunting for Easter eggs.

This is my 6-month old Nephew, Hunter. He's still too young to hunt eggs. :)

Caleb found an egg!
Go! Go! Go! (Not sure who he was racing against since he was the only kid finding eggs!)
The attack of the ants. After he got bit, finding eggs wasn't as much fun anymore.
Micah with the chocolate pound cake my Momo always makes. I made it this year in her honor. Micah dyed the coconut green and wanted to take credit for making the whole cake (but I didn't let him!)
My bunny cake that I make every year. This one was a spice cake with cream cheese icing.
Some of today's entertainment included games for the older kids (our generation). We played memory with cards and answered some creative questions to obtain eggs with money in them! Very fun (except Micah is so good at memory, he ended up with much more money than I did and is not sharing!!)

Kaitlyn's Tree

Ever since Stephanie saw the picture of our chosen baby bedding she has been set on having a similar tree on Kaitlyn's wall.  It has kind of become the focal point and anchor in the room.  There is a baby bed to assemble and decorations to hang but first a tree must be planted (errrrr painted).

Lucky for us we have a very artistic friend.  Natalie created a tree and I stole a projector from Baylor for the day and she went to work.  Above is the finished product.  The picture looks great and it doesn't even do it justice.

Now I guess I have a bed to assemble...

I'll take an Octa-Plenta Hazelnut Latte Please.

Starbucks is introducing a couple of new sizes starting today.  Check out that picture of the a "plenta" size drink...  So now it goes micra (also shown above), tall, grande, venti and plenta.

I wonder if the refills are still $.50...  I could supply my whole office with coffee for under a buck!

You can read more here: Starbucks Listens to Customer Request for More Sizes

(and yes I know...  it is April 1, I just thought it was hilarious)