Getting the hang of things

Life is finally starting to return back to normal......slightly. We are now into our second week alone at home while Daddy works. Kinsey is growing everyday and I see her changing each day as well. She now spends about a half hour a day doing tummy time. She seems to really enjoy it. She can now hold her head up for almost ten seconds and has turned her head from one side to the other while on her tummy. She is growing up sooo fast *tear* During the day she is an absolute angel. She is perfectly content lying in her swing or boppy and looking around. While doing chores around the house I talk to her and tell her what I am doing. She seems to really listen.....or maybe I just think she is. She is still eating every 2-3 hours. That is probably the most exhausting part. We have started giving her a bottle a day. She seems a little confused about this strange bottle thing. She will chug it down really fast and then seem hungry only a short time later. Im not sure if this is normal or not but she seems to eat less and stay full longer when she nurses. When night time comes so does the stress. Each night I try to lay her down in her pack and play next to our bed. She begins to cry. So Josh and I take turns going in there to soothe her and then we leave the room. She starts to scream again. So we go back in there to soothe her again and leave. We repeat this routing for a couple of hours or until I give in. I put her in bed next to me and she is instantly quiet and falls asleep and stays asleep. I know this is a bad habit but she only seems to be happy next to me. I may wait until she is a little older and we can start letting her cry it out in her crib. I think she is too young to just let her cry now though. Anyone who has any advice I am all ears.

This weekend we got out quite a bit. On Sunday we went over to my brothers house and he cooked reubens for us. We then went to a fundraiser at Kims Karate Academy. One of our friends practices karate there and they were having a fundraiser for Haiti victims. We donated money and got to watch all of their stunts. It was pretty entertaining and Kinsey slept through the whole thing. My parents came for a short visit on Sunday night. On Monday I started my first day back at the gym. It was nice to get out and have some alone time. Even if for only an hour and a half. I missed my little princess though.

Hopefully everyone has a good week!!!

Our First Week Alone

As of yesterday Josh officially went back to work. It was so nice to have him off for two whole weeks. I have to admit there was a lot of anxiety around him leaving us. I thought there was no way that I could do this all by myself. Luckily I have the best family and friends in the world. Yesterday Kinsey and I had many visitors. My mom came over first thing in the morning. Joshs stepmom came for a couple visits in the afternoon. It was great to spend some time with her. My good friend Kara came over and we went to lunch. Kinsey slept through the whole thing and we made it home just in time for her to get hungry. It sure is tricky taking her out when we havent started bottles yet. We are constantly finding a place to nurse or timing things so we can be back home by the time she needs to eat. In the afternoon my other good friend Nichole came over. She went with me to tan and sat with Kinsey. It was soooo nice to go tan again. It has almost been a year since I last tanned! Needless to say the day went by fast and daddy was home in the evening! Today we have been watching the news and doing a little tummy time. It is so funny to watch her try to hold her head up. She is growing sooo fast. These next 10 weeks are going to go by sooo fast!!

12 Days old.

Where to start?.....Well today Kinsey is 12 days old and changing each day. The past week and a half has been the most rewarding time of my life.....lots of sleepiness in there as well. The past few days Kinsey has been battling tummy cramps. She just cannot seem to get comfortable and when she cries you can tell it is a painful cry. She grunts and pushes and pulls her legs up to her tummy. We went to the Dr and he suggested Mylecon drops before each feeding. He also told us that many newborns deal with tummy issues and that I really need to watch what I am eating. My diet needs to be as bland as possible. So for the last few days I have been living on rice, noodles, bananas, toast and apple juice. Today though, I am able to notice a difference. She has been able to sleep easier and not as fussy. We have been having some issues sleeping at night. We have her pack and play set up next to our bed which has a bassinet in the top. She absolutely hates sleeping in there. The only place she has been able to fall asleep is next to me in bed. I know I know....very bad habit. I feel so bad that her tummy hurts that I want to let her rest whenever and wherever she can. As soon as she is feeling better we will be breaking that habit. She is also eating VERY well. During the day she can want to nurse as much as every 45 minutes. She is already up to 7lbs 9oz from her birth weight of 6lbs 6oz. The Dr. said not to worry and to feed her when shes hungry. Looks like she has inherited her daddys appetite :)

Josh and I could not be more blessed. We have the perfect little angel and look forward to all of the milestones to come. We love you so much Kinsey

Pictures!

She's Here!!!

Wow! That is all I can say. Little miss Kinsey Peyton was born at 2:45 Jan 1st. She weighed in at 6lbs6oz and is 19 and 1/4 inches long. She is absolutely perfect.



On New Years Eve I began having pretty regular contractions at noon. I was scheduled to work that night and was worried about calling in to work only to have a false alarm. I have never done this child birth thing before and was not sure it was the real thing. As the day progressed so did the contractions. Josh and I went walking at the mall that evening to hopefully speed things along. It seemed that it worked. After getting home around 8:00pm the contractions were stronger and more regular. About 11:30 I decided it was time. We went to the hospital. The Dr checked me only to find that I was only 1-2 cm dilated. Talk about the biggest let down ever. I cried and cried. They told us that we needed to walk the halls for the next hour and then they were going to check me again to see if I was making any progress. We rang in the New Year walking up and down the halls at St Joe. They checked me again and I had not changed. I angrily put my clothes back on and went home. The nurses said that it could even be a few more days until we see any changes. I was so let down. The second we got home the contractions were almost unbearable. I was in tears on the floor. I did not want to go back in fear of another false alarm so I toughed it out for another 2 hours. At that point I could not take the pain anymore. We headed back up to the hospital. They were suprised to see me. After checking me I was dilated to a 4 and it was official....I was in labor. This is all at 3:30am. We called all of our families to let them know. They admitted me and then ordered my epidural. All I can say is that the epidural was amazing. I felt nothing. No pain whatsoever. I was absolutely numb from mid stomach down. It was the weirdest feeling. I had to lift my legs myself if I wanted to change positions in bed. At about 2:00 New years day afternoon they said I was completely dilated and it was time to push. Because I was completely numb I had no idea what or where I was pushing. It seemed to work though because after 45mins of painless pushing she was born. Absolutely perfect. I cannot describe the feeling. I loved this little baby sooooo much. Josh and I were both a mess of tears. He went over to meet here while I was finishing up. When they brought her over to us we looked at eachother and never in my life have I been happier. It was the most special moment and I will never forget that feeling as long as I live. Our family and friends then came in to meet little Kinsey. There were tears everywhere. After a short stay at the hospital we went home. It was so nice to be settled in. We have the most fantastic friends and family as they all planned meals for us for the next week. We are so grateful.

As of now Kinsey eats, sleeps and poops. And she is so perfect doing it. We went to the doctor today and she is back up to 6lbs4oz after losing some. He is completely happy with that and said she looks great.

Our lives will never be the same. We have brought this little being into the world and are now responsible for her. I am so anxious to see the person she grows to be. I love her more than anything and feel like my life is complete. Thank you so much Josh for giving her to me.

P.S. I will add pics later......I need to tend to my princess.