One Month

12/20/2011

Today, you...

are 1 month old
sleep all day and cry most of the night
smile in your sleep (and sometimes when you toot)
are just barely moving from your newborn clothes up to 0-3 month clothes
hate socks, having your diaper changed, the dark, and being naked
love baths, bottles, your bouncy seat, and the sound of water
weigh 9 lbs 2 oz and are 21" long
have found your thumb (but we're really encouraging a pacifier!)
are feeding mostly from Mommy but are supplemented with formula (we're working on this)
love hearing your Daddy's voice and especially love his singing
hate being left alone and you much prefer to be held and cuddled
are only slightly aware of Bella and Dakota
have GERD (Reflux) and are taking baby Zantac (which breaks Mommy and Daddy's hearts)


Dear Kinley,
We have experienced many things in the past month and are still getting used to each other! We try anything and everything to make you happy (and hopefully always will!). You keep us up most of the night but with each random smile and rolling toots, you melt our hearts and forget how bad the nights are. We are going on our first trip this upcoming weekend and are nervous about how you will do. I think you will do perfect at Oma and Doodah's house but am worried about the car ride. You often times get unhappy when you realize that you aren't being held! This weekend is your first official Christmas. We feel so blessed to have your in our lives and cannot imagine our life without you in it!

We love you with all of our hearts!
Mommy and Daddy

Arranged Marriage

Yesterday we found out that my best friend is having a baby boy in April! We have been saying since we were in 7th grade that we had to have our children at the same time so they could grow up and be the best of friends just like us! Instead, Miss Kinley gets a best friend and a husband! Yep, I am that person who will strongly encourage an arranged marriage! Here's to hoping anyway! Congratulations Angie and Bryan on baby boy Morris!

Sneak Peek

www.lbluntphotography.blogspot.com

Picture Post

 Kinley and her Great Grandma Kovach.

We went to visit Grandma on Friday and to show off how much our little angel has changed since she had seen her in the hospital.  Grandma jumped right in and asked to hold her.  Kinley looks huge in Grandma's arms, but really, Grandma is just very tiny!  We are so lucky to have our grandparents that want to be involved in Kinley's life! 

Kinley and her chair...

Pardon all of the pictures of Kinley in her bouncy chair, but this is a freaking lifesaver!  We knew it would be based on our nephews, but could not have imagined how much we would need it!

As of today, she is starting on baby Zantac for what they believe is acid reflux.  It is very difficult to watch your baby eat and spit up and scream each and every time she eats.  It will literally break your heart!  However, one of the requirements for treating acid reflux, especially in infants, is to have them sleep at an incline (30 degrees, to be specific) and to remain upright for 20-30 minutes after eating.  So low and behold, the bouncy seat works perfectly for both of these settings.

Miss Kinley loves her seat and makes herself right at home in her chair.

She looks quite pudgy in the following picture, but she just barely has gotten back up to her birth weight.  I just love this picture because we had undressed her to keep her awake enough to eat and after she was finished, she just passed right out.  And nearly slid out of her magic chair!

And just to reinstate our awesome parenting skills, we took our 2 week old to a tattoo parlor last week.  Yep, we're those people!  I am already in the tattoo club, but Josh was itching to join.  He thought the only appropriate thing to permanently put on his body was the name of his child.  I think he got the birthdate just so he wouldn't forget! :)

Daddy's little girl.

Miss Kinley loves her Daddy, especially when he raps to her.  No really.  She finds great comfort in his voice.  She always has, even when she was still in my tummy.  I captured this picture while Josh and Kinley were napping some random day while I cooked dinner.

And just a picture to prove that she really does have eyes under those eyelids!



This past weekend we had professional pictures taken of Kinley!  We cannot wait to share those pictures wtih you, but you will have to wait until we get the CD from our photographer!  And PS If you need a photographer, you should most definitely use Lyndsey Blunt Photography!

Kinley's First Week...and then some.

Miss Kinley has had her ups and downs.  Literally.  Her weight was a concern even before we left the hospital.  Since then, we have been to the doctor 3 times and had a home health nurse twice to do weight checks.  Because of this, we have had to supplement forumla.  I was VERY against supplementing but after they scared the crap out of me about her weight, I caved.  We started with finger feeding and tube feeding.  It was exhausting.  If I wasn't breastfeeding, I was pumping or begging her to eat.  Monday, we bit the bullet and bought some bottles.  Epic fail.  However, on Friday, we gained weight!  Woo hoo!  Our doctor was so excited that he allowed us to go two weeks before following up again!  This is excellent news since we were going twice a week!

Her sleeping habits have also been up and down.  Some nights we'll have a good 3-4 hours in between feedings and other nights we'll have none.  No seriously.  Friday night she slept maybe 3 hours all together.  It was miserable.  Josh and I looked at each other several times and said, "I don't know what else to try."  It is very frusturating to not be able to help your baby.

Each day continues to be a challenge.  We are learning as we go.  She seems to be a happy baby for the most part so we feel we're on the right track!  Now, if only we can get some sort of sleeping arrangement down...

Kinley is two weeks old today.  She has started making tears (and using them!).  She seems to have lots of tummy issues and gets very upset when she toots.  She smiles in her sleep and sometimes when she's breastfeeding.  She has been out of the house a few times (the first was to a doctor's appointment and lunch at Mi Ranchito).  She will not sleep unless she has a warm body holding her.  Her belly button fell off after one week.  She weighs approximately 7 lbs 10 oz.  She is the light and joy of our lives!

Birth Story (long and TMI)

Sunday morning (November 20th) at 3:30 am, my water broke and our adventure began... I woke up Josh and he got some clothes together and we headed for the hospital. We even took a picture of us leaving the house in front of the clock on our microwave. This could be the last picture of me smiling for about 15 hours!

Once we arrived at the ER, they quickly steered us towards the Birth Place. We hadn't brought in our bag because I genuinely believed that I would beq sent home to wait (that is what everyone told me would happen). Except it didn't. After arriving in the room, the wonderful nurse checked me and finished breaking my water. I was only at a 3!

Josh and I dozed in and out for several hours and worked through some very mild contractions. By the way, there is nothing good on tv at 4 am. 7:00 am rolled around and I was starting to get some back pain and pressure around my lady parts.  They suggested I get a "boost" to take the edge off.  The drug is called Heaven, no just kidding, its actually Nubain (I think that is how it is spelled).  Best drug ever.

Around 9:00 am, I decided to get my epidural.  I was feeling pretty uncomfortable but not out of control.  However, I was dialated to a 5 and they were afraid that I may miss my window of opportunity if we didn't get it started.  At about 10:00 am my mom arrived. Which I felt terrible about because she had just left Olathe the day before!

Around noon, while Angie and my mom were there, I started to feel what they referred to as a "hot spot".  Something that people clearly forget to mention when discussing epidurals.  This "hot spot" is when the drug is not working on a certain spot of your body.  My spot was on the left side of my lower abdomen.  It was hurting pretty good at this point so I suggested that everyone leave (I am mean, I know).  I needed to concentrate and did not want anyone to see me being a wuss.  After 30 minutes of suffering, I asked if there was anything I could have.  They called in the anesthesiologist and he gave me a bolster.  Not sure what that was, but it worked.  Knocked the pain right out!

However, it didn't last.  Instead, at about 2:00 we had realized that the "hot spot" had now spread to the entirity of my lower abdomen and can feel each and every agonizing contraction. 

I am begging at this point for a C-section.  It is 2:30 and I am dialated to a 9.  They suggest that we start pushing to finish thinning out my cervix.  I didn't want to push.  I didn't want to have a baby anymore.  I was done. 

After begging for some sort of relief, they had the miracle drug man come back and give me another bolster.  I don't even remember seeing him.  At 3:00 it was time to push.  I couldn't feel my legs at all but sure as the sun comes up everyday, I could feel my hot spot on my left side.

An hour and a half, a broken tailbone, forceps and an episiotomy later - Kinley Josephine came in to the world.  It was 4:30 pm and she weighed 7 lbs 15 oz and was 20" long.

If that hour and a half wasn't bad enough, my uterus wouldn't stop bleeding.  I received at least three shots in my thighs, one in my arm, and one through my IV to stop the bleeding.  Nothing seemed to help.  So all of those nurses out there, what do you?  Yep, brutally assault me by kneading my stomach like bread dough.  It was excrutiating.  I screamed out loud.  I am that person and I didn't care.  I grabbed the nurse's hand and begged her to stop.  She didn't.  I think she hated me. 

Another hour later, my bleeding slowed down and they had me stitched up.  Then I got sick.  I had held my beautiful baby girl for approximately 3 minutes.  It was depressing and I felt like a horrible mom because honestly, I didn't want to hold her.  I was miserable.  To make matters worse, the dang Nursery nurse kept trying to get me to breast feed.  Witch.  Was she trying to make me feel like the worse mom ever?  Well, it worked.  

Finally, at about 6:00 pm I held her and even fed her (or tried).  It was over.  It was the longest day of my life and probably of Josh's life.  I had survived and received the most wonderful gift in the world.  She was perfect.  And she was mine.

  

Going home...sporting our KSU stocking hat!

**More things happened once I got home - but I'll save that for another TMI post someday.