She is one LOOOONG chicky poo!!!

Ok, I have come to realize that I have one long legged gal on my hands. All her 3 mth sleepers are still way too wide but they are almost too short. She is filling them all out length wise and even foot wise. Her 3 month onsies are baggy but the same brand of sleepers are too short. It is no small wonder I felt all those kicks and she punctured my waters. I am sure at her next appointment( in January for her three month check up) she will be off the charts in length. I am bummed out that I bought this little outfit that once washed may only do for a couple of weeks. Oh well, live and learn. Have I mentioned how many people are still commenting on her fingers?! I guess I am so use to them that I really don't see then as long anymore. Her little toe is almost the same length as her big one too...that is a crack up as well.

On to last night....
I upped her formula by an ounce and fed her an hour earlier in hopes to avoid the fussiness that happens until her usual feeding at 10pm. She drank the whole bottle at 9pm and was sleeping by 10:30 and didn't stir until 4am!!! Can you believe it? She ate at 4am and then went to bed until 7:30. I will be trying this again tonight. She is coming to the age that I need to try to up her formula and take away a bottle...as per the books. I am not going to alter things too much but I am keeping notes on what bottle she is less fond of and will try to spread the feedings out accordingly or I may not even bother with that at all if she is happy. Eventually the feeding I would like to get rid of is obviously the 3-4am one. I will take what she gave me last night in a New York minute!! She is so much happier being back on 100% powder so that is what she will remain on. It is easier and less wasteful that is for sure so I am game.

On to being a Mom...
I truly love being her Mom and my heart sometimes flutters and skips a beat I am so overwhelmed with happiness. When she smiles I am done! I love her chubby cheeks and I am sure I am going to wear them out with all the kisses. She is truly the best thing that has ever happened to me and I am totally honored to be given this privilege and will strive to be the best I can be for her. I adore her and cannot imagine how I lived without her.

OK...now that I am crying (Again - must be a Mom thing) I will go feed this little Angel.

Shari

Mom and Daughter outing :-)

I did it!! I survived my first shopping/visiting alone with Kailey. I have been chicken to take her out until now. My excuses: it is just easier to wait for Jack to come home and we both go with her or I just run wherever I need to myself. I haven't been able to stretch across the seat and lift her with my stomach muscles the way they were (that is true). Lets see...what other excuses can I come up with....hmmmm. Jack had the truck at work...I am a big chicken is what it really boils down to. We went to The Woof Inn to visit Jackie and then I took her to the mall and bought her two new outfits that she really doesn't need but that is not the point. I stole dish soap...oops. It was tucked away by her car seat in the cart and I forgot it was there when I was checking out. I noticed it when I lifted her into the truck. Would she be considered an accessory to this crime?? lol Another milestone for us is the fact that I bathed her by myself including a shampoo job!! Much trickier without the second set of hands but I did it. She gazed at her slender bod in the mirror again. This time she was smiling at herself and I totally cracked up. It was too funny seeing her eyes take her nakedness in and then give an approving smile...hahaha!!! I also gave her a manicure...no wonder she is having a power snooze.

I have been delinquent in writing and keeping you all abreast of the goings on...sorry about that. I have been more than busy getting ready for Christmas. I managed to take some awesome Christmas photos that you will have to wait to see ;-). I am very excited about these and she was so patient for me.

She had a really rough afternoon/evening yesterday for whatever reason. She cried for three hours straight only to take little breaks to catch her breath. She did manage to fall asleep at her usual time of 11pm and then did not wake up until 4:30am to eat and then again at 8:30 so I managed to get a ton of sleep. I was so sad for her last night though. She was in pain and her tummy was hard as a rock. Constipated is my guess (she didn't poo until this afternoon almost 2 full days). What has changed??? I have been giving her the same formula but the concentrate form for four days and she has been getting progressively more fussy. I am thinking that whatever process they use to make the concentrate she is sensitive to. She is totally back on powder and is back to being a happy girl. This makes me wonder if she would have been ok on the other three formulas if they were the powder version? Strange, you would think it would be the same thing. I know she was spitting up more on the concentrate and it has a much thicker consistency than the powder mixed with water. Oh well, she is A-Ok and the powder is easier anyway. The powder is a ton more $$ than the concentrate which is strange so hopefully Mom can find some deals at Costco.

Well, there you have it. You all are up to date as much as I can type that is...hahaha.

Shari

An old friend stops by :-)

I am so pumped. A really good old pal is in town from Winnipeg visiting her family and she looked me up. It has been a looong time since we have seen or spoken to each other - just lost contact over the years. She has a 14 week old little girl named Lily that was a surprise to me and she was equally, if not more, surprised when I told her about Kailey. Lily is cute as a button as you can see in the pictures. She came by for a visit today and it was hilarious seeing the two of them together. One would cry and the other would make a sympathy fuss. lol Another reason I love being a Mom - people you wouldn't expect to see/hear from appear back in your life and you pick up where you left off. These two girls love thier binkies as you can see. Dual sucking...hahaha. It was so nice to chat with another Mom and swap birth stories and fears etc.

I sure hope we don't let more years pass us by. I am really going to try to make an effort to keep in touch.

More swing pictures!!

I know I keep taking these pictures but what can I say, it is an addiction. lol

Sleepy Baby...awwww

I tried with one hand to get a picture of Kailey crashed out on my chest. I guess there is one thing that the girls are good for if nothing else...pillows.

She was back on track schedule wise last night and we all are much happier. She ate at 10:30pm and didn't start to stir until 3:30am and then again at 6:30am. She always falls back to sleep until around 8:30am and then she is usually up for the day.

On an different note...

Jack picked up a Christmas tree from the lot at Extra Foods and it reminds me of the tree from National Lampoons....it is huge!!!! As it thaws I am getting more and more nervous. It is very nice and full so it will look amazing when we decorate tomorrow we just won't be able to use the front room...hahaha. It really is not that bad but it required a fairly substantial hair cut just to get it to fit. I will definitly take some pictures of it.

I am so thrilled we have Kailey for Christmas. I remember thinking last Christmas how empty and lonely I was feeling, like there was a void in my heart. I desparately wanted to have a baby in my arms or to feel a baby moving inside me. Christmas can be so emotional and sometimes it is sadness that overtakes. Not this year!!! I am welling up just thinking about holding her and being around family and all the season's trimmings. ;-)

Ta ta for now.

Bath Time = Sad Mom

Boo Hoo...I didn't think that she was getting so big so fast but we took some pictures of her in the bathtub and that is when it really hit me. She is filling out the tub in a big way now. I looked back to her first bath that Mom and I gave her when she was only a few days old and I cannot believe the size difference. I know getting bigger is a really good and 'normal' thing but it still makes me sad that time flies by this fast.

I love the fact that we have a mirror that is down at counter level as she loves to admire herself and it keeps her mind off of the tummy washing that she hates so much. As you can see she loves checking out her naked budda belly. lol


Here are some pictures to compare.

Happy 6 week Birthday!!!

She will be 6 weeks old tonight at exactly 8:08pm. Can you believe that 6 weeks have gone by already?! WOW!! I will not write about the awful night we had because whinning about it won't help and I am hoping to forget how little sleep I actually got last night. Lets just say she threw a party for herself and the guest list consisted of me and Marley :-(. I know exactly what happened and believe me it will not happen again. Live and Learn. Sleeping ALL DAY=UP ALL NIGHT.

I took these today so they are hot of the press and the most up to date you can get. I had to put the headband on to hold back all that hair otherwise you couldn't see her face...hahahaha.

I will post more later when I accomplish the following:

1) take a shower
2) eat for the first time today (it is 1:15pm)
3) try to have a nap

Love Shari and Wild Women aka Kailey bear

What a good time & what a good girl!!

Kailey's party was last night. I say party rather than baby shower as it was a mix and it started at 7pm. The theme was baby's first Christmas and it was a wine and cheese party complete with Sushi---ahhhh to have sushi again. Jackie hosted it for us and I thank her for a wonderful and relaxing blast of a time. A ton of work went into this and what an amazing Shushi chef her hubby happens to be. I was so nice to unwind and take some 'Shari time'. There were 12 people and 3 canines...hahaha. I cannot believe the wonderful gifts we got for her and I am totally appreciative and speechless. I can tell a ton of thought went into these gifts and it means the world to me to know that I have so many great friends. I am getting all teary eyed even thinking about it. I will remember this night forever. {{{HUGS}}}

On to Miss Muffet.
SHE WAS THE BEST BEHAVED BABY IN THE WORLD..well in my world that is for sure. I fed her right before we left and let her fall asleep in the car seat so we were off. She was sporting her pink and white party sleeper along with the latest in baby footwear (plush bunny slippers). She was a complete Angel. When she finally did wake up she didn't fuss one bit when she was passed from Cheryl to Carla to Jackie and loved all the cuddle time. She ate around 10:30pm and was content and wide awake. I am so glad & relieved she was so obviously comfortable in this situation as this was her first extended visit anywhere. They all thought she was adorable with extremly loooong fingers and sizeable feet (but cute feet). For Mom: Brad says she hasn't changed at all - just bigger, so no worries. I really wish Mom and Nan could have made it because throughout the night I was thinking how proud they would have been of their Great/Grandaughter and how many laughs we all would have had. Hope Mom is getting over the flu and soon we all will be together. Christmas is just around the corner and I have a new sense of confidence taking the Kailey show on the road.

Shari

p.s. for some reason I cannot post photos or spellcheck with this site today but photos will be on the buket site

Packing Away Maternity Clothes :-)

I didn't realize how many Mat clothes I actually accumulated. It just seems like yesterday, but in a way, so long ago that I was looking in my closet for anything that would cover the 'DOME'. I will pack these away and they will be there when someone needs them (notice I said 'someone' - like not me)...hahaha. I went shopping for clothes (real clothes) yesterday and I picked out some pants and shirts in the sizes that I was pre-pregnancy and guess what? THEY HUNG ON ME. I have gone down 3" for jeans and one whole size for shirts and dress pants. I was shocked and feeling rather good about myself so I bought some really nice jeans, 4 shirts and a ski vest thingy.

Miss Muffet was an Angel again yesterday. No fits of crying that lasted more than a minute or two, except for her bath. She kept the the exact same schedule only this time she fell asleep even that much faster for Jack. He popped her in the bassinet before 11pm and she didn't stir until 3am. It was easy using the powder formula in the night as I had it pre-measured in a container and the bottle of water ready to go...shake...shake..shake and tada. She really like this new stuff and I really hope it works ok. She had a poo that was not painful to pass for her and didn't smell like death ( am I really writing about poo?). I am thinking I may switch to concentrate or RTF as there is just something unsanitary about sticking my hand in the container and scooping formula out. I know people always do this but it just seems weird that I am sterilizing everything and then I stick my paw into the container and fiddle around with a scoop. Hmmm. I will have to do more research.

I know the onsie in the picture is rather boyish but this was one of the first things I bought and I was thinking I was having a boy that week. Plus, c'mon it has a Golden Retriever on it.

Shari, who is keeping her fingers crossed this is not a calm before the storm situation!!! :-)

Where were those freak out sessions?

Strange phenomenon happened at the Ruggiero household yesterday...Kailey had zero freak out/colic sessions...hmmmm. Atmospheric anomaly?? Maybe was fussy for 20 min at 8pm.

She was awesome for Jack and he was able to go to bed at his usual time of 11:30pm. She woke up at 3am for food and this is when I assumed her 'session' would take place. She was sleeping in bed by 3:30!! What? She woke again for 6am happy and smiling. I went on a colic support website and they said that colicky babies benefit from somewhat of a scheduled feeding system. For three days she has pretty well followed these times: 6am, 9am, noon, 3pm, 6pm, 10-11pm, up to her (either 3am or sleeps through). She is happy with this and I do let her decide if she needs to be fed sooner or later but the big thing is that I catch her before she totally goes bananas looking for the bottle. I am sure some folks are not in agreement with this system but I am getting used to 'advice unsolicited or otherwise. :-) hahaha.

I am trying her on a milk protein formula as some of the research out there (most actually, including my Dr.) feel SOY is not to be used unless there is absolutely no choice and other options have been tried. I am trying and crossing my fingers that Nestle Good Start works for her. This is the first powder that actually mixes really nice and it totally has the consistency of breast milk instead of cake batter. Whey protein is the first ingredient and unlike most formulas it is broken down so they claim it is easier to digest. It contains Omega 3 and 6 and all sorts of other stuff that are not present in her current stuff. I know breast is best but if I can find a formula that I am confident and comfortable feeding and she tolerates it I will be much happier. The other thing is her gas smells up the entire upper level...smells like soy. Her skin even smells of it. I must have checked her diaper 10 times yesterday looking for poop...nope...just repulsive gas. How can something so pretty stink sooooo bad. She was also constipated so I am sure that didn't help her case. At least I have enough formula stocked up that if she reacts I can easily go back. I am not doing this cold turkey though. She got 2 bottles of GS yesterday and there was no immediate reaction and she will get 3 bottles today.

Cross your fingers.

Shari

What?! 8.5 hours of sleep?!!

That is correct. I went to bed at 9ish last night and I woke her up at 6am. Very cool and exciting at first glance, however, she gave Jack a run for his money last night for 2 hours (until 1 am) and she was recovering from the screaming fit I imagine. I asked why he didn't wake me and he said that he was giving it until 1am and if she didn't settle he would have woke me. She calmed down at 12:50 and ended the fit with a smile apparently. What it seems to boil down to is this: She is good for 2 freak out sessions - duration approx. 2 hours each. It is a matter of when the sessions will occur in the 24 hour period. I had a smallish manageable one in the afternoon and when she didn't have her 8pm freak out I wondered when that was going to occur. I was banking on the 3:30am feed with me but it was Jack's feed. I rolled over in bed this morning and glanced at the clock...WHAT 6AM!! is she ok? did I feed her at 3:30 and forgot about putting her back? is she breathing? She gobbled her bottle down and wanted to go back to bed so that is what she is doing now. So, I am happy and thrilled that I got 8 hours but I am sad that her and Jack had to go through that. I wonder what physically and mentally is happening with her when she cries like that.

Hopefully I can take some pictures of her today all dressed up. I will see if she is up for it.

Shari

Happy Momma Bear!!!

I had 6.5 hours of uninterrupted sleep last night!!! thanks to Jack taking the 10:30-11pm feeding. I went to bed at 9pm (missed my Desperate Housewives but it is worth it to feel human). I didn't wake up until 3:30am when Kailey was starting to stir. I fed her and we stayed up for 2 hours while she was WIDE AWAKE (her eyes are huge at the best of times). She was not fussing at all rather wanted to be entertained so I will take that instead of her wicked alternative. I didn't mind because on Discovery channel, the dog trainer Dr. Cohen was on and I always like watching him and he just happened to have a special on rescue dogs and their quirks. I was pumped because they pulled his program during regular watching hours. When she finally fell asleep she slept until 8am so I am feeling refreshed and ready to head to my Dr. appointment at 1:30. I had a shower, made some formula, folded clothes and cleaned up a tad. I feel like a million bucks. Jack slept through his alarm this morning so I will have to try to make a couple little timing adjustments so he is not feeding her at 11pm. He slipped her into her bassinet at around 11:50pm so he still got 6.5 uninterrupted hours of sleep too so maybe that is not enough? Maybe this is a one time thing? He was only 30 min late so that is not too bad. I think he will think it is worth it when he sees how much happier I am today. Maybe he would benefit from a nap when he gets home from work. Can you tell I feel guilty?? I guess it could be way worse for him - Chris from work, who sleeps in the same room as their newborn, got a total of 2 hours of sleep the other night. I'll see what he says when he gets home today. If her feed was more like 10pm that would be better but we are on Kailey's schedule and that feed ranges from 9:30pm - 11pm. I really think the power walking with her in the snugli really helped her gas because she didn't even spit up like she was doing with the late night bottles. She was tooting and belching like a trucker the whole time she was being carted around. I think the upright position mixed with the movement of all the stairs really helped her out. She was a happy baby last night opposed to the red faced ticked off Kailey Bear. We will have to get the Nascar hat out tonight and her jingling bug toy for those windshield collisions that she gets a kick out of. hahahaha :-)

She is starting to wake up so I better run.

Shari

p.s. She is 5 weeks old today so I may have to put her in a party dress and take some pictures - not like I don't have a ton already.

Too Funny!!!

The funniest thing just came out of Jack's mouth that I had to share. She loves the snugli on one condition...you must walk fast!!! Slow speeds early in the day will be acceptable I imagine. He is walking around the house with it on right now and the minute he stops or goes too slow she fusses.

Jack said talking for Kailey - "walk faster you fat bastard, I want to feel the wind through my peach fuzz". hahahahaha!!! He even put his nascar hat on for her...I am dying laughing.

Shari

Night Owl

So I had another wild night last night - Jack lucked out the previous night. She was only up for maybe 2 hours the entire day so I knew I may be in for it. Her fussing started at 8pm and didn't stop really(off and on complaining mixed with a scream that could peel paint) until 10:30 ish. She slept until 1:30 am and that is when the real 'fun' began. It was hell trying to get her to settle after her bottle. She cried until 3:30ish at which point I caved and let her sleep with me in bed. She started to fuss but I was there to rock her a bit in my arms and she dozed off and I slipped my arm out from under her and we slept until 6:30am!! Had she not been a fussy pants I would have had 5 hours of sleep instead of the three. I was just thankful she gave me that. She was awesome after that time like always. She is a very good/easy baby during the day. I can deal with fussy crying so much better in daylight. I am terrible at 2am and that seems to be when she likes to test my strength. We have been making a point of keeping her up off and on all day to maybe coax her into sleeping more tonight, I won't hold my breath.

Today's Events:

- I took Zoe pants to the club and threw a ball for her for about 30 min. She was so happy to be out with me again and it was totally therapeutic for me too.

- I went to Wal-Mart to pick up a snugli (she really likes it) and hopefully with my hands free and her being upright we can have a win win situation.

- I went to the mall and ran into Jackie so we had lunch and just chatted it up which was totally great and also very therapeutic. I was supposed to be picking up groceries but what fun is that?

- I ended up going to Sobeys and ran into a girl from my prenatal and she told me her story and it is freakishly like mine. C-section, thought water broke and it actually didn't, hard to breast feed...she is successfully breast feeding but is totally wore out as she wants to eat every 1.5 - 2 hours all day and night. Jackie was talking to another girl from my prenatal class and she was a C-section as well. What is with all the c-sections??? She too had a hell of a time breast feeding but is doing ok with it now. She is feeling overwhelmed too and is up feeding her baby every few hours too. We exchanged numbers so at least we can provide support to one another. :-) It feels good to know that there are others feeling and going through the same sort of thing. I was thrilled to hear how they were doing but was a tad depressed that despite their C-Sections they were able to feed their babies. Oh well.

She is up right now and would prefer to sleep but we are walking her around and she is letting a ton of little toots and mega burps out so this is a good thing. I am going to try to go to sleep super early tonight so I can maybe get through the night better than I have been. I feel like a lazy chick when I am dragging myself out of bed around 11am!! This didn't phase me at all when I was a teenager so i am not sure why now I feel guilty when I have a legitimate reason for sleeping. Who knows.

I will keep you posted on what tonight brings with the attempt to cut back her massive power napping she does during the day.

Shari

Very good night!!

Link to pictures:
http://s129.photobucket.com/albums/p220/sjrugg/11-25-2006/

Jack decided that I needed a full night sleep so he took the night feedings and she did amazing for him. She is back to where she was a few nights ago (I say this in a whisper in case I jinx it again). She went four hours and fed and quickly and quietly went back to sleep and then she was up again in 3 hours without much fussing at all. There were 2 changes I made that could be helping the situation. 1/ I cut back her oz. to 4 rather than 5 at each feeding. The Doctor said that sounded like too much for her & it could have been contributing to her tummy aches. 2/ I put her back on the newborn flow nipples. I was introducing the #2 nipples but maybe she was getting the milk too fast and sucking in too much air. Who knows. Maybe she needed to adjust herself to the new formula sans breast milk. I will take it even if this is a gift. She is totally content today and we had friends stop by to drop off a gift and they said that there is no way she is colicky as one of their kids was and she is way too content. Apparently their child wouldn't settle all day and it was hell at night. I am keeping my fingers crossed that these little changes are helping her. We had a wonderful bonding moment today. It was 8am and only 2 hours since her last feed so i really wanted her to wait another hour at least. She was a little fussy and I rocked her in my arms and she fell asleep and instead of putting her in the bassinet I lay in bed with her tucked in the crook of my arm all cuddled and we napped for one and a half hours where she woke up so sweetly and grinned and stared at me. It was wonderful. I know there is so much controversy with having them even take a nap in the bed but I honestly don't know how any Mom can smother their child as I swear i heard every breath and woke to every grunt. This was awesome and I can see taking the odd nap like this together.

I took a bunch of up to date photos today of her and I uploaded them all to the photobucket site but these are my two favorites. Her jeans are a tad too big for her but aren't they sweet? There aer some really funny shots of her little mouth in an 'o' shape. Everytime you change her pants she makes this face and it is too funny.

Shari, who is in a much better place with a full nights sleep...thanks Jack :-).

I spoke too soon / 6 week check up

While I was typing the last post ref. how lucky I am that she is giving me some sleep I was thinking to myself...jeez I sure hope I am not jinxing things. Sure enough, that night along with the nights thus far she has been a monster!!! She is up unsettled every two hours and it takes a good hour at least (one night three hours) to settle her back down. I have been getting 4 -6 very broken hours of sleep and it is taking its toll on me for sure. She is full time on formula now as the pumping thing was taking way too much out of me and my last ditch effort to put her back on the breast was a total 'bust' so to speak. I assumed with my Mommy guilt that taking away the breast bottles were having an ill effect on her. I was thinking it is my fault that she is so fussy now because she needs my milk. I went off the milk enhancing drugs and pretty well that was the only thing keeping my supply where it was. Within 2 days it became impossible to pump more than 2 oz. then...hardly a thing. I am totally dried up now...just goes to show that I never really had a supply at all since it only took no pumping for 24 hours to finish the 'boob chapter'. So all in all I have been a crying, sobbing mess the last couple of days...totally sleep deprived. The little monkey has been asleep for 4 hours so far. I fed her at 9:30am and then we took her to her appointment for 11:30, went to the Woof Inn, went to Zellers and she is still sleeping and it is 1:50. She is due up anytime. What a missed nap opportunity. :-( I looked like a total liar when I was complaining that she never sleeps and cries constantly. I assumed that there was something wrong with her but apparently this is normal. Lovely phase this is. God give me the strength to get through this next little while. I don't do well on no sleep, never have so this will be my greatest challenge. I have to say that this is way harder than I ever expected. Give me a room full of fighter pilots...no problem at all compared to this stress.

Now on to the appointment.

Weight: 10 lbs 3 oz.

Height: 21.7 "

All the spit up I was worried about apparently didn't have an effect on her weight gain. She is heavier than I though for sure. Double digits already...boo hoo. He was happy with her progress. He said to be safe to keep her on the Isomil due to less symptoms. So I guess she is a vegetarian. lol He told me the amount of spit up does not depend on the formula she is on. I call BS on that one because she spit up way way way more on the regular Similac. Persistent vomiting and Diarrhea is a formula issue and he doesn't really think that I gave it long enough to rule out formulas. He did say that since there is a history of milk intolerance in the family to keep her on this stuff. The only down side I guess is getting her onto regular milk one day may be a bit of a challenge since she will have acquired a taste for soy instead.

According to the Dr. he figures timing wise and time of day wise she is colic. :0( There is nothing to curb that except wait it out. She was a bit better last night but was still up very often. The difference was that I could actually calm her down quickly so she was back to sleep. He couldn't believe how much weight I have lost already so that made me feel good. He looked at the 'thing' coming out of my incision and said that it is a stitch from inside and it will eventually dissolve but the specialist may pull and snip it...ouch! I see him on Monday.

That is all for now.

Shari

What a Good Girl :-)

I am the luckiest Mom on the planet I think. Kailey has developed a way better schedule. Days and nights are now the way they should be. She went to bed around 11pm and didn't wake up until just after 4am!! She quickly ate and went back to bed by 5 and didn't wake up until 9. I feel like a million bucks. She has been really good today too. She hasn't spit up once today and not once throughout the night. Have I mentioned how much I hate spit up? Several costume changes throughout the day (for me too) was wearing really thin. The only thing I changed today/last night was zero breast milk. I now have a fridge full of my milk but I wanted to see if it was something in my stuff or the formula. This doesn't really tell me anything though because maybe her little body was getting use to the new formula. So far so good though so I am keeping everything crossed that we found a winner. I will eliminate all cows milk from my diet and try that out. She goes to the Dr. Friday and I am hoping she saved the mega poo for when we get home because WOW...WOW is all I can say about that and timing wise we should be in the office when the explosion happens. The entire time I am changing her she is grinning from ear to ear. I think she likes my reaction to the bomb she leaves for me to clean. ;-)

Here are some pictures taken today. I tried to get myself in the one picture so you get an idea of how big she is now. She still is wearing her newborn stuff but she certainly is filling them out better. My guess is she is almost 9 lbs. now and grew an inch but we shall see. Yes, the 'Binky' looks ridiculous but with a 'sucker' like she has she loves it. Actually the soother matches her outfit and I didn't even realize that was the one I picked...hahaha.

Shari

Dog Club Baby Shower...

What a fun day Kailey and I had yesterday. Sheri from the club had a baby shower for Kailey and basically brought everything from punch to paper plates and napkins. The big surprise was that Linda & Bill drove from Edmonton to be here for it. They did a day trip to come and see us...I was so shocked when I looked out the window and saw their vehicle. I ran out in my slippers and gave them both big hugs. I haven't seen them since they moved back in summer so this was awesome. Linda did a fabulous job keeping this a secret as we were emailing back and forth the night before. Dianne, Gayle, Chris, Sheri and Linda were the guests and they all spoiled Kailey with great outfits, books and toys. Thanks Again!!! Miss Kailey wore her first dress sans stockings as they were too big. I loved seeing her all dressed up and she was very content and happy so they all think I am lying when I say she has lungs on her...hahaha. While we were eating she was hanging out in her swing just looking around.

So Kailey power snoozed for 6 hours straight last night and woke up ravenous and I woke up and had a fit when I saw the clock. I had to watch Desperate Housewives otherwise I would have had the full 6 hours in a row...WOW. Maybe a fluke but I will take it. She ate at 9pm and DH was over at 11pm so the last thing I remember was making myself stay awake as typically she would have been up in 30 min and I dont do well with little cat naps. I obviously dozed off and woke up to her crying at 3am. My heart dropped and wondered if I slept through her cries but there really is no sleeping through her cries with her head just inches from mine. ;-)

Also...

My EI went through and I will be getting exactly what I was hoping for so I am pleased. This is Maternity Leave and I was approved for 26 weeks of payment then I guess it switches to Parental Leave...not sure how it works but I am supposed to be on EI for a year. I will have to ask Heather how it worked for her. She is a very valuable source of information - really her Mom is too since she is a Nurse. ;-) I cannot thank her enough for being so patient with all my questions/woes.

On another note....formula...oh what fun finding a formula that totally agrees with Kailey is turning out to be. It is looking like she most definitely has a milk protein allergy not just Lactose intolerance. She is more than half on Breast Milk so I am assuming that it takes longer for the symptoms to manifest but this last set of symptoms were massive amount of vomit (not spit up) and diarrhea so she is now on Isomil (soy product) and so far so good but I will not hold my breath. In the Hospital when they found out about the family milk allergy they put her on this immediatey so I guess I should have stuck with that one. She goes for her check up Friday so I will ask her Dr. what I should do. I bought ready made formula for now...is it ever handy. Pop the can and pour into bottles that is all. Very expensive way to go though. If she was totally on formula it would cosy $8/day!! So this is a short term thing for sure or for emergencies or weekend trips to Edmonton. If only the monkey would take the breast. It is so unbelievable how loud she can get when she even sees them...I am beginning to take this personally..lol.

That is all for now as my hands are not used to typing anymore. :-)

Shari

Smiles for the Junk in the Trunk song!!

So I made up a song that I sing to her when I am changing her called Junk in the Trunk (Jack hates it - lol). It is a simple stupid little song that gets her smiling like mad. I open her diaper and sing..."looking for junk in the trunk..junk in the trunk..junk in the trunk...do you have junk in your trunk??" Stupid I know, but you should see the reaction I get everytime. I actually cannot believe I am writting this.

She is having a really good day and is totally content so I am hoping her yucky diaper and fussiness last night was something I may have ate that she didn't like. I know she is super sensitive to onions or if I have too much diary so I will have to be more careful as to what goes in me. If she is still having 'issues' I guess I will have to try a different formula (supplementing). Nestle Good Start has really peaked my interest but if her problem is a milk sensitivity than I am best to use something like Isomil. There are so many choices out there it is hard to research everything and find it impossible to find two people that say the same thing for or against a formula brand. I have her on Similca LF (lactose free) but I read that this is only to be used for 2-4 weeks...yikes. I know for a fact that the regular Similac is not good for her. It took a while (probably due to the fact that she is getting breast milk as well) for symptoms to occur but when they did surface it was in the form of very red inflamed diaper rash and a ton of spit up. It only took 24 hours off the stuff to get her little bum back to normal and the spit up to lessen. Tonight will tell the story.

She had a bath today and we are so lucky she is soooo good getting srubbed up. She loves her hair being washed and it is so cute with her little sudsy hair do. She was a good girl and didn't mess her towel up either. She smells so nice after a bath. She is really dry right now but so am I so it must be the yucky weather.

I cannot wait for this excersise on base to be over so I actually see Jack. He is on nights and it leaves me feeling like a single Mom. I totally feel for those single Moms out there that is for sure. I guess I wasn't aware of how much he actually did to help me out. Tomorrow is the last day and he is back on a normal shift. I wish I would have taken a picture of the two of them chillin' together. He had bare feet on the ottoman and had her sitting in front of him with her little bare feet dangling and she had her arms out to the sides with a content look...it was hilarious looking. She loves her toes exposed that is for sure. She also likes foot massages - what gal doesn't though.

I promise to include some pictures for the nest post.

Shari

Kailey visits work

The experts from San Diego are here this week so I really wanted Kailey to meet Keith (our program manager) and Genny (software goddess). Keith knows all about girls as he is surrounded by them at home. Hats off to his daughter who had twins (my God I cannot imagine two Kaileys). So, she had another outing and this time we had to adjust the car seat straps so it is a given she is getting bigger. She was great and slept the entire time. We had to stop off at Wal-Mart and she slept through that trip as well. The minute we brought her in the door that was it...feed me now she said (in her little anger cries). Tonight Genny is bringing over supper so the dogs will be thrilled beyond words/barks. It was really nice to see them, over the last 10ish years of working for Cubic I have become attached to some of the engineers from the plant and was feeling kind of left out this time so I got my work 'fix' and I got to show off my daughter.

First Day Home Alone/3 weeks old!!!

After 3 weeks of vacation Jack had to go back to work today so that left me and Miss Kailey home alone :-). We had a really good day despite the lack of sleep due to a one man party she decided to have until 2am. She did really well for naps today though so I managed to do a little catch up. I felt a little strange without somebody else here but it was kind of nice just us chicks ;-). Jackie came by at 11am for coffee and some cuddle time with Kailey. It was really nice to see her as I am so used to seeing her at least a couple times a week and I have been...well...otherwise preoccupied. Speaking of three weeks...three weeks ago this time I was in the hospital waiting patiently for some contractions to start and listening to the thump thump thump of her little heart beating and silently willing/begging her to come out. I was making little promises to her to try to coax her to enter this world. My little girl is three weeks old today (tonight at 8:08pm to be exact). I cannot believe that she is three weeks old already. I asked Jackie if she has changed much and she said not really at all. She was expecting a big change because some of her pictures make her look so old but she is still a tiny little bundle. She is getting chubbier cheeks and longer legs and fingers. Fingers must be breaking records for sure. Anyway here are some pictures of her three week B-day. She is bundled up in the blanket that Heather's Mom knit for her and she is wearing one of the new outfits that Jacks parents got her.

Just have to brag!

So I have been wearing my pre pregnancy jeans and pants this week. I am surprised at how fast I was able to get back into my jeans. It was funny trying on some of my maternity tank tops that were skin tight just three weeks ago and now they hang on me. :-) She will be three weeks old Monday at 8:08pm. I cannot believe how fast the 3 weeks have gone by and I cannot believe how much I have grown as a person too. Having a baby puts things totally in perspective. Things that were important to me before are no longer at the forefront (like having a freshly cleaned house and 8 hours of sleep for instance).

On another note...My little Kailey Bear has been wonderful at night. She goes to bed around midnight to 1am and then wakes up at 4:30ish for a feeding then back to bed until 8-8:30am. I will take this as it is much better than the crappy 1.5-2 hours she was giving me before. She doesn't wake up happy sometimes and she most definitely doesn't get that from me (wink). She is a girl that knows what she wants and you have to respect that. I anticipate she will be jogging before crawling. If only I could find a way to keep her hands out of her face while I feed her, clothe her, bathe her and dress her. My theory is she is going to be a brain surgeon because hands like those must be put to good use ;-).

That's all for now. Pictures to follow.

Shari

The other girl in the house ;-)

So, this post is not about Miss Kailey it is about Miss Zoe aka wannabe lap dog. She is having a ball with our house guests. I am so glad they love animals especially Zoe as she can be tough to take for some people. She is a total ham and I just wanted to show you these two photos. My favorite is the one with all the girls on the couch...GIRL POWER!! hahaha.

Some cute pictures!!

I had to share theses one that I took today in her purple outfit from Auntie - it is still too big but she doesn't care ;-).

The goal was to keep it clean (no spit up or the other end) until Jack's parents came by. So far so good. Zoe managed to get in this picture and if she had her way she would be in every picture too. lol She looooves Kailey and I can really see how close they are going to be growing up. I am so glad she is only 2 yrs old. Awwww my two girls.

As promised...

Here are some pictures of Grandma and Grandpa from California. ;-)

-More on photo site.

Grandma & Grandpa Arrive!!!

Jack's Mom and Dad made the drive all the way from Anaheim California to see this little one. They made the journey over a three day span and arrived last night. They are bundled up so that is good. :-) They cannot believe how chilly it is...lucky she wasn't born in January..lol. It was so wonderful to see them hold her and love her up. Jack was so excited to show her and where we live off I was picking him off the ceiling until they arrived. Seeing Jack's Mom holding her melted my heart.

They came with a truck full of stuff. I am serious when I say she needs NOTHING in the way of clothes for 9 months. I have never seen so many outfits except in a store. Everything from onsies to face cloths to full outfits to sleepers...socks...change pads...450 diapers...a ton of wipes...EVERYTHING. She has 3 different Xmas outfits to wear that are adorable. Red velvet...Blue velvet...what fun dress up will be. Grandma also included some cabbage patch dolls from her collection (from the 80's). Also included were some precious items (china and such) from Grandma Danforth. Very overwhelming. I think Kailey was overwhelmed too as she had a great night last night. She woke up twice for food but quickly settled and went back to sleep.

Pictures to follow later as I have a crashed out baby in my arms...:-)

Shari

Kailey's treat of the week

Kailey loves her donut pillow that Auntie Heather and Uncle Colin got for her. It is an awsome invention and it is totally supportive. You can see how happy she is in the pictures.

Kailey meets her Gido!!

Dad and Diane came out yesterday to see little Kailey and the visit was great. Dad didn't want to put her down and even ate supper with her in his arms. Diane had to fight to get a turn ;-). They brought her some new duds that are super cute. She will fit into some of her things shortly I am hoping. I actually have mixed feelings about her fitting into anything though as it will mean she is growing. I know time flies as it already has. She will be 2 weeks old tomorrow at 8:08pm. These last two weeks are a blur although I am thankful some of it is a blur. I feel better and better every day so I can imagine by the time I am aloud to drive I will want to go cruising with her. I am not one for sitting around that is for sure. Two weeks to go and I can drive...yahooooo. I forced myself to take a nap even though I had a few other things I wanted to do. I feel refreshed so I need to not be so darn stubborn and take little power snoozes throughout the day to stay energized. She still has a select few things that she can wear that don't just hang on her. I cannot wait until she is in the other 0-3 mth sizes so I can play dress up. lol

Can you imagine how wonderful Christmas will be this year? There were two Christmas' that I was hoping to have a little bundle of joy to spend the holidays with and now my wish came true. I cannot wait to see Robbie and her together. Cousins only 3 mths apart...how cool is that?

What's new today...

Guess what I found in her diaper?...no, not the usual...her umbilical cord!!! It would appear that she may have an outtie for which I will hear about when she becomes aware of her appearance down the road. :-) Jack cut the cord so maybe I can blame him...hahahaha. I could be wrong, maybe it will pop back in at some point. The other new thing that she is doing has to do with her feet. If I am nursing (yes, I am still sticking this out) her on one side she lifts her leg and shoves her foot in my armpit. What is with that? I tried to dig it out without disturbing her eating and she got mad and shoved it in there again...oh well. I think the pills are working...actually I know they are working already so I will play this by ear. Her best feed is about 7:30am. You would think we are old pros at this. I guess she is hungry enough and awake enough in the morning and everything works as advertised. I have to say though...whoever says nursing is the most natural thing better be wearing a body of armour cause I am likely to start kicking and not stop - C-section incision and all. Natural as in what goes in her but the actual logistics of it all is a skill that is learned and required the patients of a saint. Mom and daughter both were not blessed with this trait I am afraid.

She looks cute in socks and they actually stay on for the most part now. She is wearing little pink ones with flowers today. Bath time this afternoon again and I will be giving her Vitamin before I dress her - lesson learned. Another lesson learned - don't take a short cut and try to leave her grobag (sleeping bag) on while you quickly change her diaper. I was getting over confident in my changing her at mach speed capabilities and she humbled me with a 'poonani' to quote her Uncle Colin. YUCK!! All over the bag, her onsie, the change pad and...me. All this completed in the wee hours of the morning; 3:30am to be exact.

That's all for now.

Shari

Kailey's first outing...

So Miss Kailey had her first outing today. She had a Dr.'s appointment at 11:00 and we then went to show her off at work and then ended up at Wal-Mart. I am so pleased with her weight gain. She now weighs 7 lbs. 12 oz. and measures 20". She is up from the 6.5 lbs that she dropped to only a week ago. The Dr. is happy with her progress and called her a little butterfly. ;-) I don't want to brag but she by far was the cutest baby there today. Bias opinion...I really don't think so. lol It was really weird going there and not having to do the usual Prenatal tests. Today is actually her due date and my appointment would have been at 1pm today. All the nurses thought she was an angel. She slept through everything (strategic planning on my part). It was so much fun going shopping with her. I was given a prescription to aid in milk production as I am not producing enough to satisfy her hunger. He was very honest with me and said no matter what I am not to feel guilty if I cannot breast feed or have to supplement. He said that there is a ton of pressure put on new Moms ref. feeding and it can affect milk production and flow due to the stress of the ordeal. She camps out on me for 2 hours at a time sometimes and still pulls away looking like a guppy because she is not always satisfied. We will see what happens in the next little while with the prescription. He did tell me that I need to be prepared for her to refuse the breast if she is not getting what she needs and at that time I need to do what is best for her. I really appreciated the fact that he showed some compassion and understanding and relieved some of my new Mom guilt I was having. The main thing he pointed out is that no matter what she needs to eat and be a happy little girl.

Anyway, I had to take some pictures of her little feet as I just adore them and love watching them when I feed her. Expressive toes. I fell in love with her feet the first time I saw them on one of the 2D ultrasounds.

Catching up on sleep!!!

So, last night was the best night we had with her so far. She was content and basically ate through her crazy time. She slept for 2 three hour sessions so I am totally feeling human again. I knew that adrenaline rush would fail me at some point so I am glad she slept like a baby. She is doing much better with the feeding and I find myself looking forward to these times rather than dreading it. She is still a screaming machine if she cannot latch right away but I go to my 'Zen' place and we sort it out.

The dogs are absolutely awesome with her, I couldn't ask for more. Zoe was dipping into a depression so her and I took a nap on the bed and she is on cloud nine again. I wanted to wait a while before having her in bed but she senses that she needs to stay by my feet and doesn't move an inch. Parker loves her toes and will kiss them non stop if I were to let him. The others do not care one bit that there is somebody new in the house so long as they get their treats.

Kailey was up for a few hours this morning which is unlike her so maybe this is a start to a better schedule (fingers crossed). She was so alert and active so I introduced her to the swing that Auntie Heather and Uncle Colin got her. She loved it. She was taken with the clicking noise and stared at the arm. She hung out there for about 15 min and then wanted more food...she is an eating machine. I feel like a milk maid...lol.

Her first outing is tomorrow to see the Doctor so I am looking forward to that. I cannot wait to see how much she weighs now and it will be nice to get out of the house. I will be sure to update the site when we get back.

Happy Haloween!!!

I just had to share these pictures taken of Kailey today. She is really taken with her hands. She thinks all good things come from those long fingered mitts of hers. She finds in necessary to 'assist' me when I am feeding her and trying to change her. She thinks that milk and her vitamin D drops come from them I am sure. What is so unreal and amazing to me is the fact that in her ultrasounds she was doing these exact same things with her hands. I am totally amazed that she is here. I was looking back through my calendar and I have every week marked as a countdown to my due date and she is here...she really is here. What is very cool is the fact that when she was inside me she would wake me up between 10pm-3am with her kicking and moving about and sure enough, she is on the same schedule now. I would like to change that up a bit though, but she is good as gold during the day so I really cannot complain.

Jack and I bathed her tonight (sponge bath with a shampoo). She was awesome, although she was in a 'milk coma'. She only got fussy when I was washing her belly but other that that she was staring at herself and us in the mirror. I was a one man pit crew after the bath...diaper...vaseline...pink onsie...pink sleeper...swaddle in a blankie...hand off to Jack for rocking....BOOM!!! VOMIT all over. At least I am getting practice doing speed changes. ;-)

All for now as she is about to come alive and I have to entertain her...somehow.

Shari

Welcome to Kailey's Brag space!

I decided that I need to start posting updates as everyone is so far away and things change at a rapid rate I am already finding. This space will hopefully bridge the distance a little bit until we can meet and share real hugs and moments. :-( I am truly blessed to have such a wonderful support core of friends and family in my life and I need each and every one of you. I do believe it takes a village to raise a child and I only hope that she will become a part of your lives and will depend and find comfort in your voice and hugs. I love our little girl with every ounce of my being and it grows stronger each day. I find myself with a new sense of calm and peace that I have never known. Even when she is bellowing most of the night I enjoy her and laugh at all faces she makes. I look forward to the night time feeding even though I am half asleep and fumbling around like a fool and she gets impatient with me.....she just had to take after me in that area...poor Jack is all I have to say.

Thank you again for all your support during the entire process thus far. I thank my Mom from the bottom of my heart for being there and holding it together for me when I was losing it. I only hope I can do this for Kailey one day.

Shari & Baby Kailey