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