Kaylin 6 Months

6 months!! That's half a year people!!

Weight: 14.2 lbs

Length: 27.5 in(I think, shes pretty wiggly :)

Diet: Still nursing every 2-3 hours. She us very interested in our food, but we have tried baby food a couple times. Shes not too impressed :) but starting to like it better, and slowly figuring out how to get the food to the back of her mouth and swallow. We'll probably start trying every other day or so until she gets used to it.

Sleep: Started going to bed a little later, closer to 8:30-9 because she was wanting to get up too early! Usually take a bath, read a book or two, swaddle her, feed her and lay her down, IN HER CRIB!! Yes, finally sleeping in the crib. Woohoo :) Probably will have to quit swaddling her soon because her swaddle blanket is getting small, I'm glad we got her sleeping in the crib before we had to drop the swaddle because I think we would have had some sleepless nights if we did those both at once :) Some nights she sleeps 6-7 hours before waking up and some nights she only goes 4-5 before waking up. But she always eats and goes right back to sleep. Sleeping till 7-8am most days. Napping about 2 hours twice a day in our bed, swaddled, on her tummy. Hoping to start napping in the crib soon but right now we'll take what we can get :)

Mood: Still such a sweetheart! Happy, Happy girl most of the time. If she is tired, or is around a ton of people then Mama is the only one that can keep her happy. We are starting to see her personality a bit more and let me tell ya, she is a goofball!!(Who woulda guessed? Right?) She just learned how to move her eyelids and she sometimes makes a funny face and like flutters her eyelids and then smiles at me. She has also discovered her nose and likes to make noises and cry through her nose lol She also has started learning to make all sorts of cute little noises, squeals, coos, grunts, and the most adorable lip smacking!

Her scrunched up nose :) and "Mom I'm stuck!" I think this is the day we put the play mat away :)

Activities: These have changed alot in the past week. We did away with the play mat because she never stayed on it :) So now she just plays on the floor, and boy does she get around! She has been able to roll over for awhile now but lately she just rolls over and over and over all over the floor. She also started ooching/scooting on her tummy a day or two ago. I'm sure crawling is just around the corner. She likes to sit up but still falls over sometimes :) Still loooves her jumper, and playing with mom and dad.

Clothes: Wearing nothing but 6 month and several outfits are starting to get small :( Cannot believe baby girl is growing so fast! Still wearing size 3 disposable diapers and BumGenius one size cloth diapers at home. Right now her cloth diapers are on the smallest setting but I think I'm about to move them all up to the medium setting.

We love you so much sweet girl! We are having so much fun watching your personality develop.

Kaylin 5 Months

Little Miss Priss is growing so fast!

Weight 13.2 pounds

Length 26.5 inches

Diet: Still EBF every 2-3 hours during the day. Excited to maybe start some fruits and veggies in a month or so! I want to make homemade baby food for her and although I know it will eventually become a pain, right now I'm very excited about it! 

Sleep: Bedtime routine starts about 8 unless were out and about or she had a late nap. I swaddle her, feed her, and lay her down. She usually sleeps 6-8 hours before waking up to eat then another 2-4 before being up for the day. She used to sleep till 7:30-8 but lately has started waking up between 6:30-7 She literally started this the week I started getting up at 6:30 to go run before she woke up. Its like an alarm went off in her head! "Mom's working out! Wake up!" :) She is still sleeping in her Fisher Price Rock N Play but we moved it into her room. The first night she slept in her room I think I got up and checked on her about 5 times before falling asleep and then woke up to check on her a few more :) But she does great in there. We are starting the transition to the crib, some nights she wakes up the moment I lay her in the crib, some nights she sleeps for an hour before waking up, and once or twice she has slept about 4 hours in the crib before waking up. She is getting too long for the Rock N Play so shes going to have to get used to the crib pretty soon! For naptime the way she sleeps the best is swaddled, on her tummy, on our bed. Since naptime is still a struggle from time to time I'm not worried about transitioning her to the crib yet, for now as long as she is napping I'm happy! She usually takes two 2 hour naps. Sometimes one 2 hour nap and 1-2 30 minute naps.

Mood: She is still a very happy baby! She is just the sweetest, she will laugh and coo and talk to herself, she likes to blow raspberries, and her new favorite thing is pursing her lips and spitting. Its hilarious! I think she just likes the noise it makes. She has started teething recently, She is still usually fairly happy even while teething, just wants to be held more. And looooves to chew on anything and everything. My mom ordered her an Amber teething necklace, we'll see if it helps!

Activities: She still loves laying on her playmat on her back and tummy. She rolls and scoots all over that thing! She talks and squeals and coos all the time! She sits in the bumbo more and more, She sits up in it for awhile, then gets tired, and leans forward to chew on the side of it :) She is starting to sit up on her own! Just for a few seconds at a time before falling one way or the other. I think the longest she has sat up by herself was about 30 seconds.  She love love LOVES her jumper! She will play in that thing for over an hour. She jumps and spins and talks and chew on her toys. If shes a little fussy the swing usually does the trick, especially when you turn on the music, that usually calms her down(unless shes hungry) Overall she is just a very fun, happy baby. We love to play with her now! Just sit her in our lap and talk to her, tickle her, ect. She is getting to be so much fun!

Clothes: We are basically completely grown out of 0-3 Month there are still a few onesies left in her drawer but they are pretty snug, and all the pants are too short :) So mostly in 3-6, a couple outfits are still big, but I put an outfit on her a few days ago that looked huge and it fit! :( she is growing so fast! Just ran out of size 2 diapers and bought a box of size 3, I was surprised that they weren't huge on her! Still wears cloth diapers at home, during the day.

I cannot believe how fast time is passing! She grows bigger, smarter, and stronger every day. Which is so exciting, yet so sad at the same time! She is so much fun to just sit and play with. I know she will be crawling soon, its hard to believe just a little over a year ago we found out we were pregnant!

"For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord. They are plans for good and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Jer 29:11"

Kaylin 4 Months

I know I say this every month, but I can't believe Kaylin is 4 months! 

Weight:11.6

Length: 25 1/2in

Diet: Still eats every 2-3 hours, but closer to 3 than 2 which makes mama's life alot easier! Just last week I started letting her sleep until she woke up on her own at night. She still seems to be gaining great! And eats more when she does eat in the middle of the night. 

Sleep: I usually give her a bath between 8-9, then swaddle her and feed her and she falls right to sleep. I just started letting her sleep until she wakes up on her own, she usually sleeps 6-8 hours before waking up to eat, and then another 3-5 before waking up again. No matter what time she woke up to eat last,  she is up for the day between 7-8 when we start getting up and moving.  We finally figured out nap time! I swaddle her and feed her in our room and lay her on her tummy. She usually gets at least one 2 hour nap and 1-2 30 minute nap. 

Mood: Very sweet and happy most of the time. When she gets sleepy she does become a fussy  mama's girl. 

Activities: Usually likes to lay on her playmat on her back or tummy. She has started rolling over more, and likes to roll on her side then back to tummy or back(whichever way she started) which gets her moving and ooching all over the place! She loves her swing, she will just talk and talk to us while she plays. She especially likes when we talk back to her! She loves hair! She is constantly grabbing a handful of my hair, I think it soothes her because she seems to do it more when she's sleepy or fussy. She has started grabbing things, her clothes, our clothes, blankets,  and burp rags. She doesn't usually reach out for things yet but definitely knows how to grab hold if they are accessible. Has started laughing a little usually she just smiles and says "ha!" but every once in awhile we get a sweet giggle out of her. Can't wait to hear more of those! She sucks on her fingers ALL THE TIME!! I try to pull them out sometimes so she doesn't do it so much. She is starting to recognize people, if she's happy she'll let anyone hold her, but if she's sleepy or fussy she just looks at them and cries, as if to say, "You're not my mom!" I just bought a Solly Baby wrap and LOVE it! Wore her in it for about 5 hours at TLC's 15th Annual Easterfest while I *helped* cook 10,000 hot dogs(obviously I wasn't able to help much) she took 2 naps in it and was so happy! Its super comfy to wear.

Clothes: Still wearing some 0-3 but about half of it no longer fits so we've started digging into the 3-6 to see what fits. I love going to a new size and seeing all the new clothes! Why can't I get new clothes every few months? Still wearing size 2 disposable diapers at night and when we're out and about. But after we finish this box(it takes a while when you only use 1-2 a day!) I'll probably buy size 3. Still wearing cloth diapers at home. 

As she has been moving around more recently, I've been thinking about the fact that she will be mobile soon! I don't know if I'm ready for that! Watching her grow is so much fun,  I love telling Justin the "new thing" she did that day when he gets home from work. 

Kaylin 3 Months

Baby girl is 3 months old!!

Weight 10.4(on our scale) 

Length 24"

Diet: Still eating every 2-3 hours during the day. And about 4-5 at night,  I still wake her up to eat at night to make sure we keep gaining weight. She got a cold last month that lasted about a week and a half. She lost some weight and got down to 9.6lbs so she has gained almost a pound in the past 2 weeks. So doing good but still a slow gainer. 

Sleep: Sleeps really good at night! I give her a bath between 8:30 and 9:30 swaddle her, and feed her, in the dark in our room and after eating she is out! Wakes up between 9-10 every morning. She is not a good napper though! We still haven't settled into a good napping routine. If I rock her or lay with her in our bed she will(eventually)  go to sleep but if I try to lay her down or get out of bed so I can get some work done she usually wakes up. If I feed her before we leave she will usually fall asleep in the car seat when we go run errands. So if nothing else we can usually get in 1 nap.

This was one day I rocked her to sleep then laid her down in bed and she woke up, twice! I finally put her on her tummy to play and she fell asleep.

Mood: She is a very happy baby! Even when she starts getting hungry and fussy if you talk to her she will smile at you!

Activities: She loves laying on her back or tummy(most of the time) under her playmat. She hold her head and chest up for a long time! Has been able to roll over for over a month but doesn't do it very often. I guess just when she feels like it :) we have recently started sitting her up on her tummy or back on the Boppy pillow. I can't believe how big she is getting! If you are holding her she likes to be sitting up and facing out. If you try to cradle her like a newborn she will lift her head up and crunch her little abs like she's trying to sit up. We got the Bumbo out because she was constantly trying to sit up. She does fine for a few minutes then her back gets tired. We'll probably try it again in a couple weeks - a month.

Clothes: Wearing size 2 disposable diapers at night and when we are out and about. During the day,  at home we started using Bum Genius cloth diapers. So far they are working great! Still in 0-3 Month  clothes but some of then she starting to get snug :( Her swaddle blankets got too small so we had to buy the size Large.

We enjoy "talking"  to her. She is super vocal with her little squeals, coos and grunts. When she is laying on the floor she just jabbers on and on. So cute! Can't believe how big she is getting!

We love you Kaylin!

Kaylin 2 Months

Kaylin is 2 months! Wow!

Weight: 9.8 lbs(according to our scale) 

Diet: Eats every 2-3 hours during the day but goes 4-5 hours at night. No more syringe feedings! She gets all she needs when she nurses now praise the Lord! Still spits up a lot but less than she used to.

Dad was burping her then they both decided to take naps :)

Sleep: Sleeps really good at night. Still setting an alarm to wake her up to eat at night. If not I think she would sleep through the night! Since she has been gaining weight so well we will probably start letting her sleep through the night soon. She goes to bed between 9-11 just whenever she gets hungry I put her in pajamas, swaddle her, feed her in the dark in our room and she goes right to sleep! She still sleeps in the Rock N Play bassinet next to our bed. Depending on when she wakes up in the morning to eat I lay her in bed with me after she eats and she usually goes back to sleep for an hour or two.

 During the day she usually takes a few hour long naps. Almost always falls asleep in the car seat when we go places which is great when I need to run errands for work! 

Mood: She is a very happy baby! Usually only cries if she's hungry or needs to burp :) when she was about 6 weeks old I think she had a growth spurt and some colic. She was very fussy and constantly hungry for about a week. My mom gave us some Ylang-ylang essential oil and we rubbed it on Kaylins tummy and back. It seemed to help! She is back to her normal happy self 

Activities: Still likes tummy time, she can hold her head and chest up for a few seconds before laying back down but then immediately picks it up again. 

Sometimes after doing tummy time for awhile she gets tired and falls asleep. Loves to lay on her back on her playmat and look at her toys. She makes the cutest little noises! She has started sucking on her hand. Sometimes when she's hungry and sometimes I think just for fun. Usually it's her whole hand but sometimes just a finger or her thumb. 

She loves when her Aunts and Uncles come over! They are usually arguing about who's turn it is to hold her, and sometimes read her books :)

Clothes: Started wearing size 1 diapers. Kind of between clothes sizes. Still wearing some of her bigger Newborn clothes and some of the smaller 0-3 Month,  the bigger 0-3 clothes are still too big. 

We are loving watching her little personality develop. She is just so sweet! Mommy and Daddy love you Kaylin! 

Kaylin 1 Month

I cannot believe our sweet girl is a month old already! It seems like just a few days ago we brought her home from the hospital.

Weight: 8lb 3oz

Length: 22in

Head: 14 1/2in

Diet: Nurses every 2-3 hours day and night. Sometimes if she still seems hungry we feed her an ounce or two of pumped breastmilk. Spits up a lot! The more we burp her the less she spits up so we've started burping her a lot! 

I call this "Milk Coma"

Sleep: Sleeps very good at night, I usually have to wake her up to feed her. She sleeps in her rock n play bassinet beside our bed and we swaddle at night. Starting to be more and more awake during the day. Probably awake a total of 3 hours every day. 

Mood: She is a very happy baby, usually doesnt cry unless shes hungry. Smiles alot in her sleep, which is so sweet and has recently started making the cutest little squeals and coos

Activities: She likes tummy time but usually gets frustrated after a few minutes and starts grunting and wimpering until I pick her up. Today we got out her playmat and she loves it! Looks around at all the little animals

Clothes: Still wearing newborn clothes but some are getting snug. Wearing size NB diapers but about to switch to size 1. Tried wearing some of her little newborn shoes, but her feet are long and skinny so they are almost too long for the shoes but she can kick them right off.

Kaylin,

We love you so much and are so excited to watch you grow and change. You are the sweetest little thing, I cannot believe you are ours! 

Kaylins Birth Story

Our sweet girl is 10 days old today!

I wanted to write down her birth story before I start forgetting things. Everything happened so fast! My due date was Nov 29th but that day came and went with nothing more than a few random contractions. Never very strong, in fact, I could barely feel them. On Monday Dec 1st I had steady contractions all day, I started timing them out of curiosity Monday morning and they started out about 15 minutes apart and got all the way down to 5 minutes apart and a minute long. Justin went ahead and came home early from work, the contractions were about 3 minutes apart around 4pm. We decided to go walking at the mall(it was cold outside) and since the contractions were still consistent we decided to head to the hospital. I kept having this thought in the back of my head that the contractions should be stronger(I could still talk through them) but I also kept thinking that if they were 2-3 minutes apart then it had to be real labor. So we got to the hospital and they hooked me up to the monitors and checked me, I was at a 2 and 70% effaced. They said they would monitor me for 2 hours and then check me again. After the 2 hours she checked me again and said I hadn't changed. So they sent us home. I was so frustrated! I just knew that our sweet baby girl was coming and to be sent home was so upsetting. They told us it was probably early labor and to come back when the contractions were much stronger or my water broke. That night I went to bed, still hoping/thinking that labor would progress and we would head back to the hospital. But I slept all night and the contractions were pretty much gone when I woke up Tuesday morning. Throughout the day Tuesday and Wednesday I just had a few random and not strong contractions and same on Thursday. Thursday night after we ate supper I noticed the contractions were getting stronger and closer together. I started thinking this could be labor, but because of the false alarm on Monday I didn't make a big deal of it. We went to bed like normal around Midnight. I woke up around 2:15am with contractions and couldn't go back to sleep, I got up and started walking around because that made the contractions easier. I also got the birth ball out of the garage and took it  to our room and sat on it awhile. I was beginning to think this was real labor so I started making notes on my work phone for Kaleigh. Around 3 I realized the contractions weren't going away or getting any easier, so I brought the birth ball in the living room and started watching Friends episodes, started a load of laundry and washed the dishes. Justin woke up around 4, I told him I was pretty sure this is real labor but he could go back to bed if he wanted. He stayed in the living room with me but fell asleep on the couch around 5. At 6 my water broke, I woke Justin up, Annie was up and getting ready for work. We packed up our hospital bags and loaded the car. Annie called my mom for us and we headed to the hospital. We got to the hospital around 7, checked in and they hooked me up to the monitors, then checked me. I was at a 3 and 80% effaced. I knew at this point that this was real labor but was worried we had come to the hospital too early(I wanted to labor at home as long as possible). We stayed in the observation room until almost 8, the contractions kept getting stronger. I was up walking around because it made them a little easier. Around 8 they moved us to a labor and delivery room. They told me that my Doctor had a C Section at 8 and would come check me when she was done. At that point I mostly stayed sitting in bed, I tried standing/walking but it didn't really help. The hospital has a birth ball you can use and I wish I had asked for it but everything was moving so fast I didn't think about it. The contractions started getting very strong, I was assuming at this point I was at a 5 or 6 but they hadn't checked me since we first got there. I was starting to think if the contractions were going to keep getting worse and labor was going to last awhile longer that I would have to get an epidural. Right about that time I felt like I needed to push. I told Justin and he said "Are you sure?" I said yes and he went to get the nurse. About 4 of them came in, one checked me and said "yep your at a 9 and 100%!" This is where it starts to blur :) my Doctor walked in a few minutes later, she must have come straight from her C Section. I started pushing and sweet Miss Kaylin was born at 8:59sm on 12/5/14. She weighed 7lb 13 oz and was 20 1/2 in long. Exact same size I was when I was born.

My mom and sisters got there a few minutes later. Then Annie and Justin's mom shortly after that. 

We stayed in labor and delivery for a few hours just holding her :)

Around 11 they moved us upstairs to a regular room. Mom ordered pizza, a Zesch family tradition after babies are born :) then everyone left so Justin and I could nap. But all we did was sit and stare at our sweet blessing. 

Kaylin we love you so much! Can't wait to watch you grow and change.