3 months and more

It's hard to believe 3 months have passed since Kenley's birth. It all seems to be a blur.

It's also hard to believe I started this post last Saturday and still haven't found the time to finish it. Busy Busy BUSY!

On Friday we took Kenley to Portrait Innovations to get her pictures taken. The little stinker didn't want to smile. She was too distracted by their cameras, but we got some nice pictures. I bought WAY more than I intended to but I figured, "Oh well, first kid and first time getting her pictures takes so why not." You may have seen a few of them out on Facebook, but if not, here are just a few of our favorites...

Then on Saturday we didn't have any plans, so we had a nice day at home. We had our little 3 month old help with some cleaning and sorting as I was determined to finish cleaning up beside my bed. I had a box of "crap" and it needed to go. As she helped sort, kitty also came to help so they had a little talk. Here is Kenley rolling over (with help of course) to see kitty and then them just talking it out. Kitty isn't quite sure about Kenley yet so the conversation didn't last long. 

We also had borrowed a new toy from Liz so we played with it for a bit (video or picture to come soon) and when bored we watched some TV.

J/K but I thought it was a funny picture. We don't let her just watch TV even though she really tries her hardest to turn toward the TV if it happens to be on. Little stinker!!

Sunday I made it back to church and actually had a sad moment. I realized it was the first time I had been to church since we had her. (We last made it to church on Christmas Eve). I was sad because I used to love how much she would wiggle and kick at church during the praise time of music. This last Sunday during the singing, no one kicked or wiggled. I guess they don't tell you that a little part of you misses your big ole' pregnant belly after the baby is here (or maybe I'm just weird.) Anyways, not Easter Sunday but the next one I am going to try my darndest (is that a word?) to get Kenley to church. Hopefully she will like the praise music from the outside of my belly as much as she did from the inside.

Sunday afternoon brought Grandma and Grandpa Brockman for lunch and a nice day of sunshine and time spent at home playing and laughing.

Monday morning brought us back to the sitter's house and the last two days are a blur.

In other news, Kenley had a fussy night Monday night and she literally threw a fit for 45 minutes. I have NO IDEA what was wrong but we somehow survived. She has been a good little sleeper and is usually down between 830 and 9pm and then will sleep until 545-6am. This morning she even slept until 615am. We had some really good sleeping nights this past week and I hope they continue. She is laughing and smiling so much that we know she is a happy baby. We got another really good video of her laughing that we put up on our Shutterfly site (Brockman Family) (but I guess you can also watch it on YouTube here) and some great pictures too (minus the red eye). I am slowly adjusting to life back at work but definitely miss all the time with my sweetie at home. I still can't believe how fast she is growing and changing. I know it will continue to amaze me each day.

Crying at work- Damn you HOOTIE!

I took a few minutes this morning at work to catch up on an old blog that I really enjoy reading. (A Little Slice of Heaven) (Side bar: I read a lot of blogs when we were struggling to get pregnant of women who also faced infertility issues. It helped me process a lot of emotions that I didn't know what to do with. I knew I wasn't alone and that there was hope. Even these women who had lost a baby continued to have hope for a better tomorrow. Now looking, it appears all the women I followed have babies too! God is good!- end side bar)

Anyways...
The blog has a music player at the bottom and the first song was by Darius Rucker (You know Hootie from Hootie and the Blowfish) Well darn it if I wasn't crying by the end and then I couldn't stop. I didn't cry on day 1 but now at day 4 I just want to run home and snuggle with Kenley.

Workin' 9-5: What a way to make a livin'

"It's enough to drive you crazy if you let it." - Dolly Parton

That's right folks, Momma Kim has returned to the workin' world.  Monday was my first day back and I like to think I did well.  Little Miss Kenley didn't want to go to bed on Sunday night. I think she knew something was about to change and I for some reason couldn't sleep. I was nervous, anxious, full of dread but trying to convince myself that it would all work out (which it will) and remind myself that we picked a good daycare provider where she will be well cared for and loved. The daycare experience will be good for Kenley as she will have lots of social interaction with other children (of various ages) and some daily routine and structure. Returning to work will be good for Momma as it will bring home the bacon and allow us to save for our new house (which will make me a happy girl).

I had one small "episode" of tears on Sunday night as I rocked her gently to sleep and I will admit I teared up again Monday morning getting her dressed and again on the way to the sitter's house. I did not cry at the sitter's and she was awake and smiling at Miss Christine as we left.  Here is a picture of Kenley and I as we were gettting ready to leave the house.

Kenley appears to be mid-yawn and yes I look a little teary. When we got to the sitter's Kenley was the first one there (and prob will always be the first one there since she gets dropped off shortly after 7am.) I had a list of things to tell Christine of course so I rambled those off and then snapped this picture before we left.

Then I was off to work. As I left Kenley was smiling at Christine so I knew she would be fine. Monday went pretty quickly for the most part. I got a lot of emails welcoming me back and other emails from friends and family offering their support on my first day away.  I didn't tear up too much at work, just occasionally when I would get a nice email saying that someone was thinking about me and hoping the day went quickly. I even got some very lovely flowers in the afternoon. (Thanks Mom and Dad!) Here I am getting logged on for the day...

and the flowers...

I started getting really anxious on Monday afternoon to be done with work and go pick her up. I constantly checked my cell phone to see if I had missed a call from Miss Christine letting me know how she was doing. When 4pm finally got here I raced to pick her up. If you thought I had road rage before you should see me now on the way to get my little girl if you are driving too slow ;o) *wink*

When I got there she got a glowing report that she had actually slept all day between feedings and was a good lil' eater. I knew she was a good eater. After all, have you seen my chunky monkey's thighs, double chin or budda belly?

I took her home and then proceeded to try to cram an entire day's worth of hugs and kisses into the next few hours. She played, smiled, and laughed with me all evening which did great to recharge my mommy bank and set to rest my fears that she wouldn't remember me after a day away (yes I know it's ludicrous to think that.)

Tue went about the same and she received another glowing report card from the sitter. She ate like a trooper again even finishing off a few 5oz bottles. Holy smokes! This dairy farmer bet get pumpin'. They said she was awake much more yesterday and they kept her up during the afternoon playing so she would sleep for us last night. They said she is such a happy baby and will just laugh and smile when you talk to her and that she even answers you sometimes ;o)

So here I sit on day 3 at work (still haven't really done much actual working yet....oh well) and I do miss my little girl but know she is doing well. I have learned that evenings after work FLY by much faster than you would like them too and trying to get everything done is a feat in itself (Thus I don't have much computer time of an evening to keep my peeps updated...please stay patient).  I've also learned you become a bag lady when you return to work. I have my purse, my lunch bag, my "pumping" bag, and the cooler. Plus the first day I had a bag of stuff to bring back to work and I'm sure I have more bags that I'm forgetting. Then when you pick her up you can add the diaper bag and the carseat.. whew...moms definitely need more arms and hands!

So there you have it... I'm back at work and adjusting. We are trying to find our "bedtime" or evening routine so that we get enough sleep and have a happy baby in the morning. We are also trying to find our morning routine that gets us all up, dressed, and out the door on time. I know after a few weeks we will be old pros and it will seem second nature for sure. This week will be a little off as Christine has tomorrow and Friday off so my mom is babysitting tomorrow and Clay and I are both staying home with her on Friday.

I wish we had a video feed at the sitter's house.... I wonder what Kenley is up to right now? Hopefully thinking about how much her mom and dad love her and how I can't wait to see her after work ;o) Okay well maybe she is just thinking about when she gets to eat next and where she is going to nap but I like to have my own version of it too.

Tummy Time Fun

We have been doing a lot more tummy time and we have made leaps and bounds. We are starting to enjoy it more and we are discovering we can look around and see the world in a different way. Her head and neck control is increasing daily as a result.

Here are some pictures from our tummy time the other day. (Thanks for the super cute shirt Lissa!)

Welcome to the dairy farm

And on this farm there was a cow. me..E-I-E-I-O. Pump pump here and pump pump there. Here I pump, there I pump, everywhere gotta pump pump. E-I-E-I-O

You guessed it. This post will be about breastfeeding and pumping so read if you want. If not, we will see you for the next post.

With that...

Well the consistent pumping has begun. Up until now I would only pump occasionally or when needed (as I never really felt like doing it), but since I had back to work Monday, I am gearing up the production line for the sitter's.  I'm ready for Monday already which is good. I'm trying to get ahead and stay there. I'd like to not have to supplement too much with formula as that POOP STANKS!

I had a lot of thoughts this morning at 4am with regards to it all. Partially because our little girl is becoming more of a sleeper again. Last night she slept from 8pm-430am. Not bad at all but I woke up at 330am and had to pump because I was so full I was leaking. I knew she would wake up as soon as I finished so I didn't pump too much (you know just 6oz or so..ha!!)  Well as I pumped I wondered why 1 side was doing so much better than the other. They were both really "full" but when I tried to pump both at the same time I wasn't having any luck. I think they are just too big to handle or I am just too uncoordinated. After all, I am not a circus act, although if I was it may be more feasible.  So I did each side solo and had one overachiever side and one slacker. Go figure! However maybe it's like writing. After all I CAN write with both hands but it's much more legible when I use my right hand so maybe one "girl" will just be more productive than the other or at least more responsive to the machine milk extractor pump rather than the  baby version that does fine on either side. But on that note I have to wonder if they ever look lopsided when I finish. I know that Kenley usually just feeds from one side per feeding and then we do the other side the next time (and they can look a little lopsided to me then) but are they lopsided enough that others may notice and am I going to go back to work looking like a freak? Oh boy!!


I had a few other thoughts but they escape me now. I'm a bit anxious about the pumping at work thing but I'm sure after a week or so, I will have it down pat. After all my goal is to nurse for 6 months and I'm half way there already at 3months so just have 3 more months to go!

Random thoughts

So more random thoughts have taken over...

• Everyone remembers the "big" firsts. You know the first smile, the first outing, the first laugh, etc. But what about those weird firsts that pop in your head. You know like the first time you took your daughter into a public restroom so you could pee. Yep that thought went through my head this week when we went into the bathroom at Meijer so I could use the facilities before we did our grocery shopping. Am I the only one that thinks of these weird firsts??
• Once a cheerleader, always a cheerleader. I was watching an episode of Clean Sweep and the lady had been a cheerleader in 1984 and had a "cheer ladder." She had a cheer and shared it. It TOTALLY got stuck in my head. "Fumble it, Fumble it, F-U-M-B-L-E-IT!" Totally got me laughing too, but it got me started cheering in my head. I shared a few with Kenley of course and I'm sure some day she will someday make fun of the cheers I remember but such is life. 
• I heard milk referred to as "white blood" in an article off the La Leche League website and it made me laugh cause I had been calling it "white gold" to Clay earlier since you have to use that silly ass wonderful pump to collect it. The storage guidelines you hear are so inconsistent so I decided to check their site for the "final word" that I will be following, although they have an "ideal" and an "acceptable" so I'll do something in the middle and figure it will all work out. For example, freshly pumped and in the fridge should be used somewhere between 72 hours (ideal) and 8 days (acceptable). So I guess 4-5 days is what I will go by. Done and Done!
• Clothes really make me mad. Why do they make ridges on shirts that are supposed to go under your "girls" on shirts that are larger than Medium. I bought a large shirt and the "ridge" goes directly across the girls and cuts them in half. REALLY? UGH!!!

Our first walk

Yesterday was B-E-A-utiful (read like Jim Carrey in Bruce Almighty) so we (being Kenley and me...what is grammatically correct here??) decided to go for a walk. I wasn't sure how many layers she needed to wear so I just settled on the only little coat she has. Here we are with our coat on, getting ready to go.

Then the next step was to get into the carseat, which you can see she enjoyed oh so much!

She calms down in the carseat the moment you pick her up and rock or sway her. Then we went outside and go in the stroller and hit the road. She seemed to be enjoying the fresh air.

But less than 2 blocks from the house....

Well I enjoyed the walk and she enjoyed her nap in the fresh air. However I must admit I am VERY out of shape. I walked from our house to the fire station and back and before I even got there I was pooped. However I was enjoying the weather so much I decided to keep walking so I did a few loops on a near by road and had a nice chat with my sister-in-law. Returning home Kenley decided to wake up to eat but it was overall a wonderful afternoon!

Happy Girl!

I finally caught our happy girl on video camera. It was through my phone so it's not the best quality (I hope it doesn't make anyone dizzy.) The sound isn't the best either but I'm hoping you can turn up the volume loud enough to hear Kenley and try not to blow out your eardrums with my loud annoying voice. I had to hide the phone off to the side. If she can see it, she just stares at it and then won't continue to play. So enjoy little Miss Kenley's debut video on the blog.

New places to sit

As Kenley is growing she is finding new places to sit.

We have tried the Bumbo once or twice. I think she is still a little too young for it but her head control is getting better by the day. Clay got a big kick out of her sitting in it and even laughed. He said she looked like a little person sitting in a chair. Well, she is a little person ;o) Kenley seemed to enjoy her time in the Bumbo, so hopefully she will like sitting in it later too.

One of my favorite new places for Kenley to sit is in her high chair. It's a space saver high chair and can be used from newborn to toddler. It has three inclines and converts into a booster seat. It's awesome. We have it on the middle incline so she can watch us at the table and on most nights she does very well sitting there while we eat, which means I get to eat with two hands!! WHOO HOO!! Often though she finds this to be her "poopy" time so she just sits there and toots the whole time which makes for lovely dinner music or conversation ;o) Here is a picture of her the other night enjoying the chair. She was pooped in more than one way ;o)

Happy St. Pat's Day!

Happy Saint Patrick's Day from our little McCutie!!
or should I say our lil' McOrnery ;o) (Thanks for the idea Liz)

Finally done!

So it may have taken me almost 11 weeks but the nursery is DONE! Thanks to the help of my friend Kimberly (who came to babysit a few days) I was able to get the letters done and tonight, while Grandma and Grandpa Brockman were here, I got Clay to help me hang them. So.... drum roll please........

And the overall look...

Baby with blue jeans on...

I just love it. It's so cute ;o)

The Score

The score yesterday was Kenley: 1 and Mom w/ vitamins: 0
Maybe next time I'll win.

Manners

Me: "Kenley, you are a messy eater. You have a messy face, will you please wipe your mouth off?"Kenley: "Sure mom, but let me know if I missed a spot."

Busy Brockmans

Life with a 2 month old definitely keeps you busy. This past weekend was busy proof of that. The past 4 days were packed full of new things for Little Kenley.

On Thursday, Kenley and I went over to Mrs Christine's house. Miss Christine will be Kenley's daycare provider. We met her mom (who helps) Mrs Sharon and all of the little ones there. The youngest one she has now is 10 months old and he is adorable. We stayed about 2 hours and it helped settle my nerves about leaving her there in 2 weeks.

On Friday, it was my 30th birthday. I woke up to this smiling face.
We had a big day planned which included a trip to the doctor. I dressed her in her comfy outfit that said, "How can you say no to a face like this?"
We played on the floor for a very long time and we were a very happy girl, but when we went out to the living room to do some tummy time, the scene quickly changed.
I would see this face later and even more upset, so that brings us to the doctor appt.

Kenley had her 2 month appt with Dr. Kane. She didn't weigh as much as we had guessed. We had her at about 13 lbs or so and she weighed in officially at 12lbs 11oz on an empty stomach. She was 23.5 inches long and her head now measures 15inches. Her height and her weight put her in the 80th percentile. The doctor was pleased with her growth and she checked out normal. We get to treat the cradle cap with baby oil and maybe Selsum Blue (How do you spell that?) If it doesn't go away soon, we may get something from the doctor. We are out of the DANGER zone for fevers, which was music to daddy's ears. We need to do more tummy time (up to 3x/day) and work on strengthening our neck (So I guess she won't like me for awhile). All in all a clean bill of health and wellness for our cutie.

The big event came at the end with the SHOTS! She got one oral vaccine and 3 shots in her chunky thighs. She DID NOT like them at ALL. Even made mommy tear up a bit to listen to the crying but we all came out of it okay. She went into shutdown mode after the crying subsided and slept from the doctor's office home until about an hour past when I expected her to eat. She woke up subdued and still looked a bit sad over the ordeal. We don't go back until 4 months but I think there are more shots then too (just don't tell Kenley).
The smiles from the morning were gone ;o( and she just looked shocked. Grandma Coleman came to babysit so Clay and I could go out to eat for my birthday. After my birthday dinner out, my friend Stacia came over to meet Kenley too.

On Saturday, we made Kenley's first trip to Decatur. We went to lunch at TX Roadhouse.
You can see that Kenley had a wonderful time. She fussed a bit in her carseat but if you hold her she just zones out and takes a nap, so I still get to eat with one hand until she is old enough to either stay in the carseat or sit by herself in a highchair. We are working on the carseat thing first. She did great with the car ride to and from Decatur so we are slowly building up the distance away from home we will travel. (We have a big trip to Nebraska planned in May.)

While in Decatur, Kenley also got to do something very special. She got to meet her GREAT Grandparents. My Grandma Jean and Grandpa Jerry are the only set she has so we stopped by their house for a quick visit. We took a 4 generations picture which I think is pretty neat.

Then Sunday we wrapped up a busy weekend with a visit from my godparents on their way back to St. Louis from Peoria. It was a quick visit but always nice to see them and they got to meet Kenley for the first time.
We hope to make a trip to see them in St. Louis in April (it will be about 3-4 hours in the car) and would be good practice for the Omaha trip. As you can see Kenley slept through most of the visit but they still thought she was a cutie (and we agree).

So all in all that was a very busy 4 days for the Brockmans. Today Kenley and I went to the grocery store and did some laundry. I've tried a few times to write this post but for now I have a few minutes while Clay gives her a bottle (successfully again and with vitamins mixed in...double bonus!!!). I will try to post more often as I have lots to share but I'm still trying to find the balance between getting everything done and savoring the last few weeks at home with Little Miss Kenley, so stay tuned.