Bring on spring!!

We look forward to spring for many reasons: the warmer weather, the greener grass and flowers, the lower gas bills (ha!). But one of the biggest reasons we look forward to spring in the Brockman household is BASEBALL SEASON. Clay is a huge baseball fan and I think Kenley is ready for the season too! GO CARDS!!! (Oh my her belly looks huge, but in her defense she had just eaten.)

Sleeping

Kenley will sleep just about anywhere for a nap. She will sleep in her chair or in her boppy but she wasn't sleeping in the crib. Instead when you laid her down, she looked like this..
However as I type, she is now napping in her bed ;o) She also has had 2 really good Great nights. I almost don't want to mention it as I don't want to jinx it but I'll take my chances. I'm just so happy we seem to be getting a nighttime "chunk" of sleep. It makes a world of difference. Friday night she went from 10ish until 530am and last night from 930ish until about 445am. I like that the "bedtime" is getting a bit earlier too. I'm aiming for around 8pm for bedtime so keep your fingers crossed AND keep your fingers crossed we continue to have these great nights. It makes for a happy mommy AND a happy baby.

Random thoughts and such

Just some random thoughts, questions, and musings from this past week. I know I am missing a few but these are the ones I could remember quickly...now off to start some laundry while Kenley sleeps.

• If I were to give Kenley and "Indian" name it may have to be CRIES WHEN POOPS (for the most part)
• My new Indian name should be "gets to eat last" or "eat with one hand you must"
  
• Why don't they make baby beds heated like the one they lay (lie?) them in right after they are born? Nothing is worse then putting a warm baby to bed in a cold bed and having them wake up instantly as a result.
  
• I have another new game of "Get that boogie." It works like "Name that tune." I assess the blockage and then tell Kenley how many sucks I need with the nasal aspirator. You know like, 'Kenley, I can get that boogie in 3 sucks." To which I like to think she answers, "Mommy, get that boogie!" but really she doesn't. She just cries. However I hold up my end and I don't exceed my promised attempts.
  
• How much sleep is enough for a 2 month old? Too much? Kenley has her days where she seems to be awake all day and then her days she just sleeps away. No consistency and no routine yet. I just wonder if she gets enough sleep.
  
• There always seem to be enough kitchen cabinets until you have a baby and nowhere to put the bottles...hmmm....
• Will I ever get her letters done? They are painted and the decorations cut but no time to glue... I made a goal to do one letter a night this week. It's day 3 and I still sit at 0.
  
• Moms should come with three or four hands.
• I'm a natural born picker and the cradle cap is driving me nuts!! I pick at it sometimes to get the flakes off when she is asleep and she doesn't seem to mind. (I'll probably get in trouble for admitting this since Clay reads the blog now and he is NOT a picker.)
  

Play time!

Kenley is spending a little more time awake so that means PLAY TIME!! (When she isn't fussy, eating or getting a diaper change that is) However it's hit and miss. One day she will be awake A LOT and the next day she will just sleep it away. I am struggling to know what to do. I usually just let her dictate the day and I don't complain as long as she sleeps well at night (and she usually does), but I'm wanting to have some sort of schedule and routine before I go back to work. Guess I can't force anything.. I'll just go with the flow.

Gotcha!

Mini-post extravaganza

I have a few small posts swimming around in my head so I thought I would launch this week off with a mini-post extravaganza rather than post each separately. So, please sit back, relax, and enjoy these small morsels of thought...

• Smile and the world smiles too-Kenley now smiles while awake. So, no it's not the sleepy reflex practice smile. It's a real one with wide bright eyes. However she is rather stingy with them so she doesn't do it often and REFUSES to do it when we have the camera ready but we love them. They just brighten your day instantly!! I will keep trying to catch one on camera so stay tuned.
  
• NO WEIGH!!- (pun intended of course) We are pretty sure Kenley hit another growth spurt last week. We had days of constant eating followed by days of constant sleeping or fussiness. For fun we sometimes step on the scale at home and then hold her to compare the two weights so we can estimate her weight. We did that this weekend and it was a 12.5 lbs difference. WHAT! No WAY!!! Now I'm sure our scale rounds to the nearest half pound but seriously 12.5 lbs. She was 10 lb 10 oz on the 3rd but it's only the 15th. That would be really packing it on. However, we don't go back to the doctor until our 2 month check up at the end of the month (beginning of March) so I guess we will have to wait and see.
  
• What's more efficient?- I have to wonder lately if the breast pump or Kenley is more efficient. She doesn't ever eat more than 10 minutes total and it's usually just on one side. I think that doesn't seem like a lot but she is the one that determines when she is done and if I try to offer her more she will just lay there doing nothing. However, if I can pump more than 2 oz in about 6 or 7 minutes then I wonder if she can do the same. So if she does about 6 or 7 mins I would assume she gets about 2 oz but if she does 10 minutes then it's closer to 3oz maybe... I just wish I knew. Clay keeps reassuring me that she is growing and having the appropriate number of wet and dirty diapers (which seems to be the "GOLDEN RULE" in child rearing when trying to determine if all is well in the world) so I should just keep doing what I am doing and the world will keep turning.
  
• Hand-me down hormones- My poor daughter seems to have already inherited some of my crazy hormone traits. The baby acne is accredited to hormones. Well now we have cradle cap pretty bad and that too seems to be linked to hormones. Cradle cap looks like extreme dandruff and dry scalp. Hers is even toward her face although it's called something else on the face. It makes flaky brown things near her eyebrows and her scalp looks so agitated and flaky. Poor thing! I swear if she keeps my hormones, her first word will be dermatologist. My skin problems started in 5th grade and still continue to this day. Hormones on my side are still haywire too. I'll spare you all the details but I can say for sure my body and hormones are anything but normal. HA!

Happy Valentines Day!

I bought Kenley a special onesie to wear today for her Valentine (her daddy). Here she is sporting it proudly after breakfast today. Although sometimes it seems to be amended as follows....
We came up with a few more...we were having too much fun and I was laughing so hard, but Kenley seemed unimpressed. She knows that the sticky notes aren't true and her daddy loves her regardless...she is too cute not to love. So, Happy Valentines Day everyone!!!

Our new little friend

Yesterday we went on another outing to Tori's house. Only this time it wasn't a "girl only" event. Little Baby Hudson has joined the fun and boy oh BOY is he cute!!! Kenley enjoyed getting to meet him and we even let them get acquainted in his pack-n-play. Clay said it was much too early to be laying in bed with boys but I thought it was too cute. Baby Hudson didn't wake up for the fun but Kenley managed to squirm a bit and smack him in the face just once to see if he would wake up and play. Tori and I couldn't get over how cute the two of them were laying there. Miss Kenley looks so big next to precious Hudson. He is still in froggie mode and she has learned she can stretch out and look biggs. Thought I would share a picture of the two cuties. Enjoy!!!

My Aunt VAL (written by Kenley as typed by my mommy)

My mommy often tells me all about the people that love me. She tells me about the ones I have already met and the ones that I will get to meet soon. She tells me over and over how special they all are to her and daddy and how much they will mean to me too. Today as we were getting dressed she told me about my Aunt Val again. (We often talk about Aunt Val, Uncle Scott, and my little cousin too and sometimes mommy even mixes it up and says Uncle Val and Aunt Scott on accident. Then she laughs at herself. I have a silly mommy...) Anyways today, my mommy told me that Aunt Val bought me the little outfit I chose to wear (Don't I look cute??).

She reminded me that Aunt Val lives in sunny FLORIDA (which is and will always be a favorite destination for family vacations) and that they live there due to Uncle Scott's service in the Air Force. We talked about my little cousin Sophia who is only 8 weeks older than me and how wonderful that is. Mommy told me I get to meet Aunt Val (and Sophia and maybe Uncle Scott) in May when we go to Omaha for a wedding and then see her again in July for another wedding. She also said we will be going to stay with Aunt Val and Uncle Scott over Thanksgiving, which apparently is a holiday celebrated with Turkey and lots of food. Mommy said that her and daddy are both thankful for Aunt Val, Uncle Scott and Sophia and wish we could live closer to them because we miss them very much when we aren't together. She also told me of a puppy pugger that is very special named Chibi, but mommy keeps calling her Weebs or Chibi Weebs like they keep calling our kitty "kitty"... I guess the furry things with 4 paws have multiple names. My mommy also said I got to talk to Aunt Val on the computer last week but I don't remember...I've grown since then ;o)

So, Aunt Val- Thank you for the outfit and I can't wait to meet you, Uncle Scott and Sophia and give you all hugs.

Big girl clothes

Since we stay home for the most part (I'm working on that but Clay is still a bit reluctant to let us out of the house) we usually just have Kenley in comfortable sleepers or one piece outfits with feet. However we put her in a few big girl outfits lately and she just looks so darn cute. Now I need to go shopping and buy a few more outfits for my girl.

If only...

(I started this post a few days ago so I left it posted for 2/6)

If only breastfeeding moms were paid like plumbers....

We deal with leaks
We use pumps
We unclog the pipes when needed
We keep the water milk pressure regulated
We work overtime on demand (like today when I swear there has been a little person attached to my boob every hour)
We run quality control on our service

Along those same lines, I wish "the girls" had gauges and valves. That would help prevent leaking and give an accurate reading of how much little ones eat. Sometimes I just wonder how much she actually gets to eat during these numerous feedings.

Just a thought or two.

Too cute!

Hi Ho, Hi Ho, to the doctor we will go...

So today I had a mommy meltdown of sorts and made one of my first "first time parent" doctor visits. You know the ones where your child is probably perfectly fine but as a first time parent you are just freaked out a bit, yep that was me.

It started at feeding time around 1030. It was time for vitamins. I hate those things. They stink. They stain and they are a pain to give her. She was a bit squirmy and worked up but I decided to proceed as her mouth was open so I took my shot. Well I made a boo boo and she must have taken the entire shot straight down "the wrong pipe." She immediately started to choke, cough and turn the reddest I have ever seen. She was gasping for air and heaving as hard as she could to try to catch her breath and work it out, but it wasn't working.

I felt horrible and freaked out. I was on the brink of tears and didn't know what to do. She somewhat settled but then there was this wheezing and rattle in her chest as she would breathe. Then she would try to cough or spit and it was thick and snotty. She couldn't seem to swallow or breath again. Still felt horrible so I did what any first time mom would do, called her husband on the brink of tears and begged him to come home.

I had also called the doctor. (We had planned on calling anyway because she hasn't been eating as much lately.) The doctor called back and said we could come in. So when Clay got home we headed off to the doctor's office. (Clay must have been a bit concerned too because I swear he drove a little faster than normal but it could have been the fact that I was sitting in the backseat.)

The NP came in to examine her first and she still sounded wheezy but when the doctor came in, she said that Kenley was fine. I'm sure hoping so (and I need to trust the doctor since she paid for med school and I didn't). We did the rest of the exam and asked a few more of our first time parent freak out questions. Dr. K assured me that this won't be the last time she chokes and that she will be fine. We nursed a bit at the office since Kenley was starving and the doctor wanted to listen to her while she was eating. It is not the most comfortable thing to nurse there but we managed. She ate well and we packed up to come home.

Of course when we got here she sounded wheezy again to me but I'm sure I'm just paranoid and freaking out. She is chilaxin in the swing and I'm calming down.

Poem

Late each night or should I say early each morning when I'm rocking Kenley back to sleep after nursing, my mind wanders. Usually it's making some sort of "to do" list about what I need to do the next day or things I need to tell Clay. Sometimes its just hoping that the hiccups don't show up and that all the milk stays down. Over the past few nights, portions of a poem that my mom had keep running through my head. I think she had it one some needlepoint thing that hung somewhere in our house (my room I suppose) but I couldn't think of the first part of the poem...only the end... So, thanks to the wonderful world wide web I have found the poem (or one really close to it.) There are several different versions but this one portrays the last two lines I kept repeating... helps me keep a different focus late at night for what really matters.

"Babies Don't Keep"

I hope that my child, looking back on today
Will remember a mother who had time to play;
Because children grow up while you're not looking,
There are years ahead for cleaning and cooking.
So, quiet now cobwebs, dust go to sleep.
I'm rocking my baby, and babies don't keep.