Monday, November 24, 2008

Due Date

Today was Kinley's actual due date. Its hard to believe I could have been pregnant all this time. I wonder how much bigger she would have been if she had stayed in there. I took her to be weighed last Thursday and she had finally made it up past her birth weight and was at 5 lbs. 11 oz. Since she had made good progress with her weight, they said we didn't need to come back until her 1 month check-up unless there was a problem.

She is still having some episodes of projectile vomiting but its not everyday. She seems to be sleeping better at night, but I'm still getting used to sleeping in increments instead of all night long. She also seems to be awake more during the day and to be more aware when she is awake. She will sometimes follow Bryan's face with her eyes. She will lay there for up to an hour sometimes looking around and looking at us.

She had her first major "outings" last week. On Thursday, we went to be weighed at the pediatrician. Then we went to my work so everyone could meet her. Then we went by a friend's house to see her before she moves to Alabama (Bye Stephanie & Lilly...we'll miss you). Thursday night we met all of our church friends at Shorty Small's for LiLi's surprise birthday party. Everyone got to hold her a little bit and she even had her eyes open for awhile for them. Friday night, the 3 of us (Bryan, me & Kinley) went out to eat at Moe's. Then we went to the mall and Barnes & Noble. She was so good while we did all of these things. So far she is a really good baby! She always seems so content and really only gets fussy when she's hungry. I've noticed she seems to like music because she will lay awake in her pack'n'play if I turn the music on and she will calm down if I sing to her when she's fussy.

I would like to ask everyone who reads our blog to please pray for our friend, Angel Duncan, and her family. She had a baby last week on the 18th. Her husband found her this morning on the floor with the baby, who was crying. I was told she was having seizures and was now in the hospital. I do not want to start any rumors or give any false information. This is just what I've been told. Please pray that she will be OK and that she has no permanent damage or effects from whatever was happening to her and pray for her family as they wait to find answers right now. We go to church with this family and they have been waiting to have this new little girl for a long time. You are in our prayers, Angel!

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

A little personality!

Since the last time I posted, I've noticed a few things about Kinley that I wanted to share with everyone...

1) She LOVES bathtime! I have a small heater that I plug in to warm the bathroom up and lay her in front of when she gets out of the water. I have a changing pad that I lay down in front of the heater and I lay her there while I finish getting everything ready. The other night, she rolled over onto her right side and was just snoozing in front of the heater (I have a picture but I will have to upload it later). When I lay her in the sling part of her little bath tub, she seems to automatically relax. She straightens her legs out in the water (which she keeps scrunched up to her alot of the time) and she opens her eyes (which is a rare thing right now, but occurring more and more). She will just lay there looking around and looking at me and she seems so content. Then I lay her back on the pad and wrap her in her towel. She will lay there in front of that little heater as long as I will let her and she continues to look at me with her big, beautiful eyes.

2) She loves warm things. She gets very cozy and sound asleep when wrapped in her blanket. She likes to lay on one of our chests. She refuses to drink her bottle if its not fairly warm (what you would expect to be warm enough for the typical baby is just not acceptable to her). She is perfectly content in her carseat inside her "bundle me" which is a very warm lining that zips up half way and makes like a little sleeping bag for her in the carseat.

3) She seems to have her days and nights mixed up or she just likes to spite me. She will sleep for an extended period from the middle of the day into early evening sometimes. But she loves to lay there looking at me and looking around after her 1:00 am or 4:00 am feedings. Then when people come to visit her, she lays there snoozing away so no one believes she ever opens her eyes. Trust me...she does. And when she's awake like that, she does not want to lay on my chest. She wants to sit where she can look around. But my dad reminded me this morning of that song "You're going to miss this". He was basically telling me I should enjoy those "wide awake in the middle of the night" sessions because they'll be gone before I know it and she'll be all grown up.

4) I think she has Bryan's temper! When she decides she is hungry, she is hungry right then. She cries and her face gets red. She will then either grab her face or rub her fists across her face (which I hate because then she scratches herself sometimes). She continues this little tantrum until a pacifier or bottle is put in her mouth. She's very smart, though, and that pacifier does not fool her for long. She'll go to town on it for a few minutes but when she realizes there's nothing coming out of it, she shoots it out!

Her little personality is definitely starting to show and I'm loving every minute of it...even when I can barely hold my eyes open at 4:00 in the morning. She is so sweet and loves to be with her mommy or daddy.

Friday, November 14, 2008

Pictures...Finally!!

Well, I finally got all of my pictures on a CD so I could upload them. I have included a lot of them in this post but for some reason, they're in the reverse order of what I wanted them in...sorry.

Kinley had her first pediatrician appointment on Monday and it went really good. She has lost one ounce since coming home from the hospital, though. So they are going to monitor her weight over the next few weeks to make sure she gains.

We went on our first "outing" yesterday. I took her to see my mom at work and give her a CD with all of the pictures. She showed her off to everyone at work. Then we went to see my grandparents.

Unfortunately, she's had some difficulties finishing her bottles and started spitting up a lot. Then last night she spit up a lot in her bassinet and was coughing a lot. She then had an epidsode of projectile vomiting after a bottle this morning. So we went to see the pediatrician again this morning. I was worried about reflux and the doctor confirmed my concerns. She started Kinley on a reflux medication today and we're going to see if it helps. She had gained 2 ounces, though, so that was good news! Hopefully, this med will help her and then in a few months, she'll grow out of it.



First trip to the pediatrician

First bath

She's laying in front of a little heater and she liked it!



Already a daddy's girl!



Second family photo



Stretching her long legs out


First family photo...minutes after her birth




He is such a proud daddy!



Being weighed and measured...5 lbs. 10 oz. and 19.5 inches long



Me and Manda at 6:30 am before starting my induction



Early in the morning before staring my induction

Sunday, November 9, 2008

She's Here!!!




Kinley Grace is finally here! Although, she obviously was in no hurry. I went in on Tuesday, Nov. 4th at 6:00 am to be induced. The pitocin was started at 7:10 am but she did not come into this world until Wednesday, Nov. 5th at 2:02 am. But it was definitely worth the wait! She was 5 lbs. 10 oz. and 19 1/2 inches long. We came home from the hospital on Thursday, Nov. 6th and she weighed 5 lbs. 5 oz. then.


I know I'm partial, but I think she's the most beautiful baby I've ever seen! She may be little but she has long, skinny legs and arms with long, skinny toes and fingers! She has a head full of beautiful dark hair and we're still not totally sure what color her eyes are because she likes to keep them closed most of the time right now.


She seems to be as healthy as can be. She has her first pediatrician appointment tomorrow, though. So far she's pretty spoiled and doesn't like to sleep laying down by herself so the nights are long right now. Her favorite spot it on one of our chests. She's already a daddy's girl and he's already wrapped around her tiny little finger! All of her newborn clothes were too big so she now has some new premie clothes that fit much better!




Saturday, November 1, 2008

Here we are just 3 days from Kinley's arrival! Today I have been trying to do some cleaning and organizing but have not made much progress because my belly hinders my ability to move things around that I want to move. We have our annual costume party tonight with our friends from church!
I want to share a few pictures from our showers. We had 3 great showers and I want to say thank you to everyone who helped with one, came to one, or was in some way involved! We received so many wonderful gifts and we are so thankful to our friends and families for helping us get ready for Kinley!


Lauren, Holly, Me, and Amanda at my first shower!

The diaper cake Amanda made, the enlarged ultrasound picture of Kinley,

and the adorable cake from my first shower.

The cake at the church shower

Amber and I. She wrote everything down for me at the church shower.

Gifts at my work shower