Kallan: 5 Months

Who's 5 months old?!

Yep, this girl! Kallan Marie, nickname "The Googies"

Here's a 5 month update. As Lyla says, "Oh Kallan, you're getting big!" It's so true, she is just growing, growing, and learning new things all the time. She just loves to chomp, chomp, chomp. Here she is with her new favorite toy from Grandma and Grandpa. 

 And straight to the mouth.

Sleep: Kallan sleeps I think 8-10 hours every night. I think. It's funny how you don't keep track of every thing your baby does at every hour of the day the second time around. She is up for the day at around 9 or 10, unless Lyla gets her up earlier, which happens often. On a good day, she takes two short naps, and one long nap, but she is the lightest sleeper ever! I tried to nap her around us and noise every day to prevent this from happening.. but apparently it doesn't make a difference. Today I rustled a bag in the kitchen, and she woke up crying in our room. I guess it could be a coincidence.. but.. likely not. So far it works pretty good to play music in the room while she falls asleep and keep it on while she sleeps. Unless it's spotify, because the commercials wake her up...

Milestones: Rolling!!! Our roll-y baby is rolling every chance she gets. As soon as she's on her back, she'll be rolling onto her tummy. Even if she is tired of being on her tummy, she'll roll over anyway. She is getting pretty fast about it. She rolled over once from tummy to back, but I think it was an accident. She just kind of flung herself over, and then was like.. "What just happened?!" She is perfecting her grabbing skills and is starting to get frustrated when a toy is dropped and out of sight. Good thing she has such a great big sister there with her to help her out!

Ups: So many ups! Kallan is just a little lovey-dovey. She loves to just sit and observe with her hands on mine. When I change her diaper, she is constantly reaching for my arm, and when she gets a hold of it she brings it to her face for a little snuggle, and it makes her laugh! I think this is my favorite thing that she does lately. Everything makes her smile and laugh, it's really great to see her so happy all the time (unless she hasn't gotten a good nap in). It has been so fun to see her roll over, too, as she is so proud of herself and gives a big grin whenever she does it! I have loved watching her observe Lyla, and she always flashes her a big smile. She sometimes laughs when Lyla is laughing, but on the flip side, she'll cry when Lyla cries sometimes, too. If I have my hands full with something and Kallan starts fussing, Lyla runs over and says, "Goo gah goo gah, Kallan!!!" And Kallan always calms down. I love the smile she gives me when I get her in the morning, and the sleepy smile she gives me before going to bed. I'm the first thing she sees when she wakes up and the last thing she sees at night, and I couldn't be luckier. Ah, I could go on and on, we just love our little googies so much!

Downs: Well, still no bottle for Miss Kallan. It is quite frustrating, and we are trying every day. I think we have 7 types of bottles now, with varying speeds of nipple flow. Pacifier is still a hit or miss, too. So I am still a nursing machine, but it's ok. The hardest thing is nap time. Kallan just really doesn't like noise, and if I talk at all while nursing, she will stop, stare up at me like, "excuse me, I'm eating here." She'll do the same thing if Erik is sitting by us and he says anything. She'll crane her neck super far to give him the stare down. It's pretty hilarious, unless I'm exhausted and hoping she'll nap. With Lyla giving up her nap, it's just not really quiet enough for Kallan to take a really long nap every day, like I know she needs. I am trying to schedule Lyla's quiet time with Kallan's nap, but every day is different so it doesn't always work out. I am missing Lyla's nap desperately!

Likes: Mommy, the boob, putting her hands on us, studying new faces intently, rolling as soon as she's put down, her jingly owls, checking out her reflection, her new square teether, seeing Daddy when he gets home, laughing at her silly sister, laughing at anything, hugging Mommy's arm, getting dressed/undressed (although it seems to be getting less fun, sadly), bath, snuggling in bed, chewing on clothy objects, music - Daddy's guitar playing in particular

And making this face:

Dislikes: Bottles, although they do seem to make her laugh a bit, when she can't see anyone, when she drops a toy, too much tummy time, getting stuck on her tummy, loud noises - especially Daddy's big sneezes, when Lyla puts things on her head, being put down for too long

I just can't believe it's been 5 months already. Our littlest baby is getting so big, and more and more of her little personality is shining through each day. She is just full of happiness and giggles, often making herself laugh, but Daddy is still the funniest. She is loving and snuggly, and she seems to really like people. I think Lyla was already giving the pouty lip at this age to anybody that looked at her besides Mommy & Daddy. By the way, she can still stick out that bottom lip pretty well!

Love you Kallan Marie

Kallan: 3 Months

Our sweet Kallan turned 3 months on the 21st (which was, by the way, the day the world did NOT end). I would describe her as studious, squirmy, smily and extremely talkative!

Milestones:
I'm not sure when, but she started turning towards our voices this month. She had just been turning towards really loud sounds before that. She had her first laugh on 12/12/12. It was such a beautiful little sound! She had been chuckling in her sleep since she was born, so I was always trying to get her to laugh while awake. This time, I wasn't trying at all. I was just holding her, and I looked down at her and she laughed! We've gotten lots of laughs since then, usually at random times when no one is trying to make her laugh.

Sleep:
We had a bit of a 3-month growth spurt where she was getting up every 3 hours again at night. But before that she was sleeping about 7 hours and even slept 9.5 hours straight one night! That was the night before the growth spurt, so it was a bit of  rude awakening to be getting up every 3 hours. Now she sleeps 5 hours, eats, sleeps 3 more hours, eats, and sleeps 4 more hours after that. She is a little night owl. She stays up late and sleeps in! It works out okay because then I get some quality time with Lyla in the morning.

Ups:
Kallan talks so, so much. I love having little conversations with her, and you can tell she really enjoys being talked to and talking back. She has some nice conversations with her playmat and bouncy toys, too.  She is a very happy baby and we get lots and lots of smiles from her every day. It is so great to see her interacting more and more. It's clear that she loves her big sister so much. I love watching her study what big sister is up to!

Downs:
Growth spurts are no fun. I feel like an all-you-can-eat buffet. Getting up a lot at night again is not fun either.

Likes:
Talking, getting dressed and undressed (it's funny!), staring at her feet, eating her hands, facing out while being carried, bath time, her playmat, snuggles, watching big sister, lights, studying new faces, Giraffe-y the pacifier (sort of), and I think she likes her vitamin D drops!

Dislikes:
Bottles... waaah! And tummy time.

Favorite Memories:
-Kallan always talks the most to Erik when he gets home from work. I think she's telling him about her day!
-My parents took Lyla and Kallan to the pool. Kallan sat on my lap for awhile, and she was really interested! Then she started talking to me a bunch. She did get splashed on accident by some big kids, and she definitely didn't like that! She also got called a "he" a lot, and mommy didn't like that ;)
-Lyla includes Kallan in her night time hug routine now, and she always says "Love you Kallan!" before bed. Kallan gets lots and lots of sister hugs now!
-Lyla likes it when I set Kallan's bouncy next to her chair and read stories to both of them. Love story time with my babies!
-I was carrying Kallan, and she was staring intently at something on the fridge. She turns to me and goes,"goo?" I said, "Yep, that's the fridge, Kallan!" And then she gave me the biggest smile! I love our little conversations more than anything!

2 Months

Sorry for the lack of posts. Lyla did something to my computer that I can't figure out how to fix, and it makes doing anything on it a pain. But I thought I'd better post a 2-month update.

Ups:
We're enjoying more awake time now. Kallan loves to talk, talk, talk!! She is cooing like crazy these days. She'll look right at you, give a big smile and then a big "goo." She's so happy, and she is letting us know, it's a great feeling! Another "up" would be that she no longer hates baths; in fact she kind of likes them! Spit-ups are less frequent, sleep is easier to come by.  If Kallan is fussing, I sometimes try to feed her, and she isn't hungry. When this happens, she looks at me out of the corners of her eyes and gives me a sly, little smirk. "Haha gotcha Mommy!" All in all, a good month.

Downs:
The only down this month is that Lyla and Kallan seem to wake each other up at 6 am. Why so early?!? I'm not sure if Lyla wakes up to Kallan's crying or if Kallan wakes up to Lyla via the monitor. Either way, it's too early.

Sleep:
At night we get a 4.5-5 hr stretch, followed by a couple 3 hr stretches, with the occasional 3.5-4. Sleep is getting less and less interrupted, and I am definitely feeling the benefits of longer sleep during the day.

Milestones:
Kallan had her first social smile just after she turned 1 month. At 8 weeks, she started following objects with her eyes. The iPhone is a favorite for this. Kids and technology, am I right? And still strengthening those neck muscles!

Likes:
milk, the red mushroom on the bouncy chair, the changing table, smiling, talking, staring at faces, Lyla, kicking like crazy, close snuggles with Daddy, being pat on the bottom

Dislikes:
Wet diapers, long car rides, hats, being held too much, tummy time


We had her two month appointment yesterday. Kallan weighed in at 11 lb 5 oz and is 21.5 inches long, just a bit smaller than her big sister was at this age. She is on the short side, but kind of chunky hehe. Just the way a baby should be! The receptionist called her Kay-lin, and then the nurse kept calling her a 'he.' I did have her in a blue blanket and a blue hat... but I mean, girls like blue, too, right?! Kallan was awake and happy the whole time, giving lots of smiles and coos to the nurses. They just thought she was so beautiful. She barely even fussed when we weighed and measured her.  The doctor came in and checked her out. Everything looked great, and he commented on how active she was. She didn't want to be held, but was happily laying on the table, kicking her arms and legs. He said he thought she'd be an "on-the-go" kind of baby. So then the vaccination part. This was the first time I had gone to the vaccination appointment without Erik. He was always there to hold Lyla while I cried and covered my eyes in the corner. I am a wimp when it comes to shots for myself, but for a baby, it's about 10 times worse. I almost defected to the anti-vaccination camp for the day, but I decided to hold strong. First Kallan got an oral immunization, which she thought was gross and started crying. It was so sad because she had been so happy the whole time and then it was like... "Why are you doing this time?!" Then she had three shots, and she screamed and got extremely red in the face. I was crying and the nurses were chatting to me nonchalantly so I would feel better I think. Anyway, I don't know why people say it gets easier over time, because it really doesn't. I attempted to feed her afterwards, but that just made her more upset. I gave her "Giraffey" the pacifier, and she fell asleep. UGH. It was NOT fun, and hopefully I won't have to handle vaccinations alone anymore.

These 2 months have really flown by! So far I've noticed some differences between the two girls. Lyla never seemed to notice if she had a wet or even poopy diaper. Kallan gets very vocal and upset about wet diapers. Lyla would pout out her bottom lip when she was sad, and Kallan sucks hers in. Both faces are equally sad.  Kallan loves the changing table... when she fusses and we're not sure what's wrong, we set her on there and she is happy. Lyla was the same way. Interesting. Must be quite a view from up there.

I'll try to post some pictures when my computer is fixed!

Kallan: 1 Month

Ups:
Of course, we love those sleepy smiles and the newborn snuggle fests. I think my favorite part of this past month is seeing her more alert and awake. She seems to stare, study and take everything in. A lot like big sister! She has a piercing gaze and such beautiful eyes, how could you not love it when she is just starting into yours. Her eyebrows are getting even more expressive. They are often furrowed making her look concerned, but sometimes she raises them and looks a bit skeptical. I don't really know what people mean by the term "good baby," but I would say we have one... lucky us! She makes a noise like a dolphin!! I love it. I'll try to get it on video before she quits doing it.

Downs:
Lack of sleep! Now that Kallan will happily sleep in her bassinet, sleep is easier to come by, but I am really looking forward to some longer sleep stretches. It's also hard balancing time between Kallan and Lyla. Sometimes I feel like there are just not enough hours in a day for quiet snuggle time.

Milestones:
Muscles strengthening every day. She is already very talkative, lots of cute little "goo" noises!

Likes:
Eating, sleeping, giraffe pacifier, when whoever is holding her walks around, lights, faces, laying on the ground

Dislikes:
Pooping, wet diapers, gas

Happy 1 Month Kallan! We love you!

Kallan's Birth Story

Well for the first time in a couple days, I am feeling like I am NOT on the verge of falling asleep. And of course, it's midnight and definitely the ideal time to be sleeping. Actually, Kallan woke up seemingly hungry, but now isn't interested so I am waiting and hoping she'll wake up and eat in a bit.

So I'd better start writing out our "birth story" before I forget anything interesting. Actually, Thursday I was feeling like things would start happening soon, just because it was a strange day. I slept through the night without waking up to contractions or to go to the bathroom, which hasn't happened in FOREVER. Honestly, I couldn't believe it when I saw the time! And then I had zero contractions all morning and afternoon. I kept thinking, "This must be some kind of 'calm before the storm.'"

Erik, Lyla and I had a fun evening at the beach and went out to eat at our favorite Mexican restaurant. I had been having contractions sporadically at this point. Nothing out of the ordinary.

Later on I had some regular ones, but as soon as I thought maybe I'd call in, they stopped. Story of my life of the past month.

Friday morning, I woke up at 4:00 with a contraction. Nothing painful, but enough to wake me. It didn't take me long to realize that this was the real deal. Contractions kept coming regularly, then closer together, and with increasing pain. My back just ached the whole time. I woke up Erik at 5 and we were at the hospital at 5:30 am. I was checked at 7 cm dilation. The nurses assumed my water would break and then things would progress pretty quickly from there. So Erik and I walked the unit for awhile. At about 7:30, I asked the nurse when would be too long to wait for the epidural. I was in a decent amount of pain, but the contractions were still about 5-6 minutes apart, and I thought I'd wait it out a bit longer. But she thought that the doctor would likely come in and break my water soon, and then things would go really fast, and if I wanted it for sure, then I probably shouldn't wait too much more. I definitely knew I wanted one, I remembered how it saved me from horrible back labor the first time around... so at 8:00 the anesthesiologist arrived. Turns out he was a friend of mine's brother! Small world! By the way, I also ran into a girl I played volleyball with in high school who was doing her clinical at the birth center. And a student was shadowing our nurse that day, and it turned out she was a friend of a friend!! Like I said.. small world!

Anyway. So I got the epidural, and I could still feel a lot of pressure from contractions but no pain, so that was fine by me. So we waited for awhile and at about 10, I got a small dose of pitocin to help "nudge" things along. We hadn't progressed much since we arrived, and the nurse said our contractions were sort of 'dysfunctional.' Is that a medical term? I'm not sure. The nurse thought that it might help break my water if contractions were a bit stronger. Things definitely got a lot more regular and intense after that. Still no broken water. At noon, the nurse checked my cervix again and I was almost fully dilated. But my water would still not break on its own. Apparently, some women just have a bag of waters that is like steel and takes forever to break. So finally the doctor came in, broke my water, and we were basically ready to go. Kallan arrived after three good pushes in one contraction.

I got skin to skin time right away with her. She is so beautiful and perfect and tiny! I could not believe how small she was when I first saw her! I can only imagine how small she might've been at 32 weeks. We had a successful first feeding, which was amazing! Lyla and I really struggled with feeding in the hospital, and I had been kind of dreading getting started again. Definitely helps to have one breastfed baby experience in your belt going into it! But Kallan is just a determined little eating champ!

Lyla came to see her baby sister Friday afternoon. We put Kallan in the bassinet so we could give Lyla some big hugs and kisses before she saw her sister. We had also made a build-a-bear to give to Lyla as a gift from Kallan. You know, encourage sisterly affection right from the start. :) Lyla came in, and we asked her if she wanted to see the baby. We lifted her up and she looked in... there was momentary confusion as to why baby was not in mommy's belly, but then she said, "She came out!" She gave Kallan many hugs and kisses and loved the gift! Since then, she was been so sweet to her, loves to hold her, but wants her to wake up all the time. Sorry, Lyla, not time to play yet! I'm so proud of the way Lyla is handling everything so far! She just loves her sister! When Kallan cries, Lyla gets worried. Or she'll say, "uh oh!"

Hospital time was filled with snuggles, skin to skin time, and.. a bit of sleeping. Then the nurses said we may be able to come home Saturday night instead of Sunday, if everything continued to go well. We were SO excited! We were home Saturday evening at around 6:30. I took a nap at about 8 ... felt so good to be in our own bed! Good thing I had that nap, because we got very little sleep the first night. Kallan just would not be put down at all, so we took turns holding her while she slept. Night #2 went a lot better! She sleeps in her pack 'n play now, and for 2 hour stretches at a time. WOO HOO!

Some hospital pics.

We are so happy to be home with our little family. And we are so thankful to have made it to full term with our pregnancy. I was counting down the days with so much anxiety, imagining being separated from Kallan for any time she needed in the NICU... and I was SO relieved to hit the 37 weeks mark! We are so grateful for the extra growing time we got for our little girl and for our perfectly healthy baby! Beautiful in every way! What do you think? Does she look like her big sister?!

We love our baby Kallan! 

Prepping For Baby: Stroller

So my parents wanted to get us a gift for the new baby and decided on a double stroller!! After much deliberation and research between the four of us, we ended up going with this Baby Trend Sit 'N Stand.  And we just got it today! Erik and Lyla are out testing it out at the park, so I will sit here and write a blog post about it.

I had thought about a Sit 'N Stand type stroller from the beginning. Generally, they have several configurations for fitting your two kids, and I definitely liked that idea. I wanted something that would fit the car seat for now but later accommodate two toddlers, or a toddler and a *gasp* preschooler (I don't want to think about school yet!). After we narrowed our choices down to two, the Baby Trend won out.

I am really excited about this stroller, so hopefully Erik brings it back with a positive review! Lyla loved it immediately, of course.

Some pics!