Teething baby??

McKenna is only almost 3 months, but I believe we have a teething baby on our hands!!

She is slobbering like crazy and spitting bubbles constantly. 

 She is chewing on her hands and when she gets my knuckle in her mouth she goes to town. She's also chewing on toys now, which she is getting pretty good at. 

I let her chew on a cold washcloth for the first time yesterday. It seemed strange to her at first, but after a few minutes she was smiling and cooing and loving it rubbed against her gums. 

Our nursing sessions have more than doubled in length, which has made my nipples sore again 😳. Just when you think you're coasting something else pops up! I'm assuming she's doing it for comfort, I sure hope SHE'S getting comfort out of it! :-)

Today I bought an ice tray and these Nubby mesh bags to put breast milk pops in. Can't wait to see how she reacts to those!  I also have been researching Amber Teething necklaces and plan to order one tomorrow. Anxious to see how these tactics work for our little pumpkin. 

  

Easter Sunday

This was probably the best Easter we've ever had, fitting considering it was McKenna's first! To start the day, we actually had to wake the Little Miss up!

One thing I am disappointed about is not attending church service.  Worst part about it is we got to church about 15 minutes early and got settled in the Wiggle Room where families are able to attend the service with their babies and not disturb the congregation.  Well, some family decided this small, confined room was a perfect place to have their extremely sick kids play on their ipads and cough up a storm. As we grew more and more impatient about contagion, every cough we heard seemed to get louder and louder and louder. It was untolerable, we couldn't take the chance of McKenna getting THAT sick.

We had brunch at my grandparents' house.  McKenna was a little too small for the Easter Egg hunt, she slept through watching her older cousins find eggs.

After brunch we stopped by the other side of the family's get together.  It was wrapping up as we got there, but we hung out a while and spent time with some family.

We then decided last minute to stop by a memorial golf tournament that was going on.

It was a wonderful day.  It was also the longest we've been away from home for one outing..... and guess what... we survived!! She was a happy baby the entire day too! We are incredibly blessed with a happy and so far well-mannered baby. We ended the day with a cold beverage and a walk around the neighborhood, and the entire family was in bed by 9:30!

Happy 1st Easter McKenna!!

Our first Ring Sling

McKenna and I are officially entering the wonderful world of Babywearing.

Up until a few weeks ago we loved our Boba.

While it says it is safe or up to 35 lbs, anyone you ask will tell you it's pretty much useless after about 12-15 pounds. Not only is the fabric SUPER hot, it is super stretchy and therefore saggy as baby gets bigger. Trying to get anything accomplished is difficult because you feel like you need to keep at least one hand on baby at all times.

I had been watching my friend Sarah get into and enjoy babywearing, and her little man always looked so happy. So I knew babywearing would not be over for us with the death of our Boba. 

I spent weeks and weeks researching carriers and stalking the Babywearing Swap before deciding to start with one of the simplest type of carriers: a Ring Sling. You see, babywearing isn't just a thing you do, it's an entire community of Mamas (and some Papas) that buy, sell, and trade with one another and offer incredible support and passion for this "art". I was intimidated by the process at first, but over time felt comfortable enough to make my first purchase. Buying used (aka previously loved) is actually considered more desirable than buying a new carrier because it becomes broken in, making it softer and easier to use.

I had made a few inquiries about a couple of slings, but none that seemed worth the investment until my friend Sarah brought a perfect starter to my attention. While babywearing isn't the cheapest practice in the world, carriers pretty much hold their value! It's a strange concept, I know. But this realization made purchasing a "piece of fabric" at more than $100 much easier to digest.

We ended up with a Girasol Double Rainbow Azul weft wrap conversion ring sling from a Momma somewhere in the Midwest.  It is beautiful and soft and cushy!

And while I was told there was a slight learning curve, I had watched several Youtube videos before it even arrived so McKenna and I were babywearing in no time and loving it.

The more you practice, the easier it gets. After a few days I was popping her in and out of the sling running errands around town.  And she was the most content baby you could imagine.

 

As soon as we were getting more things accomplished around the house, I was already back on the Swap looking for our introduction into woven wraps. 

 

And this is where the addiction begins....

2 Month Checkup

McKenna had her 2 month check-up last week.  She clocked in at 12 pounds, 2 ounces and 22.75 inches.  Such a chunky girl!!

She was a trooper with all of her pricks at the hospital and didn't make a peep during her frenulum clip, so we were pretty confident with how she would handle her first round of shots.  Not as well as we had hoped.  She actually seemed to hate the roto-virus crap she had to drink worse than the shots, but she still cried with the little quivering lip through the shots.  I spent the day cuddling in bed with the sleepy grump.

One thing that came to our Doc's attention was a flat spot forming on the back of her head. We had noticed in pictures that she was always looking to her right, but never knew it was a problem.

I think the Doc could have worded it a little better than "if you don't correct this she will have a protruding forehead" because from what I understand this is extremely common with babies. Apparently it is more likely to appear if baby spends a lot of time in swings, carseats, rock n' sleepers, etc.  McKenna had been sleeping in a Rock n' Sleeper and also the soft, elevated bassinet that was attached to her pack n' play. So now we put her in the actual Pack n' Play that is firmer.

I've also been spending her awake time focusing her attention in the opposite direction.

Tummy Time will also help with it because it strengthens the neck muscles so her head doesn't naturally fall on the flatter spot.

 

 And while she really doesn't like Tummy Time, the first time I put her on her tummy after her check up she fell asleep within seconds!

It will just require a little extra attention during awake/play time.  We will be working on it and have a little fun in the process!!

2 months old!

This little stinker was two months old Tuesday!

It's incredible how much she has developed in a month. Sometimes I wish it would slow down because I want her to stay this tiny forever, but most of the time I'm excited to watch her grow into a beautiful little human!

McKenna clocked in at 12 pounds 1 ounce at her 2 month checkup, and is 22.75 inches long (up from 20 inches). This little lady outgrew almost all brands of newborn a couple weeks back. She also graduated to size 1 diapers probably just after 1 month! Several of her pairs of cute socks/booties do not fit her feet.

Sometimes she's tough to get down at night, but she has slept a good 10-11 hours straight the last few nights. Even when she does wake it's once for a VERY short nursing session. One of the things that gets her to sleep easily at night is the swing or nursing.  She also loves this projector that shines images on the ceiling above her.  She's been sleeping a lot during the day too recently, but when she is awake, she is taking in everything around her and smiling and grinning. There is the slight sound of gurgling coo's when she's in a really good mood, which is usually when she is on the changing mat.... her favorite place in the house. 

She is gripping with her little hands now, and now starting to pull at stuff when it's in her grip. She's trying to get those little hands in her mouth, and has been leaving scratches on her face because Mommy is still scared to clip those nails a lot!

Her eyes are still slate, but at certain angles they look like they are turning blue. I think it looks like her eyebrows have a little reddish hue to them, and in the sunlight the hair on her head has a slight hue too! It will be exciting to see what color her eyes and hair will be as she gets older!


We've been trying to introduce a bottle, it's hit or miss. We're hoping to at least have her accept it soon so we can go on a date here or there.

Every day I feel like I love her more and more, I think that has a lot to do with feeling like she understands and accepts our love more and more.

Moments I wish would never end

McKenna was in such a happy mood while I was taking her 2 month pictures. Actually she was in a great mood all day! Earlier in the day McKenna and I were interviewed about breastfeeding for a local news segment, so I was actually somewhat put together. I took it as an opportunity to snap some rare shots of the two of us, and it turned into one of those special little moments I'll never forget.

I will cherish this simple moment forever. I wish it never had to end. I wish she would stay this small always. She is everything I ever dreamt of and more. 

I just kept snapping I swear I took 100 pictures, and I don't want to delete any of them!!

She was interacting and smiling and gurgling happily. 

And this was my angle. The best seat on the house. 

 This morning she was being her perfect, adorable self too after taking a nap while I was wearing her. 

Oh man those cheeks are ao kissable!! 

This little person has changed my world forever.