McKenna's phantom Paci

I haven't had a chance to post in forever because any of my extra time (aka down time, aka me time, aka blog time) has been dedicated to work.  ANYWAY... the least I could do is random tiny posts here and there.

Back at the beginning of McKenna's life there was a Great Pacifier Debate. I wanted so much to avoid using one because we already had enough issues keeping us from breastfeeding, but Kevin very much wanted to let McKenna have one to soothe. After a while I became OK with the idea of letting her have one... or I guess I should say trying to let her have one. She would gnaw on it for a few seconds and then it would just kind of fall out of her mouth. I would do silent cheers to myself. Luckily she still hasn't taken to sucking her thumb either... she chews on her fingers and hands but that's the extent of it. I guess this is what happens when you child refuses a paci.....



Apparently she dreams of my boobies like Pluto dreams of chasing and catching Chip & Dale. It is just the most precious and endearing thing to watch. I could stare at her sleep all day... but then I'd really never get anything done!

McKenna and her pups

The boys are really starting to enjoy McKenna more and more.  I anticipated they would warm up as she got more responsive, especially now that she coos and squeals and smiles when they come around.  They also get excited when she wakes up in the morning.

I think they have an unspoken competition as to who gets the coveted position in her room next to her play mat.  It's typically Chief Osceola (aka Boogs, the Golden Retriever) because he always wants to be a part of anything that's going on. Whatever room we're in, he's in. Whatever we're doing, he wants to be a part of it.

But he feels left out when Chief (aka Black Bear, the black lab) snags the spot.  He usually does it just to be close.

It's funny sometimes Chief seems to almost intentionally block the doorway to her room. Boogs will be pacing outside the door with no way to get in. Chief rarely hogs the attention, so when he does it he gets a lot of lovin'.

Just yesterday McKenna was reaching out to touch Boogs. She got a few firm grips of his fur and ears, and he just sat staring at me as if he knew he was just supposed to sit there and allow it to happen. Of course though, Boogs still acts like a puppy most of the time so it didn't last long.  After a couple of minutes he was bouncing around wanting to cover her in kisses and nibble on her little hands. 

It's so fun to watch their relationship develop. I can't wait until they can actually start playing with one another.

Wonder Week 19 aka Hell Week.

I just feel like a complete fool. I have been dumbfounded the last 1.5ish weeks as to why McKenna just hasn't been her happy, content self.

She's been IMPOSSIBLE to put down for naps during the day, she's been uninterested and fussy at the teet, she's had a little more difficult time going down at night, she'll just start wailing out of no where, she's been clingy, wanting to be held, she won't take her hands out of her mouth, ever.

She's going through what is considered one of the biggest growth spurts of infancy. WONDER WEEK 19. And don't let it fool you, it can last longer than a week. Another development perspective calls this the beginning of 4 month sleep regression. There is a book/app that goes into a very detailed description of the Wonder Weeks and how to cope and encourage them, but honestly you can find a lot of info online from momma blogs. Here's a link to the Book if you're interested ( --> here). Since I did not purchase, I won't go through a full rundown, but just describe what we're going through.

Now I will say I also mistakenly attempted to add cow's milk back into my diet and that has had a pretty dramatic effect on her attitude (and poo!). What a dumbass. Unfortunately for me it just so happened to line up with a growth spurt.

 

WONDER WEEK 19. So basically this Wonder Week is based on baby beginning to understand more complex sequence of events. She's beginning to understanding that when you throw a ball up, it will come down. She's beginning to use both hands to grab stuff (in fact, today she had one toy in each hand!). Her mind is going, going, going constantly. No wonder the fussiness appears!

A Momma that did a great job of laying out this Wonder Week's expectations and pitfalls is here. I went down the list going "Yep. Yep. Yep. Yep. Yep. That's us. Yep. Yep. Yep. Yep. Yep." 

I LOVE LOVE LOVE what this Momma had to say about Wonder Week 19.  When I read this blog, this is when it really hit home what we were going through (and that we weren't going through it alone). She explains the experience amazingly, and has very similar parenting styles to me.

This period is rough.  She'll be happy and interactive one minute and crazy, unpleasant squealing the next.  I am NOT a proponent of sleeping training or crying it out [of any sorts!].  When my baby cries, she's telling me she needs something. End of story. This has made the last couple weeks a bit more exhausting, but I know I am comforting my baby and providing her with support to get through the tough times. Because that's just what they are. I'm there for her when she needs me. As a parent this is the ONE thing I know I am doing right, being there for her. If it means naps are in my arms for a week or so, so be it. I will take advantage of them, because every time I blink she is a second older.

Assisted Sitting.

And during those tough moments when I'm holding her and bouncing or walking or rocking and can do nothing to console her, I take a deep breath of her hair and remind myself not only will this moment last long, I'll wish I could get it back one day.  I think we're through the toughest part, and once it's all said and done we'll have a happier and more interactive baby because of it!

Traveling with Baby

We've successfully made a trip to and from Jacksonville AND Disney World. The Hubs thinks we may have overpacked, and while I know there was a lot of stuff we ended up not using, you can never be too prepared. Had she gotten sick or a hang nail or anything small, there would have been no middle-of-the-night runs to the drug store for overpriced Baby Tylenol or Baby nail clippers.

Although I will say, staying with family in a typical city environment is much less stressful than other type of vacation destinations. Case in point, we went to Disney World last month with a 3 month old... I believe this was the true test to packing for a baby.  When you forget something at Disney, you are subject to the lobby store's slim pickins' or else you are driving off property to the no-named drug store whose manager's name you can't even pronounce and leaving a limb for compensation.

Below is the list I have compiled of things to pack when traveling with McKenna. Remember I am a fist time mommy and this list is rather thorough!

McKenna is exclusively breastfed, so that will also effect what we pack for Feeding (ie MUCH LESS TO WORRY ABOUT... just Boobie-in-tow here.). Having said this, I think it's wise to take your pump and bottles just in case of an emergency.

If you think of anything I may have forgotten, please let me know!! Also, I would be happy to provide a PDF version of this upon request. :-)

Daddy's Day & a word on proper baby picture etiquette

Today is Kevin's first official Daddy's Day!!

 

McKenna and I sure got lucky with this one.  He will do anything to make his girls happy. I always knew he would be a good Daddy, but witnessing it with our own baby girl is one of life's many gifts. He showers our baby girl with constant love and hugs & kisses, and she loves her Daddy more than anything.  When she hears his voice she pauses whatever it is she is doing to look around for him.  Once her eyes land on him she lets open one of her mouth-wide smiles and draws her hands to her mouth in a bashful manner. There is nothing better in the world to her than story time with Daddy. He does his fair share of bath and diaper time, and can pick out the perfect outfit for his little one (often times a Sunday's Best dress or Disney Princess gown for just hanging around the house). He is a natural at daddy-hood, and it is apparent in the bond that he and McKenna share. There is not a soul in this world I would rather have as the Father to my daughter.

We were able to make it to church this morning, but unfortunately rain rained on our parade (ha!). There has been a whole lot of U.S. Open watching and snoozing. A whole lot of smiles and giggles.

Insert here, Baby Picture Etiquette. These pictures will need to be called Candids due to the fact that Daddy is not smiling or even looking at the camera in ANY of the 15 I snapped. I then decided I had to inform Kevin of How To take a picture with a baby. Yes, there are baby photo "best practices".  As an adult in a picture with a baby, it is your sole duty to do NOTHING but stare at the camera and smile (unless they are in fact candids).  BE READY FOR THE PICTURE! I don't care if it doesn't look like I'm about to take a picture or if I'm counting to 3 or whatever, the key is snapping one at a point when baby looks and smiles, which can be any moment. It is not your responsibility to make the baby smile, that is the photographer's responsibility. When YOU (in the photo) try to make baby smile, where does baby look? Up! It is the baby we are trying to be patient with, not the daddy!!!! Regardless, they still ended up cute. But it is still important to execute baby photo best practices!

We've got a roller!

McKenna is now rolling!



 

We've been practicing her rolls for several weeks now. She was doing assisted rolls regularly where I would set her up on her elbows and she would take it from there....



I can't believe how active she is now.. every day she's becoming more and more coordinated. While this means she needs more of my attention, this also means that she is more fun to play with because the smiles you get during play time are like no other experience in this world!

McKenna's newest "spot": the High Chair

So we finally bought McKenna's high chair a couple weeks back, and boy do I wish we purchased it sooner because we would have been using it sooner.  Knowing this would be a place she would spend a significant amount of time, we bought the Cadillac of high chairs -- the Graco Blossom 4-in-1 High Chair at Babies R Us.

It was the one I had been eyeing since our initial visits last year when I was pregnant. This thing seems to have it all; it's a High Chair, Infant Feeding Booster, Toddler Booster, and Youth Chair.


And McKenna absolutely LOVES it!!!

The FIRST time I put her in it:

Of course it doesn't look like this anymore, it's covered in toys.

It's her favorite place to play with toys and see everything.  It sits right between our kitchen, dining area, and family room so I can get all sorts of things accomplished with her at the center of everything! She also gets front and center performances from Chief and Boogs.

Here's her a couple hours after her 4 month shots

I absolutely love that it is on wheels (that lock, though not very easily), so I pull her into the master when I need to use the bathroom, and position her depending on what I'm doing at any given moment.

It also has encouraged Kevin and I to start eating dinner at the dining room table, no matter what dinner may consist of! We just slide it right up to the table and the 3 of us share laughs and giggles. I cannot wait to start feeding her solids in a couple of months!!

Just one of those days

I don't know whether to laugh or cry. I want to cry, but then I look at McKenna, and for a brief moment among the fussing she flashes me the widest grin. Never thought you could experience tears of sadness and laughter all at once. I guess that's called parenting. 

Here I am, still in my vomit and milk covered pjs at 4PM in the afternoon.... and not by choice. She has had such an off day there has been no napping anywhere but in my arms. 

McKenna has had 4 wardrobe changes today so far.  As I went to change her last onesie that she spit up all over I was surprised by a blow out. Now she is sleeping on me in her diaper because I just don't have it in me to do it again (change her, that is). One brief moment of  calm today. BRIEF. 

Though she did have a nice, yet short play time with her big brother Boogs this morning. 

I believe we are finding out that her tummy does not agree with something I ate in the last couple of days... I'm thinking eggs or orange juice (we went to brunch on Sunday, and to make matters worse, I ate my leftovers yesterday). She has puked several times over the last couple of days. I believe she's attempted comfort nursing because her tummy hurts which is really just making matters worse. Hopefully we will be over this in a couple of days... I feel AWFUL for her, and I'm at my wit's end too. 

And in this moment she is smiling and blowing raspberries, so I am taking advantage of this before it's gone again. 

4 months old!

I cannot believe McKenna is FOUR MONTHS OLD.

Life with this little munchkin is INCREDIBLE. She is the most pleasant, laid-back baby I have ever been around. She is happy what seems like all the time (when she's actually awake), and she's always waiting for you to turn your attention back to her so she can exchange a gummy smile.

She does NOT like to be laid down when she's getting tired. She would much rather cuddle to fall asleep, which I often take advantage of.  But I have found that she does settle in after a few moments when I do lay her down to nap.

She is outgrowing some of her 3 month outfits and wearing size 2 diapers. She is so close to doubling her birthweight, around 14.5 pounds, a feat that isn't anticipated until 6 months of age! We got a chunker on our hands, and she is a nursing champ! She loves bathtime and is getting used to tummy time now that she can sit up so high on her chest. She is SOOO close to rolling, we practice "assisted rolls" in the late morning which seems to be her most active time of day. So we spend a lot of time on the nursery floor which is always littered with toys!

She just started babbling, talking to herself and mommy and daddy or anyone that will listen.  Her primary language right now is Chewbaccan, according to Daddy. She gurgles and coos, and has a better Spanish R than I do.

She recently took a liking to her bigger brothers, Chief and Chief Osceola, and she smiles at them when they walk back.  We let them give her a few foot licks from time to time, but now that her feet are making their way to her mouth we have to keep a keen eye on those tongues! We're excited for them to get closer as she gets older.

This is Daddy's efforts during her 4 month photo shoot.

And this is why:

She has her feet in her hands at all times. and if anything else happens to touch her hands, it is immediately in her mouth.

I can't believe how fast she is growing and developing. She is alert, happy, smiling, cooing, and loves her Mommy & Daddy.  If I could freeze any moment in time, this is when I would want to freeze it.