Changing every day!

Kelsie is 3 1/2 months old and we are seeing her change and develop everyday. Its hard to believe how much she has grown.  Over the past few weeks, she has started showing a lot more interest in her surroundings and is always trying to look around the room. She also is doing a lot more fine motor movements with her hands as well as gross motor movements with her arms and legs. Here are some new things she is doing now:

Chews on her hands - A LOT!
Sucks her thumb (but usually only when trying to get herself back to sleep or really hungry)
Reaches out to touch our faces
  - if i make a kissy face, she'll try to grab my lips, if a piece of my hair falls down, she'll try to grab it
Plays with my shirt or my face when I am feeding her
Tries to grab toys with 2 hands
Looks at books and reaches out to touch them
Kicks her arms and legs a lot when she is excited
  - makes big splashes in the tub! :)
Tries to sit up or stand up in your lap when shes being held
Holds her head up with no wobble (most of the time)
Holds herself up on her elbows when on her tummy
Trying to "talk" and making a lot more cooing sounds
  - when I'm holding her over my shoulder so she can see whats going on behind me, she has a lot to say! :)
Laughing more and more
  - at silly faces, funny noises, she loves the ceiling fan and it always makes her laugh
Today, we did  "ride a little horsey" and she laughed the most she ever has!!!

Pregnancy Journal

I just added a link to my journal from pregnancy on the right hand side of the page. I have been thinking about it lately and it was fun to look back at the pictures and my thoughts from that time. Its so hard to believe those 9 months have come and gone and now Kelsie is already 3 1/2 months old! Such an exciting year it has been!!

And yes, it is midnight...and I have to work tomorrow! Why am I up?

Thankful

I am thankful for my Creator. I am thankful for my family and for the miracle of my life. I am thankful for the beautiful baby sleeping in the room next to me. I am thankful for her health. I am thankful that I get to wake up to her precious smile every day. I am thankful for my loving and supportive husband who works so hard to provide for our family but still takes time to care for Kelsie and do housework when I'm working. I am thankful for our friendship that started in highschool and ignited into the love we share today.  I am thankful that we share the greatest of joy of our lives, our sweet baby girl. I am thankful that he is such an amazing father. I am thankful for my parents and Nathan's parents who are always here at the drop of a hat anytime we need them. I am thankful for my relationship with my sister. I am thankful that she takes such good care of Kelsie and always seems to know exactly what to do and how to do it like mommy does. I am thankful that my mom came to babysit so Nathan and I could go out. I am thankful that she always jumps in to help me out with housework when she sees things that needs to be done. I am thankful that she always cooks for us when she is here. I am thankful that she is able to keep Kelsie this summer while I work. I am thankful that she knows just what to say when I'm feeling down.  I am thankful for her spirit and how she never complains about anything even though she works harder than anyone I know. I am thankful that my dad works so hard to provide healthy food for our family.  I am thankful that he graciously took time to plant us a garden. I am thankful for his sense of humor and how he can cheer me up no matter what the circumstance. I am thankful for his zeal for life. I am thankful for how he and my mom adore my daughter. I am thankful for Nathan's parents. I am thankful that his mom was able and willing to come help out with Kelsie while I worked. I am thankful that they treat me as if I were their own daughter. I am thankful that his dad is the most generous and selfless man I know who is always freely giving his time to help Nathan with yardwork. I am thankful that there always seem to be lots of food to eat and leftovers in the fridge when they come to visit. I am thankful for how much they sacrifice for their children and grandchildren but never seem to mind. I am thankful for Nathan's sister and her sweet family and my adorable nephew. I am thankful for our grandparents. I am thankful for the close relationship I have with all my aunts, uncles, and cousins. I am thankful for my friends, both old and new, who offer so much support and encouragement.  I am thankful for all of you reading this who care about our family and pray for our daughter. I am SO thankful!

Out on a date!

Nathan and I went out today alone for the first time since Kelsie has been born! My mom came up to stay with her so we could take a trip to...way for it...its really exciting and super romantic....COSTCO! Whoo hoo! We had alot on our Costco list and it is just impossible for me to take Kelsie by myself so we decided to make a date of it! We had a quick lunch oust beforehand and then made our way to peruse the superfluous aisles of Costco. We enjoyed our time together, were very productive and cut my grocery needs in half for the next several months! Oh, the things that bring excitement when you become a mom. But its simply the best!

Trying to figure it all out

Kelsie has never been a fussy baby but for the past couple of days she has been ever so close to that line! She has not napped well so I'm sure the crying is a result of her being overtired. Her napping is just so sporadic. Some days she will sleep for a good 2 1/2 hours straight, others she will wake up after 45 min and refuse to go back to sleep. I blame myself and try to figure out what I could have done/should have done differently. When we're here, I stress about when to go to her crib and intervene and we we go out, I worry that I'm taking her out too much and not providing enough consistency. But even on days at home, her napping troubles go through the same pattern as when we are out. When she wakes up, she is more interested in looking around than sleeping but then gets mad when she realizes how tired she is. (At least thats what I think is going on in my mommy mind). She will try to get back to sleep on her own but will eventually want to be held. But if she becomes too alert, holding her and rocking her to sleep only upsets her more because she fights it like crazy! Just hold her tight and provide the right amount of jostle. And get close to her face and give lots of kisses (but that only really works if its mommy). Lol. Can you tell its been a bit of a stressful couple of days!? I never thought I would be one to stress over all of this stuff but if you are a mommy, you understand, and if you aren't...well, you may understand one day! :)

Today Nathan wanted us to meet him for lunch so I thought it would be good for us to get out, hoping that Kelsie would enjoy being out and would sleep well in the stroller. Bad idea. Sort of. It was great for the most part - but the bad parts seem to overshadow the rest. She was happy in the beginning but only took a 30 min nap on the way over so I knew the crankiness would come...and it did. After I fed her and she finally fell back asleep, I thought surely she would take a good long nap since she was so tired...so since we were already out, I went browsing around a couple of stores. I keep testing that and I don't know why I don't learn from past failures! Since she has been born, it seems like I'm always needing something. But because each trip out is so limited, I never seem to get everything marked off the list. Whereas I used to go out and get everything accomplished in one day, it now seems to be spread out over a couple of weeks and I still don't end up getting what I need. So today, my plan worked well for about an hour. Then she woke up cranky again. She also seems to be wanting to eat more, so feedings have been closer to every 2-3 hours instead of 3-4. So I'm hoping this is just a phase, a growth spurt maybe?

 But then, because of the CF, I also have to worry that more is going on. Her stools have been increasing in frequency over the past week, so I feel like she could be having an upset tummy as well. The first part of the week, she was also spitting up alot. I emailed her doctor who was really concerned at first. So much so, that she wanted me to take her in if I didn't see improvement within a day. But after I assurred her that Kelsie was still hydrated, she was ok waiting to see how she did. Then her stools improved somewhat but have picked up again over the past 24 hours. Sometimes its just so hard trying to discern normal baby behaviors from her CF symptoms....

So after all that said, I will end on a good note.  Overall, it was a happy day with a couple really fussy moments. And we had a great evening. I took Kelsie for her first swing with mommy on the swingset. (She really liked it!) And she went to bed at 7:30. And while naps are a battle sometimes, she is a great sleeper at night so I am very thankful for that! I love my little girl!!

Memorial Day

Memorial weekend, we took our first trip to the lake as a family of three. Kelsie is still too little for boat rides so we spent most of our time inside but still had a good time with family nonetheless. Memorial Day also happened to be my birthday! As I turned another year older, I reflected back on the past year. It was one of the greatest years of my life because it brought a wonderful pregnancy and the birth of my sweet baby girl. I look forward to spending this next year watching her grow and enjoying all the cute moments to come!

Our little family :)



My pretty girl! <3



Kelsie and cousin Will

sharing secrets

He was so sweet, giving Kelsie lots of kisses!

He even sneaked in a kiss on the lips! Haha

Kelsie and Mamaw Roberts taking it easy on the pier

Groceries

Grocery shopping. Its not as easy as it once was and we don't go as frequent either. I used to carry my cute little bug on the Baby Bjorn but she is getting pretty heavy! I can still do it but this time I tried something else...just put her car seat in the buggie. Of course, there's not as much room for groceries that way but it got the job done. Here she is looking cute as ever....

Look what I picked up on the sweets aisle :)

In the driver seat for another front seat of the car feeding

Sweeter than sugar!

Check up

Today Kelsie had a followup with her CF doctor and things are continuing to look great. She weighed 13 lbs 3 oz and was 23 inches long!  Her weight has been climbing up and up on the growth curve so she is now 75th percentile while her length is 25th. Her weight for length is 90th percentile!! What a chubby baby!! No malabsorption evident in this girl! Thanks to those enzymes! Apparently they are really doing the trick! I feel we have finally perfected the method and she is really doing well getting them down! The doctor said that some babies with CF have to supplement with higher calorie formula in addition to the enzymes, but thankfully, Kelsie is getting all she needs to grow from my breast milk.  The doctor was very pleased with how well things seem to be going. Kelsie still hasn't gotten sick (thank God), she is growing, and we are consistently giving her meds, vitamins, salt, and chest PT as we should.  We did discuss her salt intake which is currently 1/8 tsp once a day in a bottle of breastmilk but they advised us to give extra if she has a day where she sweats alot. As I mentioned before, one of the issues with CF is that the salt balance in the body is messed up so dehydration occurs more easily. We give Kelsie salt to prevent her from becoming dehydrated. Since she is too young to tell us if she is feeling thirsty or craving something salty (signs that she may be getting dehydrated or need more salt), we have to make sure we are helping replace her salt daily. 

At our next visit in one month, they will check Kelsie's baseline pulmonary function through a procedure they do under moderate sedation. This basically gives an objective picture of how well Kelsie's lungs are doing now, while she is healthy. Then when she gets sick, they can recheck it and compare her lung function at that time to what it was while she was healthy. That information will in turn help them know how bad the illness is affecting her lungs and help guide treatment.

Here is a video of how we give enzymes!

 (She usually doesnt even cry this much while taking them but she was a little extra hungry.)



Bedtime story

Kelsie reading herself a story before bedtime. ;)

Daddy helps out with the story....

and then....

they both passed out on the couch...

 [Kelsie now likes to sleep with her hands in front of her face :)]

How rude!

I resent Nathan's post about Kelsie's favorite doll!!! She would never do such a horrible thing! He is also the one responsible for that unflattering picture by the way!

Nathan's Post

"I'm about to rip the head off of this ugly doll and eat it for breakfast!"

12 weeks old - Milestones and more

Kelsie is now making more cooing sounds and she is laughing more. She gives the biggest smiles when someone is talking to her or making silly noises. When I talk to her she tries to respond back with the sweetest smile or giggle, and "gooo". She is also becoming more interested in her toys especially the sound of a rattle and will smile and laugh and reach for them. And she is also able to grasp the rattle and hold onto it to shake it. She now pays more attention to books and will now grab at the pages. And she likes it when I carry her over my shoulder so she can look at everything around us. A couple days ago she officially found her thumb and has been using it some to self-soothe. She still likes the paci but will suck on her fingers and try to get a hold of her thumb if she doesn't have the paci. She is holding her head up on her own but still just a little wobbly when she is tired; and she is making alot more kicking motions with her legs and waving motions with her arms when she is excited. (My dad says it looks like she is practicing her swim strokes!) She is also able to use her tongue to push food back in her mouth a little better now - something most wouldn't notice this early but since we have been giving her enzymes with applesauce since she was 3 weeks old, I have definitely seen a progression in her ability to do this which makes giving her enzymes so much easier!

This weekend was busy but alot of fun! Saturday, Nathan's parents came up to visit. Nathan and his dad worked in the yard while his mom and I hung out with Kelsie.  We had lunch together and then I made my long trip upstairs for my first night back to work. On Sunday, Kelsie made her first trip to her grandma and grandpa's house (my parents) and met my mom's side of the family. It was so nice to get together with everyone again, a tradition I hope we can continue for many years to come! It was also Memorial at the church where I grew up; so Kelsie made her first trip there as well, where we saw many family and friends who just "oooed and ahhed" over her. :) It was also a time to remember my grandparents who were buried there.

Here are some pictures from the weekend!

 Saturday May 20th

Sunday May 21st

Memorial at Antioch - standing at Grandma Kiser's grave. 

We were so close and I still miss her dearly. Kelsie is named after her.

Found that thumb!

Kelsie and her cousin Cole - they are only 4 days apart!

Aren't they JUST PRECIOUS!?

First UNC game!

Last night we took Kelsie to her first UNC baseball game!! It was a great outing for us as a family and a fun way to expose Kelsie to Tarheel country! ;) It was quite a stimulating atmosphere and I think the cheering may have been a little too loud for her, but she didn't seem to mind too much. She didn't cry once, ate at her usual time, and fell asleep in my arms at her bedtime. I held my hand over her ears and she slept through it all. She woke up happy as a clam on the way home but went right down when we got in.

Teaching her the fight song! GO HEELS!

12 weeks and back to work

Kelsie was 12 weeks old yesterday! Gosh, she is growing up so fast! Twelve weeks seems like such a big milestone for some reason. I guess because its like she is graduating out of that fragile newborn state and into infancy. But its also that dreaded time for me  - the end of my maternity leave. I remember looking forward to this time to spend with my new baby for so long during pregnancy and its hard to believe that it has already came and gone! I never really thought I would want to be a stay-at-home-mom...but then, I met Kelsie! :) And she has just flipped that idea on its head. As exhausting as it may be, I love every moment of being home with her! However, there is that other side of me - the ambitious, professional side that enjoys my career and my patients. I have worked hard through undergrad and grad school to get to where I am and I have been blessed with 2 wonderful jobs. So I do not want to give that up either. The key will be finding the right balance. When Kelsie was diagnosed with CF, I automatically thought, "I am not going back to work, she is more important, and I don't want to be exposed to so many germs and bring them back home to her." But as we thought about it more, I have decided that working is both good and necessary for me and our family. I think the first few weeks will be the hardest but we will find a new routine and we will adjust. Today was my first shift back at Healthlink (my job at UNC as a phone triage nurse). The great thing about this job is that I can work from home from time to time. Today, I was assigned to work from home, but I still missed Kelsie like crazy! Its been so emotional for me and part of that is probably just realizing that today is the first of many days leaving her to go to work! :( Nathan took care of her and I have been hidden away at my desk for 8 hours but we have all survived! Hahaha. I think as a new mommy who spends 24hrs a day with her baby, this is a good reminder that she will still survive without me! And even though I would love nothing more than to take care of her 24/7, its good for her to have some one-on-one time with her daddy taking care of her too! (And perhaps, also good for him to see what mommy does all day!) ;)

Paci recovery...

Oh the pacifier.... yes, my baby has quite an affection for her paci and I have no problem knowing when she is asking for it. She doesn't exactly cry when she is wanting it (unless you wait too long) but she does have a way of "whining" for it and even has a specific outburst "neeay" when she needs it. This comes as she is getting tired but not quite ready for sleep. This is all good and fine and I like the fact that she is easily comforted by sucking on this small piece of silicone (ha), but it gets annoying in the middle of the night when she wakes up to realize that she spit it out while sleeping and needs it again to get back to sleep. This results in the head bobbing and pitiful "eh, eh, eh" as she desperately searches for it. I often watch this on our video monitor (which, much to my surprise, is one of my most favorite baby item purchases) and wait to see if she finds it or will settle back down without it before I go in and help her with the recovery. Sometimes I try to be strong and just let her work it out without the paci but experience has told me that if I let it go on too long, not only will she not give up, but she will become frantic, start crying and then spit up. Then she will not go back to sleep with her face lying in spit up. So what do we do?? We go in and try to give it back to her before she becomes fully awake! And stand there until she has a good grip on it and settles back down.

So at times I can't decide if the paci is helping her sleep or hindering it. At night, she can often self soothe herself back to sleep with or without it but during the day, she has a harder time with it. Granted she is still waking up a few times at night (but not to eat). So I'm trying to figure out the best way to respond. However, ignoring her and not giving her the paci does not seem likely to work. This is especially problematic during naptimes especially as she transitions through sleep cycles.  This week, we have spent a couple full days at home trying to work on this napping thing. I haven't been great at getting her settled into a routine so I've been working on that a little harder. I've been trying to help organize her feedings a little better and put aside my worries about her CF issues. So far that is going ok....although today she has been periodically waking up from her naps even 2-3hours after a feeding with this awful reflux and spitting up quite a bit.  Even though I've been trying to let her finish her nap on her own without picking up her, I finally gave in this afternoon. :/ I'm pretty tired myself and running back and forth up the stairs, giving her back her paci, and patting her until she settles down again is a little too exhausting by the end of the day, especially when I know if she doesn't get her rest now, she is going to be grumpy this evening! I'm hoping I can eventually influence some good sleep habits and not encourage the bad ones. I am optimistic though and think we are moving in the right direction. I start back to work this weekend so I'm praying she will start sleeping through the night consistently in the next week or so. We've at least dropped the middle of the night feedings so that's a good thing!

Oh, and one thing I've learned that I will take back to work with me next week is: being the provider and giving the advice is MUCH easier than being the mommy and heeding that advice!! Definitely something I will consider when telling moms to let them "cry it out"! Easier said than done!!!!

How productivity happens....

Bouncy seat, high chair, crib mobile, boppy - some of my favorite "babysitters" which allow me to cook, clean, or do laundry and still entertain my sweet pea. Since she is holding herself up a little better now, I can now sit her up in her highchair while I get things together for dinner and that has worked out quite well. I, of course, make silly sounds and tell her all about what I'm making so that keeps her entertained as well! If meals are timed right, she will also sit in her highchair while we eat which is always nice.

She also LOVES her mobile so I usually try to sit her up in her crib to watch that a few minutes during the day while I throw in some laundry or pick up upstairs.  She also thinks its funny to watch me fold clothes so I prop her up on some pillows on the bed while I fold.  Besides that, I try to make the most of her naps doing housework and then spend as much time interacting with her as I can when she is awake.  I also try to squeeze in some blogging when possible. I don't want to give it up even though it can be quite time consuming because its the best way I've found to record the milestones in her life during this fun and exciting, but busy, time!

Well, hello little lamb

This monkey is so silly!

Sportin my skinny jeans

Out to lunch

 Tuesday, Kelsie and I met my dad for lunch at S&T's soda shop in Pittsboro and it was a great time! I absolutely LOVE the fact that my dad works in this area from time to time and can meet us for lunch. It is such a great treat for me to visit with my dad and also gives him a little extra time to admire and dote on Kelsie, something they both enjoy! Kelsie was perfect - she slept while we ate and then woke up just in time to play with grandpa a bit.  After lunch, we made a stop at babies-r-us and then went to the farmers market with my friend Ashley and the Batcheller boys. It was a super fun day!

Grandpa's making those silly sounds again :)

Yesterday we had another lunch date with my friend Kristen. This time, Kelsie was not so perfect..instead she fussed for the first half of our lunch. She only really cries like that when she is so tired but can't get herself back to sleep. She dozed off before we left, but then woke up on the way over and just missed getting her full nap in. So I tried to soothe her back to sleep for the first part of the lunch, then Kristen took a turn so I could eat. Not the way our lunches used to go, but I wouldn't trade it for anything! We still had a nice time and Kelsie showed off her sweet side after she got a little more sleep and a full belly. :)

The rivalry lived out through our child...

Those of you who know us well know the rivalry that exists in our home: Tarheels vs. Wolfpack. We are both committed to steering Kelsie toward our preferred school but of course who she chooses to pull for is yet to be determined. If she is as big a sports' fan as her mommy and enjoys supporting a team with tradition, class, and the talent to win...then she will most definitely be a Tarheel fan. But... if she is ok settling for 2nd best, then she may deviate in the other direction towards her daddy's school. ;) Hehe. All kidding a side, for all those state fans out there, the wolfpack isn't THAT bad and I do try to support them from time to time (when they're not playing my Heels of course!) but I am still determined to make a Tarheel out of my Kelsie! And the one thing Nathan and I both agree on is NO DOOK FANS IN OUR HOUSEHOLD!

We both like to dress her up in our school colors. Nathan dressed her in the red and white, and just happened to catch me in red the same day, so he had to snap a picture...but do not mistake this as anything more! I am a Carolina girl all the way!!!! GO HEELS!

Daddy, I like my shirt better than yours! :)

Meet my boyfriend(s)!

Yesterday, we had a very lovely dinner with our friends Ashley and Christian. We went over to their home and had a great time relaxing on the porch, playing with our beautiful children, and just hanging out and enjoying nice conversation and good food! They have become some of our most loyal friends and we feel very blessed to have met them! They also have two darling little boys that are so sweet and could quite possibly make a great match for my Kelsie one day! ;) Here are a few shots of them getting acquainted. 

Kelsie (11 weeks), Price (8 months), Brooks (2 years)

Price: "She's pretty cute..." Kelsie: "He's checking me out, I'm just gonna play it cool"

 

Price: "Hmmm, you have nice cankles"

Kelsie: "Hey now, thats far enough!!"

Price: "I love a girl with some round chubby cheeks"

Brooks introducing Kelsie to his friend Tidbit :)