Kinsley Rae is 3 months old!

These past three months have been such a blur, but I have enjoyed every second. Kinsley is growing like a weed and I find myself already having a difficult time remembering what she was like as a newborn. I know it's because I'm busy chasing a toddler around all day as well as feeding Kinsley, changing all her diapers, and several outfits throughout the day because of all the spit-up. Plus, once fall arrived it seems like our lives picked up speed and we are busy almost every day of the week, which also makes it hard to just sit and absorb my sweet little girl. Life is busy, but it's absolutely a blast!

Kinsley was three months old last week and didn't have to go to the dr. this month; so, no stats this post.
(Be on the look out next month because I will take Kinsley for her 4 month check up and Avery for her 2 year check up on the same day- should be a fun time with lots to blog about!!!)

Kinsley at three months:

-Laughs
-Sucks her fingers and hands constantly
-spits up more than her sister, if that's possible!
-has the most beautiful gummy grin
-has big, dark blue eyes
-is still holding on to most of her hair!!!
-speaking of hair, it's lightening up a lot and is almost an auburn color in the sun.
-Nurses 5 times a day, but takes a bottle of breast milk really well, too!
-has always disliked tummy time, but as of 3 months she seems to tolerate it more. We can usually get about 3 minutes out of her before the screaming begins....
-enjoys sitting in her bumbo seat




















-sleeps in a sleep sack as of two nights ago.... we made the switch from swaddle to sleep sack cold-turkey. Every morning we were finding her almost completely out of the swaddle, so we decided to give the ol' sleep sack a try and SUCCESS!!!
-knows who mommy and daddy are and smiles when she sees us
-loves to watch her big sister play
-loves bath time
-sleeps about 11 hours at night. We put her down around 9pm and she usually wakes up between 7:15-8am.
-moves herself to the bottom right of her crib every night
-wears three month clothing and is squeezing into her size 1 diapers

We love you Kinsley and have loved every second of these last three months with you. You are such a blessing!!!

Dizzy Avery video

Avery's new thing to do is to twirl around in circles and then stare at the floor while everything spins around her. It's hilarious!

Avery's first day of "school"

Last week our baby girl started "school". We decided to put her in a childcare program at our church one day a week so that she can have more socialization with children her age. I know I've told some of you this story, but I'm going to write it all down here so I won't forget it. I was really looking forward to   her being around other kids on a more frequent basis, but the night I signed her up I cried the entire way home. Which is so silly because this is completely optional and I CHOSE to sign her up! Chris encouraged me that night and reminded me how great it will be for Kinsley and me to have some time just the two of us, since she will not have that opportunity like Avery and I did. As the first day of school grew closer I became more and more excited for Avery. She loves going to church nursery or to the childcare at the gym and I know she will enjoy school, too. We had open house two nights before school began and she clung so tight to my neck and wouldn't let me put her down at all. I guess being in a different room with different teachers than the nursery kind of scared her. Following the open house we went to Walmart to buy her a lunch box-- this was when I began to lose it! I mean, how is my  baby old enough for a lunch box already!?!? Anyway, Walmart had a Disney princess lunch box and a Minnie Mouse lunch box. Avery, of course, liked them both and carried them all around the store. I finally took her back to the lunch box section and told her she had to pick one to take home and put the other back on the shelf. She carefully examined each lunch box and eventually picked the Minnie Mouse one to bring home. It was quite emotional for mommy. 

The morning of her first day of school I was pretty emotional. I got her up and made her a yummy breakfast- english muffins with peanut butter and a side of grapes. We talked about school all morning and she even let me take her outside for a little "first day of school photo shoot". She smiled so proudly and I realized that my baby girl is really growing up. 

Excited about her first day of school

Proud of her Minnie Mouse lunch box 

My sweet, big girl! 

We arrived at the church about 15 minutes early and waited in the lobby. A friend of ours has a little girl a few months younger than Avery and they, too, were waiting for the doors to open. Miller, the other little girl, came up to Avery and gave her the biggest bear hug and pulled Avery right down on top of her. Avery's eyes were HUGE! Neither girl cried and we helped brush them off only for Miller to go straight for Avery two more times! Each time Avery was quick to stiff arm her! It was pretty hilarious... They are in the same class and I know that they will be great friends.

Avery, Kinsley and I made our way to her classroom and Avery was in good spirits. She allowed me to take her picture outside of her classroom- I couldn't believe it! Then, the second I walked into her room she dug her feet into the ground at the door and began crying. I had to pick her up and carry her into her room (while carrying Kinsley in the bjorn, also). We went and put her bags in her cubby and then I tried to distract her with some toys. It worked for a minute and the crying stopped, so I motioned to the teacher that I was going to sneak out. I wasn't even to the next room down the hall when I heard her screaming for me. I peeked around the corner (she couldn't see me) to find the teacher holding her. I knew I couldn't stand there and listen to her cry so I decided to go on and leave, knowing that she was in good hands.

It was a very strange feeling to leave the church campus without her. I'm so used to taking her to the church nursery or to the gym's child care, but I'm always in the same building. To actually drive off and leave her behind was very strange. I managed not to cry, though, and have my dear friend, Katie, to thank for keeping me occupied that day with a long 4 mile walk with our newborns.

Avery did great at school. They said she didn't cry too long and that she was quiet but happy to play. She ate all of her lunch but didn't sleep at all during nap time. I surely didn't expect her to! I know that it will take a few times of me leaving her in tears before she adjusts to this new room and all of the new faces, but I also know that she is going to really enjoy her time and learn a lot.

My baby girl is growing up.....

Kinsley: Two Months!

Our sweet, precious Kinsley is two months old! It's like I blinked and the last two months flashed before my eyes. Kinsley has brought so much joy into our family over these two months and it never gets old just sitting and staring at her! :)

She is such a great baby and has a personality all her own. I find it so hard not to compare Kinsley to Avery at each stage. For example: Avery slept for her first 3 months of life- no joke.... it was rare to see her eyes! Kinsley, on the other hand, has plenty of "awake" times throughout the day and always has. I guess she just doesn't need as much sleep as big sister! There are other differences, too, and I love it! Both of my girls are unique in their own ways and I love each of them for who they are!

Kinsley is growing like a weed!!  I knew she was getting bigger, but it's so hard to tell since I see her every day. Plus, next to Avery she always looks so small. Well, I don't have to be concerned about whether or not she is eating enough....

STATS-- 
Weight: 10 lbs 9.6 oz (50%)
Height: 23 in (75%)
Head Circ.: 14.5 in (10%)

Kinsley at 2 months:

- has great head control (she must have strong neck muscles under all those rolls!)

- can roll from tummy to her back (as of 6 weeks old)

- is starting to "coo"

- smiles a lot!

- loves bath time

- hates tummy time

- content when being held and walked around the house.

- enjoys her swing

- loves to stare at the turtle on the play mat

- might have an "outie" belly button-- we still can't tell what it's going to do!

- has finally started sleeping "through the night"! We put her down between 8:45pm-9:15pm and she doesn't wake up to eat until 5-5:30am! It took about 8-8.5 weeks to reach this point, but we are finally there!

- She doesn't cry when we put her in her crib at night any more!

- Afternoons and evenings are her fussy times.

- Still cries most of her 1pm nap time, but her morning nap is smooth sailing and doesn't cry when I lay her down for her morning nap anymore.

 - can grasp a rattle

- still breastfeeding.... 6-7 times a day. She's a quick nurser- maybe 5-8 min total. She also gets at least one bottle a day and will take 5 oz no problem!
-Wears size 1 diapers and is mostly in 3 month clothes already. Only a few of her NB outfits still fit.

Bath time-- 6 weeks old

How is it even possible that Kinsley is 6 weeks old?!!? She loves bath time and I thought today would be a great time to show you how much she has grown. Truthfully, I have had no idea just how much she has been growing. Compared to Avery, she is so small. Everyone always tells me that she is getting so big, but I just couldn't see it. Yesterday, we went to visit our friends in the hospital who just welcomed their second baby boy, Eddy Brant Haynie II, and Chris and I were both shocked to see just how much bigger Kinsley was than Eddy.... and they are only 6 weeks apart! Then, looking at these pictures I am just stunned that our little girl is growing so fast. Oh so bitter-sweet.

1 day old

6 days old

6 weeks old

Kinsley- 1 month

Our precious little Kinsley is one month old! It's hard to believe! These past 4+ weeks as a family of 4 have been so wonderful. Kinsley is such a good baby and we are all adjusting well. Chris was home from work for two weeks and we had requested that family allow us to have that time together before they all came into town to visit. It was an amazing 2 weeks that of course, went by too fast. We had Kinsley's one and two week dr appointments, ventured to the Seaside farmer's market and to church during those two weeks. Chris and Avery also had a blast going to the pool together. I was sad when Chris had to go back to work, but the day he started back was the day all of my family started coming into town to meet Kinsley. She had several visitors during that next week, which also meant extra helping hands for me! Of course, everyone planned to visit during the same week, so it was a crazy busy week, but the next week was much more quiet and finally my time to adjust to being a SAHM to two precious girls all by myself. I think I have adjusted well! On our first day just the three of us, I braved an outing to CVS and then to meet Chris for lunch. Later that week we also went to the grocery store. I must admit- I was quite nervous to go to the grocery store by myself with a newborn and a 20 month old- but was pleasantly surprised at how smoothly it went. I simply put Kinsley in the moby wrap and Avery sat in the buggy. I didn't have a melt down from either girl and was able to complete my shopping experience with no problems! Praise the Lord!

I don't have one month stats for Kinsley because she didn't have an appointment this month- but here are some other stats for you.
BIRTH STATS:
weight: 7lbs 8.5oz
height: 22in
head: 12 3/4 in

ONE WEEK STATS:
weight: 7lbs 2oz (25%)
height: 20.5 in (75%) ... yes, this is shorter than her birth stats: according to the nurse babies tend to shrink in length once their heads round out and aren't cone shaped from being in the canal during labor. I just wouldn't have guessed it would be THAT different!
head circ.: 13 in (10%)

 TWO WEEK STATS are:
weight: 7lbs 9.6oz (above her birth weight!!!) (25%)
height: 20.5 inches (75%)
head: 13.5 in (25%)

Kinsley at one month:

-still has her hair!!! :) I'm praying those beautiful locks don't all fall out!
-wears NB clothes and is squeezing into her NB diapers... we should proabably move her into size 1 diapers, but I can't let the remaining NB diapers go to waste!
-nurses 7-8 times a day every 2.5-3 hours
-must be an efficient eater because she NEVER eats more than 6-8 minutes. It's RARE that she will nurse from the second side at a feeding. She always pops off after 4 minutes of eating and I struggle to get her to latch back on for another 2-4 minutes. Of course, this bothers me, but I keep reminding myself that she is obviously growing because her clothes are getting tighter and she has way more wet and dirty diapers than the books say she should! Now if I could just be okay with her eating habits and stop spending another 20-30 minutes trying to force her to eat!
-sleeps a good majority of the day, but does have more wake times than Avery did at this point.
-goes 3.5-4.5 hours between feedings at night
-started babywise at 3 weeks, but it is MUCH harder to accomplish when my attention is also on a 20 month old.
-has great neck strength and can hold her head up really well
-hates tummy time... she lasts about 2-3 minutes before the screaming begins
-loves to be held up over our shoulder as opposed to the cradle position.
-when she is crying we have discovered the best way to console her is by walking around. If we stop for even a minute she starts to cry again-- this is NOT COOL! We are really trying to break this before it gets any worse!
-still sleeps in the pack n play in our room and probably will until she is sleeping through the night. I don't want Avery's awesome sleep habits ruined!
-seems to really enjoy bath time
-eyes have changed from that dark grey newborn color to a beautiful blue.

-has the most ear piercing cry I have ever heard.

**Thanks to my sweet friend, Kim, for the stickybellies!!! **

Kinsley Rae Ireland

Kinsley Rae Ireland

June 21, 2012

7lbs 8.5oz

22in

Our beautiful little Kinsley has arrived! The week of her delivery was a whirlwind of events. Monday night, the 18th, Chris, Avery and I went out on a friends boat. We all had Papa Johns Pizza and enjoyed spending time together. That night, Chris and I were up sick ALL night. I would say it was food poisoning, but Avery and our friends weren't sick at all and they ate the same things we did.... 

Tuesday came and went and we were feeling better. Wednesday morning I woke up feeling like I had the flu. I had the chills one minute and the next I would be sweating. Around 6:30am I was having terrible stomach pains (gas like pains) and was achy all over. Along with my stomach pains came some contractions and low back/abdominal pain. I ended up calling my parents to come watch Avery for me because I was feeling so sick and weak. As the morning went along, I began thinking that these were definitely contractions and began wondering if I should go to the birth center and get checked out. I wasn't in a lot of pain and wasn't really sure if this was real labor or not. The contractions felt differently from braxton hicks, but I wasn't miserable and in terrible pain like I expected real labor to feel like. My parents came over to help with Avery and I took a much needed bath and shower. I also decided I should pack the remaining toiletries for my hospital bag and packed a bag for Avery in case I was admitted if I did decide to go get checked out. Around noon on Wednesday my parents and I decided we should at least go over into Destin and I could walk around the outlets for a while and see what happened with the contractions. I wanted to be close to the hospital and not worry about having to drive over the mid-bay bridge in the later stages of labor. (A few weeks prior, a girl delivered her baby on the mid-bay bridge and I was panicked ever since!!) Dad took Avery and Bailey home while mom and I walked around the outlets. By 2:45 I was getting hooked up to the monitors at the hospitals birth center to see what all was going on. When the nurse checked me I was 4 cm and 80-90% effaced (same #'s from my dr. visit the day before). They monitored me for an hour and my contractions were coming every 2-5 minutes, but my cervix wasn't changing. The next hour I was givin fluids because I was a little dehydrated and Kinsley wasn't as "perky" as they would have liked for her to be. The fluids helped her and didn't really change my contractions much. They died down a little bit, but were still coming about every 5 minutes. After 3 hours of being monitored and having zero change they decided to send me home. I have to admit I was pretty dissapointed by that point. The conractions continued for the next 2-3 hours, but not as frequently. Chris and I headed home that night and I didn't have the first contraction throughout the night. We had already planned for my parents to come help with Avery again on Thursday morning since Wednesday was such a crazy day. I'm so glad they did, because Thursday morning around 9:30 my doctor called and said that she would like for me to come in before noon. I immediately showered and headed to the dr (hospital bags in tow, just in case!!!). I wasn't exactly sure why she was wanting me to come in, but once I got there they hooked me up to the monitors again and she told me that since Kinsley wasn't as active the day before that she wanted to check on her to be sure everything was ok. After an hour of being monitored she came in and was happy with Kinsley's report. She decided to check me again and I was 5cm, but not having many contractions. After she checked me she told me that she was ready to send me over to the birth center if I was ready. We decided I would go eat lunch with Chris and walk around some to see if that sparked any contractions before I went to the hospital. SOOO.... I picked up subway and went to Chris' clinic. We ate and then I walked on the treadmill for a while. I still wasn't having many contractions, but after talking about it, we decided we would head on over to the hospital anyway. 

LABOR AND DELIVERY:

2pm checked in to the hospital

2:45pm dr came and broke my water

3:15 started pitocin

3:30pm epidural

5:50 dr came to check me and I was 8cm 

6:50 started pushing

7:02 Kinsley Rae was born!!!!

We had a wonderful team of nurses and of course I just love my doctor! She has delivered both of our girls and I am so thankful for her. I didn't have to push nearly as long with Kinsley as I did with Avery, but both deliveries were quick and easy for me. (Gotta love those epidurals!) 

Checking in and signing my life away....

Last picture as a family of 3!

ichatting with Justin, Adriane and Micah

My love

So thankful for my parents

KINSLEY!!!!!!

Avery meeting Kinsley for the first time.

Avery absolutely loved Kinsley from the moment she met her. She wouldn't stop giving her hugs and kisses- it was the sweetest sight ever.

The big sister!

Family of 4--- I have never been happier!
Not sure if you can read Avery's shirt, but we had this made as a way to tell our parents Kinsley's name.
The front of the shirt says "Kinsley Rae's big sister" 

FaceTime with my sister, Amanda! 

The back of the shirt

The proud grandparents and their granddaughters!

Kinsley and her head full of dark hair! I LOVE IT!

The proud Daddy!

Avery showing Kinsley her shirt

Tuckered out after a long day for us all! I love these precious Daddy Daughter moments. :)