McKenzie is 8 Months

I have been so bad! I can't believe how behind I am on my blog and updates about McKenzie. I am working on  going fill in each month, with what I can remember. But that will take a bit of time, so I wanted to at least get the current month up. I actually feel like quite a terrible mom for not keeping better track of her milestones and everything. So much changes each month, week even, that I really should have been better about it all, but I have been having too much fun being in the moment with her (and getting some work done too) that I just never made the time. But, I decided if I make it simple enough and just jot down a few of the big things each month I should be more successful. So, let's begin - 8 months, holy cow! When did that happen?

2 Months Old!?!

2 months?!? Well slightly more than two months thanks to, once again, my delay in posting this. I was bad before, but now that I actually have this precious little one that gets the majority of my attention, I am even worse. Some days I look at her and she is still this tiny little nugget and others, I can't believe how much she has grown! 

As the weeks gone on, she stays awake more and more which means a few more fussy moments, but mostly she is a happy, smiley baby who loves to look round and take in all the new things around her. this complicates nap times a bit, because she doesn't want to miss a thing, but it is so fun to watch her discover new things in her every day surroundings. And she loves meeting new people. She gets the biggest smiles when they talk to her and pay attention to her. It's so fun!

Her 2 month well-baby visit came with a round of vaccinations (4 shots and 1 oral). She, of course, cried when they gave her the shots but calmed down and went to sleep pretty quickly. We got home, did her 2 month little photo shoot and she did great through that as well. It was about an hour later, mid-nap, that she got super fussy. She would wake from a dead sleep and scream in pain. So, we pretty much cuddled all afternoon/early evening on the couch. She'd wake up every 20 minutes or so screaming. It was heart breaking. After Mac got home (with some infant Tylenol) she calmed down and I took her for a run in the jogging stroller to get some fresh air. That helped a bit as well. She still slept like a champ that night and was fine by the next day - although I swear she kept watching me to see if I was going to stab her with another needle.

This month saw a few more baby sitters as well. I am working with AZ Spa Girls again on the Summer Spaaah Series which means I had to leave little nugget for 7 hours! Up until then, I had not had a problem leaving her with people, but those were just an hour or two at a time. It was very hard to give her to Chrissy for the night (even though she is who I get most of my parenting cues from). But once the event started I was so busy that it wasn't as bad as I thought. We also started our weekly play dates at Aunt Susans so I can get a few hours a week to focus on the things I need to do that week. We are so lucky to have such supporting and helpful people in our lives. 

2 months old: 
Weight: 9 pounds 14 ounces - 15th percentile (Birth: 6 lbs 14 oz) 
Height: 22.25 inches - 40th percentile (Birth: 21 in)
Head: 15.75 inches - 93rd percentile (Birth: 12.25 in)

Our pediatrician said she is still doing great and that with her movement on the table could roll over any day :)

MILESTONES
Smiling
Recognizes mom's voice
Looks for mom 
Strong neck
Strong legs

12 days old

FIRSTS
bath
Easter
trip to Tucson
Time being babysat (by Grandpa and Grandma Mac)

17 days old

LIKES
Tummy time so she she can look around and move her head
Bouncing
Daddy playing piano
Being in the sling/backpack
The car's air condition on full blast 
Practicing standing
Making faces

DISLIKES
The car seat
Being hot (she will seriously be fine with freezing toes, but the minutes I turn the air down she will scream)

20 days old

EATING
From day one McKenzie has been an excellent breastfeeder. I was worried when we had to start supplementing her with formula to help get rid of the jaundice, but she switched from one to the other effortlessly. Which then gave me confidence that giving her a pacifier would not derail our plans, so that came into play much earlier than I thought (and has been a life saver in many situations already). She has multiple personalities when eating, it really jsut depends on her mood. Most of the time she is kind of a lazy eater. She will eat for a bit, then start to nod off and realize she's eating so immediately wakes up and starts at it like she is starving to prove she is not ready to stop. Other times she is down to business and eats consistently for 15-20 minutes and then stops. Then we also have her excited eating where she is so excited at the thought of eating that she can't quite seem to get latched on - that's my favorite because she is just so funny! 

I have also started building up my freezer supply by pumping and at our appointment the Dr said to bottle feed her 1-2 times a week to get her used to feeding from a bottle and someone else for when she is being cared for by others. Apparently some babies refuse bottles. McKenzie doesn't seem to be picky though - she;s a little piggy and will take food however you want to give it to her. But, this gives Mac an opportunity to have some more bonding time with her - she is very much a momma's girl right now.

For a little bit there I felt like my life was just a constant 2 hour cycle and I was just waiting for the next 15-20 minute feeding to start, but it feels less and less like that each day. In fact, we have stretched days feeds to about 3 (sometimes 4) hours apart and her nights (which have always been longer) is about 4-5 hours apart.

24 days old

SLEEPING
In the early weeks, McKenzie spent the majority of her time sleeping.  Most of the time I had to set a timer and wake her up to eat (which probably accounted for the earlier feeling I mentioned) Then she started staying awake each day for the entire time between 1 or 2 feedings, but I'd still have to wake her up for the other feedings. Now she usually wakes up between 3 and 3.5 hours because she is hungry.

At night we have always been pretty lucky. From the time we brought her home, she was consistently sleeping an hour or 2 longer at night than during the day. The first time it happened I felt so bad, and set my alarm to wake her up like I did during the day, but the doctor said it was ok to let her sleep longer at night  so now she falls asleep around 11:30, wakes up around 3:30, goes right back down and gets up around 6:30  or 7. Since I am definitely not ready to get up at 7, after she eats we have our morning cuddle session in bed and sleep for another 2 to 3 hours. It's probably my favorite part of the day to be honest.

She is much more awake and alert now though. She likes to look around and see what's around her. From time-to-time she will just stop and stare at something (usually nothing more than a shadow or corner of a wall) for what seems like forever. I spend a lot of this time talking to her, holding her, bouncing her and recently, playing with her little arms and legs which she loves to move around so much. She also makes the funniest faces when she is awake so I love to watch her and make funny faces back. When daddy has her, they practice standing and funny faces too. Her little legs are so strong and she loves to be up on them. 

She spends most of her day time naps in her portable rocker thing and then nights in the bassinet by our bed. She's was not a fan of her swing at first, but is slowly getting used to it and dare I say, even starting to like it a bit :) The pack and play is still really just for changing her downstairs and her crib is just pretty for now although the change of scenery the few times I have laid her in it calms her down from a fuss - but not for long.

4 weeks old

Well I think that's all for now. I promise I am going to to be better about blogging and posting pictures to her Facebook Group (it's private, so if you want in just message me). I am pretty good about her Instagram, so make sure you are following her if you want pictures. 

Must-Have Monday: 6 Week Favorites

Six fabulous weeks of being a mommy have already flown by and I have come to learn that certain items make life much easier because they exist. So, I thought I would follow mommy-blogger trend and put together a list of my favorites. This is not to say there aren't several other items that McKenzie and I use regularly that could be easily be added to the list, but I tried (key word: tried) to keep the list to a minimum since it is supposed to be favorites. But, those who know me also know I have lots of room to love many things (3 majors in college, 10 bridesmaids, over 100 pairs of heels ...) so it is a bit longer than I originally intended. None-the-less, here are the items I have grown to love and depend on over the past 6 weeks.

McKenzie Grace - 1 Month Old (a week late)

Our baby is one months old! Well one month and one week because I am just a tad behind on blogging - you would think that being home on maternity leave I would have more than enough time to blog - but somehow it just is not the case. Did you know maternity leave is nothing like vacation and the days are just as busy/exhausting as those spent in the office? But I digress and staring at her kicking her legs, cracking smiles and cooing/babbling away, I wonder "How in the world has it been over a month already?" I am absolutely in awe of her on a daily basis.  I still cannot believe that this little baby is the one that was growing, kicking and hiccuping in my belly for 9 months. 

5 days old

McKenzie's Birth Story

I know it's been awhile since I last blogged, but i have been a little busy having a baby and trying to figure out this whole being a mom thing. Man! It's exhausting, but I have never been happier.

Let's start from the beginning.

On Thursday, March 21st I got about halfway through the work day when I just started not feeling so well and, with the much appreciated persistence of one of my co-workers, decided to finish up what I was working on and head home a little early.

So, I got home and tried to decide if the cramps were just cramps or actual contractions. Once they started feeling more regular, I began timing them with my fancy pregnancy app. After several hours of debating whether I was in labor or not, they started following the pattern we were told to watch for (5 contractions within one hour, each 1 minute or longer). So ... I hopped in the shower (they didn't hurt very bad so I figured I still had quite a ways to go) and took my time blowing out my hair before heading to the hospital.

We got all checked in and sent back to OB Triage, but everyone kept saying "You look too happy to be having a baby". Knowing what I know now, they were right ...

 last picture of the bump

Representing NAU since McKenzie has already been bombarded with Wildcat and Sun Devil nonsense.

Wardrobe Wrap Up: Styling the Bump 33 & 34 Weeks

 For those who do not know, my attempt at walking Miss McKenzie out were successful. Shortly after positing the previous blog Mac and I headed to the zoo and by 5pm (exactly 5pm to be precise) our daughter was here. Birth story blog to follow!

For now, I have some catching up to do on the wardrobe posts - although it seems a bit weird to be posting pregnant pictures of myself now that our little one is here ... hmm. anyway, here we go.

Miss McKenzie is asleep on my chest as I write these, so for now, I am just going to list the items that I know off the top of my head.

Blue Sweater: H&M; Grey Leggings: Forever 21; Black Boots: Shoe Dazzle

Wardrobe Wrap Up: Styling the Bump 32 & 33 Weeks

I am admittedly slacking (severely) slacking on the wardrobe wrap-ups I aspired to start doing, but it is not for lack of trying. I did take the effort to assemble my best attempts at fashionable outfits, and even photographed them. But, for some reason I kept failing to upload them to this blog as intended. As I got further and further from the original post date, I was less and less diligent about taking the photos and then, once the heels went, pretty much stopped all together. So, I have a few to catch up on, and rather than slapping them all in one blog post, I am changing the formula a bit.

I am going to posts a few photos at a time and make it more reminiscent of times when I didn't have to stuff swollen feet in ballet flats and find clothes that don't make me look like the marshmallow puff man from Ghostbusters. Here goes nothing ;) Photos below are from weeks 32 and 33.

Button Up Shirt:  I will have to find this one - sorry! Sweatshirt: Gap Maternity; Jeans: I got them at Savvy Sale - so I will need to look up where they originally came from; Sash: Etsy Shop - FantsyYouFashion