Happy One Month Birthday Makenzie!

Time sure does fly by when you have a new baby.  I feel like it was just yesterday that I was counting down the weeks until her arrival, and now it has already been one month since her birth!

Many of our days are spent changing diapers, feeding little miss, and sleeping when she sleeps.  Although I have to say lately I have been finding a routine that works for us so we can get things done around the house also.  Time management, I thought it was important when I was in college playing soccer, going to school, and working.  Boy is it crucial to manage your time with a newborn in the house.

As for Makenzie she is really getting a hang of scheduling her day.  over the past couple of weeks she has developed a rather nice schedule that fits with our lifestyle rather nicely.  She wakes up around 7am and goes to bed around 8pm, with many feedings, play times, and naps in between.  She is now sleeping solid 3-4 hour chunks throughout the night, waking only three times to feed between bedtime and wake up time.  It's amazing how rejuvenated you can feel after only 4 hours of sleep. ;)

She has also been enjoying more tummy time and playtime on her jungle mat, her new swing (which I love!), and the great outdoors.  Makenzie still loves to go outside and stare at everything.  She is so alert and aware of the things around her, it's fun to watch her examine the world around her.

She has started to take a bottle every once in a while and she loves it and so does Ross, and well so do I!

Here are a few things that have really come in handy in our first month of parenthood.

• Babywise:   I guess it is a controversial parenting book, but honestly the information on feed, wake, sleep scheduling is great.  At four week Makenzie already has her own schedule and not by anything we did, it just came about naturally.  I think it's important to have a few resources on hand and I definitely recommend this one to all new moms & soon to be moms.
• Gripe Water:  Found at any baby store or CVS, this stuff has really helped Makenzie'z gassiness and helped with decreasing her spit-ups.
• Pacifier:  I have to admit I was on the fence about using them this early (or at all), but in the end it is nice to use in those moments at 3am when she won't fall asleep after a feeding and all she needs is a little something to suck on.
• Aden and Anais Swaddle blankets:  Now I wouldn't usually be brand specific but these blankets are the BEST!  They are perfect for hot summer nights (we don't have AC so some nights are pretty warm in our house) and great for super snug swaddles.  

I am looking forward to the many adventures month number two has in store for us while trying to soak in the memories we have made in this first month.  God is Great!

Here are a few more photographs of Makenzie from her first month of life.

 

Someone's not very happy. (at the hospital)                    On my way to lunch with Auntie Ky.

At the Doctor's office for a checkup.                                          Cuddle time with mommy.

My Tia came to visit me!                                      I'm wide awake during the newborn photos.

Daddy feeding me my first bottle. 

Cuddle time with Daddy!

One of my many faces.

                     "no more pictures MOM"

SMILES!

I'm trying to sit up like a big girl.

We hope you all have had a wonderful week and we wish you a great Labor Day Weekend!

~ Miss Kasie & Makenzie ~

3 weeks old

What we've been up to this past week...

Bath Time:  We may be transitioning to sink baths soon.  Her umbilical cord has fallen off and her belly button is healing very nicely.  

Tummy Time:  This week she has been enjoying more tummy time.  She loves her play mat that she got from the Duncan family.  She even rolled from her tummy to her back twice!  It is pretty funny because she kicks out her legs and her body gets rocking and then she just flops over.  It will be much more graceful when she learns how to control her body to do what she wants it to do.  I love watching her developmental progress.

Coordination:  Her movements are becoming less jerky and more fluid.  We couldn't believe it when she wrapped her hands around the bottle as Ross fed her for the first time!  Her ability to track with her eyes is improving so much!  When she has made eye contact with you and you move slightly to the left and right he will follow you.  

Those are just a few of the fun things we've been doing this week.  We are excited to celebrate her being one month old next week!  I am sure we will have many pictures to share!  

We hope you all had a wonderful weekend!!

Many blessings to you all!

~ Miss Kasie ~

2 Weeks old!

What we've been up to:

• Trying to get caught up on sleep whenever we can.  It is much harder to sleep when Makenzie is sleeping than I thought.  I am constantly trying to get things done, but I need to try harder to sleep more.  
• Visiting with friends and family.
• Trying to establish some sort of routine as our "new normal".  I'll keep you posted on how that works out.  
• Makenzie and I are still trying to find our rhythm. 

What Makenzie's been up to:

• Sleeping, eating, and pooping.
• She has been sleeping much better, and is falling asleep after her nighttime feedings now. 
• She loves to be outside.  If she is ever fussy all she needs to be happy is a walk around the property.
• She had her first doctor's appointment on Friday.  She is doing well and she gained 4 ounces at her weight check today so she is now above her birth weight!
• She has also been enjoying some tummy time lately. 

We've definitely been able to slow things down a bit since the first week.  We haven't had too many outings, just a few trips to the store and a few errands.  

We had a newborn photo-shoot with my sister-in-law Chris, of crownmemories.com.  I thought feeding Makenzie before hand would put her in a nice sleep for posing and such, but she had other plans.  She was awake for a lot of the time which made for some funny faces.  We will try again soon.  Here are some of our favorites though!

Our first week home with Makenzie Lynne

On Sunday, August 4th we were discharged from the hospital and made our way back home with Makenzie Lynne to be greeted by my in-laws all standing along the lane with this wonderful display!  Notice the soccer balls in the hoop for Makenzie to play with in a few months.  :D

Our first night home was well, as good as any first night home with a newborn can be.  She fed well but the going to sleep in the middle of the night part was a little tricky.  We learned a few things that first night; the pack 'n' play is far too big for her right now and she was not having any of it, and the By Your Side Sleeper is a lifesaver!  (Thank you Krishawn!!!) She is much more comfortable sleeping in that on our bed.  Granted now we feel the need to get a King size bed, but for a couple months I will sacrifice my bed space if that means my baby girl will sleep well at night.  

Makenzie seems to be a little bit confused by day time and night time, but I am not minding the extended cuddle sessions throughout the day.  Ross and I have also found our roles in parenthood.  I, the morning person take the early shift, and Ross takes the late shift.  In the late hours I will feed her and Ross will rock her to sleep so that I can get some rest before the next feeding.  So far, this routine and shared responsibility has proven pretty effective.  

What we've been up to:

• Taking more photos than I ever thought I could in a 24 hour period and then posting them on various social media sources.  I apologize if your feed is full of our baby. :)
• Taking every chance I get to snuggle with Makenzie and staring into her beautiful grey-blue eyes.
• Trying to establish some sort of routine.  I'll keep you posted on how that works out. 

Baby things we couldn't live without:

• By your side sleeper
• Newborn Diapers! She is too small for the cloth ones and probably will be for a while.
• Footed onesies (they are so comfy and socks always fall off her tiny feet)
• Boppy!  
• Friends and family who offer to bring us dinner!  

What Makenzie's been up to:

• Sleeping, Sleeping, and more sleeping usually in 2-3 hour blocks of time especially at night when she finally falls asleep.
• Pooping when someone opens her diaper.
• Peeing on mama's lap at night time.
• Going to the store to pick up more diapers and some warmer newborn clothes.
• Attending her first wedding.  
• Accomplished her ability to track with both her eyes in unison.  
• Working on breastfeeding.  She almost has it down pat. (Mommy is also still trying to get the hang of it.

I can't believe one week has already gone by.  It seems like I was in the hospital just yesterday!  I sometimes just get teary eyed thinking that I finally have my baby in my arms and I just feel so blessed by God for this precious gift he has given my husband and I.  I was told that there is nothing better than seeing your husband hold your baby girl for the first time.  It's true, except I have to say I fall in love with Ross all over again every time he holds Makenzie or when I hear him tell her she's beautiful while changing her diaper.


Here a couple pictures from Page and Ema's wedding last night.

The youngest single lady at the wedding.  

Daddy didn't let her catch the bouquet though, not until she's 30!!!

Family Photo

Makenzie Lynne's Birth Story ~ August 2nd, 2013 ~

We may have missed our post on Wednesday but I assure you these next few posts are going to be totally worth it!!

Here is the story of Makenzie Lynne’s arrival on August 2nd, 2013 at 9:03am.

Let’s start at the beginning, shall we.  

Wednesday, July 31st: 

Ross and I were in the Doctor’s office for our 38 week appointment.  I was still only dilated 1-2cm and 50% effaced and our Doctor began to talk to us about our birth plan and the likelihood of an induction.  She recommended that we go home and discuss at what point we would consider induction (she recommended between 7-10 days overdue).  She was adamant that I wouldn’t be able to fight them for going much past 10 days.  

My birth plan consisted of the following:

I want to go as natural as possible but I am not ruling any options out at this point.  However, I would love to not have to have a c-section if at all possible and would like to go into labor on my own, I’m just not a fan of being induced medically.  

Thursday, August 1st:

Just a normal Thursday, Ross and I went to the gym to get a swim workout (me) and a weights workout (Ross) in for the day.  As we were swimming our first laps I had only gone down and back once and had felt an interesting sensation in my lower abdomen.  It felt like slight discomfort but was nothing that concerned me, it was just a little different.  The discomfort subsided shortly and we continued our workout.  Later that afternoon I felt the discomfort again and this time it lasted a little longer, but again it subsided.  It wasn’t until late afternoon that the discomfort came back, this time a little bit stronger.  This is about the time when I decided to download a contraction monitoring app (just in case).  At 6:30pm I decided to start tracking when the discomfort began and stopped.  By now the discomfort felt more like period cramps in both the lower front of my abdomen and in my lower back.  

Ross was going to be leaving for work around 9:00pm so I began to research what early labor was.  Ross didn’t believe me when I told him I thought I was in early labor, but in the books early labor could last days to weeks so I wasn’t too worried about it especially being a week and half from my due date.  As the night went on I began to consider this discomfort to be contractions since it would come and go similar to my braxton hicks but completely different at the same time; different location and different pain.  I had posted about my irregular contractions and was wondering if they were real or false labor pains.  I had several people recommend calling my doctor and several that said it wasn’t anything to worry about.  I decided to stick with the 5-1-1 rule.  I didn’t want to be that lady that goes in at 2cm with false labor pains just to be sent home.  So Ross left for work at 9:00pm and I turned on Grown Ups for a good laugh.  

Halfway through the movie I called my sister in law next door and asked if she had a minute to talk about labor pains.  We talked for a while and I was having sporadic contractions that were starting to feel a little stronger.  She went home after a little while and I decided to watch some more movies.  I wasn’t very tired.  I finally decided to call my doctor around midnight and he said that because my pain level wasn’t a 7-8 and the contractions weren’t consistent that I didn’t need to go anywhere.  He actually said he wouldn’t be surprised if I had our baby in the next 3-5 days!  I was shocked!.  So I called  Ross and my mom with the update.  My mom recommended trying to get some sleep and that laying down might help ease the pain of the contractions.  That was a big fat negative!  After almost 40 minutes I couldn’t take laying down, the only position that provided any sort of relief was laying on an exercise ball and rocking back and forth.  by this point the contractions were averaging between 5-8 minutes apart and a minute long  or longer.  Still I was thinking that’s not good enough to warrant calling again.  The first contraction where I got sick I thought “something is up, I didn’t eat anything bad, I’m not sick, hmm”.  So I decided to track even more seriously between 1:00am and 2:00am.  If the contractions were less than 5 minuted apart during this time I was calling again!  

Wouldn’t you know it, the contractions increased in strength, I began vomiting with the super strong ones, and they were coming every 3-5 minutes and lasting for 1+ minutes.  2:00am hit and I called my doctor.  Sure enough he said to go to Labor and Delivery and get checked out.  So I called Ross, and I called my sister in law and asked if she was ready for “round 1” (I really didn’t think I would stay at the hospital), and I called my mom.  

I was admitted at 2:45am and was dilated to 4cm!!! Ross was on his way straight from work and my mom and sister hopped in the car and headed to Walnut Creek.  In an hour’s time the contractions had gotten so much stronger it was difficult to breathe through them but Ross was so helpful.  My water broke naturally as I was taking a bathroom break and my nurse asked if I wanted to be checked again.  In one hour I had gone from 4cm to 8cm!!!  Here is my reaction, “8!!!! What!!!!! Is there still time for an epidural?”  I had waved the white flag, I wasn’t going to try to be a hero.  I had experienced quite a bit of the birth experience and now I really wanted to be able to enjoy the birthing process so they hooked me up with an epidural and it was glorious!

Shortly after being administered the epidural and it had taken I was feeling pretty good.  I felt the tightness in my belly from the contractions but that was it, no pain!  All of a sudden a flood of nurses rush into our room, one checks my cervix, one quickly puts an oxygen mask on me, and others are just busy doing something.  I look at Ross like, “what is going on?” and he gives me the same look.  The nurses worked so fast without saying a word to each other, or to me.  Then a nurse says they are going to put me head down and before I know it my bed swings up and my feet are in the air and my head is tipped down.  “What is going on???” Is all I can think.  Then a nurse tells me I am getting a shot of medicine to slow labor.  huh??? I was so confused.

Apparently Makenzie nose dived into my pelvic cavity and her heart rate had dropped.  At this point I was at 10 cm and station +2!  I knew that meant delivery was right around the corner, so I thought.  The medicine definitely worked.  Her heart rate was regulated and she moved back up and I dilated down to 9.5cm.  The nurse said I would labor on my own for an hour and then they would check me to see how things were going. 

I ended up “laboring down” for about 2 hours and had dilated back to 10cm and was fully ready, then at 8:00am my nurse said I was having a strong contraction and that I should push so I started pushing!  

When all the commotion was going on my mom and sister were still 20 minutes from the hospital and Ross had texted them to “Hurry, Hurry!”  They finally arrived after the craziness had settled down and I had pushed a few times.  

My support team finally complete, and just in the nick of time too.  I pushed for the next hour and at 9:03am I pushed my last time and she was here at 6 pounds, 12 ounces; 18.5 inches after 14.5 hours of labor.

Here are some more shots of our new family of three during our stay in the hospital.

A very proud Daddy

A very tired but happy Mommy.

The new and improved Crown Family.