First Easter!

Kaylie is coming up on 11 weeks old tomorrow and has just celebrated her first Easter, but she slept through most of it!   But then, that is not particularly different from any other day.  The top photo is one of many photo attempts we made to try and capture her at home.  Photography is definitely not my calling.  I think I am going to have to rely on one of  the great beauties of digital media.  That is if the picture is not that great, delete!  No film wasted.  I suppose if you take enough photos, some have to turn out okay, right?  The second photo was taken outside Jana's parents home.  

Kaylie continues to sleep through the night so we are very relieved.  What a difference.  The gas also seems to be getting better.  Hopefully she is growing out of it.  We also made progress on the bath front.  Up until the last week, Kaylie absolutely hated baths.  We're talking primal screams hatred.  Her  little tub had this type of hammock that was strung across the tub to keep her from getting submerged.  I noticed that she had the same look in her eyes while in the hammock that she has when I am moving her through the air to go to the tub.  It seemed like she was afraid she was falling.  We opted to removed the hammock device and each bath has gotten progressively better.  They are bordering on peaceful.  Not there yet, but SIGNIFICANT improvements.

She also continues to grow.  I'll try to have some of my weight estimates next post.  I'm guessing she is 12 pounds or more by now.  We're working on tummy time now to strengthen her neck.  No problems on the lungs or legs so I'm sure she'll be rolling around in no time.

Here's to Peaceful Nights!

Kaylie Chillin' in her swing

Where's Kaylie? (our version of Where's Waldo)

The photos above were taken in the last week or so. As you can see, Kaylie is really growing. We need to weigh her as I'm sure she is at least 11.5 to 12 pounds. She is REALLY filling out. She is continuing to interact more and more. Lots of cooing, laughing and eye contact. She is still having the periods of fussiness, but hopefully she will be growing out of that in the next few weeks or months. I think it has gotten a little better, or perhaps I'm just getting a little acclimated to it.

Jana started back to work this week, so it has been an adventure during the mornings. We're still working on exactly what time we need to start our morning in order to drop Kaylie off and get into work at a reasonable time. This week, we had a friend baby sit Kaylie in our home on Monday, and then Jana's mom watched her Wednesday through Thursday. Jana is only working 4 days a week now, so she is at home with Kaylie on Fridays.

The really good news is Kaylie's sleep pattern. This week she started sleeping through the night!! We try to get her down by 10:30 PM but it is often 11:00 or 11:30 PM by the time she falls to sleep (ie stops crying..). The first night she woke around 5 or 5:30 AM. The next day was 6 and by Thursday I was waking her at 6:15 or 6:20 so I could feed her. Of course, it is still taking a us a few more days for our sensitivity to dissipate. The first couple of nights she slept the night through, I was still awake and listening for her. Since it has been four days in a row, we are hopeful that we are over the middle of the night feedings. I am sure there will be other reasons for middle of the night wake ups. But here's to peaceful nights!

Where does the time go??

Hanging with her peeps (or sheeps )

Rarrr!

I REALLY wanted to do a better job of updating this blog. I am sure many of you are not surprised. None the less, I will continue to offer my empty promises to do better! Above are a couple of photos taken in the last two weeks. As you can see, she is really filling out.

Tomorrow (March 24) Kaylie will be 8 weeks old. On Friday we took her in a little early for her 2 month Doctor visit. Originally, Jana thought she would start back to work this week, but it turns out she is at home for one more week. The good news is Kaylie is right on track growth wise. She is still at the 50 percentile but has remained consistent on the growth charts with her first visit. She is now 10 pounds 7 ounces and 22.5 inches long.

We are still trying to isolate the source of Kaylie's fussiness. We don't think it is all formula related because some feedings she is just fine. None the less, the pediatrician did suggest another formula in the Enfamil family and gave us a few small cans to try. We will be starting that in the next day. We delayed to make sure we got past the post shot fussiness.

So, all in all, we are doing well. Thank you to everyone for the well wishes and inquiries. We appreciate your interest and support. And for those of you wondering where your "thank you" notes are, they are coming! Jana is doing pretty well with hers. I on the other hand, am only slightly better at blogging than writing thank you notes! My apologies for the delay.

Almost 4 Weeks Old!

Wow! It is so hard to believe that it has been almost 4 weeks since our journey to Florida began. The photos above were taken during this past week. In the top photo, Kaylie is having a nap in an outfit from Mimi. Polka dots rock! In the bottom photo, Kaylie is looking up lovingly at her Dad who is holding her. Alright, she is probably looking over my shoulder lovingly at Jana, but I think she glanced at me a couple of times.

This Tuesday, Kaylie will be four weeks old. It's funny how some days it seems like she was born just yesterday and at other times it feels like she has been a part of our life for so much longer. Jana and I were reminding ourselves that we have to keep taking pictures. Time will go by so fast and we don't want to miss any key photo opportunities.

Overall, Kaylie is doing great. She is a big eater so she is growing without a doubt. We'll do an unofficial weigh in sometime in the next few days so that we can compare to her two week weight. But knowing her eating patterns, she has to be well above the two week weight. The only downside has been a recent development of fussiness during the late evening feedings. It seems like the feeding around 8:30 to 9:00 PM is followed by crying and fussiness that segues straight into 11:30 PM to Midnight or slightly later. It makes for a tough next day! I'm sure it will be short lived, but if anyone has some parental suggestions, let us know!

For all our friends and family, I apologize for not posting some updated photos sooner. We'll do our best to keep that from happening again!

Home at Last!

It has been a couple of days since my last post. We finally made it home late Saturday night. It was a long day but Kaylie traveled extremely well. She was a little grumpy on Saturday night and a little on Sunday, but that is understandable given such a long travel day. Especially so, since this was only her third trip beyond the confines of the hospital or hotel!

We just came from her 2 week pediatrician visit and she weighed in at 7 pounds 1 oz which is well over her birth weight of 6 pounds 12 ounces! The Dr said she looked great and all is well. She even grew a little as she is now over 19 inches long. We couldn't be happier.

I also wanted to mention how extremely thankful Jana and I are to have been chosen by Kaylie's birth mom Sena. We are so fortunate to have such a caring birth mom. Not to mention, we had the pleasure of spending a little time with Sena, her parents and daughter and they made us feel right at home. We became proponents of open adoption very early but this experience thus far has done nothing but make that stronger. We look forward to sharing more with Sena and her family as Kaylie grows. You can never have too many people who really love you and in that regard, Kaylie, and we in turn, are blessed!

A Quick Visit in Charlotte

Well, we are on our way home. We were fortunate to be able to see my parents at the airport at Charlotte. Because of the difficulty of getting through security with a baby, my parents were able to get a gate pass to meet us in the airport. Not perfect but great to see Mimi and Pepa!

This Just In

Well, shortly after I posted my last update, we received an email from the Florida agency which was followed by a call from our California agency. Our interstate paperwork has been approved and we are now able to travel home! At this point, with the various change fees, it does not make a lot of sense to try to leave tomorrow, so we will keep our plans to return on Saturday. Yeah!!!