Kyle - 1 Month

Our sweet baby is one month old already!   It kind of feels like he's been here forever but at the same time, he is still tiny, so it's also hard to believe he's really 1 month old.

Kyle is a sweet little baby. He likes to be held, be wrapped up tight in swaddle blankets, eat, and likes his "plug".

He doesn't enjoy being put down when he is awake, although will tolerate it if he has a "plug" and/or is swaddled. :)

I LOVE having a newborn around.  Oh how I love babies!  I swear there is nothing better.

The kids all love him too.  They ask to hold him frequently.  Lainey is deeply in love with her baby brother.  She gushes about how cute he is all day long.  :)

Kyle is by far our tiniest baby.  He was the 3rd smallest at birth (Lainey was 6lbs 7 ounces, Kyle 6lbs 12 ounces) but has been the slowest to gain weight back.  His weight bottomed out at 5lbs 15 ounces when he was about 10-11 days old.  At one month he was 7lbs 2 ounces.  The past 2-3 weeks he has gained between 1/2-1 ounce a day which is normal.

(For comparison:  Carson was 7lbs 11 ounces at birth and 11 pounds at 1 month!!!)

Kyle eats every 2-3 hours.  He often will eat on three sides (meaning back and forth and back again).  Ha!  I am still using the shield for most nursing sessions.  He can nurse without it but sometimes gets frustrated and I think it is more tiring for him so I haven't really tried to stop using it yet.

So far he has very little issues with reflux.  He has started to spit up a little and I can hear reflux sometimes but he is overall happy and it doesn't seem to impact his sleep.  I am quite shocked as the other 3 all had definite reflux issues at 4-5 weeks of age.  I am praying baby Kyle has Victor's stomach of steel!

Kyle gets up every 3 hours at night for the most part.  He slept for 6 hours once - I was up after 4 needing to feed a baby though.

His eyes are still blue but have a light right in the middle which means they are starting to change colors.  His hair is different colors - blond in the front, strawberry blond and brown in the back.  It will be fun to see what he looks like in a couple of years. 

I am feeling much better than I did two weeks ago.  I am so thankful for that.  My cough is gone and the back pain is probably 75% better.  Hallelujah!  I am pretty much back to my pre-pregnancy weight (1-2 pounds to go) but certainly less toned than a year ago.  I have been walking daily but was able to jog 3 times this week.  That felt nice! I have been starving the past two weeks and eating almost constantly which I don't remember from nursing before.  I am trying to make healthy eating decisions! Overall, I am so thankful for my health.

Kyle is a wonderful addition to our family!  I had of course been looking forward to meeting our sweet guy but having this new little baby is so much better than I remember. :) He's our last little baby so I am going to hold him and kiss him and enjoy him as much as I can during the first few months because soon enough he will be off playing. 

Notable quotes: Lainey and Carson

Lainey:

On the way home from soccer tonight Lainey says, "When I get big I will have milk." 

 I wasn't sure what she meant.  She was really lactose intolerant as a toddler so she drinks almond milk so I thought maybe she was referring to drinking cows milk.

 I asked, " You mean you'll drink cows milk like Erik."  

Lainey: "No mom.  I mean that I will have milk so I can feed babies." 

Me:  Well yes, if you have a baby someday (when you are MUCH bigger and married) then you will have milk.

Lainey:  I know Mom.  When I get milk I can help you feed baby Kyle.  He likes milk and only that makes him happy when he cries.  When I get milk I can help him when he is sad. 

Me:  That's so sweet Lainey!  You are a big helper with baby Kyle.  I'm guessing that when you are able to nurse a baby Kyle won't need milk anymore.  Hahaha! 

Carson:

Erik and Lainey managed to get themselves in trouble again this morning.  This time Carson wasn't involved as the crimes took place before he, Kyle, or I went downstairs at 6:45.  What did they do?  Climbed up on the counter and on their tippy toes managed to get the chocolate chips down from a very, very high cabinet. 

I was barely amused with the ice cream and definitely not amused this time.  I sent them upstairs to get dressed so I had time to come up with a punishment.  Victor had left them toast on the counter for breakfast before he left for work.  They didn't eat that (consumed a good 500 calories worth of chocolate a piece instead) so I decided I'd eat their toast for my breakfast.  (Don't worry I left them fruit and milk and Erik eats lunch at 10:30 -crazy).   

When they got back down they sat down for breakfast and wanted to know what happened to their toast.  I explained that since they ate my chocolate I decided to eat their toast (not super mature but I'm super sleep deprived and quite annoyed).  They didn't protest - either because they were full or knew they were wrong.

I explained to them that since they had stolen a bunch of ice cream and now a bag of chocolate chips that they needed to pay me back for that and I was going to have to take $5 from their piggy banks.  (Lainey doesn't care that much about money but Erik has been saving for a specific toy.)  They weren't happy with that but didn't protest much either.

After they ate their fruit and milk I sent them back upstairs to brush their teeth. 

Carson had been quietly watching everything and eating.  He seemed concerned and asked me, "Why you eat Lainey's toast?"  I explained again my childish retaliation techniques.  (Ha!) After eating about half his toast he stopped, put his toast on Lainey's plate and said "No eat my toast Mommy.  I share my toast with Lainey!" 

Oh my sweet little boy! 

I am fairly confident that thing 1 and thing 2 have been extra naughty somewhat unintentionally due to changes related to having a new baby.   When Carson was born their antics lasted about 2 weeks.  I am hoping they resolve themselves quickly again.  (Meanwhile I will keep making an effort to spend one on one time with all of them and continue to think up creative punishments.) 

Triple Trouble

Friday morning Victor left for work just as Kyle was waking up  (as was I).  The trio was downstairs eating breakfast so I stayed upstairs to feed Kyle and get ready for the morning.  About 25 minutes after Victor left I headed downstairs.  They were no where to be found.  I headed to the basement and promptly found the trio hiding inside of the large closet with built in shelves.  At first I suspected that they had brought the ipad down there.  I was wrong. Carson looked up at me and quite sheepishly pointed to something in the corner.  It seems the trio had utilized the 25 minutes left unattended to eat about 9 servings of ice cream.  When I asked them who was responsible, they all initially blamed someone else. Ha!  (I am fairly confident that Lainey initiated it but all 3 got into trouble.) 

I was fairly ticked (slightly amused) and sent them all promptly to their rooms while I ate breakfast.  We then went on a two mile walk/bike ride to get rid of some of that ice cream. Ha! 

Deciding to be a forgiving mom I still took them to the fair for 4 hours (by myself) but they've been banned from dessert for a week. 

We generally don't eat a lot of dessert but I do let them eat 1/2 a donut at church each week (plus 1-2 other sweets a week usually).  As we were leaving church today Carson piped up, "But I didn't get a donut!"  Haha!  I quickly reminded him that they weren't getting dessert since they ate all the ice cream.  He reminded me that Lainey "did it" but then quickly walked to the car without further complaint (clearly he knows he isn't completely innocent).  Haha! 

I do think they will think twice before raiding the freezer in the future. 

 4 at the fair 

(No school Friday so kids can participate in fair activities)

 The one and only ride Carson went on

and I had to have the ride stopped because he was so miserable.

Carson was also petrified of the animals.

He did enjoy climbing on tractors. 

 Erik is somewhere on those very fast spinning swings.

He really likes big kid rides now, poor kid was pretty limited with them

since I was there alone with all four and the lines were long for the bigger rides.

I keep waiting for him to get motion sick on the rides but so far so good.

Tired (and dirty - look at her feed) after a day at the fair

Happy Due Date!

Today is my official due date!  I am so thankful to say that even though Kyle is almost 4 weeks old, he is doing very well!  While I wouldn't wish for a 36 week delivery I am so so so happy that I am not pregnant still.  How anyone ever tolerates being pregnant for 41 weeks is beyond me!   I am very thankful for 4 very healthy (busy) kids that always felt a need to be born by 38 weeks. Ha!  I just LOVE having a newborn in the house.  He's wonderful and sweet.  Good thing I "hate" being pregnant or I'd be tempted to have another baby sometime.  But alas, this body is retired.

Here are a few photos of our sweet baby to hold you over for a bit....

 He was back to his birth weight on the 19th (6 lbs 12 ounces).

He was a little slow to start but has been gaining well the past 2 weeks.

Who's Who?

1) Erik as an infant

2) Lainey as an infant

3) Carson as an infant

4) Kyle as an infant

Impressive Writing

 

Erik completed this assignment today with no assistance from an adult.

Pretty impressive (I think) for the first month of kindergarten.

I'm happy to see he hasn't forgotten everything he learned in pre-k last year. 

Watching Erik learn to read and write has been so fun for me! 

I can't wait to see how much both he and Lainey learn this year.

If you have trouble seeing it, it says, "I like when they throw coconuts at the alligator." 

Happy Birthday Erik/Student of the Week!

Erik was kind of thrown into kindergarten this year!  We were home for the first 3 days of school but then Victor and I were out of town for an entire week.  Erik woke up to a person who is basically a stranger on Monday morning (8/26) and didn't see me again until Saturday evening.   My parents watched the kids from Monday night until we got home from the hospital which was fun for the kids. I still think having your parents gone unexpectedly for a week, knowing your mom is sick, you have a new brother, and the the baby is "sick" (jaundice) PLUS going to school all day every day for the first time in your life is a lot to handle!

Erik was convinced that he "hated" school by the time we got back but overall had done quite well during the week. 

The next week (when we were back home) he seemed happier about school.  Last Friday he came home with the class "pet" Jingles.  Jingles is sent home with the kid who is selected as student of the week.  Erik was SO excited to be picked for this and I was so thankful the teachers thought to recognize him. 

I wondered if they did this knowing his little life had been a bit chaotic.  I ate lunch with him at school this week though and the teachers aide came up to me and said, " You have the sweetest little boy.  He is kind to everyone and listens really well.  I just love having him in our class."   I ran into his teacher in the hallway and she said the same thing.  That makes a mom feel good! So I think he truly earned the student of the week title and I am pretty proud!

In addition to being selected as student of the week Erik also had his first golf lesson last weekend, a soccer game, celebrated his birthday, and went to his first sleep over (only slept for 6 hours!).  He was one happy little kid!  I was worried about how we would make his birthday special (with the new baby and soccer practice on his actual birthday) but I'm pretty sure he wasn't disappointed. 

Here are some photos from his big weekend!

 First golf lesson with James

Nothing makes Erik happier than spending time with James!

 Erik, Jingles, and Ricky

 Birthday celebration for Erik and James at the bowling alley

Ricky and Tyler also live on our block - pretty nice!

 Joint Ice Cream Cake for the best friends and birthday boys

The sleep over was at James' house

The party was originally just for James but he and James have

the same friends so Lauren quickly agreed to a joint party (helping me out big time!).

Opening presents at home

On his actual birthday both Erik and Lainey had soccer, at separate fields.

I ate lunch with him at school, we saved a few presents for him that day, and we took him out for ice cream.

Happy 6th Birthday to my sweet Erik! 

Kyle - 2 weeks

I'm happy to report that things have improved significantly since the last update.

 Kyle still needs the shield for nursing but definitely seems to have better nursing stamina now than he did even two days ago.  He is still a 1/2 pound under his birth weight (6 lbs 4 oz now) but when we got the infant scale on Thursday he was 6 lbs 0 oz so we are headed in the right direction.  I am feeling much less stressed about nursing and am just praying nothing else comes along that would disrupt it. 

Kyle is still somewhat jaundiced, but noticable mainly in his face/eyes, which is good because jaundice "spreads" from the head down to the toes.  (The higher the bilirubin the more noticeable it will be on his trunk and extremities.)  His pediatrician was not worried.  I will call if it doesn't seem to improve gradually but overall I think he looks good.

Kyle is starting to wake up more.  He has big blue eyes that we get to see a little more often now.  He is a calm, sweet baby.  He wakes on his own to feed and definitely lets us know when he is hungry but otherwise he is a pretty laid back little baby (so far).

Kyle is loved by all his siblings.  They request to hold him multiple times a day.  No naughty behavior from the older siblings yet.  Victor is transitioning back to work slowly this week.  He is staying home for bus duty.  I can't quite yet get myself and 4 kids dressed, fed, and ready for school by 8:30 every day, particularly when Kyle wants to nurse from 7:00 - 8:00 everyday.  So I have 6 more days to figure that out!

I am starting to feel like myself.  I still am coughing some and have a lot of back pain but it is significantly better than it was a week ago.  I have been getting out on some walks (armed with ice water and cough drops) but am so far from being able to run.  I find that shocking because I was running up to 6 miles at a time until 34 weeks 2 days of pregnancy (right when the virus from hell set in, shortly followed by the pre-eclampsia).   I am hoping that I will feel closer to being able to run again in another couple of weeks.  (The inability to run now has nothing to do with being post-partum - it is solely due to the lingering respiratory side effects of the pneumonia.) 

I have decided that for the moment at least, this past month has been a reminder that it's okay to slow down a bit!  So, for the next few weeks I am going to try to just enjoy a slower pace of life than I am used to. 

I love having a sweet new baby in the house.  He's a wonderful addition to our family and we are so so thankful he is here safe and sound!

 Last day with 4 kids 5 and under 

(Big day for Erik tomorrow)

Sweet little Kyle is starting to wake up a bit!

Carson "Reading"

Erik read the book "Peek-a-Boo" Bard to Carson tonight.  A few minutes later I caught Carson reading the book to himself.  Too cute!

Kyle - 9 Days Old

How is Ann?

Much better than last week at this time, but still recovering.  This has been my hardest labor and recovery for sure.  I really feel like I was put in the spin cycle and am now just trying to pick up the pieces of myself that have been scattered all over the place.  Frustrating because after delivering Lainey and Carson I felt completely normal almost immediately.  Oh well.

So the pneumonia has definitely improved but my cough is still awful.  The left side of my back is extremely painful from all the coughing I have done during the past 3 weeks.   The cough is improving, slowly, because now I can sleep halfway laying down and am only taking the cough syrup with codeine once a day instead of every 4 hours.  I am going to the chiropractor this afternoon to see if he can help my back out.  That will be my first trip out of the house/hospital in almost 2 weeks.   I have gone on a few, slow and short walks since getting home.  (Anything more than 20 minutes or at a normal pace leaves me winded.)  I am on my last day of antibiotics.  Hopefully things won't get any worse.  I am looking forward to being done though because the Augmetin gives me an awful stomach ache.  I can't wait until I physically feel like myself again.

From a OB stand point I feel great, back to normal completely for the most part.

This past three weeks of misery has reminded me just how grateful I should be for my overall good health.  I have been quite miserable but it's all temporary and really nothing more than an inconvenience.  I don't know how people go through a major illness without becoming completely cynical and depressed.  Quite impressive.

How is Kyle?

He's been cleared from a jaundice stand point.  His bilirubin level was checked on Monday and was 12.9.  That's higher than they were when we left the hospital but his color looks good, he is alert (as any newborn is), and doing fine.  Our pediatrician didn't think any follow up was needed.  If he becomes more yellow and acts super tired she asked me to call.  I looked it up and for pre-term babies a bilirubin under 15 is considered normal at this point.  Hopefully, he will continue to do well.

Feeing is the biggest/only issue Kyle was at the moment.  5 days of bottles given to a pre-term baby does not lead to pleasant nursing.  Thankfully he is doing okay.  He was completely refusing to nurse but we bought some nipple shields and that helps a lot.  He has 2-3 good nursings sessions a day.  It's very obvious when he is getting a good amount of milk.  Those feeding take about 25 minutes.  The rest of the feedings are pretty piss poor.  He tries to nurse really earnestly!  But I think his sucking strength is a little wimpy.  So the piss poor feeds take an hour or more before he is full.  If we get to an hour and he still doesn't seem to have gotten enough we give him a bottle of pumped milk too.   He has stopped losing weight (6 lbs 2 ounces) but hasn't gained anything back yet.   His pediatrician wasn't worried about that either.  She said, no weight checks unless I am concerned.  I am a little anxious about this and ordered a scale for the house.  If he doesn't start gaining weight in the next few days I will supplement him with extra bottles.

I have never had a baby struggle with nursing before.  It's really stressful (not to mention time consuming).  I love nursing but worrying about how each feeding is going to go, wondering if he got enough, etc. takes a lot of joy out of it.  I am really, really hoping we have this fixed in the next week or two.   In the worst case scenario I will pump for the year but I really, really, really hope not to have to do that!

Overall, Kyle seems to be a very sweet, laid back baby.  He has been sleeping in 2-3 hour chunks, wakes us up on his own.

How's the trio?

They seem to be doing great.   Carson loudly announces, " I love baby Kyle!" throughout the day.   No jealously has been displayed yet although last time that didn't kick in until Victor went back to work.  They all like holding Kyle and helping out when asked.   Carson seems to have a cold now (so he is not getting to hold Kyle now).  It seem quite minor but I am hoping no one else gets it and that the kids don't bring any germs back from school in the next month.


Overall, we are doing much better.  I would highly suggest you avoid the pre-eclampsia/pneumonia combo when delivering a baby but I think the worst is behind us (and could have been much worse).  My labor and delivery nurse did comment after the delivery that she couldn't remember the last time she took care of someone in labor and delivery as sick as I was.  (Of course - there are actual emergency situations and woman who are way sicker but I found the comment somewhat amusing.)

Here are some photos from the past few days at home....

Maternity Photos - Plus Bonus ones of the kids

My neighbor is an incredible photographer (lots of them in our neighborhood actually).  Knowing this was my last pregnancy I really wanted maternity photos taken.  I had some lined up for Lainey's pregnancy but she was born two days before the photo shoot!

This time they were scheduled for 36 weeks.  I figured I'd be safe.  We were, but barely.  I was feeling so so crummy for the last two weeks of my pregnancy I almost canceled this session.  I am SO glad I didn't as we left for the hospital about 6 hours after these pictures were taken.  Haha!  Kyle was born later that day. 

Here are my favorites.  I will love these photos forever!  Thank you Blaize!