Preslie Kay at Six Months

Preslie turned SIX MONTHS OLD on Wednesday, October 2nd.

As of the date I'm posting this, she's now closer to one year old than a newborn. :(

More interested in eating her monthly sticker than smiling at Mama. :)

Measurements
Weight: 17lbs 13.3oz (76th percentile)
Height: 27" (86th percentile)
Head circumference: 17" (86th percentile)

She's our healthy, tall girl!

Appearance
~ Her eyes are still very light. Some days they look blue, some days they look green and there are days where I feel like they almost look lavender!

~ Her hair is growing so much! I can clip a bow into it now.

 ~ She was born with what some people call a "Stork Bite" or "Angel Kiss" on her forehead. It's an area that has some red spots on it. When she was first born it was really noticeable, but as she's getting older it's getting lighter. It will eventually go away. I don't even notice it now, but some people still do when they see her in person.

~ She has super kissable cheeks and chunky little thighs!

 

Sizes
~ She's officially in size 6-9 month and 9 month clothes. I just packed away all of her 6 month clothes. Her 9 month footie jammies fit her just right, but if the girl continues to grow I'm going to have to get her 12 month jammies soon! What in the world!?!?
~ Size 1 shoes are still a bit big on her but Size NB shoes are too small.
~ We'll be moving up to Size 3 diapers after we finish the last of her Size 2 diapers.

Personality
~ Girlfriend knows what she likes and doesn't like. She's real good at pushing something away (like her bottle) if she's done with it. Same goes with getting her nose suctioned or her face wiped.
~ She gives lots of smiles!

~ Stella is the only one that can make her laugh consistently.
~ This month she has been a lot more fussy than usual. I think some teething had to do with that, and also the fact that she was going through the stage of "Relationships." She didn't like if we walked out of the room and she just couldn't get happy some days. But overall, she has been a happy baby.
~ She squirms all the time now. If she doesn't want to be held while she's sitting in your lap, she just tries to squirm right out!

Likes
~ Preslie is a big fan of music. She loves when I sing "If you're happy and you know it..." and I sing this little bouncy song I made up when she's in her jumper.
~ She loves her jumper! She'll spend hours at a time in that thing. I think a lot has to do with the fact that it's in the living room and she can be right there in the middle of things with us.
~ She is a huge fan of Bubble Guppies!

~ Sweet P loves to eat.
~ Sophie the Giraffe

~ Her Lullaby Glow Worm (currently her favorite toy ever right now)
~ Her thumb. She's been sucking it a lot more lately.
~ She also sucks on her toes!

Dislikes
~ Getting dressed/un-dressed
~ Getting her diaper changed
~ Having her nose suctioned
~ She is not a fan of when we take the washcloth away from her when her bath is done.

Eating
~ She takes four, six-ounce bottles a day, and gets baby food twice a day now. I had to drop her evening bottle (that she would usually get with her dinner) because she wasn't finishing her nighttime bottle. I also had to cut back a bit on the amount of baby food she was eating because she wasn't finishing her bottles during the day. It's more important to me that she drinks her bottles than eat the baby food. As the saying goes "Food before one is just for fun!"
~ Along with the vegetables she started last month, I started her on fruits (bananas, apples, peaches, pears and prunes) this month. She has loved it all!
~ I've also started to give her the mesh feeders with real food in it. I'll give her squishy food like avocado or some peaches. I think she feels like a big girl when she tries to feed herself.

~ We started using the sippy cup at dinnertime but it just makes more of a mess right now (and wastes breast milk) so we'll try again next month.

Sleeping
~ She is still sleeping through the night, but has been getting up a lot earlier than she normally does. She would usually sleep until 7am, but has been waking up anywhere between 4:30am and 6:30am. I think it has to do with some six month sleep regression and a cold she had. To fix the waking-up-too-early situation, I've started putting her to bed at night 15 minutes earlier and it has done the trick! Weird how that works.

~ Naps are kind of hit-and-miss when she's at Ms. Kara's. Sometimes she'll take two, two-hour naps; other times they may be barely 45 minutes long. We take what we can get.
~ She takes three naps a day if we're at home on the weekends.
~ She still prefers to sleep on her tummy.
~ Preslie isn't one to really cuddle. So this past month she's been so tired during her bedtime bottle that she's fallen asleep on me and I absolutely LOVED being able to rock her while she slept - like I used to do when she was a newborn.

New Experiences
~ She had her first cold this month. Luckily, it wasn't too bad and involved a lot of head congestion and a little cough. She's on the mend now.
~ Poor thing rolled onto the hardwood floor and bonked her head this month. I was in the process of walking over to her to move her away from the floor when she beat me to the punch and rolled right onto it. She was not happy.
Side note: When she does hurt herself, we try not to react at first (obviously if we can tell it's nothing serious). We don't jump right up or make a big deal out of it. She'll usually look like she wants to cry and stick her bottom lip out, but we'll say "you're okay" and smile and then she ends up being just fine.
~ She can sit up unassisted. She still falls over to the sides, but she's getting better at it every day.
~ She likes to lunge while sitting up so she can grab her toys.

~ She moves toys from one hand to the other.

~ She does this thing with her hands where she clasps them in front of her face and then rocks her clasped hands back and forth in front of her. It's so strange!
~ She has been teething a lot more this month and the drool is never-ending. Therefore, she is always wearing a bib. Luckily, Target sells terrycloth ones in all different colors so I'm able to match them to her outfits. ;)
~ We started working on baby sign language this month. So far she just looks at our hands and you can tell she's processing it all.
~ Grammy taught her how to clap her hands! When we clap our hands (and sing the "If you're happy and you know it..." song) she will take her hands and put them together and apart. It's really cute.
~ Miss P has been sporting a lot of football gear since football season has started!

~ She took a fun trip with Mama and Papa to a friend's lake house and she was so so good! She chose not to sleep that night however, which made for a very exhausting next day. We choose our battles. ;) She was a big fan of being the only child there and getting a lot of attention.

~ Mama spent her first night and weekend away from Preslie to attend a wedding with Papa. Sweet P got to spend an entire weekend with Grammy!
~ Squirt also sat in the shopping cart for the first time! This makes shopping with Mama soooo much easier!

This little one is the absolute joy of our lives!

Post-Partem Must Haves

Here's a list of things I found helpful for after Baby arrives.


I posted about some things I found really helpful during my pregnancy here.

One thing I did not take into account when it comes to becoming a mom was making sure I had everything I needed for ME after I had Baby. You're so fixated on making sure you have everything you need for the baby but it's important to not forget about yourself. If you can't keep yourself healthy you're not going to be able to adequately keep Baby healthy too.

1. Breast Pads
Whether or not you're going to breastfeed, these are a must. I used the Medela brand breast pads because I got a big box as a shower gift, but I think next time I might try a different brand. Make sure you have enough so you don't have to run to the store that first week; so get a big box!

2. Lanolin Cream (aka Nipple Cream)

If you plan on breastfeeding and/or pumping, you'll need this stuff. Your nipples just aren't going to be used to all that friction and they will get raw. I really liked the Lansinoh Brand Lanolin Cream, personally. And you won't have to use this forever. Eventually your nipples will get used to it and build up some toughness (sorry for the TMI - haha!). I think someone gave me a travel size of these and it was super helpful to have while in the hospital.

3. Pads

Yes, you're going to need them. I heard you'll need them even if you have a c-section too. Again, make sure you have more than enough!

4. Cooling Pads / Gel Pads

These are so nice to have on hand. I really like the Lansinoh TheraPearl Gel Pads. They give you some nice relief.

I also really like Medela's Hydrogel pads. These were soooo soothing and you can wear them in your bra out in public without it being noticeable. They're very discreet.

5. Nursing Sports Bra

As I've said before, I hate wearing bras so sports bras are my BFF's. Zulily was having a maternity sale one day and I spied a nursing sports bra from La Leche League for like $14! So I definitely snatched that up. I didn't even know nursing sports bras existed. They do. And it was nice to sleep in something comfortable yet supportive at night and be able to easily nurse Preslie without it being cumbersome.

6. Tylenol

You're going to have pain after having a baby. For me, it was a lot of pain for a lot of months. For other women the pain goes away after a week or so. It's different for everyone. Just make sure you have pain relievers on hand (and make sure they're compatible with nursing if you're going that route). Also, make sure you take them on time once you get home from the hospital. It's easy to remember to take them when the nurses have you on a schedule while you're in recovery at the hospital, but once you're home it's even easier to forget about taking them on time - especially when you're trying to keep up with feeding a baby.

7. Snacks
If it weren't for my mom and Kevin making sure I continually ate, I probably wouldn't have survived. You're so focused on making sure the baby is getting enough to eat and gaining enough weight that you completely forget to feed yourself. At least that's what it was like for me. So our next go-round I'm going to make sure to have lots of {healthy} snacks on hand so I can quickly grab them and not starve.

8. Freezer Meals
I think I'll do a separate post on this. The came in so very handy!

9. Comfy, stretchy PJ's
I wanted nothing to do with jeans or anything tight on my lower half after I gave birth. Stretchy PJ's and sweat pants were the best things for me. I also got myself some cute PJ's to wear in the hospital. It felt so good to put those on and get out of the hospital gown after giving birth and recovering.

10. GRACE!
Make sure to give yourself and your baby some grace. The first week was tough for me. I wanted everything to be perfect - and that just wasn't realistic. I finally had to have a little pep-talk with myself and give myself some grace. I'm not perfect and I will never be a perfect mom. Each day I learn something new; what works and what doesn't for my baby and our family. I also had to give Preslie some grace. She is a good sleeper and she has been pretty much since we brought her home from the hospital. Pretty sure we just got lucky. But we still had nights where she'd wake up a lot and I'd get frustrated and I had to tell myself "Give the kid a break, Kaysie. She's a newborn. This is what they're supposed to do. Relax." I still have to tell myself that almost daily. You do the best you know how, and what you don't know now you'll eventually learn. Baby will adore you no matter what.

The End.

Maternity Must Haves

The other night I spent over an hour writing this post and I accidentally erased it! Grrr!!!

I've been meaning to write this post for the - oh....past EIGHT months but just haven't found the time.

That time is now!

I wanted to list the things I found super helpful during my pregnancy with Preslie. Mostly for my own memory if we're lucky enough to have a second pregnancy, and I also thought it might be helpful for any moms-to-be.

These items were just what worked for me. I know everyone is different. I also wasn't sponsored for any of this stuff.

1. Burt's Bees Mamma Bee Body Butter



Love this stuff! I tried a few different kinds of body butter and some either smelled awful or were way too greasy. This stuff had no odor and did a great job moisturizing the baby belly. I also didn't have any stretch marks, but that could have more to do with the fact that I had a lot of belly skin to spare. Ha!

2. Be Maternity Seamless Cami from Target



I'm not a huge fan of seeing the belly panel from maternity pants through your top. It just looks odd to me. I wore these camis all. the. time under my tops while pregnant. As a matter of fact, I still wear them! They are very comfy and stretchy. They make things smooth and hold all your parts in place (which is always a plus in my book). I've only seen them in black, white and nude in store at Target, but it looks like they also have them in gray on their website. Seriously, get yourself some of these! You can thank me later. ;)

3. Panty Liners

Enough said.

4. Body Pillow / Sleeping

I personally didn't use a body pillow. I suffered from night sweats throughout my pregnancy and anything more than a sheet made me feet like I was on fire. A body pillow would just add more fuel to the flame. But I've heard good things from others who've used them!

5. Exercise Ball

Before I discovered the true beauty of an exercise ball, I just thought it was something "excessive" that pregnant women used just because. Oh how naiive I was...
I used this so much going into the last five to six weeks of my pregnancy. It really helped to relieve pressure in my hips and on my back. I also spent a good chunk of hours on this ball while I was laboring at home. LIFE-SAVER!!! If you don't have one, it really wouldn't hurt to get one - or even borrow one - and try it out.

6. Baths
I know...I know. Lots of people have opinions about taking baths while pregnant. I took them; so there! Again, being in the water helped relieve pressure in my hips and back. I took one almost every day. Towards the end I could only take one if Kevin was home because I couldn't get out by myself! HA! Also, I plopped my big self in the tub while I was in labor at home and it got things moving real quick!

7. Water Bottle

Since you have to make sure you stay really hydrated while pregnant I'd highly recommend getting a reusable water bottle. This is the one I have and I like it because I could put ice in it. I was all about having REALLY cold water while pregnant. This was also good while in labor. You have to really remember to drink water and it was easy to drink from it quickly and often.

8. Maternity Pants
Maternity clothes aren't cheap, and it's hard to justify spending the money on them when you're going to wear them for only a short while. But it's worth the splurge, in my opinion. I got a few really nice dress pants and a pair of cute jeans from Destination Maternity (DM). They were A Pea in the Pod brand and DM was having a "buy one, get one half off" sale. I also ended up getting a couple pair of skinny colored jeans from DM as well.

Target's maternity section is kind of small, but they usually have some really cute items as well. So does Old Navy.

9. Maternity Undies
For me, I needed them. I didn't get the kind that were full belly coverage or anything like that. I got the kind that sat low, under your belly.

10. Nursing Bra
Highly recommend getting fitted for a nursing bra while you're pregnant. You're probably not going to find the time to go get fitted for one right after baby arrives (and you certainly aren't feeling your best). I got fitted for mine at DM when I was about six or seven months pregnant. I also got one of those extenders that you can clip on the back so it would expand as the "girls" expanded.

11. Sports Bras



These were my saving grace! I hate wearing a bra as it is and I wanted something comfy but needed the support. So I got some sports bras at Target. They sell them for pretty cheap and in a lot of different colors.



That's what I can think of for now. If you have any other suggestions feel free to leave them in the comments so I can make note of them and other readers can too!

Preslie Kay at Five Months

I don't even know how it's possible that FIVE months have already flown by. Hold me.

Preslie turned five months old on Monday, September 2nd.

Measurements
Weight: I'm going to guess she's around 16 pounds.
She will have her six month checkup on October 7th.

Appearance
~ Her eyes are still very light.

~ Her hair is getting thicker. It's still just in the beginning stages of growing but it sticks straight up right now, all over her head. Kevin calls it her "Baby 'Fro."
~ To me it looks like she's starting to thin out. Mostly due to being a lot more active. Her face isn't looking as chubby anymore either. My baby is growing up!
~ She has the tiniest little feet!

Sizes
~ She's wearing 6-9 month and 6 month clothes, and 9 month pants.
~ Newborn shoes are getting a bit snug so we'll probably head into Size 1 soon. She doesn't really wear shoes right now because it's so hot here, but once Fall comes I'll be putting her in some cute ones she has.
~ Size 2 diapers.

Personality
~ It seems like after she turned four months her personality just starting growing! She likes to give out lots of smiles now.

 

~ She's still a very easy-going and happy baby.

~ She will fuss if you take something away from her that she really wants. I was hoping that stage would've held off a little longer, but no such luck. ;)

 It's tough being little.

~ She makes you work for a laugh! She's not one to laugh so easily. It has to be really funny to her. You should see the crazy things Kevin and I try to do to get a giggle out of her. Her Grampy can get her going though and so does Stella.
~ She "talks" all the time and it's getting louder. No screaming-talking yet.

Likes

~ She is obsessed with Stella. She watches her wherever she goes and she will laugh and laugh if Stella goes up to her to give her a kiss. And kiss she does - we have a video where Stella is giving her kisses that make it into Preslie's mouth! HA!

~ She is a major thumb-sucker. That's one sure-fire way to tell she's tired and ready to go to sleep.
~ Food!
~ Her exersaucer.
~ Milkies
~ Tummy time!

~ Papa

Eating
~ She takes five, six-ounce bottles a day and gets baby food in the evening. She's starting to not drink her whole nighttime bottle so I'm thinking of cutting it back to four bottles a day so she's hungry enough for her nighttime bottle.
~ I started trying out rice cereal with her at about 4 1/2 months. We took it very slow. Then one day she just got the hang of the whole spoon-in-mouth thing and discovered how tasty it is!
~ So far she's had rice cereal, carrots, squash, sweet potatoes, green beans and peas.
~ I mix rice cereal in with her baby food.
~ She's also sucked on an orange slice, watermelon and a Popsicle and she's tasted a little avocado.

Sleeping
~ Still sleeping through the night. She goes to bed at 7:30 and wakes up between 6:30 and 7:00 the next morning. There have been times when she tries to get up at 5am but I leave her in her crib to fall back to sleep because I know she's not ready to get up yet - and neither is Mama!
~ She takes two naps a day during the week when she's at the sitters. At the sitters her naps aren't exactly consistent. I can definitely tell when I pick her up at the end of the day if she's had good naps or not. Girlfriend likes her own bed!
~ On weekends when we're home she takes three naps a day and boy does she sleep long and hard during those naps! Sweet P is catching up on all the lost sleep from the week.
~ Preslie rolls all over her crib now. She no longer stays in one spot.
~ She likes to sleep on her tummy. This makes me nervous but there's not much I can do about it at this point since she's rolling over and lifting her head and pushing up.
~ When she wakes up and I hear her talking over the monitor, I'll look at the video monitor and she'll be staring right at it! It's pretty creepy. Ha!

New Experiences
~ Preslie can hold her own bottle now. It makes it a little easier when we need to get something done real quick during a feeding.

~ She rolls from back to front and is still getting the hang of realizing she can also roll from front to back. She can do it but I think she forgets. ;)
~ She likes to bang on her toys and bang her toys on things.
~ She is a big fan of crossing her feet. She crosses them all the time! Miss Priss.

~ Preslie's started sucking her bottom lip.
~ She has yet to grab her feet and put them in her mouth. I have a feeling that's coming soon.
~ She sits great in her Bumbo, high chair and exersaucer. She's not sitting on her own yet and I think it'll be another month or two before she does. She's not quite there yet.

 

~ Preslie full-on looks for Stella when we take her into a room.
~ She will look at us when we say her name (Preslie or Squirt).
~ She's following objects with her head.

~ She's starting to pull her headbands/bows off her head. This makes Mama sad. Ha!

~ Preslie started at Miss Kara's this month and she loves it there. It makes my Mama heart happy when I pick her up and she's smiling and in a great mood.
~ She's been able to sport her 49er gear since football has now officially started! This makes her Papa very proud.

~ She took her first trip to the family cabin in Donner. She had a lot of fun meeting family members who haven't seen her, and being outside and looking up into the trees. She was on her best behavior that weekend!

 Our little family

 Four generations!

~ Grammy and Grampy visited and Preslie loved getting to spend lots of time with them.

~ She did some more swimmin' at Grandma's house.

~ She got to play with her cousin Carter and had a good time stealing his toys!

~ She is drooling non-stop! We have to change her bibs like four times a day.


This child is so much fun. We had no idea how much fun a baby could actually be. Both Kevin and I adore this Little Squirt!