June 25, 2010:
The kids have had a blast being able to swim in grandma and grandpa’s pool. They are all little fish that could stay in forever. My dad is their jungle gym that they love to hang all over, jump with him, and get fun rides on. Kylee’s a bit young too join the kids this summer, but probably next year!
Just some cute pictures of Kylee, mostly sleeping, of course!
June 21
June 22
June 23
June 26
June 28
June 23, 2010:
I never did professional newborn pictures with my two other kids. We have a photographer in town that we’ve gone to since she started her business about three years ago. I decided to book an appointment for Kylee to get hers done when I was still pregnant. She likes to do it when they are super young so she can get some of the best poses.
Kylee was eight days old for the pictures. The morning of, I really wanted to not go, but I knew I’d regret it. She keeps it warm since the babies are naked most of the time. She also uses a heating pad under the blanket so the babies stay nice and toasty. It ended up being a three hour session! I kind of thought I was possibly going to die with how warm it was inside, but I knew it was going to be worth it. She did a great job and I’m so glad I did it!
Kylee: One week Jaxon: 3 1/2 weeks
June 22, 2010:
My friend, Kim, and I were pregnant together. We were due exactly three weeks apart. It was fun to be that close and have someone going through the exact same thing. We were always quite the scene when we’d go somewhere with our four other kids and big pregnant bellies! She ended up her baby on May 27, so they are about two and a half weeks apart.
She brought baby Jaxon to come meet Kylee. Jaxon was ten and a half pounds at birth, a cute chunker! Neither of them were too fond of having their pictures taken that day. Now, instead of talking about pregnancy, we talk about nursing, sleep schedules, and baby stuff!
June 22,2010 :
Kylee was a week old before Paxton felt ready to hold her on his own. It lasted about 15 seconds, but he did it! I wanted it to be on his timing so he could feel comfortable with it. He loves to be so soft and gentle with her. He gets so concerned when she cries. I’m hoping he continues to be gentle with her for a while longer before he starts wrestling with her :)
June 19, 2010:
Before I left the hospital, I had been told that I needed to make an appointment with Kylee’s pediatrician to get her levels checked for her jaundice again. Her appointment was Friday the 18th. My mom was able to come with me. They checked her levels, and unfortunately they had gone up.
That evening, her pediatrician called and told me that I needed to take her to Valley Children’s that night because her levels were too high. Already feeling hormonal, this put me over the edge! It was eight in the evening, Mike was cleaning up throw up from Lyric, and packing to go to the hospital was the last thing I wanted to do! He told me I could take her back to the office on Saturday morning to get her levels checked one last time. If they had gone up again, then I’d have to for sure take her in.
Saturday morning, my parents were kind enough to show up bright and early with donuts and chocolate milk, so that Mike and I could take Kylee to the doctor. I was really hoping here levels had lowered, or at least stayed the same. They drew her blood and told us they’d call with the results. About an hour later, the doctor called us back. Her levels had gone up quite a bit more! I turned into an emotional mess. The last thing I wanted to do was pack my bags and go to the hospital with my four day old baby.
We headed back home so I could get my stuff ready. Thank goodness, the doctor had requested a private room so I could stay with her. I felt grateful that Mike was on vacation from work and could stay with the kids, since I wasn’t sure how long we’d be gone. My mom drove with me and Kylee to Valley Children’s. We checked in and the took us back to the NICU and showed us our room.
The nurses were incredible. They made me feel so much better about the whole thing. She had to stay under the lights 24/7. I was able to pump milk for her and feed her with a bottle. My mom stayed till late in the evening and then came back the next morning with my dad. Then they left to watch Lyric and Paxton so that Mike could come up for a few hours.
They checked her levels every twelve hours. Each time, her levels went down, which was such a relief. They started off at about 22 and needed to go down to about 11 before we could go home. We got there Saturday afternoon, and by Monday afternoon, her levels had gone down enough. Seeing tons of other tiny babies that were there for way more critical circumstances, made me feel so grateful that we were able to come and go in a short 48 hours. I feel very blessed that I’ve been able to have three healthy babies without complications.
I was able to feel at complete ease knowing that between the help of Mike, my parents, and Jamie, everything was under control at home with the other two kids. Quite honestly, my biggest concern was Sunday morning. Mike has never had to get them ready for church completely on his own, and I knew they’d look a little……homely :) He had never had to worry about Lyric’s hair and clothes. But, that was okay. He got them there, and that’s all that matters, right?
In the end, I was glad to know that Kylee was healthy and her jaundice levels were down and not a concern anymore.
Big sister giving hugs before we left.
She actually really enjoyed her warm tanning bed!
Sporting her cool shades, and her binky, which ended up being a lifesaver!
Lyric made sure that Kylee had her special teddy bears with her before we left.
Ready to go home!!!
Grandma showing baby Kylee to Paxton. He still didn’t really want to hold her!
June 17, 2010:
There’s always so much to adjust to after having a baby. Mentally, physically, emotionally, and on!!! I knew I’d need extra patience and I knew I’d need to give myself extra time to adjust to everything! Mike was fortunate to be able to take four weeks off of work. At first I wondered if it would be a bit long, but I appreciated all 28 days so much!
Lyric wanted to be my mini mom and help in any way possible. Paxton was beyond fascinated by the concept of nursing! The first time I pumped, oh my, he thought it was the coolest machine in the world! I don’t hide the idea of nursing or pumping from my kids, because I want them to know that it is a natural thing. Kylee was so sweet and calm, it was easy to forget she was around at times!
June 16, 2010:
I was really hoping to be able to come home from the hospital as soon as possible! Between having to share a room,the not-so-pleasant food, both of us being poked and prodded every 15 minutes, and having to keep track of every time she ate and had a diaper changed, I felt like I needed my own space! I knew I wasn’t coming home to a quiet, serene house, but it would be better than the hospital!
Mike, Lyric, Paxton, and my mom came to the hospital. This was Lyric and Paxton’s first time meeting Kylee. Lyric was filled with so much excitement, she could hardly contain herself! Finally, her baby sister was here, and she was able to hold her. Paxton was extremely hesitant. He looked at her, but did not want to hold her. I think he was a little confused by it all. How could he not be? One day mommy’s tummy is huge and baby Kylee is inside of it, and the next day she is swaddled in a blanket!
I thought I was going to be able to leave right away, but then they informed me that Kylee’s bilirubin levels (jaundice) were too high, so they’d have to call the pediatrician to see if we could go home. So, my mom took Lyric and Paxton since we didn’t know how long it was going to be. All of my kids have had jaundice, so I felt irritated that we were going to potentially have to stay another night because of it. Thank goodness they ended up letting us go, as long as I took her to the doctor later that week to re-check her levels.
It was kind of a head trip for me as I was getting her ready to leave. It took me back to almost three years earlier with Paxton. I had him at that same hospital, so it was almost as though no time had passed at all! I put her in her cute little dress that my mom got for her. It felt so crazy dressing such a tiny baby again! We headed home and stopped by In-n-Out on our way.
Later that evening, Jamie and her girls stopped by so they could meet Kylee. We took a picture of the six of them on the same couch that we did with the five of them when Paxton was born. All of the sudden, we were a family of five! Well, it wasn’t exactly all of the sudden, in the midst of it, those nine months of pregnancy weren’t exactly a blissful blink of an eye. But, it is so amazing that these tiny babies come into the world, and all the pain and suffering is forgotten! I knew that I was going to try extra hard to love and appreciate this newborn faze, no matter how hard it could feel at times.
