Five Months and Growing

Height:  27 inches
Weight: 16 lbs 3 oz

Likes: Three words: Fisher Price Jumperoo. Oh. My.  Goodness.  Kiff gets so excited in his jumperoo.  He jumps and laughs and talks.  There is a jumperoo at daycare and one at the nursery at church.  I can usually pick him up from either place and he is in the jumperoo.  He likes his momma now.  He is starting to get clingy to me.  Someone else can have him and he is so very happy, until I pass his line of sight.  Then he is crying and won't stop until I go and acknowledge him.  This makes cleaning very difficult.  Kiff also is loving the dogs lately.  He'll grab Delilah by the face and "hold" her head in his hand (because honestly, can anyone really "hold" a Great Dane's head?).  He did the same thing with my brother's dogs and Alex's parents' dogs.  

Dislikes: I can't think of anything that he dislikes.  He's such a happy baby.

 
Sleeping: Since the sleep regression, I upped his bottles from 4 oz to 5 oz at daycare, that took care of 1 out of the 3 wake ups.  We also moved his bedtime up to 7:30 instead of 8 (with the goal of a 7 pm bedtime) and that took care of another wake up.  He now only wakes once between 3 and 4 in the am, nurses quickly and his back to sleep until 6.

Eating: 3 5 oz bottles at daycare.  In an attempt to get him to sleep longer, we tried feeding him an egg yolk.  He seemed interested at first, but quickly changed his mind.  It did not help with the sleep and we have not tried anything else.  Honestly, it is so much easier just breastfeeding.  Food just complicates things; although, I'm sure solids will start sometime this month.

Playing:  Kiff is so interactive.  He talks all the time.  His favorite syllable is the "duh" sounds.  Alex swears he is saying "Da-da", but I know better.  Until he intentionally says something, it's just noises.  At least, that's my story and I'm sticking to it.  We've been putting him on the floor more recently to see if he'll try and crawl.  He either pushes his legs or lifts his chest, just not both at the same time, so he reminds us of a beached whale.

Kiff is growing so quickly and as much as I enjoy watching him learn new things and grow, it is so bittersweet.  We're having revival at church and the guest pastor told a story of butterfly hair clips in his bathroom and how he told his wife to tell their daughter to use the kid bathroom and not take theirs over.  The wife gently told him that before long, there will not be any butterfly hair clips on the bathroom counter because their little girl will be grown.  I was blubbering my eyes out.  I am really trying to cherish every moment with Kiff and find joy in the early mornings or late nights.

Four Months and Growing

Height: 26 inches
Weight: 15 pounds

Likes: Nana Fran brought home two old swings from work that were no longer used.  The fisher price kind that hang on an outdoor swing set.  We immediately set one up at Nana and Papaws and Kiff fell in love.  We quickly set up ours at our house as well.  If Kiff is being a fussy butt, I put on his jacket, grab a blanket, and put him in the swing; he's happy within minutes.  He's loving bath time more and more each bath, shown by more and more water on the floor than in the tub by the end of his bath.  Kiff has also found his feet, making diaper changes increasingly difficult.  I have a feeling his socks will not be staying on much longer.
Dislikes: Kiff still doesn't like being on his back, and he's starting to learn to turn over from back to belly.  He can get to his side and he throws his little legs, but hasn't quite made it to his belly yet.  Alex also makes this noise that sounds like he's trying to clear his throat, it makes Kiff cry.

 
Sleeping: Oh growth spurt and sleep regression, how I loathe thee.  About 2 weeks ago, Kiff started waking several times a night.  It has been zero fun.

Eating: I know he is taking 4 oz per sitting since that is how much I send in his bottles for daycare.  I feed him in the morning, he usually takes 3-4 4 oz bottles at daycare, and I feed him 3-4 times in the evening.  We have no plans to start solids for another month or so.
Playing:  Kiff is grabbing at everything with in his reach and quickly placing these items in his mouth: feet, oball, bib, paci string, Sophie, everything really.  Sophie is probably is favorite toy.  He's showing all the signs of teething, but we still haven't seen or felt any trying to pop through.

It is so special to pick Kiff up in the afternoons after a long day of work.  I enjoy taking him home and just loving on him sweetly.  He's such a sweet boy and time really is going by too quick.  Before we know it, it'll be Christmas and he'll by 6 months old.  I'm in no rush for him to grow up.

Three Months and Growing

2 month for reference

Height: 25 inches
Weight: 14 lb 8 oz

Likes: Kiff still loves being naked.  In fact, you will soon see him in his "I love being naked" onesie I bought him.  He's learning to splash in the bath tub.  He has decided he likes the swing at the preschool but not the one at home.

Dislikes: Being on his back.  Kiff is a tummy sleeper.  We always know if he is on his back when he wakes up.  Instead of being the typical happy wake up baby that he is, he will be screaming before we get into his room.

 
Sleeping: Still awesome.  He has started going to bed between 7 and 9, since he wakes up at 6:30 each morning.

Eating: I know he is taking 4 oz per sitting since that is how much I send in his bottles for daycare.  I feed him in the morning, he usually takes 3-4 4 oz bottles at daycare, and I feed him 3-4 times in the evening.

Playing:  Takes everything around him in.  Loves to look around and see what is going on.  Although he can't reach the floor, he likes to play in his jumperoo (we put pillows under his feet).  He has started to swat and grab for things above his head.  He'll follow me with his eyes if I'm in the room and smiles when I return to his line of view.

We love Kiff more than anything and can't believe he is already a quarter of a year old.  Time needs to SLOW DOWN!

Two Months and Growing

Just for comparison

Height: 24 inches (88th percentile)
Weight: 12 lbs 12 oz (57th percentile)

Likes: Kiff still enjoys being held and loved on.  Loves sleeping on his belly.  Also, has begun to enjoy the bouncer we just bought him.  He's beginning to find and learn that his hands and feet are attached to him and is constantly trying to chew on his hands.  Oh, and being naked.  The child will go from screaming and crying to smiles and giggles as soon as you lay him on his changing table and strip him naked.

Dislikes: I can't really think of any dislikes.  He's such a content baby.  I'll have to ask Alex if he knows of any dislikes.

Sleeping: Kiff is a champ at sleeping.  The last two weeks Kiff has slept 9-11 hours, closer to 11.  We've tried several times to have his bedtime early, like 7-8ish, but he wakes up every 3 hours if we try putting him down that early.  We keep a consistent 10 pm bedtime with a wake time of 9.  I know this will change when I go back to work, but I'm enjoying the sleep.  Even though he's sleeping till 9, I'm still having to wake around 5 to pump as I'm working on a freezer stash for when I go back to work in *gasp* 2 weeks.

Eating: Again, a champ.  No problems latching or eating.  Gaining good weight.  Easily changes from breast to bottle.  He's an awesome baby.

Playing:  Definitely more alert now.  He kicks his feet to make his bouncer bounce and has even managed to hit the spinning animals above his head.  He just giggles and smiles.  He's a pretty awesome kid.  

Kiff is growing more and more each day.  He's also learning new things each day.  We are so blessed to be his parents and are so thankful that God granted him to be our child.

My husband is my hero

It has really been on my heart to express my love for my husband up here.  I posted the following facebook status shortly after giving birth: "Ladies, there is nothing sexier than watching your husband love your child". While that is still true, I would alter that statement to you don't know how much you love your husband until you watch him love your child.  Alex has been amazing.  I am so gracious that he was able to take several weeks off with Kiff and I as we started our family of three.

There was never any doubt that Alex would be an amazing father.  He's always had a special way with kids (and if anyone knows me, I do not have a special way with kids).  Kids flock to him.  I partially believe because he's a big kid at heart still.  There is nothing Alex hasn't done to help with Kiff (except breastfeed, but I'm sure he would if it was possible).  He refused to leave Kiff and I at the hospital (even though I tried to get him to go home and take a shower).  He caught me when I passed out before my blood transfusion.  He helped me out of the bed to go to the bathroom.  He would bring me Kiff so I could feed him and then hold him when finished.  When we got home from the hospital, he did everything possible to make me comfortable to make my recovery easy.

We have been very blessed with a child who likes to sleep at night.  As stated previously, Kiff has slept 4-6 hours at night since we have brought him home.  This time has slowly been stretching to 8 hours.  Alex has made nights so easy for me.  I usually give Kiff his last feeding around 9 or 9:30 and then Alex will hold him and rock him to sleep (Alex does a much better job of getting Kiff calmed down than I) while I get in bed and sleep until his early morning feeding, allowing me an average of six hours of sleep each night.

He's also been so understanding of me and the crazy hormones that I've been having.  He's rubbed my sore muscles and aching back and feet.  He's loved my son unconditionally.  He's my rock and I don't know what I would do without him and would not know how I would have gotten through Kiff's first month without him, and I'm not looking forward to him going back to work (on nights) next week.

Alex's first father's day.

Kiff post-bath with Alex

Caught sleeping.

Sleeping in the hospital (probably why Kiff falls asleep on Alex so well).

Kiff's first bottle.

Real men wear babies.

One Month and growing

One Month and Growing...


Height: 21.5 at 2 week checkup
Weight: 8 lbs 15 oz at 2 week checkup; according to my scale: 11 lbs

Likes: Kiff enjoys being held and loved on.  He loves riding in the car or in his stroller on a bumpy path.  If he is upset or fussy a car ride will usually calm him right down.  He loves looking at the lights and loves when I open the blinds and he can look up and see brightness.

Dislikes: His crib.  One thing I learned quickly is to never say never as a mom.  I always said I would always put my child in his crib from day one and would never let them sleep in our room; oh how quickly that changed.  Kiff SCREAMS bloody murder when you put him in his crib.  We're pretty sure it's because of how the crib's flatness.  He also doesn't like being on his back.  From the time he was born, he was immediately rolling on his side when placed on his back (I fully believe this is due to the last month of my pregnancy, he had no room and was curled on his right side: head down, butt in my right ribcage, feet in my left).  Usually to calm him we can place him on his belly and he will knock right out.

Sleeping: I can say we have been extremely blessed as new parents.  It was rocky in the hospital, but Kiff's first night home he slept 5 hours (in his rock 'n play) and has slept anywhere from 4 - 6 hours consistently.  Last night he slept for 8 straight hours, which is probably why he fed from 5:30 - 9 almost non-stop.  Naps are hit or miss most days.  Some days he's very predictable: eat, look around, fall asleep repeat in 2-3 hours, other days (like yesterday) not so much.  He did not want to sleep and was fighting with it most of the day.  It took daddy to get him to sleep.

Eating: I also said I would always put my baby on a schedule from the beginning: eat every 2-3 hours. Nope, not my kid.  He eats on demand, which is typically every 2-3 hours, but it may be every 4 or every 30 minutes (like yesterday).  We are exclusively breast feeding (with an occasional bottle of pumped milk).  For the most part, he latches well and I have minimal pain.  He eats very well.  He has received two bottles of formula and did very well both times.

Playing:  Not quite doing any playing yet, but Kiff is definitely alert at times.  His eyes get real big and he'll grin (probably due to gas).  Pretty much from the beginning he would turn his head to where my voice was/is.  He also has been lifting his head from the time we brought him home, even more now.  He'll lift his head and turn it back and forth.

Overall, we are so blessed by how much Kiff is growing.  He is a happy and healthy baby.  I'm excited to watch him grow each day and learn new things, although I am also saddened because I don't want him to grow up.  He is such a beautiful baby and I love watching him grow into a handsome young man that he will one day become.

Birth Story

Monday, June 3rd I was just as miserable as I had been my entire pregnancy. I was highly disappointed that the due date I had in my mind (May 30th) had come and gone.  I was even more disappointed that the next day we were heading to our 40 week appointment (although I had already made up my mind I was not leaving that appointment without being admitted or being given an induction date).

Alex and I were laying on the couch watching the series finally for Secret Life of the American Teenager.  I was having contractions, but that was nothing new, so I decided to take a bath (our water billed doubled the last two months of my pregnancy for the amount of baths that I took) since that would typically subside my contractions and allow me to rest and get some sleep.  I could not get comfortable in the bath tub so I got out and decided to lay down in bed.  Laying down lasted all of two seconds and Alex came into the bedroom because he heard me stirring.  I was standing and leaning over the bed and my water broke (this was about 9:30).  There was absolutely no doubt that it was my water since it was a gush.  I rushed to the bathroom and Alex started rushing to put his stuff in the hospital bag.  As soon as my water broke, contractions started strong.  There was no long hours of laboring before my contractions were unbearable, they were pretty much unbearable immediately after my water broke.  Alex's exact words: "get in the truck, I'm not delivering a baby at the house".  I promptly followed instructions, only stopping to get a trash bag and towel so I wouldn't ruin the seats.

As Alex sped down I-85 to the hospital, I called my dad to let him know my water broke and to tell mom to head our way.  We then called Alex's parents and texted a couple of close friends.  We arrived at the hospital, quickly got checked in and was in a room in no time.  I was extremely relieved to learn that the doctor on call was Dr. Palmer, who happened to be our favorite.  They hooked me up to monitors and asked how far apart my contractions were.  I told them I was in too much pain to time them and Alex said about 3 minutes (which is what the monitors said).  They took my blood to send off and hooked up an IV and gave me stadol to ease the pain (I do NOT recommend this, I was so loopy, I barely remember anything from my delivery).  I was 4 cm dilated.  45 minutes later, I told Alex I felt like I needed to push and to get a nurse.  Apparently, they looked at him like he was crazy when he told them that, but they came to check me again anyway.  Next thing I know, they are getting the warmer set up as well as everything else for delivery; urgently paging the doctor and anesthesiologist.  Then I hear my nurse say "I've caught one once before", so I of course begin to question if I'm about to have a baby and how far was I.  In 45 minutes, I had dilated to 9 cm and 10 was right around the corner.

I also overheard the anesthesiologist's name was Mark, so every time the door opened I was yelling for Mark.  Mark finally showed up and I found out it was too late for an epi, so my only option was a spinal block that only lasts 45 min - an hour and half.  He was getting everything ready, they got me on the edge of the bed hunched over and a contraction hit that threw me back on the bed.  Mark calmly told me I was progressing to fast and if I wanted drugs, he only had one more shot to set the block.  You bet that got my butt in gear to be still and sit through the pain.  I didn't even feel him place any of the three (large) needles Alex described, and the best news is that it worked.  Almost instantly my feet were numb.  Dr. Palmer arrived soon after (or maybe before).  Again, the stadol made me extremely loopy.

Right after the block it was time to push.  If I do it again, I'm not sure if I will get any drugs.  It was so difficult to tell where I was pushing since I was numb from the waist down.  I was falling asleep between contractions due to the stadol.  I lost vision in my left eye and lost my peripheral vision in my right eye.  After 45 minutes of pushing, the doctor attempted to use the vacuum, which didn't work.  Finally, he had to do an episiotomy and used forceps to help Aiden Kiff Greer arrive at 12:26 am on June 4th.  He was a wonderful 8 pounds 8 ounces, 20.5 inches long.  He was such a pretty baby.

All in all my L&D was not bad at all.  Pretty much 3 hours from start to finish.  I know most were shocked since my dad posted I was on the way to the hospital at 9:30 and then we posted Kiff arrived at 12:26.  Next time (if there is a next time), I think we'll just camp out at the hospital the last week, since they say your subsequent pregnancy delivery times get shorter.

Thanks for all the encouraging words and support.  We are so extremely grateful for a relatively quick and easy delivery and for our awesome nurse staff at Thomasville.  We love sharing our baby with friends and family and are accepting visitors!  Pictures to come soon (or just check out facebook).