Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Kicked it up a notch

This time last week, Klaire had her two week check up with Dr. Beene. She weighed 9 lbs 9 ounces, and was 21 1/2 inches long. Dr. Beene said that she is usually happy to see a baby completely regain their birthweight by two weeks, and she had clearly surpassed her 8 lbs. 15 ounces! That was encouraging. And to think, she had grown an inch and a quarter too! That was a whole week ago, and as much eating as she has been doing, I would LOVE to know what she weighed and measured today!

Klaire has "kicked it up a notch." One of my concerns I voiced with Dr. Beene last week was that Klaire seemed a little "too good." I had to wake her for almost every feeding because I didn't want her to go too long without eating (I only did this because I was still worried about the jaundice not being out of her system). She hardly ever even cried. Dr. Beene assured me that she was just fine, and she would eat when she was hungry. I backed off a little bit and by the weekend she was definitely letting me know when she was hungry. Now, a week later, she is waking up in the night every two hours to eat, and is actually very hard to soothe to get back to sleep. So, I would say that our easy baby has "livened up" a bit, but that is just fine! Now I know she is real!

I think she may have her days and nights mixed up. Her longest stretches of sleep are currently in the day time. She is so peaceful and calm during the day. And starting around 8 at night, she gets gassy, fussy, and never really seems completely relaxed until around 5 or 6 the next morning. She does eventually go to sleep, but not for long stretches. I know this is just a season. I'm trying to enjoy every moment. She really is the sweetest little thing though. Her eyes are open so much more and I melt when I feel like she is really looking at me. I'm just so glad she is HERE! Can I just say how much I DON'T MISS BEING PREGNANT AT ALL? Give me sleepless nights with a crying baby, I don't care...I'm just glad to not have her inside me anymore! I'd much rather look at my baby's sweet little face any day. My favorite moments are seeing her smile after she is done eating. That gives me an energy rush even in the sleepiest of times!

Speaking of heights and weights earlier, I happened to find the little card that was inside Korben's bed at the hospital with all of his birth measurements on it. I thought I would compare it with Klaire's.

They were both born at 38 weeks:

John "Korben" Rodgers
Birthday 3/10/08
Time 11:59 p.m.
Weight 8-3
Length 21 1/2
Head 13
Chest 13 1/2

Adalyn "Klaire" Rodgers
Birthday 12/26/10
Time 9:04 a.m.
Weight 8-15
Length 20 1/4
Head 13 1/2
Chest 14 1/2

So, other than length, Klaire was a little bigger than him in every way! Surprising to me! It will be interesting to compare their growth with each other at each month's birthday. It is so hard to believe that our girl will be one month old a week from tomorrow! I know that this first year of her life will FLY by. That is why I don't care that she has "kicked it up a notch." I treasure this time with my precious daughter. Korben has proven to me that our babies grow up too fast!

Thursday, January 13, 2011

My two children

I've survived a week having two children at home with me. (Side note- I still can't believe the words "children" and "kids" apply to me. How can I be old enough to have KIDS?) To be honest, it has been nothing like I expected...it has been MUCH, MUCH better! I have to give credit to my two sweet kiddos. First of all, Korben is in love with her, and has blown me away with his maturity and patience. And Klaire, has been the easiest, most laid-back baby ever. I know that any of these things could change in an instant, but for now, I'm just grateful.

After Klaire was admitted to the hospital for her jaundice, Korben went back home with my mom for 3 nights. Aaron met my mom in Clarksville on Tuesday afternoon and brought him back home so we could finally be a family of four! I was so excited and yet so nervous for him to get home. I will never forget what he said when he walked in the house. I greeted him at the garage door. He hugged and kissed me, then quickly asked where Baby Klaire was. I told him she was in the living room in her bouncy seat. He walked right up to her and said "Hey Baby Klaire!" "Mom, her jammies are SO ADORABLE!" and put his hands over his mouth and giggled! We have had countless more moments like this. He says that her outfits are "gorgeous", and mimics everything I ever say to her. Such as "Hey, pretty girl" or "Klaire Bear". I was warned of him being jealous of her, but I genuinely feel like Korben and I are on the same team and we are bonded through equal love for her! He even wants to help me change every diaper. Honestly, he has been a GREAT help to me. He goes and gets diapers and wipes, throws things away for me, gets pacifiers and blankets, and even throws dirty things in the washer. He is my right hand man, and I can't wait to tell Klaire one day what a fabulous big brother she has (Well, she will probably already know that!).

A wise friend of mine with three children gave me some great advice. She told me that she has taught her kids that when she is in her chair in her bedroom nursing the baby that the two older children can come in there, but they can't bring toys in there or play. We taught Korben that rule the very first day I was home alone with them all day, and it has been monumental to us! When the door is open to my bedroom, from my chair I can practically see everything in the house. When I'm feeding Klaire, Korben knows he can come in and talk to me, but he completely understands that toys have to be dropped at the door. This has been such a simple blessing to not have to monitor or worry about spider man flying at my daughter's head.

When Aaron left for work one morning last week, Klaire starting crying shortly after because it was time for a feeding. Korben said "She wants her daddy." I thought it was so sweet! To be completely accurate, he said "He wants his daddy in reference to Klaire. He still calls her a He most of the time, although he knows she is a girl! He is working on getting the right pronouns!

One thing that has blown my mind about Korben is that when we told him we were going to have a baby back in May, he didn't understand anything. He was two years and two months at the time. As the pregnancy progressed, he understood a little more, and REALLY seemed to understand at the end of my pregnancy. Now he is two months away from being three, and I feel like there is nothing he doesn't understand. He is so smart. I feel like I'm talking to a six or seven year old most of the time. I can't imagine how I'm going to feel when he actually is six or seven! Ahhh...when did my baby grow up? I could cry thinking about how big Korben is. Everything about him looks huge to me now. When I hug him (I can hardly pick him up by the way...40 lbs,I think!), all I can think of is how "solid" he feels! When I look at his eyes, I seriously think "His eyes are so big." And his eyelashes are SO LONG! And don't get me started on how big his bottom looks when I change his pull-up! Holy Moly! All of these thoughts I have after only 3 weeks of tiny Klaire in my life. Wow, did she ever put things in perspective.


I love when he takes her hand and makes her wave. He most always says "Hey Big Brother" for her. I can't wait until she can reciprocate the love that he is constantly giving to her.

I apologize if this is poorly written. I am grateful for any spare moment I have to jot down memories and I don't have time to proofread. I also don't have time to attach pictures. Terrible, I know. I will do that soon. Just glad to get these random little stories typed out so they don't escape my brain.