Haley Sings to Kendall

Kendall was 4 days old when this video was taken.

Memorial Day Weekend

Kendall is back to eating about 8 times a day. She has not done any more projectile vomiting, either. She was awake alot yesterday. She took a few heavy naps late yesterday afternoon. I was worried that these late naps might mean she would stay up last night, but she didn't. She did not have any 4 hour stretches between meals last night, but she went back to sleep after each meal. This allowed me to get some good sleep, too.

We got to visit with lots of friends and family this weekend, including Laura, Clifton, Abigail, and Samuel, Sheila, Rick, and Madelyn, Ruth and George, and Marynell and Oscar. Haley had a big weekend. She and Kevin went to the lake on Saturday to spend time with the Starnes. She also got to go on a picnic yesterday with her friends Anna and Trip.

Haley has caught a cold, so she's not allowed to come close to the baby right now. She's doing a really good job with this.

Here's another pic of Haley and Kendall. Can you tell these girls are sisters?



Kendall has found her thumb another time or two.



Click here to see video of Kendall sucking her thumb

Eating more frequently

Kendall has been eating more frequently, eating smaller meals, and throwing up more the past few days. She has had three episodes of projectile vomiting, which I absolutely hate. Here's her eating schedule from Thursday:

1 9:00 AM
2 11:00 AM
3 2:00 PM
4 4:25 PM
5 6:00 PM
7 8:50 PM
8 10:10 PM
9 11:45 PM
10 3:25 AM (Friday morning)
11 6:30 AM

Here's Kendall's eating schedule from Friday:

1 9:30 AM
2 12:55 PM
3 4:00 PM
5 5:30 PM
6 9:35 PM
7 10:45 PM
8 2:25 AM (Saturday morning)
9 5:00 AM

She did not eat again until 9:30 AM this morning.

Kevin got his head chewed off last night when he commented on the fact that she was eating so frequently - his comment was 'Aren't you doing yourself in by feeding her so often?' He quickly learned that this is not he kind of comment you make to a sleep deprived woman who is trying to figure out why her child's eating preferences have completely changed in less than 24 hours and who's trying to do her best to give her baby what she needs. Especially when you're the dad that doesn't have to get up at night ;)

So, last night, I thought it would only be fair to hand her off to him. I brought her to him sometime after the 10:45 PM meal. She was fussy and wouldn't go down easily for me. Kevin tried to let her sleep next to him on the bed, but he said she was too noisy;) He commented to me this morning that there was no way that I could sleep with her in the room with me if she was that noisy. He eventually got her to sleep in the crib for an hour and a half - I got her again after 2.

This morning, she woke up a little after 6. I was not willing to feed her again at this point. I put her in the bed next to me, and we both fell asleep. I didn't wake up until after 9. I don't like putting her to sleep in the bed with me and I don't want to make a habit out of it, but I really needed the rest this morning.

Haley and Kevin are off to the lake today to spend time with his family. I will do my best to keep Kendall awake as much as possible - we'll see how that goes! :)

A gift from God

Last night, while she was holding Kendall, Haley asked me 'Mommy, who gave us our baby...exactly?' I told her 'God gave us our baby, Haley. She is our gift from God.' Haley responded 'Oh, thank you God! Thank you for our baby.'

Here is Kendall looking at Haley.

1 week old checkup

Kendall had her first doctor appointment yesterday. Everything checked out well. She weighed in at 8 lb 8 oz! Her birth weight was 8 lb 2 oz, so she's regained her birth weight and then some. I'm so proud of her. She's such a good little eater.

She also did well with her schedule yesterday. She stayed awake more yesterday than any other day so far. She stayed awake several times after meals, and she sometimes woke up early from her naps and stayed awake and content for a little while before her next meal (our normal routine is eat, then awake time - if any, then sleep).

Here's her eating schedule from yesterday. She went two 4 hour stretches at night - yea!

Wednesday morning:
1 9:25 AM
2 12:10 PM (this was more like a half meal)
3 1:45 PM (this was more like a half meal)
4 3:45 PM
5 7:05 PM
6 9:45 PM

Thursday morning:
7 1:55 AM
8 5:55 AM

1 week old today!

Kendall Jane is 1 week old today. It has been so much fun taking care of her. She is a very sweet baby and thus far, doesn't fuss unless something is actually wrong (yes, I know this will probably change soon).

Haley still adores her baby sister. She wants her to be awake more so she can look at her, hold her, and talk to her. I've promised Haley that as Kendall gets older, she will be awake more and Haley can hold her more often.

Here are some pictures of the girls since we've left the hospital:

Marynell got Haley her very own big girl t shirt!



Kendall's first night sleeping at home - this cradle has been used by many babies in the Starnes family, including Haley.



Daddy and Kendall.



Bianka, Haley, and Kendall enjoy the pretty spring weather (Haley's tatoos came from a birthday party on Saturday).



Awake on Daddy's lap.



Haley LOVES holding Kendall.



Again, you gotta love that tatoo ;)



My pretty little thing...

A little better night's sleep

I realized late yesterday afternoon why Kendall had such a bad night the night before. I added a few potentially bad foods to a salad on Monday - peppers and onions. I had already been eating cucumbers, but they're on the list too. I'm guessing it was the peppers and/or onions that set Kendall off and made her tummy hurt so bad. Of course, I realized this yesterday afternoon AFTER I had already had another big bowl of salad, and Kendall's tummy seemed to be hurting her some more late yesterday afternoon and yesterday evening.

It was not as bad, though. She still managed to go 1 four hour period between meals in the evening, which was great. Here's Kendall's eating schedule for yesterday:

Tuesday - Day time
1 8:30 AM (she woke up on her own a little over 3 hours after her last meal)
2 11:15 AM (again, she woke up on her own)
3 2:45 PM (I woke her up)
4 6:00 PM (I woke her up - she fussed alot a little while after this meal - I think her tummy was hurting)
5 8:30 PM (Kendall never took a long nap between meals 4 and 5. She slept a little and then woke up fussing and sometimes screaming).
6 10:50 PM - Kendall fussed some and seemed to be hurting after this meal, too. What finally seemed to help was laying her on my arm on her tummy. She went from screaming bloody murder to being totally calm after I did this.

Wednesday - Early Morning
7 2:55 AM - Kendall woke up on her own. This was our middle of the night 4 hour stretch - yea! She went back to sleep easily after this meal, so I think the effect of the bad foods were out of my milk by that time.
8 6:15 AM - Kendall woke up on her own.

Hopefully, the illusive 4 hour night time stretch will start becoming a regular thing sometime over the next week or so. This would allow both Kendall and I to get a good 3 hours of straight sleep.

Yesterday was supposed to be my first day with both girls and no help. Because of the rough night Monday night/Tuesday morning, though, I asked Kevin if it would be possible for him to work from home yesterday morning. He said yes, and this allowed me to get a good 45 minutes or hour more of sleep.

It was tough having both girls. I wanted Haley to have a movie day and watch movies all afternoon. She watched 1 (Cinderella, of course), but then got bored with it. She asked me to take her outside and then to please play with her, and I felt really bad that I couldn't do enough with her. We did get a few minutes of quiet time together to read before her nap. When Kevin got home, he took her outside and she spent the evening playing with the neighborhood kids, so she was really happy about that.

Why sleep at night when you sleep all day?

We went a step backwards with Kendall's night time sleeping last night. Here is her eating schedule from yesterday:

Tuesday
1 6:00 AM
2 10:00 AM (I let her go a little longer since it was close to night time - I still had to wake her up at 10:00)
3 1:00 PM
4 4:00 PM
5 7:20 PM

From this point until MIDNIGHT, baby Kendall was awake. She was only happy for the first few hours. After 9ish, she started wanting to nurse for 5 or 6 minutes every half an hour or so. She fussed alot, which she has not done before, and it seemed like she had some gas that was hurting her. I need to read up again on what NOT to eat while you're nursing and see if something I ate yesterday may have contributed to the crazy evening we had.

6 1:50 AM (this was her next true meal)
7 5:10 AM

She ate again around 8:30 this morning - she woke up on her own for this meal and for her middle of the night meals. I had to wake her up for each of her day time meals.

Mom was here to help during the day yesterday. She and Haley had a great time - Mom did Haley's hair, painted her toe nails, and dressed her up like Minnie Mouse - complete with dress, hair bow, and shoes. She also helped me get several loads of laundry done and clean sheets on two beds - thanks, Mom!!!





My parents and Kevin's parents had dinner with us last night. I did nothing - other than eat! When I got Kendall up for her evening meal, I told all the grandparents that it was their job to keep Kendall awake for awhile after she ate. I think I jinxed myself with that one!

Waking Kendall up

I was talking with Kevin yesterday about the fact that Kendall went longer stretches in between meals on Saturday during the day than she did Saturday night/Sunday morning. He suggested that I not let her go such long stretches during the day. At first I did not like this idea, because it meant I would have to wake Kendall up during the day to eat. I never did this with Haley. By the time Haley was 5 days old, she was consistently eating every 4 hours, day and night.

But after I thought about it a little bit, I decided it would be worth waking her up during the day if we both got a little more sleep at night. So we woke her up two or three times yesterday at the 3 hour mark to feed her. Here is Kendall's eating schedule for yesterday:

Sunday
1 6:30 AM
2 11:10 AM (this was before I decided to wake her up every 3 hours)
3 2:15 PM (I believe we woke her up for meals 3, 4, and 5)
4 5:20 PM
5 8:30 PM
Monday
6 12:20 AM
7 2:55 AM (she really only ate half a meal rather than a full meal at this time)
8 6:00 AM

She ended up having 1 long stretch (between meals 5 and 6) and only 1 short stretch (between meals 6 and 7). We'll stick with the 3 hour plan during the day for now. Hopefully, we'll be able to get 2 long stretches at night before too long.

Differences between Haley and Kendall at this age are the length of time they went between meals as well as they way they woke up after naps. Haley was always furious. Her face would turn red and she was VERY anxious to eat. Kendall rarely wakes up that way. She may cry a little - even alot if she has a stinky diaper - but she is not usually too mad. Kendall also eats smaller meals than Haley did at this age. Neither of them are/were good burpers. I was rarely able to get Haley to burp, and I'm rarely able to get Kendall to burp, either.

We'll see how today goes!

Update on Kendall Jane

Kendall is doing great. She's eating anywhere from every 2 hours to every 4 plus hours. Usually, she eats around every 3 hours. The night before last, she ate for shorter stretches towards the beginning of the night and went a longer stretch at the end of the night. Yesterday during the day, she twice went around 4 hours between meals - this allowed her (and me) to take longer naps. At one point yesterday, she was up for 2 hours.

Marynell came over yesterday and helped me give Kendall her first sponge bath at home. Kendall did NOT like it. When Mom started washing her hair, she was ok with this part for a few minutes, then she started fussing again.

Last night, Kendall wanted to eat more often (of course). At least twice, she went two hour stretches. She stayed up for awhile during her early morning feeding, took a short nap and then ate again around 6:30. She's still asleep now (10:54), and I will be waking her up soon. I would have loved to have slept the whole time she did this morning, but Kendall's big sis woke me up around 9:30. She was doing something in her room that sounded like vocal exercises - singing 'ahhhh' up and down a scale. Haley's so silly.

Haley's Big Day

Haley had a big day yesterday! Kevin took Haley and Bianka to Frankie's fun park yesterday morning. Haley rode the go carts with her dad. I'm glad I didn't know about this ahead of time, because they do not give kids helmets.

Click here to see Haley riding the go cart with her dad

Haley also had a big birthday party to attend yesterday afternoon. One of Haley's best friends Anna celebrated her 3rd birthday. Anna's mom is so creative. Anna loves bugs, so Anna's mom created an archaeology craft for the kids. She baked (pretend) bugs into something that ended up looking like a rock. The kids each got to hammer their rocks to get their bugs out.

Click here to see a video of Haley at Anna's party

Last night, Haley got to play with her friend Jana AND eat dinner with the Banks. She didn't get a nap, and she didn't go to bed until around 10:00. She slept until 9:30 this morning.

Haley is definitely going miss her daddy tomorrow when he goes back to work.

Haley holds Kendall for the first time

Here's a video of Haley holding Kendall Jane for the first time!



Click here to see more videos of Kendall Jane

We're home!

We came home from the hospital late this morning. Baby K is doing great. So far today, she's been eating every 3 1/2 or 4 hours. Here are a few pics of my favorite two girls in the world!

Haley was SO excited to meet Kendall, and she loves holding her.



Here is Haley with her great grandmama Wooten.



A proud daddy...



Kevin and my sweet girls.



Click here to see more pictures of Haley and Kendall

Prenatal Appointment #11

I started having some mild contractions last night. They weren't too bad, but they were intense enough to put a little healthy panic in me. I did a load of laundry, straightened the house a little, and put the infant seat together.

The contractions kept me up for part of the night. They subsided not long after I got up this morning. I stayed home from work since I didn't get much sleep. When I called the nurse this morning, she said what I was feeling was probably the baby moving down. She told me I didn't need to come in prior to my regular appointment time unless the contractions became regular. I had no noticeable contractions today, and I went in for my regular appointment at 4.

The doctor checked me and said that due to how far dilated I was, he suggested that we induce tomorrow morning. I was quick to say OK - the possibility of having another sleepless night is something I'd like to avoid!

Haley was unfazed by the news. For awhile now, she has said to me 'Mommy, you told me that baby Kendall would be born after my birthday!' She's right - I did tell her that - and she thought that by 'after her birthday,' I meant really soon after her birthday. So I thought she would be excited when I told her tonight that baby K was coming tomorrow, but she's pretty nonchalant about it.

I can't believe I get to meet my new little scooter tomorrow!!!!!

What are we doing tomorrow?

Prenatal Appointment #10

All went well yesterday at my checkup. This week, baby's estimated weight was 7 pounds, which just goes to show that these estimates are just that - estimates! I still think she'll be close to 8 if not a little over. Haley was 7 14, and I've gained a little more this time around and everyone says my belly is bigger this time around, too!

The dr also told me I'm a little more dilated this week than last. The placenta continues to calcify (he showed me the first few spots indicating this last week). I asked if it was calcifying (deteriorating) too much, and he said no, it was fine.

Mom may be the only person who may believe me when I say I'll probably go until my induction date. I know anything's possible, but if I had to bet on it, I will not go into labor on my own. One of my coworkers was convinced I'd have the baby on May 1, and another one just KNOWS that it will be this Wednesday or next Wednesday. So silly. My doctor said he doesn't feel that strongly about when I will go into labor. He did indicate that everything looked great.

Have a nice evening...continued

So, not 1 minute after I posted my last message, I heard Haley screaming - she was throwing up. The poor child had been telling us all night that her tummy hurt, and Kevin even gave her some emotrol. She cried for a few minutes while I was bathing her, then she seemed better (and told me to have a nice evening), and then she got sick all over her bed and her room while Kevin was putting her to sleep.

It took a little bit of time to calm her down and get her completely bathed. After she started feeling better, she returned to her cheerful self. As she watched Kevin and I clean, she said 'Ya'll are doing a great job!' While she watched us make up her bed, she said 'Thank ya'll for putting my bed together.' How many 3 years olds say such sweet things - especially after they are sick?

Have a nice evening!

Haley complained about her tummy hurting tonight, but she was still happy and polite all night. She told me thank you at least twenty times. Kevin, Haley, and I went for ice cream after dinner. Kevin and Haley sat down first, and I came out after I paid for our order. I brought napkins to the table, and Haley said 'Thank you, Mommy, for bringing us some napkins!'

As Haley was going to bed tonight, she asked me if I was going to bed soon. I told her yes, I was going to bed soon. She gave me a great big smile and said 'Have a nice evening!'