Katelyn is 2 Months old!

This month went much better and we've almost worked out all the kinks:). I ended up getting mastitis AGAIN but this time was a lot better then the first. I got some great advice from a nurse at Kate's pediatrician office. I went over Katelyn's acid re-flux symptoms and while I reviewed them with her she mentioned that her crying while nursing didn't have anything to do with the re-flux and that Kate probably just doesn't like how fast my letdown was. I heard this from the lactation consultants too but the nurse told me to pump BEFORE I nurse instead of after I nurse. This trick worked wonders. We don't have Katelyn on Zantac anymore because this simple advice seemed to fix the problem! I pumped before nursing this entire month and today was the first day I didn't. I'm hoping she'll grow out of this picky request soon.

Katelyn has changed so much since last month. It's been so much fun to see her grow and develop every week. We've been soaking in every moment and unlike with Luke I have decided to hold her as much and as long as I want. I'm not so strict on my schedule as I was with Luke. I learned very quickly that the baby stage goes quick and once they hit toddler (1 year) they don't want to sit still and be held!

Luke has been so so sweet with his little sister. When Katelyn is on her activity mat, Luke gets down with her and kisses, hugs and talks to her. One day I heard him telling her "Daddy loves you" over and over again while lying next to her. It makes me so proud to see him already taking on the big brother role so well.

Here is what Katelyn's been up to!

• You smile a lot! You like when we get real close to your face and make funny baby sounds
• You gave your first laugh while Uncle Eric and Aunt Lauren were in town. Your first laugh was with Aunt Lauren and then cousin Elliana made you laugh
• Now you laugh often. When I copy your laugh you copy back. It sounds almost like a cough
• You coo and it sounds so sweet and girly
• You love your activity mat and have done well lifting your head up during tummy time
• You have become more efficient with nursing. You went from nursing up to 12x's a day in the first couple of weeks to 8x's a day to now 7-5x's a day!! You still like to nurse a long time but at least you cut the amount of times you nurse in half! 
• You are pretty picking with how you like to be nursed. You started going on a little strike and now the only way I can get you to keep nursing is by walking you around. I guess I get to burn more calories while doing it!
• You went from sleeping 2-4 hour stretches the first couple weeks to 4-6 and now you are 6-8 hour stretches! You have an occasional 9 hour stretch but they're rare.
• Luke likes to hold you, read to you, wake you up in the morning by climbing into your crib, kissing you and hugging you
• You like to suck on your fingers.
• You still have all your hair!
• You're a gassy girl:). I have to tell people when I'm in public it was you that passed gas but I'm not sure they believe me:)

Here's our 2 month old!

Kate's first bath

This was from Katelyn's first bath, after she was one week old. She didn't like the water at first but quickly got used to it. Luke was a helpful big brother and helped along the way. It took some coaching on my part to keep him from pouring the water all over her head. I can't say he listened every time but she didn't seemed to mind to much:).

I also added pictures of Luke holding Katelyn for the first time when she was two weeks old. This was a sweet moment. Up until this point Luke pretty much ignored her. Not that he was mean, he just didn't acknowledge that she was there. I would ask Luke everyday if he would like to hold her and he always gave a quick Nooo...Nope! So I figured it'll happen when he's ready. Sure enough that evening he said "hold-ee hold-ee" so I set him up on the chair with the Boppy and he held her for the first time. He was so sweet and gentle, it made me a proud Mama:)

Kate's Newborn Photo Session

We got our pictures back from Kate's newborn photo session and I am so happy and pleased! This was my one huge regret with Luke. We did pictures when he was a few months old but not when he was brand spank'n new and I was so sad. That precious look goes away so quickly! We decided to bite the bullet {more so Dave then me} and pay for professional photos. The photographer we used was amazing and does great with kids. There are a lot of photographers out there and I did my research this time around because Dave wanted me to find someone the was flexible with the variety in pictures as well as reasonable in price. Big shout out to Coco Collier Photography you were more then wonderful;). And here they are!!

Grammy and Pop-Pop meet Kate

Last week Grammy and Pop-Pop came to visit and meet Katelyn for the first time! God's timing couldn't have been anymore perfect. I literally got my mastitis the morning Grammy came in. There visit was so nice and refreshing. They helped cook, clean and most importantly spend time with Luke while I spent most my time in my room getting some much needed rest in order to heal. If they weren't there I don't know what I would've done. We even convinced them to stay a couple more days so I can be completely healed. Thanks so much for everything Grammy and Pop-Pop!

Kate is 1 Month Old

Kate is 1 month old. Time really does fly by when you're chasing around a toddler as well. God's taught me a lot this month. HUMILITY being one of them, REST being the other. With Luke, I had the perfect birth, he was sleeping through the night by the 4th day and for the most part the perfect nursing experience. With Kate, we had some unexpected hiccups along the way. She was born tongue-tied which we had to get snipped. I too was born tongue-tied {I think it may be hereditary}. This procedure helped her with nursing and she began to eat and gain weight better. She was also diagnosed with acid re-flux  Luke had this but since he would spit up we never had to treat it. We have Kate on medication because she doesn't spit up but instead swallows it back down which then burns her esophagus  This causes a lot of pain for her in the evenings. Acid re-flux also causes her to nurse really slowly. She will literally nurse for 30-45 minutes on each side totally up to an hour! Every now any then she'll do 15-25 minutes on each side. This is pretty exhausting for me and not to mention coming up with things for Luke to do during these nursing sessions!! Between the tongue-tie, not getting enough rest and pulling her off the breast when she really wasn't finished; I developed mastitis. I've heard the horror stories of this horrible infection and they're all true. It's one of the worst things I've experienced. I had severe headaches, body aches, chills (my body was shaking uncontrollably) and not to mention my boobs hurt like {bleep} and I had to nurse the whole time through it. That's the only way to get the clogged ducts out. So no more bragging from me about how much I have it all together and how easy NB's are. It's been tough. I'm praying this month will be better with my mastitis gone and Lord willing this medication for Kate works!

Despite these hiccups along the way we are really enjoying our little bundle of sweetness. She is just so stinkin cute!! She makes the cutest noises. We're seeing a mixture of the both of us in her. She definitely has my nose (maybe even more of my mom's nose then mine) I thought she had my eyes but they're looking more like Dave's eyes the more she grows. She has my hairline and all that hair might come from Dave's side. Her little body is looking more like Mommy's too.

• When you cry you sing "La La". Luke would sing "Ma Ma"
• You are an extremely quite sleeper sometimes I barely see your chest moving 
• You hardly spit up {Daddy says you're lady like about it}
• You are a grunter
• You like to be held and you've been spoiled this month with lots of holding
• Mommy loves to kiss your sweet little mouth 
• We love love love all of your hair
• Your big brother is loving to take care of you. When we put you in your swing he'll turn on the music and push you.
• Luke also likes to hold you. He gets the boppy and sits on the couch all ready to go! He also likes to touch, pat and kiss you
• You are a very SLOW eater. Mommy hopes you get quicker at this:). 
• You like your milk and quickly exceeded your birth weight before your 2 week doctor visit
• You like to fall asleep on Mommy and Daddy's chest
• Your favorite hold is upright on the shoulder
• You like car rides and loud noise. Both put you to sleep! 
• You've slept a handful of times through the night (6 hours) but you mostly sleep 4 hours.
• We just moved you to your bedroom and Mommy gets much better sleep!

It's also been crazy to see how different you are, as a mom, when you have a second child. With Luke, we would tip toe around him while he was sleeping. I'd stay home during his nap times. With Kate we've got dogs barking, Luke running around hollering and shouting and none of this seems to bother her!

Aunt Sharon came over to visit when we took these pictures. Kate was fast asleep and Sharon decided to put an ice cube to her skin. She finally woke up and then maybe 5 minutes into taking pictures she fell back asleep again. Here is sleepy little Kate!

Kate at 1 week old

It's gonna be hard to post things on time but here are some pictures I took of Kate a few weeks ago. She was 1 week old. I took these to see if I could get away with not hiring a photographer but realized quickly the editing techniques that professionals use are way to cool to pass up. So coming soon will be professional pictures of little miss Kate when she was two weeks old! I can't wait to see them!!

Little Miss Kate's Room

Kate's room is complete! It took a while, mainly because I couldn't decide which direction to take. I was so excited about having a girl and decorating a girl's nursery but realized quickly there are so many cool ideas and directions you can take! There's the shabby chic, modern, eclectic and a million other ideas out there. After going back and forth and spending countless hours on the PC looking at different bedding and fabrics I decided I wanted to go in the modern/anthroplogie/eclectic direction. No real theme, just bright and fun! I didn't want anything too matchy matchy either, just a bunch of random things that looked nice together. Well, I think I pulled it off! We love it. It's so bright and cheery it makes us happy every time we walk in. The other great thing about it is the style can grow with Kate. It's not too baby to where we'll have to change it completely once she's a toddler, child and even a tween!

Below is a list of where I purchased most of her things:

Blue end table: Homegoods, Orange lamp: Homegoods, Picture frames: Homegoods, Rug: Anthropologie, White frames: Ikea, Flower light fixture: Ikea, Yellow/White window panels: Fabric.com ($7 a yard!), Fitted crib sheet: Pottery Barn (I realized after I bought it they have the same color and pattern at Target), Bedskirt: Fabric from local store Lewis and Sheron, Be Happy and Dream Big wall art: Etsy, Dresser and Crib: Stanley Young America, Rocker: Given to me by my Aunt and Uncle, Thank you!!:), Bookcase: Ikea, Flower vases: Anthropologie, Crewel ABC artwork: Made by my Mom, Framed knit flowers: Made by my grandmother aka Omi, Knitted blanket over crib: Heirloom made by my grandmother, Frame with bows: Pier 1, "K" above crib: Hobby Lobby, Flower art above crib: Bed, Bath and Beyond, Flower knobs at dresser: Anthropologie