Paytin Lily at 3 months

Another month has flown by and Paytin is now THREE months old! 1/4 of a year already. Broken record playing now: Where does the time go?!

A little bit about Paytin at 3 months:

• still loves loves to nurse. In fact, I'm starting to think she's abusing her privileges ;). She easily nurses every 2 hours at night minus a 3-4 hour stretch that she does from about 7:30 to 11:30 (of course while I'm not sleeping). She nurses more sporadically during the day even though she doesnt have her days and nights confused. She just likes to stock up at night time for all the play time during the day!
• She is still cosleeping with us, and with us just battling the flu bug and her still waking up congested in the night, I'm not in a hurry to rush her away from my side just yet. But that does mean that I get very little sleep during the night, which I guess my body has just grown accustomed too. I get to take a rare nap here or there to keep me going just fine.
• We still don't have a "schedule" persay but more of a routine that we are getting into.  It seems like these days Paytin roughly sleeps 7:30 pm to about 7-8 am (nursing every 2 hours after about 11ish), she will then stay up for an hour or two, and then take a couple hour nap (if she's going to "cut" a nap during the day, or wake up early from it, this is the one she will "opt" out of) then she will stay up for about 2-3 hours maybe dozing in her swing or playmat for a few seconds, and then take another long nap in the afternoon anywhere from 2-3 hours. Then up again for a couple hours, and start all over again!
• She wears 0-3 clothes somewhat snuggley and easily fits into all her 3 month old clothes now. She's working up the ramps of getting into size 2 diapers but isn't there quite yet.
• Another blessing, is Paytin doesn't poop at night. She gives me a break and therefore I really only have to do one diaper change during the night, Yay!
• She love love loves Brayden still and has a thing for Daddy in his uniform :). She always smiles and coos at Daddy but does it even more when he is all in black!
• She and I have a great routine in the mornings to have a nice long chat on her changing table and in my rocking chair before the rest of the household gets up. It's when she gets most excited for me and smiles, laughs, and coos
• She still loves bath time, doesnt mind getting her diaper changed, sleeps swaddled, and doesn't enjoy taking a pacifier most of the time.
• She rubs her face when she's tired and whenever she wakes up, her whole brow line gets really red, it's adorable.
• She still sleeps on her tummy, but will occasionally fall asleep on her back now.
• Her favorite place to be has quickly transitioned to her vibrating chair ever since Grandpa Kraft changed the batteries for her. She will sit there for a long time with us at dinner and during playtime or whatever, and happily sleeps in there too.
• She has a little bunny blanket that has a satin side that she seems to really like too. She wraps her arms in it and likes to pull it up to her face and rub it on her skin, which is adorable.
• She still really loves to be sang too and love love loves music. (Taylor Swift is her favorite right now ;) )
• Still not a fan of the carriers which is a big bummer still, but is happy being in her carseat as long as she's in motion (whether in the car, or in the stroller, etc). She's not a fan of being buckled in her carseat like when we go on walks and such.
• She battled a good flu bug with all of us about a week and a half ago. She unfortunately got the fever (up to 101.6 at one point), the vomitting, and the congestion that has held on the longest but she is fighting through it!
• She loves to suck on her hand, grab her toys,and wave her arms and kick her legs.
• She loves looking at herself in mirrors.
• She hates to have her nose salined or suctioned or wiped at all and flat out yells and screams at you almost everytime.
• She will get weighed in this coming Friday at a re-check, and I'm almost positive she has doubled her birthweight.
• Everyone still comments to us all the time on what a quiet cry she has, and for the most part, she really does have this dainty little cry which I am thankful for.
• She isn't one to fall asleep in my arms and only does so rarely, she gets too easily distracted and overly stimulated and does much better in our room, or her crib, with dim light and a fan going but she does cuddle with me throughout the night which I make sure to treasure!

I've written too much already and am sure I missed a million other things I wanted to make sure and note for her little baby book but I can always add them when I get to them. My big bummer this month is still not having my lens back from Canon. All my pictures will have to be point and shoot....bummer!

Point and Shoot Photos from Trip

I am working on this super long (not intentional, but it just got that way) post about our trip to Southern California but also uploaded the pics from my point and shoot camera already so I wanted to post them before I forgot. My SLR lens is broken and only shoots in manual right now, so I split the pictures up between both my cameras so I had time to enjoy our trip and not just work on snapping pictures in manual the whole time! Here's the first big batch!

Me and Em, just about 10 years of friendship and love her more than ever :)

The BEACH ahhh, home sweet home!

Loved this shot of Brayden chasing seagulls at the beach where Daddy proposed to Mommy!

Looking out at the Naval Base where Mike was stationed when we met, dated, and first were married!

Father and Son moments at their best :)

Paytin enjoyed sleeping on and off to the sound of the waves but wasn't in love with the wind!

All three of my favorite people!!!

They had SUCH a great time running from and in the waves!

Love written in the sand! So much fun to write in the sand again on that beach since Mike had a huge heart and the words "True Love is hard to find but that's what I have found in you" written in the sand when he proposed to me here!!

To the left towards the large rock is right where Mike proposed, one of my favorite memories!!

The house I grew up in (for the most part) Still looks so much the same!

Tried boy after the beach fun!

This disgustingly HUGE spider after we went out to eat dinner. Mike made me take a picture of it and made me get too close for comfort and then honked our horn at me and I ran away screaming :) Love my hubby!

Paytin playing in Gideon's new bouncer chair and breaking it in for him, he is the 4th boy Kraft cousin and should be here any day!

Taken through the glass, but I didn't want to interrupt them, cousins playing and having a ball!

Dinner picnic!

Gregory the baby whisperer, Paytin fell asleep in his arms and just loved being held by him!

Cousins playing Legos, they are all just SO cute!

Love little Luke! He is almost the same size as Brayden and just such a character!!!

P at her 2 month checkup

Well, Paytin had her 2 month well check and shots on Tuesday. Mike's schedule has changed, so he wasn't able to go with us, and again, I had to brave the shots by myself (hate that part!). Let me just take a quick second, for baby book sakes, and say how much I love our pediatrician. I chose one out of the blue for the kids, without researching since our last one wasn't available anymore and I just thank God for giving us such an awesome one this time around. She really loves kids, really cares, never seems rushed, and is so great with all the questions I ask! She's the best.

Ok, back to appt. Mike and I were both excited to get Paytin weighed to see exactly how much our chunky monkey weighs since our home scale isn't as accurate and read about 11 lbs. She came in at 10 lbs, 13 oz (50th percentile), 22 3/4 length (75% percentile) and her head was 15.5 (50% percentile). I'm super happy with this gain since she was in the 5% and 25% in everything last checkup! She's still a little itty bitty Paytin, just longer and chubbier :)

There was a little concern about Paytin's neck at our appt, that was quickly dismissed. She seems to favor one side a lot more than the other, including breastfeeding on that side better, sleeping facing that way, etc. Our doctor was concerned for a quick second but after talking to another one of the doctor's in our office, they decided she just favors it most likely because of her positioning in the womb and for us to just encourage her to use the other side as much as possible :) We also talked about Paytin's clogged tear duct because it's back with avengence, but no drops or medicine is needed yet, just keep using the warm wash cloth, and massaging it.

Then came the yucky part, the shots. The screams from my babies isn't the worst part of the shots, I know they wont remember it and that I will be able to soothe their pain momentarily, but I hate watching the nurse grab their chunky little thighs and just jam that needle in. Of course I'm thankful they do it quickly, but I just think it's so rough to have such a long needle go in such a tiny little baby! And more than the scream, I hate the big long gasp Paytin took, turned red in the face, and then the scream. From what I remember, she was easier to console than Brayden was, and not only quieted down in about 20 seconds but fell asleep almost immediately after. That night, she slept from 9 to 1:30 am without feeding, and then continued to sleep until around 12 only waking up a couple times to eat. I should have realized that was going to make the afternoon more difficult and Paytin pretty much wanted to eat eveyry 30 min to an hour, and even stopped to eat for almost an hour straight at Mike's parents house last night. She seems to be doing much better this morning, yay!

Paytin at 1 month

Here's some sweet things about our little Paytin girl at 1 month old:

• can be put to sleep by rubbing your fingers gently from the top of her head, down her forehead repeatedly. Daddy found this out pretty much as soon as we brought her home and it's still the case. It's super cute to watch her eyes start to flutter as soon as she feels us doing this.
• sleeps ON me during the night, occassionally will sleep in between Mike and I. This is NOT ideal and not what we were planning on doing, as we have a little bassinet in our room all ready for her. I talked to her pediatrician about this and she was ok with it as long as we were not sleeping too deeply (which I definitely don't at all) and aware of her. I don't like it because I don't like her sleeping on her tummy, though I have friends and family who have had the same problem and had their kids on their bellies, and I would much rather her be sleeping in her own little bassinet just because it would make me feel better, but at the same time, I am totally cherishing these nights that I get to cuddle and sleep with her like this because I know they are few and far between in the grand scheme of her sweet life! Our doctor said we will need to start working her out of it closer to 2 months, but that for now, keep doing what works.
• is a breastfeeding champ! Well, at least she really likes to eat and is for sure putting on weight! I am enjoying this part of the motherhood journey this time around as well and its a WHOLE new experience. I never thought in 4 weeks I would have crawled into the backseat of our car so many times to feed her! I have all these nice extra "tools" like a nursing cover up blanket, a boppy pillow, and a double medela pump that have all been huge luxuries to me this time around. Along with the great bonding and health benefits, breastfeeding has the convenience of never having to pack a bottle, which I really like. I feel like I stress a lot less when throwing together my diaper bag because I already have what she needs to eat! On the other hand, I am really bad about keeping a good supply in our fridge/freeze from pumping, and being in public, shopping, etc when she is hungry can be really really challenging. I am really thankful to get to experience it this time around!
• We swaddle Paytin for sleep at night, and a couple times during the day for naps. I wanted to only swaddle her at night to make sure she didnt get days and nights confused, but thankfully we didn't have that problem this time around and she really enjoys being swaddled.
• She still fits into most of her newborn clothes but is slowly starting to fit into her 0-3 month clothes now too. Most of the 0-3 clothes are pretty swimming on her, but her newborn ones are getting snug all around from getting her head through, to length, and width :)!
• She's been a fussy girl the last week or so. Nothing we can't handle and nothing serious, just a case of the crankies, or Paytin the Piss Pot as I lovingly call her :). She just knows what she wants and we have to figure it out! If she could have us laying down, with her on one of our chests, laying on her tummy, all the time, she would be one happy camper. Unfortunately that isn't the case, and she doesnt like it when things dont go her way ;)
• Brayden is still IN LOVE with her. Every day I marvel at how much he loves her and how sweet he is with her. He took to the "big brother" role like he was just waiting all this time for us to have her. I was patting her tummy the other day and he corrected me and told me I was supposed to pat her back to burp her. Mike was rocking her carseat with his foot and Brayden got pretty upset with him thinking that he was bothering her. He always wants to give her her "baby fire" (pacifier) when she cries, loves holding her, always wants to kiss her, asks a lot to have her "cuddle" with him while I read him books before naptime, etc. I love watching his love for her and its something I really really treasure.
• She does NOT like to be burped. In fact, I've been projectile spit up on twice, simply because she will refuse to burp and get all that trapped air inside her. I never had this big of a problem getting Brayden to burp...she must just know its not lady like!
• She has the brightest biggest little eyes you ever saw. I love when she's awake and looking around, she doesnt want to stay focused on our faces for too too long because she's so busy taking it all in! She particularly loves to be in her crib, facing a stuffed animal monkey Mike and I bought her. She will stare at it for quite awhile before getting fussy!
• She doesnt really care for her pacifier either way. She'll gladly take it sometimes, mostly in her carseat, but most of the times, couldnt care less about it.
• She has dry skin which I know will drive her bonkers when she gets older, we just have to keep her all lotioned up!

She's just a total doll, the apple of our eyes, and such a joy to our hearts. We're so blessed to have her in our little family. It seems like she's been here forever and at the same time, I can't fathom that she is really already a month old. How is it so hard to picture life "pre" Paytin but feel like we just brought her home yesterday? Little Miss Lilypie, Oh how LOVED you are!

Paytin Check Up

Yesterday Paytin and I went to her weight re-check. The friday after her birth she weighed in at 5 lbs 14.5 ounces and the doctor wanted to see her in another week (it was actually almost 2 weeks) to do a weight re-check and make sure she was putting on the weight. Mike and I both took guesses on what she would weigh. Mike guessed 6/2 and I guessed 6/4. Man oh man was I surprised when they weighed her and she weighed in at 6 lbs 14.5 ounces! She gained one pound exactly! She's been eating great, and even though she is a finicky eater (she varies GREATLY in how long/how much she wants to eat/how long in between each feeding), apparently she's getting what she needs! She also grew in length quite a bit, 1 and 7/8 inches growth, and an even 1 inch of growth in her head! I never pay too much attention to the "percentages" but for baby book sake, Paytin's weight is now just above the 5th percentile, her head is the 25th, and her length is the 50th. We've just got a skinny, long little lady on our hands!

Paytin paytin...

little girl, you really only like to sleep in our arms. Last night was a "rough" one for Mommy, because first we fell asleep on the couch together, then I got you up and fed you and we tried to go to bed. Once again, you weren't having it laying on your back in between Mommy and Daddy, so we cuddled for awhile. I lost track of how many times we got up together to eat and change diapers, but each time we layed down together, you decided you wanted to eat more.  Now, you've been asleep a couple hours in between Mommy's arms and your butterfly swing. Oh how I love you more than life little girl, but oh how I wish you would let me get more sleep ;)!

No sweeter flower...

than our Paytin Lily!

Auntie Sarah Shots

Yes, a picture of me and my girl. No woman really wants to be photographed in the days following childbirth, especially on the ones where we havent had a shower and slept minutes instead of hours, but as my friend Casey has set out to encourage us Moms to get in more photos, I thought I would post this (hope to be back in doing Momma in Focus soon Casey!)

Just a super sweet, in the moment shot of my Brayden who I cant believe is going to be THREE next month!

Showing Paytin's birthmark on her neck, just like Brayden's!

Paytin's Protector

Bear's baby. Our dog Bear just loves babies. He adored Brayden to pieces (and still does) and we knew it would be the same with Paytin. Here's Paytin and her Protector :)

For the love of Brayden

I had a lot of forewarning before we had Paytin about the possibility of jealousy in Brayden, him being too rough on her, trying to hurt her, etc. And I appreciated every single piece of advice or story from my family and friends. I had somewhat expected Brayden to be super jealous and very clingy about Paytin, just because of his "Mommy's boy" nature and things couldnt have gone more different from the get-go. He was happy to meet her in the hospital, but even happier when we got home. He loves "petting" her, kissing her, and holding her, and loves it when her eyes are open. He gets upset when she is crying and wants us to go to her right away, and is always concerned about where she is (upstairs in the bassinet sleeping, in her swing, etc.). He talks about her a lot, really likes to play on her playmat with her, and is just overall doing really well with the transition so far. The onyl thing I have noticed, is him acting out in new and different ways, not listening, disrespecting, "testing" Mike and I to see if we will follow through on discipline, etc. Not that he didnt do things like that before, but I have seen an increase in him doing those things in the last few days and am making a focused effort on trying to get a good session of quality Brayden time in each day to try and thwart him seeking negative attention! It helped having Grammy, Auntie Sarah, and Uncle Brian here to play with him non-stop and now we adjust to real life and everyone's new roles! I look forward to the lifelong friendship these two will share. I look forward to the sibling squabbles, the banding together to try and outsmart Mom and Dad, Brayden being protective of Paytin, and Paytin rebelling against his protection ;), etc. So grateful to have these two sweeties entrusted to us by God!

Paytin Lily 1 week old

Some Paytin Firsts

First time meeting Grammy

First Bottle

First time meeting Auntie Sarah and Uncle Brian!

The two cutie pies

I couldnt stop laughing at her position and her little belly hanging out in this shot :)

Asleep in the laundry basket ;)

My almost 3 year old Pirate! Ar Matey!