1 Month

Father's Day

We went to MawMaw and Pawpaw Porter's for the usual Sunday lunch, but had to cut it a little bit short after Kins threw up all over me and down my shirt soaking everything! We got our brand new daddy a nice grill set and a good steak. Kins spent some special time with daddy for his first father's day!

Social Butterfly
We went to Fresh Market as a family on Father's Day to pick up a steak for daddy to grill. Kinsley fell asleep on the way there and slept in the moby wrap the whole time inside the store. It's amazing how many people love to talk "baby." A couple older women stopped me and told me how they wanted their kids to hurry up and have kids, or how they were expecting grandchildren later in the year... Amazing how much of a social butterfly she is already! haha


Boogies! Ew!
We were laying in bed and I could hear Kinsley breathing hard through her nose... I grabbed her and that little blue thing and stuck it up her nose. That thing is SUPPOSED to suck in the boogies into that tube thing, but this gigantic boogie just stood on the end of the tip! Baby's crying, mommy's screaming she's gonna throw up and daddy is trying to figure out what the commotion is about. "Get the boogie! I'm gonna puke! I need to get the rest of it! She's got another one in there but she keeps sucking it back up! Hurry! Ahhh!" Finally, daddy cleaned the blue nasal thing and we got her nose cleaned out with no more boogies in sight. Phew! I wish we had that on video haha. Afterwards, I could not stop laughing and baby was back asleep breathing perfectly!

1 Month Appt
Our little girl is growing so much! She's already 9lbs and 20.5 inches! Almost out of the newborn diapies and into 0-3month clothes hooray! I like putting some of the bigger clothes on her because I can go over her feet instead of her head. Going over the head is still tricky and I'm pretty sure she doesn't like it anymore than I do.

She's got some major leg muscles on her. We are convinced she'll be walking or standing before she can even hold her head up haha. We can hold her under her arms, around her upper torso and she'll stand! Crazy!

Here's some more 1month photos:

Momma
It's been 5 weeks and I just started taking a jog around the neighborhood when hubby gets off work. I've gone a mile at the most, but it feels so good to be doing SOMETHING. I haven't had my post partum appt with my dr. yet, so until I get the okay to exercise, I have to take it easy. I've got 12 lbs to lose to get back to pre-pregnancy weight. Like 2 weeks ago I tried to do some squats and a little bit of my Turbo Kick dvd, but it was definitely too soon for exercise. You feel like everything is gonna fall out down there and your boobs are pretty sore. Now, I finally feel pretty normal although my muscles are NO WHERE near where the were before, and my mind has to realize I can't do all that I did before right away. We're going to the beach mid-july, not even a WEEK after I'm cleared for the gym, so you can imagine my anxiety to do ALL that I can before I bare my post-natal bod in my pre-natal bikini lol.

Eat, Sleep, Cuddle, Repeat

One week after I had her, we went to Beth's wedding... We didn't take any photos, but I managed to grab some from my Nana who had one of me and Kins at the Rehearsal Dinner and one of our new little fam at the wedding reception:

I don't know if I've come up with the perfect nickname for her yet, but some of the ones I try out on a regular basis are my little boo-boo, princess, punkin (although Foxy called dibs on this one), baby-girl, kinsy-poo (for obvious reasons haha), little lamb, sweet pea, and cuddle-bug. Here is some pics I took of her yesterday for her 1 month photo sesh.

This little crotched outfit was made by my nana especially for baby kins! I love the little pearl buttons on the booties! And I'm surprised that they fit her little feet perfectly!

Still got them blue eyes!

WOW! I can't believe how FAST the first month flies by! 

We've had a great first month! We have had a couple sleepless nights, but most of them have been quite good. I just love cuddling with her and getting to know her more each day. We've had a lot of visitors come and see the new addition. We had some great meals brought by and even made it out of the house a couple times on various shopping trips. I figured out the Moby wrap and tried it out while we ran to the grocery store the other day. She LOVES it. She's been so cuddly lately that she'd stay in it all day!

Here's some pics with her aunt Kenan and Uncle Zac (Grays sis and bro).

Hubby has been UNBELIEVABLY helpful and sweet! He ran to the store like 4 times in 1 hour to grab stuff we needed. He has kept up the house and the yard and is always willing to change the diapers. I've always loved his servant's heart, but i've grown to appreciate it even more when it comes to our baby. I know it's hard for the husbands to help when she's crying to be fed or even just comforted by her mommy, but he has done everything he can for us and more! I love the way he does everything he can to let mommy have a break. Last night she smiled when he was talking to her and today they cuddled while mommy edited photos. 

The past 2 days she's been in a feeding frenzy. Just about every hour, when she's awake, she wanted to nurse. I started nursing laying down on our sides, so when she falls asleep we just cuddle and nap for a little bit. 

I ordered a memory book off Etsy for her. I can't WAIT for it to come! It is like a scrapbook, with all of the hard stuff already done for you. I just have to fill in the blanks and add the photos. I can't wait to have all her stuff in ONE place. I think I have ultrasound photos in the console of my car right now lol.

This morning she kept smiling so big when I was smiling and talking to her. She's even giggled some.  It's so precious! I love watching her become aware of so many things. Her world is slowly getting bigger and bigger. 

I can't wait to see what's in store for the next month!

Birth of Kinsley Video

Don't worry this video does NOT show anything gross... no pushing, no baby coming out lol just us leading up to her arrival, her first cry and heartbeat check after making her appearance, holding her for the first time, and our drive home! I love this little girl!

*PS I wish I had more pics of the rest of our family at the hospital... I stole most of these from fb ha. Where's mawmaw Snider when you need her?! haha

3weeks, 4days

I can't believe we are on the verge of our baby being a month old! CRAZY how fast time is flying!

I think she laughed for the first time this week. Gray and I have both had the opportunity of hearing it at separate times. I absolutely love when she smiles, it makes me smile. She has also started grabbing my hair.. not pulling it, but just holding on... with both hands sometimes. We've both also had the opportunity of also witnessing big boogies. I got the blue thing out today after one, but it eventually blew out on it's own. Sometimes she smiles after she goes to the bathroom or a boogie comes out.. I think she finds it funny that WE have to clean it up ha. 

We ran out of diapers for the first time. I took Kinsley in Target just carrying her in my arm to grab some more. It was a hot day and she had already fussed in the post office. Girl after my own heart in hating the post office... luckily the line was short. 

The diaper rash is gone thanks to using pampers swaddlers for newborns and pampers soft wipes. 

We had people over last thursday night to meet Kinsley for the first time. She let a couple people hold her before begging for mommy to feed her (even though I fed her twice right before guests came) though I think she mainly wanted comfort. She also got some cute gifts!

We had a great time in Raleigh this weekend. She slept the whole way in the car both there and back. Shuggy got her an adorable cake with little booties on top... it was delish! She also got to be held by Grammy, Aunt Lauri, Aunt Barbara, Aunt Claudine, Nana and Papa for the very first time! She slept great, too!

We are finally getting on a better sleep schedule. I think she is becoming more active in the day, which helps... even though she is sleeping in my lap as we speak! haha. I fed her at 10pm, not again til 3am, and then 6am before we finally got up at 9. I've realized not to rush the feeding process... the goal is NOT to get her back to sleep, but to get her FULL. That makes me have to get up less. 

I almost feel as though she'll walk before she crawls... she's got some powerful legs on her! She also lifts her head up a lot. Her eyes will lock with yours. Once, she followed me from one side of the room to the other. She's so advanced :) haha. 

Wondering who she looks like? Here are my and Gray's baby pictures paired with Kinsley's.... 

Newborn photos: Brittany, Kinsley, Gray

 Gray, Kinsley, Brittany (obviously not all the same age, though)

3 more weeks until my 6 weeks check up/ I can go to the gym... hopefully things will continue to heal. I still take ibuprofen daily. Diet will be starting soon... as soon as I eat all the left over cake, that is :)

Well, I gotta save some for her 1 month blog post! Have a great Tuesday!

Spending All My Time with You

I love spending time with my baby. Some things I love the most this week are:

- the big smiles she gives as she's nodding off to dream land... it makes me giggle and thankful she's having pleasant dreams

- the sweet smell of baby's breath

- laying in bed with her snuggled on my chest

- the coos and/or grunts she makes when she's sleeping... or pooping

- watching her get excited when she sees boobies and knows it's time to eat and then watching her act as if it was the best meal of her life as she slips into a milk coma

We went out by ourselves for the first time this week. I had to practice opening and closing the stroller inside the house before I went out in public haha. We took a ride up to wolf camera to print some pics, but the trip was unsuccessful. After all that trouble of getting her out, we made our way down to Eckerd instead. I still felt weird that I was out with MY daughter.

Shuggy took us shopping the other day. Kinsley got her first dolly. I got a moby wrap that I can't wait to try out. We picked up some more Pampers Soft wipes... they are so much better than the other wipes. She would get a little rash on her bum from the other kind... I like finding which things are best for my baby. Butt Paste is another great investment for little bum rashes.

Kinsley goes all these places and she has no idea because she's always asleep. haha.

She swung in her swing for the first time. I had to pack it with blankets since she's still so little. She slept the whole time just rockin away. 

I gave her a bath yesterday and she didn't cry. I think she kind of liked it.. But who wouldn't with a pink spa tub like hers ha. Her belly button thing finally fell off a couple days ago.. glad its gone. It makes baths so much better.

She still hates getting the hiccups.

Last night Kins got woken up on our way out the door and I had to drive by myself with a screaming newborn all the way home. I hated every second. She never cries and here I was driving during it and couldn't do anything to comfort her. I just want to make her happy all the time.

I got a "baby on board" sign for my car haha.

We've got lots going on this coming week. We're having a cookout tonight, a date at starbucks on friday, and saturday we are heading to raleigh with the Boone's for our first out of town trip! 

Post Delivery- what it's like

I know a lot of people that are expecting, and I know I wanted to know EVERYTHING I could about what it would be like. I didn't want to hear horror stories or be in a room full of people watching graphic videos, so I stalked baby blogs and websites for more info. If you're wondering about some of the things below, I wanted to write about how it was for me.

You've been carrying a baby in your tummy and you wonder what it will feel like to not have something in there...

You wonder how recovery will be and what supplies you should stock up on to feel better...

You wonder what your stomach will look like after birth... what to pack and what clothes you'll be able to fit back into...

You have been sleeping on your side for months now and you can't wait to sleep on your stomach...

**If you aren't pregnant, haven't been pregnant, or don't care to read about post-preg stuff.. please do not read further :)

Here's what it has been like for me:

I brought my stretchy pants to the hospital for post delivery, I didn't have any hopes of fitting back into pre-pregnancy pants... and don't worry, I'm not about to tell you that I could have haha. It was SO weird when the baby popped out.... my belly literally dropped and it felt so weird. I felt relieved to not have something taking up my entire insides. I took a shower at the hospital, but there's not much feeling of cleanliness with all that you have going on down there. I had researched what would be helpful for care after delivery, but I thought I would buy stuff later. Luckily, the hospital had pads, ice pack pads, medicine, disposable panties, etc that they stock in a "goodie bag" for you. So don't stress on what to bring. But do bring bigger pants for all of those goodies to fit into. Even if I had been able to fit into my pre-preg jeans, I wouldn't have been able to put them on over all that other stuff.

 Week 1 Post Delivery:

Week 2 Post Delivery:

They gave me a prescription for the pain... but I just take 4 ibuprofen 1-3 times a day. You also take colate (a stool softener), but even still, going to the bathroom scared me. I ended up having to take a laxative too. I haven't seen the stitches, so I'm not really sure what it looks like, but it's been 2 weeks now and it feels a lot better.

You still have a little belly the day of and after. I still had a pudge for a little while, but it's nice to see it go down as you get rid of stuff and your uterus shrinks back down. I was happy to see the scale back down to at least the 130's without exercise. I still have 14lbs to lose, but considering it's been only 2 weeks and I can't work out, I'm pretty shocked by how fast it is coming off. I still cannot fit into my prepregnancy jeans... I'm sure I gained more weight in my butt and thighs than in my belly haha.

Sleeping on your stomach is nearly impossible while laying in the hospital bed. The ice pack alone feels like a huge rock in there and not to mention the lovely diaper they give you to wear. There's not much moving you want to do. Once I got home and things got more comfortable... you have trouble sleeping on your stomach because your boobs are so sore. Mine looked like they had been to war and back with breastfeeding. Luckily they heal... but until they did (about a week) I was sleeping on my back or side.

more pics