Miss Kayci Has a Cold

Miss Kayci has a cold. She started feeling bad on Friday with a runny nose and a wet cough. Adam and Katie came over to stay for a couple of days Friday night and got the short end of that stick. Friday night was really rough. It was almost like the first couple fo weeks after she came home from the hospital. She woke up every two hours. Poor little baby was having trouble sleeping because she was couging and stuffy. So we camped out on her floor that night while she slept in her crib. Hearing her scream because she felt bad and not being able to do a thing about it is a gut wrenching experience. 

To make matters worse, we got conflicting advice on how to treat her. Baby medicine we were advised to give her said to call the doctor for children under 2 years old. One of our baby books said to take her off of milk products (formula), but keep fluids coming in. The book also said to put a humidifier in her room and put a pillow under one side of her mattress. The on-call nurse at the doctor's office also said to remove her from formula and solid foods and to give her Pedialyte ever 2 hours until she was feeling better. The nurse also said that humidifier wasn't necessary, but to take her in a steamy bathroom every few hours. So we took her off formula and gave her nothing but Pedialyte for almost 24 hours. Kayci had a low grade fever and was sleeping quite a bit more than usual.

On Monday when Kristi finally got to talk to the doctor's office they first said that nothing was wrong with Kayci until the nurse heard her cough over the phone in the background. That's when the nurse backtracked and decided that maybe she did need to come in after all. When Kristi took Kayci in (she weighs 16 lbs 10 oz, by the way) the doctor said that she should not have been taken off her formula and that the nurse on the phone was wrong. 

Apparently, that nurse is known to prescribe Pedialyte. We were very upset because when we call the doctor's office we expect to get the same quality of advice from the on-call nurse as we would from the doctor's nurse. That also means that poor little Kayci went almost a day without any real nourishment. That breaks my heart that we did that to her, but we're new parents acting on the nurse's advice. What the hell do we know?

It turns out that Kayci has a little cold and a double ear infection. Kayci got some medicine and hates taking it. Why do they make baby medicine taste like bubble gum? How is a baby supposed to know what bubble gum is, much less taste like? If they were smart they'd make it taste like a blanket or rice cereal or something else that a baby might know the taste of.

But in typical Kayci fashion, she's trying so hard to be the smiley girl that she normally is. She'll look at you and smile and you can watch as her facve changes because she doesn't feel good and she fusses a little. She wants so badly to be playful and happy. I love that little monkey.

That Sleeping Through the Night Thing... Yeah. Not So Much.

So, the sleeping through the night thing didn't take. The last couple of nights have been rather rough. Sunday night Kayci was up either hungry or with a gassy tummy either 3 or 4 times. Last night she slept with us because of the nasty weather (Kristi insisted) and got up 3 times. Like I said before, I'm ready for a full night's sleep on a regular basis again. That's not to make it seem like we're up all night or anything, but those nights when I have first feeding are rough. Sleeping for 2 or 3 hours and then having to get up is not one of my favorite things. It's one of the reasons I never joined the military.

This past week Kayci has had some pretty painful gas, which was painful for us to watch and help her get through. We've tried a variety of changes in her diet without a whole lot of luck. At this point it seems like bananas are the main culprit. Peas also make her gassy and she's developed a taste for pears after initially grimacing every time we gave her a spoonful. Right now we've decided to go back to the basics to try to figure out what's making her so gassy. So it's back to rice cereal, pears and sweet potatoes. Then we'll introduce new foods again gradually and watch her for a couple of days to see if it has any effect.

Kayci is sitting up mostly on her own now. She can't pull herself up to sitting yet, but if you sit her down just right she can sit for several seconds without falling over. When she starts to fall, she can usually adjust herself and stop it.

She's also goten to the point where she doesn't mind tummy time anymore. She can even scoot a little- backwards. She'll also wiggle herself around in circles.

She's such a happy baby. We're truly blessed. Whenever things are really getting heavy all I have to do is play with Kayci for a little bit and everything seems okay. She has the biggest smiles and I am constantly amazed at her. She radiates such love. Being a Daddy is the best thing ever. I really believe that if everyone had the time to be with thier baby and to love on them that the world would be a better place. I know that sounds a bit Utopian, but having a baby makes you do things for her and for Mommy, not just for yourself. It makes you see the entire world and the people in it a different way. I dread the day that Kayci will ever get hurt or have to deal with some of the jackasses out there. I wish I could put these days in a bottle.

Kayci Slept Through the Night!

KAYCI SLEPT THROUGH THE NIGHT! Kayci slept through the night! Kayci slept through the night! Kayci slept through the night! Kayci slept through the night! Kayci slept through the night! Kayci slept through the night! Kayci slept through the night! Kayci slept through the night! Kayci slept through the night! Kayci slept through the night! 

I don't know whether it had anything to do with it, but Kayci didn't go to bed last night until between 9 and 9:30. She also didn't take her power nap in the evening. I don't know what did it, but it happened.

Kristi had first feeding last night. She woke me up at 5am and asked me if I had gotten up and fed Kayci during the night. I told her I hadn't and then realized that something might be wrong. She told me nothing was wrong, but that she had slept all night. It was a really weird feeling. So THAT's what 7 hours of uninterrupted sleep was like... I like it! I want more.

Kayci Loves Sammy Bearkat

We've had a great week with Kayci. This week we introduced her to two new foods- pears and bananas. She likes bananas, but the pears didn't go over so well. We went to Nana's house for dinner on Wednesday and that's where she had pears for the first time. I wish I hadn't forgotten the camera, because with every bite she made this really great "who farted?" face. I'll try to get some shots of it this week.

On Saturday Kayci went to her first football game. We went up to Huntsville for Sam Houston's homecoming. Kayci LOVED it. Of course, she loves being outdoors and there were so many people and things to look at. Of course, the game covered part of naptime, so she slept through a good portion of the game, including the part where I got to dress up as Sammy Bearkat during the 3rd and part of 4th quarters and came and held her. It was in the 50s, so she was bundled up for the first time- something Mommy and I aren't good about yet. We realized that we're totally unprepared for winter, so we went to Target on the way home and got Kayci a couple of warmer outfits. We're still looking for mittens in her size, though. We used socks.

Once she woke up, Kayci got to meet Sammy Bearkat, whom she loved. She just looked at him, probably wondering which weird family memeber this was. She did smile at him a couple of times. This little girl isn't afraid of anything. Boy, are we in trouble.

On the way home we stopped for dinner at a little pizza place that we love in Willis. That's where Kayci sat in a high chair for the first time. She did really well. She really enjoyed being up like a big girl and looking around at all the people and the shiny box in the corner. We were feeling brave, so we gave her a pizza crust to chew on, but mostly she just hit herself in the head with it. Boy, are we in trouble.

And finally this week, Kayci got her own sippy cup. Kristi's mom put a glass of water to Kayci's mouth last week and Kayci wanted to drink from it. So we went and got her a sippy cup that she could grab with both hands. I hope Grandpa doesn't let her drive his car anytime soon or we'll have to run right out and buy her a car, too. Back to the cup. She grabs it, but can't quite figure out how to get it up to her mouth. She tries to bring her head down to the cup instead, but that's still awesome because she knows where her mouth is and that it goes there. Besides, she's not even 5 months old yet. I don't think I learned how to drink from a cup until some time during high school.

Kayci's First Halloween

Halloween was fun with Kayci. Of course, she didn't understand any of it, but she loved being outside and having so many things and people to look at. We went down to Ronny & Amy's church where they have an annual Halloween festival. It was a lot of fun, which you might see by the photos. Kayci was a pumpkin for Halloween courtesy of Auntie Lynn. After the trick-or-treating we went by and saw Nana since she lives just around the corner from the church. But it was Kayci's bedtime and she was getting tired, so it was a short visit.

This week Kayci started carrots and peas, both of which she likes. Apparently, she's going to love her veggies like her daddy. In fact, she likes the veggies so much that she doesn't care for the bland cereal anymore.

We also decided that we're not going to let her "cry it out" after all. We're not unhappy with her schedule at night. The only reason we considered changing anything was because all the books, doctor, friends, etc. say that she should be sleeping through the night by now. But she's obviously hungry when she cries at night- it's not as if she just wants to play. Also, I think the time change last week really screwed up her schedule and that was a large part of it. One thing has changed, though. We're not letting her sleep with us anymore during the week because she won't go back to her crib after she's started with us at night. We're all sleeping better for it. And by all, I mean me and Mommy.

"Start as you mean to go on..."

Okay, so if you read James’ last journal, you know that I did some reading this weekend. I got out my Baby Whisperer book and read all about how Kayci should be sleeping in her crib with no problem and how she should be sleeping through the night by now. Well, she definitely doesn’t sleep through the night and she definitely prefers sleeping in between Mommy & Daddy. The Baby Whisperer blames Mommy & Daddy for both, and I can’t disagree. I like it when Kayci sleeps with us, darn it. The days go so fast and there’s so much to do…I just love her little warm body cuddled up against me during the quiet hours of the night. On Thursday nights when James goes to Band practice, Kayci and I curl up in bed and watch “Extreme Makeovers” together (well, Mommy watches and Kayci snores). That’s my favorite night of the week—I’m always ready for Daddy to get going so we can start cuddling…it’s nice to have her to myself for a couple of hours! Chapter 9 is all about undoing bad habits you’ve trained your child to have. Well, I can think of worse habits, quite frankly. I’d like to say the important thing is that Kayci is a happy, healthy baby who doesn’t question her place in this world. She knows she’s #1, and that’s the way it should be. I know that we would all sleep better if Kayci would sleep in her crib. And I know that we would all benefit from a full 7-8 hours of sleep (10-12 for one of us!). Maybe this is just the first time Mommy’s gonna have to loosen the apron strings. Not cut them—not for a long, long time. Wonder if they’ll stretch down the hall?