Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Hair Loss, Hormones, and a whole lot of tears!
Kyah has definitely hit 5 months! After talking to other Momma's and reading, I'm learning that we are right on track! She has developed some SERIOUS sassyness and a bit of a temper! Yesterday she learned how to clinch her fists and shake them while SCREAMING while scrunching up her face. The first 3 times I laughed and said no ma'am, we need to be sweet, and laughed.
35 times later, I'm ready to cry. (and have) Forget me wanting to pull my hair out, it's already falling out on its own. I should be bald within 2 weeks at this rate. It falls out by the handfulls! I have learned that happens at the 4-5 month post baby mark! I actually took a pregnancy test scared out of my mind thinking, what if..... (That was the first sign when I found out I was pregnant!) Thank goodness I have thick hair! :) And no, I'm not pregnant! whew....
My hormones are all over the place, again! Kyah and I have hit a time that is very hard on us both! She's teething, developing some serious attitude, and I'm hormonal & yes attitude comes with that too! I have also discovered, i know NOTHING! The first 4 months were a BREEZE! Kyah would cry because she was either hungry, tired, or in pain.... now, she cries because she's bored, mad, angry, tired, hot, cold, hungry, in pain, or if we look at her the wrong way!
I was always the girl that said, I will NEVER be that mom to raise my children to be rotten or to be bratty... Oh how I am learning how hard that really is. I want to scoop her up everytime she cries, but am trying so desperately hard not to!
*Yes, I am in a funk today, I hope this doesn't come across like I am not 100% head over hills in love with my daughter. Like I have said before, I praise God and thank Him for her even in the difficult moments. Just as I am right now while she has been screaming for 10 minutes straight! I am open to suggestions but not judgement! I'll be the first to admit, this job is a lot harder and I'm not quiet as good at it as I thought I would be!
In Other News....
Last week we discovered that Kyah is allergic to bananas! I'm a little frustrated with myself about it because from what I read it could be my fault. I know there is so much contraversy over when to start feeding a baby solids. I always said I would wait until 6 months to start her on rice cereal and then go from there.... Well, I got a little excited and caved.... I gave her rice cereal at 4 1/2 months and then at 5 months I gave her bananas. (Which now I know is a no-no, veggies always before fruit) Well, the first time I gave her mashed up real bananas, second time half of a jar of bananas.... The second time she had it her head had red splotches within minutes of her first bite, I showed Dustin and he thought she was fine, possibly hot.... I chalked it up to me just being paranoid. So, I gave her the other half of the jar the next night and again red splotches but worse. I then knew that she was having a reaction to the bananas!
Of course after it happened, I googled it and then read for hours on many different medical websites. Some pediatricians believe introducing foods too early (prior to 6 & some say even before 9 months) can cause allergies! Great! Whether it's from me giving it to her too early or if it was just in her to be allergic doesn't really matter at this point! Thankfully it didn't affect her respiratory system!
I spoke with our Doctor's nurse the next morning and she mentioned that 9 out of 10 people that are allergic to bananas have many other allergies, most comonly known as Type 1 - contact allergy. Which would fall into the latex category! Hopefully she's the 1 out of 10 that doesn't have that!
Kyah is changing and learning new things daily and so am I! Life really is great, but I am just being honest about struggles as a new Momma! :)
What worked for you at this phase?
Friday, November 13, 2009
A must have recipe...
Carrot Bars
1 cup white flour & 1 cup wheat flour (or 2 cups white flour)
3 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups sugar
1 1/4 cup canola oil (not veg oil, it works, but isn't as good)
3 small jars (4 oz each) of carrot baby food (TRUST ME, it's sooo good!)
Combine all ingredients together - pour into a 15X10 dish (you can use parchment baking paper if you want to serve as 'bars') Bake for approx 30 minutes (depends on ovens) at 350 degrees!
Allow bars to cool - top with cream cheese icing(Use the entire container, who doesn't love that stuff)! I use the container of icing for convenience, but here's the recipe for the fancy smancy bakers out there!
2 cups powdered sugar
1 - 8 oz pgk cream cheese
2 Tbsp butter
2 tsp Vanilla
- Blend together and ice the cooled cake with it!
ENJOY! This is my kind of recipe, easy and delish!
*But not so healthy!
**Oh and for those rainsin lovers out there, you could throw some into the mix, but we don't prefer them, it's a texture issue for us! :)
They are pretty dense and moist!
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Guess Who is 5 Months Old!!!

I know everyone says this, but really, life is flying by. I LOVE this stage! Yes, it's way more difficult than when she was first born, but so rewarding and just so much fun! She is definitely teething, developing more of a personality, and has a nice set of lungs on her, but the pros definitely outway the cons!
She is wearing a size 2 in diapers, most newborn dresses, 0-3 months in most clothing, and a size 2 in shoes! She's long, lean, with some long feet! :) In my opinion she is absolutely perfect!
I can tell you that I have learned so much in the past 5 months. I think back on the first week with Kyah and just laugh at myself. Here are a couple of the first memories I have and don't ever want to forget:
* I was on the phone to my sister in the morning (well, around 11) and I walked into the kitchen to make lunch. I was so nervous to have Kyah out of my sight, so I wheeled her pack n play everywhere I went. I had her in the middle of the kitchen asleep while I fixed a salad. I was so paranoid in the beginning! I still am, but not to that extent at all!
*My first trip to walmart, Kyah started crying and I got so nervous because I couldn't find her paci, so I frantically ran to the back of the store (the baby dept) and ripped open a pack of pacis, sucked on one first, since I couldn't wash it off, and gave it to her right there in the baby aisle. While I was picking out a pacifier, I noticed baby music playing, you know the demo thingys, well, I realized Kyah stopped crying when she heard it, so of course I bought the cd because I just knew it would work miracles! ha!
* Coming home from the hospital I just couldn't quit crying. I cried showing her the nursery, sitting down actually holding her in my arms while rocking her, and I had her sleep in her boppy pillow so t-tiny swaddled up. I am pretty sure I didn't sleep at all the first 3 weeks of her life because I just wanted to watch her all the time.
*Nursing was so tough on us at first. I don't think I've ever really talked about that on here, but it was TOUGH!!! I was 100% determined to make it thru and I am so glad that I did! Kyah took to me at first and then day 2 she totally rejected me. After a full week of using a suringe to give her formula in and screaming, I had someone tell me to get the nipple guard. I thought that was a crazy suggestion, but it totally worked for us! It was a miracle worker! I am so thankful that I did not give up. I understand 100% why women do not breastfeed. It is totally inconvenient, difficult, and can be frustrating, but for me, it has been the most rewarding thing ever! I can't even explain how much I have enjoyed our time! Without being too sappy, it's just a special bond between me and my girl that no one else will ever have and I love that! She and her daddy will have a special bond and I'm glad for that, and this is ours!
Here's my sweet girl looking all grown up! (My mom made this outfit and bow for Kyah!) The bow totally did not look that big in person! It's a little overwhelming! :)
Last Thursday we went to cheer on for my oldest nephew's last football game! I cannot believe he will be on the jr high team next time we see him play!(Ash, I hope you don't mind that I used your pics!)

I think Kyah thought she was a baby doll. She is funny to watch with other babies, she thinks she should taste them all and touch them! I think she may have rolled on her too if we would have let her! ha!
I can honestly say that I love my job more and more everyday! We've experienced our real first tough night last week. Kyah hasn't cried more than 5 minutes at a time really, well, that has changed, she cried for 2 HOURS straight! We tried everything, rocking, bottle, singing, laying her down, etc... the only 2 things that would work, a bath and walking. 45 minutes in the bath tub, and the minute she was out she screamed, so her Daddy got some good bonding time in and walked her for 45 minutes!!!! She finally conked out! It definitely helps to be able to take turns during times like those!
Even thru the hard moments, I find myself thanking God for blessing me how he has! :)
We've had a few friends ask us if having Kyah has been hard financially. Honestly, it hasn't. The 2 salaries to 1 hasn't really affected us because we've always tried to live off of 1 income from the beginning, we have saved and saved and paid off most of our debt (other than house and student loans). So that has helped tremendously! But we've also been blessed with lots of diapers and samples of formula. Since I breastfeed, we really only use a canister a month of formula. And diapers, we haven't had to buy one single diaper yet!!! But that's about to change, we have just a few diapers left. I'm hoping to have her potty trained by 6 months! haha! I have learned that diapers are really a great gift! :)
Hope you all are having a wonderful week!
Thursday, November 5, 2009
I blog like I excersize....
I will go from blogging every day to maybe once a week! That's my style of excersizing. Which is terrible, but true! I did great for 3 weeks of working out and now it's been 3 weeks of nothing. Yep, I just admited it, I haven't worked out in 3 weeks! I lost my motivation and am in a desperate search for it again. :)
I have so much to update on....
Kyah has become a busy little baby! She just amazes me everyday. She seems to learn something each day. Here are a few of her accomplishments!
- Laughs/giggles
- Loves Peek a boo
- Babble talk - I've been saying Mamamamama over and over to her and her response was da.... I am most certain her first word will be Dada!
- She sat up one time by herself for a total of 2 minutes (see post below) :) - She experienced her first cereal at 4 1/2 months old - she loved it so much at first and now she HATES it! I'm going to use a tip from a fellow blogger and add some applesauce!
- She takes one bottle of formula every day to every other day
- I'm still breastfeeding and we have feedings about 3 - 4 hours apart
- She naps 3 times a day and generally sleeps from 11:30/12 - 9 in the morning. (She does wake up for about 10 minutes to eat around 3:45 every morning! (And I'm totally the mom that sticks her in bed with me and nurses laying down! - It works for us and keeps me sane!) :)
- She reacts to our expressions
The other evening I was nursing Kyah and felt a little bump on the back of her head. I know every inch of that girl and knew that she didn't have that little bump prior to that evening. So, my mind started to wonder... and wonder.... I woke Dustin up, texted my sister, called my mom.... Dustin's response - Go to sleep, she's fine. Mom didn't answer and Robin wasn't sure. So, with it being 11:30 in the evening I just sat there with my girl and sobbed. YEP! I sobbed. It had finally hit me. After 20 minutes of running all scenerios thru my head I just sobbed. I love this little girl so much that I would literally give my life for her. I laid in bed, praying and thanking God for blessing me with this amazing girl. I slept so well and so did Kyah! I woke up and decided that I wasn't worried too much anymore. Long story stort, I talked to the nurse and she said to go ahead and bring her in. Thankfully it was just a swollen lymph node. And my dr assured me that I was a great mom for noticing it, but that it was perfectly normal. I am sure this is the first of many doctor's visits I will have to make sure Kyah is fine and healthy. Being a Mom is a hard job. I feel 100% responsible for meeting every need she has. I admire all mom's in a new way! :)
I've been so behind on blogging... I'll try and give an update on what my little fam has been up to.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Happy Birthday to my Beautiful Sis and Adorable Nephew....
Friday, October 23, 2009
Reasons I'm smiling today....
1.I'm smiling because within the past 24 hours I have learned a lot about myself. When we learn new things about ourselves, even if they're hard to realize or admit, it is an opportunity for growth! I am happy that God is still working on me! {I never want to stop growing}
2. I'm smiling today because I am having some great girlfriends over for a night of pampering and pizza tonight!
3. I'm smiling because I have a sweet healthy baby girl that is napping as we speak! (which I should be cleaning and baking for tonight instead of blogging.. ha)
4. I'm smiling today that I have an imperfect husband that works so hard everyday to provide for Kyah and I to be taken care of. Marriage opens up all your imperfections and I'm thankful that my husband still loves me....
5. I'm smiling today because I have recently realized how blessed I am to have a great relationship with my sister Robin and my Mom. It's so easy to take each other for granted and I'm learning to value our talks more and more. I love that Robin and I will call each other just to tell the other something real quick and 45 minutes later we're still chatting away... Or laughing about the guy that walked up and asked her for a description of pads and tampons for his wife.
6. I'm smiling today because I know that God loves me and will never turn His back on me. He has picked me up so many times and swept me off and just shown His unending love to me when I know I am so undeserving.
7. I'm also smiling and happy to say that I almost reached my first weight loss goal - I lost 7 lbs, 3 lbs away from my goal....
It is so easy in life to dwell on the bad or negative... This post started to be a challenge for me.... I could EASILY name off 20 things that I am not happy with or frustrated with, which is very sad, but the reality. It's all about choices, and I choose to make today a great day and to rejoice in the small and big joys of life!
What makes you smile today?
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Insert something creative here, because I've got nothing....
Things are going pretty great around here. Just hanging out around the house! Trying to get myself on a pretty regular schedule... You know, cleaning, laundry, cooking, and all that fun stuff! I am trying to daily, but I'm noticing I get less comments, so that could mean that you all are sick of reading about our daily happenings! Hope thats not the case though! :)
Here's one of the hats & bows I got Kyah this past weekend! I LOVE these hats! They are so much fun & they fit Kyah so well! :)
I got to meet another bloggy friend! I have been SO blessed by having so many friendships develop thru blogging! Here is Rachel and her little beauty Bree, and Ashley.
Here's the adorable Lane and her cute belly bump and us!
I had to snap a few extra pics of my girl all dressed up! I LOVE this outfit, I just got it for her and thought she looked like a little doll baby! I could be biased! :)
Seriously, are diaper booties not the cutest???
So we tried baby rice cereal for the first time last night...


