Kyla - 1 Month

Baby Kyla sure has changed a lot this last month. It has been lots of fun to get to know her and her little personality. To start off Kyla's one month post I am just going to bombard you with a whole bunch of pictures from the last month so that you can really see just how much little Kyla has grown. 

This is Kyla during her first week of life. 

1 Week Old 

2 Weeks Old

3 Weeks Old

4 Weeks Old

Now here is a list of some of the things we have learned so far about this cute little baby that has stolen our hearts.

• Kyla likes to eat and is a really good little nurser. She was eating every 2 hours at first but now she eats every three hours most of the time with one longer stretch as night. 
• Kyla was really fussy the first few days of her life and night time was the worst. We spent one night rocking a crying baby for over two hours. Because of that we brought the swing into our room and let her sleep in there until she woke up to eat or else she would sleep in our bed with us. I hated to do that but it was the only way we got any sleep. Luckily she has not been as fussy at night and she goes to bed without much of a fight. She sleeps in her own bed for about 5 hours and then wakes up to eat. I was feeding her in bed but I kept falling asleep with her in there so then I started feeding her in the living room chair but I was still falling asleep with her and that was a really uncomfortable way to sleep. Now that she can eat much faster, I can usually stay awake long enough to put her back in her own bed. We had one night this month where Kyla slept for 7 hours straight. It was a marvelous night but that hasn't happened again. 
• Kyla likes to sleep with her mouth open.
• Kyla loves to be held, but if you hold her when she is sleeping she is not likely to sleep through it if you move her too much. When you wake her up, she is not a happy baby. 
• Kyla's belly button cord fell off the day before she turned a week old and it looks like she has a serious outie. Apparently she has a belly button hernia and once that heals it will most likely be an innie. She also has a little red growth in her belly button. I took her to the pediatrician on Wednesday to have it looked at because it was still oozing. I forget what her pediatrician called it but she has a little growth on there and we are supposed to heal it by putting table salt in the middle of her belly button two times a day. It feels kind of weird to be pouring salt into my babies belly button but it doesn't seem to bother her. 
• I gave Kyla her first real bath in the baby tub the day her cord came off and she seemed to really enjoy it. At least, she didn't cry through it. She cried during the next bath but most of the time she likes bath time. 
• Kyla is already really strong and she was born with some pretty good head control. 
• She hates being buckled in her car seat but as soon as it starts moving, she does great for car rides. 
• Kyla will not take a pacifier. I keep trying to stick them in her mouth and she just spits them right out. I am not used to having a baby that won't take a soother. 
• I got a moby wrap for the first time and Kyla seems to really like it. Although, if she is in a fussy mood, the moby wrap doesn't help her. If she is tired she will fall asleep in it and I can get some things done.
• Kyla gets lots of love from her big sisters and does a good job at putting up with it. Not that she really has much choice. 
• During her first month of life Kyla has gone to visit all three of her grandmas, two of her grandpas and she has met all of my siblings. On her dad's side she met her Uncle Jake and his family, Janeen and her fiance, plus her Aunt Joanna and her family. (Somehow Joanna didn't find out that we had the baby until she was already a week old but she came to visit as soon as she could.) She also got to meet my aunt and cousins from Texas.
• Kyla got to celebrate Father's Day and Brynlee's birthday this month. She went to her first trip to the mall and rode in the stroller for the first time. She did well in the stroller. She also has gone to church three times. Kyla does great at church during the first hour but she tends to cry for the last hour. It has been hard since I am supposed to teach primary (the 5-6 year olds) during the last hour. My mom teaches the class with me so at least I have her help.
• Kyla has eczema on her face, stomach, and back. I guess it is just a mild case of it and will hopefully go away soon. 
• Kyla spits up a lot. We think she might be having some acid reflux which could be why she cries so much. She cries a lot during the day. She usually cries for a few hours a day. We put her on some medicine that we are hoping will help her. We just started the medicine on Wednesday and we should know whether on not it is helping in a few days. 
• Kyla has dark blue eyes, some beautiful dark hair, some long arms, and the most kissable chubby cheeks. I can't stop kissing them. 
• Kyla weighed 8 lb. at birth, 7 lb. 5 oz. at two days old, 7 lb. 7 oz. at five days old, and she was 8 lbs. 10 oz. at twelve days old. She has already outgrown most of her newborn clothes and is wearing size 1 diapers.
• Kyla now weighs 10 lb. 11 oz. (88.5%) and she is 22 in. long (89.99%) with a head circumference of 15 in. (92.98%). She is seriously growing up too fast. 

We sure do love this sweet little baby. 

June - Life With Kyla

I started out the month of June trying to enjoy my last few days as a mom of two and doing my best to prepare for little Kyla to come. Luckily we didn't have to wait very long since she came on the 4th of June. We sure have enjoyed her and she is already getting bigger and changing. 

On the first day of little Kyla's life, Joel and I were both just really tired since we didn't get much sleep that night. I only slept for maybe two hours at the most. I am glad we didn't have to stay at the hospital for a long time but we both could have used a nap. Joel was still feeling sick from something he ate so he fell asleep on the floor and didn't wake up for anything. I got a short nap while Annalyn was sleeping but Brynlee kept coming in and waking me up. Kyla was up a lot that night too so at first I was really tired. Somehow I forgot about all of the emotions, life changes, and the sleep exhaustion that comes with a new baby. I have seriously enjoyed having a little newborn baby to hold but it was a hard transition at first. I stayed home with the baby for the first few days of Kyla's life. Joel was a huge help by keeping the older girls entertained and taking care of my needs. He even went to the store by himself with both of the older girls. The only place I went for the first week of Kyla's life was to the pediatrician's office and to the birth center (plus grandma's house since she watched the big kids during the appointment.) After that first week I decided that I don't do well when I am cooped up in the house. I was seriously going crazy. I do so much better when I can get out of the house. The kids do much better as well.

Kyla is so little and sweet but it has not been easy to take care of three little kids that all have different needs. Kyla was super fussy for the first week and a half. She would just cry and cry and there was nothing we could do to help her. Joel and I were up with her screaming for two hours one night. There are still days when she will cry for most of the day but we also have good days when she won't hardly cry at all. I keep considering taking her to a chiropractor or to take out dairy from my diet but as soon as I decide to do it, she will have a really good day and she wont cry at all. I think she just has a lot of tummy issues and those things might help but there is no guarantee. I hate to take out dairy and find no improvement. Plus I wouldn't know what to eat. She has actually been sleeping for a good stretch at night. She even slept for seven hours one night and that has really helped things. I do much better when I can get a good nights sleep.  

Annalyn has been very clingy, cuddly, and naughty since the baby was born. She still keeps pretending to be a baby all the time and she has been seriously testing all of the rules and doing all kinds of things she knows she shouldn't do. There have been lots of temper tantrums from her and melt downs over little things. Not to mention, she likes to tease Brynlee and make her cry. And Brynlee cries over just about everything these days. I think there were a few days the first week after Kyla was born when all four of us cried but we made it through it and we are all adjusting well now. I feel like I am finally getting the hang of how to parent three kids. I am still not ready to take everyone out by myself yet but we have been outside to play and we made a few trips to grandma's house. Joel is a huge help when he is home. I wish he could have taken more time off of work. He got three days off plus the weekend. My mom has also helped out quit a bit by taking the older kids for me and she went with me to get the girls pictures taken at the mall and we also went to the library. Kyla cried for the first half of the pictures and Annalyn threw a little temper tantrum in the middle of the library so I am glad I didn't try to do those things by myself. One day my mom took both of the girls to the water park and they had a blast doing that. My mom has also been doing a craft day at her house with all of her grandkids once a week so that has been a lot of fun.

 This month was really busy with Kyla's birth, Brynlee's birthday, father's day, and all of the adjustments that came with a new baby. We didn't do much to celebrate father's day at all. The baby and I went to church for the first time. (Kyla has been to church three times now and she cried during most of the meetings.) Brynlee went up with the primary and sang a song and both girls drew their dad a card. We got him some candy and we gave him the one thing he asked for, a Saturday spent out golfing with his dad and his brother Jake. He really is a great father and he deserves much more than that. He has really stepped up to the plate and done a lot to help out around here. At least he had a lot of fun golfing.

For Brynlee's birthday we got her some better training wheels and fixed up her bike. She has finally figured out how to ride it so we have spent a few different family nights out riding bikes. Annalyn gets pushed on her little trike and I put the baby in the Moby Wrap. We have played in the water slide a few times and spent a lot of time playing with toys in the house. Annalyn has been obsessed with my i-pad. I have to hide it from her or she will be playing on it.

This month was really full of so many blessings for our family. After Kyla was born we had so many people come to visit, bring us food, and offer to help; it was a huge blessing. We really do feel very blessed to have a sweet new little spirit in our home. The girls really do love this little baby and we have all enjoyed holding her and getting to know her. I am grateful that her birth went so well and that she is healthy and thriving. She has already grown so much since the day we brought her home. I am grateful that I have three little girls that bring so much joy, excitement, and laughter into our house. Brynlee has been a huge help to me. She loves to hold the baby so much. Annalyn loves to hold her too but she likes it the best when I hold her. I really do enjoy holding my big little baby Anna so much. I am glad she still likes to cuddle with me. It has been kind of bittersweet to watch little Kyla grow up. I am sure things will get easier once she is a little bit older but I will miss these newborn days with her.  

Three of a Kind

In case you were wondering if my kids look the same, here is a picture of Brynlee and Annalyn at two years old and there is another picture of all of my girls from when they were newborn babies. They each have their own look but you can tell they are sister. They grow up so fast. 

A Princess Water Slide Birthday

Brynlee has been talking about the princess water slide birthday that she wanted for months. All of her talk inspired Joel to create a water slide by converting the pink castle he made last year for Brynlee's birthday into a water slide. It wasn't ready in time for her actual birthday which is just as well. It was kind of cold that day and since little Kyla was only 10 days old I was in no way ready to plan and host a birthday party. Joel and Brynlee did make a butterfly birthday cake with Annalyn's help for her actual birthday and some of my family came over to eat it with us. Joel made the form for the butterfly out of aluminum foil and he stuck it on a piece of cardboard covered in aluminum foil and baked it in the oven. Joel is a better cake decorator than me. It turned out pretty cool.

Joel finished the princess water slide just a few days after Brynlee's birthday and he tested it out first. The slide went pretty fast. Brynlee had a blast the first time she went down but then she hurt her finger and got a tiny cut so she ran in the house and put her clothes back on. Annalyn was still up to try it and she went down that slide for hours. She had so much fun. Eventually she even convinced Brynlee to go back out there and Joel and both the girls had a blast out on that thing. Annalyn was pretty cautious when she went down. She held onto the side and went really slow so that is what Brynlee did too. Joel decided the slide went a little bit too fast for the little kids so he decided to make it about a foot smaller. He also added a lot more sand to make the landing softer. The kids tested the slide out the next day and it worked much better.

At the last minute I decided to let Brynlee invite a few friends over to play in the water slide with her on Saturday to make it kind of like a mini birthday party. We had started to make a pinata per Brynlee's request before Kyla was even born and Brynlee really wanted to put candy in that thing and have a birthday party. Two girls from church and Brynlee's cousin Ryder all came over and they all had a great time playing on the water slide. Brynlee painted her pinata with Annalyn's help that morning and after the kids got tired of playing in the water we decorated a candy bag and did the pinata. Everyone got two hits before it was busted open. We made some cupcakes and had ice cream and then it was time to go home. It was really just the perfect way to celebrate Brynlee's fourth birthday. We will probably leave the slide up all Summer so the kids can enjoy it. I think Joel had as much fun going down it as the girls did. If you are in the area come try it out, it is lots of fun

Brynlee is 4!

Where has the time gone? My little girl is turning four! She is such a bright, smart, funny and independent little girl. She still loves clothes and all things girly and sparkly. She loves to watch shows on TV and she loves to play outside. She gets along really well with Annalyn and she is great at helping her, although she gets quite jealous of her. She has been a huge help with little Kyla this last week and a half as well. She loves to go and get the diapers and her favorite thing is to pick out Kyla's outfits. In just the last few months she has learned how to write her name, she can open and close the van door, and she can buckle her own seatbelt. Here is a brief look at how much Brynlee has grown in the last four years. This is her as a newborn, at 6 months, at 1 year, at 2 years, at three years, and at four years. 

BRYNLEE FACTS QUOTES AND STORIES

Age: 4

Favorite Color: Pink

Favorite Movie: Sleeping Beauty, Jasmine, Cinderella, and Snow White

Favorite Show: Doc McStuffins, Littlest Petshop

Best Friends: Anavette and Josie

Favorite thing to do: Play with my littlest Petshop

Favorite thing to do outside: Play with my friends

Favorite Food: Chicken Nuggets

Favorite Song: Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

Favorite game: Hide and Go Seek and Duck Duck Goose

Favorite animal: Giraffes and Zebras

Favorite book: The baby book

Favorite thing to do with your family: Nothing

What she wants to be when she grows up: A ballerina

The other day I made the girls some hotdogs and I put them on a piece of bread with some cheese and ketchup. Brynlee ended up taking her hotdog out of the bread and she just ate the bread, cheese and ketchup in a little sandwich. Apparently she thought that was really good because she then asked for another Ketchup and cheese sandwich. Now whenever we go to get sandwiches Brynlee wants hers with just ketchup and cheese. 

Both of the girls have had a cold lately. These are some of the conversations we have had recently. 

B: "Mom, my nose just keeps growing all of these boogers and I have to pick them and then I just eat it." 

Dad: "Annalyn, why is your finger in your nose? Are you trying to find something in there."

B: "Yeah dad, she is trying to find some boogers so she can eat them."

One of Brynlee's favorite words lately is "jealous." As she was painting my toenails the other day she kept exclaiming, "Dad is gonna to be so jealous. He is going to be so jealous of your pretty toenails." As soon as Brynlee saw little Kyla she kept talking about how jealous her friends would be of her new baby sister. 

Brynlee is very independent and has taken to making her own meals and getting her own treats. The other day I went to go and make dinner only to find Brynlee and Annalyn sitting at the table eating a bowl of cereal that Brynlee got for both of them. On another occasion I found her taking a melted popsicle out of the microwave. Brynlee thought it was too cold so she tried to warm it up in there. 

One day I walked into the kitchen and I found Brynlee mashing up a banana in a big bowl of milk. Apparently she wanted some banana bread. She asked me to put her bowl in the oven but I told her she would need some flour and a few more ingredients before that would turn into banana bread. Annalyn really wanted to help Brynlee so the next thing I knew, both of the girls were sitting up at the table with a bowl making some banana bread. When Joel got home he helped them add a few more spices and things and then he put them in a muffin tin and we cooked them. I don't know that I would recommend Brynlee's recipe but we all ate some warm banana flavored muffins with our dinner that night. 

I think it was probably a mistake to encourage Brynlee to make that banana bread because the next day she was at it again. This time she wanted to make pudding but she used the strangest ingredients. In one of my big bowls she had a lot of milk, a crushed up peanut butter cracker, some fruit snacks, some fried onions, and a few other things I couldn't identify. She put her bowl in the oven and tried to get me to cook it but I refused. When Joel got home from work she brought her creation out to show him but Joel wouldn't eat it. He told her she had to eat it first but she wouldn't eat it either. Brynlee went and got a straw and handed it to Annalyn. Annalyn took a huge swig and made the funniest face. She clearly didn't like it. When we asked her if it was good she still nodded her head and said, "umm hmmm." When we asked her if she wanted anymore she was really quick to shake her head no. We threw the rest of it away. 

My mom came over the other day and discovered that there was a dead bird in the grill of her car. As soon as Brynlee heard this she ran out and got in grandma's car. She was very disappointed when she couldn't find that bird. I told her she didn't need to see it but eventually she discovered where the bird was and she went out and looked at it for a long time. My mom decided to drive to the edge of our property to go and knock the bird off. We could still see her but that didn't stop Brynlee from crying hysterically. "Come back here grandma. Please come back. Don't leave me grandma." I explained to Brynlee what grandma was going to do and then Brynlee got reallly upset. "Not the bird," she cried. "I liked that pretty bird. That poor beautiful bird," she wailed. She cried so loud that the neighbor came over to make sure everything was all right. This girl knows how to make a scene. 

We had to be somewhere early one morning so I was rushing trying to get the kids out the door. Brynlee got herself dressed that morning. When we arrived at our destination and I got Brynlee out of the car I discovered that she was wearing two different shoes. Apparently she could only find one of her pink tennis shoes so she just wore her pink snow boot on her other foot. This is not the first time she has done this so you would think I would pay more attention. It didn't seem to bother her so oh well. 

I can tell Brynlee is the oldest child because lately she has been very bossy. She likes to tell everyone what to do and correct people, even adults. The other day Brynlee had a friend over and I had to run out to the garage to get something. I told Brynlee what I was doing and she looked at her friend and Annalyn and said, "don't worry mom, I will take care of these too."

Just the other day Brynlee told me that she was really brave and really strong and she told me that it would be all right if I left her home alone with Annalyn and the baby because she could take care of them. "What will you do it the baby gets hungry," I asked. "Well," Brynlee responded, "I would just feed her... my boobies." Great plan Brynlee. 

The first day Brynlee saw me after I had baby Kyla she looked at me and asked, "do you have a boy baby in your tummy now?" I told her I didn't and so she excitedly exclaimed, "another girl." I tried to explain that it would take a while for my tummy to look the normal size and she just said, "oh, well it still looks like you have a baby in your tummy." Thanks Brynlee. 

Brynlee really loves her baby sister but she thinks she can do way more with her than she can. The other day I went to put Annalyn down for a nap and I left Brynlee playing. Kyla was in her little bouncer when I left but when I came back she was not there. Brynlee had picked her up and set her on top of her little blue table. As soon as Brynlee saw me she looked at me and said, "I was so careful, I was really careful mom." Little Kyla didn't even wake up through the whole thing. That baby just isn't safe anywhere in this house. 

Brynlee really is such a sweet and fun little girl. She sure has brought a lot of fun and adventures into this house. We love this her a lot. Happy Birthday Brynlee!

Baby Kyla

Kyla Mae Hirtle officially joined our family on Wednesday June 4th at 5:35 am. She weighed 8lbs even and she is 21(3/4)in long. She looks a lot like her older sisters. She already has some nice chubby cheeks and some nice dark hair. Most of her hair is in the back but she has a good amount on the top. She has been a great little eater and she is a good sleeper and a really good crier. I think she has had some tummy issue. Brynlee and Annalyn love her and are constantly asking to hold her. We all think she is pretty cute and we love her a lot. 

Before Kyla was born, I felt a lot of pressure and a few contractions, but nothing that would really indicate that labor was coming. I went to an appointment with my midwife on Tuesday morning (June 3rd) and everything looked good. They don't check you or anything so I really had no idea when she would come. Kyla was due on June 5th and Annalyn was two days early so I was really hoping she would come a few days early. After my doctor's appointment I went and helped my aunt pick some strawberries and we got to see my grandma who had just returned from her trip to Australia. Then we went home and I went to bed. 

Joel stayed up late watching a movie that. He regretted that decision later that night. I woke up around 12:15 with my first contraction. It was a really painful one. At about 1 in the morning I started timing them and they were about 7 minutes apart. I was told to call the midwife when they were 3 minutes apart so I figured I had a while. I didn't wake Joel up for another hour. My contractions were still sporadic but they were ranging from 1-3 minutes apart and they were anywhere from 10 seconds to 1 minute long. Most of them were very painful so we went ahead and called Joel's mom to come watch our girls (This was at 2:30 a.m.) and we got ready to go. Brynlee woke up so see what all the commotion was about and she was really excited. I am surprised Joel got her to go back to bed. Joel's mom showed up really quickly so we headed out the door. 

When I called my midwife at 3 in the morning, she told me they liked to see the contractions coming in more consistently and lasting for about a minute each time. I told her we wanted to come in anyways so she told us to meet her at the birthing center. The whole ride there I was then thinking we had jumped the gun and that I would be in labor for a long time. We got to the birthing center at 3:30 in the morning. My midwife checked all of my vitals and checked on baby. She came back and checked on the baby every 15 minutes or so. My contractions were still pretty sporadic even an hour later but they hurt a lot more. At this point I was really questioning why I decided to do this without an epidural. At the same time that I was dealing with all of these contractions, Joel was also in pain with some really bad gas. I don't know what his deal was but he was not feeling very well either. He was still very supportive and helpful but he stunk up the whole room and he had me running for the bathroom.  That was the first time I have ever thrown up during labor. I also had really bad heartburn so my midwife brought me some medicine to help with it. Eventually I got into the bathtub and that seemed to bring some relief. I still hadn't decided if I wanted to do a water birth but I needed something to ease the pain. I don't think I was in the tub for very long when I felt like pushing. It hurt a lot. I have no idea how long I pushed, it didn't seem long at all but eventually the head came out and then I got to hold my beautiful little girl. Her cord was really short so I had to be careful. The pain and the emotions of going through natural childbirth is totally indescribable but so is the complete joy and happiness of holding that newborn baby and knowing that the pain was totally worth it. It was so much harder than I imagined it would be but I am glad I did it. I am mostly just grateful that she came so quickly. I was only in labor for a little over 5 hours and I was only at the birthing center for 2 hours before she came. 

I got out of the bathtub before I delivered the placenta and Joel got to cut the cord. Then I nursed the baby right away. After that they came in and weighed and measured her. They did everything right there so we could watch. I loved that I didn't have to send her to the nursery without me. We had to fill out some paperwork and they gave Kyla her shots while I held her and they told us we could go home whenever we wanted. We left around 9 that morning. I tried to take a little nap there but I was really hungry so I decided to just go home and take a nap. Not to mention I was worried about my other girls since we couldn't get ahold of them. We called my family and told them the news but we couldn't get ahold of Joel's mom, and she was home with our girls. We stopped for some breakfast on the way home and ate in the car and then we walked into the house. I think Joel's mom was shocked to see us. She thought they had sent us home without having the baby at first. The girls were overjoyed at seeing the baby. Brynlee ran to the other room to get some shoes for the baby as soon as she realized that she didn't have any shoes on. She has had so much fun trying to dress this baby up. Joel's mom didn't get to stay for long. I don't think she got very much sleep either because she ended up with both of our girls trying to sleep on the couch with her. 

Everything was so intense and fast with the delivery that I didn't even think to take any pictures until we were almost ready to leave. Joel took three days off of work and he has been a huge help. I don't know how I am going to manage everything when he has to go back to work. We were both so tired that first day when we came home since we had both been up for most of the night. The recovery for me has been so much easier this time around. Kyla has let me sleep for a few consecutive hours each night so I don't feel as tired. I still feel a little bit sore but for the most part I feel good. With the other girls I felt sore, tender and exhausted for at least a week after delivery. I think it really helped that I didn't have to recover from an epidural and I didn't have any tearing. 

Kyla really has been a great addition to this family and we sure are glad she made it here safely. Joel and I both love cuddling her. I feel so blessed that everything went so well and that she came so quickly. Welcome to the world little Kyla. We sure are glad you are here.