10 Weeks Old!

Alexa handled her second airplane right like a champ. She slept from take off to landing. We were both very glad to be home with Justin.

Alexa had her 2 month well baby visit. She weighed in at 10lbs 10oz, 22.25inches with a 15.5in head circumference. The pediatrician said everything looked great. She measured her strawberry & said if it grows in the next 2 months then she will refer her to a dermatologist. Hopefully this wont be the case, but only time will tell. Alexa seemed to really be effected by her vaccines. It broke my heart to hear her screaming in pain over the course of the 2 days that followed. She also seemed very sleepy & not interested in her usual toys. I know the importance of the vaccines & that helped me get through those days.

On Tuesday the three of us packed up & started making our way to Chicago. Alexa slept the entire 4 hours in the car. Once we arrived at our hotel, Alexa decided it was time to stay awake. We had a really hard time trying to get her to sleep. I ended up putting her in the bed with me & spent most of the night soothing her.

Wednesday Alexa met her Great- Grandpa & Grandma McKinney. This was one of those moments that I was really looking forward to. This was also the day Justin & I decided we were going to start transitioning Alexa to a flexible schedule. We started reading the "Baby Wise" book and decided to take a few tips from there. We decided we would start with simple changes. 1st being full feedings. Megan said this was the best advice she was given. It took about 1/2 a day to get this going. 2nd we were going to get her on the sleep, eat, play rotation. This has been a little harder, but we are working on it. As she masters these two things we will then work on a bed time routine & night feedings.

9 Weeks Old!

Alexa & I spent the entire week in Cincinnati. On Friday she met Maggie & Jeff. Maggie gave Alexa a white Miami teddy bear & the most adorable jean overalls. Saturday Alexa was able to meet most of the Haggerty family. Of course Alexa was asleep during most of the visit. We had a great time hanging out with everyone.

Sunday, Mom hosted a family dinner. Megan, Matthew, Jan & Heather were able to come over. Heather gave Alexa a bath, which I am sure they both enjoyed. Matthew & Alexa will look at each other, but wont make any jestures towards one another. It wont be long before they will be playing together.

On Tuesday I took Alexa to visit her Grandpa & Grandma at their work places. I loved watching my parents in their proudest moments.

This week Alexa was also able to meet a handful of my high school friends. Its crazy to see some of us married, some with children. Time seems to be going by very fast.

Alexa has started sucking on her fist. I think she would suck her thumb if she could figure out how. Instead she tucks her thumb under her fingers & put the entire thing in her mouth. She has also started rubbing her eyes. She has done this one or twice previously, but this week she started doing it several times a day. Her laughing & smiling has also increased. After spending a week and Grandma's house we found out she LOVES lights. Justin & I went out and bought her a few new toys to her stimulate her.

8 Weeks Old!

Alexa has eye lashes! When she was first born Justin & I were both concerned that she did not have any. Over the last 8 weeks they have grown in. I noticed this week that they now look full in length & thickness. I love her sooo much :)

Over the weekend Justin & I decided to go to Topeka to visit the Watson's. For those of you who do not know I have a small number of relatives that live there. My Great Aunt Judy & Uncle Tom invited us to their home. Alexa loved the attention. She was also able to meet my cousins Eric & Mark as well Connor & Austin.

Everyone took turns holding Alexa. While my Aunt Judy was holding Alexa, Connor (10 year old boy) told her to put Alexa down and let her crawl around. He later told us that he thought she looked bored sitting in his Grandmother's arms. It was adorable. He was rather disappointed that all she did was sit there & drool. Oh well!

On Wednesday Alexa & I flew to Cincinnati. I planned this trip around Justin's training in Texas. It was a great way for Alexa to meet the rest of her Aunts & Uncles with out missing out on any Daddy time. Going through security was the hardest part. The stroller & car seat went through the scanner with out any issues. I then proceeded to carry Alexa through the medal detector. Once again everything went smoothly. Then they had to scan the breast milk. This not only takes a long time, but really attracts a lot of attention. We survived & had an hour to sit at our gate. Alexa took a bottle right before we boarded the plan & fell asleep. She did not wake up until we landed. She was the perfect baby. Lets hope she is that way when we return home next week.

7 Weeks Old

My poor baby girl has cradle cap (Seborrheic dermatitis). This is very common among newborns. It is dry skin that is on her head & ears. There is not much you can do for it but to keep washing & applying light lotion. If losing all her hair was not bad enough, now she has flakes all over her bald head. Oh well, that's why hats were invented.

Alexa has aged so much in this last week. Her neck muscles & head control are sooo much better. She enjoys being in the upright position & moves her head around to see things. She also has a new roll on her leg, so precious! Her lip is also looking a lot better. I have been working hard at getting her to suck on the pacifier instead of the lower lip & it seems to be working.

Halloween! Our little pumpkin was adorable. Justin & I have nicknames for each other and both of the cats so it was only fitting that Alexa gets one as well. We have been calling her "punkin" (yes, I spelled that correctly). So for Halloween we searched EVERYWHERE to find a costume that would fit our barely 9lb baby. After no such luck we settled on a hand me down pumpkin costume. This actually turned out to be perfect & Alexa loved it.

On post it was decided that Halloween should not be celebrated on a Sunday for religious reasons, so ours was on Saturday. Justin, Alexa & I sat outside right at 4pm. At the time it was 72* & sunny. It was a beautiful way to start out trick or treating. Alexa of course got a lot of attention & even some candy from Anna, our 2 year old next door neighbor. Don't worry we re-gifted the candy to the next trick or treater. Our neighbors across the street came over to introduce themselves & their 6 children as well as invite us to their bonfire. We had a great time meeting all of the neighbors and sitting around the fire. If we are fortunate enough to stay in Kansas long enough, Alexa will have many children to play with. We ended the night by walking to our friends house to visit. By 8pm the sun was down & we were all wearing many layers of clothing. Alexa was one worn our pumpkin & slept very peacefully in her costume & blankets. Over all it was a great evening.

During a 3am nursing session Alexa started coughing. This is very normal for her, so I patted her back & then re-latched her. Then the craziest thing happened, milk came out of her nose. My little baby looked so afraid & in pain. I suctioned out her nose & rocked her back to sleep. It was very scary for me. Looking back on it several hours later I realize it was not that big of deal for her.

Alexa had a doctor's visit today for a weight check. Since we are breast feeding it is impossible to know how much she is eating in a day. Therefore these visits give us reassurance that she is eating enough & supplementing is not necessary. Alexa weighed in at 9lbs 8oz, this is the 34th percentile for girls. At her 1 month visit she was only in the 15th percentile. I am sooo excited about her growth. Not only is she gaining enough, but she is actually passing up other babies her age. They attempted to get a length for her but it turned into an impossible task. She insisted on arching her back & bending her knees. Since her length is not an important factor in determining if she eating enough, they decided to just leave it blank until her 2 month well baby visit on the 22nd. I will work on getting her to lay straight so she is more prepared next time.

I guess that's about it. This week Alexa & I will be flying to Cincinnati while Justin goes to Texas for some Army training. I am looking forward to introducing Alexa to the rest of her "McKinney" family.