Milestones

It took three weeks and eight days, but our little Morgan rolled over onto her tummy (from her back) yesterday. We were lucky enough to catch her in action and get the video camera before she rolled back. It was funny, Tyler and I had her on the floor between us and had both turned to check our e-mail; when he turned around, he said, "tash, look," I turned and looked and sure enough she was on her tummy, propped up by her darn left arm (stuck under her). We grabbed the camera and watched as she struggled to turn over, getting pretty darn frustrated in the process. However, the smile and her reaction afterwards was priceless. It took a lot for me to stand back and not help her when she got frustrated but I am SO glad that I did.

anything, I think this foreshadows the type of parent I want to be and the effort it is going to take to restrain myself in any situation where I could make things 'easier'. I want Morgan to be independent and to experience such joys without my assistance, but I'm sure there will be times (again) where I want to intervene but I think this experience will help me to remember to take a step back and just watch her succeed (or fail and learn from it).

Natasha

My Stick Family from WiddlyTinks.com

Once upon a Morgan

It is a little hard to believe that Morgan will be three months old tomorrow. When I look back on the photos of her first month of life and stare into her eyes today it seems like we have an entirely different baby in our house! The growth, development, and personality that we've witnessed over the last three months leaves us in awe.

Her last appointment with the pediatrician was on 11/24 and at that point she weighed in at 12lbs, 3 oz. and was 22 3/4 inches long with a head circumfrance of 40.4cm. Our growing girl!

We aren't quite at the point of 'rolling over' yet, although she can roll onto her side and back onto her back. In the past couple of weeks her grasp has developed and she loves to hold to her little maraca rattle that daddy got her and has grabbed onto my earrings and gave them a tug more than once.

As for words, she LOVES to babble! Whether it is in her carseat babbling to whoever is sitting next to her or laying/sitting around the house, she has stories to tell! In general she is such an easy, happy baby. We couldn't be luckier in terms of her personality and enjoyment of life.

One of my most recent 'favorites' was waking her from her crib one Saturday and placing her on her changing table as she woke up to focus on my face and give me a great big smile. That sure starts your day on the bright side!

If you've seen Morgan's share site (photo/video site) than you are aware that she loves to giggle, smile, and eyeball her daddy! Seriously, seeing Tyler's face or hearing his voice makes her eyes light up and her lips creep into a smile- we have a daddy's girl on our hands! I can only imagine the bonding experiences to come between father and daughter.

As for mommy and daughter, our favorite pastime is singing. Lately it has been Christmas music, but Morgan will smile and coo and gurgle to almost any song as we sing along. It seems like almost daily we sing-song together for at least a short period of time.

Winter break is here, so there will be more mommy-daughter and family time to go around! We have quite the agenda on our hands, as Morgan will get to see and or meet many family members that she has not yet, including her new baby cousin, Jonathan. It will surely be a holiday season to remember and we'll be sure to capture it in photographs for all to see.

My Stick Family from WiddlyTinks.com

Two Months & Growing Strong

Morgan turned two months old last Saturday and she's just a trip! We are soaking up as much 'Morgan time' as possible and really enjoying her little quirks and developments. Over the last two months we have settled into a routine and learned how to enjoy her while making sure she is happy and content.

If anyone even reads this thing anymore, you can enjoy some of her development through the videos and images we post at her website. Tyler spends at least one hour a day with her, getting her to babble and talking back and forth with her- there are some great videos of her 'talking' and one where her babbles even sound like she is saying 'hello'!

The holidays are upon us and we are staying at home this Thanksgiving, starting new traditions with our little family of three. Tyler's brother, Matt, and his wife, Crispian, are going to join us at our Thanksgiving table- we have lots to be thankful for this year. Christmas is still a little sketchy at this point, but we will travel to Topeka and Wichita at some point to share Morgan with our family- the best gift of all!

In an effort to fill you in on some recent happenings, here's a few things that have recently made the 'headlines' of our lives:

• Morgan had her two month appointment today and is making good progress. At this point she is up from her birth weight of 9lb 9oz to a total of 12lb 3 oz and has grown from 19in to 22 3/4 inches. Her growth and development is going very smoothly. One milestone was accomplished early on- she's been sleeping through the night (for the most part) since November 1st- the night before I went back to work. I think she sensed my stress and worry about going back to work and leaving her at home.

• In exciting news, Morgan will have a cousin in a matter of months! My sister recently found out she is expecting and so there will be another little one in the family around Morgan's age that we can enjoy and Morgan can bond with. I am hopeful that this will also bring my sister and I closer together.

• This afternoon Morgan met Santa for the first time! The experience went fairly well, with the exception of her being a bit hungry. The first picture came out nicely but the second captured her mid-cry. We ended up purchasing a couple of 5x7's of the non-cry shot. I'm sure next year's picture with Santa will find her much more animated.

My Stick Family from WiddlyTinks.com

The Swing of Things

It is hard to believe that in a few days I will head back to work and daddy will be home all day with our baby girl. I enjoy my job, although I complain about all of the hard work that goes into it. However, I think this might actually be one of the first times where I DISLIKE going in to work on a daily basis, just because I'll miss out on Morgan time.

Anyone close to our family knows the struggles I've had with balancing 'Mrs. Jenkins' and Natasha time; however, now I have more of a reason to work my hardest to ensure that 'mommy' comes first. I'm sure that finding the balance of good teacher, good wife, and good mommy will be a struggle- but I must continually remind myself how important my family is and keep myself in check so that they come first. I'm sure a panic attack will ensue this weekend, but hopefully I'll manage that well and transition back into working with as much ease as possible.

In Morgan news, I created a multi-media hub so that family in Topeka, Wichita, Arizona, etc. can keep up on her progress and growth since they don't see her as often as others. You can access the site by visiting http://adventureswithmorgankaye.shutterfly.com/ This is our primary hosting site for our family's photos, so it will be updated regularly!

On Monday we had our one month visit to the pediatrician and Morgan is growing nicely! We were given the okay to stop waking her up to feed (we were since she had lost so much weight initially) because she is now up to 10lb. 15.9oz! That places her in the 83rd percentile for weight and she is also in the 83rd for her head circumference. She's a shorty right now, in the 51st percentile at 21inches long. They were super pleased with her development, as she is ahead of her time in terms of rolling over (she can from her back to side), grasping objects (not intentionally yet, but very strong), and holding her head up. Her latest accomplishment is following her toys, particularly one rattle, with her eyes and head; it's cute to watch:

I can not get over how thankful I am for our family and friends. If not for the kindness of our co-workers, I don't know how I would have made it through the first few weeks- they fed us nightly! Having Tyler's mom and my mom here (and my grandma) was also a gift, it made the difficult transition into parenthood that much easier. Also, being able to go to Grandmas or mom's on the weekends helps since Tyler is super sleepy after his 13 hour shifts. I am just SO thankful for that and everyone's generous gifts to Morgan- her little 'nest egg' account is growing nicely and not having to pay for diapers, wipes, and formula to the extremes has been nice due to everyone's gift cards. WE LOVE YOU AND ARE SO THANKFUL for your friendship & love!

Tyler and I are to the point now where we are enjoying Morgan more than worrying about sleep, what she wants, etc... We are figuring things out and moving into the stage of 'ah ha'. Morgan slept pretty much non-stop from 5:30a until 11:30a this morning- a major milestone! That meant that Daddy slept for a few hours since he goes in for a bit tonight and Mommy even caught a nap while snuggling baby girl. Right now, she is out in her bouncer after a little bit of fussiness and I am making cupcakes to decorate for Halloween!

This weekend, my last of maternity leave, we plan on making a trip to her great-great grandma's house so that we can take a 5 generation picture! Maybe, if it is nice we can FINALLY squeeze in the pumpkin patch, too! Before the weekend, though, Morgan has two more fun-filled days! On Thursday I have my appointment to clear me to go back to work and then Tyler and I are going to head to Lawrence for a 'date night' while Grandma Leslie watches Morgan. On Friday I'll take a little 'mommy time' as well as work on some lesson plans while Morgan and Daddy head to Olathe to hang out with Uncle Matt. So, busy, busy times in the Jenkins household!

n

My Stick Family from WiddlyTinks.com

Step by Step

Can you believe that tomorrow will be four weeks from the day Morgan was born?!? Our days (and nights...) have been filled with her activities, eccentricities, and memories.

At this point we are letting her sleep a bit longer than the 2-3 hours that was first recommended to bolster her weight back up to her birth weight. Grandma and Great-Grandma weighed her on Grandma's scale yesterday and estimate that she is around 1o pounds and some change. We officially go to the Ped. again on the 25th, so we'll see! If we let her, she'll sleep around 5 hours at a time, wake up to feed, and then slip back into sleep after wiggling a bit and making her 'baby pig' (read: grunts and snorts) noises.

Really, she is a wonderful baby- but mommy is SO used to getting her Z's that it's been a rough adjustment. Daddy, too, is dragging, but handles our needs so well and doesn't complain (I can't say as much for myself).

On Friday, Morgan's great-grandma Ronnie came to town and we went on a walk. We were going to just make it short, but I asked if we could walk the 6 or so blocks to the district office to drop off some paperwork, so we did. Then, we walked main street... then we stopped in some stores. We ended up being gone for TWO HOURS! Morgan was SO good- she was bright eyed for quite a while and then slipped into sleep only to wake up and fuss once for a minute before falling asleep again. I really have no scope for comparison, so I couldn't imagine what such a long walk would do to my body. I was SO SORE that afternoon and the next morning that I could barely get from sitting to standing. Note to self: don't overdo it.

We gave Morgan her first bath the other night, which she loved. Her most recent development is that she giggles and smiles in her sleep; it is precious. I especially love it when I'm holding her over my shoulder, facing me, and she does it. Earlier tonight I kissed her cheek and she proceeded to smile and giggle- it made me want to just squeeze and hold her tighter!

I think we are going to try to make a trip to the pumpkin patch this week, so we can take some pictures and pick up a few more pumpkins. We're also going to make a trip to Topeka so that Morgan can meet her great-grandparents and other family members from my dad's side of the family. I hope the trip goes smooth, as it will be our longest trip to date.

My Stick Family from WiddlyTinks.com

Three Weeks!

It's hard to believe that Morgan Kaye is three weeks old today! It has been a blast seeing her grown and change every day- I'm dreading going back to work and already having minor panic attacks- boo! Enough about that, though!

Here are some recent observations/milestones:

We went on our first walk this past week- the three of us. We didn't go far since it was my first time out of the house and I wasn't sure how far I'd be able to comfortably walk. Morgan enjoyed the walk and was drifting off to sleep by the time we did a final lap of our mini-block. I went on a solo-walk with her on Sunday, and she drifted off to sleep by the time we got home. That one was a longer walk, as I'm building up stamina. HA!

Last weekend marked her first 'real' smile (for daddy). At this point, after a really solid feeding she will drift in and out of sleep and manages quite a few smiles as her eyes flicker and roll back in her head. She doesn't always want her soothie, but when she is serene like this, if you rub it softly across her lips she will smile and it is adorable.

She is learning how to laugh- it is funny! The first time I heard her, I was startled because it was a brand new noise and I was not used to it. However, Tyler said that she had been doing it earlier too, and we realized it was her little laugh. She's only done it a couple of times, but it is cute.

She's becoming more vocal- in a grunt-like way. I seriously think she sounds like a little baby pig! She is a VERY gassy baby and is frequently grunting and making other little pig-like noises. My favorite noise, though, is still the big sigh she lets out when/after sneezing. It's like she'll get two good sneezes and then (well, almost always) lets out this deep, exasperated, "ooooohhhhhhh!". Tyler and I listen for it every time and it always makes us giggle. I was actually in the family room while she napped in the living room today and all of a sudden she made the sound without even sneezing- it sent me into a fit of laughter.

We're slowly getting this whole 'outside of the house' thing down. At first I was petrified of leaving the house with her and had somewhat resigned myself to the fact that we would be homebodies. However, I've got her car seat down and we've made several trips out and about this past week. Now, don't get me wrong- it takes about 15 minutes to pack the car and get prepared, but we manage! I feel comfortable now taking her out and about by myself- we went to Great-Grandma Thompson's last week as well as to the high school for a visit. Tonight, too, we went to Grandma's for dinner. She tends to sleep once we are there, but was awake enough to say hello to her great grandparents!

I just completed my first solo weekend with the kiddo, as Tyler was working and my mom was out of town. I was/am sleep deprived, but we made it through with flying colors. It's amazing- I never would have imagined myself as a mother- let alone a pretty good one- and everything is slipping into place. I feel comfortable in the role, despite my pre-pregnancy awkwardness towards small children/infants. It honestly is something that comes naturally.

Well, a poopy diaper beckons.

n

My Stick Family from WiddlyTinks.com

Two Weeks

The last two weeks have been Morgan-filled and have just flown right by (well, in a sleep deprived blur). I can not say enough how helpful and humbling it has been to have the help of family and friends during this time. I've told Tyler several times that I simply can't imagine how a single mother or father even deals with the first few weeks of a newborn's life if they don't have support.

We've had so much support that last night was the first evening when I was actually home alone with Morgan. We survived- although I'm SUPER sleepy and not quite sure what I'm doing writing this instead of sleeping as she is in her bassinet dozing. We struggled with maintaining her weight the first week and had two pediatrician appointments for weight checks- as she went from 9lb9.1oz at birth to 8lb12oz. within a week (they don't like it if they lose 10% of their birth weight and she got close). However, as of last Thursday she was climbing the scale again and I think we've found a happy median with breastfeeding and then supplementing if she is still hungry until she ends up in a milk coma of happiness.

Oh, the faces she makes when her tummy is full! I LOVE holding her afterwards and watching her little eyes flutter with contentment and roll back as she smiles. Yes, she's learning to smile! She had a few attempts last week but her first real smile was for Daddy on Sunday- a big, wide, open-mouth grin that couldn't be mistaken. I tried to capture it on camera but was unsuccessful. Daddy got her to do so by tickling her lips with the soothie once she was full and drifting in and out of sleep. Now, it's become a sort of game. After feeding she won't really take the bottle or soothie, but she'll make faces and do the eye things I mentioned- but she LOVES it if you rub the tip of the soothie on her lips and she'll turn them up in a BIG grin. It's adorable and makes me love her that much more- even at the 3am feeding times.

The other night we experienced the 'other end' of this 'eating to contentment' thing. Little Morgan is our child for sure and is a very gassy baby- holding nothing back! With the breast milk her bowel movements tend to come with a large, loud passing of gas (which we lovingly refer to as a shart). Well, Daddy picked her up and was headed in to change her following one such event. I mentioned to him as he picked her up to change her, "make sure she is done!" As he undid her diaper I walked into the room to help. He checked the results and noted, "That wasn't very much..." right as she projectile sharted again. This shart had good aim because she not only hit mommy's shirt and daddy's hands but also the side of the crib, the rug, and her onesie! I can't do the scene justice- we just stood there in dismay as she let out a relieved sigh and we giggled madly at the entire thing. The situation called for a sponge bath and mid-bath I held her up (nude) for Tyler to rub her back (do you see where this is going?!?)- and suddenly I felt warmth all down my chest and nightgown. I had the pee on me- as did her rug. Twice in one sitting. Our little girl is an overachiever.

The other night we were laying in our 'big girl bed' (our bed) and Morgan got to reach out and touch Kibbles for the first time. I think she was fairly sleepy (Morgan, not Kibbles), so she didn't really react that much, but Kibbles didn't seem to mind. She's been good with Morgan but a tad distant. She prefers to be in the other room most of the time, but still makes her way into our bedroom at night to paw us and cuddle. She tends to keep her distance from Morgan, though, instead sitting by my feet when I nurse or on the back of the chair when Morgan is in her bassinet. I like to think she is standing guard.

With today's two-week mark I am cleared to drive again! I think we might do a test-run this week and take Morgan out to gg thompson's for the day. I also think we might drop by the school on Friday for the all-school cookout planned in honor of homecoming. I've had four students drop by to meet Morgan and one who sent a gift. I'll have to keep those pictures (of them holding her) for her scrapbook.

My incision is healing fairly well, but Tyler did note that it looks like it may be slightly open in one tiny area- the same area where some drainage can be found. EW. EW. Yuck. We'll keep an eye on that.

Now, I think I'll go catch a wink of sleep before stinky is bright-eyed and ready for her next feeding.

n

My Stick Family from WiddlyTinks.com