Avery's first visit to the mall...

And she sleeps through it, COMPLETELY. Mom and I had fun with it though! ;-)

Baby Kara

I am so amazed at how much Avery looks like Hillman! Yesterday, mom and I got out some pics of me as a baby and thankfully, I can see some resemblance. Lucky for Avery, she isn't cursed with my big ears and major fat rolls, but, as you can see in the picture below, we do resemble one another as babies, slightly. (she still looks mostly like H.)




These are just hilarious! Avery isn't so blessed to have the original title "chunky monkey" Clearly, I didn't miss many meals as a un-welcomed woman accused Avery of in the shoe department at Dillard's yesterday, we won't be buying any shoes from her...

By the way, LOOK AT MY HOT MOMMA!!!! She's gorgeous! ;-)


Now the one below is just up for fun! LOOK AT THOSE ROLLS!!! And you all wonder why I am obsessed with exercise!!!! LOL!!

Cabbage leaves? Really?

Will someone please explain how cabbage leaves help relieve engorgement and help dry your milk up? I must admit..I was skeptical of this old home remedy. I am weaning Ms Avery and OMG, I thought I was doing it right. I started skipping pump sessions, one by one and then on Sunday I went down to one. I got so engorged that I could hardly bare the pain of pumping for relief, which made it even worse. OH WOW! That hurts! My boobs all of the sudden changed from huge and floppy and huge and ROCK HARD. Sorry, I know that is a lot of information about my boobs. When you have a baby all of the sudden you find your self sharing details about all sorts of your anatomy that you probably felt uncomfortable talking about before... I guess its all part of it. Modesty, to some extent, has certainly become less sensitive! Anyway, back to my rock hard boobs that are now a size DD...I do miss the pre-pregnancy boobs. I was as small as I had ever been, I could wear a size A cup, Im telling you, boobs are over-rated!! ;-) People keep telling me this old remedy for weaning that is over 100 years old, that is to buy green cabbage, crush up the leaves with a rolling pen an place them inside your bra. Well, I said I wasn't doing that, until Sunday evening, GET ME CABBAGE PLEASE!!!!! I'll try anything, what ever it is, no matter how silly it sounds, I am just that uncomfortable!!!!

Low and behold, it worked! I smelled of cole slaw, but i really couldn't have cared less, H and I got a huge kick out of me putting them in my bra, we use country slang here "Oh baby, Ill never be able to eat at a fish restaurant again with out thankin of you" LOL!! "Baby, you look good nough to eat" HHE HEH! We're really not right! We laughed till we cried, well, I really did because it hurt to laugh!! Now it may just be in my head, but it really did bring me tremendous relief, thank God! It has been 3 days now and although I am not ready to do jumping jacks with single support, I do feel much better. BTW, Nicole had us do a million jacks last night in her class, I think she wanted to cause me pain because I was showing out ,trying to one-up Brandon. Im truley sorry Nicole!! I get it, you're pissed!! You got me good, if the class wasn't full, I would have just put my hands over my boobs to hold em in place, the 3 sports bras were no competition to jacks and ski's!! LOL!

Scientifically? I cant find any conclusive studies except that women consistently show improvement when compared to placebo....we need some conclusive info here! Is it mind over matter? A certain nutrient that is released to resolve inflammation, in which case, does it work on a sprained ankle, pulled muscle, black eye? If so, what is the nutrient? Or does it specifically target the mammary glands, somehow helping your body to magically absorb the milk back into the body quicker? I think Im reading too much into this... I know my Mammaw could answer this question. If she was only here..:-( Does anyone out there have a clue?? Just wondering! I want to extract what ever it is that has this effect and make it a cream, that's right, Ill make my millions! Oh yeah. Love you all!-K

Im Going Crazy!

That pretty much says it all. I am really loosing it. I really don't know how many more nights I can go with only 3-4 hours of sleep. I don't know why but she is now having a difficult time sleeping at night. Everyone keeps saying " sleep when the baby sleeps" I am sorry but that is freakin' impossible! During the times during the day when she sleeps I have to: pump milk, do laundry, wash bottles and clean the kitchen, EAT, shower, and some where in there, if i have a moment to lay down and sleep, as soon as i fall asleep, I am woken abruptly to WAH WAH WAH! It's time to feed her and do it all over again. I am more exhausted now that I have ever been in my entire life! She is asleep right now but I am wide awake...go figure.

Here is how a typical night goes. 730-8pm, I go to sleep, Hillman feeds her around 10pm and comes to bed. If Avery is still awake, I get up. Usually she is asleep and she wakes me up at 1130- 12 ish. I get up, feed her again, pump milk, go back to bed 1.5hrs later( anywhere between 130am and 230 am.) Then, around 330am "Wah Wah Wah" That's right, she's hungry again. I get up, feed her and she is usually very difficult to get back to sleep. This is the time of night where she has a dirty diaper, when I change her, she pees all over me and her self, I still can't figure out exactly how this happens. Keep in mind we have to change it around her harness which is very difficult in the wee hours of the morning, and I have to change her clothes too because somewhere between the time where I remove the dirty diaper and replace it quickly with the clean one, she pees puddles that soaks her clothes, harness, and diaper( last night it got in her HAIR), and as I mentioned earlier, me. I wipe her down, take the harness off to clean and dry, and replace her diaper, (we are on diaper #3 now) pick her up she's wide awake, note, I still have pee all over me that has dried enough for me to forget about it, offer her the more food(its been over an hour since she was initially fed) and she drops huge pooh bomb that shoots out of her diaper and on to me and what ever else is around. As I pick her up to change her and clean her up, she spits up all over me, usually somehow getting it inside my shirt, soaking me thoroughly. In case you have lost count: Diaper #4, onsie #3 and hours spent, #2.5-3. Cleaning myself up:#0. HELP!!! By the time she may get settled, It is time for me to work or workout...5am,a which is just fine because there is no hope of me falling back asleep now as I am a morning person and I am ready to go. At this time I realize that I have pee, pooh and spit up on me still...I change my clothes which takes care of most of it, except for the spit up part which I have forgotten about, and head out the door, after handing over the the shift duties to H. She sleeps until around 9am, then I am starting to get tired.. UGGGG!!! Oh the joys of motherhood, I have a whole new respect for my mom....I just hope she gets back to sleeping more through the night soon.

I had planned on a cardio workout this morning at 5 am as I am desperate to loose these 10 lbs, but H woke up at 430am and noticed me sitting on the couch, baby in baby bouncer, awake, and me sobbing. I didn't even hear him come down the stairs I just felt his hand on my head, "baby, your exhausted, you go to bed and Ill watch her for the next two hours,until I have to go to work"(630Am) I felt guilty because It is his birthday and he has to work ALL day but, I took him up on his offer. Last night I set a new record of only getting 2.5 hours. She was wide awake all night. Not fussy,I do realize, it could be worse, just awake and wanting to be held continuously. Pray for sleep, I am really going crazy! ;-0 -K

4 weeks, still in harness

She is now 4 weeks! WOW! She went back to the Ortho. today. Good news! Her hip is better! Bad news, he wants her to continue to wear it for 3 more weeks to be sure it is stable while she grows...Oh well, whats another 3 weeks??? At least its better! YAY!! Here are the latest pics, she is bound to be a ham for sure!!

MY BABY WAS HUNGRY!!!

OK, So Avery has been so fussy lately! I mean MAD fussy. She wants to nurse EVERY HOUR, ALL DAY, AND NIGHT!! Aside from being really sore, I am exhausted. Last night Hillman came home at 830 pm and I was spent! I was In tears, pumping my milk. "I've had it" I sobbed, I cannot continue to do this. Bring on the formula! H consoled me and encouraged me to continue pumping before we throw in the towel on breast feeding. I had already been pumping a little bit, H feeds her at night at around 10PM so I can get a head start on sleep and she usually sleeps for 3 hours before she wakes up and demands food NOW! Also I work out at 5am so H feeds her then too and when he does this, she sleeps longer. So the next logical thought...even in the midst of hormonal sobs and exhaustion, she must not be getting enough to eat. She is a lazy eater, I know that. She falls asleep at my breast after about five minutes and I usually have to get her up, change her diaper, and get her good and mad to continue nursing and some times that still doesn't work. So she wakes up 20 minutes later SCREAMING and the only thing I can do to console her is nurse her again! SO, I decided to pump, for her next hourly feeding. I had to work quick! So I pumped 4 oz before she started fussing!! I put it in a Dr Browns bottle that I got from a shower, and plugged her up! SHE ATE THE WHOLE THING!!! NO JOKE!!!! I was afraid I fed her too much but do you know...she slept for 5 straight hours!! She was exhausted and hungry. I was amazed so I pumped again, and had a bottle ready for when she woke up. I expected to be woken up in the usual 3 hours but she gave me 5 straight hours of sleep. I woke up at 430 am in a panic! I jumped up out of bed and ran to her crib thinking she was dead ( I know, a little dramatic huh) and she was waking up, not fussing, just cooing and doing cute things. I warmed the bottle and fed her 2.5 oz this time, she was so happy afterwards, she has been so fussy when she is awake I was beginning to take it personally!! I though she didn't like me and wanted a different mama!!! Bless her heart, she was hungry! Ill be pumping from here on out in case you were wondering!!! LOL! -K

We've Made it 3 Whole Weeks!

That pretty much says it all!! 3 weeks have already passed. Wow how things have changed! We are now much more confident with each other (we meaning me and Avery) I think it is so amazing that even though she keeps me totally sleep deprived, I still love her so much. Those of you who know me know that I don't function well with no sleep, I pretty much turn in to devil woman!! LOL!! Im ok though. Its rough, but we're getting there. I have been nursing so I am the food, she wants to nurse every 2-3 hours consistently, day and night! I'm like the 24 hour buffet!! She's just like her momma too, she doesn't like being hungry in the least!!! She SCREAMS when we can't figure it out right away. I have been pretty lucky with the whole nursing thing. We have good days and bad days but the bad days are becoming less and less, thank God!! My saving grace?? THE NIPPLE SHIELD!!! Fellow nursers.... give it a try, its is one of the best inventions next to the breast pump! One last thing about nursing. I was a little apprehensive about it at first. I didn't really know how I would feel about it. Come to find out it is the most wonderful thing. It certainly has its ups and downs but its worth it, I never understood why women would try everything to make nursing work. Some say they would stay up crying, frustrated, trying to get their child to latch on, I thought, I am not doing that, If i can't do it, i can't do it, ill use formula. I get it now. Having said that, I know it is not as easy for some and there is nothing wrong with formula!!! It is wonderful though while nursing her, I love looking down at her, knowing that I am supplying her with everything she needs! Liquid Gold.

She went to the pediatrician yesterday and got a good report. The hardest thing so far is the trip to the Orthopedic Dr. When she was inside me, the last trimester she was really crowded, as most are, but her leg was placed in a very unnatural position that hindered her hip joint from tightening, causing her mild hip dysplasia. Its not that uncommon but basically her left hip will slip out of place if stress is put on it. It doesn't hurt her to do this, but if it is not dealt with now, she could have trouble keeping up with her mom and dad in 5k's and marathons!!! ;-) SO we are dealing with it. I thought they would put her in a brace that she would have to wear when she sleeps or like 3 hours a day but no....I wasn't prepared for what the Dr put her in. Its a full body brace! She has to wear it a week! If it isn't better in a week, she has to wear it up to 3 weeks, if its not better after 3 weeks she has to be put in a CAST ! Please, everyone say a little prayer for Avery! Don't freak out but here is a picture of it. You can see why I cried for hours. It is much more uncomfortable for me than her though! As you can see here, she is really quite comfy. I feel like it separates us a little. We took it off at the Pediatrician's yesterday and I just held her close for a while. It also makes it pretty difficult to change her diaper too!

Speaking of diaper changes... she is really getting a kick out of it! This morning for instance, around 245am, I changed her wet diaper, as soon as i got it all fastened, she POOED!! "Oh Avery", I said, so I put her in the crib for a few minutes to make sure she was finished, 4 min later, changed her again, only to get the new diaper fastened so she could pooh again!!! AHHH!!! She did this once more, I was SO "over pooed"!! She doesn't smile at me yet but the face she does is priceless. Ill have to take a pic! Thanks AVE!! LOL!! Your already giving me ammunition for the boyfriends!! HA!

And last but not least.. I worked out today for the first time! YAY! It felt so good to sweat! AHH! I have a lot of work to do on my body! I have about 10 lbs of fat to loose and a bunch of muscle to gain to get back to my pre-baby body. In time....In time!!!