8 months old and crawling already!

Hey Peeps !

This month has been great in terms of Kaylee's growth and development, Kaylee continues to grow into a beautiful and cheerful little girl, with her own range of sounds, babbles and noises !

Sorry Kaylee ....

Also this month Kaylee's biggest achievement is only a week or so  old.
Our Daughter has learned to crawl!
It seemed to happen very quickly, she went from being able to crawl backwards, to being able to crawl forwards with alarming speed! The video below was taken the day after she first picked it up , and me and Andy are still shocked by how fast she can move once she gets going :) Needless to say we are both very , very proud parents!

 

 Kaylee continues to grow into a very beautiful little girl, who regularly charms strangers and friends alike . Weighing in at 18 pounds 9 ounces, we can conclude that weaning is going well.

Well run out of time! will try and update more later ;)



Weaning Fun!

Hi everybody!

 

 

We have made the brave decision to start weaning Kaylee!

 

Armed with a bright shiny new highchair and some premade puree's we begin our exciting journey.
Here is the little lady looking utterly adorable whilst breaking in the new furniture ;D

 

 

On a separate note I love our highchair, not only does it have a cool, wipeable surface, but you can also assemble and collapse with one hand, which is uber useful when holding a baby !

 

After doing some research we have tentatively started trying new foods and baby rice, and so far things seem to be going well :)

Even if eating is terribly messy and exhausting!
(btw another pro of this highchair is that it fully reclines , ready for occasions such as this!)

 

I'm proud to say that its not just weaning that Kaylee is doing well at, She is still incredibly well behaved and is growing up to be a very beautiful , smart and strong little girl.

We regularly enjoy storytime...

 

 and playing in the door bouncer,

 

 But she is never more happy that when cuddling and playing with Mummy..

 

 And Daddy....

Bye for now ;)

 

P.S

As most of you know I have been learning to drive with Gary Lee in his lovely red BMW. This is still going well and the plan is to be test ready around the end of  May. I thoroughly recommend this guy as not only does he have a Lovely car, he is also a really funny instructor ;)

15 weeks old and getting very vocal!

Howdy Guys !

 

Its been a good couple of weeks, Kaylee has survived her second round of jabs, and was surprisingly happy by the time we got home from the doctors.....

Sadly it didn't last , as Kaylee was not her happy smiling self for the next few days as the vaccines started to take effect. But luckily after a few days all was well in the world of Kaylee.

 

The next few days were difficult as unfortunately we lost Kaylee's Maternal great Grandmother, but as ever Kaylee was the shining beacon of happiness and joy to all those who met her.

 

We were also lucky enough to see my brother, Kaylee's Uncle Mark who enjoyed a long awaited cuddle

Since then, Kaylee has continued to grow steadily, and is starting to engage with other objects and textures around her, and is at long last finding her voice. We are treated on a daily basis of some new sounds, gurgles and an steady flowing river of dribble....

 

Kaylee was also lucky enough to get a beautiful door bouncer from her Nanny and Grandad, here she is hanging out and finding her feet

 

Kaylee's night time routine is continuing to be a huge success, and we are happy that Kaylee continues to sleep for at least 10 hours overnight, which for a 15 week old baby is fairly fantastic in my humble opinion.

 

Here is my routine if anyone is interested ;)

 

5pm feeding time !

Kaylee normally naps for 30 Min's afterward  or relaxes in her chair whilst enjoying csi:ny

6pm Playtime, this is where I incorporate stories, tummy time, or more recently some time on her blankets where she rolls around and grabs some of her toys and fabrics





 

7pm : Bath time with music provided by the lovely Bruno Mars

 

7.20 ish Baby massage I use some music from an 8tracks play list (found here Kaylee's Massage Music), but there are tons of alternatives, you are aiming for a relaxing environment with low lighting.

{my local sure start centre runs a 6 week course for free, but I'm sure there are options for this where you live}

The baby massage has so many benefits, it moisturises the skin, Gets Kaylee used to human touch and contact, and really helps keep her bowels regular. However a useful side effect is that is tires Kaylee out, and makes her thirsty and hungry, which leads me to .....

 

7.45 Final Feed of the night with music from The world of Warcraft Album :The Burning Crusade

Followed with 15 minutes of cuddle time with mummy

 

8.00 Story time

I Put Kaylee in bed and read her a short story, by the time I'm finished she is nice and relaxed and ready for bed .

 

All so we can look forward to doing it all again the next morning :)

 

 

 

Meeting new friends

Well Kaylee is 9 weeks old this week, and we decided to start participating in some of the groups in our area, with such a lot to choose from it took a little time to decide what we were going to do ...

 

I started the week on Tuesday with Bumblebees parent and toddler group. I really enjoyed myself and I think Kaylee enjoyed some of the toys, but I think that Kaylee is a little too young for it at the moment ,especially as the rest of the group consisted on 3 very boisterous boys, but oh well! live and learn!

 

On Wednesday we were all geared up to do Baby music makers which is a group designed for babies under 2 with simple instruments and singing, Sadly I managed to get us lost and so we didn't get there on time, the good news however is that I know exactly where it is for next week, with the added bonus that some of my new friends are also going which will be great fun ;)

 

To round off the week me and Kaylee went to our first Baby Bloom course session. This is a six week parenting course where you learn about communication, feeding, massage routines sleep etc....

I really enjoyed this session, I got to meet other mums and their babies, most of whom were born around the same time as Kaylee ;)

The next week is shaping up to be quite fun, as my mum and dad are having Kaylee for the night for the first time! Me and Andy have been invited to his works party which will be great fun I'm sure ;)
We also have baby massage to look forward to on Monday which we are totally excited about!

Well that's all for now, enjoy the pictures of our beautiful baby daughter below as well as her first mini video!

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10151808790797115&set=vb.516657114&type=3&theater

 Looking forward to Bath time!

 A proud mummy and a bored daughter!

 Kaylee revelling in her brand new playmat!

 

 

 

Feeling Festive

Christmas Greetings to you all!

 

I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas and that there were not too many sore heads !

 

The last 2 weeks has held some new challenges, joys and excitement !

Firstly we had my brothers wedding down in Hastings, this involved a 5 hour car journey south with Kaylee. Now for our first long distance trip I think things went surprisingly well. We left Norwich at midday after giving Kaylee a feed and change, and enjoying some lunch and coffee ( courtesy of the team at Starbucks)

Things were going well, and we didn't hit any traffic until Kaylee started to cry and we were nowhere near a service station! Fortunately I was sitting in the back and was able to soothe her until we were able to stop, feed and change her!

We eventually arrived in Hastings around 5pm , and after checking into our delightful Premier Inn room , settled down for a well needed nap before meeting up with other members of the family for a spot of dinner.

 

The next day we went out for a nice little walk before heading back to the hotel to get everyone ready. The ceremony was due to begin at 3, and so we thought that 2 hours to get ready would be plenty, how wrong we were, everything that could delay us , did! some time later after a little help from Mum, we were all ready and at the registry office in time and relaxed.

 

It was a beautiful ceremony and the bride and groom looked wonderful ...

 

 

And I have to say I don't think me and Andy scrubbed up to badly either....

 and though all our family were happy to see us, we were completely and happily upstaged by our beautiful daughter, who looked absolutely stunning in her cream party dress

Here she is with some of her adoring fans!

Kaylee and Helen Kaylee and Emma

 Mum and Kaylee

The proud Grandparents

Auntie Colleen and Kaylee

 

It was a wonderful day and Kaylee did so well, it was a very long day for her and so we left the happy newlyweds to party whilst we headed back to the hotel so Kaylee could get some rest and relax.

Christmas

Christmas for the Musk clan was surprisingly unchanged, due to Kaylee being only 7 weeks old and Andy being at work (again)

 

That being said we had a lovely time Kaylee and I spent the day with mum and dad , we had decided not to open all of our gifts until Andy was home from work, and so we spent the day watching Christmas tv and enjoying plenty of cuddles and playtime with Kaylee.

 

Kaylee was given so many wonderful things, and although Kaylee was asleep for most of Christmas we had a lovely time , now we cant wait for next year when Kaylee will be 1 and able to fully enjoy Christmas, hopefully with Andy home as well ;)

 

Here is a picture of her very impressive Christmas present haul!

 

well that's all for now, Have a very happy new year, I hope it brings everything you are wishing for.

xxx



Hungry Hungry Kaylee!

Howdy followers!

What an interesting/exhausting week its been! Kaylee is 3 weeks old this week and has the appetite of a dino! The plus side of this is that although she is feeding every three hours, she is gaining weight well and should hopefully be back to her birth weight soon.

We have had a few issues with her weight in the last 2 weeks as she wasn't gaining enough weight on a week to week basis. Since then we have slowly managed to increase her intake, although it sadly meant that we had to move onto a more formula based diet.

At first it was difficult, as I was so emotional, which was made worse by being so tired due to feeding every hour or so . But with support from my friends and family I was able to put my emotional attatchment to breastfeeding aside , and learned how to bottle feed Kaylee instead. That night for the first time in nearly 2 weeks I got a decent nights sleep and was able to function a lot better. And as for Kaylee, 1 week on she is gaining weight well and has never looked better.

 

 

One Hell'ova week!

Well what a week it has been!

 

This time last week I was just a normal (albeit heavily pregnant) woman impatiently waiting for my baby to arrive.

This week I have a 1 week old bundle of joy who despite arriving a little early, is everything we could ever have dreamed of...

 

1 week ago

 

It all started just over 1 week ago, me and Andy were at the midwife's for our 39 week appointment, everything was going well until they did my weekly urinalysis and blood pressure. They say a facial expression says more than a thousand words, and we now realise exactly what they mean.

 

I was reliably informed that not only did I have protein in my urine, but my blood pressure was significantly higher than was considered normal. One short phone call later and we were on route to the James Paget Hospital to be checked over. Little did I know that just over 24 hours from being seen at the maternity assessment unit I would be giving birth...

 

What happened next

 

The consultants had decided that I had Pre-eclampsia and in order to protect the life of me and our baby, I would need to be induced the next morning , just in case.

Sadly being induced would mean that I would be unable to have the water birth I had planned, but I knew that with Andy to support me,I would still be able to have a moderately natural birth with minimal interventions which was great.

The next morning I was induced via a pessary at 9am , and then the real fun started, Upon deciding that we had hours to wait before anything interesting happened, me and Andy decided to go for a wander down to the canteen for a coffee and something decent for breakfast. I lasted about 10 minutes before the pains started, so we made a hasty exit back to the ward so I could lie down.

In the meantime some kind soul had been to deliver a really cool birthing ball, and although I didn't get on with it much Andy absolutely adored it ( although that may have been because it was more comfy than the chairs provided lol)

 

The rest of the day went very quickly, my contractions started coming thick and fast , and I was given a cylinder of gas and air to help with the pain. What felt like a few minutes later I was being whisked down to delivery suite to have my baby as the contractions were only a few minutes apart !

 

Our birthing room was lovely , and even had a bath that I attempted to enjoy , however sadly I couldn't have gas and air in there, so i didn't stay comfy for very long ;(

a few hours later we welcomed our beautiful bundle of joy into the world in what would appear to be record time ! having been induced at 9am that morning Kaylee Anne Musk was safely delivered with her waters intact at 1747 that evening .

Weighing an impressive 7lbs 12.5 ounces she is the most perfect bundle of joy I have ever held.

What was most amazing was that when she was born she had no trace of pain killers in her system as I only had gas and air throughout the whole labour ;D

 

The midwives and student midwives that day were absolutely amazing , and for all the faults of the nhs, these guys were perfect. Me and Andy were made to feel welcome and though they must have been very busy, we were made to feel like we were the only ones on the unit.

 

Moving on

 

 We were moved off the delivery suite around 1am that morning, and I was allowed to go home later that day after waiting for a review from the paediatricians and maternity team. My blood pressure was still high , but the doctors were happy to manage it in the community and so at 6pm ish we left the hospital with little Kaylee and set off (in the rain) for home for cuddles and a brief visit from my mum and dad who were so anxious to meet their new granddaughter.

The first week has been an emotional rollercoaster as we get used to parenthood, but as we all get to know each other, we settle into a happy routine. As of today Kaylee Is 8 days old and getting more beautiful by the day :)

 

Next blog entry will be in  a week or so's time where I will talk about some of the challenges that we have overcome in the first few weeks , and what new parents can expect from midwife visits, plus all the stuff they don't tell you in the parenting books!

 

 

But for now,

Keep well, happy and safe

 

The Musks