Just Hanging Out

Life with a new baby is amazing! It is a whole new experience filled with love, diapers, snuggles and cute little smiles. However, it does not have a lot of variety.

First real bath... we've washed her off in the sink before this but this time we used the tub.

I have decided to take a monthly themed picture of little Kasila and make a calendar for next year. Here are the pictures for January and, even though it isn't technically February until tomorrow, February.

January:

February:

(I think she was done with me taking pictures.)

Feeling Productive

First of all... I don't know how people can only take 6 weeks off with their new little one. Kasila is will be 6 weeks on Friday (CRAZY!) and I feel like I'm just getting comfortable with doing more than just snuggling with her on the couch when I'm at home alone with her. For example, today was the first day I took a shower while she was asleep. Normally, I would just shower at a time that Scott was home. I've also been attempting to cook some new recipes. Snuggling on the couch is awesome and having an iPad is great to have for snuggle time. I have added a lot to my Pinterest boards. One thing that I have noticed, more like slapped in the face, is that cooking has to be done in steps. I don't like letting my darling cry more than she has to so I am constantly being pull away from what I'm doing. That being said, I thought that having freezer crockpot meals would be a good thing to have. Scott was very supportive and we took some time and prepared 9 meals to keep in the freezer.

The Beginning

The Final Product

Recipes:

2 Divine Chicken

2 Teriyaki Chicken

2 Beef Roast (we used moose)

Mongolian Beef

Creamy Chicken and Pasta 

Country Chicken and Vegetables

The last two are from a program called 30 Meals in One Day. I'm not sure about copyright so if you want the recipe, let me know.

We haven't ate any of them yet, so here's hoping they're good!

and of course, my disco dancing baby!

Getting into a routine

Life is gradually taking on a routine, as much as you can have a routine with a new baby! She sleeps quite a bit, but gradually is have longer periods of being awake during the day. Scott has gone back to work and attended a Haz-Mat Ops training. I have ventured out on my own with Kasila to a few different places. I've also spent long days by myself with her because of Scott's work and training.

I'm so grateful that I don't have to go back to work very soon. I get to spend relaxed days in my PJs with my little girl. That may not be the best thing to get my body back into somewhat decent shape, but it there is nothing like snuggling with her and having her fall asleep in my arms. Then I don't want to move because she looks so adorable! That means that I take a few naps, play iPad apps, watch TV series on the computer (my wireless mouse reaches quite nice from the couch) and listen to audiobooks.  Eventually this will probably get old, but for now I love it! :)

Kasila is now a month old! She had her last check up on Jan 4 (she was 3 weeks old). She grew 1 1/4 inches in length and had gained over a pound! Her stats at the time were 8lbs 6.5oz and 20 1/2 inches long.

People always ask if I'm breastfeeding or bottle and I don't really know how to answer that. Kasila didn't really latch to well and she always fell asleep, no matter how much we poked or tickled her. We spent 2 long weeks finger feeding her. This included me pumping, then using a syringe, a small piece of tubing and tape. We taped the tubing to our finger, put it in her mouth, and when she sucked, we pushed the syringe to give her milk. This way we could continue to try to nurse and there wouldn't be any nipple confusion. It didn't really help her nursing much. I still had to use a nipple shield to nurse and she still would fall asleep. We decided to start using a bottle.When I go back to work, she's going to have to get used to a bottle anyways. And there isn't a huge difference between a nipple shield and a bottle nipple. Also, I would have to pump after nursing anyways because I produce more than she eats. We're still trying to nurse occasionally but I am mainly pumping. I actually don't mind this much. I thought I may have some bad feelings about not nursing, but there are a lot of positives in my mind about what we're doing. The main one is that Scott gets to help with feedings too. This gives him time to bond with Kasila too. For now, I'm home with her more and not having to take her to nurse gives him more time with her.

Scott finger feeding Kasila.

Here's our little girl sporting the adorable sweater from Great Grandma Dickerson!

Fun with camera effects...Bug eyes!

Snugglin' with Daddy!

Look at that adorable face! 

Here we go on month 2!

Kasila's Blessing

We were able to bless Kasila with most our families present, either in person or via Skype. Scott's family (Mom, Dad, Todd, Ashley and Grandma Udy) flew up on the 18th and stayed until the 28th. My parents flew up on the 26th and stayed until today. They overlapped for 24 hours which gave us the opportunity to have most of the family here for her blessing. We were also able to have my mom's parents, Grandma and Grandpa Dickerson, watch the blessing via Skype.

Kasila was able to wear the same dress, tights, and shoes that I wore when I was blessed. She also received a cute little gift from the Summers. It was a little white accessory with the saying
"On your wrist for your blessing,
In your hair for your baptism,
and on your garter for you wedding."

It was an awesome experience and I'm so happy that we were able to share this precious event with our family and close friends!

The guys that were in the circle:

Bart Summers, Grandpa Paul Udy,  Uncle Todd Udy, Scott,  Grandpa Allen Montgomery, Paul Leishman, Duran Breshears

Paul and Kesa and Family: Kyran, Kinley, and Jonathon

 Ashley and Duran

Bart and Nan Summers

Maddie, Fischer, Hayden and Holly

 Scott's Family:

Grandma Udy, Dad, Mom, Ashley and Todd

Steph's Parents

Our little family :)

Pictures

Merry Christmas from Kasila! 

Random pictures from her first couple of weeks.

I love this last picture of her laughing! She is always playing with her tongue.