Kenzie is seventeen weeks old and as a mom, I have no idea when to stop counting in weeks and when to start counting in months! We feel so blessed to have her in our lives and she is growing by the minute!
So far, here is her tally:
Nappy Changes: 43
Sleep: 90 hours
Feeds: 78
What we think is eczema has flared from her arms to all over her stomach and back and fear of may be an allergic reaction. I took her to the doctor first thing Monday morning for a diagnosis and was told it was a very mild case of eczema and it was totally normal. We always told ourselves we would not turn into “those” parents who would always take our child to the doctors like a hypochondriac. After looking at how many bookings we have made since she was born, we have become one of those parents. It also doesn’t help when my parents constantly use the good ol’ line “Medicare is there for a reason, we didn’t have this in our day”. The doctor did say that it could possibly be from pollen since it’s Spring. Breastmilk baths, organic soap, organic lotion, organic massage oil and Bepanthen morning and after her baths have helped clear her skin. I’m just glad she is healthy and that her skin eczema is easing.
Kenzie attended her first Christmas party this week and she saw her midwife again since her birth and flashed her a gigantic smile. We met so many other moms who were also part of the Case Load program. It was so good seeing our midwife again, she made our pregnancy and birth extra special, so comfortable and such a beautiful experience for us. She has a special place in our hearts. We discovered that my milk hasn’t super-strength growth hormones because Kenzie is a very chubbier-than-average baby for her age. Although she was tired that day, she didn’t want to miss out on seeing and meeting so many new people. Can’t wait to start taking her swimming lessons and mom-and-bubs groups.
Her tooth is giving her a lot of grief. She has been biting down hard on my knuckles and chomping away at her fingers and toys. Paracetamol has been helping ease the pain when it’s really bad. Her hand and eye coordination has been improving so much, she’s grading anything and everything that is in front of her and shoving it in her mouth. We’ve also had to watch her when she’s suckling on her fingers because she’s been putting them too far in her mouth and gagging. She’s also found her feet and helps hold them back for me when I’m changing her nappy.
Our little girl has one really good pair of lungs and vocal chords! Her screams shave become so loud and she is so talkative. She has her own language, it’s absolutely adorable! It’s like she is telling us a story. I love the interaction, we can’t wait for her first words.
Kenzie is standing more and more each day. She loves standing and can stand for a few seconds on her own. We know that it may be a bit early as per her development tracker but she’s guiding us to standing position when we pull her up and she loves it and complains when we sit her back down. We don’t force it on her and make sure we do morning, afternoon and evening stretches to avoid any stress her muscles take since she’s one little chubster. We’re hoping for her to walk in a few months time. There is so much to look forward to!
THIS WEEK SHE FINALLY GIGGLED! It finally happened and we were so excited we didn’t get to capture the moment. I was kissing her all over her face, her chubby cheeks and her nose and she felt ticklish round her neck and she let out a few giggles! It’s such a beautiful sound and we can’t wait I’ll she giggles more.
Everyday we read her The Very Hungry Caterpillar, one of my favourites from when I was younger. She loves the book and because of the bright colours and large pictures, she prefers it over her other books. I’m only on Chapter 3 on The Lion King as she gets bored so easily without a lot of pictures.
Kenzie is growing so quickly we’ve removed her infant insert on her carrier and we have removed the hammock for her bath! I feel like we blinked and she just grew overnight! It feels like yesterday that she was only able to fit premature clothes and now we’ve donated so much of her clothes. Gosh, even her hair has grown and we can tie it or clip it up!
Counting down the days till her next vaccination and her transition to solids. As much as we wanted to give her solids at 4 months old, after reading many articles and resources, we may have to delay this to 5-6 months as we are exclusively breastfeeding her and the Australian Breastfeeding Association recommends to start solids at 6 months of age.
Next week Kenzie will attend her first birthday party and before you know it, Christmas is here!