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Kayden had her first photo shoot yesterday with her Auntie Kelly and Mel. Kelly and Mel showed up with their own props and were eager to snap shots of my beautiful Kayden! The photo shoot was for her birth announcements. Scotty doesn’t quite understand the concept of the announcements because he says that everyone knows we had a baby. I tried to explain to him that it’s a way for extended family to see her picture and her birth stats. He then explained to me that that’s what this website is for. I then explained to him that not everyone has been following the website. It went back and forth a few times and eventually I won (I think!). Kelly and Mel were here for a few hours and got very creative :). They got some really great shots that will be perfect for her announcements! We will also be sharing them on this website too once they have been edited and retouched. Here are a few of the cute ones that might or might not make the cut!

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Scotty and I are reading The Baby Sleep Solution, which promises to have baby sleeping 12 hours in 12 weeks. Our pregnant neighbors suggested it to us knowing that sleep is a rare gem at our house. The book is short and can be read in just a few hours. The book goes in stages based on age so I read a little ahead of the age of Kayden so I know what I’m doing and where I am going. The book talks about training and it starts at 6 weeks. Kayden is 5 weeks, but after a few nights of Scotty or I having to spend the night out of the bed so the other could sleep, I thought it might be time to start a little early. The basic idea is to get baby eating all 24 ounces of food during the day and then sleeping all night. Basically a baby needs 24 ounces of food in a 24 hour period. No one says it has to be evenly disbursed in all 24 hours. So right now I am trying to make Kayden wait 3 hours between feedings and then I’m trying to keep her awake for at least an hour after each feeding. Yesterday was my first day and luckily I had her Mimi here to help! She was awake more than she has ever been during the day and consequently slept the best she ever has last night. She is still going 2 1/2 hours between feedings at night, which is expected, but I’m hoping to move closer to 3 hours. She can do it during the day, but at night she is getting up 30 minutes early. Because she is so young it’s fine that she is going 2 1/2 hours and not quite 3, but as she gets older she will go longer. So far this is working well, so my fingers (and toes) are crossed!

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It seems unfair that the pugs haven’t gotten a post on the site yet. After all, before Kayden came along they were the subject of many of my blogs. The pugs have been adjusting well to our newest addition, but they are experiencing some difficulties adjusting as well. I can’t remember where I heard this (probably because I am sleep deprived), but I heard that dogs require REM sleep just like humans. It’s safe to say the pugs are probably sleep deprived too. They hear the crying. They come support me during the feedings. They help clean up the random food that finds its way to the floor because I’m just not motivated to bend over and pick it up. They are definitely not on their A-game, but they are doing their best to get along with their baby. They are both snoring at my feet as I write this post. It’s tough, but they are doing very well adjusting to our newest family member!

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So this is new to me. Apparently infants are not in complete control of their muscles. This seems to be really affecting Kayden. When she’s feeding she knocks the bottle out of her mouth or she pushes me away. At night she hits herself in the face and wakes herself up. During the day she just looks like she is convulsing and uncomfortable. To help at night we swaddle her, but I think she really hates it. She wakes herself up when she convulses and then remembers that she hates the swaddle and tries to bust out. This wakes her up between feedings, which means it interrupts the 2 hour “nap” that I so need! I’m hoping she gains control of those long arms soon!

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So while we are still figuring out this baby thing, Scotty and I have really come to find out how important it is to work together. Scotty goes to work every day so from the beginning I have always said that I will take night shifts during the week. Well, that was when I was pregnant and still sleeping through the night. Now that Kayden is here it’s becoming harder and harder to sleep in “naps”. Luckily Scotty understands this and helps out in every way he can. On Friday nights he takes all shifts and Saturday we split shifts. It’s amazing how refreshing a four hour “nap” is compared to a 2 hours “nap”! Kayden must be growing or something because last night she was fussy all night, and this is a whole new challenge. I got five hours of sleep in a 13 hour period. When Scotty got home from work he demanded that I go take a nap knowing that tonight would probably be tough too. I thought I would ‘rest’ for an hour and then return to my house hold duties. I ended up sleeping hard for almost two hours waking to the smell of barbecue. I came downstairs to a happy baby and dinner on the table. It was such a nice, and much needed, treat! Having a supportive spouse is so important with a new baby. I love that I don’t have to ask my husband to help, even after working all day. He wants to help and he is so great with her! Kayden and I are very lucky girls!