Baby's 1st Christmas

From parades, lights, and movies to cookies, presents, and a candlelight service, we have had a very special Christmas season with our little girl. For Boomer and me, it was memorable as we celebrated the holiday as first-time parents. What a blessing to celebrate Christ's birth with our own little one! 

A couple days before Christmas, Em and I went over to Grammy and Grandpa's to make Christmas cookies. It is a Bakewell tradition to make several different types: chocolate chip, Snickerdoodle, Swedish tea cakes, and of course, iced sugar cookies. Grammy got a head-start earlier in the week, and it's a good thing that she did, because with a newborn, 3-year-old, and 1-year-old, just the sugar cookies took a whole afternoon! Zander was very involved this year, and we all laughed at how he would smash the cookie cutter right in the middle of the rolled out dough! He didn't quite understand trying to maximize the space -- needless to say, Grammy stayed busy re-rolling the dough. We made quite a mess, but a lot of memories, too!

On Christmas Eve, we were back over at Grammy and Grandpa's for our traditional finger foods and presents. All of the adults opened their presents, while Santa waits until Christmas Day to bring gifts for the kids. We then went to our church's Christmas Eve candlelight service. It was the first time we had been to church with Em, and it was special to worship with her. On Christmas morning, we went over to the Houston's to see what Santa brought Zander and Maddox, and then we hit the road to Star. We arrived in Star around noon and celebrated with Granny, Paw Paw, Aunt Carlin, Aunt Darby, Uncle Goosie, Uncle Kyle, and the kiddos -- Trivett, Adelynn, and Kessley. It is so fun to see how both sides of our families are growing; there are more people around the table and more little ones playing on the floor. We are so blessed! 

 

This was a very special Christmas! There were some crazy moments -- blowout diapers, a pan of burnt cookies, messes in the living room. There was also a lot of laughter, snuggles, and family photos. As we reflect on the true meaning of Christmas, it is a blessing to raise our little girl in a Christ-honoring home. We pray that she will one day know Jesus Christ as her Savior. 

Merry Christmas from the Kennedys!

A Few Updates

We have had several follow-up appointments this week, both for Emerson and for me. In my last post, I wrote that I thought I had a stomach bug. It turns out I had a kidney and bladder infection. Fun fun! In addition to appointments for me, we again went to the pediatrician for another weight check. On Monday, Emerson weighed 8 lbs 10 oz. The pediatrician was happy with the progress, and Em is now on her way to gaining weight at a steady rate. We also had a follow-up appointment at the pediatric dentist. Dentist? Sooo, I've kept a few details out of my blog while Grammy and Grandpa have been away on their cruise. With limited communication during the 17 days, I did not want to worry them. Now that they are back, I'll share what else we have been going through the past two weeks. 

After my first lactation appointment on December 3rd, the lactation consultant thought that Em could have a 'tongue tie.' While not extremely common, it is not very rare either. A lot of nursing mothers will experience difficulty with breastfeeding, and the tongue tie will likely be the cause. If the issue is not resolved at birth, it could lead to a speech impediment a few years later. Otherwise, into adulthood, there are usually no side effects. Apparently it is a hereditary trait where the membrane below the tongue restricts movement of the mouth. My mother-in-law thinks that perhaps Boomer had a 'tongue tie' when he was born! For the procedure, we went to Charlotte on December 6th, just a few days after the lactation appointment, to a dentist who commonly performs these 'tongue clippings.' In addition to the site below the tongue, he also saw the need to clip the similar membrane above the upper lip. The procedure is completed with a laser and causes minimal pain or bleeding to the child. It has been just over two weeks since the procedure, and we are seeing improvement in breastfeeding. My subsequent appointments with lactation showed that each time, Em would get more and more from me. We are still giving her a bottle with additional breastmilk after each feeding, but hopefully we can eliminate that soon. For now, I continue to pump about 4 times a day. We also have to do special 'exercises' with Em's mouth and tongue to help her re-learn movements and to prevent incorrect healing of the lip and tongue sites. 

Whew! So that's all out in the open now! We are very excited that Grammy and Grandpa are home. As much as we missed them, I know that they missed us, too! Here are a few pictures that Grandpa took from their travels! Emerson was definitely on their minds :)

Emerson Street - Napier, New Zealand

Emerson Brewery - Dunedin, New Zealand

On Sunday, Boomer and I celebrated our 6th Anniversary! Grammy was home just in time to babysit (Thank you, Grammy!), and Boomer and I had our first date since having Emerson. In the past, we have usually gone away for the weekend: Asheville (1st), Charlotte (2nd), Wilmington (3rd), Williamsburg (4th), and Blowing Rock (5th). This year as new parents, Boomer did a great job planning a fun afternoon and evening for us. We first saw a live matinee performance of White Christmas, one of my favorite Christmas movies. The performance was in Winston-Salem, at the Winston-Salem Theatre Alliance. We had never been there before, but it is a quaint, intimate theater with about 150 seats. Sunday was their last performance after two-weeks of sold-out shows. It was a lot of fun! Then we went out to dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, 4th Street Filling Station. Right before we got our entrees, I noticed a familiar face at one of the other tables -- it was one of our delivery nurses! We laughed about how different we both must look outside of the hospital. Like proud parents, we showed her pictures of Em, now 5 weeks old. After dinner, we were back home by 7PM to relieve Grammy and put baby girl to sleep. While not a weekend away, it was still a very special anniversary!

In between appointments, Em and I visited Great-Gma and Great-Gpa and snapped this photo of the four generations. How special it is to have everyone together in Kernersville!

We have a lot of fun things planned over the next few days as we celebrate Christmas. I'm looking forward to having Emerson as part of traditions from this year forward -- and making some new traditions, too!

To My Sister

I want to take a quick break from my usual weekly musings to write a special post about my big sister. Even as I begin typing this, I know it will be impossible to make it to the end with dry eyes. The last few weeks have been an adventure. There have been highs, and there have been lows. At the lows, I have had so many questions, doubts, fears, and frustrations. And each time, Megan has been there to lift me back up. Boomer certainly deserves a lot of credit, too (perhaps he will get his own post soon!), but there is just something special about the bond of two sisters, especially once both become mothers. Now that we are both in this journey called motherhood, right in the thick of it, I find myself clinging to her even more. I could say so much about all of our memories before babies; there are too many to even count. However, since the moment I told her I was pregnant, our bond was strengthened further. After Boomer, she was the very next one I trusted with this secret, and she has helped in every stage of the pregnancy and now postpartum. Things that may have seemed daunting or overwhelming (like registering at Babies R Us, setting up a nursery, choosing doctors and a daycare) all were eased by her experience. Things that seemed scary (like the delivery, breastfeeding, Em's low weight) soon seemed conquerable. Like a mommy mentor, she has a way of listening and then talking through things so that I always feel better afterwards. Never have I felt more blessed to be the little sister. She has been my cheerleader through it all.

The last few weeks, Megan has brought over dinners, changed diapers, picked up things from the store, showed me how to use a breast pump (and then sat with me while I tried it for the first time!), made me laugh when I needed comic relief, and generally provided adult company when Boomer had to work late. She has also loved on our little girl in only the way a doting aunt can. Juggling many responsibilities herself (a demanding full-time job, a rambunctious 3-year-old, a cuddly 1-year old, and a husband, too!) it is as if she has put all of those things on hold when she is with me. She has missed several nights of tucking her boys in and spending time with Zack so that she could be with me. Last night, we had our first dinner out just the two of us. Megan insisted that it was a big milestone to go out after baby for an hour or two, and she was right. It felt good to have a breather from this new life, a life that I wouldn't trade for anything but that requires some recharging sometimes. And so, to my sister, I say: 

Megan, 

Thank you. Thank you for all the time you have spent with Em and me over the last five weeks. Thank you for lending an ear when I needed to talk things out. Thank you for celebrating the victories with me and for cheering me on through the hard times. Thank you for selflessly giving of yourself and your time. Emerson and I are both so lucky to have you in our lives. We look forward to girls-days-out, shopping trips, pedicures, and spa days. If Boomer and I are blessed with another baby girl, my prayer is that Emerson will be to her what you have been to me. You are such an amazing mother, sister, daughter, and friend. 

I love you more than I can put into words!
Lindsey

P.S. And as I expected, I can hardly see the screen through my tears! :)

 

1 Month Old!

Today marks one month since Emerson Leigh made her debut in this world! Since it is a Saturday, we have been enjoying a day at home as our little family of three. The Kennedy girls love when Daddy is home! The morning started off with Emerson getting her first big girl bath in the tub. We have been doing sponge baths up until this point, but her umbilical cord fell off a long time ago, so it was okay to do an immersion bath. I was waiting for a time when Boomer and I could both do it since it seems to be a two-person job. I think Emerson liked it!

 After Em was squeaky clean (oh, and after she peed while we were drying her off but before we got her in her diaper!), we took out the 1 month onesie for a photo shoot. These special onesies were passed on to me from my sister. She used them with both of her boys, and I can't wait to compare all of the pictures. Right now, it seems that our children have their fathers' genes, so there may not be too many similarities!

As I mentioned, I have heard from many people that Emerson looks like Boomer. Here are a few more pics from the week, where she is perhaps looking like Daddy!

To give a quick update on Emerson's weight and her feeding, we are seeing progress each day. We had several appointments this week, at the pediatrician on Monday and then with lactation on Wednesday. At the pediatrician appointment, Emerson was up to 7 lbs 14 oz. In just a week, she put back on about 15 ounces and was finally back to birthweight. Praise the Lord! Our strict feeding schedule had helped Emerson regain the weight she had lost during the first two weeks. At our lactation appointment on Wednesday, Em seemed to be slightly more efficient at breastfeeding. After 30 minutes at the breast, Em took in about 1 oz of milk (in comparison to 0.5 oz after 45 minutes at last week's appointment.) It was recommended that we still give her a bottle with at least an additional 1.5 oz of milk. I am continuing to pump often throughout the day. We have almost completely eliminated the use of supplemental formula, and I have started to even freeze some extra milk. We had one last appointment on Friday. It was actually a home visit through the hospital's follow-up program. The nurse that came brought a scale, so Em was weighed one more time. Her weight is finally in the 8s -- 8 lbs 2 oz as of yesterday! We still have some work to do to improve her efficiency when breastfeeding, but it seems that we are on the right track.


Amidst the week of appointments, we also had our first night out to dinner (I forgot to take a picture!) Boomer took both of his girls out to one of our favorite Japanese restaurants in Kville. Our regular waitresses were glad to see us back and were excited to meet Miss Emerson. On a low note, I had a stomach bug Thursday night and in to Friday. I didn't have all the usual symptoms, but the stomach pain lasted about 24 hours. Unfortunately my mom and dad are still on their cruise (we miss them so much!), so Boomer stayed home from work on Friday to help with Em. He had to go out that evening for a performance at school, but he called in reinforcements, and Meg came over to hang out with us. Both Meg and Boomer were so helpful this week. I continue to be humbled by this whole parenting thing, and I am so thankful for the network of support surrounding me.

A Week at Home

Emerson's first two weeks were filled with outings and road trips, but we spent most of this third week at home. After her doctor's appointment last week which showed that she was still below birthweight, the focus this week was our new feeding schedule. By the doctor's orders, we are feeding every 2 to 3 hours (day and night). A typical feeding includes breastfeeding for 20 minutes, bottle feeding 2 ounces of breastmilk or supplemental formula, and then pumping for another 20-25 minutes. With this schedule, it has been difficult to plan going out. We have been blessed with many visitors though to keep us company. On Friday, Cathy came to hang with us for the day and to go with us to our lactation appointment. The appointment revealed a lot. It seems that it takes Emerson a lot of work to get a mouthful of milk. She continues to try to breastfeed, but with such slow progress, she often falls asleep. She then feeds quickly from the bottle, because the flow is much quicker. She doesn't have to work her mouth that hard to get the milk from the bottle. We are continuing to feed in the three stages, but I am hoping for some answers this week. It is very time consuming and exhausting. We have another appointment today with the pediatrician and an appointment on Wednesday with the lactation consultant. On a positive note, at Friday's lactation appointment, Em's weight was up 7 ounces! She is still shy of her birthweight, but we are definitely heading in the right direction.

While at home, in between feedings, we did some tummy time, and Emerson also helped with our Christmas cards.

Our one big outing this week was on Saturday to the Yadkinville Christmas parade. Boomer's school is close to Yadkinville, and the Forbush band, cheerleaders, and ROTC were all participating in the parade. It was a chilly morning (mid 40s) so we were sure to bundle up. I tried out the Mobi wrap for the first time, and it seemed to work well -- Emerson slept the whole time. The parade was a fun way to kick off the Christmas season. Emerson even met Santa and Mrs. Clause!