I am working on writing out Keelie's birth story, but in the meantime I wanted to share about her first two weeks of life. I did a two week update with both the boys, so I want to keep up as well as I can this time around :)
Whenever anyone asks me how Keelie is, I just say "she is awesome." Because she is. She cuddles, she sleeps, she eats... she's just an awesome baby.
I feel as though I've spent most of the past two weeks doing three things - feeding her, cuddling with her, or just staring at her in awe of her beauty (mommy bias perhaps). Here she is at one day old.
I've been able to get a lot of quality time with Keelie and focus on her because my mom is here with us. Grandma has been so wonderful at taking care of the boys AND the house. Keelie and I have enjoyed our "babymoon," bonding and getting lots of cuddle time together. Keelie is our last baby and I want to soak up every single precious second that I have with her. The newborn stage goes so quickly. I wish I could bottle up the smell of her newborn head. Her newborn cuddles. Her newborn squeaks and grunts. Her dreamy newborn smiles. Tyler and I talked about how we can take pictures and videos for days (and believe me, I do), but there's no way to truly capture these first few weeks. They are such a special time and I want to soak up every single second of my last sweet newborn.
Tyler and I have a special sense of appreciation/contentment/adoration of Keelie because of the fact that Brody was a TAD (edited to sound polite) high maintenance. Brody came out screaming and he didn't really stop much during his first month of life ;) He nursed well, but sleep was a different story. He would only sleep if he was being held and he was not a fan of the bassinet. We would lay him in it and literally within a minute he would start crying. Tyler and I struggled those first few weeks because we didn't sleep unless someone was holding Brody. When he did sleep at night, it was only for an hour or two at most. Keelie, on the other hand, has been going 2-3 hours between feedings at night (usually 3) and I even let her have one 4 hour stretch now. I have to wake her up most times to feed her and she actually SLEEPS in the bassinet. She's just a dream ;) We didn't realize how good we had it when Tanner was a newborn, but I can very much say that Tyler and I appreciate Keelie's sleep patterns so much more now that we've had a baby who didn't love sleep. She also has a more content demeanor than her older brother. Sure, she has her grumpy moments and we spend a lot of time bouncing her on the exercise ball in the evenings, but overall she's a wonderful baby. And I never want to forget how tiny she looks wrapped up as a burrito in her swaddle and lying in the bassinet.
Tanner and Brody have been the best big brothers. They were excited to meet Keelie the night she was born and have been so sweet to her ever since. I was worried about potential jealousy issues with Brody (since he is my mama's boy), but he hasn't shown any negativity towards his sister whatsoever. When Keelie cries, he sweetly says, "it's okay, baby sister," and he loves giving her kisses or patting her head gently. I am hoping this trend continues once Grandma leaves and Brody isn't getting quite as much attention... but so far, so good. My heart is full.
Then there's this guy. I think seeing him love on our little girl has made me fall even more in love with him (if that's possible). He is smitten with her and it's so beautiful to see that daddy/daughter relationship.
I mentioned that my mom has been here since a couple days before Keelie was born and let me emphasize again what a huge help she has been. She has taken over the house duties (I have done very few dishes and laundry since she's been here) and the boys (I mean, she is even packing their lunches and snacks for school), allowing me to have lots of one-on-one baby time. I love it. I remember when I thought one baby was hard, but now it's like a treat :) Keeping the boys peaceful is the bigger chore and Grandma is doing that all while keeping our house in order. She leaves tomorrow and it's going to be a big dose of reality for this mama. I expect a lot of tears, mainly from me ;) I'm so thankful for this lady and how she loves on us.
I've dreamed of having a daughter my whole life and I'm having so much fun with my little girl. Dressing her is a treat every day and I am loving every minute of it. Here's to bows and dresses for days.
Keelie had her first well visit at the pediatrician when she was just 3 days old. She was an angel in the car (it's 50 minutes both ways to our pediatrician) and was given a clean bill of health. She actually was at her birth weight (8 lbs 9 oz), which is rare since most babies lose weight in their first few days of life. We are so thankful for a healthy baby. I weighed her this morning (at 2 weeks) on our scale and she is 9.8 lbs already. She is definitely growing!
Tyler went back to work on Friday the week Keelie was born and here's what she thought about that. She is already a daddy's girl!
Keelie had newborn pictures taken at six days old. She did way better than either of her brothers because she actually slept for most of it like newborns are supposed to. I'm excited to see the pictures, here is one I took of the magic in progress ;)
Gigi, Grandy, and Big Al came to meet Keelie when she was a couple days old. Gigi was in Florida the day Keelie was born because Ana and Brayden had a baby girl, Eliza, 6 days before! I'm so excited for Keelie to have a cousin so close in age.
It seemed like it had been forever since we had gone on a family outing, so even though Keelie was just 12 days old, we decided to head to North Georgia (almost an hour from our house) for some apple picking! We all wanted to get out of the house and I feel great physically, so we figured "why not?!" We also figured Grandma would enjoy doing something fun while she was with us. Our first adventure as a family of a five was a success. Keelie and I stayed in the air conditioning for a large portion of the morning while the boys played in the nearly 90 degree "didn't feel at all like fall" Georgia weather.
Tyler took the boys to church yesterday, but this is how Keelie and I did church.
Two weeks ago, I was adjusting patients with the occasional contraction, not knowing I would be holding this sweetness by dinner time! It's hard to believe this little girl has only been in our lives for two weeks, I already can't imagine life without her. She is the perfect final puzzle piece to our family. We love you, Keelie Marie!