6 Weeks Old

Kyler is 6 weeks old today. Time is flying by! He is getting bigger and developing more and more of a personality. Although I hate seeing my baby get to be more of a big boy, he is more and more fun every day.

Yesterday was Brett's birthday. He is 28 and feeling a little old. :) But to celebrate we grilled some steaks for dinner and then headed to the Royals game. It was a BEAUTIFUL night to be outside at the game. And we thought just maybe they would come back and win. But of course they lost by one and their last out was a strike-out looking (and not swinging). Typical. Anyway, Kyler did really well at the game. He sat on our laps just looking around like crazy. Brett kept commenting on how much he was moving his arms and legs. Sometimes we think Kyler really thinks he is going somewhere. He loves sitting upright where he can take it all in. And he really really loves being outside.

Happy Birthday Daddy!

I purchased a mobile for Kyler's crib and it came in yesterday. He was already smiling and cooing at it as I was putting it together. But the real value came this morning. Usually when the sun comes up and it gets bright in Kyler's room around 6:30 he does not want to go back to sleep. But I do! So this morning I got up and fed him and he was of course wide awake. So I put him in his bed with his paci and turned the mobile on. And that's how I was able to sleep in until around 9:00. Well, I had to get up to turn the mobile back on since it shut off automatically after 20 minutes... but I can handle that.

The Tiny Love Sweet Island Dreams Mobile

This morning Kyler had a doctor visit. He is right on track in terms of growth. His weight is 9 pounds 14 ounces (50th percentile), height is 21.5 inches (45th percentile), and head circumference is 15 (50th percentile). Although he wasn't due for any vaccinations until 2 months, we asked the pediatrician if we could space some of them out instead of him getting a bunch at one time. Since he is 6 weeks, she went ahead and gave him a couple today and he will get the rest at our 2 month visit. Today he got the Rotavirus vaccine which was something he had to drink. And he got one shot for DTaP/Polio/HIB. He screamed as expected but got over it pretty quickly. I thought it would make me really sad based on what I have heard from other moms but Brett and I were sort of laughing. Maybe we are just bad parents. ;)  Or maybe we just have a tough guy that only screamed for a few seconds. He has done well since we got home, just screaming harder than usual when he does fuss or cry.

"OOOOUUUCCCCHHHH!!!!!"

"A kiss from Daddy and my paci make it all better!"

"Mom, quit taking pictures of this and pick me up. This isn't funny!"

New Nursery Decor

Now that the nursery is up and running I thought I would share a few more pictures. I did do a little tidying up before but I can definitely say that Kyler's room is usually the cleanest in the house. Probably because he hasn't been around long enough to accumulate as much stuff as we have.

Here is a view from the doorway.

And from the opposite corner of the room.

I was pretty proud of how my crafty letters turned out. I looked online to purchase some letters similar to these and was appalled that they cost around $12 per letter plus shipping. So I decided to take matters into my own hands and make them myself. I ended up spending around $10 for the entire thing and I like my letters much better than what I found online with the jungle animal theme. I purchased the wooden letters which were $1.99 each but were 50% off so they cost me a total of $5. Then I painted them using a small bottle of acrylic paint which was $.99. I was able to find the little wooden animals already painted at Hobby Lobby for $.67 each. And a small spool of the giraffe print ribbon was $.99. I used tacky glue for the animals and hot glue for the ribbon and then hung them with tacks. I used a ruler to make sure the ribbon had the same amount of "give" for each letter and also used the ruler to make sure the space between the stripe on the wall and the bottom of the letters were consistent. It was a quick and easy craft project and turned out really well. Here is a closer look.

This is the other piece of decor hanging in the nursery. We received it from our friends Amanda and Cole. It is a really neat and personal gift and they even had it match the nursery with the little monkey.

And here is the latest pic of the little man himself. He is finally liking his bouncy chair. It has a vibrate function which helps calm him. When I try to lie him in a crib or playpen he gets upset but he loves sitting here where he can look around. During the day I set him in front of the window where he can sit and look outside. This happens to be the same thing the dogs enjoy doing. You can tell he's pretty relaxed in this picture.

Sleep!

I had a really bad feeling about the quantity and quality of Kyler's (and therefore my) sleep last night. The night before it had taken me close to 2 hours to get him down. I fed him, changed him, rocked him, patted him, fed him again, laid down on the floor next to him, changed him again, rocked him again, and finally he went to sleep and stayed that way... for about 2 hours. So when morning came I was still exhausted and decided to sleep in so I brought Kyler into our bed so I didn't have to get up. We slept on and off until after noon. Then he was cranky all day yesterday and slept quite a bit. So I just knew it was going to be a long night.

Even Brett couldn't get Kyler to calm down and go to sleep last night. He wasn't hungry - he had just eaten a ton. His diaper was clean. He had his pacifier. He didn't want to be read to. But he did need a bath so I tried that. He was still fussing and wide awake when I was drying him off in the rocking chair. But within minutes he was sound asleep. When I put him in his crib around 11:00 pm he didn't wake back up. I found myself awake at 5:30 am. Had I really just gotten over 6 hours of sleep? And there was no baby crying? I went into check on Kyler and he was fine... his hand was moving over his face. Finally around 6:00 am we heard a cry. Kyler slept through the night for the first time at just over one month of age! I know that this is very unlikely to continue but I have to be excited that he slept... during the night... for 7 hours!!!

Happy Father's Day

Today is Brett's first Father's Day. He is an awesome dad to Kyler. I can tell that Kyler really loves his daddy too. He is very comfortable in Brett's arms and is able to relax and fall asleep very quickly - much faster than when in my arms! I know how lucky we are to have Brett as a husband and father and I hope he knows how much he is loved and appreciated.

Kyler Loves Daddy!

We did our Father's Day activity on Friday evening. We went to a T-Bones baseball game with another couple and their little girl. Kyler did awesome during the game. He slept through part of it and then woke up to take in the sights and sounds. He was looking around quite a bit. It was pretty hot and humid but he didn't seem to mind (we were in the shade so didn't have to worry about the sun). And the home team won which was a nice change of pace from what we normally get at a Royals game.

Ky and B at the T-Bones game.

Kyler was one month old yesterday and he is changing more and more all the time. I am anxious to see his weight and height in a couple of weeks at his six-week checkup. I can tell that he is a little heavier and he is already starting to outgrow some of the tiny newborn clothes (part of that is due to the bulkier cloth diapers). He is still pretty little though because he doesn't fit into many of the 0-3 month clothes yet. He is paying more attention to people and gives me more smiles and coos, almost little laughs sometimes.

Hanging out in the swing, watching the mobile.

We gave Kyler his first bottle last night. I had pumped about 5 ounces so that I could go out with some of my out-of-town college friends and since I had a powerful margarita, we bottle-fed him for two feedings. He did great and didn't even mind that the milk was a little cold. He made sort of a funny face at first and then chowed down. His dad even got to feed him for the first time which was pretty neat. Brett didn't want to at first but had a pretty big smile on his face as he was feeding his little boy.

Brett feeding Kyler his first bottle.

Lastly, an update on the cloth diapering. Many people ask how that is going (I'm sure because it seems pretty crazy and old-school). It is going really well and I am glad we decided to do it. It has taken a while to really get it all down but I think I've got it mastered now. The diapering system I use are known as prefold diapers with a diaper cover. The prefold diaper is a rectangular piece of cloth that has a thicker layer in the center. These come in different sizes. The diaper goes on first. The back is kept flat and then I fold the front into thirds and pull it up to Kyler's tummy. Then the two back corners are brought around each hip and fastened with this great tool called a Snappi (it is basically replacing diaper pins and is way way easier than pinning). Once that is on, I just put on a diaper cover which basically goes on like a disposable diaper. It has a velcro closure. The trick here is to make sure that the cloth diaper is tucked in around the legs and the top of the cover so that the wetness says in. I wash diapers every other day and we have even been using cloth when we are out and about or traveling.

Example of cloth diaper using Snappi (this is not Kyler).

Picture Preview

Check out Amanda's blog for a preview of the newborn photos she took for us of Kyler. They are amazing!!!

Busy Little Baby

We have stayed pretty busy the last couple of weeks. The Saturday before last our friends Amanda and Cole came to Kansas City to take Kyler's newborn pictures. It was pretty entertaining. We were trying to do some naked baby pictures and Brett ended up getting peed and pooped on. The next day was our friend Amie's baby shower. We visited Great Aunt Shelly and Uncle Pat before heading back home.

Kyler relaxing with his daddy.

Monday we went to Topeka to say goodbye to our cousin Lauren who is headed off to college in Colorado. After lunch we went to the mall with Great Grandma Rita, Grandma Debbie, Great Aunt Sherry, and cousins Taylor, Kelsey, and Avery. The grandmas spoiled Kyler by buying him some really cute outfits. That night Kyler went to his first softball game to cheer on Avery. On Wednesday Brett's cousin Jeremy came to visit with his wife, Terri, and their two young boys, James and Oliver. We got a glimpse of how much fun it will be to have an almost two year old (and how busy we will be)! We went to the Deanna Rose Children's Farmstead which was really nice. Friends Stacy and little Kinsey brought us lunch on Thursday. Then Grandma Debbie and Grandpa Tig came and spent the night. Kyler was in a really good mood Friday morning and was able to spend some quality time with his grandparents before they headed off and we got ready to go to Hutchinson.

Kyler tried on a pair of shades at the mall in Topeka. He is a pretty cool little dude.

This weekend was Uncle Brad and Aunt Jenna's wedding. We had a long drive (almost 4 hours) to Hutchinson on Friday afternoon before attending the rehersal and dinner. Over the weekend we could tell that Kyler was tired of traveling. Each time we would get in the truck he would start screaming. At one point we turned up the radio which somehow put him to sleep. Brett was pretty excited to have a reason to listen to his music a little louder. I was disappointed to already get outvoted by a 3-week-old.

Kyler in his new shorts outfit he wore to Brad and Jenna's rehersal. Dad thought they were pretty cool.

Friday night we were very excited that Kyler slept for a 5-hour stretch! The wedding was on Saturday and was great. We enjoyed the ceremony which was very personal and deep. Kyler now has another aunt which we are really excited about. Brett was the best man and gave a nice toast at the reception. We got to see many friends and family at the wedding which was really nice.

Four generations of Bracks - Kyler is the first decendant of Great Grandpa Bill to carry on the Brack name.

Kyler is really starting to change. He pays more attention to people and will sometimes follow voices with his head. He makes happy little noises and squeals. He has a fake cry (when he is just bored or needs attention) and a real cry (when he is hungry or uncomfortable). He has also started to show us his temper. Brett says he gets that quick temper from me (which I then blame on my dad). If Kyler needs something and we don't respond quickly enough he will start SCREAMING!

A tired Kyler.

Finally, he is starting to develop more of a schedule. Part of this schedule is his fussy time which still isn't as bad as some of the horror stories I have heard. That starts about the time Brett gets home from work at 6:00. He is awake and asleep from then until about 11:30 when he sleeps for around 4 hours. He eats usually around 4:00 and is sometimes hard to put back down to sleep but once he does he is asleep until 6:30 or 7:00. Usually he will go back to bed until around 10:00 when we finally get up for the day. He naps pretty heavily until early afternoon when he is awake for several hours.

Two Week Checkup

Kyler snoozing with his G.G. (Great Grandma Weber).

Kyler will be two weeks old tomorrow. He had his doctor visit today and did great once again. He is in the 50th percentile in all categories. He weighs 7 pounds 7 ounces and is 20 inches long. So he has almost gained a whole pound since he was born and regained (and maintained) the weight he had initially lost very quickly. We are happy to hear that he is eating well and is as average as can be in terms of size.

Kyler has been staying awake a little more each day. He really likes being in his carseat since it usually means we are on the move and he sleeps almost the entire time we are driving. When we are home he spends a lot of time in his pack-n-play sleeping or looking around at some of his brightly colored toys. Occasionally he lays on his activity mat and looks at the toys hanging down from above and once in a while he can be soothed asleep in his bouncer which vibrates.

K-Man loved listening to Great Grandpa Weber - he was moving those arms!

The little man is pretty strong for being less than two weeks old. He kicks around and moves his arms a lot. The other night we put him to bed and when I got up to feed him, he had moved 90 degrees on his back so that he was perpendicular to the crib. He is also able to move his legs around and kick one leg over the other so that he is lying on his side. And his neck is pretty strong. He will hold his head up and turn it side to side when we are holding him.

This past weekend we traveled to Wichita to Brett's parents' house and then rode with them to his cousin Anna's wedding near Great Bend. Kyler did great and I was actually the one who got tired and crabby. On Sunday several other family members were able to meet Kyler at the Memorial Day get-together.

Grandma Tammy holding Kyler Jacoby.

This week we will have both sets of grandparents visiting. My family is coming tomorrow evening to spend the night for an appointment my brother has in the area. Then on Thursday and Friday night Brett's parents will be in town to help his brother move.

I almost forgot to mention that we are now using the cloth diapers. They are pretty bulky right now but they get the job done. So no more buying diapers! (Well, we will buy some to have on hand for traveling, etc. but not many.) Now Brett has to learn to change a cloth diaper... we'll see how long that takes.

One Week Old

Kyler was one week old yesterday. He had his first shopping trip to get some needed supplies and look for clothes for Kyler and I to wear for an upcoming wedding. He slept the whole time. He enjoys being in his car seat, especially when we're moving.

Remember all those books we got at the baby shower? Well, we are already putting them to good use. Here is Brett reading Kyler his first book, "Are You My Mother?" We enjoy reading to him and he seems to like it to (although he is a pretty content baby so I'm not sure what he doesn't like). We know he has no idea what we are doing when we are reading to him but the experts say it is really good for these babes.

Brett reading to Kyler.

(Kyler was awake, just having a hard time keeping his eyes open.)

Kyler has also been Skyping with Grandma and Grandpa Brack and Great Aunt Shelly. It is hard to get him to stay awake on the web cam. This will be really nice to have so we can show him off to Uncle Ryan and Aunt Jessica in Japan. And we are up at all hours so the time difference might not even be a big deal for now! We are going to purchase an external web cam so we don't have to angle the laptop to show the little man.

Daddy and Kyler on Skype with Grandma and Grandpa Brack

Right before bedtime, Kyler got his first real bath (not just a sponge bath). Unfortunately, bathtime is so hectic that we forgot to get a picture so Brett snapped this one while we were drying him off (and he was peeing in his clean towel).

Kyler after his first real bath.

A lot of people have been asking how Kyler does sleeping and if he cries a lot. The answer is that he is a great baby so far. He very very rarely cries, just a few squeaks to let us know he is hungry. He also sleeps pretty well. He wants to eat about every two hours until his 2:00 am feeding. Then he starts sleeping in 3 1/2 hour increments until around lunch time. I have been able to get around 7 hours of sleep each night which has been great. Today I even went back to sleep from 8:00 am to 11:00 am while Kyler and Brett spent some time sitting outside (the weather was beautiful this morning), read a book or two, and listened to some Jack Johnson. We are going to be sad when Daddy goes back to work next week, he is a big help and it is just awesome to have him around to spend so much quality time with Kyler!

Little Kyler in his big crib.

First Doctor Visit

A couple more "firsts" for Kyler took place last night and this morning. Kyler got his first bath at home last night. It was a sponge bath since his cord had not fallen off yet. Well, I thought that it had not but when I undressed him, it was gone. He didn't mind the bath too much although he wasn't real happy when he got a little cold. It was a little hectic because he first peed on me and later decided to poo on the towel he was laying on. Hopefully our real bath tomorrow goes more smoothly!

5 Days Old - Just Trying to Stay Warm

This morning was Kyler's first doctor visit at six days old. It went really well. Kyler had actually already gained back his birth weight (which can take about two weeks) and then some. His birth weight was 6 pounds 8.7 ounces. When we went home from the hospital when Kyler was three days old his weight was 6 pounds 1.5 ounces. Today he weighed in at a whopping 6 pounds 12 ounces. Daddy was proud of his growing little boy and I was glad to hear that he was getting plenty to eat!

5 Days Old - Showing his Forehead Wrinkles

One more thing I forgot to mention... Brett has finally changed some diapers and Kyler got him good! I had fed the little guy and was super tired so I headed to bed and let Daddy take over putting him to sleep. As Brett was changing Kyler's diaper, Kyler first peed all over. Then to top things off, he decided he was not done pooping as the new diaper was going on. Needless to say, Brett was getting pretty frustrated and I ended up getting back up to help out. I wonder if this is an indication of how ornery Kyler is going to be!

Kyler's First Trip

Brett and I aren't the type to sit around and pass up opportunities to hang out with family and friends. So it might or might not be surprising that we packed up the family and headed to Seneca the day after we got out of the hospital to attend my brother's high school graduation party. (Don't worry, I did check with my doctor first.) The trip went really smoothly and it was great to be able to introduce all of our family and friends to little Kyler.

Uncle Brent seemed to enjoy his new nephew. And he wasn't upset that Kyler was the center of attention at his party.

Brett even had his first babysitting experience while I attended the graduation ceremony. Brett is great with Kyler and a natural father. I think his "fatherly instinct" is a little better than my "motherly instinct" which is sometimes a little over-protective and extreme. His main job so far is to put Kyler to sleep if he doesn't fall asleep on his own after eating. (Although I have to note that he has avoided changing a single diaper so far - because of this, I have asked Kyler to be sure to pee on his daddy when he does change his first diaper.)

Kyler also got to meet Great Grandma and Grandpa Haverkamp at the party along with a ton of other relatives and family friends.