Recovering

I seem to be on the mend. For a few days, coughing has really hurt. At times, it was even painful to inhale fully. This has disappeared, and other than a deep chest cough occaisonally, I seem to be recovered.

Mila continues to really enjoy being in her sling. I am so thankful for it. What an awsome gift!!!

Robby had a GREAT day! He spent several days with Sophia, and seemed to really enjoy being home with Mommy today. He is such a protective brother, telling me when Mila cries, attempting to comfort her and whispering " Brother is here " to her. I love that!!!

Here are two pictures of Mila in her baby shower outfit. It was a gift from Danny G and Lena. THANK YOU!!!

More Sling Pictures

Pardon the incredible amount of pictures. I am using blogger to link to a message board where I am getting tips for positioning Mila inside her new sling. I love the sling to death but I am not going out just yet, and I'd like to make sure she is okay in there! I want to learn to do this RIGHT!

This is the " cradle " carry with her head opposite the rings. It just seems to me that most of the time, this makes her head lower than her tush, or curls her chin against her chest. Therefore, we don't use it too often. This is the position she would nurse in.

Its hard to tell in these pictures, but Mila is "sitting" in the sling with her butt down and her knees bent up against my chest. I used the tail of the sling to give her head some extra support while she was sleeping. Despite tucking her arm in several times, she certainly prefers it out. She feels very secure in this pose to me, but her legs ARE straddled fairly wide - I am not sure if this is proper. When I tuck her legs in, I am concerned that the sling isn't quite wide enough to support her head .... I tuck her legs in and pull several inches of the sling between us, which lowers it across her back. I don't know if that makes sense? I will attempt to take a picture of that tomorrow.

And pardon the no makeup, no bra, unbrushed hair, very tired look. You all know why.

Carriers

Here is our new carrier with Robby in it. I'm telling you... I could barely feel his weight! I can totally see this being used with HIM for a bit if he gets tired! Considering I'm only 5 weeks past c section, this position should not be comfortable but let me tell you it is!!!! Next up... BOTH !!! Mila is in the demo carrier in the front while I wear Robby in the back in my carrier. The demo carrier is a tie carrier while MY carrier has buckles. Honestly... it was sooo comfortable. Heavy because I'm carrying close to 40 lbs but in no way shape or form did the carriers pinch or bind.. and they certainly did not restrict movement!!

As you can see, mila does NOT mind being all squished in there! I"m holding her only because I want to, not because I have to. And yes, I know how tired I look!

Isn't it pretty???

All is Well

All is well here at Casa De Kagan! Mila and I went to be checked out at the doctors yesterday. I only gave in to going to the doctors because Mila wasn't nursing very well and seemed a little on the quiet side. The doctor listened to her and said she seemed fine, but swabbed her for RSV anyway because she is so little.

I, on the other hand, have pnuemonia. Oops. No wonder it hurts to breathe! I'm on antibiotics ( again ) and will recover, I'ms ure. I really just want to take a decongestant and cough suppressant but apparently I'm not allowed. Just the antibiotic for me. Needless to say, I am so grateful to my MIL who has now taken Robby for a second day ina row.

Here is a picture of Mila in one of the new carriers. This is actual a demo carrier, but I didn't yet recieve the pictures of her in the sling or her own personal carrier.

Baby Shower

A great big giant thank you to everyone who attended the baby shower. There had to be at least 40 people there, most of whom I didn't know. Everyone was lovely and * very very * generous. Mila will have tons of new clothes, books, and a great head start on her education fund!

I have zero voice left - literally. I am not even answering the phone today because I refuse to attmept to shout, and thats the only way anyone would be able to hear me at all. It seems like Mila is a bit stuffy today as well, so we will be keeping a very close eye on her ( and Robby as well ).

Mila loves her new carriers and so do I. I'll post pictures of her in her sling later - its a GODSEND!!!

I'm baccccck!

I have no voice, so pardon the lack of phone calls. Robby is doing very well and being very active. Yesterday he had a playdate with Julian and we hit Galaxyland. That always is a good time for him. Both were so exhausted. We mothers got Starbucks and chilled out, laughing and having a good time. I wish Chrystil lived closer - she's my only real friend in florida and I miss her like crazy. We have such a BLAST together.

Mila is doing wonderful ... The baby acne has gotten much worse!!! She looks diseased!!! Today I picked up some .5% cortisone cream which in just two applications has RREALLLYYY helped. At her next ped appointment, I am going to find out if maybe its excema - I've *never* seen baby acne this bad... There are HUNDREDS of tiny little pimple/blisters, with not even a sq cm of her face or scalp clear. She's still beautiful to me though!

Tomorrow is Mila's baby shower... So in the morning, I will put a pin in Mila's outfit, and salt in her pocket... and hopefully that will ward off the evil eye that someone is sure to give her. I don't actually believe in any of this, but it certainly isn't going to hurt. I love my in laws enough to do this for them ( and for Mila... we don't want any evil eyes! ).

I got two AWESOME gifts for Mila - both from my one Canadian Friend - a blue ring sling with silver rings, and a turtleshell carrier. I honestly thought the baby bjorn was the be all end all of baby carriers - until I put this one on! After THREE HOURS of shopping, my back hurt NOT AT ALL... of course, because its FLEECE, we were both sweating like crazy. I'll have to figure something else out for summer :-(

I still need some practice in the ring sling, but Mila DID enjoy it while I had her in there. Yesterday, she fell right asleep!

Hope all is well out in Blogger land!

All is well!

All is well. We are preparing for the Baby shower this sunday. Will update soon.

Happy ( Belated) Birthday, MILA!!!

Happy birthday, baby girl! Yesterday, you were one month old! We " celebrated" by going to Galaxyland, which is infinetly more enjoyable for your brother than for you. We are having Grandma Sophia and Grandpa Boris tonight for dessert, as well as Uncle Michael, and both great - grandmothers too!!! I tried to take some pictures of you - boy, were you grumpy today!!! Mama is pretty grumpy too... You and your brother were awake most of the night, and then you, my dearest Mila-shka, you were up at seven in the morning. I dislike seven am. Incredibly dislike!

Yesterday, I also took Mila to be weighed at the local drop in clinic for babies. What a porker! Despite all the comments on how teeny tiny she is, she's gained more than a pound in a month! If Mila was to gain one pound every month, by the time she is one year old, she would weigh close to 20 pounds. Of course, once she starts solid food at six months, she'll gain much faster than 1 lb a month. So, her weight gain is PERFECT! Doctors expect babies to have tripled their birth weight by one year. She will, at this rate, achieve that just fine!

Robby was spectacularly well behaved yesterday while we were out. All the nurses at the clinic remarked on how delightfully good he was . I was duly impressed! When we got home, I made him his favorite lunch - noodles - and let him watch some cartoons. He promptly fell asleep, which is why he didn't go to bed. Say it with me now.... DUH Mommy!!!

Despite the utter and total lack of sleep, I accomplished quite a bit today! I baked 12 cupcakes ( could have made 24... but we don't need that many! ), 24 cookies, and I will be making fruit salad tonight as well.

Here are some pictures.

Pictures

I am feeling better now. Some advil brought the fever / headache down, and it never came back.. Several LARGE cups of coffee brought me out of the fog and back to reality, and all in all, I feel practically semi human again.

Mila had another good awake period this morning - She didn't particularly WANT to be awake, but I did manage to keep her up for a few hours. She napped for a while, then I nursed her and attempted to keep her up again ... No such luck! Instead, I laid down with her for an almost nap while Robby took quiet time.... or while he attempted quiet time and failed, making a giant mess of his room. I have to figure out a better method of organizing his room.

Robby has been working hard on his writing. Here are two pictures of him doing his " work ".

Sick

I am exhausted and all I want is a nap. Please, someone rescue me and give me a nap.

Sunday Night

We had a gooood day today, although I've caught Robby's cold. Mila had a long awake period this morning - nearly three hours!! After that, she slept on and off for most of the day... and then had another good awake period from about 7:00 to 10:30 or so. She screamed for a while we ate our dinner ( nachos with lean ground beef, cheese, refried beans, salsa, and fresh onions , YUM ) and then she had a bath. Hopefully, the bathing will help clear up her " baby acne " that has taken over her scalp and spots on her face.

Robby was extremely well behaved today and may earn some of his toys back. After refusing to help me clean his room yesterday, I put most of his toys into garbage bags. I think he was overwhelmed by the amount of toys in his room, because rather than just making a huge mess, he played quite well with what was left - markers & paper, toy cars, blocks, and puzzles. I think that I am going to freecycle most of his stuffed animals, leaving only those that have special meaning : squishy, and the elmo's will likely be all that remains.

Tomorrow, Alex will start moving the gallery back to its primary location, which should make work more interesting and busy. Hopefully he won't be too tired, because he has been GREAT about helping me around the house.

Tuesday marks Mila's one month birthday. I am going to try to take some "portrait" style pictures of her for each of her "monthly" birthdays and then compile them into a nice scrapbook page for her. I have for Robby scrapbook pages at three, six, nine, and twelve months. At the very least, I hope to have a decent scrapbook for Mila as well. I will post some of her pages tomorrow, but so far, my favorite of HER pages is this one :

Sunday!

Good morning! Well... good morning NOW after two cups of coffeee!!!! Someone needs to explain to a certain young lady that 3am is a sucky bedtime, and somehwere around 8pm would be MUCH more appropriate! Then someone needs to explain to a young man that Mommy doesn't want him sleeping in her bed, but neither does she want to have to move him 2398473947 times each night.

However, Alex made me a pot of coffee this morning which has allowed me to function beyond grunting in ascent when Robby asks for some breakfast.

I think I fixed the comments issue... but please let me know!

Happy Birthday Boris!!!

Happy Birthday Boris!!! Hope there are MANY more!!

Someone informed me that they are having trouble posting comments. Please make sure that you are SIGNED in before posting. If it still doesn't work, I'll attempt to figure it out!

Robby seems to have recovered except for a mild cough when he is over active, as he was tonight. He did eat very well for breakfast - a pancake, apple sauce and chocolate milk. He had a piece of toast for lunch ( breakfast was at 11, dinner at 6.... ) and sausage, potatoes and part of a chicken burger for dinner. Its always a good sign when he is eating!

Here he is today. He certainly needs a haircut!

Mila is doing fantastic!!! She's a little sleepy today, but thats normal for her. She slept fairly well during her naps but was very fussty during her awake time. We found a pacifier that she seems to like better - hopefully this will help her out in the long run. Here SHE is today.

Good Pukey Morning!

Good morning! Robby seems to be feeling much better this morning, though we had some massive running nose issues for a few minutes. He sounds much clearer and no more complaining about his ear hurting. He also was FINALLY hungry last night - He ate maybe 1/2 a kid sized portion of pasta, including 1/2 a meatball. Then he had a popsicle, and a piece of toast with butter! YAY! We will be starting breakfast soon, and I'm going to attempt a decent sized pancake, some applesauce, and juice.

Mila is doing wonderful. She was ultra fussy las tnight but calmed down and did a decent job of nursing over night. However, she over nursed this morning and when I handed her to Alex so I could help Robby, she puked all over Daddy's shoulder , pillow, and his side of the bed. At least it was on his side!!

I am going to ATTEMPT some pictures today... I took one yesterday but it was very very hectic and I never got to post it!

Update on Robby

Robby just has a cold. His lungs are clear. His ears are red but not actually infected. YAY! Hope he doesn't contaminate the baby!

Sick Day

Last night was not an easy one! Robby has had a cold for a few days but last night he began to complain that his ear hurt. Then he began to cough extremely hard and sounded very wet and congested. And he kept waking up during the night. I dosed him with a mega dose of
Triaminic Nightime Cough & Cold, which helped him sleep till this morning.... But Alex has him at the doctor's as we speak. I hope that we can keep Robby & Mila seperated long enough for him to recover without infecting her.

Mila had a reasonable night. We went to bed at close to 1:30, and she got up at 3:30, 5:45, 7:45, and 9:30 for the morning. She only had one very wet diaper over night, so I'm expecting several poo's and wet diapers today. She's eating well ( oh boy can she eat!!! ) and isn't showing any signs of catching Robby's cold. Her sticky eye is still a little sticky.

Mila did have a bath last night. Her baby bathtub is still dripping from the bottom so I am going to glue the plug in and see if that fixes it. If it doesn't, we'll have to replace the stupid tub! I really like how this one keeps her upright, but I won't buy another one like it because of the leak. We ruined one of the bathmats when we didn't realize the tub leaked all over it and it was so soaked that it got moldy before it dried.... And of course, we don't have our own dryer to stick it in... and every time I went upstairs to check, the washer and dryer were in use!!!

Here are a few pictures of Mila's FIRST bath. I didn't take any last night but I will try to take pictures of her & Robby today.

Meet the Family

I know that what all of you what are pictures. Its always about the pictures. Here are just a few to tide you over.

Welcome!

Welcome!!! We have created this blog to keep family and friends updated with pictures and info on our lives. Please be patient while we get the blog up and running.