Sydney at 4.5 months

We can not believe that Sydney is already on her way to 5 months! The time has gone by so quickly!
A few 'randoms':
Sydney has great head/neck/back control. She is always looking around and following objects.
Sydney LOVES Brigsby. And we think he loves her. She pulls on his fur and grabs at him whenever he comes over near her. He will sit and let her do it without even flinching.

Sydney still fits in her 3 month clothing! (at 4 months she was 12lbs 4oz) Her onesies are just starting to fit without any extra fabric in the shoulders or bottom. Carter's brand are a great fit for her in clothing we have found. And the quality is great - I cant tell you how many times we put something on only to remove it within 5 minutes because we forgot a bib, or she spewed all over it - yet everything still looks almost new!
Sydney has really become aware in the last few weeks that her hands have a purpose. She loves grabbing onto things (and most times they end up in her mouth) - anything that makes noise when she grabs/scratches it, or has a different texture she becomes obsessed with.

On September 2, Sydney slept in her crib for the first time at night (well, to be honest she moved into our room at 3:30am because she did not feel it necessary to go back to sleep - but we made it half a night!). Tonight marks night #2 in her crib. Hoping to last all night, or at least a little longer than last night!
Sydney likes fighting sleep. I am not sure if she likes it, but she does it. My mom told me I did the same thing. Sorry mom, for fighting sleep as a baby. I completely understand now.
Sydney also falls asleep with her arm over her face. I could move her arm down but it will always end up on her face again. Another trick we learned - I started sleeping with a blanket - when she is really fussy we are able to put it on her and she will calm down. Works almost every single time. Now until she is big enough actually sleep with a blankie!
Sydney also has started screeching. It is especially awesome when she does it in your ear :) It is cute though and it sounds as if she is having a conversation with herself or with us or the toys around her!

We havent started any purees with Sydney yet. We chose to wait until she was 6 months to begin anything new. We are also strongly considering skipping cereal and moving to oatmeal and purees. I plan on making all of Sydney's food instead of buying jars. We have a fabulous food processor that we were gifted for our wedding (thanks Uncle Dennis!) so hopefully it is an easy process. Everything I have read and researched (because we know I research everything!!) has said this should be pretty simple! I think this will save us money and we should have no issues with running out. Hopefully this also exposes her to more real flavors and she doesnt become a picky eater in the future (disclaimer: I know that it will happen if its bound to happen - but I can dream right?!)


Cloth diapering is going fabulously! We still love our Flip diapers for day and we use an extra insert with them during the night. I would love to start adding some BumGenius 4.0's (BGs) to our stash for night  time use. BGs are a pocket diaper, which with the one we have, I have noticed it helps keep wetness off her bottom during the night for the long stretch where she isn't changed. We can also add additional inserts to these to adjust the absorbancy. The one we have now is aplix (velcro) however I do not love it - it does tend to get caught on everything in the wash despite using the laundry tabs. When we can add to our stash of them I will want to have them in snaps. They are also a diaper that will last Sydney until she is potty trained! And the laundry is easy so no problems there!


For now, I think that about sums it up? 


with love,
K, R, S & B
 

4.5 months!

I know I have not been the best about updating here. So, I will try harder.

It seems that there is something new with Sydney every day - and im truly blessed to be able to stay home with her to see everything happen! 

About 2 weeks ago, Sydney figured out her feet can reach her mouth - which doesnt surprise me, she sticks everything she can in her mouth! I think she is in the early early stages of teething - no signs of teething coming through yet but there are days when I think her gums are bothering her more than usual. Her " bite" is getting stronger as well. 

She LOVES her jumparoo - the monkey and hippo make her smile and she stares at them intently. Another love - Brigsby. She LOVES Brigsby. Loves him. Luckily, I think he loves her too. She pulls on his fur (and he just sits there like a good big brother) and loves petting him. We are lucky he is such a good dog and seems to really love her too. He will also lay down next her to on the floor while she has tummy time. It's very cute!

It is easy to tell when Sydney is tired - she will start aggressively rubbing her eyes with her fists. And she gets grumpy. Really grumpy! It is a good thing she loves cuddling to sleep - I try not to feel guilty just sitting there while she sleeps when she falls asleep in my arms - I know it wont last forever!

Sydney is also a huge drool monster! If she doesnt wear a bib - we have to change her outfit within an hour. I always try to keep a bib on her - lessens my laundry loads! She is a funny girl - when laying on the floor she will flip her bib onto her face with her hands, and have this HUGE smile on her face when you flip it back down. We played this "game" for about 20 minutes one day!!

Sydney also went to the MN State Fair for the first time - and she was perfect! She cried the last 10 minutes we were there and that was it! I couldnt believe it but it made for a very fun day! She loved the puppy show so much she passed out sitting up in my arms when it was over :)

And a few photos to end the post:

3.5 months

4 months

12lbs 4oz 24"

with love,

k, r, s & b

4 months!

 

and Sydney is awake, more later!

Daddy + Daughter

Ryan took me over to a conservation field just outside of town last night - I cant wait to use it with some of my clients! I took the opportunity to grab some shots of Ryan and Sydney - I must say I love how they came out!

with love,

kristen, ryan, sydney & brigsby

an update of sorts!

I know it has been awhile and some people rely on this for photos! So here we go. In honor of Sydney turning 3 months old, lets go back to the beginning.
our little newborn:

 

one month:

two months:

and three months old!

and a few more for good measure, because i simply can not get enough of her:

 

and our first time swimming:

we have been very busy - but i will try to keep this updated more often than i have been! 

with love,

kristen, ryan, sydney & brigsby

fluffy butts and belly buttons

two really cute things. i wanted to document our journey into cloth diapering. this was a quick shot after i did photos for Sydney's baptism photos - she was at the end of her attention span so i want to try to get some more photos another day

i also think she has a really cute belly button

with love

kristen, ryan, sydney & brigsby

adventures in ....

Cloth Diapering.

First though, almost a month with no posts - unacceptable!!! 

So back to cloth diapers. I started researching, I would guess about 3 weeks or so ago. What sparked my interest you ask? Well let me tell you.
1. I wanted something nicer on Sydney's bottom than disposables. And after a recent experience with Pampers smelling like rubbing alcohol after she peed (which by the way, pampers did handle it very well when I called and gave me some awesome coupons, and none of our other pampers diapers did this) - I wanted something that wasnt full of chemicals.
2. The cost of diapers is insane. One perk of breastfeeding (aside from health benefits) is how much money is saved. The same can be said for cloth diapering. I will go into more detail after.
3. I know a lot of people who do it, and with all the options out there - it is just as easy to throw a cloth diaper on as it is a disposable - the only difference is you have to do a little bit of extra laundry. 

So lets talk about cost. Well first, lets talk about why we went with the System we did. After researching about all the different types of cloth - we went with the Flip system. Why? Again, let me tell you the reasons:
1. Ryan's only input was that whatever we went with, it was a one-size - meaning it will grow with Sydney and we can use it until she is out of diapers. Sweet right? That was important to me as well.
2. It involves a cover and an insert. Sounds like a bit more work than something that mocks a disposable, but it really isnt. We can reuse the cover a few times before we need to change it, so we need less covers. Our first day we were able to reuse the cover 3 times before Sydney pooped - then we changed the insert along with the cover and went on with our day. So it saves quite a bit of money when you are able to stock up on the less expensive part of a system. 

We also got lucky and I am glad we waited. For the 4th, the Flip systems went on sale. We saved about 15% and our local cloth diapering store - All Things Diapers in Blaine off 65 - took AWESOME care of our needs and were able to answer any and all questions we had. They even took apart some sets so we were able to get all the inserts we needed at once. Speaking of sets - they also have day packs that are discounted before the sale - so add the additional discount and it was a great savings!! Would I recommend them if you were looking to start out and your diapering needs? Absolutely. It is a no pressure environment - so you dont have to feel bad if you are looking to first get an idea of the different types of cloth and systems, and then go home to think about what would best fit your needs. We went once before we actually purchased anything and i can say it is very nice to see things in person. It's a cute little store with a lot of potential to empty your wallet - so keep your spending urge in check before you walk in. They also have a diaper changing station and a breast feeding area in case your little one decides they are hungry or in need of a new diaper while you are there! They also have an online store (I linked it above incase you missed that) and they have free shipping within Minnesota! Bonus!
So - for about $150 - we were able to snag 6 covers and 24 inserts - and that is with me doing laundry every 2 days. I am still interested in checking out some other types of cloth diapers for overnights if it seems to become a need since sleep, no matter what type of system you use - can prove to be too much for what works for you during the day (or so I have heard!) My next ones to check out are going to be Fuzzibunz and Bum Genius. I am hoping to grab some 'seconds' or some nicer used ones to save a little money since they are a 1 time wear diaper and are $17-20 a piece.
You will also need cloth diapering safe detergent (we chose Charlies; Rocking Green is another popular choice) and cloth diaper safe diaper rash cream (we chose Grandma El's and California Baby). CJ's BUTTer is another popular diaper rash ointment!

So how are we liking the switch? Its awesome. And it was a very easy transition. If you are thinking about it - but dont want to initially commit - try a diaper trial (also offered at All Things Diapers) and you are out almost nothing if it doesnt turn out to be something you like! 

I will tell you - it becomes a sickness. There are a TON of SUPER cute cloth diapers out there for sale. But the money we can save by cloth diapering is well worth the laundry and any extra prepping that has to be done with them.

With that said, my washer is singing to me that our diapers from today are done (we are waiting on two covers to come in, and we dirtied two covers today, so I wanted to make sure just in case we have two poops tomorrow, we have a clean cover on hand!) - and I can hop into bed!

xoxo,

Kristen, Ryan, Sydney & Brigsby

7 weeks

I can not believe how time flies! I am loving every day that I am home with Sydney. It is amazing how much she has changed and the little things I learn about her every day! She loves facial expressions and has started smiling back when you talk silly to her and have a big smile on your face (well, she does for me at least, i like to think i am special - she does it for Ryan too!)

She loves going out on stroller rides, although the past two-three days have been a little tough, with the temp over 100* or now in the 60's - we are playing it out inside. I was also pretty sick for 2 days but at least they were on the ridiculously hot days where we stayed in to play anyways!

What I am not looking forward to - Sydney's 2 month appointment next Friday - time for shots! Eeek! I think it will be harder on me than her, so I am very glad Ryan is coming with us!

Sydney is waking ... more another time with photos!

with love

kristen, ryan, sydney & brigsby

bathtime

Sydney used to HATE the bath - she would cry and cry. poor thing right? So grandma bought her a bath blanket to wear and keep warm - and what do you know, she LOVES the bath now!

above she was talking with her duckie :) it was really cute! i got a few smiles and then she cuddled up in her duck towel - and wiggled her way into hiding in it!

sleeping

One Month!

I cant believe she is a month old already!! Time does go very fast!!

with love,

Kristen, Ryan, Sydney & Brigsby

coming up on 1 month!

I can not believe how fast time is flying. Sydney is doing fantastic. The past few days we have had a bit of tummy trouble with gas - poor thing has been a bit miserable. We got some gripe water and mylicon - seems to be helping. Two days ago she didnt nap all day - yesterday we got a few naps in as well as today (she is napping now in fact!)

Here are a few from Sydney's newborn photo session with Gruman Photography:

we LOVE them. our photographer is fantastic. i have another shoot booked with her in July - with Sydney, myself, my mom and grandma - for a four generations shoot! 

with love,

kristen, ryan, sydney & brigsby

8 what?

Sydney had her 2 week check up on Tuesday and I was informed she is up to 8lbs now! Just skipped through the 7lbs and decided that it was time for 8! I am glad she is gaining though - lets me know she is eating enough! 

Happy Mothers Day to all the mothers - I am especially thankful and excited to be able to celebrate this year myself!! Ryan and Sydney sent me flowers this morning - so sweet and they are beautiful! 

With love,

Kristen, Ryan, Sydney & Brigsby

Mom's Model

Sydney's Easter Shoot:

 and a few extras:

with love,

kristen, ryan, sydney & brigsby

one week :)

Our first week as a family of four (can not forget Brigsby!) has flown by so fast! I understand why people tell you to cherish every moment - which we have been doing. Every diaper change and late night feeding. Sydney has been the biggest blessing in our lives and I cant imagine life without her in it. 

We had her newborn photos taken today - I cant wait to see the rest. Our photographer gave us a sneak peek at a photo and it is so lovely. 

I have been working on my photography as well - Sydney is going to grow up with a camera around her I have a feeling! Maybe she will find a passion in photos like I do!

Here is one of the photos I had taken of her:

I have two gift cards to purchase canvases with - I think I may use one with this photo! It is a bit exciting to have taken something that I feel is worthy enough to put on a canvas! But enough about me - I melt every time I look at her, or see a photo of her. I think Dad does too (i know he does!). I am happy that Ryan is home for another week - it has given us time to mold into our new family and figure things out together!

with love,

Kristen, Ryan, Sydney & Brigsby

04.15.11

We welcomed Sydney Elizabeth Lynn into the world at 5:07pm on the 15th of April - just one day shy of her due date!

It was intense and amazing - and something I would do all over again in a heartbeat despite how hard it was at times - she is perfect in every way and I cant imagine life without her now.

And Brigsby has been great with her - a little curious (well a lot!) but he loves to lay near her or right next to us when we are holding her. I think they will get a long just great :)

here is the birth story:

I figured, while I lay here unable to sleep at 7:29am (we got a full nights rest last night, as did Sydney!) I would write out the events of Thursday-Friday.
Thursday I started feeling cramping right from waking up in the morning. It continued to worsen, so I called my OBs office and had my Drs appointment moved up to 11 from 2pm and left work after only 1 hour of being there. I was not seen until after 12 due to multiple births going on at the hospital next door. Anyways, saw my OB, and I was 0 station and about 3cm dilated. I was told to go home and relax and time any contractions as I was either in early labor, or it was false labor. So, I went home, got some rest and cramping and contractions stopped all together for a few hours. I was pretty bummed. They did start up again and around 11:45pm I got up to use the bathroom and my water broke (I will be honest and say I wasnt sure at first if that is what it was). So I hopped onto the computer to waste some time. Cramping came on stronger, and contractions. I went back downstairs to tell Ryan what I thought happened (he was sleeping as he was planning on going to work in the morning) and my water again started gushing out. So we got up, called the hospital and waited for them to return our call. I showered and we got everything together to go.
We checked into Unity just after 2am and got settled into our room. We walked onto the L&D floor laughing about my pants being a little wet - I think we were both a little nervous but I was glad we were still able to laugh about things!
Contractions were becoming more frequent and for a few hours I was tolerating them fine. I did choose to have an IV narcotic to help take the edge off - it was a low dose that is re-administered every hour as it wore off. I wanted the option of going back to nothing.
Things changed after a few hours and contractions felt like they were in my back, instead of in the front. The OB on call (who was supposed to be my primary but then was changed (I was sad for a bit)) checked me and determined that Sydney was now "sunny side up" and I was indeed having back labor. That scared me as I knew that it was just that much more painful. I opted for an epidural almost instantly after that, as the pain became almost unbearable. (I will take a moment here to give Ryan all the credit in the world for making sure that I had what I needed and was as comfortable as I could have been through out the entire thing - a lot of times just doing thing w/o me asking!). Once the epidural kicked in - the world was good again.
I had one more surprise coming to me - after my epidural was done I was told my primary OB was working at the office next door and offered to come over to deliver Sydney for us! I was so excited, I really like my OB and it was the same man who delivered me 27 years ago!
Because I was so relaxed I dilated pretty quickly to 10 and at 1:35pm I was pushing. Everything was going as expected but I kept a close eye on the clock. A few times Ryan tried blocking it from me :) The OB prior had talked about trying to turn Sydney, I dont think that ever happened. Once we got close, my primary OB came over and stayed with us until the end. Sydney gave me a good run and finally made her entrance at 5:07pm! Over 3.5 hours of hard continuous pushing - sometimes with no breaks between contractions, with less than 3 hours of sleep - was rough. But worth it. Totally worth it. Even though she left me a little beat up - which I will spare the details of.
She arrived with a head of beautiful hair with random curls and big blue eyes. Ryan says she has my eyes, nose and chin. She is very alert and loves staring. She hates having her hands restrained in a swaddle and always seems to have one hand by her face. I was told she came out with a hand near her face as well! She has a great grip and grabs onto anything.
I think that about says it all. We are so blessed and SO in love with her. Its something you cant put into words.
Sydney was 6lbs 12 oz.   20.50 inches long
Born 04/15/11

and her first monthly photo:

 

with love,

Kristen, Ryan, Sydney & Brigsby

Dear Sydney

Dear Sydney,

Today I am 39 weeks and 3 days pregnant with you. This journey has been an amazing one. In the beginning, I was only struck with nausea. No throwing up for this momma. I thank you for that one if you had anything to do with it. Sure, not being able to go into the fridge for 17 weeks was semi-annoying (to both me and your father) but it was worth it.
I have not been at all anxious or ready for you to be here - up until now. Do not get me wrong, I have always looked forward to do the day I would meet you as an "outside baby", but I have always been content waiting for that day to come. Now with only 4 days until your expected due date - well, my patience has pretty much expired. Please do not get too comfortable in there - because with every passing day I am becoming that much more uncomfortable. But it is not anything I would not deal with for you.

We have your room all ready for you - even though you will not be sleeping in there right away. We also have your temporary sleeping arrangements set up in our room, along with the glider made by your great-great grandpa. It is all ready in anticipation for you. Dad also got his affairs in order and packed his hospital bag - I think he is starting to get nervous. It is really cute.

On Friday had anyone asked, I would have told them I thought this past weekend you would have made your appearance. But, you decided to hold back and wait it out. I am okay with that. It must be pretty comfortable if you want to continue allowing me to lightly jog the neighborhood with Brigsby, and run up and down our stairs multiple times in a row. If it isn't comfortable - sorry about that. I was just thinking you might need a small dose of motivation to come into the world.

A few of my hopes for you (and these are pretty basic, and just a few). I hope you have your dad's temper. I can get pretty spicy - but I think over the past few years I have settled that down a touch - your dad says so at least. But he could be just telling me that to fill my head. Your dad is pretty level-headed - and he keeps me that way most days, while still allowing me to dream. It's a perfect balance.

I hope you have my nose and feet - because they are cute. Yeah, I am sort of vain that way - but really they are. Eyes - take your pick. You cant go wrong with either of our eyes. I hope you have a mix of our senses of humor - I like to think we are pretty funny people. I hope you can sit back and listen to others but I hope you never sacrifice yourself when you need someone to listen to your fears and dreams. I will always be here for you when you need someone to listen and no one else will.

I hope you find a sport you love. Tennis, softball, dance, gymnastics - something you love to do. I bet your dad will be first in line to coach your first t-ball team (with me 2nd in line). If you dance - I cant wait to buy you your first leotard and ballet slippers and watch your dad as he sits through your first dance recital as you spin the wrong way and maybe even cry on stage because the lights are so bright and you can not see us in the audience. But trust me - we will always be there watching and cheering you on - no matter what you choose to do. 

I wonder if you will be left or right handed. I am left-handed, your dad is right handed. If I had to guess, with how much you loved hanging out on my right side this entire time, that might be your thing - but who really knows!

I think it is time for me to get going with preparing dinner, but I wanted to write a few of these things down.
We cant wait to meet you and we hope it is soon!

With love,

Kristen, Ryan & Brigsby

39 weeks

its the final countdown!

with love,

kristen, ryan, sydney & brigsby

38 weeks

posted just a few days late :)

with love,

kristen, ryan, sydney & brigsby

Sydney's Nursery

Is complete. And I am in love with it. I hope she loves it just as much someday. It took a lot of work and collaboration on things - but every detail was hand picked to be where it is and I do not believe there is anything I would change!
(the wall is actually bright orange, not a red, just had a difficult time with processing the photos)

view from the door

mirror - i painted the frame

crib. you can see my old wicker toy chest in the back. her grandma made her the stuffed owl and mobile. her great-grandma made the crib skirt!

her awesome closet

mobile her grandma made for her

a final before/after (almost from the same angle):

Again, I can not express how in LOVE with this room I am, and I think Ryan loves it too - because it is not all pink!!

with love,

Kristen, Ryan, Sydney & Brigsby