5 weeks

5 weeks and going strong! Kalaya has had a fun week, meeting some new people! She went with me to school on Monday to meet my students from last fall, meet the Kindergartners from her Oma's class and to meet the staff I worked with. Everyone loved her!! We got so many comments on how beautiful she is and healthy, especially those big chubby cheeks! We don't have another appointment until she's 2 months, I want to know her exact weight! She is officially out of newborn clothes and is wearing 3 months already. I have to post a picture of her closet and dresser, it is INSANE how many outfits she has at this size. Hopefully, she won't outgrow this size before she gets to wear the outfits at least once!

Another very special thing that happened this week, Kalaya's GREAT grandparents arrived from Alabama, Ma Ma and Pa Pa. Those of you who were at the wedding are likely to remember Pa Pa and the man in the uniform that did the reading in the big southern voice. :) We spent a couple of days at my parent's house to spend some time with everyone. They flew out for the baptism, which is on the 21st. So exciting!!



My recovery is going well, although we had a bump in the road last weekend. For no apparent reason, my incision started hurting pretty badly and I was having trouble getting around. We stayed home from church and I took it really easy. I also called urgent care, but after talking to the nurse, we decided that I didn't need to rush in. I took it easy for another day and they called to see if I needed an appointment. I was feeling better on Monday, and haven't been in pain since. I'm still not doing too much activity. I'm eager for my 6-week appointment next Wed, and they will hopefully determine that I'm ready to be more active. I'm ready to start exercising again. I've gone on a few walks, but hopefully I can start going daily. I'd like to get the rest of my pregnancy weight taken care of. I have a little less than 10 lbs to go, although I can't decide where I've lost weight, other than belly. My pre-pregnancy pants are still not close to fitting. I've decided to invent a new like of clothing for the time after the baby is born. Pregnancy clothes have been way too big for a while, or they still make me look pregnant, which I don't want and my old clothes are too small. ARG. So, I end up wearing sweats and Nelson's t-shirts. Let me tell you, I'm quite attractive these days!

We had a couple of tough evenings last week. She cried for a couple of hours straight on a few evenings and we couldn't figure out why! She wasn't hungry, wet, cold, hot, hurt, we burped her, rocked her, shushed her, we tried everything! When she would nurse, she would eat a small amount, scream and back off. Then, she'd get so over-the-top tired that she'd scream more and we couldn't calm her down. She won't take a pacifier, so that didn't help either. The only thing we could figure out was that she had gas and couldn't get it out. Our doula, Megan, showed us some massages we can do and positions to put her in to help her push it through. We've been doing them and it seems to be working!! The catch is not to let her get too over stimulated or too tired, which is hard to tell some family members that want to soothe her, but don't know how and she just gets more and more upset. And, for a couple of days there, I was the only one she's let comfort her, she'd even freak out on Nelson. Let's just say I was pretty tired for those days...

Kalaya is awake more of the day now. I feel like she kind of knows the difference between day and night. We are trying to teach her the difference. She still co-sleeps with us and doesn't cry at night really. I usually hear her starting to make sucking noises as she wakes up, nurse her and she usually goes right back to sleep. If she has to be changed, we try to turn on as few lights as possible and keep her on the bed. Otherwise she wakes up much more and has to be calmed down and put back to sleep, often while crying. We're learning! She still sleeps best on warm bodies, but sleeps okay at night. Nap time during the day is another story. I'm trying to figure out what makes her sleep for only 20 min versus an hour or more. Some days she takes great naps and others very short, unless she's on a person. We'll get there! She is focusing on objects so much and stays interested in play time longer. She likes to look at faces, books, mobiles and toys. She likes music and outside sounds, as well and singing and talking. She's SO close to smiling. Actually, she's been "smiling" since she was born, but we're waiting to see her smile on command. Grandpa, of course, SWEARS she smiled at home, but I saw it and it's the same one we see all the time. : )