New Friends

Kaiden Murry

Caid Wilks

Khalil has new friends. On Saturday, August 21st Kaiden Ladarrian Murry was born. On Sunday, August 22nd Caid Erington Wilks was born. This is is a great year for babies. I'm so glad to be able to share this experience with so many of my close friends and relatives.

Shake, shake, shake...shake your rattle.

Up until today anytime we put Khalil's rattle in his hand he'd drop it. Today he actually held it and shook it. You will see he is also eating his fist. You must be a baby if, you like fist in your mouth (my latest Facebook status). He loves his hands and they are delicious. I wonder when he will find his feet.

< 2 Weeks to go

This week I've started a bedtime schedule with Khalil. Prior to this week, I've just being going with the flow of his own schedule, giving him baths at whatever time of night. However, I really want him to be in bed by 10pm so I can be in bed by 10:30 when I go back to work. So we have started bath time at 8pm. Afterwards he eats and reads a book. He falls asleep between 9:45 and 10:15. He also started sleeping 9 and 10 hours at night. Hallelujah! Prayerfully I will not be waking up in the middle of the night and will be rested for work. I have less than two weeks to go before returning to work and I'm NOT going to get sad about it. That's me being positive. Can you tell?

Play Time

Khalil is staying on his playmat longer now. Of course that's if he's been fed, burped, and is not sleepy. I have to time it perfectly or he's not happy. He's got a lot to say lately.

Flying With Dad

Daddy Time each day looks a lot like this. Although he has very little expression, Khalil loves to fly. To request a take off Khalil throws his arms up in the air. And off he goes!

2 Month Stats

We went to the pediatrician today for Khalil's two month check up. He weights 12lbs 8oz. He is now in the 55th percentile. He's jumped from 5th to 15th and now to 55th. He is growing well thanks to "Mom Milk"! He is 22 1/2 inches long - 20th percentile. So he's still kinda short, but so is his Mommy! He had to get four shots - two in each leg. He fell asleep while we were waiting for the nurse. So he was awakened by me laying him on the table. I think he was too sleep to scream extremely loud. His scream this time was softer than the one he did at the one month appointment. He only got one shot that day. When the nurse gave him back to me he started to fall asleep again. Of course he did continue to have the "cry hiccups". You know how you sniff after you've been crying really hard and you're trying to stop. I don't know the term for it or how to explain it. But anyway, he did better than I expected. His dad, Doug, told him to take the shots like a man before he left for work. I believe he did the best he could at that. Of course for the rest of today he has not been eating very much. He is acting very lethargic. I would too if I had been shot up so many times. Overall Mama is proud of her baby!

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war wounds

two in each leg

Formula? I don't think so...

A few weeks ago I ran through a little spell of low milk supply in the evening. So naturally I gave Khalil formula to supplement. He is so funny. He would look at me like, "Where is the real stuff Mom?" But he would drink it just fine. About a week later it happened again and he started throwing it up after he drank it. I mean every time. I had to do something to make sure my supply stopped getting so low in the evening. I went to the breastfeeding support group and got some advise. It was suggested that I drink Lemon Lime Gatorade/Powerade, take Fenugreek, and get naps if possible to help my supply last through the evenings. She also suggested that I supplement him with my breast milk instead of formula. Honestly I am saving my milk for the big return to work. After I started doing all of these things, my supply has picked back up and I'm even able to pump a little extra for freezing. But out of curiosity, yesterday I decided to give Khalil two ounces of formula just to see what happened. He sucked the bottle once or twice and literally started gagging. It seemed to be on purpose. So then I put the bottle with breast milk in his mouth. He sucked a couple of times, smacked his lips to taste, looked at me as if to say, "Thanks for the read deal. Stop trying to fool me" and resumed sucking. I was totally laughing at him. He knows what he likes. All of this to say I do hope pumping works out for me at work. I almost feel like it has to or he won't have anything to eat. I feel such pressure knowing he only wants breast milk and now I have to "perform". Good thing I already have a supply built up that can carry him until I get some more. I am ahead in the game. Thank God.
Other news is he is smiling a lot. When we make funny noises and sounds he just smiles away. When I get the camera and say, "Smile for Mommy!" he actually does it. He doesn't do it every time but he has done it often. Here is the latest picture of him doing it.

"Smile for Mommy!"

Cooing and Slobber

Khalil is two months old and he's added something new-cooing! He's also started to slobber. Yea! We can strike out the bibs. For some reason Doug thought he wasn't going to slob. We had this discussion a few weeks ago. I said, "No Honey, that just comes later." Well it's here. His two month old doctor's appointment isn't until the 17th so I will update on weight then.

Pampers and Wipes!

From reading the title you may think this blog is going to be about all of the pampers you have to buy with a newborn. Fortunately for us we haven't had to purchase any yet. We were blessed to receive many diapers from friends and family. We were also fortunate enough to get many different brands. We have Luvs, Parent Choice, Huggies, and Pampers. I took this as an opportunity to try different brands at the expense of others so that when we have to purchase we know which brand we like best. I'm happy to say we love Pampers the best. Luvs doesn't have any mechanism to catch poop from going up his back. Parent Choice is too hard and stiff. Huggies leaves residue after a two hour nap. Although I can appreciate the band that keeps poop from rising that residue is hard to get off. Pampers and Huggies both have points you can collect for your purchases. However, you can cash in points sooner with Pampers. I have no complaints about them. So they win! Huggies is the runner up. If I have a coupon for Huggies and not one for Pampers, I'd still purchase them. Now wipes...Doug made the decision on the wipes. Pampers wipes seem to be softer and more moist than all the rest. That may be because we had the Sensitive Wipes. Who knows?

For Khalil: I Love How...

...your little fists stay in the sign language "t" position.

...you sleep with your feet tucked.

...you smack your lips to let me know you've finished your meal.

...you smile.

...your hair curls up when it's not bushed.

...I'm able to figure out what you need based on your cries.

...sometimes you just want me to hold you.

...your cheeks are getting chubby.

...you recognize my face and smile.

 ...stare at me in silence during bath time just waiting to decide if you want to cry.

...you make little sounds when you sleep.

...you put your arm around my neck as if to give a hug.

...you are generally easy to please.

...punctual you are, giving me exactly six hours of sleep each night - no matter what time you doze off.

...you peek at me with one eye just to let me know you're not asleep.

...you are entertained by your dad's silliness.

...you fit in my arms.

...you sleep with your hand next to your mouth so you can push your paci back end if it falls out.

...you show your disapproval with the upside down smiley face.

...you are perfect for ME!

keeping the paci in

Playmates

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Khalil and Will

I think I've mentioned before how many people I know I know having babies this year. It's a total of seven of my friends, including myself. I guess we are just at that age. Thursday some of us had lunch together. Terrica, Tonya, Meagan, Stephanie and I went to Olive Garden. Meagan and Tonya are still pregnant. Terrica and I have already delivered. So Terrica brought William. Hopefully when all of them get older they will be playmates. Meagan and Tonya are both having boys too. Meagan is due in August with Caid and Tonya is due in November with Braxton (possibly). She is still deliberating his name.

Khalil with Tonya.

Will with Stephanie.

Will is not too happy about taking a picture.

29 Years Young!

Yesterday, July 31st was my birthday. I turned 29. I'm right next door to 30. My in-laws asked if they could babysit while Doug and I went out for my birthday. When they asked, at the time I had not planned to do anything. I knew I was going to church and dinner afterwards but that was about it. So I went on the search for something to do and came up with - Sips 'N Strokes. I had never been and my best friend, Meshia, had been several times without me. So we decided to go. The class lasts from 7pm-10pm. This meant I would have to leave Khalil for about 4 hours. I had never left him for that long before. Plus I knew that I would miss a feeding. After lunch at Stix we came back home to prepare and I started to feel a little nervous about being gone for so long. I mean I know I have to do it eventually. So I kept telling myself that this was a baby step for when I go back to work. I believe I was really good while I was gone. I only texted twice to see what he was doing and he was sleep both times. I actually put him down for a nap before I left and he slept the entire time. He woke up shortly after I got back. It was almost as if he was waiting for me. Actually, his naps had been interrupted all day long. He had not had his normal two hour nap all day. I guess he was making up for lost time. He slept for 5 hours. Woke up to eat around 11pm and then went back to sleep til 2am when he work up to eat again. He then returned to sleep until 6am. Ate. And then went back to sleep until 10am. I guess he was truly exhausted because he didn't even attempt to give me playtime in between. In the end I had a great time on my birthday and I was glad I went out. My mom bought me a rocking chair for my porch. Now Khalil and I can porch sit! Exciting.

Us - me, Doug, & Khalil

The A Team - Aarron, Ashley, Avion, & Aysia

Jaimee & Dad

 Mother, Lorynn, Mom, and Jaimee

Sips 'N Strokes - Our finished products: Greg, Meshia, me, Doug, & Jaimee

Me in my rocking chair.