Triple the Love: December 2014

1 month old!

Hi! One month old already! Time is flying by with sweet Kacie. I want it to slow down! I am seriously cherishing every minute I get to snuggle her, hold her, feed her, etc. There's nothing better than a newborn to snuggle and when I hold her I just try to savor it all!
The first month has gone pretty well! Kacie eats like a champ! She nurses for about 7-8 minutes on one side every 2 - 2.5 hours usually. The other day we gave her her first bottle of breastmilk and she chugged 3 ounces in 5 minutes! So thankful that she eats well! And her weight proves it! At her 1 month Dr. appt, she weighed 10 lbs. 7.5 ounces and looks like a two month old apparently! :) She's super tall at over 23 inches long - in the 99.6 percentile! The Dr. said I will probably have another Addison!
She's been sleeping really well too! She was waking around 1:30ish and 4:30ish every night and then lately she's been going from 10p.m. to 4:30 or even 8 p.m. to 3:30! I'll take that! :) It's so nice that the night feedings are usually only 30 minutes instead of an hour and a half each like I was used to with the girls! The other night however, she slept from 10 til 4 and then was WIDE awake and up for the day at 4 a.m. That's why I love me some coffee! :)
Kacie is definitely a baby that knows what she wants. She will scream her head off if she has a wet diaper. You change it and then she's happy as a clam. :) She also loves to be held and usually by me :) and rocked to sleep with her nuk and cozy blanket. She's a fan of her swing...and doesn't mind her bouncy seat until she starts slipping out of it. :) She loves to be held upright...and would sleep for days on your shoulder if you let her. :) She's been heading to the mall with me a few times to do Christmas shopping and she does GREAT! It's so fun having a little buddy with me as I shop. I love her so much and still can't believe I get to have her!
Her big sisters have done pretty good with her new addition to our family. :) At first I think it was a little trying wondering why most of my time was spent with Kacie..but now we are getting into a routine and they know more of what to expect. :) I am so thankful for my sweet big girls though as they are very helpful with her. It's so nice that they will run and get me a diaper, her pajamas, water while I nurse, whatever. They also love holding her and run to put her nuk in her mouth any time she cries. They also do a great job holding her and get pretty confident too. :) They really do great with her and are very protective. The girls do not love her crying though and tell me to "Just feed her Mom!" all the time. :) They love kissing her good bye before school and kissing her good night before bed. Each night, Kacie takes a turn laying in one of their beds while we read the Bible. We do lots of rotating who holds her, who gets to change her diaper, who gets to hold the diaper bag, who gets to push the stroller, etc. Needless to say, she is LOVED! :) A lot! :)
Everyone seems to say "How is it with ONE baby? It must be so easy for you!" And I will say it is definitely different this time around! I LOVE having triplets though and I am so thankful to be able to have a singleton too! Here are some differences that I am getting used to:
- The night time feedings are SO much shorter! I'm only up for 30 minutes at a time instead of an hour and a half each time which consisted of nursing two babies and then pumping afterwards every. single. feeding! She usually nurses on one side for like 7-8 minutes. She's a champ!
- shopping carts - how in the world do you buy anything with an infant car seat in there? I never went anywhere with the girls until they were like 6 months old and I definitely didn't bring them grocery shopping as infants!
-feeding on demand. The girls were on a schedule since they were born so I am completely clueless as to how feeding on demand works! I get tempted to put her on a schedule but then I love that she doesn't HAVE to be on a schedule either because it's just one baby! I do think it's trickier figuring out what she wants at first though since it's not as predictable not being on a schedule.
-Rocking a baby! I LOVE being able to snuggle and rock her any time and as long as I want! She is totally going to be spoiled as I never want to set her down.
-How many diapers do I buy for one baby? With the girls I could go to Sam's and buy a couple of huge boxes of size 1 and then I'd still run out...but with Kacie I keep having to run back to the store to buy more because I don't want to buy too many!
- I didn't know that full term singletons don't need to take the iron stinky vitamins! So that's a nice change...and she's not on any medicine!
-I was also shocked in the hospital that she didn't have to pass a carseat test to go home and that we didn't have to do an infant CPR class or anything. They just trusted us! Couldn't believe it!
-I have more time to get her dressed in fun clothes! With the girls - they just lived in sleepers because they were quick and easy! But with Kacie I can mess with putting on an undershirt onesie, (never did that with the girls) with tights, with headbands, tutu's, haha - doesn't matter! She is a little doll!
-And...I don't feel famous in public anymore! So nice not to have to avoid eye contact with people and to not have random people ask to take your picture! haha!
It is so different and so great. I am cherishing every moment! Feeling SO SO thankful this holiday season!!

She is very alert usually in the morning for an hour or two and then usually in the later afternoon for a while. :)

The girls were begging to have a sleepover with Kacie too since they always get to have "sleepovers." This doll crib was made for me by my Grandpa Kalsbeek when I was a girl...:) So sweet! The sleepover lasted about 10 minutes. :) Haha

Em is pretty good at holding her and is so cute when she's crying. She'll go pick her up and say "What's the matter Kacie? Did you need some sister time?" Then start rocking her....LOVE that they get to experience being older siblings! I know I loved being the oldest! Someone said that if there is a bigger than 5 year gap between kids that first born tendencies start over. So technically we kind of have a family of all first borns! Ryan and I...and the girls are all kinda first borns when compared with Kacie...(even though Addison DOES definitely act like a first born) :) .... and then if Kacie acts like one too! Crazy!

We wanted to have some one on one time with the girls since it's been a bit of a transition for them. So Ryan went Christmas shopping with Hailey and to lunch....Grandma Kathy had Addison for the day and Addy got to help cook and prep for Thanksgiving which she loves to do. And I took Em (and Kacie) to lunch, some Christmas shopping, and then to a pottery store. One on one time is such a treat and it definitely doesn't happen enough! Love you Em!