Family Update

Well here is our update since Thanksgiving Time:

Keegan had his 1st Christmas (see post below this) which was fun! He got a lot of cute clothes along with toys he likes to play with. He loves to play under his playmat with the dangling toys and loves love to put anything in his mouth! He is such an active baby too, just loves to kick and babble. He loves to suck on his fists and drools like crazy! Maybe it's teeth who knows! Keegan also is rolling from his back to tummy (doing it a lot more since this past Thursday) and isn't quite sure what to do once he rolls over...can't seem to get his hands from under his tummy so I usually help the little guy out. :) He also started taking the pacifier once again (he hasn't taken it in months!) since yesterday when he woke up from a short nap. I popped the pacifier in his mouth and wahla (sp?)... he took it and did very well! Usually he is very cranky (won't let you put him down) when he doesn't nap long and it takes some coaxing to be able to put him down on his playmat or swing etc. He is a fun, and very happy baby to say the least!

Keegan turned 22 weeks today and is still not sleeping well. :( I'm still tired but so used to getting no sleep, it's like second nature. Keegan's naps though are great! He naps from 1-2 sometimes 3 hours during the day and gets b/t 2-3 naps per day...usually 3. We still swaddle Keegan b/c deswaddling did not work as of last weekend (we tried for 3 days and he napped from 17 mins to 30 mins and was MISERABLE when he woke up). We figured he will tell us when he is ready to not be wrapped anymore. In the meantime, I say why fix something that is not broken! '

Just a couple weeks ago, we decided to try him on formula for five days to see if he would sleep better and it seemed to make him get up 2x at night instead of once...coincidence, not sure, but maybe. I usually gave him bottles during the day and nursed him in the early morning hours. I thought it would have made him sleep longer but it did not. We also tried giving him water in the early morning hours (per our doc) but that did not work either although he drank it. He just would not go back to sleep for us. It was tough and I ended up nursing him an hour or so after giving him water and trying to get him to sleep. Today, I went back to nursing full-time which I love. He doesn't nurse long anymore as of 3 weeks ago I believe. Keegan used to nurse for 40 mins and not it's about 15 mins. I guess he's just more efficient and takes after his sister who was the same way at his age. He just comes off and looks at me with this big smile like saying "all done mommy!". :)

Keegan had his 4 month checkup 3 weeks ago and his stats are below in another post. He weighed 15 1/2 lbs two weeks ago and is one big little baby! He is prob near 17 lbs now! Mia wasn't that weight until she was 8 months! Goes to show you how different each baby can be. He did well at his appt though and didn't cry at all prob b/c he didn't get his shots. Josh and I decided to hold off on them for now until we gain a bit more understanding of what they are putting in his little body. We are going to get his vaccinated but prob not according to the vaccination schedule the docs give.

MISS MIA

Mia turned 2 1/2 on Jan. 14th and is one active toddler! She lovesss to sing, play in her playroom although most toys end up in our family room anyway, sleep in her big girl crib and as of lately, loves to sleep in her big red potterybarn cushiony chair, loves to jump, run, nurse her baby (it's too funny!), put mommy's breast pads up her shirt (too funny once again!), feed her baby with Keegan's bottles, and lastly likes to hit hit hit! She just started hitting a couple months ago and although she's getting better at not doing it, she still does it. She'll hit us and Keegan sometimes when we are holding him. She's quick too! Just today she went to give him a kiss and then slapped him out of nowhere! We asked our doc about it and he said to ignore her when she does it and move elsewhere. He said the more we respond to it the more attention we bring to it. So we are tryinggg to ignore it and we're hoping that it will soon stop.

Mia's rash that she developed on Thanksgiving weekend still comes and goes but seems like it's mostly gone. It's not as bad and seems to only appear when her skin is irrirated like after a bath or eating. Our ped said that Mia most likely has a high level of histamine and that it eventually will disappear but may not until her teen years. He said she is healthy and that her miserableness is prob just due to her age. Oh greeeat! :) Here are Mia's stats (which are below in another post I believe):

Weight= 31 lbs (hasn't changed in a few months)
Height= 37 1/2 inches

She is doing well though and her vocabulary is prettttty good for a 2 1/2 year old. She is non-stop talking and loves to say "whatcha doing mommy/daddy", can I have...., I want....., I'll be right back! amongst other sayings. She also now talks into the monitor and says "Hi Daddy!" She did that this morning when we were getting up! We were cracking up! Mia also loves Daddy to put her to bed instead of mommy (prob b/c Josh has put her to bed since Keegan arrived) and have him sing songs and read stories. :) Mia then goes to sleep in her big girl bed (crib w/o the front rail b/c she climbed out of it in December) but ends up sleeping in her soft red chair until we move her to her bed. :) It's cute and I've taken a few pics of her sleeping in it. haha! She also sorta started to not takes naps recently. Today may be day #3 w/o a nap. We'll put her in her room and usually she doesn't nap b/c of pee or poop.

As for me and Josh, we are enjoying our two kiddies...it gets better every day! It's hard though b/c I haven't had a full night's rest for more than 5 days I think since Keegan was born. It's tough to say the least, but we get through it. Keegan's smiles each morning makes it all better! haha! We just love having a boy and a girl and it just makes our family complete. I know for now we are content with our two kiddies and don't think we will be adding a third any time soon (due to Mr. Keegan being a tough cute little guy). I told Josh that I'm as busy as I'd like to be and if i were any busier, I may go crazy! haha!! The days just seem to fly by since I'm either nursing, changing diapers, putting keegan down for naps, feeding Mia, playing with Mia, giving Mia her naps, changing her diapers/putting her on the potty, cleaning up after her, etc etc. I have very busy days and once they are in bed, I get a chance to finally sit down and relax which I love! I do try to get to bed by 10pm to prepare for the early wake up calls from Mr. Keegan. :)

Josh and I are trying to get active once again like we were in Cali and are going to join the brand new YMCA about 12 miles from here in Feb. We can not wait and it is suppose to be really nice! I saw pics of it online and it really is nice! I can't wait! I have about 7 lbs to lose still and it seems like the baby weight this time is taking a bit longer to come off. We also decided to have dessert only once a week and designated saturdays as dessert night. My goal is is to lose these last 7 lbs by the time March comes around!

Josh and I are also planning on visiting Patsy and Kieran next month sometime in CO!! WOO HOO! We're also bringing the kiddies with us which should be interesting! At least it's a direct flight and not nearly as long as it would be if we were traveling to Cali. I think it's only 3 1/2-4 hours to CO! Not too bad! We can't wait though to visit and go boarding with them. Should be fun!

Well that's once long update but I haven't written in a long time. Hope you all are having a great New Year! We sure are!

Love,

The Carrolls