Blake: Months 1-3

Let's just call this Q1 of Blake's life.

You know what my ONE piece of advice should be for all first time moms? "Don't set the bar too high with the first one."

First child
- Monthly blog updates, Check
- Daily journal, Check
- Memory books made for every life event/first holiday, Check
- Baby book completed, Check
- Sending family photo texts of my cute baby frequently, Check
- Nightly reading and bath, Check
-A ROUTINE, check

Second child
 A little less from all the above, but it still gets done, even if I am a little behind on updating with photos.

Third child
Absolutely none of the above. Good. Grief.

Seriously, how do fourth children (and beyond) have any proof that they ever existed as a baby?

Moving on...

Blake is now three months old! But first, let's play some photo catch-up.

1st Month

I could tell from the very first days of life that this was my "chill" kiddo. He does your typical baby things on a typical baby timeline, there are no surprises, and I love that. He eats about every 1.5-2 hours. Prefers belly sleeping and is not a fan of full swaddling. We compromise by swaddling with one arm out.

Quilt made by Gramma

This month, Blake celebrated his first Thanksgiving and participated in one of my favorite holiday traditions, picking out our Christmas tree. We had several visitors, including all of the grandparents.

He seems to resemble Emerson's baby pictures the most.

By the end of this month, we had already phased out all newborn clothing and moved into 0-3 month clothes. We also developed baby acne. (not my favorite). And he FINALLY got his first real bath. It took a good three weeks before that umbilical cord fell off.

2nd Month

This month Blake celebrated his first Christmas/New Years, took his first trip to the beach (Galveston), started giving out smiles (although very hard to get out of him), eats about every 2-3 hours, and has found his hands and loves to suck on them.

Quilt made by Grammy

He continues to be a good sleeper. He loves his nap time and he even gave me a few 10 straight hours at night. Success! This is due to nothing that I have done, he is just by nature a good sleeper. And I get to brag about it, because I've had my fair share of not so great sleepers.

3rd Month 

Blake has turned into a smiley, giggly baby and I just love it! He continues to love to suck on his hands, but will now also take the pacifier more easily. He went through a week phase of not taking the bottle, but thankfully he that was short lived and is now on good terms with it again.

Blanket made by Aunt Amy

We stopped swaddling and moved him up to his very own bed. 

Blake is happiest when he gets to lay on his back on the floor and squirm. He is now wearing 3-6 month clothing. He stays awake about 1.5-2 hours between naps. He still loves to nap on his belly, but doesn't fall asleep as easily as he once did in the early days.

Well there you have it, my attempt to keep Blake updated on the blog. Happy growing, Blake!

Introducing Blake Edmund McKee

He's here, he's here!

Well, technically he's been here for a few months now. Third child, enough said.

Blake Edmund McKee arrived on Friday November, 17, 2017 at 10 a.m. He weighed a whopping 9 lbs 11 oz and was 20.5 inches long. He was born at Memorial Hermann Katy hospital in Katy, TX.

Blake was taking his sweet precious time to come into the world so we decided to induce the day after his due date, and boy, I sure am glad we did. My body could not have managed a larger child.

 

I had scheduled his induction date the week prior at my doctors appointment, but I honestly never thought we would make it that long, especial since my other two both came two weeks early.

The day before he arrived we were able to make arrangements with our very good friend, Traci, to have the bigger boys picked up and taken care of while we were in the hospital. Then Jesse and I were able to enjoy a good dinner and milkshake before heading to the hospital to check in.

We checked in Thursday night, the 16th, around 10 p.m. and got things started right away.

By morning, we were ready to meet our little guy. Three whole pushes later, he was here and in my arms. All the nurses were anxious to weigh him.

On Saturday, Nov. 19th, big brothers Emerson and Henry got to meet Blake.  Henry was infatuated with him and Emerson didn't quite know how to act around this new little thing.

We had a very uneventful delivery and hospital stay, which considering how stressful the past few months had been on us because of Hurricane Harvey, I definitely welcomed this stress-free event.

By Sunday, we were able to go home and be a family of five for the first time. Blake fits in perfectly with our little family and we could not feel more blessed to have him in our lives.