March 24-27 Family Time!

THURSDAY

     Today was an extraordinarily busy day! Lily was with her Mimi at home, which was great as she sends me photo updates throughout the day. That is the best!

     After work, I had a meeting for a couple of hours and made it home at about 6:15. We were supposed to have been at Boutin’s restaurant at 6:00. Mrs. Renita was wonderful and had Lily all ready to go when I arrived home. I picked her up and we headed the five minutes to the restaurant.

     Lily had a fussy day Wednesday and Thursday, and this continued at Boutin’s. She was pretty good for the first 45 minutes or so, but then we had to leave as she was a bit too fussy. It was a nice dinner though. It was nice to see everyone; family in from England, Grampy, Granny, etc. It was very nice and Lily was loved on!!

     When she got too fussy, I was ready to take her home. It was nearly 8:00 and Eric and I have been trying to be really diligent about respecting and preserving her bedtime. I took her home, fed her, and was trying to get her to go down when Grampy and Nina arrived. This Friday was Grampy’s first day with Lily. He’d come over to learn about Lily’s routine and where her things are kept. Lily cried the whole time he was at the house.

     Right after he left, Nana called. Lily was full-out screaming at the top of her lungs. Nana said she’d be right over. This evening was Eric’s first poker night with guys from work, so I was all alone and Lily was UN-happy! I accepted the help when Nana offered to ride over for a few minutes. That’s the nice thing about being so close; we are literally a 5 minute ride away!

     Nana arrived and took Lily so that I could pump and shower. I was as quick as I could be and took Lily back promptly. I was so appreciative for the help! Just a shower can make a world of difference!

     I sat and rocked and cooed to Lily for quite a while before she finally gave in to sleep. Even asleep, she was restless.

     Eric finally got home and he offered to do her middle of the night feeding. Thanks, babe!

FRIDAY

     Friday was Grampy’s first day with Lily. I was a little nervous as Dad gets very nervous around very small babies and she is just that! A very small baby! He arrived early and off to work we went. The day went by quickly with lots of things to do. Nana had a half-day and so she stopped by at lunch to check on her. I received a couple of pictures via text which made me super happy!

     Friday evening, I had a wake to go to. The world lost a wonderful woman and teacher this week, Mrs. Carolyn Howard. She was the first reading teacher that I ever worked with and had the pleasure of knowing her for five years before her departure to heaven. Her wake was nice, with lovely photos of her and several of her students coming by. Layla and I had gone together to offer each other and the family our support and love.

     When I arrived home Eric, Lily, and Tara met me at the car. We zipped over to Jason’s Deli for a quick dinner. Lily slept the whole time! Lovely! Eric and Tara swore that she’d screamed the whole time I was gone. It always seems to be like that. Whoever she’s with gets the brunt of her screaming, and the new person to come home gets her smiles and peaceful sleep. It’s so not fair to the person who was with her all day!

     Tara slept the night over at our house on Friday night and helped with the night feeding. She had a stretch of SIX HOURS of sleep! AMAZING!!!!

 

SATURDAY

     Saturday began peacefully at home. We slept and rested around the house until it was time to prepare to get going for the day. My aunt Gwenda’s wedding was Saturday out in Folsom and Eric and I thought that was a little far to go with the baby not knowing what to expect when we got there.  Since Eric, Lily, and I were dressed up, we took a couple of family photos out on our porch.

     Nana kept Lily and Eric and I headed out to the country.

     It was a nice wedding and was wonderful to visit with our relatives from England. Eric had a great time talking about cultural similarities and differences between the two countries. There was a big after party after the reception, but Eric and I were eager to get back to town to Lily.

     It was quite a drive home and Eric and I grabbed a quick dinner before we went home. It was SO NICE to spend so much time with him today. We don’t get nearly enough time together now! Somehow life seems to be flying past at warp speed. We are adjusting a little better to life with baby and are having a much better time as a family. Establishing and sticking to our routine is certainly very helpful!

     Nana said that Lily had been very good all day and had made the motherload of poops. Lily had a bath, a nap, and was generally very sweet! Of course she was! She is such a sweetie!

     Eric and I loved on Lily for awhile and attempted to put her to bed. She was not interested! Eric had put her in her infant sleeper, but she was super fussy. I went in and rocked her for a bit, but as soon as I’d put her back down, she’d cry! This cycle repeated a few times before I realized that she wanted to be in her crib and not her sleeper. Unfortunately, we’d stripped her crib that day but hadn’t remade it yet. So… at ten o’clock Eric and I were cramming the mattress into the very tightly fitted sheet. She swaddled her, kissed her, turned on her mobile, and off to sleep she went! For SIX HOURS!!! She is such a good sleeper! (Sometimes . . . ) Unfortunately, at three a.m., she was up for an hour and a half. So was I. Ah well..

SUNDAY

     Sunday morning was brunch time!!! Lily, Tara, Lindsay, Jessica, and I met at La Madeline’s for a yummy brunch! It was so much fun! All women need a group of ladies to hang out with! We always have such fun! Eric joined us at the end of the brunch as got himself some coffee and a muffin. Lily was great the whole time! We all took turns holding her and even when she made her “sad face”, its so cute that it just makes you smile!

     After brunch we headed to Mawmaw’s house. I can’t tell much about it because as soon as I’d eaten, I slept away the afternoon! I was unbelievably tired! Luckily, there are many pairs of loving arms at Mawmaw’s for her to rest in!

     This evening, Tara and I took Lily with us to Target and Winn Dixie while Eric had man time in his man cave. She slept the whole time!! I guess she was making up for last night! The evening, she was super sweet. I fed her, changed her, gave her a wash-cloth bath, loved on her, and Eric put her to bed.

     I am so lucky that Eric and I share responsibilities! He is so great of putting her to bed. We are definitely getting into our groves as far as choosing and becoming good at different aspects of Lily’s care. He puts her to bed, I dress her. He gets up with her in the mornings, I bathe her. She is a lucky little girl, but we are extremely BLESSED parents!

March 23 Today . . . I cried :(

Last night my mom, Nana, spent the night with us and took the midnight Lily feeding. What a wonderful treat! It was so special to have my mommy stay with us. We chatted for a little while before bed. Sometimes you just need your mommy!
     Lily was super great last night! She slept a six hour stretch! Unbelievable! She is getting so mature with her sleep patterns!
     Today was Pappy day! I really think that Lily loves Pappy day! She feels so comfortable with him! They went on a stroller walk to the lakes, but Lily began fussing so they came home. Apparently she slept really well until about 11:30, then cried for several hours. Poor Pappy looked worn out by the time Tara and I arrived home. Poor Lily. Poor Pappy!
     One frustrating thing is when you're home all day with her by yourself and she cries all day. Then, others arrive and she is sweet and quiet and attentive. Not that I don't want her to be happy, but if she could just time fussiness for when there is back-up, that would be really helpful.
     While we were all here and loving on her, she was really sweet and cuddly! She is such a great cuddle buddy!
     This evening, Tara took these pics. She is so super-duper cute!

     I can't believe how much I love this baby. I think about her ALL DAY LONG. When I get home, I am taken aback by how beautiful, delicious smelling, and generally lovely she is! Now she is almost 9 weeks old and time is flying! Already she is so different from when she was born. I am excited for the times to come, but at the same time wanting to freeze time and keep her just like this. An unsolvable conundrum, but one in which I have no control anyway. I suppose that I will just LOVE on her every chance I get!

March 22 A Granny Day!

I love Granny days because she arrives so chipper! Work went by in a blur and soon I was home hearing about Lily's day!! Gran reported that they went for a stroll, sang songs, pooped, and took a three hour nap! What a splendid day! I miss not being here with her, but I do think that it is cool that she gets to have so many experiences with different people who all love her so much!
     When I got home, Tara and I took her for a walk. We tried her sunglasses on her, but they were a bit big to stay on. She did look like a rockstar though!!

     Tonight she is calm and quiet. She's been awake for hours, contentedly looking around. Tara had educational time with her, they learned all about body parts!
     I love feeding Lily. Nothing compares to the feeling of watching her nuzzle up to me and eat. Many times I sing to her. Tuneless songs that I make up on the spot. Some I remember and sing over and over, but some are new each time. I want her to grow up loving me and our time together. It is an odd thing that she's only two months old, yet I feel so bonded to her. She is amazing! Every inch!

March 21 Three Shots & Yucky Things I Do To Mommy

Sunday night was a nice family evening. Eric played with Lily so well! He put her on her tummy on the sofa and had tummy time with her. Talk about cute! Lily is so strong, too! She lifts her little head and looks all around!

Also, on Sunday evening, Lily decided to see just how weird/gross she could be. I was changing a pooey diaper, which is gross enough, when she puked a pretty good volume. As it ran down her face and into her ears, she sneezed. Right. Into. My. Face! Now she and I both had faces smeared with milk-puke. Yum!
   Sometime afterward, when she was all cleaned up, I was kissing her little mouth. She French kissed me! I was shocked. I went to kiss her little mouth and she stuck her tongue out and right into my mouth. Interesting...
     Today was shots day. I stayed home from work with her because I couldn't bare the though of not being with her and was preparing for the worst as far as reaction to the vaccines goes. Eric came home at lunch and we set off to the doctor. We were there forever! It must be shots time for many babies as there were a lot of infants there. Poor babies! Dr. Grier came in and spent so much time with us! She is really great about that. She answered all of our questions, asked us a lot of questions, and assured us that we are doing a great job with Little Pea. Next...shots. We had to wait nearly 40 minutes for the nurse to come in with them. This waiting was making me a nervous wreck! The nurse was very sweet and efficient. She had the three shots done in no time. Lily did not get as upset for this series as she did for the first shot last month. She did better than I! My baby is a rockstar!!! (below: waiting for the doctor) She is up to 8 pounds 11 ounces and 22 inches long! She is still in the 10th percentile, but growing which is just perfect!

     We planned a low-key, at home afternoon. Lily was pretty great. She was fussier than usual, but I thought she did impressively.  We'd given her Tylenol proactively  just in case. I think it did the trick as she did not develop knots at the injection sites and never spiked a fever.

    She went down a little fussier than usual, but slept a full five hours! It is amazing to watch her grow and mature. She can already do many of the 2 month milestones from the pamphlet Dr. Grier gave us such as hold her head up for short periods of time, stand with support, sleep 4+ hours at night, and look at bright objects. The only one we're waiting on is her smile!!!

March 18 - 20 Weekend Time!

FRIDAY
     On Friday, Eric was off work and this was Lily and Daddy's first ever whole day alone! I checked in throughout the day to make sure that they were ok. I think Eric experienced first hand how challenging a day can be! He reported that Lily cried much of the day with tummy aches.
     They met us at Walk On's for Happy Hour after Tara and I got off of work and Lily was able to meet many of Mommy's work friends. This was so much fun! It was really cool for my friends to meet her for the first time. She was still fussy and wanted to be held - which I was happy to oblige! Layla also held her for a bit and fed her. She is getting to where sometimes the milk in one bottle isn't enough, so she will eat more. I think, too, that she may be gearing up for a growth spurt as she is wanting to eat more frequently the last day or two.
     Friday night was magical! Tara stayed over and did the 1am feed. Lily, master of the night-time poop, had an explosive surprise for her Nanny! Tara said that it was absolutely rank! Then, she slept until 6am!!!!!!!! It's the latest in the morning that she has ever slept! I awoke with a start a few minutes before 6 and RAN to the nursery fearing that something was wrong. Nothing was wrong! When I realized that all was well, I was super happy about her sleeping in  because I took Saturday morning to give Eric a chance to sleep and also because I MISSED her so much from the week at work that I was happy to bring her downstairs, feed her, and enjoy an hour of cuddle time!!

SATURDAY
     After our hour of cuddles, I was reluctant to let her go, but needed to dress for the St. Patty's day parade. Pappy had volunteered to come have a Lily day so that we could go to the parade. It was fun, and it made me really think of what it will be like to bring her when she is older. There was a lady across the road from us with her newborn! It was terrible! The poor tiny infant was still fresh-from-the-womb pink! It made me a nervous wreck! I get so upset when I see things like this!
     Saturday afternoon was quiet time at home! We cooked dinner and Tara, Katie, Lindsay, and Leah hung out and ate and watched a movie. Lily was still a tiny bit fussy and had a couple of rough spots, but with a little gripe water and a lot of mommy-cuddles, she fell asleep soundly.
     I took her to her room and fed her for the first night feeding and she went right to sleep! She is getting really really good at going to sleep by herself while watching the mobile or listening to her Frankie the Frog. I am SO happy about this. Eric and I are really hoping to  avoid any big bedtime transitions! We hear about poor parents who have the worst time putting their babies to bed and really want to avoid this by establishing good routines now. I suppose that there's a chance its all in vain, but I sure hope not!
     Katie spent the night and did Lily's midnight feed. Again, she slept for a pretty long stretch and woke up at 5:30. This morning - Eric's turn!

SUNDAY
     Sunday morning I slept in as it was Eric's early morning. Its funny what constitutes "sleeping in" after baby! If I hit 8-8:30 I feel super accomplished! Katie made breakfast and Lily joined us while sitting in her bumbo chair. She really likes her chair and will sit and look around so curiously. We don't let her sit in it for too long a time as she is still learning muscle control, but she's too cute in it!

     Nana and Cayman came by this morning for a little visit! That was so nice! Cayman was really sweet with me and Lily and we both got so many good boy-kisses! He is such a sweetheart! He and I played ball a little and cuddled. I love that kiddo so much!

     Now Eric, Tara, and Lily are at their Mawmaw's. I stayed home to get some housework done (and this blog!). So, I'd better get to work!!!!

March 17 Party with Mimi!

   Last night, Lily made a super-poop such that we had to give her a bath. The sink in the kitchen, where we usually bathe her in the little newborn tub, was full of dinner dishes. We had to bathe her upstairs for the first time. This tub is bigger, but has a newborn recliner chair in it. Holy moly!!!! She LOVED it!! She had the best bath of her little life! She stretched out, kicked her little legs, waved her arms, grabbed onto the side of the tub.

     I dripped water on her teeny nose and she made the funniest faces! I can't wait until she can laugh! I am sure that she would have been laughing last night!

     Mimi spent the night with us and did all of Lily's night feedings. It was wonderful! I got 8 hours of sleep! It was great, but I woke up MISSING Lily so much! This was the hardest day yet of work because I missed her so much all day. Pumping at work is going well and I am increasing my yield. Earlier in the week, the stress of the schedule change, missing Lily, and work in itself had wrecked my volume. Now its coming back up and I am crazy relieved!
     Eric got home early today! He was able to join us on our evening walk! We do 3.2 miles and have been increasing our run-time every couple of times. We are up to about 9 short runs within the 3.2 miles. Lily loves these times. She likes the walks and runs and looks around interested. Today the sun was pretty bright, so we had to keep putting up the sun screen.

     When we got home, it was time to Prevacid and feed her. Tara fed her, I made up the bottles, and Eric made dinner. It was a real group effort! We all ate and now are having quiet time in the living room. Eric and I are being aware of our 8 o'clock curfew and have dimmed the lights to calm Lily and get her to sleep. I am blogging and Lily is cuddled into her Daddy's chest. A wonderful, family night!

March 15-16

Tuesday and Wednesday
     The last two days have gone by in a blur! Going to work on five hours of sleep is a sure way to  have work go by in a hazy stupor! Monday night, Lily slept, but I didn't. I was so wound up and upset about going back to work, not finding a balance at home, and not feeling in control of just about anything that I was a sobbing mess. Eric did not know what to do to or for me for a while. Eventually he just held me and I fell asleep.
     Tuesday was Granny's second day with Lily. Again, she came bouncing in full of energy. That was so super helpful! I went off to work with my pump bag and arrived home 9 hours later. Lily was just getting hungry, so I had the privilege of feeding her! I was so excited to get to feed her because I'd missed her Monday afternoon feeding by about 20 minutes. :( My absolute favorite is when I breastfeed her and she pulls back when she is done and is covered with milk! Milkface Baby!!!
     Granny reported that they sang songs, played music, told stories, and farted all day long. Well, Lily farted, not Granny! Granny was supremely impressed with the amount of gas that Lily Bug produces! I agree. She is one farty baby!
     Tuesday night was so much better! Eric and I had a lovely heart to heart and family cuddle time. We have established a routine for preserving our sanity. We aren't used to the strains of parenthood yet and really need to make proactive decisions for being more useful and happy! We climbed up on our bed with Lily and cuddled and talked for about an hour. It was wonderful! We talked, laughed at Lily's faces and movements, and just had good quality family time. I was in bed by 9!
     Unfortunately, Lily was not interested in letting me rest much. She had two middle of the night feedings instead of her usual one. Exhausting, but we will get it together at some point.
     Today was Pappy Day!!! He arrived extra early and hung out a little while before we had to leave for work. Nine hours later, and I am home again! Lily is sleeping on my chest while I type. Pappy reports that she had a great day. They went for a walk in the neighborhood, rocked on the porch rockers, and she slept in her vibrating chair for a while. She had a very happy Pappy day!
     I could not be more blessed than to have so many people who are eager to love on and watch Lily. Aunt Gwenda called me yesterday to thank me for asking Granny to watch Lily. She said that it was all Gran had talked about the night before. Apparently she's having an absolutely superb time. I am SO glad about this! Also, Lily is definitely a Pappy's girl! How spoiled we all are! :)  It makes me wonder if they will all miss her when summer comes and I am off! LOL!

March 14 Mommy's First Day Back @ Work

So. My first day back. I cried it out last night and Eric was wonderful. He held me and encouraged me to talk it out. He is such a good man! I am lucky, lucky, lucky.
     After going to sleep, Lily was pretty good. She has a vomitous explosion at 1am which got me up to strip her crib and her and redress both. Silver lining - I also went ahead and fed her and she slept straight through until 5. Yay Lily!
     I got up, pumped, dressed, and got ready while Eric fed and medicated Little Pea. I scheduled ten minutes of cuddle time in my morning schedule because I NEED that time! Lily protested my return to work my promptly vomiting all down the front of my freshly pressed shirt. Ah well.
     Granny arrived early and was so chipper! She scooped up Lily and went right on to her routine! It really made my morning and leaving SO MUCH EASIER to see them together and how natural Granny was with her. I can't possibly express my gratitude toward her for watching my little lady!
     Work was better than I expected. I had a great day! My kiddos and colleagues were really welcoming and happy to see me. The day went by very quickly and soon enough I was headed home to my baby!
     Lily had just finished eating when I arrived. I cuddled with the mildly fussy baby and she went right to sleep on my chest. What a wonderful feeling! Seeing her after a whole day apart was so powerful. Motherly love. An amazing phenomenon!
     We had a quiet night at home with Daddy, Tara, and Katie. We cooked and ate dinner and cuddled on the couch. It was a wonderful night. Now I'm heading to bed early. So tired!!!

March 10-13 Milestones!

Most notably, this was my last weekend with Lily before returning to work. Eric and I spent a lot of the weekend preparing for this and doing work around the house. Tara spent most of the day Saturday and Sunday with us watching Lily so that this could be done. Grass, laundry, ironing, etc just can't be done with a 7 week old! I hate doing housework and not cuddling with her!

     THURSDAY - Lily went to her Godfather's home for the first time! Jacob and Brittany invited us over for a yummy meal. Brittany is well into her first trimester and feeling it! I felt so bad for her as I remember what that was like. Lily was a bit fussy and Jacob held her. He fed her and she continued to fuss. He eld her every which way, patted her, etc and finally asked "I give up parents. What do I do now?" Eric and I laughed and told him welcome to parenthood!

     FRIDAY - On Friday, Pappy called pretty early to come hang out with Lily. He stopped in for about an hour and a half for a "Lily Fix" and went on about his day. Lily and I met Nana for lunch at La Madeleine, ran a few errands, and headed to Jessica's house for a visit. Jessica had just moved back from Spokane and was eager to meet Lily. We arrived at 2 and spent 5 hours talking, catching up, and admiring Lily! I love Jessica!!! And Mrs. Kathy (her mom). They, of course, loved Lily! I only held her to feed her and we were there so long, I ran out of bottles and breastfed her there.
After girl-time, Lily, Tara (who'd met us there after work), and I met Daddy at Brewbachers for dinner. Yum! When we got home, Lily went right to bed and Eric and I lay in bed with a movie. Quiet time!
 Friday night was a landmark! Lily slept in her crib for the first time! She loves the mobile so much! She loves to lay beneath it and watch the colored lights change and listen to the music. She is such a doll and fell asleep to the mobile. After each night feeling, I put her back under it and she went right back to sleep. I sat in her nursery for awhile after putting her down to make sure she's be ok. She was. I have so many new mom jitters.

     SATURDAY - Yard work day! Lily spent most of the day hanging out in the house with Tara while Eric and I did so much yard work. Our back yard is a freaking disaster! We are trying our best to make a Lily-friendly yard! Tara and Mimi volunteered to take Lily for an outing Saturday late afternoon and evening so that Eric and I could have a date!
     Our date was amazing!!!! We had the most delicious meal at Roberto's on the River Road and then went to a movie. The whole outing was perfect. I love this man! Meanwhile, Mimi and Nanny took Lily shopping and out to dinner. Apparently she was very well behaved and made a onesie-destroying poop on the way home! They decided to give her a bath and had a minor incident. Eric and I have an automatic dish-soap dispenser  near the sink. To get soap out, you place your hand beneath it and it squirts out. Well, purely by accident, Lily's head passed underneath the sensor. She ended up with a head full of dish soap! Her head is now REALLY CLEAN! Another funny thing: Tara and Renita went to Mr. Gatti's for dinner. Tara was holding her. A strange lady walked right up to her and accused, "You are too young to have a baby!!!" Nosy damn lady! Tara told her, "Excuse me, but I am 28 years old and this isn't even my baby!" Some people!
     Saturday night was night two of putting Lily beneath her mobile to fall asleep. Success! She slept 4.5 hours! Her longest stretch yet! Waking her up to feed her makes her upset and she often ends up puking out her feeding, so we are waiting for her to express hunger before feeding her. This is working well. She continues to grow and grow and everyone is happier!

     SUNDAY - today we went to the Habitat Home and Garden Expo. What fun! Unfortunately, we did not know but strollers weren't allowed. We had to hold her the whole time. Between Tara, Eric, and I this worked out ok. She was a hit! Everyone made comments about how beautiful she is. We know!!
     After the Expo we went to Mawmaw's house for lunch. Of course, there she is never at a lack for arms to cuddle her! Now we are home and planning an early night!

March 9 Editing Day

Wonderful night! Hallelujah! While she did not particularly want to go to sleep last night, she was good about it. Eric and I turned on her mobile (which she loves), and she laid there for over an hour looking at it and watching the bugs go around. She's such a sweet baby!
     Eric did the first night feeding, allowing me to go to bed early so by the time I got up for the 3 o'clock, I felt very rested. She was pretty quiet all night and woke up for the day at 7.
     When we came downstairs we had cuddle time for awhile as she was a bit fussy with tummy pains. She was farting like a rockstar!! She hung out in her swing for a little while which allowed me to wash the night bottles and eat breakfast.
     This afternoon she was feeling a little clingy so I put on the Boppy pillow and used it to hold her next to me while I edited her photo shoot pictures from yesterday! SHE IS BEAUTIFUL!!!!! We sat like this for a couple of hours. It was wonderful; editing her photos and holding her close at the same time! Katie came over a bit early as she got off of work early. Cuddly baby switched to Katie's chest for awhile.

     When Tara arrived, we went for a walk in the neighborhood.  We saw a turtle crossing the road! Katie picked it up and showed Lily. She wasn't all that intrigued. Maybe it looked too much like a rock?? I am running more and more of the walk and am excited about the day that I can run the whole thing! A few more weeks maybe?

     This evening, Lily had a bath. She loved it as usual! She's so funny! We were dropping water droplets on her nose and she was making the greatest faces! She is such a doll!
     This evening she is a little fussy again. She threw up ALL OVER Tara! It was hilarious for Tara, but sad for poor baby Lily!
     Tonight Mimi is staying over!!! Yipee! We love Wednesdays!