Two Months

Lily is two months! She is changing daily and we are having a blast. She (or Mommy) has regulated her schedule a little more the past couple of weeks. She is doing better with her naps now that I realized she was under fed and over stimulated. She was spitting up so much the first month I thought she was overeating, but when I made sure she got a full feeding she napped longer. Additionally, I found that if we wind down from play time before a nap, she goes down better. I lay her down for her naps and for the most part she goes right to sleep. I also found I have to put her upstairs for a nap. I was trying to keep her down her and force her to get used to sleeping through noise. But found she naps deeper and longer upstairs. I put the fan and some music on and I can do stuff in her room without her waking up, but this way she isn't startled by the dishes, or the washer, or the puppies. Unfortunately, I started a terrible habit, and she won't fall asleep without her pacifier. But it was the pacifier or her thumb. Luckily, we have moved to just using the pacifier for naps. She doesn't need it during the day or when she goes to sleep at night.

Speaking of nighttime, Lily has slept through the night for all but one night this week. She goes down about 9:00 and sleeps until 5:00 or 6:00, depending on when Kevin gets up in the morning. It has been wonderful! With all the middle of the night pregnancy peeing, it has been almost a year since I have slept through the night. It may be a phase, and may change when she hits a growth spurt, but I am soaking it up.

She had her two month appointment on Tuesday, which means she received three shots. My poor baby! I don't think I have seen real tears on her before then. But Mommy didn't cry. She ran a fever on Tuesday and slept a lot, so when Wednesday rolled around, I figured we were in the clear. By 3:00, she was acting like she was hungry, sucking on her fist, my arm, my neck, but refused to eat. I let her nap and she did the same thing at 6:00 and again at 9:00 that evening. By this time I was really worried. She was still running a slight fever, but hates the baby medicine. Why is infant medicine cherry flavored? Babies have not had anything but milk for close to six months so why would you flavor it? She slept off the fever with almost a full night of sleep (until 4:00 am) and then picked up on Thursday like nothing had happened.

Lily is 23.5 inches long and now weighs 11 pounds, 5 ounces; 85th percentile for height but only 50th percentile for weight. She hasn't gained a ton of weight even though she was good size when she was born. But she continues to grow and doc said she is healthy. Her chubby cheeks make her look bigger than she is, but her legs are pretty skinny. She is finally starting to get some rolls on her thighs. She is really long in the torso. Most sleepers are really tight in the snaps, but have extra length in the legs. Clothes are often falling off the shoulders or have extra room around the middle even when I can barely snap them closed.

She smiles a lot more and coos a lot! It's in the back of her throat and she sounds a little like Chewbacca. It makes me laugh and she coos even more. She is kicking more determinedly now. She like that the play mat charms jingle when she kicks them. She tracks really well and watches me walk around the kitchen. We usually hang out in the kitchen in the morning doing dishes from the night before, making breakfast, and doing some baking. Tummy time still isn't her favorite but she tolerates it and she is getting a really strong neck. It's all happening so fast!

Here are a few pictures from this week. Mommy waited a little too close to nap time to take pictures so we didn't get a real smile.

School Is In Session

This past Saturday my sister threw her best friend a baby shower and I got to help out. As I have mentioned before we love to throw parties. Rachel is wonderfully creative and we often feed off of each other with ideas. This shower was a Back to School theme. Tawni is a fourth grade elementary school teacher and loved the idea.

Below are some of the photos from the day.

Rachel made the invitations to look like a chalkboard and the inside warned guests not to be tardy.

I made the flower vases using water bottles, crayons, and a little hot glue.

The schedule was displayed for the guests to see when they arrived.

We had carrots and dip for snack time.

Rachel put alphabet paper and buses on mini water bottles.

We served lunch in paper bags with each guests name on it; peanut butter and jelly, go-gurt, chips, apple slices, and a little can of coke.

Tawni opened gifts during Show and Tell. This is Tawni's second boy, so I wrote a little poem for the inviation:


As Tawni prepares to raise two boys,
She does not need many clothes or toys.
For items she needs just take a look,
But when in doubt just bring a book!
Animals that talk and history too,
Any storybook with pictures will do.
Let's fill up the shelf with books they need,
To teach the little ones to love to read!



Rachel did a great job with dessert. We put out a platter of cookies and she served milk in mini milk bottles with striped straws.

Below is by far my favorite thing at the shower. Rachel made alphabet flash cards to display. Now granted, she will eventually use them in Caleb's bedroom, but they were a great addition to the party. She once again used her trusty Cricket machine. The Cricket may be nifty and handy, but it sure doesn't make things quicker. I know this project took quite a while.

I loved them so much, I have asked Rachel to make Lily a set for Christmas.


To thank each guest for coming, we sent each one home with a homemade carmel apple.


Congratulations Tawni - we can't wait to hear the name you have chosen for your second little blessing.

Family Dinner

While visiting my parents we had a big family dinner for everyone to see the little ones and visit. Mom made a wonderful feast and Grandma (G.G.) and Grandpa came over as well as my brother.

Here is Uncle Bud, a.k.a J. Thomas, a.k.a. Jeff, a.k.a. J.T., a.k.a Jeffrey Dogfood, with Lily. The profound statement of the night was when Bud said, "Babies are so . . . little."

Mom at Dinner
Lily hung out in the corner in her I Heart Grandma and Grandpa outfit.

Caleb might be the happiest, most easy going baby I have ever met.

Grandma holding Lily.

After dinner we broke out the old slide projector and laughed as we looked back into our childhood.

The picture above is from Bud's first birthday.

Next time we get together we are going to bust out the old home videos.

First Plane Ride

This last week Rachel and I took our little ones, three total, up to Sacramento . . . via airplane. We went back and forth trying to decide if we should drive or fly up. Both options had pros and cons. But airline tickets went on sale and we decided that the amount of time saved on the drive, especially with stopping to feed and letting a 2 year old stretch his legs, would be worth the price of tickets.

Just a word to any flying moms, you have to verify your child's age. I thought if she was on my lap, and by the size of my daughter, you could tell she was under two years of age. If my sister hadn't prepared me, I would have missed my flight. We took our birth certificates with us and were fine but you can also bring your immunization card. Which made me feel like I was bringing my dog along and had to verify she had had all of her shots.

I'm usually a pretty calm flyer, but I was really nervous about getting all of our things and children through the airport. However, it was a Tuesday, and the airport was relatively empty. Security was pretty easy, except when they tried to put Rachel's double stroller through the x-ray machine. It's pretty big and we have dubbed it "The Limo". The Limo holds both infant seats so we got a lot of questions about twins.

All three kiddos did wonderful on the flight. Rachel and I each carried our babies in slings for the flight up, but the flight home wasn't full and everyone got their own seat.

Brendan watching Mickey in the airport waiting for the plane.

Lily and Caleb stretching out before they napped in the slings.

All smiles waiting for the plane.

Lily with her scrunched up neck - I promise she is cute in real life.

I love this picture even though it is blurry. It shows how in the move Brendan is . . . all of the time. But he did amazingly on the plane.

Caleb in his seat.

Lily was an excellent passenger. She slept the entire time.

Mommyhood

Yesterday my sister asked me if I thought being a mom was hard. At first thought, my answer is “No, it's not hard.” But my follow up to that is that it is by no means easy. In 6 short weeks my life has completely changed. I will never just grab my keys and purse and run. Even if I am not taking Lily with me, I make sure everything is settled and in order. I do a load (if not two or three) of laundry every day whereas I used to only do laundry on the weekend. Kevin and I have each been pooped on a handful of times in the past few weeks. Even cleaning house has become completely different. I no longer do the whole house in one day. I am cleaning every day simply because I only have the option to do a piece at a time. I didn't not realize how interactive I would need (or want) to be with her. She and I sit on the floor talking and giggling. Even when she is on the counter while I wash dishes, I move slower because I talk to her as I move about.

I am not new to babies. I was fourteen when my brother was born and I clearly remember helping out with baby stuff. I have babysat children and nieces and nephews for years. I knew how to hold babies, and change them, and heat a bottle, and swaddle them. What I was not prepared for was parenting issues. Pacifier, thumb, or nothing? How long do I let her cry it out? Do I even want to let her cry it out? What do I do when she hates tummy time? Do I want to choose when she naps or just let her indicate to me when she is tired? Is it too early to set a routine? Do I want to do straight breast milk or include formula? How long do I want to breast feed? Questions that have no right answer.

When I discussed the idea of “Mommying” being hard with a friend, she asked me about the difficult questions or situations that had already come up; such as the spitting up incidents and me freaking out a little (or a lot). But the thing is Mommying can be like my other job; things come up that are trying, or difficult, and may make me cry, but I wouldn't describe my other job as hard. But both jobs, Mommying and Financial Aid, each have a learning curve with trying situations that I don't always know the answer to.

My Mother-In-Law told me the other day that I was calm and at very at ease (maybe even graceful) and that this rubbed off on Lily. My doctor said the same thing this week. I would never describe myself this way (and I don't think Kevin would either) but I have to admit I think I am a lot more relaxed than I was 10 years ago. I have mentioned God's perfect timing many times, but I think God has been preparing me for parenthood for the past few years. Relaxing me a little and calming my spirit. A few years ago my friend Katie told me that you can't be selfish as a mom. Your time, body, emotions, and possessions are no longer your own. I think she even mentioned she couldn't even remember that last time she had her own ice cream without having to share. I'm not old, but I'm not as young as I once was and I think it has helped me to ease into having Lily around and not freaking out every day (just occasionally.)

Additionally, I'm not doing this alone. Kevin is a great daddy who absolutely loves his little girl. He scoops her up every minute he can. They have Daddy Date Nights on Thursday evenings and even though it hasn't gone as smoothly as he would have liked, I have never received a phone call or text in panic. He wants to learn about babies and wants desperately to be close to his daughter. Beyond my amazing support at home, I am surrounded by great mommies. This is, again, where God's timing is not my own. My sister and best friend were one of the firsts of their friends to have kids, which means they didn't have a huge support network that they could call on to say “Hey, what do you do when . . .” I probably text my mom, Rachel, or Bethany daily to ask an opinion and advice. Sometimes I ask all three just to hear different opinions.

I don't always know what I am doing, but hey, what firstborn child wasn't the Guinea pig of their parents parenting. I turned out okay (in my opinion.) But without the support of my husband and the godly mothers I surround myself with, this would probably be a lot harder. I am blessed by these women.

October 4

Today this Mommy decided she needed to move a little more. I bundled Lily up and we went for a walk around the neighborhood. It was nice a cool today; much different than the 113 we had last Monday. We did two laps which should be close to two miles, maybe a little less. Lily does really well in the stroller. She looks around for a while and then dozes off for a while; she is really content most of the time.

After our walk (and morning nap) Lily got a bath. Her hair is starting to fall out, starting with the front first. Thus, her hair does funny things. Today I think she looked like a Kewpie Doll.

This afternoon she hung out with Grandma Peggy (I don't have any pictures) while I went to the doctor. Grandma was holding her when I left, and was holding her in the same chair when I returned. She swears she didn't hold her the whole time, although I know she would have liked to.

Then this evening, Lily helped me make enchiladas. Again, she hangs out in the chair really well. Today though, she started talking back to me. I'm sure I sound like a crazy person explaining to a five week old how to make enchiladas, but it is apparently working since she is beginning to babble back at me.

We have fun together.

Pacifiers and Thumbs

On Thursday I put out the question to a few friends about pacifiers. There are multiple theories but the pacifier has been great for us. At about 2 or 3 weeks, Lily really wanted to suck even though she wasn't hungry. After trying a couple, we found one that worked; it soothed and helped her fall asleep. Now in week 5, she cries when it falls out of her mouth as she is falling asleep. So the question came, do I keep putting the pacifier back in when she cries, or do I let her learn to soothe herself and put herself to sleep? I chose to put the pacifier back in; mostly for my sanity.


The next morning, I found that she had pulled her arms out of the swaddle, and was sucking on her thumb. Not her fist, but her actual thumb.

Now I have to decide if I want to let her soothe herself with her thumb, and break the habit later, or continue with the pacifier knowing that I may need to put it back in, but it means she isn't sucking her thumb. Thumbs are cute, they always have it with them, and it doesn't drop on the ground and get dirty. However, I am a perfect example that thumb sucking can lead to expensive dental work - I had to have braces to fix my severe overbite due (in part) to my thumbsucking.

Later in the day, however, I watched her bring her fist up to her mouth and knock the pacifer out so she could put her thumb in. This decision may not be so cut and dry.

Later she tried desperately to get to her thumb. We took a short video for Pe-Pa who often feels he gets left out with the pix messages.

We'll see what happens.