It's Time to Swim!

Big ol' Belly!

Lily got to go swimming at Flynn's yesterday. They have this awesome "kiddie pool." I had to squat to keep from drowning so I am not sure we can call it Kiddie but it is somewhere in between. I have to say letting her borrow my bikini was a good move. She filled it out nicely! Her little pot belly is adorable. She had just eaten so it was especially large. She loves bath time so I assumed she would love swimming. I was right. She just floated around with me. It was a perfect day for it too. Very overcast so I did not have to worry about the sun being too much for her. We only stayed in a little bit but she loved it. We will definitely be going back.

Mommy and Lily

Mommy, Lily, and Flynn

I also took Lily to a my Chi Omega alumni meeting. She slept through the whole thing! But I am sure absorbed lots of greek knowledge in her sleep.
My little Chi O


Today she was looking especially cute so I snapped a few pictures of us hanging out.


Mommy and Lily hanging out

A little giggle during tummy time

Strike a Pose!

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7 weeks

We got our first 'nongas' smile today! And she was grinning most of the day. I even got a picture of it. She smiled at me making faces at her and on the playmat today. ADORABLE! Of course she would only smile at me, when Michael got home it was a no go. I will say I have noticed a definite preference for her Momma. Although it makes me very happy, it will prove to be a nuisance later. I have never had a person prefer me over Michael! I mean the dogs even love him more.

She also noticed her feet today. She didn't actually grab them but she seemed like she might being trying to get her brain to make contact. She mainly just gazed at them in confusion while they wiggled. Here is a video of her examination.

I did a psuedo weighing of her today and she is pushing over twelve pounds now. And my back and arms are agreeing! I think I pulled my back out trying to get the carseat out the other day. Whew...I might need to cut back her portions on breastmilk. She is turning into a chunky monkey. Well I will say that chubby babies are really cute so there is one advantage. Her cuteness is increased by Mommy's suffering. The things we do for our kids...

Tonight we take her to our first non-family babysitter for the evening. Our neighbor is being nice enough to watch her while we head to the Maroon 5 concert. I hope she does well. Having a neighbor willing to watch her will be a godsend. More importantly I hope that I get to test out my new Milkscreen Test Strips! I am a huge Adam Levine fan so I hope it is a good time.

Here are some pics from the week
Mommy and Lily

Whatchu talking bout Willis?

Another smile!

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The Best Invention EVER!

***update...bought some today. Now to start drinking in order to test them***

What every breastfeeding woman needs. I will be purchasing these for all new moms from now on.....

In just two minutes, milkscreen™ quickly and accurately analyzes breast milk for alcohol. Every mother is unique so, naturally, the way our bodies metabolize alcohol is unique, too. Metabolizing alcohol depends on several factors including body weight, type of alcohol consumed, and food intake so milkscreen™ was created to eliminate those variables.

Milkscreen™ also helps ensure that the alcohol concentrated in Mom's breast milk is not at a level that may have negative impacts on Baby. Studies have shown infants consuming breast milk with alcohol concentrations at approximately 30mg/dl, or 0.03%, and higher have exhibited distinctive changes in feeding behavior and sleep. Babies consume less if the milk contains alcohol and they also sleep less and wake more frequently. We've set the milkscreen™ test to show a color change at 0.02% to help Mom stay within recommended feeding guidelines.

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Playmat Fun!

We had an exciting week! Our first big accomplishment being that Lily rolled over from her tummy to her back on Thursday!! I have the SMARTEST CHILD IN THE WORLD! Don't be jealous. We are convinced it was by complete accident but she did it none the less. I think I scared her when I screamed from excitement because she started crying right after but I was soooo proud. I am an obnoxious parent and called Grandma and a few friends to brag. She is sorta scooting during tummy time as well. Now if I can only get her to start doing the dishes....

This happened on her aquarium playmat while we were doing tummy time Thursday evening. Remember the playmat from loserville? While playing we noticed she started showing interest in the attached mirror (oh boy the one good toy that comes with this thing). So on Friday my friend Steph and I went to a big consignment sale (my new favorite thing to do!). I had the intention of looking for a cooler playmat, some mirrors, and a crib soother. I purchased two mirror toys, a hokey pokey elmo (more for mommy's entertainment-I'm hoping to work it into my new workout plan), a few music toys and a stack of books. I decided against the playmat mainly because of selection and the ability to return it if it sucked as bad as my first one (which I got at a consignment sale). So I did a little research and went to Target today to buy one with a giftcard I received. I got the Baby Einstein Seek and Discover playmat. IT ROCKS. Handsdown. It is fifty bucks but it ROCKS! These playmats are a racket, but if it entertains her long enough for me to get a pee break and fold some towels...SOLD! This playmat is what I imagine a child on mind altering drugs would see. It has this crazy star, light up, music blaring contraption that Lily is transfixed by. When I took her out from under it she cried. AND she seemed to be talking to it. This week she started making noises other than distressed crying. It came with a handful of toys and the addicting star, but I added a few toys with some extra links I had received. So THAT'S what your suppose to do with all those baby toys I had no idea what to do with. You dangle them from exspensive playmats. I hooked even more onto the mat and let her go at it. The entertainment lasted a pretty long while in babyworld. I would say at least 15 minutes? Michael and I are convinced the thing gives her gas though. Everytime we put her under it today she start farting REALLY loud. Although not as loud as she did in Walmart the other day when the lady in the aisle looked at me like I did it. How embarrassing. Here is a video of her getting her star fix...

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6 Weeks

Maternity Leave is officially half over. Sadness on so many levels. Michael laughs at me whenever we talk about putting her in daycare because I get a little misty eyed....

A few six weeks milestones
-Can hold head up with some control for short periods of time.
-Focuses and follows people/objects with her eyes.
-Recognizes Mommy by sight and voice.
-Sleeps about 5-6 hour long stretches at night.
-More spontaneous smiling.
-Enjoys bathtime and playmat time.
-Is going down for bed fairly easily at a scheduled time.

Lily and I survived our night at home without Daddy. It actually wasn't that bad. She was easy at her night feedings and slept well so I wasn't too crazy. But we were happy to have him back on Thursday.

This weekend we had some family and friends in town. Meg and Brooke came to visit on Friday afternoon. Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Tanya and cousin Morgan came to visit of Friday night. It was funny to see the girls together. They are a month apart but not too much different in size. We all went out to dinner and the girls were great. Lily slept through the experience as usual.

On Saturday morning I woke Michael up for Lily's two o'clock feeding since I had not gone to bed until 1! I was a sleepy Momma. He turned down the monitor so I wouldn't continue to hear her cry while he tended to her. The problem being he forgot to turn the monitor volume back up. Well this leads to my first I am a horrible mother story. Since we had company the nursery door was shut as was our bedroom. Well when Lily woke up at her normal five o'clock neither of us heard her. So she continued to scream and Grandma finally got up to take care of her. She screamed for me and I didn't come! It was awful. Luckily there was milk in the fridge and Grandma just fed and cuddled her as she drifted back off. Michael woke me up a few hours later and told me what happened and I ran down stairs to hold her. I felt like a terrible mother! But as you can tell this was all Michael's fault! He didn't turn the monitor back up! I blame him. But what can you do? Exhaustion leads to deaf ears.

All the girls (minus Lily..Mommy needs breaks too) went shopping on Saturday. I got Lily the most adorable outfits. At one point I had purchased four bathing suits for our August beach trip. Yes I took some back...and by some I mean one. Every girl needs a few bikinis and a one piece for those chunky days.

On Saturday evening Craig came and we had a few other people over. She was an angel as always and went down at nine and slept until everyone left/went to bed at two. It was great adult time. I actually got to drink some wine and hang out. Of course for the two o'clock feeding I pumped and dumped since I didn't stop after a glass or two :) It was awesome to have a drink again.

Here a few adorable pictures from the weekend.

Tummy time!

Hanging out with Dave

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A day without Daddy

Today is Lily and I's first night at home without Michael. It has been an interesting day. Lily pretty much slept all day (see above)which means tonight should be AWESOME without his help. The only time she did not sleep was when I attempted to leave the house and go shopping...then she screamed most of the time. So I became the mortified parent running out of Old Navy. But not without an adorable jean skirt for Lily that was on sale for five dollars.

We did entertain ourselves by sending Daddy picture messages of us. Then Lily laid in her vibrating chair for about an hour. Then I entertained her with her toy. Here is a video of her playing with it today.

I am going to end the night with a little bath time, play time and then story time. All this week we have started putting her down at nine with a bottle and stories. I have previously been giving baths during the day but she will be getting them at night when I go back to work so this is our attempt at a schedule! This will be the first night time bath so we have to start a little earlier than nine. By then maybe I can lay down and prepare myself for the long night ahead. This should be fun.....WE MISS DADDY!

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5 Weeks

We had Lily's 1 month check up this morning. She is a whoppin' 10 pounds and 5 ounces and still 21 inches long. That equals out to the 50th percentile for weight and 25th for height. The doctor said she is gaining weight great so apparently the breastfeeding is going well. I feel a huge weight lifted off my shoulders.

This week we had a few parent milestones. This was actually our first weekend at home with no visitors from out of town. So I went out with a girlfriend for lunch and a movie on Saturday while Michael stayed home with Lily. I believe this may have been his first time alone with her with no one else in the house. I was gone about four hours. Surprisingly enough she survived! Michael has a bad habit of just shoving a bottle in her mouth if she gets fussy which leads to supplementing with formula. I had left two bottles of breastmilk and that was all he had given her and even had a little bit left. I was a little shocked that he hadn't pumped a whole can of formula in her on top for the breastmilk. He will definitely be the one giving her cookies when mom isn't looking.

What surprised me the most about going out on Saturday was how I felt. I really needed to go to the make up store but decided to head home. In a hurry nonetheless. I missed her like crazy! It was some freaky force pulling me back home with a quickness. And then when I saw her I was so excited! She had been asleep most of the morning before I left so we didn't get to spend any QT. So that afternoon felt like I had not seen her in days. I picked her up immediately and held her for hours with a huge surge of emotion for her. (aka hormones) It's like I'm a crazy woman. Nature...its a bitch.

Michael got to go out two days this week. One night after work for drinks and on Sunday he went and played golf for most of the day. Needless to say he did not have the crazy hormone surges about leaving that I did. He leaves her everyday! So he didn't care. But I did care about him not being there around dinner time which never fails is her fussiest time of day. I looked it up and it is actually called the "witching hour" most kids are fussy during this time and it correlates with a decrease in your milk supply. Its weird!

This weekend Lily also got her first bath from Daddy! I usually do them during the day. He had only assisted in the sponge bath weeks twice, and never with the big girl method. Michael performed well although he doubted his ability. Here are a few shots of them. He even picked out her outfit!





We also took her to work to meet our friends. On Thursday I took her to both places and she stayed awake forever! She was completely mesmerized by the lights in the hallways. It is like baby crack. She behaved so well, it made me proud. I think I figured it out she only slept for about four hours that day besides bedtime. But because we were gone so long I did not pump or feed which leads to my next topic....

Clogged milk ducts! Who knew this happened?! Do they sell drano for boobs? How do you unclog it? How do you know you have one? Well On Thursday I noticed I had a blinding headache. I get migraines but this was different. Almost like a really bad hangover. I just kinda pushed it off and sucked it up. Well it kept me up most of the night (even after Tylenol) and then I had it on Friday as well. Well on Friday it finally dawned on me...I have a fever! I never get fevers. I can be really sick and no fever. But this is usually my sign that I have one. I get them so infrequently that I always forget this fact. I tried to take my temp but nothing so I am thinking okay its probably a low grade fever..maybe I am getting sick. Well Lily was fussy most of Friday and that night. I didn't know why. Then that night when I pumped I noticed I was only getting about half the normal amount of milk I produce. (I feed during the day and pump at night) So I started feeling around and sure enough I felt a knot inside my boob! Its creepy, like finding cancer! Ugh. So I looked up how to get rid of it (it is 2am by the way). I put a warm compress on it...start rubbing it....heating pad.....more Tylenol (my head still hurts) and try to go back to sleep. Everything says get lots of rest and pump alot. I get up every two hours to pump. Finally on Saturday it seems to go away and I started feeling better. But I swear for 24 hours I just walked around and rubbed myself! Quite entertaining. Apparently skipping feedings causes this. Well I learned my lesson. I am still sore but I am thinking it is from my intense massaging efforts. You know I finally get this feeding thing down and this happens...crappy luck I guess. Or lack of education :)

This week I will be home alone with Lily while Michael goes to Jersery on business. Oh NO! Will I survive? Stay tuned....

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4 weeks

I cannot believe it has been four weeks already! Maternity leave is going by so fast, and Lily has changed so much. She is focusing more on objects and looking at us more and more intently. She always has the beautiful look of amazement on her face at everything.

This week I have been working on not holding her as much to get her to sleep. It is going really well at night. During the day sometimes it feels like I cannot put her down without a crying tantrum. Most nights we can lay her down groggy and she will go to sleep. She is going down about 11 pm and getting up at 2am and 5am and then sleeping til about 9am. So really only once a night if you consider 5am is not that much earlier than normal work waking hours. When I put her down at her 2am feeding she can usually soothe herself back to sleep. The key is not to let her get into a full fledge scream prior to her feeding. AKA don't let her get too hungry.

We also broke out the playmat this week. She is semi interested. I think she would be more interested if we had a cooler playmat. Our doesn't do much. Actually other than a fish that sings for about 10 seconds it does nothing. We have to do all the work. So I am thinking of getting a new one. Here is a short video of her playing.


Here are some 4 week pictures

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Two and Three Weeks

Sleeping just like Daddy!

I have been a slacker for a few weeks so I will give a lengthier update this week....

We have had a busy few weeks. Some challenges, some milestones! First things first. As many of you know breastfeeding has been a nightmare for Lily and I. Basically anytime I tried to feed her she screamed in terror! I guess I would scream too if a huge boob was shoved in my face. We saw the lactation consultant as earlier mentioned but her weight was still not what the doctor wanted to see. So I have been freaking out for weeks trying to get weight on her, which eventually lead to her refusing to nurse at all and me having to pump and supplement with formula last weekend. But on a brighter note when I took her to the doctor the following Monday she had gained 8 ounces in 5 days. Finally after a five day nursing strike she all of a sudden started nursing like a champ! It was weird. Because she had gained so well the doc has released us until her one month check up on the 14th so I am not sure how it is "really" going but with patience on my part (aka hour + feeding sessions) she seems to be satisfied. I guess the true test will be next week when they weigh her. Right now I am feeding most of the day and pumping at night. I admit I just don't have the patience for hour long feeding sessions in the middle of the night. I want to do whatever is going to get me back in bed asleep the quickest. My only complaint is a little bit of pain associated with her having a shallow latch sometimes. If this doesn't get better in the next few days I will make another appointment with the consultant. But I want to give her a little longer to get into her groove.

I have to say the whole breastfeeding thing is stressful and really does make you feel like your baby hates you at times. Like when she flails and screams at your boob! But it is worth it. Because I am so proud when she does do it and I feel like its guaranteed bonding time. Plus she is so cute and I just get to stare at her when I nurse. I have in addition to bonding with her read like seven books in three weeks! They say the first month of breastfeeding is the hardest and most stressful and it really doesn't get better until six weeks and lord knows I believe it. But I am sticking it out!

Lily's umbilical cord finally fell off on the 29th of June so she got her first big girl bath. This did not go over as well as the first sponge bath. But after the first one she started enjoying them again. The subsequent ones have not ended like the first as demonstrated below. She loves it when you pour water over her.


This past weekend was the fourth and marked Lily's first night of semi sleeping through the night. We put her down at 11:30 after we got home from a 4th of July BBQ and she did not wake until 5am! I was so proud! Of course it could have been the margarita I drank that kept her out but hey its a blessing none the less! She was really cute on the fourth!


Here are some catch up pictures..
Two Weeks



Three Weeks

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