Happy Birthday Lyla!

Today Lyla is 1 month old! She now weighs 8 lbs 6.5 oz and is 20 inches long. It's amazing how much she's grown in just 4 short weeks. Just yesterday she was able to roll from her tummy to her side - although I'm not so sure she enjoyed it! She's also been better able to focus on mommy and daddy's face and a few other interesting objects. Did I mention last time that she loves the ceiling fan! And just a few days ago, Lyla teared up for the first time :( She had a pretty rough weekend battling oral thrush, a fairly common infection seen in infants. Fortunately, it only took a few days of medicine before she started feeling better. Even better news - Lyla tends to only wake up once in the middle of the night to feed and then again in the early morning (usually between 6:30 and 7:30am). Mommy and daddy are very thankful for that!

After four weeks, we've finally been able to settle into a routine - sort of :) Let's just say it's a flexible routine. As a new stay-at-home mom, I've really been striving to embrace the monotony of the routine - at times I feel like it's GroundHog Day every 2 hours. Feed her, change her, play with her, put her down for a nap, pump - and then do it all over again. Aggghh! But, then I'm reminded of a few things: 1)This phase is temporary 2) Appreciate and savor every precious (and not so precious) moment that I have with Lyla - I'll never get it back 3) Find joy even in the most mundane tasks - like washing bottles for the 6th time today! On the other hand, I wouldn't change where I'm at for the world. I get to experience every little moment with her. Watching her learn about her world and grow into her own little person is fascinating. And her little coos just melt my heart!

We now have a full appreciation for how hard parenting is - you give every ounce of yourself to your child and it's exhausting! But, wow - we've never done anything more meaningful in our lives. Recently we've been enjoying playing on her activity mat, tummy time, going on short walks in her stroller (thanks to the sunny Texas winters), reading with Daddy, and hanging out with Ditty and Ginger. Every day with Lyla has been a wonderful adventure and an amazing blessing. We can't wait to see how she grows over the next several weeks!

New Year, New Beginnings

It's hard to believe, but Lyla turned 2 weeks old yesterday! I spent some time earlier today reflecting on our labor experience and finished writing it down (before I forgot it all!) and I'm just amazed at how time has already flown by. The last few days, Lyla has been more alert and curious about her surroundings, drawn to the overhead lights, the fan, and her leaf mobile above her changing table. She's also enjoyed some floor time with mommy and daddy, looking at herself (or something) in the mirror. Of course, she loves to be close and be cuddled by her family throughout the day. And she loves her sleep - so much so that we have to pull out all measures to wake her for a feeding!

A few things we've learned about our daughter's growing personality: She's a very happy baby and content most of the day. But, she's also very vocal about the things she does not like ie. being swaddled at night, having her diaper changed, and taking a bath! She is both strong physically and strong-willed (or stubborn). You guys can guess who she got that wonderful trait from :) She's an absolute joy and we are loving being her mommy and daddy!

Michael and I are handling this new parenting thing pretty well...nights of course, being the most challenging time. It's amazing how much sleep you can give up and still feel mostly together during the day. And all those baby books I read during my pregnancy - out the window. There's nothing like real life, in the moment challenges to make you forget everything you're "supposed" to do. Luckily, when I've felt overwhelmed or unsure of how to handle something I've been able to refer to my resources pretty quickly. It doesn't take long for me to feel confident again and reassured that we're doing a pretty good job for 1st timers. The hardest part I think is just remembering that we're not perfect and we may not get it right the first time. We just have to trust our instincts, seek help when we need it, rest when we can, and love on our baby girl.

Click on this link to view pictures of Lyla's first 2 weeks!