Tuesday Ramblings

A Lilly List

1. She likes to lay on her dad and sleep.

2. She's got some baby acne - well actually a scary sounding rash. But Regina put some Cortisone on, and it seems to be getting better.

3. She likes to sit on her dad and type on the computer.

4. She really enjoys playing on her jungle gym. She's taken to looking at the monkey, kicking the green crocodile, and staring at herself in the orange sun mirror.

5. She enjoys her baths - she's taken to the warm water and doesn't cry when we inadvertently get the Johnson and Johnson No tear shampoo in her eyes.

6. And she's got the best yawn. So sweet and it makes the best sound.

Some ramblings on Monday

Note to self - when I feel something warm pooling on my leg, generally it means its pooling there because it is. Not because its pooling in something else or on someone else. I was feeding Lilly, had her sitting on one of the beige throw pillows, and in retrospect she must have been half sitting on it and half on me. And She had been trying to poop all morning. She'd been straining, her face getting red, her grunting, then she gets her poo face, a coo erupts out of her, and she gives this half smile. I must get it on tape, but that's the cycle. Well like I said, the pooping had been a goal of hers all morning. She awoke at 6, she fed, tried to poo. No go. Then she went down for a nap. I went off to see Dr. Ross for my 6 week postpartum check up. I am medically cleared for exercise and will see the doctor in a month for my annual check up. Go figure.

Anyway. No poop while I was gone. She did spit up on Mark, got his collar, cuff, and front pocket. And they say breast milk doesn't stain. It's at the dry cleaners now - we'll see! If not, we'll just put it on her tab! Yesterday had a 70 percent chance of rain, so we went for a walk as soon as I got back. Sun was out. And we wanted to take advantage of it, so she and I went around the neighborhood, made it to Audubon Park, did a short circuit, I was getting hot (in Khaki pants and black t-shirt, not the smartest walking outfit) so I imagined she must be hot as well. I needed to pick up some Diet Cokes and Tony Chacheres seasoning, so we walked to Langensteins. The stroller has a bottom component that works awesome has a cart. So I can put the diaper bag in there, Perfect size. And yesterday put the groceries (ended up with 4 bags of frozen vegetables, 2 broccoli, 1 peas, 1 green bean, strawberry jelly, bananas, and Tony Chacheres) in the bottom and Diet Cokes on top, below the stroller can bar.

She had fallen asleep while we were walking but once we got to Langenstein's and the blast of cold air conditioning hit her, she awoke. She just took it all in. That's such an amazing thing about her - the natural inquisitiveness. She just looks at everything. It's probably overstimulating, as evidence by her fighting sleep sometimes. So she was just looking around the aisles (or at least that's what it appeared to me, I'm not sure if she developmentally could be looking at the aisles!). And once I amassed the groceries, we went to check out. The cashier asked how old she was, I said 6 weeks. And then she took a look at her. And I saw the poo face. She was straining and then moved to the smile. The cashier said her nephew did the same thing. So I knew the poo was coming.

Well she held out until we got home. And I was thinking she would go down for a longer nap, but nope, she didn't entertain the same notion. So we played. She ate. And she strained and smiled some more. And then she acted like she wanted more to eat so I offered it to her, she rebuffed but definitely was gassy and still need to poop. I held her up, and like I said she was half sitting on the throw pillow and on me. And after some straining, time sort of stops, I don't know how long this went on, you hear this 'Splat/Squirt' and you know mission accomplished. Well it's like sneezes for some people, you know how some come in three. Well her poos rarely arrive alone, and are most accompanied by two or three squirts. And this was no exception. And it didn't feel or sound like anything out of the ordinary. And like I said, even with the warm liquid, I just thought it was in her diaper.

So it wasn't until I pulled her up that I saw the destruction. Poo on her, poo on her leg, poo on the pillow, poo on my khaki pants. Disaster!Talk about an explosive diaper. This was crazy. I think about changing her downstairs but then think against it - I'd have to wash and then drip dry the cover on the napper, so I go upstairs, change her on the changing pad (the cover can go in the dryer - much more practical) and this way I am close to her clothes, as she will need a new outfit and socks. But before going upstairs, I take off my pants, so now I am pantless to change her. So now, or from yesterday on, I've kept a bib cloth near by, especially as she strains and smiles, to put on the pillow, as she sits. But thank goodness for the Nature's Miracles Natural Stain Remover from Aunt Bitsy - this thing works wonders. Sprayed it all over everything and voila - stains come out in the wash.

In addition to being an excellent and not to mention regular pooper - we're starting to play a reach game with her. Mark will put an item in her hand and we will try to get her to hold onto it. Now it's a couple of her stuffed animal blankets, it's not the best grasp, but she's learning!

A six week review

It's hard to believe that six weeks tonight Lilly Rose came into this world. 6 weeks at 11:08PM. It's a bit surreal as I write this email, once again watching golf, this time, it's not a major tournament, but it is the beginning of the Fed Ex Playoffs, so it shows the passage of time. Lilly Rose is bigger and the pro golfers are in the playoffs! It's been a wild 6 weeks. I wasn't sure how we would manage but we do. Regina, Lilly's baby nurse and our baby whisperer, was with us for the first three weeks. She, plus my parents and Mark's parents, showed us the ropes. But it was Regina, we credit, with getting her on a schedule, and really, us on a schedule. We do a feeding about every three hours, sometimes it a little more, sometimes a little less, but all depends on her, and her nap. Regina also showed us that we won't hurt the baby, that its ok to hold the child and not fear that you are going to snap her little neck. In the beginning, I know I was so timid, almost holding her at bay, afraid she would break. If she needed to burp, it was light taps on the back. I would look over at Regina or my mom, and it was thumps! I thought, how can they be doing this to her? Won't it hurt her? Nope. In fact got the burp up faster then my little pats. Now I thump. I hold her stomach and thump. None of this patting stuff, that's only reserved for when we cuddle.

But we are doing well, a little sleep deprived, but that's just our new normal. It's hard though, the exhaustion brings out the anxiety, more so in me than in Mark, and that doesn't always make for a good combination. I've been trying to do a better job of resting when she sleeps. It's not perfect, but what is? And we're getting a bedtime routine down, we used to bathe her in the morning but now we do it at night, she likes her bath, and now seems to recognize it means she will then get swaddled, eat, read stories and then say our prayers. All leading up to bedtime.

In terms of Mark and I, we've managed to get away for dinner. We had bad Mexican food at Superior Grill, though we were both so tired, we kind of felt we should have sent Lilly Rose out with Mo and Mel, and we would stay home and sleep. But we did enjoy getting out. Though it did feel a bit weird not to have her with us. We're also trying to have our dinners together once she goes down. Sometimes it works and other times it doesn't. One of us will hold her while the other eats, and then deal with her. But we're learning. That's the best thing to say. We're all learning together and about one another. We can detect cries, we feel confident we know her tired, her hungry, and her wet/soiled diaper cry. Sometimes she just cries or screams, and we don't know which category it fits into, but we do our best. We've taken loads of pictures and some video. And we've gotten used to listening to both NPR and her noises at night (we keep the radio on at night because a) she's used to it by now, and b) we want her to become comfortable falling asleep to and with noise - A Regina technique). But I can see some instances of Lilly becoming a Daddy's girl - like last night for example, Mark went to her room, because she was crying, but she was supposed to be napping. We looked at the monitor couldn't really detect why she should be up, but he made the trek upstairs. As soon as he said "Lilly" and she heard his voice, she quieted down. Not a peep. He put the pacifier back in her mouth, and she settled back into her slumber. When she was waking up from her nap, I went to get her, I said her name, and she continued to cry. So Mark's got the magic and smooth voice. She's been cooing for about a week now, and we're getting more smiles, though they seem to be all gas or poo related.

And in terms of bodily waste, we've gotten so comfortable with spit up, pee, poo, etc. No more phasing us. I remember early on, being jealous that she spit up on Mark (don't ask why) and not on me. And now it's almost a weird day if she doesn't get some sort of spit up on a shirt. I've got my shirts that are in rotation but sometimes, if it's just a little bit, I keep it on and change before bed. It's just a little sour milk smell. We've had poo on us, on her, on the car seat and even on our bed spread (this was from an explosive diaper Friday afternoon). But Aunt Bitsy, who has had to deal with dog vomit, poo and pee (even dog vomit in her purse while driving the backroads of Arkansas) gave us some Natural Stain Remover and it's like gold. Gets everything out - even the poo on our white comforter. So that doesn't phase us.

I go back to Dr. Ross tomorrow morning, for the 6 week postpartum check up. My hormones have been out of whack - I've had my fair share of hot flashes and emotional breakdowns. I've been told it's normal, as it takes, my mom says, almost ten months to have a baby, you can't expect to bounce back in just two weeks. Getting out of the house helps. Though I don't do it as much as I should, I am going to try and make it a goal to at least get out with her and go for a walk everyday. Even if its just for ten minutes, the fresh air and sun does help. Friday I found myself in a panic but made it through. She seemed to sense that I needed some comfort and just laid on my chest. I tried to breathe with her, but that didn't work, so I just worked on my own.

And tonight is the 6 week celebration of her birth, and we are cracking open the CakeBread Chardonnay. A celebration indeed! To Love, Life, Family, Friends, and Lilly!

It seems like all there is is Poo

So it seems like bodily functions are all I write about these days. Well Lilly Rose's bodily functions. If it's not spit up, it's urine, if it's not urine, it's poo. If it's not poo, then vomit. It feels like one of those conditional statements from geometry, if not x, then y. If angle A is congruent to Angle B, then something happens. I can't remember - I think the interior angles are equal. It's got something to do with 45 degrees or maybe that's with a right triangle. Anyway, I digress. But what else is new?

Anyway, Mark was giving Lilly her bath last night - his first time, so we videotaped it - yes, it seems like we document everything, it's all so new and exciting. Mark's dad told us to keep some of the excitement in for the next child. And we have a bath routine - she goes in the water, I get the wash cloth, we talk, and then I start with her face. We talk about getting the milk crusties (should she have any) out, wash her cheeks, nose, forehead. Then we move onto the hair. Get it wet before putting Johnson and Johnson's shampoo and lathering it on the scalp. Then we wash it out to get to the rest of the body. It's Aveeno Lavender Body Wash that we use on her. It's nice and soothing. And it says it calms babies. What a gold mine they must have. We work that onto a lather on her skin, wash it off and then get her out of the tub.

Well, I had just started the routine with Mark, we had just talked about the face. He was wiping her forehead off, when all of sudden we heard a noise ( I wish I could explain it better than just a noise, but you have to hear it from her to get it the best) and looked down to see her excrement floating in the water. And her just as a happy as she could be - she should be, at least her stomach felt better and now she had room for her dessert when she got out of the bath. We look at each, dumbfounded and then start to laugh. This is a new one for us. We've had explosive poo in the car seat, on me, on her, in the diaper. And now her bathtub. She's gotten that as well. So she's definitely making her mark. We get her out of the tub. Mark holds her while I wash it out, and then re-run the bath water and fill her little tub. We then start the routine again, go with the face, onto the hair, then the body. And as Mark's finishing, I see some more poo, just floating, turns out while we were washing the body, she quietly let some go. At least she's regular. And feels comfortable enough to do it not just in her diaper, but out in the open with us.

Explosive Poo!

So we went to see Dr. Gorman yesterday - Lilly has had some scab-like bumps on her scalp as well as an inflamed left pointer figure ( looked like a pimple or a boil that was infected by her nail) that we wanted to get checked out. We actually noticed it Friday, called the doctor, who told us to put Neosporin on it and soak it. If it didn't get any better, she said, to come Monday. Well it looked less infected but it was still there, so after asking Mark like 5-6 times if I should call the doctor (this is Sunday night/Monday morning), I decided to call, got a 9AM appointment (this is 8:30AM now). So I packed her up, put her in the car seat, and got out the door. Normally she's been really good in the car, enjoying the motion. But no, once I backed out of the driveway, she started to wail and wail and wail. And this did not stop until I was almost to Touro - it's a seven minute drive. Took her out of the car seat base, up the 6 floors ( I took the elevator - did have a bit of a racing heartbeat but made it to the 5th floor before I felt I needed to get out and take the stairs the rest of the way. Irrational thought. As I saw someone from the elevator car get out just fine on the 6th floor.) In the waiting room, I saw why she was wailing in the car. Near the left hand side of her butt, I saw a puddle of poo, just sitting there in the car seat. Pooling there. The poo had exploded right out of her diaper. So thank goodness for changing table, extra clothes in the diaper bag (thank you mom) and lots and lots of wipes. First cleaned her up. Changed her diaper and her clothes. Then cleaned, as best as I could, the car seat. Thank goodness it's washable ( that was today's adventure - gentle cycle, drip dry). So yesterday, Lilly went through 4 outfits. We had one poo and three spit ups. I went through two shirts and one pair of pants. All in all, not too bad.

The Beach

So we took Lilly to the beach this weekend. We went with our friends Bill and Jessica and their five month son, Parker. We were either extremely adventurous or silly for bringing the infants at such a young age. But either way, it turned out well, though it was their first meeting (between Lilly and Parker), they didn't have a whole lot of interaction. Parker was more interested in Lilly - she didn't have the interest in him! Though in all fairness, she's most interested in eating, pooing, and sleeping. She is quite alert but like I said her main interests are the ones above.

The drive down was a bit of a challenge - we wanted to leave early to miss the Mobile traffic, so while Mark was able to come home for 12:15, we didn't leave the house until 1:30. I cannot tell you how much stuff we had- so many baby items - diapers, pack and play, wipes, bottles, breast pump, towels, washcloths, blankets, sound machine, sleep wedge. Just packing it all was a lot! And we even forgot things - like the bathtub, bottle caps, and Sheep Sleep. But I digress, we got off well, she ate, slept in the car. But then we encountered a bit of traffic leaving the city. And she woke up, just as we crossed the border into Mississippi. So we pulled off at the Stennis Space Center parking lot, changed her, and fed her. This turned into an one hour detour. But at least she was good to go.

We got back on I-10, was going along well for 30 miles or so and came upon bad rain showers. Hazards on. Speeds reduced to 30 mph, it was really hard to see the cars in front of us. Then once we got of the rain showers, we came up on super bad back up. We literally went 8 miles in about an hour. She slept through it all, which was a godsend. We were nervous about Mobile traffic, as we came upon it right at rush hour, but it was no big deal! We got through it no problem.

As we got off the interstate and onto Hwy. 59, she started to stir. We decided to forge ahead, to see how far we could get before pulling over to feed. She lasted about 25-30 minutes, just before we came to the Foley Beach Express. But she did a super efficient and fast feeding. No more than 20 minutes! Which was just enough time for Bill and Jessica to catch up with us. So once we made it to the Foley Beach Express, we were being followed by them.

Anyway, I am getting sidetracked. Traveling with an infant is definitely a change. Normally when we get to the beach, we head to the store, kick back, cook some dinner, drink a beer, etc. But this time, it was divide and conquer. Feed Lilly. Get her changed into sleep gown. Unpack her stuff. Put together the Pack and Play. Then send someone out to the store. Then fix dinner (I think we finally ate around 9:30-10). And then crash.

Lilly slept well. Which meant we were able to sleep well! Parker went down around 9 or so and he sleeps through the night. Lilly didn't go to sleep until about 11-11:30 but she did sleep until a little after 6. And then it was a day where she napped, ate, and enjoyed being at the beach. While we didn't venture down to the beach, we did go to the pool. We even had a hat and new towel (Small Paul, of course). So we were ready for the water. Mark went in. I brought her to the water, and first put her feet in. She didn't take to kindly to this. I told her it was just like taking a bath without the soap. She does pretty well with baths but she didn't really understand me. Because when Mark dipped her in the water, she wailed and wailed. And wailed some more. I had these hopes that because she does so well in the bath that I thought she would take to the pool, like a fish. So we took her out. Brought her upstairs and out of her wet onesie and diaper. And then she quieted down. And was ok.

Saturday was Jessica's birthday, so we went out to Franco's, which is a faux-Olive Garden. Same unlimited salad and breadsticks. And general Italian fare. Both kids did well at the restaurant. And we were even able to see some of the Saints-Texans Pre-Season game (looking like a two-dat). She didn't sleep through the night, woke up around 3:30AM, ate and went back to sleep, awoke around 8, which was nice. So after breakfast (we always seem to eat bacon at the beach - it's pretty much the only place we eat it, go figure) she ate, and then we packed (ok, Mark did the packing) and we hit the road. We wanted to take advantage of her naptime and hopefully no traffic. So a sleeping baby and a pretty much open road were ideal conditions for a Sunday drive back to NOLA (well except for the bad driver towing a car who swerved out in front of us, but we're ok, Mark has very good reflexes). But she was super good and thank goodness for her pacifier (peace pipe) as it certainly kept the peace as we came across the Louisiana border. We knew we had about 30-40 minutes left and we wanted to make it without stopping, so thank you pacifier.

Also we downloaded Carl Hiassen's new book, Star Island, and it is HYSTERICAL. We are about 6-7 chapters into it, and definitely worth reading. We need another car ride to listen to more of the book. But all in all she did well. On the way there, I only thought about asking Mark to turn the car around a couple of times (once at the rest stop and once in the hour-long back up). But we went with the flow. I let go, or as much as I could. And we made it through. And now we know that she a)hates the pool b)can survive a car ride to the beach c)has a new friend named Parker.

Lilly's One Month and One Day Celebration

Due to the vomit of the day before, we celebrated Lilly's One Month and One day Thursday. We sang Happy Month Birthday. And then I are some of the cake. Good times. Good times.

Throw Up Happens when I turn one Month

"I have something to tell you," the lady said. Clad in a blue bikini, emerging from the trees, she approaches the dirty blonde haired boy standing on the beach.

"What?" He asks. All of a sudden, the brown-haired, red halter swimsuit lady, interjects. "Nothing. She has nothing to tell you."

Undeterred, the blue bikini forges on with her confession. She moves closer to the boy. The sun is shining. She takes a deep breath.

"We're still on St. Lucia."

"What?!?!" The boy shouts, suddenly going ballistic. And all I can do is stare, stare at the tv, for a moment, wishing I was on St. Lucia, on the shores, with the sun shining. Instead, I find myself, nestled in the couch, a diaper only clad Lilly Rose snuggled on my shirt, only on the right side. The left side, you see, is covered, in her throw up.

She had been spitting up, a couple times that afternoon. I went out with her, met a girl from my prenatal yoga class, for thai food, we were near the house. I got something mild - cashew chicken. Didn't really have a lot of spice. But now it was our 6PM feeding. And she was ready for her 1st dinner.

So she's eating. She spits up, pretty bad. Enough to get on her outfit and in her neck and hair. I decide it's time for a bath. So we go upstairs, I bathe her, she smells nice and clean (got to love Johnson and Johnson baby lotion - it is such a nice, soothing smell) and she's in a new pink onesie.

I've got her in my arms, we're now back downstairs. And I should mention that I too am in a new shirt. As her previous spit ups have landed on my first shirt! So she's in my arms, I'm holding her, and we're near the island. She's been a bit fussy, but I think its probably due to gas, of which I am trying to help her get out, by burping her.

When all of a sudden, she leans back, and then comes forward, and I feel this warm liquid, falling down my left side and onto the floor. And then I look, startled, and see her covered, and me covered, and the floor has a little pile. And freaked out, I don't know what to do. She's covered. I'm freaked. She's crying. And I'm crying.

I get the onesie off of her. I call Mark, lump in my throat, as I am crying but trying not to cry, as she can sense the discomfort and that makes her even more unhappy. He asks what's going on, I say she threw up. Please come home. And then I hang up. And I take my diaper wearing baby. Hold her in my arm and find myself on the couch.

Not sure how I made it on the Lifetime Movie Network ( normally its HGTV) but I soon find myself staring at the above scene playing out, as a movie called Lovewrecked ( nice, huh?) comes over on the tv. Amanda Bynes is the blue bikini, and apparently she's concocted a story about how she, the boy (didn't recognize him) who is apparently a rock star, Jamie-Lyn Sigler (Meadow Soprano) who is the red swimsuit, became shipwrecked off their resort in St. Lucia, but turns out that they are only through the trees from their accommodations, and as you may have guessed it, both girls are fighting over the boy. But Amanda Bynes can't handle the lies anymore so she comes clean. Boy leaves and girls fight. Hurricane then ensues and lots of wind and rain come to the island, much like the storm of vomit Lilly Rose left on herself, me, and the floor.

Boy finds his way back to the resort, Amanda Bynes is rescued by her true love (she suddenly realized that she doesn't have feelings for the rock star boy but her best guy friend) And Meadow Soprano is left on her own (but she survives the hurricane).

And like the characters - Lilly and I are rescued. But by Mark. He comes in, and immediately helps out. He takes Lilly, calms her, and then calms me. It's fuzzy in retrospect. He dresses her. Get's her something to eat, as he prepares another bottle, this time, we put some gripe water in it to help her tummy out, gives her a little to eat, she takes it, keeps it down, and then goes down for a nap. I change clothes, take a picture of the vomit, clean it up, and then take a breather. Wednesday was Lilly's one month birthday and we were going to celebrate. But that night was all about going with the flow. No celebrations that night, well, except that she wasn't sick, that the throw up was probably a one time thing. And celebrating being together. So needless to say, I was glad that I wasn't in St. Lucia. Happy to be in our house on Coliseum Street, vomit and all.

New Measurements

We went Thursday for the one month check up (hard to believe she's already one month!). But all is well with Lilly Rose - she's growing like 'gangbusters' according to the doctor. She was 8 lbs 13 oz at the week check up and she's now 10 lbs 11 oz - which puts her in the 90th percentile for weight. She was also 21 1/3 inches and is now 22 1/4 inches, which puts her in the 75th-90th percentile. She's holding her head up, starting to coo, and getting used to her car seat carrier. We've taken her to temple, the library, cupcake shop and out to lunch with a friend (more on that in the next post). She's also at the beach now (two posts from now - I know, I am behind!) and did so well in the car! We were both amazed. But her face has started to fill out and she's starting to sweat, when she gets really angry and crying you can see droplets on her nose. Every now and then you can see a tear. And she's got a little rash on her face - the doctor told us the name, some medical, scary sounding name, but its really harmless, she said - which looks a bit like baby acne. We go back for two month check up on the 20th of September - at which she will get her first round of shots, it's actually one shot but with five vaccines. Not looking forward to that one!

Spit Happens, Part II

She got me again - straight down my chest. I think she surprised herself more than me - it really startled her. But I've got about 4-5 shirts in rotation, that seem to get washed every other day, that attract the baby spit up. All t-shirts. I've even stolen one from Mark and added it to my wardrobe. Anyway, we're doing well. She's exploring more with her hands, note how she's 'holding' the bottle. We've got our 1 month check up with the doctor tomorrow. We're both curious to see how much she's grown, in both weight and inches.

A busy weekend

So Lilly Rose ( and us) had a busy, busy weekend. She got out of the house several times - and Mark and I even went on a date ( no baby but we did have bad Mexican food.) We took her to dinner Thursday night - Mark's aunts, uncles, parents, and grandparents came in town. Lilly got to meet Uncles Jay and Tony and Aunts Caroyln and Sally. She even had her nails trimmed by Uncle Tony ( thank you - they are intimidating to cut, hoping that I can last until my mom comes back in September!). She did well on her dinner outing, until the end, where she got tired and hungry and started a bit of a melt down. It was cool, as I had a melt down myself about an hour before, at dinner. Hungry, tired, and full of hormones, I felt like I was panicking, like an anxiety attack was coming on, so of course, I freaked. Went into panic mode but didn't want to make a scene (probably too late) so to make a long story short, ended up breaking down in sobs in the ladies restroom of Restaurant Bacco, with Mark's mom comforting me. All was good once the tears were out and the Redfish was in my stomach - so lesson learned (and re-learned, keep the blood sugar up, eat every two hours or so, especially eat something with protein). But we made it home Thursday night, she ate and was immediately better. The power of food. And home!

Friday Mo and Mel babysat while I went out and got my nails done. And Mark, Lilly and I had Shabbat dinner. We even took Lilly out for her first ride in the stroller - we walked the three blocks to pick up pizza from Slice. And it wasn't too hot. And the SUV-like stroller maneuvered the cracked sidewalks and roads like a charm. And she really liked the motion, but she did not enjoy being put in the car seat carrier. But she made do. Check out the video of her first stroller ride.

Saturday we went to temple - for her to be presented to the congregation. She was put in her first dress - a white number with pink roses on it - it was really sweet (the mom's picked it out in June). We had four generations present and called up to the bima - so it was beautiful to see the progression, from Mark's grandparents to Lilly Rose. She slept through pretty much everything, but woke at the very end of our time on the bima. She wailed out but quieted down as soon as she was held. She was just hungry so I fed her and she was a much happier camper. Saturday night Mark's parents babysat while we went out - but sitting at dinner we realized that we should have sent them out with Lilly and we stayed home and took a nap! But we did enjoy going out, and I had a beer - my first since the pregnancy and birth. And like I said earlier, the food wasn't that great, but the company was spectacular.

Sunday we celebrated Mo's birthday with brunch. She once again got out but we were about 30 minutes late as she was quite gassy from her 2nd breakfast and didn't like how she felt. So she cried and cried and sweated and sweated. And her face got so red. It's hard to see her when she gets like that. I just want to hug her and make it all go away. I wish I had some magical powers that could do it for me! But she recovered, slept in the car ride, awoke in the restaurant and was held, while we ate and celebrated. Dad then watched her while I went with two friends to see Eat, Pray, Love - beautifully shot movie - makes you want to go on vacation, but book is tons better. And then we had dinner at cousin Margot's house. So all in all a great but busy weekend. I told Lilly this morning that this was our day of rest! I've napped and she's been a good sleeper today. So it seems like she needed it!

Sleepy Times

Lilly Rose is learning all about how to take advantage of rainy days - with the tropical depression/storm bands (it's been a bit since I watched the news!) that came through New Orleans yesterday night and today, Lilly has been taking advantage of the dreary day. She's been super sleepy today. And it threw me off, as I really wanted to stay on the schedule, every three hours she's supposed to be eating, then napping. Well, I'd get her up, or should say attempt to get her up, change her diaper, then try to feed her. Sometimes, as with the 10 AM feeding it would go smoothly. Other times, as with the 1PM and 4PM, not so much. For someone who fought going to sleep last night, she was sure fighting being awake this afternoon. Would try to wake her, would play with her, would sometimes need to put a diaper wipe (the cool feeling) over her body. One time even put her skin to skin, to try to wake her. Another time would just put her down, let her get 'angry and cry' and then get her to eat. Ahh the multitude of things. And I love structure and being in control, and with her on a schedule, I felt both of those. So when she veered off, and being sleepy, I begin to doubt myself, and I worry about the upcoming feedings and bedtime - will she eat? will she sleep? Only time will tell.

On another note, only changed my shirt twice today - and no poo on any item of clothing or piece of furniture. Nice!

The Field Trip that wasn't

So we attempted to make it to postnatal yoga this morning, but no go. We did, however, get out the front door, into the car, pull up to the yoga studio, before we had a huge cry (Lilly not me) and I realized that we were late, didn't take her out of the carseat, and drove home. While I did stop the engine, get out of the car, and attempt to undo her, I chickened out. I had visions of me bringing Lilly into yoga class, all calm and peaceful, not crying and red in the face. After all, aren't first impressions everything? So even though I got a spot right in front of the studio, prime parking space, I got back in the car, and drove off, albeit slowly towards home.

Lessons learned:

1. budget in more time to get her in the car seat, into the car, into the car seat base.

2. Also plan for rain - I don't think she minded because it was a little rain, but if it was pouring, we might have had issues. Probably need to invest in some sort of rain gear for her or the car seat.

3. Call studio ahead of time, just to check that class is still happening (the neurotic in me was afraid no one would be there and studio would be closed)

4. When she goes down for sleep, make sure she is in her car seat carrier. She awoke while I was transferring her to the carrier, and thus was not to happy to leave her warm spot and Sheep Sleep Ocean Sounds.

5. Be happy that we did get out of the happy - while we didn't make it too class, we did get in the car, drive to the studio, and almost go. There's always next week.

Bye Bye Regina

So Regina, Lilly Rose's baby nurse and our baby guru, left today. She had been with us since we came home from the hospital, providing advice, assistance, and knowledge. She got Lilly on a schedule, eating every three hours, helped me with breastfeeding, introduced me to HGTV, much to my happiness and Mark's chagrin, took tons and tons of pictures of Lilly, and did loads and loads more. She's a total baby whisperer - so calm and cool. She knew just how to get Lilly to burp, take a bottle, not cry when the onesie was lifted over her head. But all good things come to an end - and she left this afternoon. I had tears, she told me to take care of my face, and that she was only a phone call away. And she's only on the West Bank, so she's not far! Just over the bridge. We were extremely fortunate to have Regina and Mark and I so appreciative.

But now she's gone and we are on our own. And I survived the afternoon. Save for the tremendous dump she did, after I already changed her diaper twice because of poo, that not only trickled out and down her leg, but onto my shirt, pants, and our chair. Talk about a laying a big one. That one warranted a mid-afternoon bath and new outfit, she even got her socks! And then she finished eating - and here's what I sort of lost it, but remembered what Regina said. She told us to relax, that baby's can sense nervousness ( not so good for me or Lilly), and that then riles them up too. Well, Lilly was fighting sleep, didn't want her pacifier, and just wanted to cry and cry and cry. And I changed tons of positions. First she was in my arms. Then I was burping her (thought she might have gas). Then she was on the floor, looking at her jungle gym. Then I wrapped her in a blanket and near my chest. And that's when she quieted down, sucked on her pacifier and I told myself to breathe. And she just had her eyes open and was looking at me, like willing me to believe she was ok, that we would be ok. I could feel the tears, and one or two came out, the lump in the throat was present, but I kept breathing, holding her tight, and she would keep her eyes on me, then close, and then they would be open again. And this probably went on for a couple minutes, and then she fell asleep. And that was awesome. I held her in my arms for a little bit longer, and then put her down. She stirred a bit but didn't wake up (thank you sheep sleep!).

So two feedings down, two more to go until bedtime. Wish us luck. And thanks for everything Regina. You are amazing.

The Exhaust Fan is Genius

So it's the little things that work. Not the $14.99 mirror with attached teething ring, not the $19.99 Sheep Sleep (with four built in sounds - mother's heartbeat, spring showers, ocean sounds, and whale songs). But when you are in a jam. Lilly Rose screaming, crying, fighting sleep, and she's downstairs, turn the oven on. Turn the exhaust fan oven, and she's a happy, happy camper. And a sleepy, sleepy camper. Mark was cooking the other night, had the exhaust fan on, and we noticed it lulled Lilly to sleep. I guess its the white noise that babies love so much. So yesterday, during the afternoon nap, well one of them, she was fighting sleep, sucking on her pacifier ( another soothing mechanism), and we tried a bunch of things to keep her asleep. And the sheep sleep sounds not working (it's tied to her pack and play), was desperate for something, something to keep her asleep. And remembered that she took to the exhaust fan, the other night, so turned it on, and sure enough, with her peace pipe (pacifier) and the fan in the background, she stayed right asleep. Check out the video. Now I must write a disclaimer, that even though it worked superbly at the afternoon sleep, come the early evening, she was definitely not taking to it. So here's to it working once a day ( I'll take that!) and the Sheep Sleep working the other times (it's working right now!).

Spit Happens

So yesterday Lilly Rose was 2 for 2. She spit up on both Mark and myself. And boy did she get us good. I was feeding her, for her first lunch, and she was at a lull. You could see the rim of milk on her mouth, when she gets like that, I always say she is drunk with milk. But anyway, she was on the lull, needing to be burped, and I put her on my left shoulder. The burp cloth was on. But her mouth was pointed toward my neck. And that's all she needed. All of a sudden I feel a jerk, and this warm liquid, and before I knew it, she had spit up running out of her mouth, and down my chest. I jerked up. Startled her. And then got a new burp cloth. Wiped up her mouth. And dabbed at my chest. She got me good - there wasn't much I could do. She still needed to be burped, though she got the majority of it out!

Then for her first dinner, Mark was burping her, and she was once again on the left shoulder. But her mouth was turned toward his shoulder. And she too was at a lull. And all of a sudden, Mark too feels the liquid, going down his shirt collar on his shoulder. His green Polo shirt was now stained with milk. Though that's a nice thing about breastmilk, it doesn't stain. So she got us good yesterday. But we also saw her smile, ok even if its only for gas, it's still a nice thing to see.

The Cord

So her cord is gone. Shriveled up like a raisin and fell off Thursday. It was a bit sad, I am going to admit. I think because it was one of the last physical things clinging to the pregnancy and now she is fully on her own, well save for the DNA, genes, etc that Mark and I gave her. But it's gone, actually its in a Ziploc baggie, in her baby book. Not entirely sure what we will do with it. Some people said they threw it away. Others buried it in the backyard. I guess, for now, we'll keep it in the Ziploc. If you have had experience with a cord, what did you do with it? Or what did your parents do with yours?

I'm a sucker

So it's official. I'm a sucker - I can't stand the crying. Or better yet - Lilly Rose's crying. She was tired, fighting sleep, after the 4PM feeding. And she had fallen asleep, and we put her in the swing, set it running, and then let her be. And once we let her be, she let loose with her wailing. And I was on the phone with my mom, and she said 'there' nothing wrong with picking her up' But I went through the checklist - was she hungry? No. She had fed and fed. And even burped. Did she have a dirty diaper? No. She was just changed. She was comfortable, she was swinging, she was swaddled, well as best as she could be in the swing. She even had music, the advances of the baby swing these days - it's got something like 6-10 songs and sounds apiece. Pretty nice. But all of a sudden, like I said, the crying started. I remember looking at my computer, it was 5:28. I said, ok, two minutes. And if she's still crying then I will pick her up. Well, it really wasn't 5:28 for a whole minute, because it changed to 5:29 within 10-20 seconds. So I only had to sit through one minute. And it was a long minute. And sure indeed, at 5:30, I picked her up, she quieted down immediately, and was fine. She just wanted to be held (though nothing wrong with that). And within a couple minutes she was asleep in my arms and looking super cute.

So just a few minutes ago, at 8:50PM, she was asleep, started crying. Mark and I looked at each other, said five minutes, and went about watching Last Comic Standing (we're three episodes behind - don't tell us what's going on). And sure enough, she had a loud cry. And it got louder. But by 8:53, three minutes later, she was done. So I've learned my lesson. Well for today, anyway.

A little nap goes a long way

So resting when the little one rests really does work. I'd been fighting it, trying to get things done around the house, watch tv, etc, but the exhaustion really does catch up with you. And once the exhaustion is there, the anxiety (think: monkey chatter) creeps in. So finally I rested. Pumped last night, was able to get some decent sleep, slept solid 4 hours, pumped again, slept another 3-4 hours and then rested this afternoon. We had a LONG feeding, well she didn't want to get up for the 1PM feeding. And then once she did, she didn't want to eat. And then by 2:30 she was ready to eat but not sleep. So we put together her new overhead jungle gym. To keep her entertained. She looked like, at times, that she would do some push ups. But she's not a gym rat yet. She liked her new gym for a bit but then by 3:30 got real tired, so we put her down. I slept for 30 minutes. Pumped. And then slept for a bit until Mark got home. And boy does sleep do the body wonders. So now, it's 9PM, uploading some video, pump ( can you sense the theme here?) and try for two nights of good sleep in a row!

Drove today for the first time since the birth. Went in the morning before the heat became too bad. Found out that Radio Shack does not have a cord to hook up the digital camera to the computer. Looks like online shopping for me. On another note, polished off the graham crackers, so no more left. Think I finally have gotten over the obsession from the hospital.

The Sound of the Dishwasher

It's quiet in the house. Mark's at work. And the baby is asleep. I'm in the den, and the sound of the dishwasher is my company. I've paid a bill, submitted news to the college magazine, recycled some papers, showered, ate breakfast, and watched Project Runway, The View and now completing a House Hunters Episode, since the 7AM feeding. The sun is out, so it looks like a nice, cheerful day. But a bit too hot to take Lilly Rose out in it. Weatherman this morning, when I was flipping channels after Project Runway, and after the segment on Chelsea Clinton's wedding, said it was a Heat Advisory day, so definitely staying indoors. Might take a trip to Radio Shack, my first time driving since giving birth, to get a cord for the computer and camera hook up.

Also trying not to let the monkey chatter that is in the head come out, and I know that's all that it is - Monkey Chatter. Words that aren't true, ideas that are false, just trying to keep me off balance and worried. Found that there is a class at the Parenting Center at Children's Hospital called Snuggles and Struggles, meets every Tuesday morning, so I don't make it tomorrow will definitely shoot for next week. Mark's mom gave good advice last night, she said to practice with the car seat, getting it in and out of the base, practice taking her out, etc because I am not homebound (which I was during bedrest) and she and I can go out. It's just finding the nerve to do it. Fear Nothing. Or at this moment, a lot of things. But learn to let go. As Mark said, babies cry, they get upset, and they move on. People understand. And also saw that there is a post-natal yoga class at the studio where I took pre-natal yoga. Need to ask the doctor if I am cleared for exercise.

On another note, we celebrated LRM's 2nd week-bration last night. Ended up putting two candles in a brownie my mom had baked before leaving. Can't remember who ate the brownie ( I ended up eating several during Mad Men later) but Aunt Sarah blew out the candles. Video of the event can be found below. Hope you have a good day!

Saturday - day of outfits and tears

So yesterday was the day of outfits - Lilly Rose went through four. Two were done for by end of second feeding, which is a little after 10 AM, one was done for by the end of the third, which is a little after 1PM, and then she was in her last outfit for the rest of the day. Lot's of poop and split up. I'm on an anti-biotic, so we're wondering if the medicine is wrecking a little havoc on her little tummy. It's doing a little number on mine. But the doctor said we could continue to breastfeed, so just a few more days. Hopefully everything will clear up, and her stomach will go back to normal.

On another front it was JJ's last day in NOLA, as her trip came to an end. And she went back to Dallas. Lot's of tears flowed on my end. She had been here a little over a month, and was a great comfort, source of advice, companionship. But she'll be back in September, when Mark goes out of town for a friend's wedding. So sadness still lingers but we had a good time together, so that outweighs anything. And there's more to come.

And today is Lilly Rose's 2 week-bration, so we've got a pie (thanks to Donna and Bob) will put some candles in it and celebrate tonight with Mark's parents and siblings.