Another First!

We took Lilly on her first trip to Northpark Mall. We braved the crowds, and used my parking karma and found a great spot in the parking garage by Dillards. We had some items to return and also checked out the after Christmas sales. With my credit at Dillards (and I even have $35 left) I got Lilly a cute holiday outfit for next season and a pink puma track suit. Now all she needs are the little Puma shoes to go with. All in good time! She was wowed by the crowds. She stayed in her stroller for about an hour but then was over it, and once JJ took her out of it, she was instantly in people watching heaven. While I was taking the picture, she kept craning her head in the opposite direction, so she could look at all the passer-bys. So she officially has a bunch of clothes, got some more from the sales ( we took advantage of the Baby Gap and Janie and Jack as well). Gap and Baby Gap are take an additional 50percent off the sale price - 2 pairs of tights for $3.99. I got a turtleneck for $7.49. Not bad!

A lot of Firsts

We've had a lot of firsts over the past week.

We took Lilly out of the car seat carrier and placed her directly into the stroller. We weren't sure if she (or us!) were ready, but she did well. We constantly checked and re-checked to see if she was sliding out and around. Luckily she stayed in one spot, well, mostly, and seemed to enjoy her ride more. She fell asleep on the walk back from Audubon Park.

Then the next morning, Lilly took her first plane ride - we went from NOLA to Dallas Christmas Day, and she did well. I think I was more nervous than she. We checked in right at the 24 hour mark (we were flying Southwest) so we got A-23 and A-24. Mark got A-33. And we went out the night before for my birthday, and we stayed out pretty late, for us! We were out until 1AM, lost some money at the casino but were with each other, had a great meal, and with friends as well. So by the time we got home, we knew we had about 4.5 hours to sleep, as we needed to leave for the airport no later than 7:30. Getting ready was crazy - luckily Mo and Mel were there and could give Lilly a bottle and dress her, while we made sure to pack everything off our list. Packing for a third person, one who demands a bunch of stuff, is a trip in and of itself. But we got to the airport and through security, with breastmilk and formula and all, and made it to the gate with plenty of time. We boarded and were able to sit in the bulkhead row. But unfortunately you are not able to sit in the bulkhead row with a car seat, so we checked the seat and had Lilly sit with us. She had her own seat, but couldn't muster the balance to sit by herself. I thought take off and landing would bother her ears, so we gave her a bottle as we took off, and she was ok. But either she was tired or gassy or probably a combination of the two, and after we leveled off, she just started crying. And didn't stop. I got up and walked with her. I rocked her. And then handed her off to Mark, who sang into her ear, and after about 10 minutes, she fell asleep on his shoulder. She stayed that way for about 30-40 minutes. Just to right before the initial descent. The Southwest flight attendants even gave her a certificate, commemorating her first flight, complete with their signatures, flight info, and wings!

And Monday we fed her rice cereal for the first time. She seemed to enjoy it, got all over mouth. Thank goodness for the bib. It's giving her bad gas, so luckily we only do 1 tablespoon to about 4 tablespoons of breast milk.

And we can see and feel her first tooth. It's unreal, I felt it yesterday! It definitely moves up and down, but you can see it how it has broken though her gum. It's giving her a lot of pain, she cried and wailed yesterday afternoon, definitely tiring herself out, but we gave her some Tylenol and it seemed to help.

Check out the video - it's us giving her rice cereal for the first time.

5 Month Birthday

We celebrated Lilly's 5 month birthday with a $10.99 3 layer Doberge cake last Saturday. It was a fun, little celebration ( only me eating a piece right from the get go). Hard to believe Lilly is five months! She's in 6 months clothing. She enjoys kicking off her socks. And I have a big bagful of clothing that she's already grown out of and will put away. And thanks to her JJ and Mel, she's got a bunch of new clothes. So she will be one well-dressed baby! The queen of Coliseum Street!

5 month check up

New vitals

17lbs 1/2 ounce. Up one pound from 4 months.

25 1/2 inches. Up 1/2 inch from 4 months.

Two more shots down. She was a champ. Cried a bit with the shots. But she really let loose when Dr. G was listening to her chest. I guess, just like she is when she first get's to Aunt Bitsy's house, she despised the cold on her chest. And the stethoscope was probably cold to her. Boy, was Lilly not a happy camper. Screams. Tears. Just not happy. I got so concerned and lost in Lilly's screams ( I was holding her) that I completely missed Dr. G checking her ears. So when finally Lilly calms down, and right before the shot, Dr. G asked if we had anymore questions. I ask her if she is going to do the ears, and she said she just did it. I said, really? I completely missed it. And Mark said I did. And here's where I go neurotic on Dr. G, I didn't believe her. Nor did I believe Mark. So who's the crazy one? I kept asking really. Until after the fourth time, she said she would re-check it. She played it off well. But she probably didn't appreciate me going all crazy on her. But she said she was glad to give me peace of mind and healthy ears for Lilly.

Dr. G also recommended that we start her on solids sometime soon. Lilly took 11 ounces in one sitting Sunday afternoon, so we think it's about time. I went out to the store tonight and bought rice cereal. Maybe for her 1st Christmas feast, she'll get some new food.

Scratching

So Lilly is turning into a scratcher - she loves running her nails over any type of texture. And she loves hearing the nose her nails make. In her pack and play, there is a mesh-type bumper, and when she is put down for a nap, if she's not super tired, she'll arch her back, and run her nails over the mesh. She hears the click click and keeps doing it. She'll also continually do it over the glider in her room as well. For her, it's a different sound than the mesh bumper but she loves it nonetheless. I'm sure she'll grow up enjoying someone scratching her back and arm.

Speaking of back scratching, I could sure use one! Lilly's fighting a cold and her teeth are really bothering her. And it seems like she's had bad gas (must be the garlic salt I've put in the food the past couple of days). So she's not doing well sleeping during the day and at times hates to be on her back, hence the gas. So the tops of my shoulders and neck are sure sore!

Control

Control. It's a funny thing. I'm waylaid in bed, beset by a cold (bad congestion, mild fever, aching sinus, some leg aches), and Mark's taking care of me and Lilly. He's gotten me tea, toast, my breastpump, all the essentials in my life. He's dressed and fed Lilly. And I just can't let go and let him take over. It's control. He reassures me that he knows what he's doing, and I KNOW that he knows and is completely capable. He's done it before. He does it all the time. But I just can't seem to let it happen, well fully happen. I'm in and out of bed, with one excuse or another. I need to get some tissues. I need to get a banana. I need to get tea (Mark did get it for me). But I'm checking up on things. What's she wearing (grey penguin onesie, pink fleece pants, and yellow leopard prints Mary Jane socks). How much is she eating. Who's warming the bottle. I'm finding things that are wrong - even though nothing is. I wouldn't have put Lilly in all those color combinations, but Mark did manage to bring out the yellow in the penguin feet and beak. Mark, Lilly, and Aunt Sarah are going to get lunch, give me some time to rest and relax. We've made the bed. Brought in the computer. And I've checked out the Pay Per View movies. But I've also made the 1PM bottle - it's in the fridge, waiting for Lilly. Control, it's not easy to give up. But who said I had to let go completely?

I made 2 new friends!

So the breakthrough has happened! I met and exchanged info with two new stay at home moms today in the snuggles and struggles class! Yes!! I overheard two moms last week (or was it two weeks ago, I can't remember) about staying home and taking the year off. Unfortunately it was as I was leaving and Lilly was having a meltdown. So today I asked Debbie, the facilitator, if she knew of any other mom groups. She gave me a few but also suggested just meeting other moms in class and exchanging info. Well, toward the end of the class, Debbie brought over a new mom, who lives really close to me. And I was already talking to someone else, who also stays home, she's actually Canadian and gets a one year leave from her company because she's an ex-pat and technically on Canadian payroll. It's awesome. So we all exchanged numbers and email addresses, I had Lilly in one hand and had to put her on the mat so I could write the info. As I gleefully told Mark about my two new friends, I related to him my nervousness on getting in touch with them. I don't want to come off as too desperate, but I would love to have stay at home mom friends to meet up and walk, do lunch, etc. And they are both new moms. So all is good. I might not email them tonight, but definitely tomorrow!