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New Tricks...and the Continuing Sleep Saga

Lily has a couple new tricks lately. She has rolled a couple times from her tummy to her back. It has only happened a couple times, but I was able to catch it on video. I will try to post it once Matt can edit it because I have no idea how to, and it is about 3 minutes into a video of her mostly just lying there. Another new trick she is working on is taking her pacifier out of her mouth and putting it back in. She has no trouble pulling it out, but only gets it in about half the time. She sure seems to be enjoying herself practicing though, and she doesn't seem to get frustrated when she can't get it back in properly...she just chews on the edge. She is so funny.
Another thing we are continuing to work on is sleep. I honestly don't know who has more sleep problems, me or her. No matter how tired I am when I go to bed, I absolutely can't fall asleep. I will lie there for sometimes two hours. And even more annoying is all those thoughts that run through your head as you are trying to fall asleep. You know...all those really bad things that can happen. I guess that is one thing I didn't think about before having a baby...that I will live in fear every moment of every day that something bad will happen. But mostly it is only at night. Right now, this minute, I am not so afraid something bad it going to happen because she is sleeping soundly in her crib and I have run in to check on her 10 times in the hour and a half she has been down. Neurotic...yes I am, thank you very much. I think part of the reason I have trouble falling asleep at night is because I am so sure Lily is going to wake up any minute that I psych myself out...why bother falling asleep when I will be up in a couple minutes anyway. I am sure as I write this things will change, but Lily has taken good naps for maybe the past week. Sometimes she goes right down, but sometimes it takes me up to an hour to get her down. When it takes a long time, I know it is because she is over-tired, so I try to get her down as soon as I start seeing signs she is tired. She has been sleeping for at least two hours, sometimes closer to three, and in her crib. She has also been going down around 8 every night for a couple weeks. She isn't sleeping through the night, or even close, but we are getting there. When we were at the pediatricians the other day, she recommended that maybe we let her cry it out for a couple nights. Matt isn't so fond of that idea, so I thought I would try it while he is out of town. The first night I let her cry for ten minutes and couldn't take it anymore. Last night she cried for about a half an hour before I got up to feed her. I know that a lot of doctors recommend crying it out, and that it works very well, and that my mom did it and we turned out fine (insert your own joke here...I am sure any problems are in no way related to crying it out!). It seems logical that after a couple nights Lily would learn to soothe herself back to sleep, but it is so hard when every motherly instinct I have tells me to go to my baby when she is crying. Maybe we will go with the gradual method that the doctor also mentioned...at that rate she should be sleeping through the night by puberty!!!

4 Months Already!!!

I can't believe my baby is four months old already! In some respects, it has been a long four months (particularly when I am up for the umpteenth time in a night!) but for the most part I can hardly believe she is no longer a newborn. She moves and "talks" and smiles and just charms everyone she meets. She is really a good baby, and I have no complaints. Well, maybe I wish she would sleep through the night...no, I definitely wish she would, but we are working on that. We went for her 4 month check up today. Here are her stats:

Weight: 16 lbs, 11 oz (she was 8 lb 14 oz at birth)
Height: 25 inches (20 at birth)
Head: 16 inches (13 3/4 at birth)

She has exceeded the weight limit for the bassinet part of the pack and play, so we have somewhat reluctantly moved her to her crib in her own room. I am actually glad that she outgrew it, because it forced us to make the move. She has only been in it for two nights, so I will let everyone know how it goes. I am keeping my fingers crossed that this will help with the sleeping through the night.
She got more vaccinations today, and she is such a little trooper. She didn't even cry for the first one, let out a brief cry for the second, and then cried in earnest for the third and fourth...for about 20 seconds. She is so tough! She is acting a little ornery this afternoon, but I am sure it is just the shots. And probably lack of sleep. Last night she went down about 8 like she has been for a couple weeks with no problem, but when she got up to nurse about midnight, she was wide awake...for about two and a half hours. I swear someone must have snuck her a double expresso. And in her typical fashion, she has been fighting naps all day. We are definitely going to work on this sleep thing. I really need to get her on a better sleep pattern...thanks Jen and Michelle for the books you recommended...I am going to give them a read and hopefully turn her into a good sleeper yet! I can hardly remember what it is like to sleep for more than a couple hours at a time!

As Promised, Some of Lily's 3 Mo. Portraits

This is our absolute favorite...I think she looks a little Yoda-esqueSame pic in color

Isn't she sweet!

Sorta smile

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Date Night

Matt and I had our first "date" since Lily has been born on Saturday night. Other than leaving her for about an hour two days before, one of us has always been with her. My parents' gift to us when Lily was born was to come babysit sometime and treat us to dinner. We finally decided it was probably time to take them up on the offer. They came out and watched Lily while we went out. We went to our favorite sushi restaurant, Moshi Moshi, and had some yummy sushi. It has seriously been too long since I have had sushi. Over a year at least since pregnant women aren't supposed to have raw fish. Then we hit Dairy Queen for dessert and took it to a park and ate it. We still had some time to kill before our movie, so we drove around and looked at the ridiculously over-priced homes for sale in Naperville. We lamented about how we must be doing something wrong since our house would probably fit into the master bathroom of some of these monstrosities. And then schemed about how we could afford one (never in a million years!!) We then went to see Get Smart starring Steve Carrell. It was hilarious. Funnier even then the movie was this guy who came in about 20 minutes late and sat in the open seat next to me and made comments and laughed hysterically at everything. This guy was entertainment by himself! And the best part was we didn't have to pay for the movie either because we had movie passes and $10 that my grandma had given us as our Christmas gift that we hadn't used yet. And we still have 2 more free passes and another $10 for popcorn waiting for our next date! After the movie we headed home to see our little girl, who was asleep, and had been since about 7:30. She crashed hard and my parents didn't even have a chance to put her in her pjs! At least they were able to play with her for a couple hours before she zonked out! It was a great night and good to get out, even though I was ready to get home to Lily by the time the movie was over. We decided we should try to get out once a month or so, and while we won't have our dinner paid for, I don't think we will have a shortage of babysitters. Thanks Mom and Dad!!!

Her First Antibiotic

I am writing this in pink because it matches Lily's medicine. She has had a rash on her arms since about the beginning of the month. At first I thought it was dry skin, so I was just putting lotion on it. It looked a lot like the "rash" she had on her face around mother's day. The one where when I took her to the doctor, he told me it was just dry, sensitive skin. The one that, sure enough, cleared up in less than a day with just normal lotion (not baby lotion, her skin is too sensitive for fragrance.) So I have been lotioning her up to no avail. We thought that maybe it was related some how to her car seat, which has a vinyl-ish cover that doesn't breath. Since it is hella-hot and humid, she gets really sweaty whenever she is in it. We didn't know if the car seat was causing it or just exacerbating it, but definitely she had the rash on points where her skin was in contact with the seat (a little on her leg too). If she wasn't in the car seat for a few days, it would seem to get better. But after going to the pool and using a little bit of sunscreen (approved by the pediatrician) and then the chlorine, it looked horrible on Thursday night. I took her into the doctor on Friday and sure enough, this wasn't just dry, sensitive skin. She has eczema (poor baby has skin like her daddy!). Since she had been scratching at it by rubbing her arms on the changing table, which has a terry cloth cover, and sometimes on blankets when she was lying on her back on one, she ended up with a secondary infection, impetigo. The doctor prescribed her an oral antibiotic to be taken twice daily and a topical ointment to be applied thrice daily. It is already looking a thousand times better. It is hardly noticeable, and she doesn't seem to be rubbing her arms quite as much. I feel like a bad mommy for not taking her in sooner, but I truly thought that it was the dry skin. And other than the rubbing, the little trooper never seemed bothered by it. I guess it is better to take her to the doctor when it is really nothing (like dry skin...hello, lotion!) then wait too long when it is actually something. This is another live and learn moment. I have a feeling there will be a lot of those in the years to come. Hopefully she won't hold my parenting mishaps against me when she is older...
And as for the car seat, I have started putting a receiving blanket under the straps and then putting her in it so none of her skin is in contact with the vinyl. She still gets really warm, but I think no contact with the vinyl helps.

My Little Water Lily

I took Lily to get her three month pictures on Thursday. I know, she is closer to 4 months, but we are going to do pictures at 3,6, 9, 12, 18 months and then at every year until she is in school. At least that is the plan for now. She did really well. While we weren't able to get a real smile in any of the shots, she was very alert looking at the camera and didn't cry, despite being moved around into different poses, and having her clothes changed. The pictures turned out super cute and I will try to get some scanned and posted.
After her pictures, we went to the pool with Aunt Anna. Lily was a little apprehensive at first and fussed a little when we first got her wet, but after that, she didn't seem to mind. We spent most of our time in the baby pool, but during adult swim we did head into the big pool. While she didn't cry, she didn't seem all that thrilled. I guess she will just need a little more exposure to water so she turns into a swimmer!
That night we left Lily for the first time, for about an hour, when we went to the picture store to pick out our pictures. It was so last minute that we decided to do it, I didn't even have time to come to terms with the fact that I was leaving my baby (in good hands, with my in-laws, but leaving her none the less!) Apparently she didn't even miss me! How sad!

Silly Lily...She Moves!

This is how I found Lily the other day when I went to get her up from her nap...her very brief nap. When she fell asleep, I laid the blanket over her bottom half because the air conditioning was really kicking. When I went to check on her, she was awake and the blanket was completely over her head. She loves to pull blankets, burp clothes, her stuffed animals, pretty much everything over her head. Which is why swaddle her and don't usually put blankets in with her when she sleeps. She has also learned to scoot on her back. If I put her on her play mat and turn away, she will have completely scooted off of it. She kicks her chubby little legs and pushes off the ground and slides across the floor. It is pretty funny. She does this in her crib as well. She doesn't really sleep in it yet because she is still in the pack and play in our room, but I will occasionally put her in it for a nap, or more commonly after changing her so I can run and wash my hands. In the time it takes me to wash my hands, she can scoot from one end up to the corner of the other end. She gets this look on her face like "aww shucks, no place else to go". I think she is trying to get away from me already!

Morton Arboretum

On Tuesday Lily had her first visit to the Morton Arboretum. We went with Grandma Chrissy, Great Grandma Marjorie and Aunt Anna. Despite the fact that it was 90 plus degrees and mega humid, we had a great time. We took a stroll around Meadow Lake and then visited the Children's Garden. We also went on the tram ride that takes you through the whole arboretum. Lily was a trooper and made it almost the whole hour long ride without getting fussy. I was holding her on my lap and we were both getting really warm. Also, depending on which direction we were heading, we were alternately in the sun and shade. Lily really seemed to enjoy the trees. Every day she seems to get more and more attentive. I can't wait to take her back when she is a little bigger and let her walk and run around. And I think we will definitely be back in the fall (my favorite time of year!) to get some wonderful pictures with the changing leaves.

getting ready to walk around Meadow Lake

On the tram (I know, terrible picture of me!)

Lily in front of the lilies

Nursing Pads and My Environmental Stance

After the success of my cloth wipes, I decided to try making some nursing pads. Still super simple, but now instead of a straight line, I had to sew a circle. I figured what the heck, they don't have to be perfect, so I gave it a shot. They turned out really well. The are nice and absorbent so I can wear them with the confidence of disposables but without the guilt that they will sit in a landfill for a gazillion years. And again, no weird chemicals in them that make them hold a hundred times their weight in liquid. I had a scary experience with a disposable one. It was the middle of the night and the pad was super saturated. I felt some wetness while nursing and since Lily is a messy eater, I figured it was just milk. When I went to wipe it away, the wetness stuck to my finger and was actually the jelly-like substance that was inside the nursing pad. The nursing pad had broken open and I had these little gel bits stuck to me. And Lily was nursing. I have no idea if she ingested any of these little gel bits, but since this was two months ago and she hasn't had any ill effects, I am guessing not. But it was scary. So as well as they work, I was scared to use disposables over night. So I was changing them constantly, whether they needed it or not. More garbage in the landfill. I guess since Lily has been born I have become a little more eco-conscious. We have always recycled. We have been composting since we moved into our house. In the summer we grow a garden without pesticides. We drive fairly fuel efficient cars. But now that I have a child who will inherit an environment in crisis (okay, maybe that is a bit dramatic) I feel even more compelled to leave it in as good a shape as I can. Hence the cloth diapers, cloth wipes, cloth nursing pads. Okay, off my soapbox!

An Update on Sleep

I was so excited last night when Lily went to bed so well. But I figured it was too good to be true. Right as I was about to go to bed at 10:30, she was up to eat. No big deal since I was still up. She ate really well and I was crossing my fingers that she would sleep until at least 2. She made it until 1:40. And then she was up at 4:40. And at 6, she was up and talking and talking and talking. Finally at 6:30, I decided I might as well get up because she obviously wasn't going to let me get anymore sleep. I generally am not a morning person, and she has usually been letting me sleep until about 9, but all weekend she was up this early. Matt had just gotten up with her. I am writing down when she sleeps now and hopefully I can see some sort of pattern so I can get her on a better routine. I kinda wish I would have done that a while ago. Live and learn I guess!

PS - Picture is not from last night, just a cute picture of her sleeping. And no, I don't put her to sleep on her belly. She had been in bed with me and when I got up she shifted and rolled onto her belly!

Sleeping

Lily is not the best sleeper. I am well aware this is probably my fault. I like to think I am/was making the same mistake all new parents make...not wanting to take my eyes off my child...ever. Therefore, she goes to bed when we do, and for anyone who knows us, we tend to keep late hours. She would usually crash in her bouncy seat or our arms before nine, and then when we would go to bed, we would bring her in as well. Usually she would wake up to nurse and then go back to sleep. This was working reasonably well, but after last weekend, she has been sleeping terribly...which means I have been sleeping terribly. This morning, after being up every hour from 3 until 6 I decided that we are starting a bed time, with a bed time routine, a consistent bed time, and no exceptions (well, not many!!) I was thinking 9ish, but she was really fussy at 8, so I fed her, changed her, swaddled her (well, her bottom half), read her Good Night Moon and rocked her a little. She fell asleep and I put her in the bassinet, and she has been sleeping soundly since. Will this mean a good nights sleep? Who knows. But I feel that it is a step in the right direction. I think I just really need to pay more attention to her sleep patterns during the day. She has pretty much been a cat napper, but she did sleep a couple good chunks during the day today. But I am trying not to get too excited. Every time I think I have something figured out with her, it changes! So far in her short life, we have really taken advantage of her portability and gone to friends and stayed out late because she would just fall asleep and we could put her down and hang out, or whatever. I realize now that I have probably been doing her a disservice. She will never learn what bedtime is if we continue that. I don't feel too bad about it really, because most things I have read say about 4 months is when you need to start a bedtime routine, and we are coming in just under the mark. However, it can be confusing, as I have also read things that say it is okay to take babes out and about and that it is good if they can fall asleep anywhere because it makes it very easy for them to adapt. So, for now, I think we are going to try the bedtime routine and see if we can't get a little better and more consistent sleep out of her. We both need it!

Stupid Internet

We have been having problems with our phone and internet. We have a bundle deal…phone, internet and cable all on one bill. We have had no problems with our cable, but the phone and internet keep going down. This has been going on for about 2 weeks. As an internet junkie, it is very frustrating. We call the cable company and try to explain what is happening. They ask is the phone working now…yes. Well then there doesn’t seem to be a problem. We could try calling when it is actually down, but our cell phones have terrible reception in our house. We thought maybe it was our router, so we bought a new one. No dice. Matt finally was able to talk to someone who said we should bring in our modem and change it out. So he rushed home from work, got the modem, brought it to the office, only to be told they don’t have phone modems there. What…don’t these people talk to each other? It was someone from there company that told him to bring it in. Anyway, hopefully we can get to the bottom of this soon, because I am getting really peeved! That is why I haven’t been posting lately… the Internet is always down!

Working Out!

Well, it only took 3 ½ months for me to realize that I need to get my butt to the gym. So for the past five days, I have gone to the gym I have been paying for and not using for the past year. Seriously…I think is has been a year since I last went to the gym. Matt has been going almost every week day morning for quite some time, but I always had an excuse. We seem to have a pretty good system working. Matt has been making an effort to get home at a reasonable hour and I go to the gym and then we have dinner when I get home. We always eat around 7 anyway, so this is really no different. Either Matt makes dinner, or finishes what I started. This is good for me both physically and mentally. I guess I didn’t realize that as much as I love Lily, 24/7 with her isn’t necessarily a good thing. This gives me a little break and Matt a little one on one time with her. Plus I need to get in shape and get rid of the baby baggage I am still carrying!

She's found her voice...and her hands

I am generally considered a loud person. When I was little, my mom always used to ask if my ears hurt because I would talk so loudly. One of my husbands roommates in college referred to me as "that loud Chicago girl". I really am okay with this. It is who I am. I come from a loud family. My husband does not. He needs a couple days to mentally prepare for one of my family functions, and I am pretty sure his head is spinning for days afterwards. I also talk a lot. Not as much as my sis Steph (love ya Steph!) but I a lot. My freshman year in college one of my English professors called me at my dorm room and asked me to meet in her office. When I got to her office, she chastised me for talking to much during class and monopolizing the discussion. So, it really should come as no surprise to me that my daughter is a talker...a loud, constant talker. This talking isn't really new. She has been "talking" for a while, but recently it has become day and night. Yes, night. My darling little baby who used to get up to nurse and quietly fall back asleep now feels she needs to have a midnight conversation, and a 2 am one, and a 4 am one. I love her little voice, but at 2 am, she is getting herself more and more awake, when she really should be going back to sleep. And after the third straight hour of it during the day, I tend to start tuning it out, which I don't want to do. She talks with the pacifier in her mouth. She talks while nursing, which is messy! She talks with her fingers in her mouth, or her whole fist. Her hands are her new favorite toy. She will chew on them, suck on them, or just stare at them with wonder in her eyes. Wow, I can make these things do things. I have tried to get video of my little talker, but much like the smile for regular pictures, this has proven tricky. She doesn't say much when she knows the camera is on her. Maybe next time!

What a Weekend!!!

What a weekend! We started out Thursday night going to visit some friends for a BBQ. They have a daughter a month older than Lily and we hang out with them at least once a month. While their daughter and Lily are still at the stages of just kinda checking each other out, I am sure in the months and years to come they will be great playmates. Friday was the 4th of July and a big party at my aunt's house. There were tons of people and Lily just charmed the pants off everyone. We ate tons of food, Matt and my dad played in a bags tournament, and then went to see the fireworks. My little firecracker was so worn out from the day that she slept through the entire, very loud display. Check her out:

ready to walk to the fireworks

during the showSaturday we were so exhausted we just laid around the house and watched movies. I don't think I got out of my pjs all day. Wait, I take that back, I did do a very lazy job of somewhat weeding the garden. We rented I am Legend and National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets...if that gives you any indication of how long it has been since we have rented movies!

Sunday we went over to my in-laws to celebrate my husband's grandmother's birthday (91!!!) and hung out with the fam and Aunt Laurie and Grandma. Lily is quite taken with Aunt Laurie! We were there pretty late and when we got home, I was washing my face and realized I had lost an earring. My first mother's day present earring. After searching the bathroom (I knew it was lost there)Matt finally decided to take of the U-pipe from the drain, and there it was. My Hero!!! For the record, Matt has now rescued a fish and an earring that have gone down the drain as a result of my actions!

We had a great weekend, even though we didn't make it to Ribfest this year. Or Eyes to the Sky. I am a little bummed, but at least we didn't spend a ton of money, like we usually end up doing over the 4th weekend. But the weekend has definitely taken its toll on us. Even though Lily doesn't have a regular "bedtime" she was all messed up from the late hours and slept very fitfully last night. Which means mommy slept very little last night. I have realized that even though she is nice and portable and will fall asleep wherever as long as she is fed and dry, we need to start making more of an effort to be home so she has a more routine bedtime. Lesson learned!

Here are some random pictures from the weekend.

at our friends BBQ finally, a picture of Lily smilingthe fam on the 4th

Short Hair

As requested by a couple people, here is a picture of my new, short hair. It takes way way way less time to do. Lily can't get a hold of it either, which is a nice perk.

Baby Wipes

Since I have made the move to cloth diapers, the next logical step seemed a move to cloth wipes. I could have bought some from the same place I bought my diapers, but I thought $2 for a 6 inch piece of flannel was a bit much. I could have just used cheap wash clothes, but they seemed a but rough for my Lily's bum, and I didn't want any to accidentally get mixed in with our regular wash clothes. So, being the crafty (insert sarcasm) person I am, I decided to make them. My mom and I went to the fabric store and bought some flannel and fleece. After a crash course in how to use my mom's sewing machine, the adventure began! My mom was sweet enough to cut all the fabric for me, and my sister helped trim the edges on a bunch. I have to say, they turned out pretty cute. Almost too cute just to wipe bums with! And they work really well too! I just wet a bunch and stuff them in an empty wipe container, and they are there ready to go when it is time for a diaper change. I had a lot of fun making them and it was cool to actually make something useful. My next sewing project is nursing pads and some burp clothes. Check them out, don't they look cute! And thanks Mom and Steph for your help!!

Adventures in Bathing

So up to this point, bathing has been a two person job...and a messy one at that. It usually consisted of one person holding the wet squirmy baby and the other frantically washing and scrubbing, trying not to get everyone soaked in the process. On our first couple attempts, we used the baby bath tub. Then we figured the sink was just easier. Last bath time, we decided to go back to the tub since she is bigger and can sorta sit in it better. I bathed, Matt was there in case of an emergency. No problems. But the bathtub was kinda weird, it didn't have a good angle for the baby to recline in comfortably. We were at Babies R Us the other day and picked up a new, simpler, better designed tub. It was like $10 and we figured if it would make bath time easier and a one man job, well all the better. So I decided to give Lily a bath today because she is going to meet her great aunt Laurie and great grandma Margie from Salt Lake tonight. I get all set up, get her in the tub, wash her hair...she is loving it...I am just getting ready to wash her body, and she poops in the tub. Okay, gross...what do I do...she hasn't ever done this before...okay once, but that time she pooped on Daddy and wasn't sitting in a tub of poop. So I pick her up and hold her over the sink and wash her up. She isn't really loving this and I am getting soaked. She is squirming all over and crying her angry cry and what does she do, poop again, in the sink. Oh geez! Well, I got the sink wiped up, finished washing her and considered the bath done. I take her into her room, put her on her changing table and start drying her off and she is smiling and loving it. I think she did it on purpose, just to liven things up! I think in the future, bath time will revert back to being a two man job!

PS - the picture isn't from today...it is from about 6 weeks ago