You never know what to expect....

Every single night is different. Lately I've dreaded going to bed. The night is when the "crunch munch" comes out. That's what we call Lyla's grumpy side. When she's happy she's our little munchkin and when she's mad she's our crunch munch! She's on a pretty good routine of sleeping about every 2-3 hours. Sometimes if I'm lucky it's like 3.25 hours! In contrast, at night she prefers to sleep 1.5 to 2 hours and have milk in between. She's a muncher! It may just be a growth spurt phase as today is her one month birthday (I sure hope it is!). So, in conclusion, I dread going to bed as I'm only really going to sleep about 4 hours and will be awake for the other 4. I know it is going to get better, at least that is what my friends say, but I hope it's soon! I don't know how I'll ever function at work on 4 hours of sleep. Please tell me it gets better....

Never wake a sleeping baby

I've learned a lot in the last two weeks and maybe my brain will function enough to write a few of these things down.
It's difficult to care for a newborn baby. I've observed that there are two types of babies, the fussy ones and the relaxed ones. I've been blessed with a beautiful, perfect, FUSSY baby. So now that I've realized that, I need to adjust my life to her patterns and cries.
The most important lesson I've learned in the last few weeks is to trust my intuition and my motherly instincts. Everyone will have their ideas and options but I must follow the ones that I believe are best for Lyla.

The first two weeks Lyla was not sleeping. She was crying, screaming and acting as if it was the

end

of the world. I had no idea what I was doing wrong. I was feeding her when she wanted, walking with her, holding her, loving her... but nothing would make her happy. After my visit with my wonderful Pediatrician he let me know that I had broken the world record for marathon feeding. I was breast feeding her for about an hour or more at a time. Apparently, it was only supposed to be 10 mins per breast!?! Who knew? (Well not me...) Therefore she was being over-fed and over-full in turn causing her to be a unhappy full little girl with too much food in her little belly. This was making me an unhappy little momma with sore breasts and major sleep deprivation. If you can imagine I was sitting about 8 to 9 hours a day just feeding her! So since Friday I have been following his recommendations of 10mins and life is good! She seems happier and doesn't let out the killing scream at all hours of the day, it's now limited to most hours of the day. (smile) So I've learned to not breastfeed at all hours, limit your time.

The second most important thing I've learned is that Jason and I have an amazing marriage. For being home 2 weeks together with a screaming newborn and no sleep, we did not even snap at each other once. Not one single time. We supported one another, helped each other and kept our sanity together. There's no way I could have made it through those two weeks without him. Today is his first day back at work and I miss him dearly. It's so crucial to have a strong relationship and I am forever thankful that we are married.

Lastly I've learned that many moms don't want to admit how hard it is to have a newborn but I'm open and honest. I don't hold back, I let anyone know what the truth is no matter how I may sound. It's a tough road and even though I was ready for it.... it's hard.

Now.... never wake a sleeping baby.

Baby Story

So it's taken me a bit to get back to the computer to actually

sit down

and be able to write something, but here I am.

The Labor story:
It was Thursday June 18th, 2009. The due date given to us by the Ultrasound Technician and Jason's estimated due date. For the past 2 weeks I had been "leaking" a bit of fluid but the on-call Doctor told me he thought I was "wetting" myself. Even when I went in for my weekly visit (my Doctor was on vacation at this point) and I told him that fluid had been coming out he assured me that as the pregnancy moves forward that we can wet ourselves. So, I believed that I was a 29 year old female that was now peeing my pants. I moved forward with working and finishing out my week and looking forward to the future. My contractions got worse day by day and they were outrageous when we were driving. Still I just kept doing my usual activities. Thursday morning was a bit different. I woke up with even more of a leak and decided that it wasn't right. My Doctor was now back in town and told me to immediately come in.

He said it was a simple test, if the yellow strip turned blue it meant it was my water breaking and that today would be my day. The look on Jason's face when the strip turned blue was unforgettable. It was our day. He told me I was not to leave the hospital and to check in immediately to Labor and Delivery. My water may have been broken for over a week at this point and my chance of infection was high.

I checked in at around 11:30 and my Labor and Delivery went quite easy! I decided that I wanted to wait as long as I could to get an Epidural so that I would not slow down my labor. So I waited until 8cm and then I got my epidural. It only numbed my right half, which was fine. Until then I was able to go in the jacuzzi tub (twice with Popsicles) and walk around the hospital. I worked through my labor by looking at my scrapbooks, listening to music, cracking jokes and trying to stay active.
She was born at 8:53pm happy and healthy! There were only a few complications during the post delivery period but all manageable.
7lbs 11oz 21 inches long... LYLA GEROSA FULTON graced this world with her presence.

Overall the delivery was smooth and I wouldn't change anything about it. I loved having Popsicles in the jacuzzi and feeling alert and prepared.

What they don't tell you:
Contractions can be 2 minutes long
You can only push for 3 hours for your first pregnancy
Epidurals can possibly numb only half your body
The post partum period is harder than anyone will ever admit.... more blogs to follow!

Ok, back to mommyhood..... I should be sleeping right now because she is actually asleep in her new swing!
XO