Stinkin Cute!

Loving Lyla

I love her.....
nose with the perfect pointed tip
soft blond hair
long piano fingers
toes that have strength
sleepy red eyes that she rolls into the back of her head
no neck that disappears
crooked smile when she's barely falling asleep
new found yell that is so "girlie"
grunts before she falls asleep
drool bubbles
smile
ears like her Daddy's
shy smile when I come home from work
ability to make me melt
I just love her.

Goo!

Lyla has her own language. It's the "goo goo" language. We have whole conversations with the goo goo and it goes pretty well. It typically starts with her smiling at me (which melts my heart) then a bit of bubbly drool comes out of her mouth, soon after that she lets out her drawn out "ggggoooooooo" and I say "goo goo goo" and she smiles quite large, turns her head side to side and says "goo!". We can go on for hours. It amuses me and somehow my ten hour days at home fly by with just the word goo coming out of my mouth. The fact is, I love it, and I love her! GOOOO!

Family

I just love having my own family and Lyla loves her grandparents! She met her first horse, Kat! Oh the joy, I'm sure she had no idea what the big brown thing that smelled funny was. She also probably had no idea why I dressed her up in a bear outfit that her Uncle Raf gave her..... someday she'll understand. I love her so much. My little Lyla.

Likes and Dislikes

Life is getting easier and we are now becoming more relaxed with being first time parents. Lyla seems to be somewhat getting used to her surroundings. She still fussy quite a bit but she loves it when I make funny faces at her and keep her entertained. Just a few of the things she likes and dislikes:

LIKES:
When I say "goo goo goo"
Me touching her cheek and saying "silly!"
Her whole body being bounced and moved while I walk simultaneously.
Milk from me.
Her pretty pretty princess on her tummy time playmobile.
Swinging.
Going for walks in her Baby Bjorn (not all the time though...)
Drooling.
Looking at objects.
Being swaddled.
Her womb sounds bear.
Her bassinet at night time.
Mom & Dad and all family members.

DISLIKES
Not having the center of attention.
Going to bed before she's ready.
Having gas and being constipated (big smiles!)
The first few seconds of car rides.
Unknown faces.
Feeling like she's falling (the morrow reflex!)
Tomatoes, and citrus foods that I eat.
When I change her outfit too many times.

These are just a few things about Lyla, man I love her!

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.