Thursday, December 30, 2010

Lila's First Christmas

Lila had a great first Christmas. She was such a good girl even though we had to go to about a million different places.

She loves all of her presents. She has been laying on her play mat and actually grabbing at the things dangling down on her. She can even make it "sing" sometimes all by herself. She is getting so big it almost makes me cry sometimes!!!

We all had the most wonderful Christmas ever because Lila is the best present any of us could ever get!!!

New hat and gloves


Lila and Daddy in her new jams on Christmas night! She looks so chunky here!


Surprise! I love my new mat!


Christmas Eve


My "little" brother and me

We also had 3 WHOLE days of basketball at the Eldorado Holiday Tournament. Harrisburg took home the 1st Place trophy for the first time in 23 years. That "little" brother you see above is on the team. I am so proud of all the boys on the team. They have wanted this for so long. Great job boys! Lila was such a good little fan. If she wasn't sleeping, she was standing up looking around and watching the game! It's a good thing because she has no other choice by to love basketball.

Littlest Bulldog Fan


The Team


Capel and Tyler (they've been playing together since they were like 1 and winning this tourney has always been one of their goals!)


Capel and the "good luck charm"

Friday, December 17, 2010

Pictures

I so wish that Lila would cooperate and get her picture taken. Sure, she's fine when it's not an actual photoshoot or even when there's other people around, but when it's time for her to get her sweet little face in picture by herself, she just won't do it! I see all of these precious little baby pictures where the babies are sleeping on their bellies or all cuddled up in big cute blankets or something. She just won't do it.

Anyway, last weekend we went to get family pictures taken. A girl I went to school with and played with every Friday night after eating at the Elks when we were kids, is a VERY talented artist and has taken up photography in the past few years. Her work is AMAZING. Mikayla Henderson Photography. I'll share a few of the pictures that she took. At least we did get a couple goods ones of Lila even though we had to hold her to get them done. Either way, they turned out great and we are very pleased!


This my brother and sister

This is all of the kids with Dad

Thanks Mikayla! You did a great job!

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays

In the words of N'Sync, "It's a wonderful feeling. Feel the love in the room from the floor to the ceiling. It's that time of year, Christmas time is here."
I LOVE LOVE LOVE Christmas. I love to see how much giving goes on during the holiday season. Whether it's monetary or not, people are just wonderful this time of year. This always stops to make me think, "why is it only during this time of year that people can be nice?".

As a child, you're always on your best behavior because Santa is on his way and if you want him to bring you something, you better watch out and you sure as hell better not cry. Or maybe the Belsnickel is watching you from the window reporting back on how you've been acting. Who wants to mess with that guy anyway? Not only do you have to worry about presents under the tree, but also you have to worry about your stockings...


Then you get a little older and although your thoughts may have changed a little, you still behave, knowing that this isn't the time to get in a huge argument with your parents. Then you get even older and if you didn't start realizing it in your teens, you surely have by now. All people don't have the same kind of Christmas that you and your family have. So you go out of your way to make it better for them. This really makes you feel good. But why is it only during Christmas that we do these good deeds? We can be "good deed doers" all year round. Those people that don't have anything at Christmas, have just the same in May or August.

Now I'm just as guilty as the next person, but this year I'm going to make a conscious effort to help those in need all throughout the year. Maybe I can help someone at the grocery store with something or maybe I can go to my grandma's and help her out around the house. It doesn't always have to involve money. A simple good deed can turn a person's day right around...it can turn yours around too. :)

On another note, this year is Lila's first Christmas and while she's still too young to know what's going on, we still want to make it special for her. We got her one present, basically because she doesn't need anything right now and we know that everyone else will probably go overboard. I really hope that no one got her anything that is BIG or MAKES NOISE! If you did, and you know who you are, those lovely presents will be staying at your house for when Lila comes to visit! So just start making room! :)

Last year, Neil and I had a huge Christmas. We really overdid it. We both surprised each other with stuff. I got him a PS3, which he had been saying he wanted since like October. He really thought he wasn't getting it. I did a pretty good job of faking it. He got me a Wii. I seriously couldn't believe it! So we did pretty good last year. This year we pretty much know that we're on a budget and we are focusing on our families. We have been so blessed with the greatest family and wanted to get them some small gifts showing them how much we appreciated everything they have done for us this year, especially since Lila was born.

I cracked....I always do. I'm a "present-getter". I just have to do it. Ever since I got my new phone, Neil has been saying that he liked mine better than he like his. He's been up for a contract renewal for a long time and just hasn't gotten a new phone. So I did it! I just couldn't help it! I knew he would love it! I feel like, "he's my husband and I SHOULD get him something". Maybe it was from watching my parents (my dad has always been really good about getting gifts for my mom and now step-mom), but I just feel like I should get him something. Back to the phone...I did good. He's obsessed with it! :) It's a Samsung Fascinate and it's truly the greatest phone ever!!! I got it at BestBuy, where they are on SUPER SALE. If you're up for a renewal, you seriously need to go there! Right now they are so much cheaper than Verizon!

I will try to post before Christmas, but I just wanted to make sure I said this at some point!

Merry Christmas to all of you! I wish you all the best!

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

The Things I've Learned Being A Mother

1. If Lila is crying, there's something wrong with her. All these women who are are mother's age or my grandmother's age had told me not to pick up the baby every time she cries. After reading LOTS of articles about developing babies and their needs, I had come to the conclusion that at this age, babies aren't able to manipulate their parents. Don't get me wrong, sometimes she will be screaming and I will pick her up and the instant that I do that, she's fine. I'll put her back down and she's screaming again. She obviously needs the comfort of my arms to make her feel better at that time because she doesn't do that ALL the time.

2. Never change a poopy diaper right away. If you do, you just may get another explosion at you, this time with the diaper off! Nuff said!

3. The whole "sleep when the baby sleeps" thing is just a bunch of CRAP!! Now people, I'm a sleeping. Just ask my husband or anyone in my family. I can sleep for 18 hours a day if someone would let me...that is, BB (Before Baby). Even those first few weeks when we were up ever couple of hours to eat, if it was during the day, I couldn't sleep. I could lay there, on my ass, all day, doing nothing, but I couldn't make myself fall asleep. Now I've finally learned that since she's set her bedtime around 8:00 every night, that she's also set my bedtime around 8:00 every night.

4. You can't plan anything. This has actually gotten better since she's gotten a little older and I'm not nursing her anymore. She was the SLOWEST eater on the face of the earth. If we needed to be somewhere and it was 30 min before she needed to eat, we just weren't making it on time. That pissed me off. I don't like to be late and I don't like to mosey around. Just sitting there, waiting on her to eat made me so antsy. This is another reason why I think I sucked at breastfeeding.

5. A larger number of women have problems with breastfeeding than those who just keep going with no a single care in the world. Lila was losing and losing and it was giving me a complex. I realized that my supplementing it would have a huge affect on my supply, but I had to do what was best for my baby. The poor thing was STARVING. She responded very well to the formula, actually she sucked it down faster than anything I'd ever seen! It made me so sad that I couldn't provide all she needed, but I know that in this day in age she will be fine on formula. 100 years ago we couldn't say the same thing.

6. It's ok to WANT to get away from your baby every once in a while. My mom told me everyday from the day I got pregnant, "you will wish you could stay home all the time" or "I hated going back to work after I had you kids. It was the hardest thing I ever had to do". At 4 weeks I was getting a little antsy for stuff to do. At 5 weeks I was just about to go stir crazy. At 6 weeks, I sent her across the street to my Aunt's and came to work part time as I could. It's been the best thing for me. If I was still at home we be in debt (even more than we are now) and I'd be divorced because Neil wouldn't be able to handle me and my spending!

7. Your family can't wait to see you, but for a different reason now. I haven't had an identity for a while. For the past 5 or so years, I've either been "Capel's Sister" or "Connor's Sister" and I've even been known (for my whole life) as "Coach Henshaw's Daughter". Let's just add another one to that..."Lila's Mom". This is fine. I don't mind it, but if I'm out somewhere and don't have her with me, people really start freaking out. "Where's Lila?" "Who has her?" Listen people she's not attached to me anymore. I can leave her different places and it's ok!

8. Working out isn't quite what it used to be. :( Wom wom wom :(
Now matter how much I want my belly to go back to the rock solid abs (quit your laughing) that I had before my baby, it's just not so easy to get my butt up there and burn calories anymore! I'm just doing what I can and hopefully, one day soon I'll be able to get back up there. I REALLY REALLY REALLY want to do the half-marathon in Nashville again this spring. I so hope it can happen!

One more GREAT piece of advice that was given to me from a new mom and good friend of mine, Miss Laura Minor Zurliene: The best advice is to ignore most of the advice given to you. You know what's best for your baby. After all, we are mothers for a reason!

That's all I can think of at this point, but it's a pretty good start. Happy naked baby!!!

Saturday, December 4, 2010

Basketball Season

It's finally here. The time we've been waiting for since last march! My little brother, or maybe I should say, my YOUNGER brother, because he's not very little anymore is finally back at it. The season started on Monday with a tournament all week. So far they're 3-0. Great way to start the season if you ask me. So far, Lila LOVES the games. She just adores the bright lights and the squeaky sounds of the shoes on the floor. She doesn't even mind the buzzer, with the exception of the first few times she heard it.

I'm so happy that it's basketball season because now we have something to do on the weekends. Although it's going to be quite the adventure getting Lila to all the ballgames...every weekend...on time, it's going to be great!!

I woke up this morning after Lila and I cuddled for about 4 hours and she ate and sat in her seat watching The Flintstones and I looked at her and she looked like a completely different baby. She's growing so much, but today I could really tell! She was sitting in her boppy yesterday like such a big girl!!! We'll be celebrating her first birthday before know it. :(

Now she's trying to get fussy, so I'll end this post and go get her ready for another ballgame tonight.

GO DOGS!!!!

Thursday, December 2, 2010

"Our Song"...

We like the Peter, Paul, and Mary version best!

FOR BABY (FOR BOBBIE)
John Denver- Cherry Lane Music Co., Inc. -ASCAP

I'll walk in the rain by your side,
I'll cling to the warmth of your tiny hand.
I'll do anything to help you understand,
I'll love you more than anybody can.

And the wind will whisper your name to me,
Little birds will sing along in time,
The leaves will bow down when you walk by,
And morning bells will chime.

I'll be there when you're feeling down,
To kiss away the tears if you cry.
I'll share with you all the happiness I've found,
A reflection of the love in your eyes.

And I'll sing you the songs of the rainbow,
Whisper all the joy that is mine.
The leaves will bow down when you walk by,
And morning bells will chime.

{repeat verse 1}

The leaves will bow down when you walk by,
And morning bells will chime.

And she even likes when I sing it to her. She's probably thinking, YIKES!!

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

End of the Month

So the last week has been hard to keep up on my days. I'm gonna do a quick post to finish up my days of loving my husband and then I'll try to get on here more and update everyone on how life with Lila's going!

Day 23: I love N because while he sometimes changes his goals somewhat (everyone has to at some point) he never gives up on those goals!

Day 24: I love N because he like my cooking...no comment Mom, if you're reading, because I DO COOK!

Day 25: I love N because even when he's stressed to the max, he USUALLY doesn't take it out on me! :)

Day 26: I love N because he is appreciative of everything in life. Things happen for a reason and we both know that. It takes a great man (woman too) to admit it, even when the bad things are happening.

Day 27: I love N because he is thankful for everything we have and even the things we don't have. (this one should've been on day 25 :) )

Day 28: I love N because he admits when he's wrong...sometimes. Most guys never admit when their wife is right. And this happens to him a lot because I'm always right! hee hee

Day 29: I love N because he is smart....that is that!

Day 30: FINALLY...I love N because he works hard at everything he does! ALL THE TIME!

Babe if you're reading this, you know how much I love you! And if you do this same thing ever, you'll find that as much as you love me (and I know it's a lot) it's a lot harder than you think to break it down this way. I love everything about you...you are the best husband and daddy a girl could ever want and have! XOXOXO


Everyone try it out and see how many different ways you love your spouse! It's harder than you think!

Monday, November 22, 2010

Trying To Be Creative

UGH...I try so hard and I just can't do it. I've tried to make crafty things for around the house or cool things for Lila's room and it's just not happening. Today I tried to make bows. I sorta got through it and it would've been easier to complete if Lila hadn't started crying and needed attention. I will get to it at some time. Maybe just in time for Christmas...we'll see.

On a daily basis, Lila and I watch The Ellen Show. We love it. Lila has even started "watching" it. Today she was watching it in full force. She was smiling and talking. Ellen can even make babies smile. It was the cutest thing.

I'm SOOOOOO behind on the 30 days of loving my husband. I must say, while I love him for so many reasons, they are becoming harder to express in words.

Day 17 - I love N because he does everything in his power to keep our family safe.

Day 18 - I love N because he keeps me involved in planning his fantasy football team. This sounds hilarious, I know, but he knows it makes me smile.

Day 19 - I love N because he helps me keep the house tidy. He doesn't expect me to do EVERYTHING!

Day 20 - I love N because he has style. He cares about what he looks like, which is more than most guys can say!

Day 21 - I love N because when he talks to Lila, it's the sweetest thing I've ever heard. Sometimes I just sit in the other room and listen to them talk. I just smile!

Day 22 - I love Neil because the other day, he taught me how to play Madden NFL 2011....and he didn't make fun of me at all. Yes, he laughed, but it was encouraging! hahaha

Day 23 - I love N because in every decision he makes he considers how it would affect the whole family, not just him.

Day 24 - I love N because he treats my brother like he is his brother. I know that this means a lot to Capel since he only has two older sisters to deal with.

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Rain Rain Go Away

It's cold....and rainy. I really don't like this weather, but I can't complain because it's been so beautiful up until now. For November, we've had great weather. You never know what to expect in the midwest. It could be 70 degrees one day and snow the next...literally, I've seen it happen!

These cold and dreary days make me want to stay home and lay on the couch and catch up on all my taped shows that I'm probably never going to get to watch. :( Snuggling with Lila sounds so great! Not to mention it totally gets into my mentality on working out. I just don't want to do it! I know I need to because my body is grossing me out, but I just can't get myself to the gym everyday!

Miss Lila is growing so big!!! She looks like an angel here!



I've totally been slacking on my love posts :) So I'll try to catch up today.

Day 11: I love N because he is a good person. He has a great heart and would do anything for just about anyone!

Day 12: I love N because he loves to dance! A lot of guys will not dance with their wives/girlfriends, but her loves it. Sometimes we have dance parties at the house, just us!

Day 13: I love N because he can grill. I know it's a guy thing, but not everyone is good at it! It makes me sad that it's cooling off and I won't get to enjoy his grilling for a while.

Day 14: I love N because when we watch football together, he always explains stuff to me. If I ask him what most people would call a "stupid question", he doesn't say a thing and just tells me what it means. I'm not a total dummy, but there are a few things I don't know!

Day 15: I love N because he's not one of those dads that thinks the mom is supposed to do everything. He loves to hold and play with Lila. He feeds her and changes her. He is so good with her!

Day 16: I love N because of his personality. You're probably thinking, "Duh Lindsey, Why would you have married him if you didn't like it?" He's got so many great characteristics that a lot of people don't get to see! He's one of the most caring and genuine people I know, among other things!

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Nursing Vacation

So here we go. Lila and I are on a nursing vacation. My supply is still really low and I've done some research on increasing your supply and asked some of my mommy friends and I've heard a lot of testimonies that it has worked. My boobs are open 24/7 for the next few days to try to get more milk.

I'm hoping that eventually I will be able to have Lila on breast milk exclusively. Not only is it best for her, but it's also free! It's gonna take a lot of work and patience for the 72 hours, but it will totally be worth it if it works!! She's already been back on the breast since 4:30 today and I'm amazed at how well she has latched back on. Hopefully we can make it through the night without me going crazy!! Say a prayer that this will work. I hope God knows how much we want this and gives us both the strength to do it.

Day 10: I love N because he is supportive of any and everything I want to do. Even if it's the craziest thing that I want to do, he supports me. This means so much especially when you're me and have a lot of things that you would like to do in your life!

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Working Out

Thank goodness that my dad and step-mom offer to watch Lila while Neil and I go to the gym to workout. Working out and running were such a big part of my life before I got pregnant. While I continued my running throughout my pregnancy, I dropped the strength training. I was so scared that I would try to do too much if I continued with it. Looking back, I'm sure I would've been fine, but now I'm glad to be back in it.

I have to thank my very good friend Alecia for sharing one of her workout plans with me. It is so much more helpful to see something on a piece of paper and know what I have to do that day. Now the challenge is going to be finding the time to do my running, which is most important to me, and also do my strength training. Yep...I gotta work that out!

Lila is already in the game showing us her muscles!

I am going to try to start reporting in my miles each day. I may do it at the end of the week though. Stay tuned and let's see how quickly I can build up my miles again!

30 Days of LOVE update :)

Day 8: I love Neil because he makes time to do things with me. Even after he's been at work all day and probably just wants to be alone (in fact, I know he wants to be alone at the end of the work day...he's told me).

Day 9: I love Neil because he takes care of our finances. Enough said...he is a SAINT for doing this!!!!

Sunday, November 7, 2010

I'm a MOM! No really, I'm a MOM!

On the way home from my mom's today for a family dinner, we were just driving and talking, as usual. We started talking about Lila and both of us agreed that it's still so weird that we have a child. A real baby that depends on us for EVERYTHING. We give her everything she needs and wants. We made her...she is us. Gosh, it's just the strangest thing in the whole world. God is so good to us. She is a little miracle, even when she cries...she's OUR miracle. I know science and I've taken A&P, but to think back to those classes and remember how small, minuscule, she once was just blows my mind sometimes!

She is just the cutest little thing in the whole world, I know I'm a little biased, but she is! I just want to kiss her face all the time. And really, I do! She loves it though and I have to take advantage of it now because one day she will not let me do it. It will break my heart, but I know that she will boomerang back. I did.

Day 6 Nov 6: I love N because he tells me every day, and I mean every day, that I'm pretty. I'm talking like when I've been home all day with Lila and she's been screaming and I haven't had any sleep, no make-up, and still in my pajamas with baby puke all over them, he tells me I look pretty. Any man that can lie like that :) you have to love!

Day 7 Nov 7: OK this is is a practical reason for love! I love N because he takes care of the dogs. When he knows I'm pissed at them because I just cleaned the house and they tracked stuff in or when they are up all night walking around the house waking me up, he takes care of them. Partially because he would like them to stay alive and he knows I'll kill 'em if I get ahold of them. :) Love you Jasper and Ringo! XOXO

Friday, November 5, 2010

Days 4 & 5

Day 4 November 4: I love N because he loves (at least he acts like he loves) my family!

Day 5 November 5: I love N because he is my knight in shining armor. I found him or he found me when I was at a down point. He totally pulled me out!

Even though I had to leave my sweet baby girl, work was great the past few days! I'm going to shoot for a couple of full days next week! Woo Hoo! That's all. :)

Thursday, November 4, 2010

Going to Work

This afternoon I'm going in to work half a day, hopefully. I'm kind of excited about it. My Aunt JJ is going to watch Lila. I think we're going to have a pretty good arrangement with that. She lives right across the street and isn't working right now. I'm pretty sure she's going to enjoy this time. :) She watched my brother when he was a baby too.

That is all for now. My little angel is sitting her looking at me...smiling and talking and pooping! I love it!

Plus I missed the last two days of my entry so I'll do that now!

Day 2 November 2: I love N because even when he has been at work all day and comes home to Lila crying, he will still take her from me so I can have some time. It so nice to just get a shower sometimes, even if I don't need it!

Day 3 November 3: I love N because he knows that I have no imagination, he still loves me and always encourages me to act like a kid more. I recently just started watching Harry Potter with him (which he LOVES) and really it's not so bad!

Monday, November 1, 2010

Sweet Little Baby Faces

We just got home from the doctor because Lila has red bumps all over her face and back of her head. Turns out it's just eczema, but the poor thing just looks awful. I just look at her and think she's got to be itching or burning or something. The PA at the doctor's office told me to use Cetaphil lotion on her. So we went straight to WalMart and got some. We'll see if it works. I sure hope it does because it's so hard to look at and think that it isn't hurting her in anyway. I know adults that itch and itch and itch because of it. UGH Poor baby. Sweet little baby faces should never have to go through this. I know what you're thinking..."whoa Lindsey, wait till your baby really gets sick. How are you gonna handle that?" Haha I know. We'll just take it all in stride!

Sunday we went to pick up Lila at my mom's. She stayed all night Saturday night while we went out to a Halloween party. We had fun, but sure did miss her! I didn't even sleep very well because I'm so used to waking up with her. Oh well, it was definitely nice to spend time together. So I had this wonderful idea on the way home that for every minute we tell each other one reason why we love them. We switched off every other minute and while some of them were funny ones (but oh so true), we did have the really meaningful reasons.

I've decided that since today is the first day of the month, I'm going to try to write something everyday, even it's a very short blog, and in each entry I'm going to share one reason why I love my husband. I want to encourage everyone to do the same, whether you write it down somewhere or just tell them when they walk through the door. It will surprise both of you and make it that much more obvious why you're with each other. :) Kinda corny, I know, but I think it will be fun!

Day 1 - November 1: I love N because he ALWAYS knows how to make me laugh, even when I'm having an emotional breakdown and have been crying for hours! He walks in the door and knows exactly what to say!

Monday, October 25, 2010

So Big!


I know she's only 5 weeks today, but I feel like Lila is already getting so big. I put an outfit on her a little bit ago and decided to try some shoes with it. The last time we tried shoes the were HUGE!!! I put them on her today and they totally fit and are sooo cute. This time I put the shoes on with socks though, so I think that made the difference. Still I can't believe how much she is growing already. I just love to look at her. All day every day. She is the princess of the house!

The above picture is the top she had on prior to the diaper blowout! We made the change and that's when I thought to put the shoes on her! Too cute!




I have one more thing to share today. A couple of pictures taken by our friend Greg Poole of Pooleside Photography. If you're in the Southern Illinois area, you have got to get ahold of him for your next photo session! You will be glad you did!





Saturday, October 23, 2010

Spoiled Baby

I'm blogging from my mom's today. Daddy went to work some overtime and we didn't want to be home by ourselves again, so we made the trip out to Grandma's house. The dogs needed and outing too. It's been well over a month since they came out to the country to visit their friends and boy are they happy they got the opportunity. They have already been swimming in the pond and rolling in the dirt. It's a good thing I brought a sheet for the back of the car. I'm hoping they tire enough to sleep on the way home anyway....hoping. :)

Lila has been pretty needy the past couple of days. She just wants momma! I don't know what to say. I guess it's my dazzling personality that attracts her; or maybe (and probably more true) it's the fact that she's with me 24/7 and knows that I will calm her in her massive freak out sessions (aka spoil her). So what? Who cares? I will spoil her if I want...plus it won't last long anyway. :) One day she will have a little baby brother or sister and she won't be the spoiled baby anymore, so why not spoil her why I can?

So today my mom or I will rock her and lay her down on the bed to sleep. It only takes her about 5 minutes to realize that she's not in someone's arms before she starts fussing again. So I go pick her up and hold her and rock her, whatever it takes to calm her back down. She's a BABY! She wants to feel comforted and I can do that for her.

So I'm sitting her in my mom's sunroom watching football and holding Lila and I decide that I need (not want, but NEED) to check my Facebook. HAHAHA So I ask my mom, who is cleaning her house for company tonight, to bring me her computer. As she walks in the room, she says "SPOILED GIRL". I immediately come back with "Which one?", with a big grin on my face, knowing that here I sit, me being just as spoiled today as my daughter is. "If the shoe fits", she says back, this time with a smile on her face. Ahhhh I love these times. Then I start thinking about the coming years and my little girl still being spoiled, no matter how many siblings she has, because in our own little ways, my mom has spoiled us.

I hope to be able to keep it to a level of "healthy" spoiling like we have been. By this I mean, not getting EVERYTHING we want all the time, but mainly getting the things we NEED, with a dose of the things we want, enough to keep us thankful and happy for the things we have! I don't know if that makes sense to you, but in my own mind, I'm tracking. :)

I have no doubt in my mind that her Daddy will spoil as well. My dad has also spoiled all of us over the years. It's interesting to think back and analyze how differently moms and dads spoil their kids. Dads, it seems, tend to spoil kids a little differently. Dads will let you do the things that mom doesn't let you do when she's around. "Sure honey, have another coke. Your mom's not here" or "Mom's gone. Do you want pizza or McDonald's for supper?" Dads sure know how to get to the heart of their kids! You let them do stuff they normally can't do. Neil, don't get any ideas!!

I can remember being a kid and thinking, "when I grow up and have kids, I'm never gonna do that to them". Looking back now, I can see that I didn't have it too bad. Things will probably be pretty similar to my childhood, only I will NEVER, I repeat, NEVER make Lila sit at the table and eat her meatloaf if she tells me she doesn't like. That's one thing I'm sticking to and no, Mom, you will not change my mind. How can I tell this sweet face to eat something she doesn't want to?


Since I'm at my mom's and she has the pictures here, I want to go ahead and post some baby pics to compare Lila to mine and Neil's baby pictures. Comment below on who you think she looks like! I think this will be fun! Go to previous posts to see more pics of sweet Lila. The first two are me and the second two are Neil. Cast your vote!



Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Chunky Monkey

Today Miss Lila is 1 month old! I can't believe it. We have made it 1 month! It's been the greatest ride I've ever been on. She now weighs 8lb 11oz! I cannot believe it. 2 lbs in one month. She is eating very well. Still on breast milk and formula. We give her whatever breast milk I can make and then she gets formula the rest of the time. She is just a hungry growing girl!!

Here are some pictures from her first month! Enjoy :)


Swingin on her 1 month birthday!!

Saturday, October 16, 2010

Date Night

Neil and I had our first date night last night. It was the first time Lila had been left with anyone since we've had her. My mom came over for a few hours while we went out to eat. It was great. We hadn't had a night like that in such a long time! We talked and talked and surprisingly enough we didn't talk about Lila the WHOLE time. We have always been able to talk about anything and everything and thankfully that hasn't changed. It's great to just be alone with your best friend and soak up the special times we have together, just us!

I love this picture because she looks like one of the 7 dwarfs...you guessed it, Dopey! She's such a cutie patootie!!

We had a couple of really good nights of sleep this week, but last night just wasn't one of them. Maybe Lila was trying to tell us that she didn't like it that we left her. Nah. :) I think she was just out of her routine. I'm really bad about doing the same things at the same times every day. This is something that I have to start doing because I think it will help her realize some structure to our activities. We'll see and I'll let y'all know how that goes.

Our little sweet pea has been bright eyed and bushy tailed most of the day today so we're hoping to get some sleep tonight.

She loves to lay on her changing table and stare out the window. This makes diaper changing time such a pleasant experience. I just wish sometimes that I could leave her there unattended to enjoy herself!

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

My abs are SORE!!

Yesterday, Lila and I went on a mile walk. Not much, I know, but I needed to make a start. Plus, I can't run or walk fast and just walking takes so long for not much accomplished. I don't have the patience for it at all. That being said, though, it was still an enjoyable outing with my baby.

That is not the reason for the soreness in my abs. I came home and proceeded to attempt the Ab Ripper X dvd. Mind you, I haven't even touched this workout since last February when we went to the doctor and they said not to engage in any intense ab work. As a matter of fact, I haven't done ANY ab work since that day. This made for an interesting 20 minutes of Ab Ripper. I am proud to say that I did complete the workout with only a few less repetitions on a couple moves. I couldn't believe it. Now, today I can believe it. I love being sore from workouts. It makes me feel like I really did something. And today I can say that I really did something yesterday. Rolling out of bed this morning made me very aware of that! I hope to be back into my pre-pregnancy workout routine in no time!

Lila slept for 5 hours straight last night...IN HER BED!!!! It was amazing. I actually got to sleep with my husband. Of course I woke up frantic a couple times and had to go check on her, but she was fine. After that, she wouldn't go back to her bed, but still slept for decent times til this morning. So proud of her!

Monday, October 11, 2010

How Much is Too Much?

I've been asking myself this question for several weeks now. It's amazing how many times a day and in how many different scenarios this can come up.

1. She's still hungry, should I give her more ounces? How much is too much?
Well Little Miss Piggy is eating 4 ounces at every feeding. We've been supplementing with formula because I'm not making even close enough to this as far as breast milk is concerned. Some days she will even be hungry as soon as 2 1/2 hours after her last feeding. I've heard that babies will not overeat; that they'll quit when they're full, but I'm not sure how much truth is behind this. I mean when does this concept go out the window? I know that there are plenty of times when I will just keep eating even though I know I'm full. I also know that this type of eating causes obesity. First of all I don't want my child to be obese. Second of all I don't want to be the one responsible for my child being obese if it ever were to happen.

Because of our lifestyles, I don't think this will happen. We are very active and even with the times when we "overeat", I will go out for a long run to get rid of those extra calories. I hope I can pass this on to Lila.

2. She pooped again. How much is too much?
Most days we go through about 3-4 dirty diapers, but there are some days when we're pushing th 6-8 dirty diapers. This isn't every day, but it concerns me a little when this happens. I guess I should be happy that she isn't inheriting my constipation issues. I'd rather be going several times a day than only a couple times a week. :)

3. She's crying...again and I can't get her to stop. How much is too much?
I know sometimes babies just need to cry it out, but it breaks my heart not knowing what I can do to help her. I will try to rock her, walk with her, bounce her, swing her, change her...yet nothing seems to help. So I let her sit in her swing and cry. It usually only lasts about 5 minutes or so, but it seems like 2 hours sometimes.

Right now we're sitting her watching some Monday Night Football, just starting because of the rain delay. I doubt I'll make it til the end of the game. Lila is sitting with Daddy on the couch (because she won't sit in her seat right now without crying) showing him how strong she is getting. Her neck muscles are already developing and she is able to hold her head up for minutes at a time. She is already thinking it's a game. After a few minutes she will just head butt him right in the chest or the face. It's absolutely hilarious. I can't help but smile when I look over at them. She's so happy to see him when he comes home; ok so maybe it's me that is so excited, but still, I know she is too!

A lot of people think it's such a good life being home all day with a newborn, but believe me, it's a pretty demanding job. I love my Lila, but there are some days that I'd rather be a work! Any of you who are moms know what I'm talking about. Of course when it's time for me to actually go back to work, I'll be crying because I just want to stay at home with my baby! Ehhh I guess I can't have my cake and eat it too. I so appreciate that my hubby goes to work everyday (and works overtime most days) so that I can stay at home and take care of Lila. I just wish we were so rich that we could both stay home everyday. Unfortunately, we do not live in a soap opera and that is not going to happen. Oh well, one can wish.

On another note, I was going to try to get started on some ab work, but it didn't happen today. I'm 3 weeks postpartum and am really wanting my old body back. I've lost almost all the weight, but everything is so SOFT. I can't stand it. If I can't run, at least give me the strength to get my abs back in shape. So I'm aiming for tomorrow if Lila will be a good girl and sleep somewhere other than in my arms! Here's to hoping!

Thursday, October 7, 2010

Birthday shopping

Yesterday was my 26th birthday. What a wonderful birthday present to have my daughter here to celebrate with me! We had such a fun filled day.

Lila, my mom, and I went shopping yesterday. This was her first official shopping experience and she loved it! We taught her all about the importance of shopping for shoes and purses. She's definitely off on the right track now. Lila was such a good girl. She slept most of the day, but was so good when she was awake. It was a great birthday. She even conned my mom into buying a cute little outfit for her. She got a brand new faux fur vest and sweater dress. They are a little too big right now, but will fit her in no time at all!

Since we literally shopped til we dropped as my mother reminded yesterday, we slept in today and just snuggled a bit. She is already growing up so much right in front of our eyes. She is doing so well with her sleeping and eating patterns. I hope I don't jinx anything by saying this, but she's kinda settling into a routine now. Some days are better than others, but for the most part, she's an angel.

Monday, October 4, 2010

Weight Gain

Thankfully I'm not talking about weight gain of my own! We went back to see Dr. Matt again and Lila is now 6lb 15oz. She's gaining perfectly. She's already growing before our eyes!

As we speak, she's sleeping in her crib for a record time of 30 minutes. I seriously can't believe it. We have been trying since day 3 to get her to sleep in there and she just didn't like it. I don't blame her. She's has felt nothing but closeness for the past 9 months or so and to be put down all along with nothing there to make her feel secure would be scary for anyone! So I'm holding my breath that she will stay put for a little bit longer and maybe she will start getting used to the crib.


She's been sleeping in her bouncer seat which is fine with me, but we don't really want her sleeping in our room til she's going to kindergarten! :)

I just had to share this video. This was on The Ellen Show today and I totally cracked up. I hope Miss Lila never has this happen, but I have to say the odds are not in her favor!!!

Click this link to watch the video. You have to watch until about 1 min 30 sec to see the good part!!

Sunday, October 3, 2010

Sleep and Motherhood

As most of you know, it's pretty much obvious that when you become a mother, sleep goes right out the window. It was a rough first couple of weeks, but the last couple days/nights have really been working out.

Lila was starving it seemed and wanting to eat like every hour and a half. I just felt like I couldn't keep up. I finally broke down and gave her a bottle of formula on Friday afternoon. We really really wanted to exclusively breastfeed/pump for her, but it was just wearing me out, not to mention stressing me out. This in turn, I have no doubt, was affecting my milk supply. Since Friday, we have given her a bottle of formula twice a day, about every 12 hours or so and I've been able to pump. I've started catching up and am even putting a little away for storage! It feels so great. We haven't had to give her formula at all today because my milk is keeping her happy. I feel so much better about everything now. The formula didn't hurt her belly and she hasn't shown any signs of it affecting her negatively at all.

Miss Lila is changing so much everyday. She is also settling into a bit of a routine. She has been eating and sleeping on cue pretty much every 3 hours or so. She has even be having some awake time. This is so cute. She just looks around the room or stares at me or the TV in awe of everything. I just look back at her in awe that she is ours. We made her and she is perfect, even when she is screaming her little head off. :)

Neil has been back at work this past week and it's been pretty lonely around the house. We get so excited when he gets home, but it's like I immediately get tired when he walks in the door. I feel awful, but even when I've taken some naps throughout the day, I still need to hit the sack early at night. God bless him for coming home to a house that is still kinda wrecked, supper that is leftovers and in still needs to be heated up, a dirty diaper and a sleepy mom that, if she had any energy at all would love to just spend some time and talk to him, but really just needs to sleep! He is amazing for dealing with all this!

When we do get to lay down together, I just get all emotional and start crying because it's so nice to be able to snuggle up to him (and I mean all the way up to him without a belly in the way) and just lay there knowing that he's there when I need him.

And today, we'll leave you with a smile!

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Week 1 Down

I can't believe it's already been a week. We have gone through so much already. Everyday, we love Miss Lila even more. I can't stop looking at her. She changes each day and always has a new face to show us.

Week 1 has been a wonderful week of ups and downs as is the case with most babies and their parents during their first week home. Lila is a pretty good baby overall. Like most babies, she hasn't developed a routine yet. I'm not sure I'm doing what I need to to get one established either. I feel like it's never too early to start a routine, but at the same time, I know that she is so little and helpless and sometimes all she needs is to feel the comfort of her momma or daddy...so we hold her. I'm guilty of it everyday and I don't care at all. :)

Lila went to the doctor on Friday last week and was down to 6lb 4oz. I was totally freaking out because I'm breastfeeding and have no way of knowing how much milk she is getting. I started pumping to see how much and was getting about 2 oz all together every 3 hours or so. She's not cranky or begging for food, but I was still nervous!

I struggled all weekend with this and it made things very hard. We went back to the doctor yesterday and Lila is back gaining weight. She was 6lb 8oz and I was relieved! I can't tell you how much better I felt when I saw those numbers. We really don't want to have to go to formula unless it's the last option possible. Breastmilk is the best thing for a baby and we want to give her the best there is.

Last night after a feeding she completely conked out. I had to share this picture because I think it's just hilarious!

That being said, we're healthy and gaining weight. Lila and I went on our first stroller ride today and she absolutely loved it. We walked to the high school where my dad is a teacher to be the guest speakers for his psychology class. The class is learning the phases of life and they are on infants now. Lila knew the perfect time to come into this world so Grandpa (or whatever we're calling him) could use her for a demo. We tested her reflexes and she did wonderful.

Needless to say we are so blessed to have this little girl in our lives and look forward to all things Lila!!!

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Lila Jane has arrived!

WOW! This is my first post as a mother! That is so weird to say, but I LOVE it!

Lila Jane was born on September 20, 2010 at 12:58 pm. She was 6 lbs 9.9 oz and 20 inches long. She is perfect. And that is an understatement. Momma and Daddy have survived the first few days with her. We are still alive and so is she...always a good thing. We love her more and more everyday!

So here's how it started; the labor, I mean.

I woke up with a period like cramp at 5:30 on Monday morning. I'd been having some similar cramping for the past few weeks so it didn't really alarm me too much. Because I was up, I thought I'd just go ahead and go pee. I knew if I didn't, it would just be another half hour before I had to get up and go anyway. When I stood up, I had a little leakage, but not enough to be sure. So I went to the bathroom and lost a little more fluid. I still wasn't "sure" so I went back and laid down. Of course I couldn't fall back asleep so about 5 minutes later I got up again. I was pretty convinced after that trip to the bathroom. I was still having some cramping, but nothing too bad, although it was pretty regular.

About 5:45, I went in and woke up Neil. It was priceless. I tried to explain to him that it was just slowly leaking, but coming from a dead sleep he kept thinking that I had a gush and he needed to clean up. :) How sweet! Neil got up immediately and we started getting the last minute things together and packed. I got in the shower because I had to shave my legs. I knew that my water would break on a day that my legs needed shaved! By the time I got out of the shower, my contractions had gotten a little more intense and were only about 2 minutes apart. I thought for sure that this was wrong. We were supposed to be at the hospital when the contractions were about 5 min apart. So we hurried up and got everything thrown in the car. We even remembered the car seat! We said goodbye to the dogs and briefly explained that we wouldn't be coming home the same and that we would be back in a couple of days.

Now the hospital is a good 45 minutes away...on a good traffic day. This day was not. There is a lot of road construction going on en route to the hospital. Throw in that we were on our way during morning traffic and I'd say it took us about and hour to get there. Contractions getting more and more intense the whole way, still not painful, just very uncomfortable.

We got to the hospital and of course hadn't done pre-registration, which knowing now, I could kick myself in the shin! We were asked 1 million questions as I laid there, contractions intensifying by the minute. I was checked by the nurse and was 3 cm dilated when I got there. By the time I finally got to my birthing room, I was dilated to 5 cm. This kinda surprised me since all I've heard and been prepared for was a labor that would last, at the shortest, about 12 hours.

I had been feeling nauseous and thought I was gonna throw up with each contraction. I went to the bathroom...a pretty good one too... and then got back in bed. It wasn't but a couple contractions later (about 5 min) that I was puking my guts up. My guts, by the way, consisted of nothing since I didn't eat breakfast and had some remains of a DQ Blizzard the night before for supper. It was at that point that I decided that I definitely needed the epidural. So I sent my Mom or Aunt Lisa out there to relay the message to the nurse.

To my surprise, something they don't tell you in the childbirth class, you have to take in a bag of fluid before they even let the anesthesiologist come up. This could take an hour, the nurse said. At this point, had I taken karate as a child, I'm pretty sure someone would've gotten chopped in the throat. Good for the nurses, I know nothing about fighting. :) Luckily for me too, that bag of fluids went through me in about 35 min. All this time, Neil's poor fingers were breaking due to my deathly grip on them. He had it bad because I had taken BOTH of his hands hostage until I got some other type of pain meds.

About the same time as the fluid intake they were able to shoot me up with some pain killers. Now as far as this goes, it didn't really help with the pain as much as it kinda helped me calm down in the 45 seconds to a minute I had between each contraction. They were literally right on top of each other. I had told myself all along that I was gonna try to avoid the epidural if I could. Now this is a VERY heavy statement, but looking back, had I known that things would progress as quickly as they did, I could've maybe told myself that I could do it, but hindsight is 20/20 and at the time, I thought I was in hell!

About 10 minutes (I think...time was so blurred this entire time) later, the anesthesiologist walked through the door. Usually once you call them, it could take another 45 minutes for them to get to you. And no matter what I thought, I wasn't the only person in that hospital that day. But thankfully, God happened to be watching me at the moment and he sent the doctor straight to me. Once he got it in, I only felt about 2 more contractions. This is when I can kinda start remembering again!

Neil was able to come back in to the room. The nurse told me to rest up for the pushing, if I could. The pain killers were still in my system a little b/c I started feeling pretty drowsy. Mom went to eat and Neil stayed with me for about 15 minutes before he went out to talk to his family that had just shown up. About 10 minutes later, the nurse checked me again and told me I was 9 cm. I really couldn't believe it. 10 seconds later, my mom and Aunt Lisa came back in and I told them what the nurse had just said. Like I could make a joke at this point, my mom thought I was lying. Not even a minute later, the nurse said I was at 10 cm and would start pushing soon.

Dr. Tsung was eating lunch, but hurried his little butt up to my room to help get this baby in the world. At 12:49 pm, I started pushing. It felt like an out of body experience. I was just doing what people were telling me to do when they told me to do it. 9 minutes later, baby girl, Lila Jane, was here. She was absolutely gorgeous and had a head full of blonde hair, which she got from her daddy.

Everything from then on moved so quickly. We had the paparazzi in the room and everyone just kept talking and talking while I laid there getting sutured up. It's funny how everyone was talking to me and telling me things until the moment she arrived and then everyone just kinda turned and started talking to each other, except Neil. He stayed with me the whole time, looking over to see if Lila was ok. I finally told him to go see her! I knew he wasn't sure where he was supposed to be. Plus, I pretty much had no idea what was going on.

After the press left and the paparazzi had gotten all the shots they needed Mommy and Daddy finally got to see a clean little baby. She was so hungry and latched on perfectly! We got moved finally and Lila went to get a bath.

From then on it was just people coming and going...still is!

We are so excited about this new step in our lives. We are so blessed with everything we have and Little Miss Lila is the icing on the cake.

Sunday, September 19, 2010

Football

For the last three weeks our house has been football crazy. We LOVE college football altogether. I don't think either one of us have one team that we are crazy about; we just like to watch it. Tonight is all NFL! I used to not care for the NFL as much, but even since Neil has had a fantasy team (the last two years), I've been really getting into it more. Call me crazy, but I can't get enough.

So we're just sitting here watching some football and letting the dogs relax in the house before we condemn them to their outside palace and of course I'm thinking, "Next week we could be watching football with Lila in our arms". How awesome is that gonna be! Of course we'll have to watch our cheering and how loud we get, but the more I think about it, the more excited I get. I have to say, Neil is pretty excited as well. As anxious, nervous, scared, whatever other emotions there are that we have, we are still so ready for her. Lila being here will make us all so happy, no matter how hard it is in the beginning.

I wanted to share some pictures that I have of the pups and the love they are getting from Daddy before little sister comes around. I hope you all enjoy them!!