Category Archives: Liz’s Life

Lila’s First Christmas – Six Week Growth Spurt

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The past week has been lovely, wonderful and exhausting all at the same time. We hosted Luke’s family for Christmas and it was soooo nice having them here. His parents and sister flew in from Indiana and his brother already lives here. This Christmas was made even more special because it was the first time Luke’s parents and sister met Lila.

Despite all the craziness of having a newborn, it was important to me to get the house decorated for Christmas. Luke and his brother even went out into the national forest and cut down our Christmas tree (don’t worry, this is allowed in Tahoe).

As part of my pregnancy nesting, I had purchased stockings, ornaments and a tree skirt made out of old coffee bags months in advance. Add in some special ornaments and a new nativity set my mom got us and our house felt so cozy.

To top off the holiday feeling, we were treated to six FEET of snow the week leading up to Christmas. We took several walks out in the neighborhood, threw some snowballs, went sledding and the boys went skiing.

We went to Christmas Eve mass and brought Lila for the first time. It was the children’s mass, which meant kids all dressed up in their holiday best, a cute play and lots of carols. I couldn’t help tear up a little during Silent Night. I looked down at Lila asleep in my arms while singing “sleep in heavenly peace” and felt such happiness. The same happiness I’m sure Mary felt while holding baby Jesus. At the end of mass, the priest called up all the babies who were having their first Christmas, so Lila made her big debut in front of everyone. :)

The next morning we opened presents and just as we were finishing our Christmas day lunch of prime rib, baked apples, brussel sprouts and mint cheesecake, Lila starting fussing. She didn’t stop being upset and suddenly wanted to nurse around the clock. That day, I nursed her in total nine hours! She finally passed out at 3am, only to sleep four hours before she was up crying and rooting again.

After going through her three week growth spurt, I recognized the signs immediately – her six week growth spurt had started with a vengeance. For three days straight our sweet girl was replaced with an inconsolable, hungry little bear. Luckily Luke was home from work and we had eager grandparents here to help rock, soothe, change, burp and comfort her while I focused on keeping my energy and nutrition up to meet her feeding demands.

It’s easy to get really frustrated during these periods and question your abilities as a mother. Am I producing enough milk for her? Why am I not able to soothe her? Is there something wrong with her? But of course, she was just doing what she was supposed to do, build up my milk supply and continue to grow into a healthy little girl.

Just like clockwork, after three days, she calmed down and our sweet girl returned. Yesterday she hardly cried at all, gave us some of her first smiles and slept eight hours through the night without a peep. And I can tell she did her job – my supply has increased a lot.

So while this Christmas was very special in a lot of ways, it was also quite stressful for this first time mom. I am glad we pulled through this last growth spurt and that we had the love and support of Luke’s family. Here’s hoping Lila can keep up this whole sleeping-through-the-night thing and show us more of those gummy smiles.

One Month Old Update

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Well we made it to one month!

Honestly there were times I wasn’t sure how I would ever get through those first few weeks. Between recovering from major surgery and learning how to tend to a newborn, this month has had it’s challenges.

Of course it also had many moments of absolute joy!

I feel like I never really understood just how quickly time goes by until I had Lila. Even though it’s only been a month, it seems like the weeks, days, hours and seconds fly by with her. And she’s growing so much – almost 8 lbs from 6 lbs 10 ounces. It’s wonderful to see her grow and heartbreaking at the same time. I want her to be my baby forever!

In an effort to freeze time if only on this blog post, here are some things about Lila in this first month that I wanted to get down on paper so I can remember always.

– Lila likes to fight sleep. Almost like she doesn’t want to miss out on anything. She’ll literally sleep with one eye open and mid yawn yelp out as if saying “NO I will NOT go to sleep!”

– To go along with the photo above, Lila is a big time scowler. Lots of super concerned/angry brow faces all day long. We joke that she is like “wait, THESE are my parents?!!?” lol.

– Despite her best efforts, she is sleeping quite well at night for a four week old. About 4 1/2 hours and then 3 hours each night. It could be worse!

– Lila has a very intense stare. When you have her in your arms, she will lock eyes with you and stare at you. Looking into her eyes is one of my favorite things to do.

– She does NOT like getting her nose suctioned. Unfortunately that’s the only way to get those boogies out so she can breathe! Yesterday, Luke did it to her and she cried so hard her face turned purple (and my heart crumpled).

– I can’t really hold Lila against my chest anymore because she immediately wants to eat, but Luke still can. When she’s fussing a little, he will cuddle her close on his chest and she quiets right away. It melts my heart seeing them snuggled.

– Lila’s left ear sticks out a little. My mom calls it her “potato chip ear.” It’s adorably cute and the doctor said 99% it will lay flat once she grows.

– I am so happy that I am able to breastfeed successfully because it is my most special time spent with Lila. She makes me laugh so hard when she’s eating. First she’ll grunt and open her mouth so wide like “gimme, gimme, gimme.” And while eating she makes little sighs like “ahhh.” and when she is done, she is in the most awesome milk-coma ever. Here’s a video of it.

– Although not super cuddly so far, Lila does like to be held over my shoulder while I pat her back. Whenever I put her there, she sort of shifts around until she’s comfortable and then relaxes her whole body into mine letting out a little sigh.

I can’t believe it’s already been a month and at the same time that it’s ONLY been a month. It seems like she’s been here forever.

I’m so grateful that I get to experience this little life blossom each and every day. We’re constantly learning about her  and all her little quirks. I can’t wait to see what month 2, 3, 4 and so on will bring.

The Guessing Game

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Since I’ve been home full-time with Lila, it seems my days have become filled with playing a constant guessing game. I still haven’t quite figured this girl out and find myself wondering what it is she needs from me.

Every day seems to be different no matter how hard I try to get us into some semblance of a routine. And her needs change hour to hour.

Take napping for example. Sometimes she wants to sleep on her own in her crib. Sometimes she wants me to hold her. Sometimes she needs to be rocked. Sometimes she likes a swaddle. Sometimes she wants to stretch her arms and legs out. Gah!

Good thing she’s so cute when she is asleep.

I’m trying to follow advice I’ve gotten from other moms to settle into an eat, play, sleep routine so Lila doesn’t rely on nursing to fall asleep. She’s been eating about every 2.5 – 3 hours during the day and every 3.5 – 4 hours at night. This is supposed to help regulate her sleeping at night, but that is yet to be seen. I think she’s still a little too young.

Our “routine” went extra haywire the past few days though. Suddenly she started eating constantly and hardly sleeping. This morning for example, she only went 1 hour and 15 minutes between feedings and napped for just 20 minutes before waking up rooting again.

I was starting to lose my mind a little when I thought – maybe she’s having her three week growth spurt? Right when I was convinced that was what was happening, Lila decided to nap for a solid two hours. Sigh.

It’s stressful to feel like I may be reading her signals the wrong way and not giving her what she needs. Of course I want to do what’s best for her while also setting us up for more sleep as soon as possible. I suppose it’s a little ridiculous for me to expect a 3.5 week old baby to have any sort of regularity.

We’ll figure this out soon enough I’m sure. Until we do I guess I’ll just trust my gut and follow Lila’s lead, while reminding myself that if 16 year olds can do it, I can do it. Thanks MTV! :)

First Day As a Full-Time Mommy

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Today is a big day. It’s the first day I am completely alone with Lila. Up until now, we’ve had a mix of family staying with us to help. But my mom left this morning after 2.5 weeks, Luke is back to work and I am Lila’s sole caregiver.

After a quick cry when my mom left this morning, I put on my big girl pants and got down to business. Here’s how our day has gone so far from 7:00 am – 11:30 am:

– Feed, burp and diaper change

– Awake play time singing songs

– Clean spit up off couch

– Down for a nap

– Make myself three eggs and coffee

– Soothe Lila back to sleep in the rocking chair

– Try to nap on the couch while Lila sleeps

– Feed, burp and change diaper

– Tummy time

– Change diaper again

– Clean spit up, gather baby laundry

– Down for nap in her crib

– Start laundry

– Eat a snack and sit down to blog while Lila dozes

Phew! Lots of day packed into just four hours. And notice how “shower and get dressed for the day” is not on that list. lol.

Any notion that I had about maternity leave being “a break” has quickly been forgotten. This is going to be a lot of work, but so worth it. I mean, come on, look at what I get to see at this very moment.

This whole stay at home bit is going to be an adjustment for the next couple months. I am used to being in a vibrant office setting with a lot of social interaction. It’s going to be important that I settle into a routine and keep my schedule full.

Thankfully, I found and joined a mom’s group here in town and have already met a lot of other new moms to get together with. And we’ve started reaching back out to our friends in town to have them come over and meet Lila. My goal is to have at least two social events scheduled for each week while also trying to get out every day for a walk or to run an errand.

Oh, and I should probably try to get out of my pajamas by 1pm every day, right? :)

I’m curious, how have you other moms adjusted to being home alone with a baby all day? Any advice for me?

Mom, Thank you a million times over for putting your life on hold the past two and a half weeks to be here with us. I will never forget the time you spent here with little Lila. You are the best Mimi any child could ask for!