The Joy

So in my whole 7 months of parenting, there are a few things that make my heart just well up with joy. Feel free to disagree, but for me these few things make being a mommy amazing!

1. Being the only one to calm her.
Okay, I know this is a little twisted but it pulls at my heart strings when Lila is upset and the only person that she wants is ME! It makes me feel so special and loved.

2. When she is finally good for strangers.
In opposition to the point above, it makes my heart over flow when she feels comfortable with people other than me or her dad.

3. When she melts into my arms.
So we were at the doctors office yesterday and after her shots I nursed her like always. When I sat her up to get us ready to leave I literally felt her melt into her dreamland in my arms. It was a moment I will not forget.

4. Nursing
Now I know nursing isn't for everyone and some people have a hard time with it. But for Lila and I it is a super special time. We both get some calm one on one time. We get to have special talks, she get to hear my off key singing, and in those moments her little body stills my heart.

5. In the beginning... poop
When we first brought Lila home, she wasn't pooping and with jaundice, pooping is even more crucial. After about 6 days we finally got a poop. Her dad and I cheered and praised her endlessly for a simple bodily function.

6. Rolling, crawling, standing, and walking
I'm grouping these together because I had the same reaction everytime she reached one of these physical milestones. Pure joy and amazement. (We are still waiting on true walking)

7. Teeth!!
This is another slightly twisted one. I kid you not, my child has been teething for MONTHS. The morning I woke up and Lila wanted to chew on my finger and I felt that tooth...well let's say I may have shed a tear of joy.

Just Take A Minute

Being a stay at home mom, my job isn't a 9-5, my boss is a 5 month old who is in charge of my every move 24/7. Anything she asks for, I make sure she gets. And just like any job, it can be tuff! (This is why it has taken me over two weeks to write this!) I'm going to go ahead and pat myself of the back for just a second, I am very patient with Lila. I stay calm and don't let her whinning bother me, well 98 % of the time anyways. I know that her whines are her way of telling me that something is wrong and normally I can figure it out. It's those few times when she has been whiny ALL day, hasn't slept, or I can't find anything wrong when I just seem to loose my cool. 

Kyle, Lila, and I went out to eat at our favorite local burger place. Lila was great the whole time we ate. Towards the end of dinner though, she got real fussy so I fed her and that seemed to helped. That is, until we got in the car. Now Lila doesn't like the car at night anyways, but this was different. She was not having it this time. She fussed/cried/screamed the whole way home (thankfully it was only 10 minutes). Nothing would calm her down, not my singing, her toys, the lights on, the lights off, not even a finger to chew on.

As soon as we got home I got her out of the car and in the house. I headed straight for the bathroom, poor girl needed a bath and I knew it would calm her down. I was still really flustered from dinner and the car ride and it was upsetting me. As soon as I put Lila in the tub of water, she very gently took my finger and just stared at me with a sweet gaze. At that moment, I felt God was telling me to just breathe and take a minute. Later on I found this verse and I feel it really describes how I felt in that moment...

Psalm 107:29-30

He caused the storm to be still, So that the waves of the sea were hushed. Then they were glad because they were quiet, So He guided them to their desired haven.

That whole experience just reminded me that sometimes we all need to just take a moment. Even if it's way after bed time and your little one would rather eat the remote than go to sleep...

Sleep is always an issue!

When Lila was first born back in August, we decided we were going to let her sleep in the pack and play next to our bed for a few months and then transition her to her bed in her room across the house. Of course she decided to be difficult (I wonder where she got that from) and HATED to be swaddled and didn't like to sleep on her back. Her doctor had scared me to death, telling me how SIDS is such a big issue and how she had to sleep on her back, but the only way Lila wanted to sleep was on her belly. So we did it anyway. Big no no, I still get yelled at about this at her appointments but oh well.

We have been lucky and not had to deal with Colic or anything close to that hell, in fact Lila has always liked sleep. I read somewhere in the beginning that breast milk digests a whole lot faster than formula so when she woke up every 2-3 hours at night I was ready and it was no biggie, she would eat and go back to sleep. The problem started when I was just too tired to stay awake for her to finish. So I would lay on my side and just let her feed until she was done and then we would sleep. This was magic by the way.  

Enter the co-sleeping stage. Don't get me wrong, I love cuddling with my little booger, but I was not fully sleeping and it wasn't completely restful sleep for her either. My husband works his butt off so I was always trying to be careful and make sure he slept well which meant Lila and I ended in the guest bed or the couch. I was over it!!

Luckily, I had a few friends who had their babies within a month of me and I took to them asking for advice and what was and was not working for them. Now, every baby is different but I was willing to try anything.  I tried a few with no real success.  For a week and a half now, Lila has been eating 1 ounce of cereal (mixed with bm) once a day sometime between 2 and 7. Even though I feed on demand during the day, I started to feed her more often but for a shorter period.

This past week, Lila slept for 5 hours two different nights, and 6 hours on a third night. Then it happened, last night she slept for EIGHT AND A HALF hours!!!! Whoo hoo! It was amazing to get that much solid sleep in my bed, with my husband. When she woke up, she got to get in bed with me (it was 630 folks), eat, go back to sleep, and then cuddle with mommy. Talk about a perfect morning. Here is to praying this is a continuous thing, Mommy and Lila deserve it. :)

*Side note- I also put a small blanket under her mattress on one side since she likes to sleep on my chest.