A Beautiful Hand-Me-Down

My mom made this dress for me, for a family wedding. The meaning of dressing her in something I wore is not lost on me. The fact that she looks cuter in it than I did is not lost on me either. :)

Asleep in the Car

We're still here! Just very busy these days with a heavier social schedule.

Today Lyla fell asleep in the car on the way to lunch and I grabbed this sweet picture.

Singing Together

We do a lot of singing in this house- lullabies, random songs, goofy voices and humming. Some of Lyla's sounds seem like an imitation of our singing- she has her 'talking' voice but also a 'singing' voice that is more and more common.

Weekends are fun because all three of us get to lay around the house and play together. Yesterday we were entertaining Lyla close to her naptime (hence the cranky grimace at the end) and Ray got hold of my phone. I thought he was flipping through my photos but he was secretly filming us!

Jump Up!

Video success via YouTube! Thanks for the tip Erica :) I'm thrilled to post this and a few more videos soon because Lyla is much cuter in action!

6 Months

Half-birthday! Lyla turned 6 months last week. Let me share some things that have been going on:

One of the biggest events this month is that we started some solid foods!

Breastmilk is still her main source of nutrition, so these solids are mostly for practice, teaching her how to eat and introducing different textures and flavors. Some days Lyla is interested, some days she's not. She nurses when we get up, then I workout and make my breakfast before we both eat our food. So far she has tried brown rice cereal, pears, squash, sweet potato, peas, and prunes; I have carrots, apples, and bananas ready to go. My plan is to introduce a second meal at 7 months and a third meal at 8 months.

We're going on lots of walks in the stroller, now that the days are more sunny. This time outside makes for happy mommy and happy baby!

This past week we got Lyla her booster seat. She's not loving the Bumbo much anymore; it's getting small and she no longer needs the trunk support. She's really enjoying being at the table in the seat, either eating or playing with toys. I drag the chair into the kitchen while I'm cooking too.

She has been able to sit in a high chair very nicely at a few restaurants too. I just have to remember to bring plenty of toys for distraction . . . This soft carrot teether is one of her current favorites.

I had packed the playmat away but brought it out again this month because the hanging toys have some more appeal for a sitting baby:

And this girl doesn't need the Boppy pillow to sit anymore.

She can do it quite well all by herself now.

We started going to postnatal fitness class on Mondays and Wednesdays at 4:30pm, for some extra exercise and to meet other mommies and babies. We made some new friends! Lyla plays for a bunch of the class, but I usually miss some of abs if she starts to fuss.

Yea I have no idea what she's doing here with her legs. I guess it was comfortable because she stayed this way a long time.

We went to her 6-month doctor appointment- she weighs 15 lbs 5.5 oz, and Dr. Eileen was very impressed with her gross motor and language skills.

If there were a theme for the past month, it would be blowouts. Lots of them. We had a week stretch where there was a major explosion every day. I put together an emergency diaper kit in the back of my car and filled it with extra diapers, wipes, disposable changing pads, and plastic bags. Because on more than one occasion I forgot to replenish my diaper bag and was missing something... I've used this emergency kit half a dozen times already, so it was probably one of my best ideas ever.

I don't have a picture for said blowouts. Be thankful. Instead, here's Lyla playing in her music station, which is becoming more and more fun as she learns to move around and touch all the different objects.

I have so many cute videos of Lyla, but I'm still having issues uploading them on Blogger. Hopefully I can figure something out and will be able to post lots of them soon.

Baths are still fun, especially since she can sit up now and play with toys. That bath sponge has been AWESOME, but it's on its way out. It's getting a little mangy, but the thing cost $5 so we'll toss it and get a new one for baby #2.

If I had to pick a favorite time with Lyla it would definitely be now. But I have a feeling that the best times are still to come, with more fun down the road. Right now two baby teeth are approaching her bottom gums, I can see the outline and the surface is getting white. In the coming weeks (or days!) I may have some tooth pictures to share!

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Happy Mother's Day- A Poop Story

Happy Mother's Day to all the current and future Mommies!

I'd like to share a story about my morning a few days ago. Warning to future moms- this may freak you out. The current moms should definetly relate- and hopefully laugh.

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On this particular morning, Lyla napped for just one hour (sometimes she takes a 1 hour morning nap, sometimes 2 hours, depending on how tired she is). I was just stepping out of the shower when I heard her cry. I grabbed and dressed her (since I hadn't before the nap) in a little dress and diaper cover. I dressed myself, and a trip to the grocery store was on the agenda so I got us assembled and in the car. Turning the car on, I remember that I need to get gas, so we stop there first.

While filling the tank, I notice how much chillier it is. The past few days have been really hot, but it's at least 15 degrees cooler, and windy. After filling the tank, I go back to the house to change Lyla and get a sweater for me. She's fussing a little but that happens sometimes when she's in and out of the carseat. I change her into pants and long sleeves and head out for the second time.

We arrive in the grocery store parking lot; I put on the baby carrier and grab Lyla. A moment later I notice wetness, and realize with horror that it's not just wet. It's poop wet, and a lot of it- as in running down her pant leg and on her foot and on my hand and on the baby carrier. [At times like this I freeze for a second, trying to decide what to do.] I put a blanket in the trunk of the car and place Lyla on top. Poor thing, the sun was in her eyes and I tried to block it with my body while assessing the situation. It's a doozy, the worst blowout we've ever had in public.

Worst of all, I only have the backpack diaper bag with me which is equipped with diapers and wipes only- no change of clothes, no plastic bag for dirty things. Lyla has poop everywhere, somehow it went straight out the side and it's all up and down her legs and back. I clean her up as best I can with the wipes and a new diaper, but I have no fresh clothes for her. All I can do is put her back in the carseat naked, with another blanket over her. She leaked on the carseat before I picked her up, it's soiled and must be laundered asap. I throw all the dirty stuff into one of the many reusable bags I keep in the car, and head home for the second time.

Once there I put Lyla straight into the bath, and pull off the carseat cushion to wash (which I've never done). Spot cleaning is recommended, but there is no way I could get away with that.

In the end we didn't get the errand done (although the gas tank is full), and I've never been more covered in poop in public. It was gross but we survived. These situations require humor, and even in the moment I did think it was pretty funny. So Happy Mother's Day- if this has happened to you I hope I gave you a good laugh. If it hasn't, well, I hope it doesn't but in reality it probably will!

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Making Lyla Food

We decided Lyla is ready to try solid food soon- a big milestone! I have mixed feelings about it; it's pretty exciting but makes me feel how fast she is growing up, more so than other things. There is no rush (our pediatrician recommended anytime between 4-6 months that we were comfortable with), but Lyla has given us the cues that I needed to see to move forward: she has interest in food and the act of eating, and she seems hungry more often despite lots of nursing.

Her main source of nutrition and calories will still be breastmilk until she's 1, but these mini meals will help her learn how to eat. I want to make all of her foods so in preparation, I ordered these covered ice cube trays from Amazon~

The first meals will be brown rice cereal (a tablespoon mixed with 4 tablespoons breastmilk and/or water), but I want to have some other foods ready to try in our freezer. I picked pears and butternut squash.

The process is very speedy and simple, and much less expensive than expensive jars of baby food. I steamed the squash in the microwave before turning my stick blender on to it. I thinned the puree a little with water (it will get more thinning before Lyla eats it) and poured it into the covered trays to freeze. The next day, I popped them out of the trays into labeled ziplock bags.

The following day I steamed the pears on the stove before peeling the skin off and pressing them through the food mill. I think this may be my preferred method of pureeing from now on.

The frozen pears are a little sticky, not hard and dry like the squash or ice cubes. Now these are stashed in the freezer, ready to be taken out one by one.

Now I just have to decide which to serve her first: fruit or vegetable?

5 Months

Each month brings so many changes and new challenges, but I think each one is more and more exciting as I watch my tiny baby grow more into her own little person. Lyla turned 5 months old last week, and it's amazing to think about what has happened in these four weeks.

The number of smiles in a day has grown exponentially, from a few for just me and Ray, to constant for whomever is around. They can be hard to catch because she's distracted by cameras, but all these grins show us what a happy little girl she is.

In the last two weeks we swapped the carseat adapter for the real seat in the stroller, and she loves it! Lyla much prefers to sit upright and look out of the stroller during walks, and she now spends very minimal time in the carseat.

I also spend a lot more time wearing her in a carrier or sling, especially when shopping. While awkward at first, the transfer from carseat to carrier has become pretty seamless.

The biggest change this month is that Lyla has begun sitting on her own. She can last up to several minutes, but still requires cushions on all sides because she will eventually topple over. The Boppy pillow is perfect for this function; I've very glad to be getting more use out of it since I haven't used it to nurse in a pretty long time.

Unfortunately she cannot right herself yet so a faceplant on a soft surface is preferable.

She plays in her crib more; I set her up in the corner with some toys and she is very happy- until she topples over and I hear a cry for help!

She has discovered that Mommy's keys are a very fun toy. . .

And enjoys holding a wooden spoon while I'm cooking. The days when she can sit in the Bumbo on the counter are numbered; she's getting too big and likes to arch her back and almost lift herself out! It will no longer be safe up here pretty quick!

We started sleep training at bedtime, and she still sleeps well through the night starting at 7pm. She wakes up at different times- sometimes 7am, most often 6:30am, and 5:30am on the worst days. Naps have been irregular for some time and continue to be a bit variable. A doze on the breast in the morning is typical, followed by a long nap in the middle of the day from 11am to 1:30pm or 2. Sometimes she inexplicably wakes up early, and I do what I can to encourage a nap later in the afternoon. Sometimes it works, sometimes not. While our pediatrician feels that 2-3 shorter naps throughout the day would be beneficial, I'm not sure I can make this happen since Lyla has always favored that long nap in the middle of the day. We will start sleep training for naps soon and see if we can give it a try.

Right now our bedtime routine consists of nursing, pajamas, stories, songs, and good nights. The only remaining sleep aid we use is the Sleep Sheep, mostly to muffle household noises while she falls asleep.

Lyla chatters and smiles for me all day long. She sleeps pretty well and enjoys baths and diaper changes. Lots of drool and finger sucking, but no hints of teeth yet. She prefers her right thumb and forefinger, but noisily sucking just the thumb has started to make an appearance.

Ray took this picture on a recent evening out to dinner. We had a nice time, Lyla was very good and the food was excellent. Lyla was complimented by a woman seating at a table next to us, saying she'd never seen such a tiny and beautiful little girl be so well behaved in a restaurant. I swelled with pride that my daughter was eye catching for being pretty AND well-behaved. :-)

Kauai

I have to say that travel is one of the biggest changes that happens when children enter the picture. We went on our first vacation with Lyla this past week, and while it was a lot of fun, I now need a vacation from my vacation :)

We stayed at the Grand Hyatt Kauai on Poipu Beach on the south shore, and our six days and five nights were pretty enjoyable. It's a beautiful resort that's romantic as well as baby-friendly.

Of course I was stressed about traveling with Lyla for the first time, and my packing began several days in advance of our trip. The amount of gear you have to bring is pretty daunting! Luckily Hyatt hotels have a service where you can order diapers, wipes, baby food, etc to be delivered to your hotel for you, and I totally took advantage of this. We would have had to bring an extra suitcase just for diapers! We also had access to coin laundry on the premesis which was was a big help.

The flight from San Francisco to Kauai is about 5 1/2 hours, and we didn't know how Lyla would react. We held her on our laps and I nursed her during takeoff and landing to help with the ear pressure. I even gave her some infant Tylenol on the trip there, although that seemed to be unnecessary. The pressure didn't seem to bother her; she was sleeping during takeoff coming home and it didn't phase her a bit. Though I'm not going to lie, she nursed for a lot of both flights.

This trip came courtesy of Ray's company, the event for the high achievers and Purple Label Society for 2010. Besides two dinners and a sponsored activity (read: spa!!) we did as we pleased.

Last year we went to Napa on the PLS trip, and just like before we got some great swag including Tshirts, cookies, backpacks, and an iPod nano.

My brother Chris joined us for a little of his own vacation, making it much more fun for me. It was great to spend some time with him, and for him to get quality time with Lyla, his niece and goddaughter.

Lyla dipped her toes in sand for the first time, and spent a little time in the pool.

The majority of our time was spent in a cabana by the pool. I was so paranoid about protecting her skin that I neglected my own sunscreen the first day and got a little pink. Her skin was unscathed, and we had some good times listening to Laurie Berkner Band on my iPhone and changing diapers every time she went in the water.

Dinnertime was after she went to bed. Two out of three nights she slept right through, but this one dinner on a balcony was a problem because she howled periodically through the meal. My arm is dragging her stroller back and forth in these pictures!

The time change was the biggest hurdle we faced with Lyla. Hawaii is 3 hours behind California so by the time we arrived at our hotel she was exhausted and a massive meltdown ensued. She went to bed at a decent time for Hawaii but very late for home.

(this is the face of a super tired baby who is sweetly trying to put on a good show)

She was up twice that first night but it could have been a lot worse. She did manage to nap by the pool several times during our trip, in the stroller and on a lounge chair.

I tented the stroller with my nursing cover- more use than it's ever gotten. It was good for naps and for playing, when she was overstimulated by all the sights and sounds.

We could have requested a crib in our room but in the interest of space and practicality Lyla slept in a big arm chair with the cushions removed and her own cushion that we brought from home.

When she woke in the early hours I'd bring her in our bed to nurse and a few times she did fall back to sleep. The turtle floaty we bought was maybe more of a hit with us than we with Lyla, but we'll get some good use out of it in the next two years.

It didn't occur to me in advance that she'd need to be changed after every pool dip, but she did! Not because she was dirty (she actually only had one dirty change after the pool and it was all contained thank you very much) but because they get waterlogged! Oh man, you can see the capacity those things can hold after you put a baby in a pool.

Thank you Grandma Carroll for the sun hat! She wore it every day.

Little piggy toes peeping out during a nap.

We had a great time, but it was certainly different from taking vacations just the two of us! We're rethinking our plans to travel this summer, and may just do a long weekend locally in the Monterey/Carmel area to give ourselves a break!