Catching up

I realized I never did an "official" post about Miss Lily's arrival.... it's impossible to catch up on four months in one post, but I will share some of the highlights.

Arrival: Lily Jane was born on July 28 at 9:22 p.m., so just about 2 and a half hours "early." Sometimes I still hesitate when I tell people her birthday, because she was due on July 29, so I had that date in my head constantly for so many months. She was 7 pounds, 3 ounces and was born after a long delivery that started with my water breaking at about 5 a.m.

Growth: Now, at four months, Lily is DOULBE what she was at her lowest weight (got down to 6 lb 9 oz and is now just about 14 pounds).  She eats about 5-6 breastmilk bottles a day, and is the 50th percentile for height, weight and head... a very proportioned baby!

Personality: Lily is a generally very happy baby, loves to smile and laugh, "stand' with mom and dad's help and be walked around so she can look at things, lights in particular!  She has always been very curious - she does not like being on her tummy, I think because she feels like she is missing out on seeing things. We are working on it and she gets better every day.

Sleep:  If you would have told me when Lily was ten days old that she would be sleeping through the night before I knew it, I wouldn't have believed it. But here we are, with her sleeping from about 8:30 p.m. to 7:30 a.m. I know how lucky we are, and I hope I am not jinxing things by putting this in writing! Her napping isn't quite as consistent, but we are working on this, too.

 

 

My thoughts on motherhood: I feel so lucky every day to be Lily's mom. The cliches are true - being a mom has changed me and made me truly understand what "unconditional love" is. I treasure each day with her and look forward to the next.

Well, there are about a million more things I could say about Lily, being a mom and everything I look forward to, but it will have to wait for another day, as work, life and Lily call!

Hobbies and a few resolutions

Lately I have been thinking a lot about hobbies. A lot of my loved ones have some wonderful, creative and productive hobbies - cooking/baking, art, photography, and handiwork, to name a few. I also think a lot about my mom and the wonderful things she left to remember her by - beautiful pillows, handmade ornaments, and so much more. It saddens me to think of all the wonderful mementos she would have made for Lily, and that I am so untalented in that area, but that's really another post for another day!

Thinking about all of this has inspired me to create some resolutions and ideas for using my time and talents to be productive and creative.

1. Write, write, write. I love writing and want to do it to ensure I don't forget the millions of memories we are creating with Lily everyday. That is why I hope and plan to write one blog post a week as well as a monthly letter to Lily. Honestly I would love it if people read this blog, but its worthwhile just as an outlet for me and hopefully something Lily can one day look back on and learn about herself and her mom.

2. Organize. Time is tight with a baby, full-time job and lots of weekends spent traveling for both personal and work. And it is easy to overspend on going out and picking up quick dinners. So I am working on creating a weekly meal planner and a binder of easy meal recipes, as well as a budget for our family. Can't exactly say this is creative, but is definitely productive and will hopefully give us opportunities to enjoy time together a little more and also allow us to save for vacations and maybe one of these days, a house we can call our own!

3. Exercise. I've been pretty good about walking, but it's cold now, so I need to do more indoor workouts and also hope to do a weekly yoga class starting in January. Need the "me" time and need to lose the last of the baby weight.

I also still want to find something creative I can do that won't stress me out or break the bank. Maggie suggested crocheting. I would also love to do something with stamped art, but that's definitely not an inexpensive hobby. I am going to keep thinking and looking for inspiration around me and am certainly open to any and all suggestions.

A perfect weekend

We've had many wonderful weekends since Lily was born, 11 weeks and 3 days ago. We've already been to St. Louis (twice), the Lake of the Ozarks and Kansas City and had lots of great visits from friends and family. These past 11 weeks have been full of so many memories and each day is truly a gift with sweet Lily Jane.

However, this past weekend, spent with just me, Kevin and Lily, was as perfect as it gets. Beautiful fall weather, naps, homemade chili and cookie cake, the pumpkin patch and Cardinals baseball. These moments I HOPE I will never forget, but at least blogging about it will help jog my memory as days, weeks and years fly by.

I am so blessed by my family of three and I cherish the days we spend doing nothing but being together.