We did it, we did it, we did it - HOORAY!

Anyone with young girls will appreciate the Dora reference in the title. That is how I feel today. I made it through my first week home alone with both girls and here's the kicker... I managed to get a shower every single day! In the morning, too... not waiting until Scott got home like I had to do to get a shower when I had Taelyn. I feel very accomplished in my career as a mom! The past two nights have been BAD with Lillian, but I've managed not to zombie around the house. When you have a precious 3-year old for motivation, it's easier to conjure up that strength for her sake. I've implemented "Taelyn-time" this week, which is just set time that Taelyn has to play by herself in her room. This gives me a little quiet time during my day. We have also taken walks around the neighborhood with our new handy-dandy sit and stand stroller (more to follow). This morning we made homemade pancakes (or pancircles as Taelyn calls them), we gave the baby a bath, we caught up on the ever-famous royal wedding, and we gave Doughnut a bath. Giving the dog a bath is the last thing on Earth I wanted to do after not getting much sleep last night, but Taelyn REALLY wanted to so I gave in. Now we will have naptime in 2 hours and a little play time this afternoon and then daddy will be home for the weekend!!

I am excited because I am going to see Water for Elephants tomorrow. I think that I will probably be going by myself, but I don't care. It will be 2 hours of pure bliss where I can get lost in a movie! I talked my BFF, Haylie (previously mentioned), into reading the book this week so that we could go see the movie together in a few weeks when she and her family come to visit. So she read the book in about 1.5 hours (which is typically how she reads books) and then called and said that she couldn't wait that long to see the movie and she was going without me this weekend. What a friend, huh?! So I figure I'll go see it by myself this weekend too and will enjoy every minute of the alone time!

Okay, now I want to do a follow-up to yesterday's "I'm not a fan" post. This is the "I'm a HUGE fan of:" post! So, here it is. I'm sure this will be an ongoing list as well.

I'm a HUGE fan of:

#1: The Joovy Caboose sit and stand stroller - We found this at Hudson's a few weeks before Lillian was born for a great price. I had decided not to get one and that Taelyn was just old enough to walk when we go somewhere, but this was such a good price so we went ahead and purchased it. And I am so glad that we did. I used it yesterday for the first time to walk around the block and it was wonderful! Taelyn could sit on the bench seat in the back, or stand on the platform. She was able to jump on and off as she wanted to and it really was wonderful. It is also very easy to steer. I haven't folded it up yet to go in the car, so I'll have to keep you posted on that aspect. Everything else I really liked about it though.

#2: The Boppy lounger. I had the regular Boppy pillow (the intertube looking thing) with Taelyn and I never used it. I pulled it back out to use with Lillian and I still haven't used it. Scott has used it more than me! But the Boppy lounger I love!! Haylie let me borrow this (as well as a whole myriad of other items) and I have used it so much. It is great to prop Lillian up in. She likes being able to sit in it and look around and what is going on around her!

#3: The Snuggle Nest: which Haylie also let me borrow (okay, I guess all of this stuff that I am using of hers makes up for the whole movie bit). This is like a little bed that you can take with you. I think the real purpose of it is if you want your baby to sleep in the bed with you (which we don't), but I have this inside her bassinet and she sleeps really well in it. It also has this wonderful nightlight on it. The first few nights we slept with Scott's closet light on, but it was way too much light. I realized that I could just turn on this little nightlight when I needed to change and feed Lillian during the night and it was the perfect amount of light. Love it!

I'll keep this list going! I have to find some laundry to do or something else to keep me busy now or I am going to fall asleep sitting straight up.

Things I am not a fan of...

This is a list of things that I am not a fan of:

#1: Baby Grunting - Lillian is a grunter. I'm not talking about the occasional grunt when she is pooping. I'm saying this girl is a hardcore grunter. Last night she grunted constantly from 1am until about 4:30 am when she finally fell into a deep sleep. Then began grunting again at 5:15am. Not a good night for us. I've been googling baby grunting and there is a myriad of reasons why she may be grunting, including: gas, immature abdominal muscles, not knowing how to work muscles together at the same time to pass gas correctly, constipation, and on and on and on. She has regular dirty diapers so I know that it isn't constipation, but I guess it could be one of the other ideas that I mentioned. That is what I've narrowed it down to at least. I tried everything I knew to try last night: nursing - she finally got to the point where she just wouldn't open up anymore! She didn't want to eat, I tried mylecon and that didn't seem to help, I swaddled and reswaddled (see below), I rubbed her back and her belly, I tried to get her to take her pacifier and she wouldn't, and finally I just stared at her. The solution for grunting (according to the all-knowing internet) is that there is no solution. They just have to grow out of it. GREAT! So no sleep for me until Lillian learns to use her muscles in sync to be able to pass gas. Fabulous! If any of you readers have a grunter and have any advice, I'm all ears.

#2: Babies busting out of the swaddle - I consider myself to be a good swaddler. When I swaddle Lillian she is wrapped up tightly like a little baby burrito and I think to myself, "Huh... see if you can get out of that one." And 20 minutes of grunting later I look over to see that little hand waving all over the place in a very uncoordinated manner. So frustrating. I used the velcro "swaddle me" blanket with Taelyn and that worked well, but Lillian isn't big enough for it yet. Her legs barely make it into the pouch. And my BFF, Haylie, let me borrow her miracle blanket, which I decided to try last night, but she isn't big enough for that one yet either. She sleeps fine during the day when she isn't swaddled. Those arms just lay peacefully up near her face or by her side. But boy, when it gets dark outside, its like the arms grow minds of their own. They won't just lay peacefully and let my baby sleep. They are all over her face, in her eyes and mouth... it truly is amazing!

That is all I can think of right now. As of now, everything else "baby" I am a fan of. This child is so incredibly sweet. I'll keep you posted if any other things pop up on my "not a fan of" list!

Taelyn and Lillian

Okay... everyone keeps asking if Taelyn and Lillian look alike. One of the first comments I made after Lillian was born was, "she looks nothing like Taelyn." Then when we got home Scott pulled up these pictures! See for yourself:

 

Taelyn

Lillian

I definitely see differences between the two, especially with the hair and their size. Taelyn was almost a full pound larger than Lillian, which makes her look more filled out. However, I see a lot more similarities than I initially gave them credit for. 

I can already tell that they are different in personality. However, I feel that a lot of this has to do with me. I was so tense with Taelyn that I'm sure she fed off of that. I am MUCH more laid back with Lillian. Taelyn cried a lot as a newborn... and infant. Lillian barely ever cries. When she does she just cries out once or twice to get someone's attention and then it's over. Once Taelyn got started crying there was nothing you could do to pacify her. You just had to wait it out. Taelyn also didn't want anything touching her hands. She wouldn't hold your finger the way most infants will. She would draw her hands up in a fist and hold them close to her if you tried to touch her hands at all. Lillian is really cuddly so far. I am hoping that she will be my cuddly baby!

One very neat thing about both of my babies... Taelyn was born exactly a week and a half before Easter in 2008 and Lillian was born exactly a week and a half before Easter this year. This is why they are both wearing the bunny outfit above during our first week home with them! Sweet Easter babies! I'll continue to post pictures as we get a little bigger!

Changes in our household!

So... the big news here is that we added a new little mouth to feed to our household! Lillian Noel was born on Tuessday, April 12. I went in on Monday for my regular check and had some good progression and was a tad low on amniotic fluid. So my doctor asked me if I wanted to meet her the next morning at the hospital to have a baby! Did I want to??? I could have hugged her I was so happy. So the next morning we went in early and had a very good day that ended with a sweet angel being born! Things went very quickly, thank goodness, and Lillian was born at 12:26pm. She was 19.5 inches long and weighed 6.5 lbs. April 12 was the perfect day for her to be born. First, she shares a birthday with my mother-in-law, who is just thrilled about it! Also, Taelyn's birthday is March 12 and my birthday is August 12, so it will be easy for my husband to remember!! As long as he can get the months right!! Here is a picture of her right after she was born.

Sweet eyes! We are still shocked that she has dark hair!

Meeting Lillian for the first time! Love this moment.

Taelyn seeing her new little sister for the first time!

BEAUTIFUL girl!

My sweet girls! I am so excited that Taelyn has a sister!

Since we got home, things have been GREAT! And I do not use that word lightly. Any of you that were around when I had Taelyn know how completely crazy I was. Crying all the time, feeling mentally unstable, and not having a clue how to take care of baby were just a few of the things that I dealt with. I had never been around babies at all and I was really overwhelmed by all of it. Taelyn was not a good sleeper, so I was also having to deal with all of that on top of no sleep. I was worried that those same feelings would present themselves this time around.

However, I have felt like a completely different person. I know that it is just feeling more comfortable being a mom and knowing what to do with a baby. But it is nice not having the fog to deal with. Lillian's nights and days are a little messed up, but I feel like I have dealt with it really well. I know going into each night that I am not going to be getting much sleep and that helps. It makes me thankful for any amount that I get. I've been praying at night, not for sleep, but just for the patience and strength to deal with no sleep. Meaning: Not being mean to my husband in the middle of the night. Or thinking ill thoughts toward him as he is able to sleep soundly through all of the baby noises!! I have seen that the newborn days do pass. I've been through that before. So now I know that it will get better! And I can try to enjoy these days instead of just wishing them away! 

Taelyn is being a really sweet sister. She has adjusted so well. I know that we will have up days and down days with her as we learn to deal with shared mommy/daddy time, jealousy and all that... but so far it has been fine! She loves being a big helper! Taelyn helps with diapers and putting clothes on. She is still trying to figure out nursing though ... it has been a little comical! Taelyn put one of her teddy bears up to her belly button the other day and said that she was feeding the bear her milk. Pretty funny. I can imagine that would be a little difficult for a 3 year old to wrap their mind around. She is starting to just accept that is how Lillian eats though, so hopefully the questions will drop off about it soon!

I'll end this post with Lillian's life verse and our prayer for her:

"But as for me, it is good to be near God. I have made the Sovereign Lord my refuge; I will tell of all your deeds." 

Making Things...

Guess what??? Taelyn actually wore the dress that I made for her to church on Sunday!! And I got compliments on it. I was so excited. I, of course, thought it was cute, but you know how partial you can be when you spend time on something like that. Here is a picture of her in the dress when I was trying it on her at home:

I have some of that blue flowered fabric left, so I am going to make a matching something for Lillian. I hope to get it done before she is born, because I'm pretty sure it won't get finished if I wait!

This is something else that we threw together recently. My sister-in-law gave us this frame about a year ago and it has been in our storage room. We painted it red with the same color that is in our kitchen and I backed it with this cute khaki paisley fabric and hung it up to serve as a dry erase board. My husband has a love/hate relationship with his "to do" list! It definitely helps him get things done when he has a list glaring at him everyday, but I'm not sure that he likes it so much! Anyhow, it turned out cute and it goes well in our kitchen.

I'll keep you posted on when we have a new baby in the house!