Click the image below to watch the video of Lillian taken 3 days after she turned 10 months and decided to shake her head YES!
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Lillian - 10 Months... serious countdown to 1 year!
Click the image below to watch the video of Lillian taken 3 days after she turned 10 months and decided to shake her head YES!
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Lillian - 7 Months, She knows what she wants when she wants it... and how to get it!
Thursday, November 24, 2011
Lillian - 9 Months
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Lillian - 6 Months
- She KNOWS and LOVES us. It's precious the way she will lean towards the person she 'wants' these days. She'll put her lean on towards daddy if she's ready to spend time with him.
- Daddy comes in every day and says "Hey cutie!" or "Hey pretty girl!" and gets her attention. If I ask "Where's daddy?" or she hears his voice, she is all about locating him. Same with Hucklebear (her second love!).
- Lillian is showing some love to us touching our faces, our eyes, hanging on to our shoulders aaaand she offered me her paci the other day.
- She is 'feeling' of textures and patting on things constantly. She opens and closes her hands on the throw pillows, on the carpet, on the fuzz in her "DOG" book, on her sheets when she lays down to sleep... everything.
- If I'm holding her on my hip and she gets excited she bounces up and down and kicks her feet.
- She sits up unsupported these days, but she is a little unpredictible at times - if she gets excited or sees something she wants that's off to the side, she will still throw herself at it and knock herself off balance.
- She is definitely doing 360s on the floor and TRYING to get somewhere these days as well. It's probably her biggest frustration these days... that she can't move as quickly as she wants. Mostly, she looks like a frustrated fish out of water! (Click on the image below to play the video).
- We have grown two bottom middle teeth this month and thankfully they seemed to come in without too much drama.
- This month Lillian has decided that she is a tummy sleeper (up until this point if I put her on her tummy she would immediately wake up, raise her head and look at me like "WHY am I doing tummy time? I'm SO tired right now..."). For this reason, among others, we have also ditched the swaddle.
- She is eating about every 3 hours and napping about 4 times a day for 30 mins.
- At night she goes down around 8 and generally wakes up around 1 something (and cries for 5 mins or less and goes back to sleep) then again around 3 or something (and eats) and then sometimes around 5 to fuss a bit, hopefully more like 7ish to eat again and start her day. We're still pretty sporatic... but at least at the time that I'm writing this, manageable.
Last but not least, I've decided that God blessed me with a great, flexible baby... which also means she is a great errand-runner! I am not a very rigidly scheduled person, but I tried to be for L especially during months 3 and 4...however I've found that a rigid schedule doesn't work well with L ... or maybe isn't necessary. Either way, she's my little girl that 'hangs in there' when small group runs long, or will snooze through dinner to get tide her over and generally does it pretty easily. I mean, she is still a baby, so we help her cope the best we can!
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Lillian - 5 Months
This has been my favorite month so far with the smiles, talking and expressions multiplying. The ease at which she rolls from front to back and back to front as she wishes is amazing. As is the dexterity she has in her hands – getting things to her mouth, manipulating toys and her paci to chew on the parts that she wants (and yes, she often prefers parts other than the nipple). She’s still putting her thumb in her mouth quite a bit – ADORABLE! – but it’s not a comfort to her like her paci is… it’s really more of a favorite to chew on, rather than suck.
It seems this month has really been a ‘perfecting’ month for things she started doing last month. She is so alert that anytime we’re out she just loves looking at the people walking around, the things on the shelves, etc. We are definitely getting to an age with her where we’ll need to start trading off with friends for date nights (you watch our baby one week and we’ll watch yours the next!) as she is more interested in being part of the action now when we’re out. That’s just part of her growing up!
I finally finished up my old job with Zimmerman this month and began working part time as an independent consultant. The week before Lillian turned 5 months she began her stay with the nanny – two days a week for 4 hours/day. She goes to our friends house just a couple blocks over and shares the time with baby Jack who is just a month and a half or so younger than L. This will be an adjustment for me since to date she has really only stayed with friends and family, but I think it will be a good thing. This last month is also the first time she stayed in the church nursery for parent’s night out and she did wonderfully – Michael and I went to PF Changs and ate too much… but it sure was good!
• Little L is starting to get the hang of cause-and-effect. She has a “Shara Tiara” doll that when you put a new tiara on the doll she plays a ‘magical’ sound. After a couple of times of her Nana and Uncle Marcus showing her how it works she now goes straight to work on that tiara when you hand her the doll.
• She has started touching our faces and holding on more with her legs when you hold her on your hip. One morning we were asleep in our bed after Michael had gone to work and I woke up to her clawing at my eyes with those sharp baby finger nails like “Open up! It’s time to play!”
• Lillian is in between 3 and 6 month clothes. She’s long but ‘slim’… the kind of slim where you have rolls on your thighs and creases in your forearms.
• We haven’t started cereal yet at the recommendation of our pediatrician so L is eating pretty frequently during the day (every 2 to 2.5 hours).
• She naps 2 to 3 times a day with an hour long nap in the morning and then if I’m lucky a 2 hour+ nap in the mid-afternoon. Sometimes she’ll cap nap sometime in between those two, but it’s usually not longer than 45 mins.
• Bed time is SOOO much easier with our routine pretty consistent. She eats, bath & lotion, PJs, eat, story, prayer and 2 to 3 mins of rocking.
• At night Lillian goes to bed around 9pm and usually wakes up somewhere between 3 and 4am, around 6 am, and then for the day between 7 and 8am.
• Lillian is still our little water baby and enjoys getting in the pool and loves bath time.
• People still comment most on her squish-able cheeks still and her bright blue eyes.
• She’s lost almost all of the darker long hair on the back of her head from when she was born and the hair she has is so blonde and getting longer…but b/c she’s so blonde she’s still looking pretty bald. Bald is beautiful didn’t you know?
We haven’t had a lot more of the scooting around though she has been rolling towards things she wants a lot more lately. Here’s to another great month…. Because it will probably be that long before I write again! Whoops!
- Natasha
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Lillian - 4 Months
Below: Cousin Jackson and Lillian enjoy the shade.
Below: A spectator at Daddy's triathlon this month - not her first race to watch, but her first tri!
- Found her feet. She started watching as her feet flexed in her car seat; then, intentionally kicking things; then putting her feet together to 'grab' things. Now she brings those little feet up to her hands and holds onto her toes or heels.
- Rolled from back to tummy! Last month she'd done some good tummy to back rollovers, but this month we go both ways.
- Began her 'baby crunches' where she lifts her head when you pick her up to 'help you' or when she's laying down and doesn't want to be.
- Puts everything into her mouth. She's getting toys there more often, a good portion of her fingers are in there these days (though she does favor her thumb and pointer finger with one on each side of her mouth) and she's especially drooly.
- ...She still has love for her paci though. She likes it as her 'cue' for bedtime though we can take it out before we lay her down, but we also use it during the day she gets fussy or starts yelling at inappropriate times. Communion anyone?
- Loves 'standing' and putting weight on her legs. She will tolerate sitting if she's in a good mood, but certainly doesn't like it as much.
- Still looooves some talking whether you're listening or not and she's certainly letting out some high pitched noises these days.
- Giggles! It's still short and more like a series of a couple fast "ha" "ha" cough type noises, but it sure is cute!
Below: Lillian with her Ninny giving her the biggest grins! LOVE!!!
- Tries to get her knees up under her and scoot - this has only happened a few times so far and happened the week before she turned 4 months, so we'll see what this coming month holds in that regard.
- Still loves baths which have become one of my favorite times of day. She smiles and smiles as we prep the water, she LOVES the squeaky little rubber ducky and she doesn't even cry as we pull her out of the water into the air to dry her off. She's great until we start to put her clothes on.... haha
- Started smiling if you raise her up in the air above your head, but she likes to do it slowly still. Fast seems to freak her out.
From the battleground of sleep (or not sleeping as the case may be), this month has been a challenging one.
- We tried to begin moving Lillian's bedtime from 10:30 ish, toward 8:30, but no matter how gradually we did this we usually spent around 2 hours of fussing and fighting before any sleep was had. She would wake up about an hour after going to sleep and want her paci put back in (at the least).
- Lillian left the days of sleeping 4 to 5 hours the first part of the night like she was doing between 2 and 3 months and returned to nights of eating every 2 and 3 hours. Thinking this might be tied to the two weeks I returned to the office and a change in her schedule, we tried to ride it out, but as we neared 4 months we had a series of nights where she was up literally once every hour and I slept on the floor in her room. Desperate, we visited the pediatrician who suggested we try feeding her every 2 to 2 1/2 hours throughout the day to see if that improved things. As Lillian turns four months we are still experimenting with this to see what happens!
- Some tears were shed by both of us over naps this month, but she is finally napping in her crib - occasionally on her side, occassionally propped up on the Boppy under close supervison, but always listening to music, swaddled with her blanket/bear.
At her 4 month appointment Lillian weighed 12.7 (in the 25th percentile), was a little over 26 inches long (in the 90th percentile) and was still wearing a lot of her 3 month sized clothes with the real challenge being the length... everything is big in the waist! :) People most comment on her pretty blue eyes and her CHEEKS! They are pretty squishably delicious!
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Lillian - 3 Months...and she' s got something to say!
May 12th Lillian turned 3 Months old and the books and a couple online sites will argue she's becoming an infant and is no longer a newborn - this feels so true when I think about all the skills you take for granted that we've watched her acquire this past month. The most noticeable thing is how much more she is 'talking'! She will willingly have a conversation with anyone that will join her at the changing table, the elephant or monkey on her play gym (but not the lion b/c he doesn't jingle or sing, he's just stuffed), and with any other variety of toy and person when she's awake.
Below: In College Station - Lillian gets her first 'real' bath in Ninny's kitchen sink.
Pic Below: Natasha, Lillian and Michael at the wedding which was held at Sunset Ridge (that's where Michael and I were married!) Look at us, coming full circle with our little family of 3 now!
Pic Below: My brother Marcus, mom with Lillian and me.
In other news this month...
- Lillian has rolled over a couple of times, though she doesn't do it consistently since sometimes she can't seem to bend her arm in toward her body for the direction she wants to roll. These are front to back rolls.
- She is VERY talkative, very smiley, and better and better with her hands.
- At night she's still hovering around a later bedtime, 10 or 11pm, but my goal this month is to start getting to an earlier time and to get her into her crib and out of our room.
- She’s still a swing-napper and that’s the habit we’ll be trying to break this month as well. Yikes!
- Her 0-3 month clothes still fit and she seems long and skinny to me though I don’t know how much she weighs since we won’t have a 3 month appt.
- She still looks like daddy according to the majority of the people that weigh in, but I still see some of my baby pictures in her.
- Bath time is still one of her favorite times and she’s even happy as you pull her out to dry her off, while you put lotion on and while you diaper her. She crashes a little bit when you try to put her PJs on, but she perks back up after it’s done.
- Lillian loves a paci and seems to care less if it falls out now after she falls asleep which is nice.
- We have 'trained' her to know her 'calm down cues' and if this child melts down usually all it takes is a swaddle, a paci, and turning her on her right side to quiet her up. She likes a vigorous bounce in this position at times she's really upset. She's not as big a fan of the rocking.
- L still loves walks too - if you can get past the cry she may give you while being strapped into the car seat she'll just stare and stare looking around on the walk and usually be asleep before it's all said and done!
This has been a great month as we learn more of what makes her happy, calms her down, etc. We feel like we know what she needs a little better than before, which is great b/c that helps us get out and about still with confidence.
Also, at the 12 week mark of Lillian's life I returned to work for two weeks, during which time I gave my notice, and soon I'll be working part time in a new job while staying at home with Lillian. We are so incredibly thankful that this lifestyle change is an option for us! A combination of Nana, Ninny and Opa, and our good friend Megan from church, provided care for Lillian while I went to the office. We were so thankful that Lillian has people that love her that were able to spend time helping us with this transition.
We are really settling into life as our little family now and it's so funny... like, this is the life I said I wanted and here it is. A home, a little white dog, Michael as my husband, and our beautiful little daughter the start to the family I'd always hoped I'd have. God is so good.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Lillian - 2 Months
- Sleeping has gotten so much better and b/c it's so much of the adjustment of having a new baby, I'm giving it it's own section!
- Week 5 there was this special thing we'd do to put her down for bed where we'd swaddle, turn her on her side laying on my legs, and jiggle back and forth while running the blow dryer. (Ha! I should have videoed this!) That worked beautifully for 3 days... on the 4th day Michael tried to 'work this magic' and 25 mins later she was still awake and fussing. That night marked the end of that trick and we had a few really bad nights that week.
- Week 5 aside, starting in week 6, Lillian would go down between 11pm and Midnight (she's still hovering around a 10:30 or 11pm bed time) and most nights give us a 4 to 5-hour stretch of sleep. One night she gave us 7 hours - MIRACLE! - but that has only happened once so far.
- Sometime in the coming months we'll be working towards that earlier bedtime, but for now round her 11pm bedtime and after the 4 am-ish feeding she goes to sleep like a dream - we feed her, swaddle her in one of the wraps with Velcro, and then turn her on her side with her belly against ours and bounce/jiggle while patting her bottom. Her eyes get heavy and we put her in her bed.
- Now she's still sleeping in her 'newborn napper' of the pack and play and is napping in her swing, so we're liable to have a little sleeping boot camp sometime in the coming weeks, but for now I'm totally content to have this little bit sleeping within arms reach.
- She is clearly smiling at us and the voices and faces we make these days as well as 'talking' some when we talk to her.
- She is content on her activity mat for longer as she stares at the animals hanging overhead and she kicks her legs and waves her arms.
- Though a betterigh sleeper, she is still a sleep fighter at the end of her three hour eating cycles during the day and she starts to get fussy when it's time to start that cycle's nap. It's pretty much 0 to 90 in no time. Even once you get her to settle down, she likes to 'flare up' with one good whine or a few screams before she totally gives it up.
- She is very tolerant of diaper changes.... actually, on the changing table is one of the places she's smiley-est.
- We still hear that she looks like Michael more often than we hear she looks like me and people are always saying things like "her nose is so distinct" and "her nose isn't like a regular baby nose" - both of which I'm taking as compliments because I'm totally biased.
- My dad, her Pappy, and Michael's parents, Papa and Nana, came to visit Lillian this month.
- She went to her first 'race' to watch daddy this month as well. Michael and Clay SMOKED the Big D half marathon (with seriously record times) and Lillian, dad and I showed up to watch.
We think Lillian is the most beautiful baby ever, because as Lesley said when she was here for Sara's bachelorette weekend - "once you have a baby you think they're the cutest, smartest, funniest..." etc. and that is so true!
At her two month check-up Lillian was in the 75th percentile for head and length (23") and in the 50th percentile for weight at 10lbs 2oz.
Saturday, April 2, 2011
7 Weeks.. and taking time to slow down
We are to a time with Lillian that is a lot of fun. She's very smiley when she's happy (read: not resisting sleep or hungry). She's getting better at sleeping at night once she goes down (usually around midnight or 1am), she's doing sweet things like gripping tight onto our shirt when we hold her, getting her hand to her mouth and sucking or licking on her thumb's knuckle and 'watching' us more as she's tracking better with her eyes. She is less of a newborn now, but still far from her independent phase b/c she's still so helpless and uncoordinated... which means she's snuggly and content to sleep on my chest in the mornings while I sleep or watch the Today show. Her tears these days seem to be for not knowing what to do with herself or how to process all that her senses are taking in and they are 'big girl tears' that will roll down her face when she's really upset. She likes being held upright with her head on your shoulder (dangerous since she's also been spitting up some).
The weeks have flown by and all of a sudden she weighs 10 1/2 lbs and is 7 weeks old. When she was born everyone kept saying to slow down and enjoy this time, but in the beginning periods of enjoyment are mixed in with stretches of 'survival mode', which makes it hard some days to stop and smell the roses. I am by nature a multi-tasker and get restless if I don't leave the house some, but as I approach the day I must return to work I'm conscious of trying to slow myself down a bit to enjoy the time (that I can't control or slow down) that remains. Rather than rush to get things done in the morning I've tried to take some time for sleeping or snuggling before we start our day. After all, eventually we will have a little independent person that won't be content to lie down on our chest just looking around and snoozing!
Lillian, in some ways we can't wait to see all the joy and development to come, but because I know those things will be here before we know it - whether we 'can't wait' or not - we will wait and for now remember to just enjoy you in all your tiny, needy sweetness. We love you so much!