Peace

Just seconds before these pictures were taken, Lily was screaming at the top of her lungs.  But the moment she hit the water, peace and quiet.  Bath time is a happy time in our house!

Loving her chubby belly….

Dad says…

Little Lady is one gorgeous gal.  Mom agrees.

Move over Paula Radcliffe, I’m back...

Ok, maybe a bit of an exaggeration since Paula won the 2007 NYC marathon 10 months after the birth of her daughter.  But her feat is a huge inspiration for a new mom and I was thinking of her last night.  Why, you might ask?  Well, because despite the heat index being well over 100, despite the fact that I had eaten a huge dinner one hour earlier, and that I was exhausted after spending the day with nap-less Miss Lily, I RAN four miles!  

Ryan has been such a great husband/dad, taking over baby duties when he gets home from work and giving me some time to myself to go for a walk, run to the grocery store, cook dinner uninterrupted, or just veg out for a few minutes.  This has helped keep me sane as I need, crave, and LOVE my alone time…always have…and since Lily has come into our lives, that time has been cut short dramatically.  I’m loving every minute of staying home with the little lady but it can be exhausting to always be rushing through a shower, the laundry, the grocery store, the mall,  just in case she decides it’s time to eat or needs a new diaper.  It’s a huge change, and makes me appreciate every moment with and without her. 

So last night, I was able to head out the door with the intention of going on a long walk.  But instead I decided to see what it felt like to run (I’ve attempted this before, and made it less than 10 steps).  The first block felt good, the first half mile felt better, and after a mile, it felt almost normal.  Yes, my lungs were screaming.  And my hips aching.  And my knees, calves, and back throbbing.  But despite, or maybe because of this, I felt in a small way like I’d gotten a little piece of me, as an individual and not a mom, back…..I came home hot, sweaty, and out of breath, but completely relaxed, refreshed and ready for another day as Lily’s mom and Ryan’s wife, but also my individual self. 

Jinx?!?!?!?!

I haven’t wanted to blog about this for fear that the moment I write it down (and brag!), I will be jinxed and my good luck will be over.  But last night was just amazing and I can’t help myself…our little lady slept 8.5 hours!

Since she was 8 days old, she has consistently been sleeping between 5 and 7 hours during the night and then going back down for a three hour nap after a little snack.  Yippie, looks like Lily is taking after her dad and his sleep habits…this mama couldn’t be happier!

Lily has started kicking out of her swaddle, so we have upgraded to a sleep sack….I know we’re biased, but we think she is so cute!

 

Nap Time

1st Father’s Day

Ryan enjoyed his 1st Father’s Day Weekend with some fun activities:

First, a nap with Miss Lily…

…then we gals treated Dad to watching the Royals game at the Blue Moose…

 

…and on Sunday, we enjoyed a few visitors - our good friends Lesley and Tyler (and of course Alex too!), and Great Aunt Donna and Uncle Kent (oops, I forgot to take a pic).

And another very special visitor, Great Grandmother Monna…

Happy Father’s Day!

Newborn portraits

Lily was a perfect model at the age of 4 days and Maura once again blew us away with her beautiful photos.  Check out a few at Maura’s blog.  In addition, a slideshow of our favorites will be available for a short time (password is lastname2). 

Thanks Maura, we absolutely love them!  What a treasure these will be for our little family!

Favorite photos of the day

Naked baby after a bath…the best!

Little Lady sporting it preppy style.

Happy 2 weeks

Cousins!

Lily met her cousins, Aynslee and Liam, for the first time today.  Thanks for coming to visit.  Can’t wait to see you again soon!

  

New Mom-isms

In the past two weeks, I feel like I've been on a rollercoaster of emotions and feelings. I’ve been through many new experiences and already learned or am in the process of learning many new things. Below are just a few new mom-isms I’ve discovered:

Panic Attacks

The first night we were alone with Miss Lily, I laid in bed listening to the monitor, thinking of all the things that could go wrong. Did that sigh mean she was suffocating? Did that cough mean she was choking to death? Did the silence mean she was no longer breathing? Finally, after 45 minutes, I hopped out of bed and raced into the nursery to make sure Lily was alright. Of course, she was just fine and I realized how ridiculous I was being.

However, the moment I re-entered our room, Ryan sat straight up and asked where I had been. I sheepishly said that I checked to make sure Lily was breathing, and he replied “thank god she is ok, I have been laying here scared to death something would go wrong tonight!” Glad I’m not the only panicking parent!

Paranoia

Why are all these drivers driving so fast? Are they trying to hurt my baby? Why is that stranger staring at us as we walk by in the stroller? Is he wanting to steal my baby?

What is that on my baby’s bottom? Is it a pimple? Diaper rash? Some extremely rare disease that the pediatrician missed?

Why doesn’t Lily want to eat exactly like the books tell me she should be eating? Is she starving to death? Why is she crying? Is she unhappy or am I doing something wrong that will cause her to be in therapy in 20 years?

And I thought worrying through the pregnancy was bad…..

Possessiveness

Ok, I will admit it – I am a control freak. And I’m trying hard to remain aware of this fault of mine. When it comes to Lily, my immediate reaction to most situations is that I can soothe her, calm her, feed her, bathe her, etc better than anyone….including her daddy. I am learning to let go, allowing him to handle her in his own way - which may be very different from the way I would handle it - and realize that my way might not be the only, or even the best, way. But it’s hard….and I’m still working on it.

Night Sweats

How long do these extreme hormones last???? I can go from cold to hot within two seconds and at night it seems to be at its worst! I wake up completely drenched, feeling like I just ran a marathon in 100% humidity and 95 degree temps. Crazyness!

These past two weeks have been full of a few stressful, sometimes scary, often hilarious, always wonderful, moments. And we are enjoying each and every day with Miss Lily.

Because I can’t help but include photos, here you go….

Retail Therapy

 

Yesterday Mommy and Nanny introduced me to the wonderful world of shopping on the Plaza.  I am a very good girl who slept through the outing and let my mommy shop for a few casual summer outfits!

Visitors

Just a few pictures of Miss Lily’s many visitors!

Auntie M on her birth day

Nanny on her birth day

Grandma and Grandpa Osterhaus

The Trusdale clan – Luke, Reece, Soni, Darby, and Cooper

Papa Kurt

Melissa (Mom’s good friend from running group)

Bryn and Christy

Doug and Meagan

Photo of the Day

Lily sporting her first dress after church today.

And then Dad treated us gals to lunch. 

The first of many….

Lily’s First Bath

Grandma Osterhaus spent the day with us on Wednesday and coached us through Lily’s first bath. Lily might be a swimmer, as she loved the water and didn’t cry once! Thanks so much for all your help Grandma O, we loved having you and Lily can’t wait to see you again very soon!

I’m clean and lovin’ my Daddy!

Lily’s First Doctor’s appointment

Lily had an appointment Thursday morning. She is perfect and everything is looking great!

Lily’s First Starbucks run….

After the appointment, Dad treated Mom to a quick Starbucks.

And Lily was not happy we stopped. Apparently she is not as big of fan as her Mommy.

Lily’s (and Mommy’s!) First outing….

Nanny spent the week with us (thanks Nanny for all you've done for us!!) and on Thursday night, my family treated us to our first big outing. Lily did great….she slept through the entire dinner!

Lily’s First day at the office….

Ryan worked from home Friday and Lily was a big help!

As you can see, we have been busy getting settled into life with Lily. She is thus far a great baby, and is allowing her Mommy to sleep good chunks of time during the night. It’s only been five days, but we can’t imagine our life without her. We are completely head over heals for this little lady!!!