Father's Day

I realize this is a bit late, but I just wanted to show off the father's day cards that I made for my husband and dad. I feel kind of proud of myself. I kind of mastered infant art while I was 'teaching' in the infant room at my school, but it's somehow different when I make the art with my daughter for someone I love.
For my dad I made my daughter's handprint into a fish since my maiden name is a type of fish, and because my dad simply cannot wait until Laila is old enough to go fishing.

For my husband I xeroxed a copy of my hand over my daughter's hand.

Rolling Back to Front

Today Laila rolled over from her back to her front for the first time ever! And then she did it again, and again, and again. Of course, by the time I finally caught it on tape she was starting to get hungry and grumpy, but oh well! I'm so proud and excited!

Growth Spurt, Labia Adhesion, & Fever

Monday (the 10th) Laila had her 5 month doctors check-up (she goes every month). She got a shot, and was checked over in general. Laila has had a big growth spurt this past month! She gained two pounds and grew two inches! She weighs 14 pounds and 5 ounces. That puts her in the twenty-fourth percentile for the first time ever! Considering that she was in the ninth percentile two months ago, this is very impressive and I am very happy. She is also 2 feet, 3 inches long (27 inches) putting her in the ninety-fifth percentile. I have no idea how she is so tall! I am 5'2" and my husband is about 5'9". Maybe my father's tall genes skipped a generation (he is 6'1"). Meanwhile, her head is 16.7 inches, putting her head in the sixty-ninth percentile. That's my big ass baby right there! She is so cute - getting plumper and plumper with her little thunder thighs.

And now for the not so good news - Laila seems to have a labial adhesion. The doctor told me to bathe her everyday and after her bath to put some aquaphor where they are sticking together to hopefully try and unstick them.... if that doesn't work the next step is to try an estrogen cream. Hopefully this will work though! I was doing some research on it and it said that while it can go away, it may continue to come back until she hits puberty. I really hope that it goes away quickly and never comes back. Well, I guess that is obvious enough. I just hate that anything is wrong. I hate that it could continue to plague her. At this point the doctor said it isn't really that big a deal, and that it is more common than one might think, so I am just trying to stay positive and not let my crazy mama brain work itself up.

In others news, Laila is sick. Last night she barely slept at all she had trouble falling asleep and then she slept for three hours, waking at 1:30. She woke again at 3:20 and was awake until 4:45. She finally fell back asleep only to wake up at 6:50, and she was up for the rest of the morning at that point. Normally when Laila wakes up in the morning for good she is happy and smiling and doesn't cry because, well, she is wide awake and has nothing to complain about. Often I wake up to her smacking her lips and playing in her crib. This morning, however, she woke up crying and screaming and was completely inconsolable. She wasn't hungry, she was just sad. She didn't feel particularly warm to the touch, but I asked Enzio to take her temperature anyway. She had a fever of 101! I think she may just be having a reaction to her shot... but who knows. Maybe it is that and the teething, I'm not sure. Apparently she was fine during the day while I was at work (my husband and Mom were both looking after her), but this evening when I got home she was acting strangely again. I took her temperature but she was fine in those terms. She barely ate her sweet potatoes, and she got fussy during bath time! After her bath I took her temperature again and once again she had a fever. Poor little thing. So tomorrow I am staying home with her to (hopefully) nurse her back to health.

Painting

The day before yesterday Laila and I painted together for the first time! It was actually a lot of fun - and messy! By the end of it I just put Laila in a bath to clean her up - which she also loved because her new favorite activity is splashing in the bath. Afterwards I was covered in paint and soaking wet, but it was a lot of fun and very worth it! At first Laila was sort of shocked and didn't quite know what was happening, but then she started squishing the paint between her fingers and spreading it around on the paper and she really seemed to enjoy it. I can't wait to do it again!

Laila painting

Laila painting

The finished product

Post-painting clean-up bath with Mr. Crab

               

Eating Solids

Laila enjoying her sweet potatoes

So Laila is now eating solid food! She hates the rice cereal, and cries whenever I've tried to give it to her... but I've found two foods that she does like (so far) - pears and sweet potatoes! She likes the sweet potatoes best, and eats them more than she did the pears. When I first started feeding her the solid foods at just about 5 months (after that first try when she was 4 months where she cried I waited a few weeks before trying again) she didn't actually swallow anything. I would just put some of the food in her mouth and she'd hold it there and then spit it out after a bit... after two nights though she started swallowing most of it, and now she eats about 95% of what I put in her mouth. Right now she doesn't eat a lot at once (maybe 1/3 of one of the very small containers), but that's okay! Right now I'm more focused on having her get used to eating solids while she still gets the majority of her food from breast milk and formula.
Anyway - it has been exciting! I am having a lot of fun with it - probably more fun than her, though she definitely likes it. When I feed her she seems to concentrate completely on the funny taste in her mouth, she gets so serious! Unless I play a funny game with her while she eats, that is.

Pacifier

This morning, after Laila's pacifier fell out of her mouth, she grabbed ahold of it and tried with all her might to get it back into her mouth. The only problem, her aim was a bit off. Every time she put it against her head she opened her mouth in hopes that it would go in. Good job Laila, good job.

My First Mother's Day

This past Sunday was my first Mother's Day as a mom! Last year I was pregnant, and my dad bought me some flowers, but this was my first official Mother's Day. I made myself a mother's day card, using Laila's footprints as a heart - nothing crazy but just a little cute card to put in Laila's baby book. Enzio thinks it is funny that I made myself a card, but whatever, I like it! And she kind of made it for me, in that they are her footprints! lol

Enzio took the morning off from work to spend some time with me, and we went to the mall and I bought myself a pair of jeans lol ... Enzio had bought me a Mother's Day present but not until the day before Mother's Day, so it didn't come until yesterday night! He got an infant care troubleshooting flowchart, a notebook to keep all my passwords in, and a necklace. The necklace is obviously my favorite one - it is one of those necklaces that has a meaning - the one I got is "quiet courage". I love it!

So, I realize it is a few days late, but happy Mother's Day to all of the wonderful mothers out there!

Rice Cereal

So I tried giving Laila rice cereal for the first time today! My husband got the camera ready, we were both so excited, and then ... she cried! I mean, she really cried. So, that didn't work out. I had fed her some breast milk not that long before, and she was a bit tired, so we were thinking that perhaps that was why she wasn't into it. So, after her nap we thought we would try again. Nope. She did immediately fall back to sleep again, so perhaps she was just tired ... but perhaps being so upset about getting fed the cereal is what made her tired. Since there is no way to know, I'm going to take it as a sign that Laila just isn't ready for rice cereal yet.
The other reason she might not be that into it is that she is still a bit sick. She slept until 10am and then woke up grumpy, which isn't her normal way at all. It is not 2:40 and she is on her third nap of the day (though the first one was only about 20 minutes long)... I was thinking that maybe it was because we are now starting to ween her off of being swaddled, but she is still stuffed up and has a little cough, so I'm thinking that she might just be feeling crappy and is not wanting to deal with anything new. I am going to wait until she is all cleared up and sleeping well to try again, and hopefully she will actually enjoy it then!

Swaddling & Solid Food

Today was Laila's 4 month Drs appointment. She goes every month, which isn't the norm, but I actually prefer it. Anyway, she got another shot and an oral vaccine which she hated. The nurse was surprised, because it's sweet and apparently a lot of babies like it, but not Laila. She weighs 12.13 pounds, is 25 inches long, and her head circumference is 16 inches. Her weight went from being in the 9th percentile last time, to being back in about the 15th percentile, as it had been before. So that is very good.

Two bits of big news from the doctor today. One, it's time to stop swaddling Laila. Awesome. This is going to be a ton of fun. Two, we can start feeding Laila solid food! Well, try at least. She said that if she gags or pushes it all out with her tongue or something than she just isn't ready and to try again a different time. That is very exciting! I can't wait!

My last entry was about Laila being sick... well, her fever didn't last long, it was gone by the next day, but she is still very congested and is now getting a little cough. Poor little thing. I honestly don't know who it is harder on, her or me. I hate listening to her all stuffed up and coughing. I just want her to get over it, and fast.

First Fever

Laila has her first fever! I last took it an hour ago and it was 101.4! I called the Dr and he said to give her baby tylenol - which of course I don't have! I only have ibuprofen, which apparently you can't give to babies that are younger than 6 months. Right now Enzio is heading home from work, and he is going to get some baby tylenol on his way.

Laila is slightly grumpy, but mostly she is just tired. She has been sleeping a lot more than usual, and sleeping deeply. I am going to call her doctor tomorrow (since the Dr I talked to before was just the on call Dr, not her own) and see if I should bring her in for a checkup or if she is fine staying home.

Ugh. I just hope she feels better soon... poor little thing. I'm not sure exactly where she got the fever - maybe it is something I brought home from work? I have been feeling like I am fighting something off for the past couple of days, so maybe she caught what I am fighting off?

Having Trouble Producing

I am having a lot of trouble producing enough, or even a little, milk. I usually get about one ounce per breast per pumping session, and if I work a full day I pump anywhere from 2-3 times a day, and then breastfeed when I am with Laila. Laila, on the other hand, drinks 8 ounce bottles three times a day, and then about a 5 ounce bottle while she is at daycare. So, as you can see, she's mostly drinking formula when we are apart. At night now she is starting to wake up every couple of hours to eat as well, whereas before she would go for seven hours between feedings at night, no problem. I'm thinking that perhaps she just isn't getting enough milk when she breastfeeds to keep her full for very long. It's such a bummer. I would quit right here and now except that my mom got me a breast pump for my birthday earlier this month that was very expensive, and I don't want to have it go to waste. I mean, I've been using it for less than a month! So I will keep doing what I am doing, and maybe at night I will supplement my breast milk with a bottle. I think the problem is that I don't pump enough when I am away from her, but it's hard enough pumping every three hours at work with my boss, I can't imagine what she would do if I told her I have to pump every two hours - especially since I told her that I won't be staying past August because I got into grad school for the Fall. And if I did pump every two hours, it would be really hard to get my 30 hours a week that I need for my insurance because they make me clock out when I am pumping. Ugh.

Anyway. Things have been crazy lately - we are moving on Saturday! I am very excited to move though - Laila will have her own room (though she won't really use it until she is more comfortable in her crib and we transition her to her own room), we will have a backyard to play in, and we will be two blocks away from a playground! So that will be really nice, especially now that the weather is getting nice.

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Laila's First Day

Laila is getting better and better at sleeping in her crib. The night before last she stayed in her crib for the entire night! She didn't spend the entire night in her crib last night, but she did spend most of it there. This is all very exciting! 

Other news: we found an apartment. It's on the second floor of a house, two bedrooms, an eat-in kitchen, a pantry, a living room, and an attic. Plus we have a back yard! We are also within walking distance from a playground. Amazing! The only downside is that there is no laundry machine or dishwasher in the apartment... well, that, and the apartment is right next to where I work ... half an hour form Laila's daycare (which is next to where we live now), which means that on days when she goes to daycare and Enzio also has work, I will have a lot of annoying driving to do.

Anyway, onto the real bit of news - today was Laila's first day at daycare! It was ... very stressful for me. She apparently did pretty well - she took three half hour naps and drank four bottles (two 4 ounce ones, a five ounce one, and an eight ounce one). I, however, cried. A fair amount. I held myself together pretty well until I went to pump at work and found the nipples to Laila's bottles! So I had to leave work and bring them to her at daycare. When I found them I totally broke down. When I returned to work after my boss asked how things went and I started to cry again. I just had this huge knot in my stomach all day, and all I wanted to do was leave work and pick up Laila from daycare. It was a tough, miserable day. I know that eventually I will get used to it, I just wish that was now. I hate leaving her. I was kind of hoping to quit once Enzio's health insurance kicked in at his job, but we found out today that he doesn't get health insurance because his position isn't high enough - only managers and higher get insurance apparently. What a load of bullshit. Enzio is going to finish working on getting his personal training certification and then hopefully he will get a job doing that that also offers benefits. 

Oh, right, I also got into NYU for grad school! :D 

Doctors Visit - 3 Months

Today Laila had her three month old doctors appointment. Sadly, I had work, as did my husband, so my mom (Laila's Nana) brought her for me. She is healthy and happy and has all of her shots. She is in the 54th percentile for height (24 inches long) and the 9th percentile for weight (11.5 pounds). I'd be a little freaked out about the low percentile on the weight if 1) the doctor hadn't said she was fine and 2) I hadn't been in the 10th percentile my entire childhood. She's just a petite little thing.

My mom asked the pediatrician about upping my milk supply and she said that the best thing to do is to drink a lot of fluids - like 7 8oz glasses... or about 56 ounces. I'm probably drinking about 35 ounces a day now, so I definitely need to step up my fluid intake! The dr also said to make sure I'm getting enough calories (as someone who has never paid any mind to calories, I'm not sure if I'm doing this or not), and that if I wanted I could get some supplements at a health food store that may or may not help. So I am going to try really hard to drink more water and consider going to a health food store for the supplements when I have some extra money to spend.

The crib sleeping thing, by the way, is not going great. She has been sleeping about 3 hours a night in the crib and then waking up. After she wakes up I just put her in the co-sleeper and after a tiny bit she goes back to sleep, but then sleeps fitfully for the rest of the night. It's painful. Especially since I've been doing baby duty all alone at night because Enzio has gone back to work and I feel bad asking him to get up. Which isn't necessarily fair to me either... but whatever. Tomorrow I don't have to be at work until 12, and at first Enzio said he was going to go to the gym but then he saw how upset I was that he wasn't going to watch Laila when she woke up so I could sleep in and so now he's not going to go to the gym. And I, of course, feel guilty. But I also really, really need to sleep. He said he would do Laila duty tonight ... sort of. If she is needing help getting to sleep he said he would take over, but as the crib is next to my side of the bed (where he refuses to sleep) that makes it kind of difficult, meaning I will be on Laila duty again unless she wakes up for real and needs to be rocked back to sleep (instead of me sitting there repeatedly putting her pacifier back into her mouth).

Wish us luck for tonight. She is probably going to wake up really soon because she last ate at about 6:30 or 7, and has been asleep since 7:30. In her crib. Meaning I have half an hour until she probably wakes up again. Ugh.

Last Night

Yesterday Enzio and I rearranged our bedroom so that Laila's crib is next to my side of the bed. It was suggested to me that I do this in an effort to get Laila to sleep in her crib instead of her co-sleeper. Well, she slept for about three hours in her crib last night, and then at about 1am she woke up. I put the pacifier back in her mouth a few times, and I got her to sleep for another hour and a half. But by 2:30 I was so tired of having to continually put the pacifier back in her mouth that I just put her back in her co-sleeper, hoping that she would go to sleep. She didn't. I had to continue the pacifier thing all night, until 6:30am when I fed her for the second time and she finally fell asleep. Sadly, this did me little to no good because I had to wake up at 7:30. Ugh. But I can't give up - she slept for three hours in the crib and I guess I should consider that a small victory.