Lillian's 19th Week

This 19 week old is a busy little bee. So long are the days (for now) where she would just lie still on daddy's chest. She is always wanting to be sitting up seeing the world.

Nursing: I have been sick with a sore throat and cough this last week. I noticed lately that Lillian wasn't eating as well and thought my milk supply had gone down. Well with being sick it was worse so i went and bought some Fenugreek. Its a supplement to help increase your milk and it worked for me after just 2 days. They warn you that if you take it you may smell like maple syrup and they aren't joking. I don't think I smell like it but it sure tastes like syrup going down. With the Fenugreek Lillian has been back to eating about 20 minutes each feeding. We also started rice cereal this last week. I was hesitant because I wanted to wait until she was 6 months old but since she has had difficulties sleeping through the night we talked and decided this was best to at least try. I only give it to her at her last feeding of the day. I nurse her on both sides first then give her 1 tbsp of rice cereal with 2 ounces of expressed milk. Here is a video of our first and second attempt of feeding it to her via spoon. 2 fails on the first attempt were not nursing her first so she was very hungry and secondly feeding through a spoon.

Sleeping:  With the help of the rice cereal and better feedings Lillian has been sleeping better again. She isn't waking early from her naps. She still wakes at 3:30 am but as before I put her paci back in and she falls right back to sleep and stays asleep until 7 as opposed to waking every hour like she had been. I still cannot figure out why she wakes up at 3:30 but there is nothing that seems to help. I've let her cry it out but that wakes her up more we've cut her naps shorter and let her sleep longer. I was worried that we started Lillian too soon on the four hour schedule. She is able to go the four hours between feedings but I feel she wasn't getting full enough for the night. Here is her new schedule we are using that seems to be helping.
7am wake up, nurse, wake time
8:15-8:30 down for nap (I cannot seem to keep her awake longer than an hour and a half)
11am wake up, nurse, wake time
12:15-12:30 down for nap
3pm wake up, nurse, wake time
4:30 down for nap (this is the only nap she wakes early but she still doesn't eat until 6)
6pm Eats wake time until next feedings at 9pm. if she starts to get fussy I will put her in her swing and if she falls asleep fine if not then I let her play. So far she sleeps for about 45 minutes during this time. If we need to do anything we usually go during this time. It helps keep her awake and doesn't interrupt any of her other naps of the day.
9pm last feeding, nurse then bottle of rice cereal, then straight to bed

Other Happenings:
- Lillian's hair is slowly starting to grow back in on the sides

- Mommy was sick with a sore throat and cough all week but Lillian hasn't gotten it so far, benefit of breastfeeding. If you didn't see if on my Facebook page already here is a video of what she thought of me having a cough
- Lillian is teething still but she is not fussy about it she just chews on her bib, burp cloth, toys, and fingers. What is interesting is she sticks her fingers/thumb to the back of her gums. I thought the first few teeth that come in are the central incisors.
- moved up to size 2 diapers
- Starting to be able to support herself sitting up. She can't sit up long but she starts to lean forward and support herself on her hands.

Lillian's First Beach Trip

On Sunday July 21st we left Atlanta and headed to North Myrtle Beach to meet up with Nana, Poppa, and Aunt Nina for a short vacation. My sister's boss owns a penthouse condo there and let our family stay there for the week. Since we were already in Atlanta that weekend before we figured we'd drive over and let Lillian experience her first beach trip. The condo is nice and big. We each had our own room and they even had a crib and swing in a separate room for Lillian to sleep in because the owner has grandkids that come visit. We didn't do much while we were there. It was very relaxing. Lillian did get to experience the beach and pool for the first time. The first day we took her to the beach she seemed okay in the water and the sand but the second day she was more fussy. It was colder the second day but the sun was very bright so she may not have liked it due to those factors. She loved the pool even though it was surprisingly cold. Here are tons of pictures to capture all of the moments of her first trip to the beach!

It was cold for Mommy too

Squishing toes in the sand. (look at those sweet little leg rolls!)

Not so sure about the cold water

Daddy protecting her from the wave

Family Picture

Kicking in the water

Swimming with Poppa. 

(I need to look through old pictures because I'm pretty sure I have a similar picture with Poppa. Many family vacations to the beach and pool.)

I'm not a big fan of the beach. I hate getting sand all in my swimsuit and I am terrified of anything in the water. Probably why I don't ev like seafood. So I spend most of my time at the pool when we go. Some of the best memories are from family vacations to the beach and I cannot wait to make more memories. 

Lillian's 18th Week

18 Weeks Old on July 23rd 

Lillian had her first trip to the beach this week! Post to come with lots of pictures of that special memory.

Nursing: Being out of town this last week I wasn't sure what to expect but she ate great nursing and when I had to feed her a bottle. Not sure how much she eats when she nurses but i had a bottle of about 7.5 ounces for Kevin's Mom to feed her while she was watching her and Lillian drank the WHOLE thing! I have been giving her about 7-8 ounces now and she will even fuss for a second when its all gone like she wants more. I won't feed her more because I know she'll just spit it up. 

Sleeping: stuck to our schedule pretty well despite being out of town. She slept through the night two nights but that was probably because she didn't have great naps those days and being in the sun drained her. She is still waking up around 3 and every hour or two after. I still don't feed her because she doesn't seem hungry she falls right back asleep but there doesn't seem to be another reason why she would wake at that time other than hunger. We were told we could give her rice cereal and that may keep her full through the nights. I debated giving it to her so soon. I did some research, read lots of opinions, talked with Kevin, and prayed about it. We decided we will try just a little just at her last feeding of the night at 7pm. Because we were out of town I wanted to wait until we got back home so we will be doing our first try tonight. I'll let you know how it goes but i'm hoping it helps. 

Other Happenings:

- We visited Nena and Papa, and aunts and uncles in Atlanta this weekend. It was a fun filled visit with a trip to Helen, Ga on Saturday and Lillian got to experience the Stone Mountain Laser show for the first time. She of course loved every part of it. The fireworks didn't scare her at all and she loved the music and lights. 

- Lillian holds her own bottle now

- She wore her first 9 month onesie yesterday, mainly because it was the only one clean after to diaper blow outs. Most of her 3-6 month onesies don't fit. Moved up to 6 month and even some 9 month. I realized some of them may have shrank though when I washed them because I wash all her clothes in hot to get out the spit up. But now I wash in warm unless there is something really dirty. 

- Still wearing size 1 diapers but with quite a few leaks this week we will be moving on up to 2. We probably should have done it sooner but she had so many one's left and didn't have any leaks until we went out of town. Size 2 are for 12-18lbs and she is already 14.8lbs. 

- Lillian had her 4 month check up you can see HERE

Lillian's 4 Month Doctor Visit

Lillian technically turns 4 months old tomorrow 7/19 but she had her 4 month doctor visit today and who could wait another minute to see this perfect little face.

This little bonnet was part of a beautiful dress outfit from the sweetest lady from our church back in Georgia, Mrs. Madelyn Watson. I'll have to take a picture of the whole outfit when she is big enough to fit in it. 

Doctor appointment: Lillian is growing like a weed! She is off the charts in height at 26.3 in. She grew 3 1/4 inches since her 2 month check up!

One of the nurses couldn't believe it so she remeasured her and it was correct. She is still at 75% in weight at 14.8lbs and head circumference is 16in. Lillian got 3 prick shots today and one oral. I don't remember what shots they were except one was hep B because she wasn't caught up yet. She did amazingly well again for the shots. She didn't cry after the first one, and the second one she started crying but it wasn't even a scream more of a fuss. The second shot apparently hurts more is what the nurse said. After the third one the nurse gave her the oral shot and Lillian never cried again. I am amazed she does so well with shots. Hopefully that continues. Here is a picture of her super cool Scooby Doo and Captain America band-aids.

The doctor said she looks great. I did ask him about a dry patchy spot on her chest I have noticed other places too and thought it was eczema and he confirmed yes but said it's just mild and we can put lotion on it.

Here is a list of things that happened this month with Lillian developmentally. I already mentioned some in her weekly updates and some I forgot because lets face it a lot can happen one day:
- Lillian can hold a bottle
-will grasp a toy
- puts her paci in her mouth on her own
- tries to sit up from laying position, but needs support when actually sitting. She loves sitting up
- talks, laughs, smiles
- loves music and when we sing to her
- rolls from tummy to back
- very alert and always wants to know what is going on
- drooling
- plays peek a boo, (mommy plays and she reacts)
- likes seeing herself in the mirror, not sure that she knows it is her but she will smile then turn away then look back to see if she is still there
- kicks her legs a lot
- her sleepy cues are moans/babbling and yawning

Lillian's 17th Week

17 Weeks Old!

Nursing: Lillian did so well this week nursing. Eating well on both sides sometimes even for 20 minutes but average is about 15 min. Friday July 12th we started Lillian on a 4 hour schedule. It happened by accident but I went with it and she slept better at her naps and at night. We continued it Saturday and Sunday and still no issues so we have officially moved to the 4 hour schedule and I LOVE IT! It has allowed me so much more free time to go out with her and not have to worry about hurrying back home in time for her nap.

Sleeping: towards the end of the week Lillian started sleeping much better and did not wake up in the middle of the night to eat but did still wake up at 3 and 5. Those seem to be magic hours of waking up. As soon as I put her paci back in she falls right back to sleep. We had guests this weekend so I didn't let her cry it out but we will be working on that this week. I'm not sure why she wakes up or why she needs her paci (she spits it out about 5 minutes later anyways) but again hoping it will pass. After her first feeding at 7am she is always super tired so she usually goes back to sleep at about 8. I've tried to keep her up longer so she doesn't wake up early before her next feeding but she gets so fussy and she is never fussy. As soon as I lay her down she goes right to sleep.

Other Happenings:
- A couple people have told me about the book The Wonder Weeks and they have an app so I downloaded it. Apparently Lillian is in the 4th leap which lasts about 4 weeks. I'm not sure I understand the concept yet so read the book but what I gather so far is that babies make these mental developmental leaps and there are things you can do to help them get through these leaps with ease.
- She has figured out how to put her paci back in her mouth. I first noticed in the car. I saw it fell out so I was going to lean back at the next stop light to put it back in and by the time I got to a light she had it in her hand close to her mouth so I watched for a second and sure enough she popped it back in.
- She is always wanting to sit up. For us though Sit up = Spit up so I try not to let her sit all the way up right after she eats.
- We had our friends Jordan and Erin come to visit this weekend. The guys had a Frisbee tournament so we went and watched for a few hours on Saturday.

Lillian loved playing with her buddy Erin. 

Here is another video of her laughing with Daddy. She loves to be put up in the air like this. 

- Loving our doorway bouncy swing. 

- Friday morning Lillian and I went to the Hunstville Botanical Gardens with a mom's group I am apart of. It was better than I expected, very kid friendly. Lillian was still a little young to play or really enjoy anything since she is not mobile but I know she enjoyed being out of the house seeing different things and smelling the flowers. Two and under is free but I also got in free because they were collecting elementary age books to help a local charity so that was a plus. There is a little splash pond thing we all went to first so I stuck Lillian's feet in and there is also a butterfly house we went through. One of the butterflies landed on Lillian's arm.

The best part is this thing called Giant Garden Little Me. It reminds me of something like Honey I Shrunk the Kids. Everything is super sized things you would find in your back yard:

• Super Soaker Sprinkler that oscillates
• Big Dog Doghouse
• Papa Bear Picnic Table
• Grand Watering Can
• Ginormous Grass Blades with misting and bubbling dandelions
• Colossal Croquet, with mega-sized wickets, balls and mallets
• Super-sized Sandbox and Storybook Castle
• Awesome Adirondack chairs big enough for two, or three ...
• King-size Checkers

Here is Lillian relaxing in the Adirondack chair.

This was right before we left to go home and eat. She was super tired and napped for 3 hours 15 min. But we had a lot of fun.

We go to the doctor on Thursday for her 4 month check up. I am anxious to see how she has grown!

Lillian's 16th Week

16 Weeks Old

Nursing: I tried a couple different things this week to see if Lillian would eat any better. She would occasionally eat fine on one side but then never eat more than a minute or two on the other. I pumped exclusively for two days to try and get my milk supply back up and make sure she was getting full feedings. I feel like the pumping really helped but it also showed me that I was getting about 5.5oz total when i pumped and she'd eat about 5 oz each feeding so my milk supply seemed to be decreasing but really she is getting all she needs. She still squirms quite a bit at certain feedings which makes it hard but I started burping her more often and we give gas drops religiously.

Sleeping: Our sleep schedule was still pretty rough this week. Her naps were great but was waking multiple times at night. a couple nights i fed her the second time she would wake up hoping that would keep her asleep until morning but that didn't work. She actually woke up more that night. We tried cluster feeding her the last 3 meals of the day, that helped a little in that she didn't wake up hungry but i did have to get up twice to soothe her. When I do that I just reswaddle if she came undone and put the paci in if it fell out. But that only puts her back to sleep for 2 hours then she wakes up again. She is such a pleasant baby during the day so we don't know if its too much sleep or not enough. Or if she needs more food less times per day, or if we are feeding her too often and she is not getting full feedings. We have no clue what is going on but I'm ready for it to pass and have her sleeping the full 10 hrs. again.

Other Happenings:
- Lillian got to spend some special time with Daddy this last week. He worked from home Wednesday afternoon, was off on Thursday the 4th, and worked from home on Friday. It rained every day so Lillian and Daddy got lots of snuggle time.
- You can see how we spent our Independence Day
- Lillian has grown out of her bouncy seat. She is always wanting to sit up but doesn't have full control yet so anytime we sit her in the bouncy seat she tries to sit up and basically ends up doing an ab workout or falling forward :)
- We got out her doorway jumper this week and she loved it. She is a little small for the seat so we wrapped a blanket around her to keep her more secure but she has great head control in it and her little legs just go crazy bouncing in it.
- Speaking of crazy legs she is kicking a lot. Sometimes when she eats, or after she eats (we assume that's gas) but even if she wakes up early from a nap or just playing on her floor mat her legs are always moving. Would this just be her preparing to start getting mobile?
- I had forgotten we got this cute little robe as a gift so we used it for the first time. Its super cute and I use the little slippers now to cover her feet while in her swing because they stay on so much better than socks do. Lillian hasn't worn socks since her first month.

Special Shout out! Happy 27th Birthday Daddy and Daddy's twin sister Aunt Kayla!

Let Freedom Ring

Whenever the Fourth of July rolls around I always think of the Martina McBride song Independence Day. It's a very old song but always sticks out in my mind.

Future Miss America

This was our first Independence Day with Lillian and there is not much you can do to celebrate with a 3 month old and a continuous rain ALL DAY LONG! I was bummed at first we couldn't do anything outside since Kevin was off work I was hoping to go to a park. We ended up snuggling around home all day and went to the grocery store. It was a nice relaxing holiday with the people I love. Thanks to those serving in our military to protect our freedom.

For dinner we went very "America" and had BBQ and then topped it off with some oreo milk shakes. We got very lucky and found out that the huge firework show in Huntsville is done at the Space and Rocket Center, which is literally 2 blocks from us. It was still raining so we pulled out some chairs under our carport to watch. We had a great view because we were so close but noticed they were low so we got in our car and drove to the front of our neighborhood and got an even better view. It was perfect! Lillian got to experience her first fireworks show and was intrigued.

 

Since we were in the car she wasn't scared by the noise so we sat and enjoyed our first 4th of July together as a family. After the fireworks Kevin and I watched  Independence Day. Funny how movies have changed since 1996. Kevin kept pointing out how old the cars look and the clothing was awful. lol. It was a great day spent together even though it was rainy.

Lillian's 15th Week

Happy Early 4th of July!

15 Weeks Old

Nursing: Lillian had some trouble this week nursing. She would only eat for about 6 minutes on one side then didn't seem to care at all to eat on the other. She would look up at me and smile like she was all done. Knowing that just 6 minutes wasn't enough to give her a full feeding I would give her a bottle and she would eat it fine. She was also very fidgety when she nursed. Her morning feedings she ate great and were her longest feedings. The only thing I can assume is causing this is my milk supply is too low, and is too much work for her to get a full feeding. I have tried eating oatmeal, drinking LOTS more water, eating more calories, to help increase the supply but doesn't seem to be helping.

Sleep: I can only chalk up this week to being a milestone/growth spurt week and getting full feedings. Looking back through my past weekly posts she has been doing great the last 4 or 5 weeks. She falls asleep fine at naps and night time. The problem has been at night she is waking up around 3am so I would just re-swaddle and put a paci back in. She would go back to sleep but then would wake up every hour after that. I can't let her Cry it Out because our rooms are right beside each other and she would take 20 minutes to fall back asleep and Kevin can't be kept awake since he has to work. After a few tiring days of doing this I figured she must be hungry. I decided to start feeding her when she first woke up and that helped keep her asleep until 6am. Hopefully this is just a another growth spurt and we will be through this soon.

Other Happenings:
- Big week Lillian rolled over for the first time and has done it a handful of times since! She rolled from her tummy to her back. She had been rolling to her side but never went completely over. I had her doing tummy time and she got up on her side again so I ran to get my phone and hit record and barely caught it on video! I was so excited for her but i think more excited i actually got it on video. She did it again a few minutes later when daddy got home. Here are a couple of videos I got of her rolling over, video 1, video 2. The second video you can skip ahead to minute 2:00 since I don't know how to edit it down. No judging my voice, i hate  how I sound on camera
- Lillian has also mastered the art of break dancing by spinning on her belly 270 degrees. Poppa was visiting and he was talking to her and she spun around until she found where is voice was coming from.
- Lillian loves when you kiss her belly. She just giggles and giggles.