New Skills

It seems Lily is 100% out of the "peanut stage."  She is reaching, grabbing and exploring.  As of last Thursday, Sept. 22, she was sitting up a lot on her own.  It was like that was the day her body got the hang of it.  Each day, she sits up better and longer. (though there is the occasional flop...)

Today I put Lily in her new Halloween outfit. One word-adorable!

6 month shots

It's a necessary evil, but not one enjoyed by anybody!  Today Matt and I took Lily for her six month shots. That nurse is brutal!  I mean she stabs and plunges with no mercy. My poor poor baby. She screamed at decibels I had never heard before.  Of course, I cried along with her.

Lily was PISSED.  She cried and screamed the entire ride home.  What a crappy afternoon. We don't see Dr. Patty till her 9 month check up and that's fine with me.

On the good side, Matty made lots of silly faces and made her laugh while we waited for the doctor and then the nurse.  Lily is doing really well.  She now weighs 16 pounds (70%). is 27" long (89%) and her head is 43 cm (70%).  Dr. Patty gave her an overall good report.

Now I'm either gonna eat some ice cream, or take a nap.  Mommies have a tough time on shot day too....

Lily Tattoo

Lily was definitely NOT named for the flower.  In fact, she was named for the character, Lily on "How I Met Your Mother."  For the longest time, we couldn't agree on a name. I wanted "Sunny" but Matt didn't.  Toward the end of my pregnancy, I was on bed rest. We watched a lot of HIMYM and one day I commented that I really liked Lily's character. Then, during my baby shower I noticed that the baby bedding I had registered for was from the "Lily Collection."

We had a name!!  Since Lily was born, I've been thinking about getting her name as a tattoo or maybe some flowers to represent her. I researched all form of Lilies.  Daylilies were too common, and Stargazer lilies remind me of my Grandma Julie's funeral. (her favorite flower) and the Calla Lily is not appropriate etc. While researching lillies, I found this:

LILY OF THE VALLEY: Return of happiness, purity of heart, sweetness, tears of the Virgin Mary, you've made my life complete, humility, happiness, love's good fortune. The legend of the lily of the valley is that it sprang from Eve's tears when she was kicked out of the Garden of Eden. It is also believed that this flower protects gardens from evil spirits. Also known as the flower of May.

I like the Lily of the Valley. The meaning is perfect and it's closely tied to May 1st. That's the day we got married!  So, I finally make a plan to get a tattoo.  It HURT but I love it!

The best massage I ever had

Sept. 23, 2011
I had a coupon for a massage that I bought Matt 2 years ago. He never used it, so I decided to!
The woman who did the massage comes to my work so I know her and she knew of Lily.
I told her I may not have a babysitter, so she agreed that I could bring Lily along.

I fed her so she would be happy and mornings are a great time to get things done.  She's pretty content.
We started out the massage with Lily in her car seat. She was occupied with some rings and a toy attached to her car seat. I also laid out 2 toys and once Lily got bored with the rings, Carol easily handed her a new toy.

About 1/2 way through, Lily becamse restless. I knew she'd only eaten on the right side so I asked if I could maybe feed her while Carol worked. She was more than accomodating. I laid on my left side and Lily ate snuggled up with me as Carol massaged my back.  I enjoyed being pampered while at the same time I could love on Lily.

Then, when she was done eating, Carol put her on the floor on a blanket I had brought.  Lily, (not one for staying in the same place for long) rolled till she was right under me. As I looked through the head cushion, Lily was directly under my face.  She was so sweet and laid under me the rest of the time. I was able to reach down and stroke her face and ears as she lay there looking up at me.

Prolly, I would have gotten more benefit from the massage without Lily there, but instead it was a very sweet time. I will cherish this as the best massage I ever got.  =)

Nap time blow outs

Thursday afternoon, (Sept 22, 2011) I put Lily down for a nap. She slept for an impressive three hours!  When I went in to get her, she was happy to see me, as usual.  Lily will half roll and look up at you and SMILE.  Then, she rolls the other way and hides her face. It's super cute. However this routine was cut short when I got a look at her tummy. MAJOR blow out!  There was leaked poo all over. On her onesie, pants, and even the sheet.  ick!

I carefully lifter her out and plunked her on the changing pad. Quickly I pulled off the soiled clothes and diaper but WOW did this little stinker need a bath. But, I didn't want to get dirty myself so I was trying to carefully hold her out away from me. However, Lily had different ideas. She wrapped herself around me like a monkey hanging on for dear life. Her arms and one leg were wrapped right around me and she even pressed her head onto my chest.  Guess I was in for a change of clothes!  lol

Welcome to Lily's World!

I started thinking the other day about how quickly Lily is growing.  She was born on March 2nd, 2011.  Now, she is six and 1/2 months old!  I was realizing that when my nieces and nephew ask me to tell them stories about when they are babies, I have about 5 or 6 stories that I tell over and over.  I don't want Lily's baby time to be condensed down to 5 stories! There are so many memories and events that I don't want to forget!

So, I decided to start blogging. Even if noone reads it but me, I want to savor many special moments and memories.

To start with, Lily was born on March 2nd, 2011 at Riverside Hospital.  My water broke at midnight.  I was actually peeing at the time when I felt a gush of water. Imagine my confusion! I wasn't sure if my water broke, but I never felt anything like that before so I was thinking maybe it did!  I yelled for Matt.  He was asleep at his computer!!  I had to stomp on the floor to get him to come up.

I said, "I think my water just broke!" I explained what had happened. He looked at me and said, "Ok, just a minute." and walked away......  He came back a few minutes later and said, "Here's what you do....."  I just looked at him and asked, "Did you go downstairs and Google this??"  He said, "yep."

So we got ready, and headed to the hospital.  Matt pulled up at the Women's Center turnaround and I got out of the car. The minute I stood up, it was like someone had poured a BUCKET of water down my legs.  Now I knew FOR SURE my water had broke!  I was already walddling and taking tiny steps because of the Pubic Symphysis Disorder, but now I was wet too. 

We finally got up to the floor and I said, "My water broke. I want an epidural."  They didn't believe me that my water had broke. It seems that only happens 15% of the time!  When I asked to get up to pee, they finally SAW that yes, indeed, my water had broke.  Wow is there a lot of water!!! 

I repeated my request of an epidural. The nurse said, "We can't do it until you've had one whole bag of IV fluids.  if you bend your wrist it will go in faster."  I BENT my wrist right then and hurried that fluid into my veins.  Contractions HURT!!!  Matt was wonderful. He held my hand, and counted with me. He marked down the start and stop of every single contraction!

After we were set up in a delivery room, I was given the epidural.  ahhhhhhhhh That was the FIRST time I wasn't in pain in three months!  I loved it!  Matt slept and I dilated quickly.  at 7am Dr. Melillo arrived and checked on us. I was ready to go!  

I pushed for an hour and 45 minutes and then Miss Lily Marie Kinnamon made her appearance into my life.
Right away she was an easy baby.  She hardly ever cried and mostly slept while we were in the hospital.  Lily was an angel!! The first night she stayed in the room with me. The second night they offered to let her sleep in the nursery.  Cut to me-30 minutes later standing outside the nursery and looking for my love.