Baby Happenings

I have not been good at all with blogging. I am not going to blame it on life, because it will always be busy! I just actually haven't felt up to doing much, let alone blogging. Hah. ;)

I figured I would write a little about my growing daughter. I remember last year fondly, around this time of year, being so excited to have a baby growing in my belly. I couldn't feel her move yet, but I knew she was there and that alone was exciting! Now I have this little girl in my home who never ceases to amaze me! I think of the verse about being "fearfully and wonderfully made". God made us all so unique, and one of my favorite parts about being a mother is seeing every little detail that he made in my child. Her personality, her facial expressions, her features (love those eyes and eyelashes!), her sin nature, her dependence on me, etc.

Layla will be 6 months next week. I am so excited we are almost to the 1/2 year mark! We started solids a few weeks ago, and it has gone pretty well so far. Some days we skip solids all together, but she is getting familiar with different tastes and textures. Her menus have consisted of avocado, sweet potatoes, pears and bananas. We are going to try out carrots soon!

Her hand coordination has improved so much over the last month. She has purpose when she reaches for things, and a lot more control over what she does with those hands. Everything that she can grab usually goes to her mouth. Haha. She has her first tooth and the other one is on the way! She is not a happy teether, but she is definitely not on the bad end of it either. Just mostly fussy and clingy.

We tried sitting her up on the floor herself this week, and she is able to stay up for the most part with a nursing pillow behind her. She loves the jumpy seat at my parent's house, and because of that she will jump any time you stand her up.

Life with a baby is lots of fun... there can be some really bad days too, but for the most part it is pretty great. We are looking forward to summer with more time spent outside, and trips to the seaside.

My two loves. They are both so adorable!

Sleeping beauty. Wish she was always this peaceful! :P

Lost in the World of Motherhood

I took a look at my last post and realized it has been a month and a half since then. Whew, where does time go? I wish it would hide out in my pocket or something, so I could save it for when I really needed it. Which is like, all the time! :)

I'll admit it, I have been lost away in this place called Motherhood. And to be honest, I do love it. I love being a mommy. The new things that come along with a growing baby can be quite challenging at times, but then you just get past the bump in the road and keep going until the next one comes up.

My little girl is just amazing. I love her to pieces. She makes me smile every morning I go to get her from her crib. I know she can hear my footsteps when I walk into her room... then I take a peek at her and she realizes it's me, and out comes a big smile from her little mouth. Ahh, that is what makes it all worth it, friends! Layla is 5 months old. Can you believe that? Seems like not too long ago I was gigantically pregnant and on "couch-rest", and now I have a beautiful daughter who shares every moment of the day with me. I do enjoy having a little girl, and I know it will only get more and more fun as she gets older. We do everything together. Where I go, she goes. What I do, she does. I think she just might be the mini-me someday. The poor girl. ;)

So while I have been occupied with mommy things, we have also been on a new diet, which takes a little more thought and time each day. About a month ago, we decided to try the Paleo diet. No refined sugars, grains, dairy, gluten, etc. The nice thing about this diet is that you can tailor it to what your body responds best to. So while we may not be 100% Paleo in our eating, we follow the main principle. And that is to cut out a lot of refined, processed, boxed foods and eat more fresh, raw foods. I personally have noticed a huge difference in the way I feel. My skin is finally clearing up and healing (part of that is from using coconut oil on my face), I have lost weight, and I feel less lethargic during the day. Finding enough food to fill us up that isn't a grain, gluten, dairy or full of sugar was hard at first. But we are getting it down now. We bought RAW Meal Replacement powder to make shakes in the morning. That fills us up for quite a while and is extremely good for us. It's plant based and full of live enzymes. We do "cheat" a bit on the weekends, but I feel that is perfectly okay as long as it's not a binge fest. When I say cheat, I mean, we eat some gluten, grains and dairy... we don't eat desserts all weekend or stuff our face with chips. Hehe. Layla will also be practicing the Paleo diet with us until she is a bit older. I'm waiting to introduce grains to her, and am sticking with veggies and fruit. I plan to make all her baby food homemade.

Today is Saturday, and that means we are together as a family. I look forward to this day every week. Hope you all enjoy your weekend! Here's to hoping for some nice, spring weather. :)

Catching Up

It's starting to look like winter again today. The snow is falling, and I am fighting to keep myself from falling asleep! I have already gotten my grocery shopping done for the week, and now the house is in desperate need to be tidied after the weekend. I always find my house falls apart on the weekends...

Layla turns 3 months old today! She is celebrating by taking a nap after being lugged through Trader Joes and out into the cold. :) There are so many daily developments that I lose track. I am not sure how much she has gained over this past month, but we will find out soon at her 4 month appointment. She loves to smile now, and is even smiling at strangers or people that she doesn't know. When we prop her up on a pillow or lay her on our knees, she is always trying to pull herself forward to sit up. She is getting very strong! Those little arms and feet are usually going crazy and sometimes I think it surprises her. She has that very ungraceful arm flailing that usually tends to whack me in the face from time to time. Pretty soon here, we are going to have one energetic baby crawling around the house! She is a lot of fun to be with and has made us laugh often. Definitely seeing more attitude as she learns more... that is usually scolded by a "no, no, no"! She knows how to cry/scream for attention until she is picked up. I'm hoping that we can get over that, because she is such a good girl otherwise.

Layla's pediatrician recommended I put her on Vitamin D drops because of the huge lack we have in this part of the world. Actually, everyone should be taking it, but we don't or we forget. I had forgotten to pick some D drops up for her in my trips to the store, so I stopped by Vitamin Shoppe on Saturday (after our trip to Starbucks!) to see what they had. The Enfamil brand is full of junk, so I wanted to see if they had other options. I did find some, but then I noticed they had DHA for babies. I was checking it out and saw that is contained Vitamin D in it as well and was the same price as the regular D drops! It is made from 100% wild Arctic cod and does not contain any "junk" or flavoring. I've heard cod liver oil is so good for you, so I am hoping this helps with her development and health.

She doesn't seem too happy right now, so I guess I will be off. I have been working on projects and recipes lately, but haven't had a chance to blog them. Hopefully I will catch up soon!

Enjoy the snow! :)

2 Months Old

My little girl officially turned 2 months on the 3rd. It's hard to believe, yet it seems like she has just always been with us! I'm sure you moms know the feeling...

Her 2 month check-up was last Thursday - the day where the icky road conditions began. Thankfully we made it to the office safely, and thankfully we were scheduled for a morning appointment! Our peanut is still a peanut at 9lb. 11oz. and 22 inches long. Her doctor was happy with the development though and was not worried one bit about her weight. One thing for slight concern was her head... because she favors her right side, her head has become a little misshaped. I have noticed ever since she was born that she loves to turn her head to her right side. She sleeps like that most of the time. Had I know, I would have tried to prevent it from becoming a habit. Buuut, I didn't, so now she has a slight bulge on one side of her head. Like I said, not anything for great concern, because it can be helped with massaging her neck and trying to get her to stretch it to the other side too. Since she is only two months old, her head has much more growing to do before it is anything permanent.

2 months 

A few days old.

Layla is now smiling and talking away to people, things on the walls, and the ceiling. It is so fun to watch her! We have started cloth diapering. The diapering part is easy... the cleaning part, not so much. I know it will be once we have it figured out, but I still am not getting clean diapers until they are washed umpteen-million times. It is actually not the diapers themselves as much as the cloth liners that go in them. I'm still experimenting... each diaper brand is different, and I know certain cleaning methods work for certain diapers.

She is still sleeping pretty well during the night. Of course we have our nights (like last night!) where she wakes up every few hours. But for the most part, she is sleeping anywhere from 4-7 hours at a time. Four being the very least, and seven is the most ever. Most nights, she is able to fall asleep on her own after being fed, changed, and bundled up. That is a new thing for her, since before I was having to hold her until she fell into a deep sleep.

We are looking forward to the many new developments in the next month or two! It is exciting when we reach new milestones. Like the smiling... it made Kyle and me so overjoyed to see our daughter smiling and cooing at us. :) Having a baby around is good for the soul!

Tomorrow is the last day of this year and I am thinking to myself, how did time seem to fly by quicker this year than the year before? Maybe it just comes with age, but I really do look back at my year and wonder how it could go by so fast. All in one year I got pregnant and had a baby, and now she is just about two months old! Unbelievable...

Life certainly has changed a bit, but I would never trade it for anything. Our little girl is turning 2 months this Friday. Her next appointment with her doctor is on Thursday and I am very curious to see how much she has grown compared to her first week. She is still such a peanut, but definitely growing by the day! I have gotten a few smiles out of her, but she still is not smiling excessively like most babies do when they figure out how. She has started to really show when she is mad about something, and often will scream to get mama's attention! Yes, a little attitude I am seeing here. I know it is hard to believe, but she does know the word "NO". I have said it since the beginning when she starts to get all red and angry about something. She understands that mama is not approving of that and tones it down to a whimper. It is quite funny! Our babies can understand a whole lot more than we think they do! And tone of voice has a lot to do with it. The last few days, I have noticed a lot more squirming and kicking and flailing of arms. She also has been burying her head into me now before she settles down to sleep. It is amazing all these little things I start to notice that are different from the week before. Our newest favorite is the shower. She has joined mommy two different times for a shower and absolutely loves it! She keeps nice and warm up against me... the water must be a soothing sound to her. She doesn't make a fuss at all.

As for me, I haven't been feeling that great the past few weeks, and I think it has to do with hormones. I hear it takes quite a while for them to level out, and for some reason my body isn't responding well to it. I have gotten 3 migraines since having Layla, and they are the bad ones. The blotchy vision, numb hand, arm and face, headache... and it takes a whole day to recover. I am assuming it is hormones, but not sure. I skipped my follow-up visit with my midwife since things were just too busy right before Christmas. I see her in February though and may ask if I can get blood work done to check my levels. Part of all this may just be lack of sleep, as well. Who knows...

I can't wait to get my whole house pulled back together. Layla's nursery had become sort of a wrapping paper station/storage unit during our busiest time before Christmas. Now I just need to pack the Christmas stuff away and reorganize! The rest of the house could use a good cleaning too... sometimes I wonder if I will ever get caught up on everything. I think the answer may be no unless you are superwoman. There is always something to work on.

My next post will be about goals for the new year. I'm sure you can guess that a lot of them have to do with health and getting in shape again!

Being a Mom

I have to say that even though having a baby to take care of is hard work, I love being a mom! Ever since I was very, very young I wanted to grow up, get married and have babies. That was always my goal, and God has blessed me with both of those things! I know things will get harder and there will be days that I will wonder how I will make it through (there already have been some!), but I am certain this is where I want to be. :)

Our little miss Layla is growing so fast. I am excited to see her progress over the last three weeks... we are now into our 4th week and I am amazed how quickly that time flew by. I thought for sure it would drag with all that is involved with taking care of a newborn. But pretty soon here, Layla will be 1 month old!

3 weeks old

I'm not sure if all babies are interactive and full of personality in their first month, but ever since the beginning, we have noticed these two things about her! Not to mention how strong she is. After about 1 1/2-2 weeks she started lifting her head on her own. She is very vocal too... especially in her sleep. It is cute, but hard to sleep at night sometimes when she makes so much noise grunting and squeaking. She definitely knows when mama is holding her, and responds to my voice. I love being the one to comfort her when she has a tummy-ache or just wants to be held. I broke down and started using a pacifier during those moments where I just can't be there to hold her. You know, those times where you are standing over the stove cooking dinner or have your hands in dish soap... or better yet, are in the bathroom trying to have some time to shower and pull yourself together. She normally doesn't need it too often, but it is so helpful for those times where you just need to do something to stop her crying. I put her in her seat and set it in the doorway while I take a shower. I think she likes the sound of the water, because she normally seems content and either sleeps or looks around at things.

Morning cozy time looking around at everything.

Thankfully, I was able to get 3 1/2-4 hours of sleep at a time last night. That has been much needed and I sooo look forward to more sleep soon! The baby likes to be awake and alert during the morning hours and then sleeps a lot during the afternoon. After dinner, she tends to wake up a bit. And during the night feedings she tends to be more awake too. It has been tough getting her nights and days switched up, but we are getting there!

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving. I feel like this whole year has passed more quickly than usual. I am so thankful for many different things, but especially that God is the One Who is in control. I have thought that to myself lots and lots of times this year through various situations. I'm also thankful for my beautiful little family. God has certainly blessed us! We are going to my parent's for the Thanksgiving meal tomorrow, and I'm looking forward to a relaxing day of not having to do much. I've already made two pies today and will make the stuffing tomorrow morning. Those are my contribution to the meal! Here are the recipes for the pies, though I didn't follow the complete recipe for the chocolate cream pie. I decided just to make the chocolate custard (with Ghirardelli milk chocolate) and leave the topping off. Might I say, the chocolate custard to that pie is TO DIE FOR. Yes, there was a little bit left over for taste testing! ;) Gotta love homemade custard. Mmmm.

Pumpkin Pie
Chocolate Cream Pie with Toasted Marshmallow Topping

Enjoy your day of giving thanks and time spent with family and friends!

My Growing Girl

Today Layla and I headed for our 4th visit to the doctor since she has been born! We have been seeing a pediatrician that we really like, and today Dr. Maalouli was thrilled to see that Layla has gained 5 ounces and grown 3/4" since Saturday!

When we were still in the hospital, they almost didn't let us go home because she had dropped a bunch of weight in a very short period of time. She was born 6lb. 7oz. and had dipped down to 5lb. 8oz. We kept having to go to the doctor's to make sure she was still not losing, and thankfully she is really taking off in growth! She is now 6lb. 3oz. Our doctor was very pleased with the progress and said she would see us in 6 weeks for her two month appointment. Yay, for no more doctor's visits until then!

Little peanut is now a very hungry peanut, eating every 1 1/2- 2 hours each night. Last night she stretched it out further a couple times, so that was nice for me to get a little extra sleep in between. My husband mentions that it seems I never go to bed. He is such a sweetie to want me and Layla to stay in our room while she feeds at night. Unfortunately, Layla thinks that it is better to sleep all day long and be wide-eyed at night... I am hoping that switches around soon!

Here are more pictures of our sweet girl. I can't stop taking them, so I hope you all don't mind the millions that I post on facebook. I know not everyone has facebook, so here are a couple I took of her today after her appointment. She is already growing so fast...

Thank you, Terry Nordborg, for the pack of long-sleeved onsies! She was in great need of those and I love how feminine they are. :)

Sleepy after her Dr. visit and a full tummy. 

I can't get over her hair... you can see the cow lick on the left is sort of naturally parting her hair.

My sleeping beauty. <3 td="">