Sleep Training

Well, I won't put a lot about this as I like to forget the week of hell that I went through. And I don't say that lightly, but I feel like it was pretty close to what hell might be like (although I never plan on actually knowing this). What can be worse than hearing your baby cry and scream for hours on end, daily? The answer happens to be: a baby that doesn't sleep. That is worse. But at the time, it felt pretty horrible.

For a week straight Lance and I endured "sleep training" with Lilah. Let's be honest here - the little girl has never really liked to sleep. You know when people say all newborns do is eat, sleep and poop. Well, Lilah ate...she pooped...but she DID NOT sleep (at least not much). After her cold where I held her for two nights in a row to help her to actually breathe, it all went downhill. She didn't like to nap and didn't like to sleep at night. I felt like a zombie and acted like one too, or at least like a very nasty housewife to my poor hubby. After a restless and tough weekend, we went and got a book and started our training.

To spare you from the details I'm sure you've heard (Lana and Krissy)..after a week our baby is doing much better. She is so much better rested and she takes usually 3 naps a day (which would be less if she would actually sleep past about 5:30 - obviously we're still working on a few things).

Better Late than Never?

So, I've decided I'm the worst blogger...or pretty close. I recently looked at some of the girls' pages in my PEPS group who clearly write weekly. I'm lucky if I get an entry done every three weeks. Oops!

My new goal is to at least put a few photos and a quick little note every week. I don't even know if anyone really follows this, that's why I hesitate to spend tons of time on something that my mom and Lance's parents follow....but, if just for them, I'm going to work towards my goal anyhow! ;)

p.s. this pic is from a few weeks ago...we had to get a picture of this cute outfit granny got, as it no longer fits. boo!

Mommy Happy Hour (or not-so Happy Hour?)

Some girls from college and another girlfriend of ours all got together for a little "mommy happy hour" at our house yesterday....although for some I'm not sure if running around chasing their 1 and 2 year olds was too "happy". :) It was nice though to get together and not have to worry about someone watching the babes...I think next time it'll be a mommy happy hour minus kiddies and babies. So nice to catch up with all you girls and looking forward to the next one!

Hopefully by then Gretchen and Kent will have their new baby boy (going to be induced today!) and Gretch can get out for a little break with us to celebrate!!!

The Adventures of Solids...

You'd think that this little girl cannot be related to Lance and I. The two of us love food - most things we'll eat, and we truly enjoy food and eating. :) Lilah on the otherhand, not so much. To nurse her now, I have to go into her room, close the blinds, turn off the lights, shut the door and I can't really talk to her. Anything is distracting and much more fun than eating. So, we've tried solids off and on for about a month now. I'm getting serious about it now as she grabs at our food and stares at us as we put each bite into our mouths. So far she's not much of a fan of solids either. Most of it ends up on her face or bib, but I'm going to try once or twice every day to try to get her to actually swallow some of the yummy rice cereal (you know if you've tasted it that it is not good) and sweet potatoes (which are pretty tastey, and mixed with some breastmilk are even better). Here are some of the pictures of our feeding adventures!

First Family Pumpkin Patch

What a perfect thing to do on a sunny, fall afternoon! Although Lilah didn't know what was going on other than that we kept sitting her down in awkward positions and places and singing her name to get her to look at the camera, we had to take a trip to the local pumpkin patch.

There's one only minutes from our house and it was great! We got some kettle corn and a pumpkin for Lilah and of course got the great shots. She was such a good girl and I think just liked looking around at all the big kids. And yes, we are those parents that put their baby's head in that cutout (see the picture) for a cheesy shot.

Jumperoo Poop

So, the post and pictures basically tell the story....

The lesson Lance and I learned is if we start to see the poop face and hear Lilah's loud grunts (yep, this pretty face grunts LOUD to push out her poops), get her out of the jumperoo ASAP! Two days in a row this type of blowout happened, and on the third day Lance rushed to get her out before it was day three of a blowout. Brooke especially loved that I sent her this picture... heehee....

Brooke's visit: Snot, Spitup, and Slobber...An Introduction to Motherhood!

We all had such a great time when my cousin Brooke visited us all the way from NYC! She stayed in Seattle for 5 days, with mostly beautiful weather for October! Unfortunately, Lilah had her first cold AND was getting her first tooth while Brooke was here. I think she got a first hand look at what motherhood is like...and might be waiting awhile to have one of her own. :) Lilah didn't sleep well (and neither did I) and was just an unhappy girl with so much snot and being so stuffy. She was still in good spirits though, and entertained Brooke with her screeching and screaming. However, I think Brooke was NOT so impressed by Lilah's spitting up and poopy diapers. She thought that was pretty nasty, and of course as a mom, that's just part of life with a baby.
Brooke got a few mini tours of Seattle (Parker and Mandi took her on a "driving tour" on a sunny day to see some of downtown and Alki and my mom, Mandi, Brooke and I went to Fremont and the market the day before she headed home). We all hope she visits again in the summer when it's so green and then she and her boyfriend can come and bop around Seattle and the outskirts doing some other outdoorsy things that you have to do here.
Believe it or not Brooke also ran many miles when she was here! She's training for the NY marathon, so had to do some of her training runs. Like I said, the weather cooperated and she got to see some of the scenic outdoors, although hated my hills that I mapped out for her and referred to them as "mountains". ;)
Miss you Brooke and hope to see you in the summer of 2010!