So, I realize that although I have posted lots of pictures of Lelia, I really haven't SAID much about her. Possibly because I'm a very visual person and because it takes less time to download pictures and put captions on them rather than actually SAY anything about what's been going on.
So, for time sake and because there is a month's worth of Lelia activity to catch up on. I will make this a to-the-point post...or at least it will be to-the-point for me! ;)
All About Lelia:
- We have found out that her name is hard to pronounce...at least for other people. She gets called Lillia quite a bit or for those that read her name off a sheet of paper, it sounds pretty Hawaiian because they pronounce it 'luh-lia'...emphasis on the first syllable. In all actuality, her name is pronounced lee-lia. We've started telling people that it's really just adding the name Lee and Leah together....LeeLeah. I told Tre we should just call her by her middle name, Drew. But he vetoed. So, she'll just have to correct people or smile sweetly when they mispronounce her name.
- She sleeps pretty well at night. AT NIGHT being the key here, people! She goes down about midnight and sleeps until around 6:30 or 7 AM. Then she feeds and goes back down for another 3 hours. The main problem with her sleep is that after she wakes up for the day (around 9:30- 10 AM), she is up the REST OF THE DAY. And by up, I mean she is awake with tiny 10-15 minute cat naps in between. You might be thinking, "That's not so bad!". Trying to entertain an almost 6 week old for 14 hours a day is quite the task. We've taken to putting her in the Moby Wrap so we can actually get stuff done. She enjoys seeing everything and we enjoy getting stuff done. It's great that she's alert but the downside is...
- She has been super fussy from about 8 pm until midnight for the past couple weeks. For no other reason than she is TIRED. She spends all day awake and alert and interactive and then melts down about 8 PM. I can deal with her crying when she is hungry, wet, has gas, etc. But to have a child hollering because they are tired...no EXHAUSTED...and refuses to go to bed...well, that's a whole other story. I've tried rocking her, burping her, warm baths, stories, music...nothing seems to work. I've even let her cry-it-out. But she just got red in the face, had huge crocodile tears and was more worked up because she was so mad that I left her alone. Tre and I have yet to find a solution to her evening shenanigans. (Happily, last night she went down quite easily and had no crying fits. I'm madly hoping this is a new trend she's starting!?!)
- Other than her daily 8PM melt-down, she is a very happy baby. She wakes up happy and smiling and is very attentive throughout the day. She loves to watch people and is always looking around- quite aware of her surroundings.
- She giggled for the first time on Saturday. Such a sweet sound in addition to the huge gummy smile that was spread across her face. Her smile is so hilarious because her eyes disappear so her smile can take over. Melts my heart!
- She likes to be upright. If you put her on her back, she will wail like a banshee. Pick her up and throw her over your shoulder and she's back to her normal happy baby self. We're pretty sure this is because she has a better vantage point and is able to interact and absorb her environment better. It sure is exhausting though. As mentioned previously, we have gotten A LOT of use out of our Moby Wrap.
- Lelia is quite the nature girl. She LOVES being outside. She seems more calm and happy when we're on walks or just chillin' in our backyard. I'm pretty excited about this innate love of nature as I'm hoping she will enjoy hiking as much as I do. Then I'll have a hiking buddy and won't have to bribe Tre into it!
- She is a STRONG girl! She holds her head up quite steadily and has been using her strong neck muscles since the moment she landed on my chest at birth and picked her head up and looked at me. Often we sit her in our laps so she can look around and check everything/everyone out. Part of me misses her wobbly bobble head, but I know she's growing and gaining strength, which is a good thing. She also has an incredible kick. I put her on our sofa the other day with her legs against the back cushion and she kicked so hard she nearly shot herself off. When she's awake, her little legs and arms are flexing away. Beware of her crazy sucker punches...she's already training for lacrosse! ;)
Despite some rough days/nights, overall Lelia is a really good baby. She doesn't fuss much except when something is fuss worthy (wet/soiled diaper, hungry, gassy, tired, bored) and she is very alert and interactive. It's been fun to watch her change so rapidly in the past almost 6 weeks...watching her blossom and grow into her personality. Every day is an adventure...new territory.
As for me:
I think my postpartum experience has been quite a good one (not that I really have anything to compare it to). I know my body chemistry is still trying to even itself out, but I've felt pretty stinkin' good.
- I recovered quite quickly, physically, from the birth itself and other than a bit of transient discomfort (which I can only imagine comes from the act of pushing another human being into the world), I feel quite 'normal'. Now, 'normal' has taken on a new meaning, mind you. My current 'normal' is by no means the 'normal' of pregnancy and is a far cry from the 'normal' of my pre-pregnancy days. But, we'll go with it.
- My hair has been falling out...well, I guess I'm supposed to refer to it as 'thinning' because it's not like it's coming out in clumps, leaving me with bald patches. But I do notice that A LOT more comes out when I shampoo or brush my hair or let it blow in the breeze. So long, luscious locks of pregnancy...hopefully we'll meet again when my estrogen returns!
- Breastfeeding has been going OK. It took a few days to get the hang of it for both Lelia and me but we've been a pretty good team, so far. The novelty wore off after about 3 weeks and then I found myself feeling pretty frustrated that I could never get anything done on 'my time' because little Monkey always needed to eat in the middle of whatever I was doing. But, I keep reminding myself that this is part of parenthood...the whole doing-what's-best-for-your-child...sacrifice thing. WOW...who feels selfish now? Yep, so I'm trying to get a little perspective on this and the last few weeks have been better. I still have days when I feel like multi-tasking while nursing but overall I'm learning to relish this time with Lelia...enjoying the time the two of us get to spend together and remembering to free myself of distractions and the 'need' to multi-task.
- Tre returned to work on Saturday. I had been feeling a bit stressed about this shift back into reality because he's been such a great help to me since Lelia's birth. He's a skilled diaper changer, burper, snuggler and overall great Papa. And since his schedule is quite different from a normal 8 hour workday, I was unsure of how I would do with 24 hours of just Lelia and me. But we survived OK. It did take me 3 times as long to get ready to leave the house. Amazing how much more gets done when Tre is around. I can nurse and he can get the dogs in the house, get the diaper bag ready, etc.
- I go back to work in about 6 weeks. Uhg! Hard to believe I'm already 1/2 way through my maternity leave. Twelve weeks seems like such a short amount of time to get acquainted and into a new routine and Lelia will still be so little when I go back, but I'm grateful for the time I have had off. I'll be returning to work on a part-time basis and am glad my job is willing to do a modified schedule for me so that Tre and I don't have to do daycare.
So, there's a quickie update on the past 6 weeks. We're doing well in this transitory time and enjoying every minute of our sweet little Monkey girl. She's a riot and we feel so very grateful for her. Sure there are times we think of selling her on ebay or craigslist, but we wouldn't trade a single frustrating minute for anything!
And of course, we need some pictures...
I just thought this was a really funny face she was making
A friend of the family got Lelia this really REALLY cute lamb jacket complete with ears and a tail on the back. It's too big for Monkeygirl now, but we tried it on her anyway. I can't wait until she's old enough to wear it!
"Reading" with Papa. Musta been a pretty exciting piece of literature! HA!
A sweet Monkey smile!
