Dear Lilah: Four Months

Dear Lilah,
This month has been a crazy one! You started laughing! Which is the best sound in the world! Especially after a long day... You still aren't rolling over on your own, you can with a little help (if we cross your legs you will roll from your back to tummy). You are not a fan of tummy time although you get your head and chest high off the ground! (Dr. V says you are definitely strong enough to roll over so it should happen any day now.) This month you started lighting up for daddy when he gets home from work and at times your prefer him to hold you over me. He has that special way you like to be held and I can't imitate it b/c you just scream when I try! So yay daddy! :) We have pretty much gotten you on a 3 nap/day schedule and most of them are in your crib. Although lately you have started to be very clingy and naps have been more of a struggle. So I spoil you and hold you or let you nap in the swing for the time being! We've just gotta make it through this wonder week(s) and hopefully we will go back to normal! Same goes for nighttime sleep. You were only waking up once a night to eat (3a) and now its several times. Again the wonder week is to blame I've been told. You have started putting everything in your mouth and using both hands to do so! You are discovering new things everyday! Including your feet! At first you would just stare in amazement now you are grabbing them all the time!! You continue to be an extreme chatterbox, "talking" and "singing" for hours at a time non-stop and no, I am not exaggerating! You are very entertaining! You also started pushing up to stand! You may be small but you very strong!

Earlier this month your medicine and/or my diet were helping you eat with little problems. But shortly before our appointment with the GI dr you started screaming and arching again. She upped your dosage again but its not working like we have hoped. I'm to continue with my diet until you are 6 months old, for now. Dr. V told us to start you on rice cereal to try and help with the reflux. We've tried it a couple times and its not going too well. You were diagnosed with eczema this past month as well and so we get to grease you up 2-3x a day with heavy lotion and we also had to cut bath time down to 1-2x a week. You have scratch marks all over your head and legs and I feel so bad that you itch :( I'm hoping it gets better very soon! At your 4 month appt you were 12lbs 1oz which puts you in the 10th percentile for weight. You were 24.5in long! You are still wearing 0-3/3 month clothing. Although you are starting to get too long for your footie jammies, so we may have to move to 3-6 month pjs soon!

Daddy and I are so amazed by you everyday and I am excited to see what this upcoming month brings!
We love you, baby girl!

xoxo
Mommy

Dear Lilah: Three Months

Dear Lilah,
So Mommy is a little late writing this letter to you this month! I'm sorry! You have kept me very busy, little girl :) We went to the doctor last week and you gained 24oz in 3 weeks! (compared to 3oz in almost 2 weeks earlier this month.) So you were 11lbs 13oz (13 percentile) last week!! Mommy has had to be on an extremely strict diet to try and help you with eating! I cant eat dairy, soy, eggs, or nuts, but it seems to be helping :) We also upped your dosage of Zantac and I think the combo is helping :) We go back to the GI dr in a couple weeks... we will see what she says! But I'm pretty confident we wont have to start you on formula!
This past month you have started to enjoy your play mat/gym and actually started grabbing as well as swatting the toys! Your favorite toy on your gym is Mr. Octopus :) he was the first toy you put in your mouth by yourself! You also giggled for the first time last week! I was playing peek-a-boo with you and when i popped up you giggled at me! It was the best sound I've ever heard! We are still trying to get you to repeat it.. I know it will happen again very soon :)  You are getting very strong and doing well during tummy time! I know you are going to roll over soon! You also started sleeping on your side a night!
We went to Champaign for Aunt Lauren's college graduation! You did pretty well :) You got to hang out with Great Aunt Rose and Great Uncle Mike!!
You are still waking up one or two times a night to eat, but for the most part nighttime is pretty under control! You have also decided that you do not like taking naps during the day!! Which is rough on me, but we get an occasional cat nap in there every now and then! This upcoming month, we are gunna try to get you on a schedule! I'm hoping that since you are eating better and gaining weight like a champ, that a normal schedule will be obtainable. You still nurse every 2-3 hours.
You have become a huge chatterbox! You make all kinds of sounds, mostly vowels, with some consonants . And you have discovered that you can get very loud with your "words". Its so cute :)
(You are still in 0-3/3mo clothing and size 1 diapers)
Overall you are a blessing and a joy to be around! I love you so much and I miss you like crazy when we are apart! (This includes bedtime ;))

Love you so much sweet baby girl, 

xoxo

Mommy

Dear Lilah: Two Months

Dear Lilah,
This month has been challenging for all of us. The colic phase hit around week 5. At this point you also started crying during mealtime... everyone kept telling us it was just the age for fussiness and gas. At your 2 month appointment, the doctor said you have reflux and we put you on Zantac. I'm still waiting for the medicine to kick in so you wont be in pain while you eat.
You started smiling and being a little more interactive with us! You love to "chitchat" with daddy on the changing table! We started a bedtime routine that you love! We started bath time, which always makes you smile :) And then we read you a couple books! We moved you into your nursery last week and you are doing great in your crib! You still wake up around 2:30a to eat but you sleep great in between feedings :)
   We went to Champaign for Easter! You got to meet my side of the family! Everyone was so excited to meet you :) A lot of our friends got to meet you as well!
   You are really trying to figure out your fingers and how to suck on them! You make funny sucking noises too :) You are starting to prefer your fingers to your paci... you are growing up so fast :)
  You are very active! You are kicking and moving your arms like crazy! You like to stand on our laps and be upright all the time! You need to be moving constantly and you LOVE music! The black keys- tighten up, seems to be your favorite song! It's the only one that calms you down when you are really upset.
At your appointment you weighed 10lbs 1.6oz, you were 22.5in long, and your head measured 14 3/4in around. You are in the 19% for weight and 50% for height! (you dropped from 29% last month for weight which is one of the reasons we started the medicine.)

I'm looking forward to the next month! I love watching you grow and develop! I love you so much!!

Love, Mommy

Dear Lilah: One Month

Dear Lilah,
One month down! And WOW did it fly by! It has been an amazing transition into parenthood! It has been full of anxiety, stress, sleepless nights, lots of laughter, projectile vomit and poop, loads and loads of laundry, many midnight calls to the nurse, and lots of love!
Around one week, you started sleeping through the night (in between feedings, which were about every 2-3hrs). We finally got your days and nights on track!! By 2 weeks you were holding your head up when I put you up on my shoulder and you were turning your head from side to side during tummy time. You seem to enjoy tummy time, at least in short increments.
At 2.5 weeks old, we took you on your first road trip to Lafayette, IN for Cousin Adrienne's wedding! You slept the whole way (besides feeding time), during the whole wedding, and reception! You met your Great Grandpap and Grandma Pozonsky! They were so excited to finally meet you!

Daddy stayed home with us until you were almost 2 weeks old. Grandma Paula came and stayed for a week and then Nonni came and stayed with us for a week! This has been my first week alone with you and so far we have been doing great and having fun! At your 1 month appointment you were 8lbs 8oz and 21 5/8in long and your head was 14 1/4in around. You are still in newborn clothing. You are long and skinny :) Doctors say you are gaining weight beautifully! We are not having anymore problems breastfeeding! Your favorite place to fall asleep is on my and daddy's chest! You love your swing and bouncy seat! At one month you are only waking up once a night (2-3a) to eat! I greatly appreciate the extra consecutive hours of sleep! You are overall a very content, happy, sweet baby girl :)
We have had a great first month and I am looking forward to what this upcoming month brings!

Love,
Mommy

How It Happened: Birth of Lilah Annette

Sorry this post has been delayed. Adjusting to life with a newborn has been rough, but wonderful :)
I wanted to write down what happened last week and how Lilah made her arrival (more for my sake).

I went to the doctor on Feb 18 (my due date and 40w) and they performed a non-stress test and an ultrasound to see how Lilah was doing since I was full term. On the NST I was contracting every 4-8mins. When I went in for the ultrasound, my amniotic fluid was VERY low. I didnt even see the doctor. They sent me straight to L&D. I of course had to go home and grab my bags and my husband, so we arrived in L&D about an hour or so after my appt. When we arrived, they checked me and I was 1/2cm dilated and maybe 25% effaced (very little was happening basically). They decided to insert a bulb into my cervix to manually dilate me to 3-4cm. It was around 2:15p when the induction started. (They insert the bulb inside the cervix and then fill it up with saline and wait until it opens enough to fall out.) They said it could take up to 12hrs. It was very uncomfortable and the cramps/contractions were awful. I could not get comfortable! About 3.5hrs later, the bulb fell out. When they checked me, I was only at 2cm. I was a little frustrated. I was contracting on my own every 4-5mins so they decided to let me contract and see if my body would naturally go into active labor before starting me on pitocin. It did not. So around 10pm they started me on pitocin. They started me off around 2cc and would go up as needed every 15min. The highest I got was 7cc and then they had to taper it down to 4 or 5cc b/c my body was contracting harder and more often then it needed to. I got the epidural around midnight because the pain was just to much and I knew it was going to be a long labor process. At that point I was still 2cm. They checked me again around 4:30am and I had progressed to 4-5cm and my water had broken on its own. Again at 7am and I was still at 4-5cm. During this time my epidural was not cooperating. The anesthesiologist came back in 2 or 3 times to give me an extra boost and it would only last a couple hours before I was in intense pain again. Around 10:30am the anesthesiologist decided we needed to redo the epidural since it was functioning properly. I was so thankful! The new one worked like a charm! They checked me again at 11am and I was fully dilated and 100% effaced! Lilah was only at a 0 station and she needed to be at a 2 before pushing could begin. They told me I needed to "labor down" until she dropped low enough into the birth canal. I made it to maybe a 1 before the urge to push was overwhelming, so they let me start pushing. it was around 12:10p when I actually started pushing. Almost 2hrs later, she made her debut at 1:58pm Tuesday afternoon! The NICU team had to be there because of the low fluid situation. So I didnt get to hold her right away. They checked her out, cleaned her off, and took her vitals. She was 7lbs 6oz and 20in long. She was perfect :)

She developed jaundice (levels were at a 8 at 2days old, went up to 11.2 by Friday morning). Her weight was down to 6lbs 9oz on Friday as well. We had to supplement some formula over the weekend to try and get her weight up and the poop coming! lol! On Monday morning her levels were down to 4.6 and she had gained 4oz! (The dr said they like to see a little less than an ounce a day of weight gain so she was doing FANTASTIC, 4oz in 3days!!) No more doctor visits or formula supplements!!! Everyone is excited about that! My milk came in Friday/Saturday so I think that had a huge impact on her weight gain. She hated the formula and we could barely get her to eat it.

Overall everyone is doing well and adjusting! We have had a few bad nights and a few great nights! We are thankful for the sleep we get whenever we get it! We could not be happier though! She is amazing and we are both head over heals in love with her!