Shots of 1 month old lily

1 month = 1 kilo!

Lily had her 1 month doctor apointment his week: she's gained 1 kilo and 5 centimetres so she's now at 4.2 kilos (9.3 lbs) and 53 cms (20.9 inches). I'm very proud! all else is ok according to her pediatrician who wasn't very talkative but told us the essentials. Otherwise she's her usual adorable self - when she sleeps:) - which hasn't been very often lately. The past 3 days have been kinda rough with her sleeping very little if any at all. I'm hoping it's a growth spurt or some other temporary phenomenon. She had been sleeping stretches of 4 hours the past 2 weeks (some of the nights) which was amazing but we're not getting any more special treatment!. I have to admit i get pretty cranky "waking up" completly exhausted in the morning, it's tough getting no sleep! As all parents we've become acquainted with a few techniques which work more or less depending on lily's mood:
-feeding: my department and her favorite activity by far - she keeps sticking her little tongue out whenever she's awake - she eats about every 2 hours these days...her usually pattern is to get really excited initially and drink really really fast which makes her choke quickly so i have to stop her and burp her before we can proceed -- already a food addict like her mommy says her dad.
-the pacifier: her BEST friend and she's already perfected a funny game called "i spit it out and you pick it up":) i know she can't be doing it on purpose yet, she's too young, but it feels like it. It's part of the fussy, hyper behavior we've been accustomed too in the past few days - lots of fun!:)
-rocking: lucian's is THE rocking master, with the foot when she's in her bouncy seat or by hand when she's in bed like last night when she would not fall asleep under any circumstance
-music: not a sure bet but works well in combination with rocking
-holding her in our arms, also works well with rocking
-the car: a sure bet -- too bad i can sleep while driving, i'd be hitting the road every night
-the stroller: also pretty effective but more difficult to manage at night
-the baby carrier: pretty good too and easier than the car or stroller

3 weeks already!

A few highlights:
-Lily's been growing judging from her clothes that are getting too small - and i take a lot of pride in that given i'm the one nourishing her:) but of course i'll feel better once we've seen the pediatrician next week and he confirms her new weight- can't wait!
-I love feeding time but hate hate bath time! well I like the time she spends in the water because that's when she quiets down - she likes the water- but i hate the time before and after when she screams to the top of her lungs when she's being soaped and changed.
-We've had the priviledge of witnessing a few poop explosions. Lily likes to "shoot" when she's being changed as a way to spread the love:)
-Thank god for the pacifier, it works! although not at night of course -- it drops off:(
-Lily is the cuttest thing ever...i especially like watching her after a feeding when she stretches pleasurably like a little cat milk dripping off the sides of her mouth, or when she sleeps with her little hands up in the air in front of her, or when she tries to suck on my neck and shoulder mistaking them for food.
-Sleep is by far the biggest challenge, especially for someone like me who loves her sleep. We've opted for co-sleeping for now despite our reluctancy at first. That's pretty much the only way to get any sleep at all. I was told babies don't develop bad habits until about 3 months old and i'm hopeful it's true. We'll start to transition her slowly as soon as we feel she's more "regular" when it comes to her nighttime schedule.
-I've rediscovered coffee and let me tell you it's gooooood! i'm limitting myself to one cup in the morning which i cherish. Can't wait to be able to have a nice glass of wine -- but that's not in the near future for me yet:(

Lily's personal feeding machine!

That's my new identity:)...funny but very challenging. I actually didn't think i would breastfeed before being pregnant, didn't find the idea of being transformed into this "animal like" feeding machine very appealing...but i changed my mind while carrying lily and i very much like it now. When i'm feeding her and everything around us in the house is peaceful and quiet, lily is snuggled up in my chest, moving her little hands or grabbing on one of my "giant" hand, it's magical. I feel so much love and closeness to her, it's overwhelming. BUT when she cries non stop to be fed at night, i can get pretty cranky. I hear it's normal...i've been reading about it talking to the midwifes at the maternity, calling up moms from breastfeeding associations, etc. Haven't heard any magical solution yet...it takes time i guess, she has to get used to her new environment outside of my belly and things should improve overtime. We've had 2 or 3 relatively "good" nights which made us hopeful but it seems to be one step forward, 2 steps backward...Last night she was really fussy, "playing" with my nipple for ever: i knew she had enough to eat but she continued asking for it, taking it in her mouth and releasing it shortly after, crying for it again and getting all upset and red if she didn't get it...it might be gaz i hear so i'm going to try this natural homepathique remedy i've been told about (not sure why but they don't know about mylicon drops in france?...). We'll see if this works...Now that i have a few minutes to think back on what's happened over the last 2 weeks (lily's asleep and i'm enjoying a nice cup of coffee)...it's really crazy how much change we've gone through and especially me: from giving birth which was hard to describe to learning how to take care of a newborn, breastfeeding which is another huge body transformation in itself (imagine having milk come out of your breasts! crazy when you think about it isn't it??) and learning to operate on 1/3 the sleep i use to have (i've always been a big fan of sleep), it's by far the biggest adventure of my life!