Update...or not

Just letting you know why I'm not updating. I had my tonsils out last Wednesday, October 21st. My wonderful mom is being my nurse since hubby is out of town working. She gets up with Leila at night, so I can get some rest. This recovery has been horrible, but without my parents help, this recovery would be that much worse.

I've got some good pictures of Leila to post, but I am staying at my moms and do not have access to my computer pics...I WILL update soon...at least within the next week.

Stay Tuned...

1st Trip to Instacare

Sunday, Leila had a rough day. She was kind of fussy throughout church (normally she just sleeps.) We got home, fed her and put her down for a nap. About 20 minutes later, screaming. Bloody Murder screaming. VERY uncharacteristic of our daughter, so we were concerned. We gave her some Mylicon drops (gas relief) and tried burping her some more. Despite our efforts, Leila continued to cry. We bounced her, cuddled her, layed her on the floor, changed her diaper, gave her a binki, gave her gas drops, EVERYTHING that has ever soothed her. Nothing worked.

I had received a "care basket" for one of my baby showers. It had medicine and a thermometer. She felt hot, so we tried taking her temperature to see if medication would be appropriate. Of course I couldn't concentrate on how to make the silly thing work right, so we just winged it. Didn't work. So I started reading labels on the medicine. All of it said consult with a doctor under 6 months. Tried calling her doctor's office to see if there was an after hours number to call. No answer.

By this time, Kuso and I were as upset as Leila. So we decided to take her to the Instacare to be safe. We had also been told that his nephew has swine flu. He touched Leila's cheek the week before. Just to be safe, we decided to get her checked out.

All physical signs checked out okay. And no, she didn't have a temperature. Because she is so young, they wanted to make sure she did not have any blood or urine/bladder infections. They had to do a catheter and a blood sample. She didn't cry for the catheter or the heal prick. However, they first tried to get blood from her vein in her hand. Obviously they missed or whatever, but little Leila SCREAMED!

Anyway, after all that, she was just fine. The doctor says "babies like to cry" and left it at that. He said it was good we brought her in, but I think he was just trying to make us "first timers" feel better about our decision to take her to the doctor. I still stand by our decision. Leila is a very mellow, calm baby most of the time. If she gets fussy, it's a matter of a few minutes to pacify her. After she had acted this way for over 2 hours the night before and over an hour that day, we were concerned.

Chalk one up to being inexperienced..but, what ya gonna do? At least we have peace of mind knowing she is healthy.

By the way...she is over 10 pounds now!!! With a fresh diaper and PJ's on, she weighed 10.2 pounds the day before she turned 5 weeks old!

Pics of the Week

It's been a fun week. Leila has started sleeping a little longer. On 3 or 4 nights, she finished eating by 9:30 and didn't wake up until between 3:15 and 4:45. She doesn't usually go right to sleep after she eats, but she is still going that long between feedings...now if we can just get her to go to sleep soon after eating AND sleeping that long. I love these faces.

Grandma and Grandpa babysat while Mom and Dad went out to a movie both Thursday and Saturday nights. Saturday night, I left my camera and told them to take pictures if she does anything cute. These two pics were from that night. I guess they understood their directions because these pics are adorable!

First time wearing a dress. The first time at church she just wore PJ's.

Just hangin out...
Then trying out her Halloween Monster face...
TOO FUNNY

Daddy changing diapers. He's good at it too. I posted this to show her cute chubby legs. Her arms are getting the "rubber band" look too. I love it!

Rocking with Grandma Neener again.

Chillin with Daddy...they could win a look-a-like contest sometimes!

Sometimes it's still hard to believe that we are parents. It's been a fun ride so far though!

Slacker Mom

So my newborn is just over 3 weeks old and I have already started slacking off on taking pictures. I'll try to do better. Here are the past few days of pics. Chillin in the bouncy chair. She loves it.

Usually puts her to sleep for a while. Mom loves that!
After being taken out of the bouncy chair.
STRETCH! She can be found doing this quite often.

Cute Little Girl...with TROUBLE written on her face.

Huh? I love this face!

I think this is when she is trying to burp. Too cute.

Eating. One of her favorite past times!

One of these days, I'll get pictures of her in the bath. She LOVES it! She will be crying before, but as soon as her cute little behind hits the water, she totally calms down and relaxes. She makes some really cute faces in the bath, but with being home alone, there is no one to take a picture. She also makes SUPER cute faces when she is falling asleep in your arms. She smiles and gets this look on her face that says "ha ha..got what I wanted." One other time I wish I could take a picture is when she is being burped and looks up at the person who just fed her. This is my mom's favorite look. She says that look says "oh. you are the person who just fed me. I will never forget you. Thank You." Just the contentment on her face with her big round eyes....it's irresistible. Any of you are welcome to come experience these looks for yourself. Just stop by!

Samoan Tsunami

Yesterday, there was a massive earthquake in the ocean between American and Western Samoa. Reports vary between 7.9 and 8.3 magnitude. Nonetheless, massive damage has been done to both countries, along with other nations in the South Pacific. Kuso was able to get in contact with his mother who reported the damage has been done on the other side of the island, so his family is safe and away from the danger.

Thanks to everyone who was concerned about Kuso's family. Thanks for your thoughts and prayers. Our family is safe. Unfortunately, there are thousands of others who are not so fortunate. Please keep all of the nations and people of the South Pacific islands in your prayers.

Mary Poppins

Our daughter is officially Mary Poppins..."practically perfect in every way." At least in our world. Leila had her 2 week check up today. She is now 8 lb 5 oz and 21 inches. They did her blood test that they prick their heal. She cried for MAYBE 15 seconds and then just chilled in my arms while the nurse finished the test. Her doctor is quite goofy, but in a good way. Very chatty and very in tune with children. I think Leila will enjoy going to see Dr. Brasher (except when she is sick of course.)

There is debate about who she looks like (not much of one) since she mostly looks like her dad. But this is MY determination.

Eyes - Dad (I'm still crossing my fingers she will get my eye color, but not likely.)

Nose - Dad's shape, my size

Lips - undetermined. I'm thinking more mine, but I can't tell.

Cheeks - Mom

Double Chin - Mom

Ears - Mom (although Dad thinks they are like his.)

Hands - Dad

Feet - Definitely Dad - makes me laugh every time I see them because they are SO MUCH like Kuso's.

Chubby Thighs - Mom

Hair - Dad's

Initial appearance definitely looks more like her dad, but after closer examination, there is some mom in her.

She sleeps pretty good at night (most of the time). An average night puts her to bed around 9:30. She gets up around 1 or 1:30. Back in bed in an hour of less. Back up around 5 ish. Again, back in bed within an hour. Then up again around 9. That is an AVERAGE night...there are nights that vary for sure.

Last night I found out that she likes music. She was EXTREMELY upset for about an hour. I had used a different formula in between feedings. I think it made her stomach hurt. Anyway, she finally calmed down enough to be put to bed. A while later, she was fussy again. I got her glow seahorse out (similar to the glow worm we all know and love) and let her listen to the music. It totally soothed her and put her to sleep for the night. AWESOME!

She loves to take baths. This morning she even smiled and cooed while I was washing her hair! Unfortunately, I don't get pics of her in the bath because I only have two hands...but she is adorable in case you had any question...

We ordered her birth certificate today.

She loves her daddy. She loves to suck his nose. (He loves it too.) There is nothing like the bond between a daughter and her daddy. Precious. Kuso had to work out of town last week and again this week. He left Sunday night, came home Friday night, and left again Sunday night. It is so hard to let him go, and hard for him to leave, but his love and support for his family is felt even though he is out of state.

Grandpa Great (My Grandpa Taylor - my mom's dad) came to visit. Leila is his 5th great grand-daughter. He has 4 girls of his own. He only has 5 grand sons. When he found out she was going to be a girl, he said "my hell...doesn't this family know how to make boys?" I reminded him he started it. He smiled and said he wouldn't have it any other way. He told my mom when I was born that "every mother needs a daughter" I've only been a mom for 2 weeks and I can already see why.Here are pics from the past week.

Grandma Neener rocking her...both were in heaven.

She likes to be held like this. It soothes her. It's quite funny, but she enjoys it.

Cute little girl. She likes to sleep on her side. She rolls herself over and sleeps. So cute.

Chillin in her bouncy seat. Wasn't a fan the first time, but she's used it a few times since and seems to enjoy it. We try not to use the Binky too often. Mostly when we are trying to hold her off to eat for a while longer, or at night if she is a little fussy. Sometimes in the car. But usually, she is quite calm without it. Thank Goodness! So far she is not a thumb/finger sucker. I hope she stays that way!

Fairly often she can be seen making the silly cross-eyed face. SO FUNNY. And it is usually accompanied by a funny mouth shape. Cracks us up every time.

When she is a happy baby, she LOVES to lay out on the floor. She will lay here for up to an hour at times just relaxing. And she LOVES to stretch out. She rarely lays curled up like most newborns. She keeps her arms and legs stretched out a majority of the time.

Leila is such a sweet baby and so much fun to have in our family She brings constant joy, even with the 2 am feedings and occasional crying session. What would we do without her?

First Week in the Real World

Leila is one week old today. She has been such an amazing blessing to our lives. There are a few things I've noticed that I never would have learned without having the opportunity to be a mom.

-Now I understand why moms cry just by talking about their children.

-The love a parent has for their child truly is indescribable. You THINK you love this thing growing in mom's stomach, but when she actually arrives, that love is unbelievable and somewhat overwhelming.

-The look that a child gives to her parents is truly priceless. Even the scowls and "give me some food now" looks...they all make a parent turn to mush.

-Having Leila in our home has made the bond between my husband and I that much stronger.

-I understand what people mean when they say "babies looks change so much when they are little."

-I have gone to bed BEFORE 10:30 twice in a week so far. A couple times at 10:30. That is something that literally has not happened since elementary school probably.

-Being a parent makes me love, appreciate, and need my parents more than ever.

Anyway...this week has been an amazing experience. Emotions and thoughts that come and go are indescribable, frustrating (the uncontrollable part) but amazing. I am so grateful that I have the opportunity to be a parent to such a precious little girl.

We love you Leila.

Monday 09/14/09 - Day 1 - aka Birthday!

Tuesday 09/15/09 - Day 2

Wednesday 09/16/09 - Day 3 - First Day Home from the HospitalThursday 09/17/09 - Day 4 - First Bath at Home (loved it!)Friday 09/18/09 - Day 5Saturday 09/19/09 - Day 6Sunday 09/20/09 - Day 7

Monday 09/21/09 - Day 8 - check out those smiles!