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Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Sleep Deprived but Still in Love

It's been a while since I posted, which pretty much sums up my life right now -- it's been a while since I've been able to do anything but feed the baby, rock the baby, change the baby, bounce the baby on the bouncy ball, eat, go to the bathroom, and get what little sleep she allows me to get before we repeat everything again. Completely ordinary new parent stuff but so intense when you are experiencing it for yourself!

Thanks to everyone who stopped by with congrats, it means a lot to me. Being a mom is at once the best thing I've ever done and the absolute hardest...and it feels so good to have people cheering me on, because some days I definitely have felt like I just can't do it right now. These days are always following a day when I've had no naps, so I'm on strict orders from G to take a nap every day no matter what. This morning I got about two hours, hooray! So now I'm more in the zone of happy mommy vs. crazed sleep-deprived mommy.

Ava is amazing, she is changing almost literally in front of our eyes. She's starting to chub out a bit, and seems to be losing a little hair and what's growing back in is a little lighter in color. I'm dying to find out what color her eyes are, but I know that will take a while. She's starting to hold her head up a little more, which is exciting. And we're definitely starting to learn her likes (milk, bouncing on the bouncy ball, hanging out in her papasan chair, listening to water running in the kitchen sink, sleeping right on top of us, lights) and dislikes (waiting for more than 1 second when she's hungry, the swing, being swaddled without her arms free, getting her diaper changed).

Breastfeeding has been SO hard, I really didn't think it would be this hard. We've had an incredibly hard time getting a good latch, which meant hours of pain for me. Nothing like getting woken up in the middle of the night to someone chomping down on one of the most sensitive parts of your body. But it's slowly starting to improve, and I'm hoping for completely pain-free nursing sometime in the near future.

More pics:

"oh, hello!"


chillin' in the papasan:


trying out the moby wrap (hmmm, not sure if I like this or not):

8 comments:

Furrow said...

It's good to hear from you. I've been wondering how you're doing. I'm in overdue purgatory right now. I guess I should savor the last few days of rest, eh?

You and Ava look great. I have that exact same papasan. I hope we'll be using it SOON!

Gemini Girl said...

omg - I have missed so much! what a beautiful little girl you have! I am sure this time is tough, but you have finally met your daughter and she is healthy. I am so happy for you a! keep posting pictures!

Thalia said...

ooh she's so gorgeous! glad to hear things are going ok.

queen said...

Yay for you guys! Hope the feeding gets easier soon.

Carol said...

she is so cute! and you look amazing! We'll have to catch up again soon.

Nickie said...

I see you have been away from blogging too. I hope you try to come back to it at least occassionally. I want to see more pics of that yummy baby of yours!!

Gemini Girl said...

Hope all is well with your beautiful baby girl- please pop in once in a while!

Mariah Judd said...

I know that you have long stopped blogging about your experience, but I felt I needed to reach out to you and say, thank you. I have just started my quest toward pregnancy (after the dreaded diagnosis of the I word). When I googled infertility blogs, I found yours and it was so refreshing to read a story that so far reflects mine. I have unexplained infertility and in the 2 week waiting period after my first IUI (longest 2 weeks ever!). I was looking for a blog that was real and hopeful and relatable and I found all of that in yours.

Ava is beautiful as are you (pregnant and otherwise). Thank you for sharing your journey, you have help me for sure.