Not a Shocker

I'm posting more pictures of Lila. Not exactly shocking, I am sure. She is very much still the center of attention around here and that's fine with us. We are loving her like crazy and getting to know her funny personality.

Chris's sister, Camie is excellent with the camera and very graciously offered to take some pictures of Lila. Here are just a few of the many gorgeous ones she took.

I love that the binky (or pacifier as Chris keeps reminding me is the real name) is almost as big as her face. :) These are at 1.5 weeks old.

So you can see her chicken legs and tiny body!

I took these a couple days later over Camie's shoulder. I'm sure her's turned out much nicer but I don't have them yet...you get the idea.

We have a lot of friends that were pregnant around the same time as us which is great for Lila. This is Francois (who used to and will again very soon train me in the gym) and Chris at the hospital. Luke was born a week and a day after Lila but outweighed her by quite a bit.

I love how Lila looks when she sleeps. She often cranes her neck up and to the side as far as it will go. When we try to move it into what seems to be a more comfortable position, she promptly moves back. Whatever works!

This picture is hard to see, but look at her right arm. She managed to work it under the strap of her outfit while sleeping. I knew it was big on her but it doesn't help that she doesn't stay still very often, even in her sleep. She doesn't stay quiet either. She grunts, groans, growls and squeaks regularly while awake and asleep...much to my entertainment.

I love this cute Paris dress sent by my sister. She wore it to church on Sunday (3 weeks old) and received many compliments! The bow may have been a little large in proportion to her head, but who cares about that, right? Like most of her clothes, it was a bit too big, but I couldn't resist putting her in it now.

I can't believe how much she is starting to fill out. I know she is still a lightweight but I can tell her cheeks are fuller, she sports a double chin with some expressions and she is longer. She doesn't fit length wise in her premie outfits anymore. Slow down Lila!

A Little More Lila

I'm posting pictures first for those who only want to see and not read. That's understandable.

Lila is doing great for her first week. If she looks like she likes to fake and bake in her spare time, your eyes are not playing tricks. She is quite orange thanks to jaundice. We had to go to the pediatrician 3 times and watch her heel get pricked and squeezed each time to check her level. Luckily her levels are going down as is the orange hue.

Lila now eats like a champ after taking a week to figure out how it all works. I realized it is harder to watch your child scream than I thought it would be. I don't like it. Life is hard outside the uterus! She gained 4 oz. in 2 days so we know she is getting plenty of milk! She is now back up to her birthweight (which was less than the 10th percentile.)

Lila loves to grab, squeeze, scratch, bang, and lay her hands all over her poor little face. When I try to move her hands away she doesn't like it and lets me know it! I have also learned that when my mom said she would go through a ton of diapers in the beginning, she wasn't kidding. I think Lila likes to wait until I change her diaper and re-snap all the complicated outfits to fill her diaper again.

On the sweeter side, Lila loves to cuddle, especially her dad. She loves to lay on his chest and he loves it probably more. I love this little girl so much it's crazy. I can't give her enough kisses.

I decided no one probably cares about my labor experience, but here is a quick sum up for my own historical purposes.

I felt labor pains (back labor) about 8:30 pm on the 25th and timed them only to find they were 5 mins apart for a while but not increasing in intensity much. Eventually we called the dr. and went to the hospital around 2:30 am on the 26th. I was watched in labor triage for 3 hours but did not dilate past a 4 so they sent me home. I already had a dr.'s appt. scheduled for 10:30 that morning so I basically got no sleep. At the appt. the dr. chewed me out a bit for not telling triage I was being monitored because her weight was estimated to be low. She thinks they would have admitted me. Needless to say, after a sonogram confirming her size was still small and dropping in percentile they thought it was time to get her out. (By the way, this means I have pictures of her in and out of the womb on the same day!) I was sent straight to the hospital, had my water broken, an epidural and a pitocin drip started.

Lila's heart rate would drop a bit every now and then so they had me lay on my left side. After a while I started feeling contractions only on my right side and they were painful! Turns out the epidural medicine follows gravity so a bit after being on my back I numbed back up. All you natural folks out there are crazy! Epidurals are the most wonderful thing ever!

Anyway, I went from a 6 to a 10 really fast and only pushed 4 rounds of 3 and she was out! She was posterior which is why I had back labor and ended up having to get an episiotomy because she wasn't turning without it. Oh well, more healing for me. She came out healthy and Chris cut the cord and all. It was a very cool experience and I'm glad I had it. That being said, I'm glad it's over.

My recovery was painful but having Lila in my arms made it okay. Chris's parents got to see and hold Lila right after she was born and my mom flew in the next evening. I have had so much help from family and feel very spoiled.

I am now feeling great and have had so much fun staring at my daughter. I still can't pick out any features from Chris or I, but my mom thinks she looks like Chris. She definitely has the Harris genes of long skinny limbs, fingers and feet. Lucky girl! I was excited to see that she doesn't have carrot red hair but a golden blondish color instead. Another stroke of luck. I can't wait to see how she grows and changes but for now I am loving my peanut of a baby. So much for a short sum up...

Welcome to the World Little Lila

Lila Rose Harris

Born August 26, 2010 7:49 pm

5 lb 15 oz

19 in

Lila is here and we could not be more thrilled with our little girl! She is so sweet and cute and we are so grateful that after waiting so long, she is ours.

I am in need of a nap so I will have to post her delivery story later, but it went well and she is very healthy. Here are some pictures (of the many) that were taken. Enjoy... we are. :)

Can You Say Nesting? 38 Weeks

Yes, I'm still pregnant. We'll just get that out of the way because every time I see someone or call someone they ask. Understandable with all the drama of the incompetent cervix. I asked my Dr. yesterday how she could stay in for 2 weeks after the cerclage was removed. Her answer was something intense like, "It just happens sometimes." Good answer.

Anyway, I still feel good and am doing good, just getting impatient to meet our baby girl. What have I done to pass the time? How about pull everything out of my horribly packed and messy closet to organize and get rid of stuff. Chris walked in and thought I had gone crazy. Maybe because I started this venture at 9 pm. I like to call it nesting.

I really did just pull everything out...

I managed four big bags of clothes, shoes and purses to donate and 3 big bags of trash (aka clothes or shoes that NO one would want.)

By the end I had enough space to store several tupperware that had fabric, ribbon and other such things that have been stacked by my bed for months. This of course triggered a need to clean out everything next to my bed and the shelving unit next to it. I went to bed really late that night with a nice little backache...

I can't get this to not be underlined.

Chris and I will be celebrating 8 years of marriage on the 23rd and since we don't know when Lila is coming, we decided to celebrate a bit early. We went out to a nice dinner at Bern's Steakhouse. It was soooo good. The best steak I have ever eaten, not to mention the sides there can stand alone. This is very important to me since if I had to pick, I would rather eat sides than meat. The decor is really fun there too. It reminds me of the haunted mansion at Disneyland. Very dark and ornate and a bit garish.

(38 week belly) I hope a baby post is coming in the near future!

First Week of Freedom!

The cerclage was taken out last Friday and I have been welcoming some much needed freedom this past week! I knew Lila wouldn't come right away, even though Chris was convinced she would. I think she's pretty comfy in there right now which is fine because the Dr's think she needs to put on a little more weight. I am feeling great and have been busy!

I made a mobile to go over Lila's crib because I couldn't find any I liked and the ones I did were expensive. I still haven't decided if I love it, but it works for now. I was going to use birds in different scrapbook paper, but I love these pom poms.

My brother-in-law, Mike, was kind enough to come hang the curtains in Lila's room. (I bribed him with homemade cookies.) I love them and think they add a fun pop of color on the wall. Maybe I should also mention that Mike hung a picture, helped me with my new monitor and taught me how to use the car seat so poor Lila can come home from the hospital and then actually join us in the house.

Now I am just waiting on wood letters of her name that are being hand painted to match her bedding by a talented lady on Etsy. They will hang above her changing table. I am also hoping to find a bookcase on Craig's list.

I have been shopping and walking around quite a bit to get out of the house and just because I can. :) Last night for my friend Nikki's birthday, some girls went bowling and had a great time. I don't know what it is about bowling, but it seems you are allowed to be cheesy in the alley. There was a lot of dancing and laughing to accompany the bowling. I didn't do so much dancing because, let's face it, no one wants to see a pregnant lady dance! There was a picture of me with my bowling ball but apparently the black shirt I was wearing was a little see through when the flash went off. Oops.

This is a picture I was hesitant to put on here, but I am trying to document this pregnancy. We had a pool party for primary and I squeezed into my swim suit at 36 weeks. I wore a big hat because I knew I was about as white as I have ever been from being cooped up inside for months and I really didn't want to be sunburned. I also covered my bottom half with a skirt because I know bed rest and pregnancy haven't been kind to my backside.

I will be 37 weeks tomorrow which will be considered full term. I am ready to meet Lila but am content for her to grow a little while longer. I just hope I don't end up having to be induced at 40 weeks after how careful I have been! Watch, it will happen!

34.5 Weeks

Here I am at 34.5 weeks. Holy cow, my face is getting fat! Why is it that you don't notice things so much until you see a picture? I shouldn't be surprised, that is where I have always seen extra weight. Despite my growth, I am excited to be at almost 35 weeks at this point. It is what my doctors told me I needed to be at (at the least) for the best chance of a healthy baby both now and in the future. A definite sigh of relief was made and now I am just waiting to get this cerclage out so I can be a "normal pregnant woman" as my doctor put it. Just over a week to go until freedom! Then a week or two later freedom will be revoked as Lila should make her entrance. Can't wait!

Nursery & Baby Shower

It has been a busy last week! At least for someone who is used to doing a whole lot of nothing! My fabulous friends came to paint my nursery for me, my mom came into town to help me get the nursery ready and I also had a fabulous shower thrown for me. It was a wonderful week and I now feel ready to welcome Lila into our home whenever she decides to come (hopefully she will wait a little longer!)

I think this is a dad's right of passage. Chris did a good job getting Lila's crib all put together and I loved that he wanted to put all the bedding on right away.

Caught him off guard...

Here is my mom as we tried to put together a small table to go next to the glider. I love Ikea's style and prices but we did find ourselves saying, "How many people does it take to put an Ikea item together...?" It doesn't help that there are NO words on any instructions! We got it though and I love the table.

This gives a full view of the vinyl tree I ordered, the crib and bedding, the small table and the glider I got off of Craig's List for an awesome price.

This is the changing table/dresser. I was proud of the lamp because I couldn't find one I loved so I bought a plain shade and added the trim myself. The lower baskets have some cute toys in them. The brown basket holds things I will need to grab quickly while changing Lila.

This picture will have a white frame. I just taped the back up there for effect until I paint a black frame! White poster size frames are non existent by the way! I added hooks on the back of the door to hang hair bands and her cute hooded robe. I will take the robe off though and tie ribbon to the hook to put all her clips on.

I am in love with these curtains! Obviously they are not hung yet, but I wanted to show the cute ruffle at the bottom. I can't wait to get them up and see the effect they have on the room. I am waiting until Chris's dad can come over and drill something heavy duty into the wall in case Lila ever decides to be adventurous and yank or swing on the curtains.

This might be just too detailed for all of you, so this is for me and my mom. One of my mom's specialties is organizing and organize we did! The bottom drawer (and possibly my favorite) has all her beautiful blankets. The middle drawer has 0-3 mo. size outfits all put together for easy matching and grabbing and pj's. The top drawer has premie size clothes, burp cloths, bibs, hats, and shoes.

This drawer has all her cute socks and some more hair items.

The shoes...enough said.

I have storage above the closet so I have these great boxes with lids to store clothes in sizes she isn't wearing.

The inside of the closet. One side has her sweaters and sweatshirts.

This side is for all her beautiful dresses. I cannot wait to dress her on Sunday's!!!

Full View. I used a hanging organizer for extra sheets, bath towels and more storage.

The black and red bag at the bottom is my hospital bag my mom helped me get packed. I am so ready! It has the cutest going home outfit for her in it (plus another one in case she poops in the first!)

Now for my shower! I was so overwhelmed at how amazing everything was! I couldn't have asked for more. Jenie Hunter and Crystal Stalker threw the shower at Jenie's house. Here is the decoration for the food table. They purposely used birds to match my nursery theme!

This is a sweet bracelet Jenie had made for Lila with her first and middle name on it.

My mom sewed this flannel patchwork blanket. So cute!

Me surrounded by mountains of presents. Everyone was so generous and I felt like I was speed opening so people wouldn't get bored watching me open!

Yummy cupcakes.

Fajitas, fiesta dip, taquitos, salsa, empanadas and more delicious food!

This is something else my mom made that she needs to start selling. It is a car seat cover that velcros on so it won't slide off when walking with her. I love it! I love the fabric and pom pom detail.

This is a blanket my mom made to match the car seat cover. Isn't she amazing?!

I messed up the lighting on this one, but it is Jenna and I at my shower. Jenna drove 4 hours from where she recently moved to be there. Good friend huh?!

My grandma and aunts on my mom's side gave me a Petunia Pickle Bottom Diaper Bag. They are the greatest bags with every compartment you could think of needing.

I need to get more pictures from Crystal because these shower ones I grabbed from my mom and Jenna, but there are tons more! I received so many things that I needed and were adorable. Lila is set on all her gear and has enough clothing to change her outfit a couple times a day. How is she so spoiled but not even born yet?! I just felt bad at the shower that I wasn't able to talk to everyone as much as I wanted to because I spent most of the time opening gifts! I am so thankful to everyone for coming and especially Jenie and Crystal for all their hard work!

I also owe my mom big time for all she did.

Now I just need Lila to come in about a month. My cerclage comes out in 2 weeks and I cannot wait to be back up and around!