Don't Blink...

The truth hurts, that's for sure. WOW. 940 normally sounds like a pretty big number, but when you put it in that kind of perspective it definitely seems small. It certainly doesn't seem like enough. 

As I am beginning this post...Lilly is 7 weeks old and will be 8 weeks on Wednesday...in just 2 days. How in the world has this much time already gone by? It makes me sad to think about just how quickly it is going by. I want to hit the pause button and be able to soak in every single moment just a little longer. Each day she amazes us with something new that she does. She's been holding her head up for awhile now and she has such good control of it. She just lifts it up and turns around and looks at everything. Her favorite things to look at seem to be the ceiling and she LOVES to look at lights. She loves her Tummy Time Mat and just this past weekend she found herself in the mirror that's on it. She stared at herself for like 5 minutes without looking away. Nick said she was having a staring contest with the baby in the mirror and he thinks that Lilly won. ;-) We love how she just lights up our lives! We already are having so much fun with her and I know it is going to get even more fun.:)           It has been so sad though noticing how much she's changed and grown. She has worn all of her newborn clothes for the very last time and is now wearing 0-3 months and some 3 month clothes. She was able to take a bath sometimes in the sink in our bathroom and we're realizing that she is getting too big for that, too. Her bassinet that used to seem like the perfect fit for her just seems too small now. And the rock n' play that I was scared to put her in at first when we brought her home from the hospital because it looked like it would swallow her whole now fits her so snuggly...but not for much longer. She took a nap this week for the first time in her crib in her nursery. I'm trying to do that more often so that room is not so strange to her when she does (in between tears) start sleeping in there. I want to hold on to these days, these moments for so much longer than I am allowed.
        Today Nick and I laid in our bed with her and took a nap. She seems so small laying in between us...I wish she could stay this small forever. Nick loves it when she naps in the bed with us and I think it is so sweet that he loves it so. He had said before she was born that she was never going to be in the bed with us because he knew how hard it would be to get her out of our bed...but now he asks for her to sleep with us sometimes. He says that he just loves falling asleep with her right there and then waking up beside her. Precious. Daddy's girl for sure.
         These moments...these memories that I am living everyday with our sweet girl...I want them to stay on repeat for as long as they can. Don't grow up baby girl. Please...time stand still for just a little while.

I need to get a tattoo of this verse on my forehead!!

Monday of this week I took her to the doctor. Her eye had been draining for like a week and sometimes her eyelashes would be crusty after she woke up. Everybody kept saying it was just a change in season/weather. I didn't want to over react so I just said OK...maybe so. I mean she wasn't acting like she felt bad or anything and she didn't have a fever. When I called the doctor's office they wanted her to come in since she's so young. The doctor diagnosed her as having a blocked tear duct. I had looked this up on the internet when I googled "newborn eye draining" it was one diagnosis that came up so I was familiar with what it was. However, knowing now that it was what was wrong with her...it brought things to a whole new level. He told me to massage it several times a day and prescribed her antibiotic eye drops to treat/prevent infection. There is no time frame as far as she will be better in _ days. :( It usually clears up on its own by the time a baby turn one year old. So it will be an ongoing thing until next October. I am just praying that it does heal completely...if not a surgical procedure will have to be done. BUT I am not even thinking about that right now. I am putting a warm compress on it and massaging it very often and giving her the eye drops 4-6 times a day. God has a plan through this and I will trust Him.

Today Lilly is 8 weeks old. My mom took the day off of work to hang out with us because Nick has to travel everyday this week. She came over at 9 this morning and fed her, changed her, rocked her, put her down for her nap and I got to get some cleaning done...vacuuming...washing our sheets...things that were long overdo. That is one thing that I have learned through this...don't wait for 'later' because more than likely there won't be a 'later'. Just get it done when you have the time. Which means sometimes forgoing that nap that you thought you were going to sneak in while she was sound asleep. Don't get me wrong now...at least once a day I make time for a nap...have to...it's the only thing that gets me through the nights.:) Back to today...mom and I took Lilly to the mall for the first time. Of course I was a nervous wreck. First I was worried about when she would need to be fed and changed and all of that and then I was freaking out about the germs. Everywhere just seems so dirty now. I am constantly wanting to just wash her blankets and clothes and give her a bath when we leave our house. Then when we are in public (the few times that we have been) if someone is coughing within 10 feet of her I just cringe. I dread the first time my baby girl gets sick. Oh goodness!:( My heart will be broken into a million tiny pieces.

We've been listening to a lot of Christmas music at our house over the past few weeks!! Nick discovered that Lilly loves it when he sings "Ho, Ho, Ho" to her and sometimes it sounds like she is mimicking that back to him!! Just precious! We are getting so excited about the Christmas traditions that are ahead with family and friends!! We always enjoy this time of year so much and now having her is just going to be icing on the cake!!:):)

I am so ready for her to start singing to us!! How sweet will that be!!:) For now we are continuing to sing our favorite songs to her. Just the other day a song I hadn't heard or thought of in a LONG time came to mind and I started singing it to her... "I love you in the morning and in the afternoon...I love you in the evening underneath the moon...":) Normally when I sing to her I do almost like a remix...each song just leads into the next song! She seems to like it though!!;-)

I haven't had a chance to write anymore since I started this post and today she is 9 weeks old! She celebrated being 2 months old on Monday!! I will tell you a few things that have happened over the past few days...

So right now Lilly is not on a consistent schedule...it seems to vary from day to day, Her night time routine is pretty much the same though.:) During the day it just varies on how long her naps are and when as well as how much she is drinking now from her bottle. Anywhere from 2- 4 oz compared to where she was downing 4 oz every bottle.:) The other day I put her in her rock n play for a nap and she was sound asleep...it was time for me to pump. Five minutes into my twenty minute pumping session she wakes up. I had to pull her rock n play over to wear my pumping machine was and I tried to rock her back to sleep in it, but she was wide awake. So...I had to come up with a solution...I pulled my laptop over to her and propped her up in her boppy. I went to YouTube and found a veggie tales movie for her to 'watch' while I finished pumping.:) It was too funny!! She did sit there and 'watch' it while I finished my pumping session. I am sure she loved the lights and music. I was just glad to be able to finish pumping and keep her content.:) Ahh...the things that you do!! ;-)

On Sunday we took Lilly over to my grandparents house to visit. Mom was putting up their Christmas decorations and Nick helped hang lights outside. Grandma and Grandpa got to visit with Lilly...who slept the entire time we were there.:) My cousins twins...Blake and Bailey came over and got to meet Lilly for the first time.:)

Nick was planning to go into the office in Georgia on Monday to get some things done so Lilly and I decided to tag along. So Sunday night I was packing her bag to bring with us and I decided to reorganize her drawers because she couldn't wear some of her clothes anymore. Well, once I started there I decided to get clothes out of the closet, too. Before I knew it there was a bag full of clothes that my precious baby girl will never wear again. I lost it. I just started crying. Nick was in the living room watching T.V. and I walked in there holding the bag sobbing...he had NO idea what was wrong and it took me a minute to get calmed down enough to tell him how sad I was that she had already grown and changed so much. He just stood there and hugged me. I could tell that it was another moment where it just hit him, too. Time was passing us by all too quickly. It's moments like that when God reveals to us just how short and fragile life is. It is those times, I believe that give us a 'reality check' where we have nothing else to do, but realize not to take things for granted. I held my sweet baby tighter and longer than ever before when she woke up from her nap. I thanked God for the time that I had with her already and the time that I was going to have with her already. I knew in my heart that it would never be enough.

After Lilly had her bottle at 5 AM on Monday morning we piled everything in the car and headed for Georgia. It's amazing how much there is to bring and she is only 2 months old. I thought our car was plenty big enough,but there are times now that it just seems so small. Plus, we have to make room for her big brother and his things, too. Lilly slept the whole way there. Nick's mom was so excited to see us. I can't imagine how hard it is for her living 2 hours away and not getting to see Lilly nearly as much as she would like. Nick headed off to work and left us there for the day. We hung out talking for most of the day and then we watched a movie later that afternoon. She enjoyed being able to feed Lilly and hold her. She was in a great mood all day...smiling and 'talking' to her MiMi.:) Kayleigh got to see Lilly when she got home from school and then Lilly and I went to lay down and take a little nap. There is nothing more peaceful than falling asleep with my sweet baby in my arms. (That is until I wake up and need to get up, but I don't want to disturb her. I laid there for awhile because I think how many more times am I going to have these moments? Then...slowly...ever so slowly...I move my body so not to wake her.)

Tuesday morning we started our drive home again after her 5 AM bottle. She slept the whole way home again. When we got home she woke up and was in the happiest mood! Just smiling away! This made me even more sad about what was ahead in just a few hours...her 2 month doctor's visit...her shots. :*( We enjoyed spending time with her as she was just full of smiles and cooing.:) They weighed her at her appointment... 11 lbs. 14 oz....a very healthy baby girl!! We also found out that she had cradle cap..which I had already diagnosed her with because once again I had "googled it". Nick noticed it for the first time a few days prior and I responded "It's cradle cap". He started laughing and said "Oh it is, is it?!". He gives me a hard time about researching things on the internet, but most of the time I am ahead of the game and have pinpointed exactly what's going on. Then, once I think I know...I get my phone out and text all of my friends with babies asking them their advice on how to take care of it. However, this time I did not follow through with anything yet, since her appointment was close to when I had diagnosed her with cradle cap, I decided to wait and see what the doctor said to do about it. Okay...so back to her appointment on December 9th...Dr Luci said to wash her hair with head and shoulders shampoo everyday and let it sit on there for 5 minutes. So...we are planning on trying that out today.:) Everything checked out good...her eyes..body movements that she should be doing...overall a good report at the doctor. The only thing we are going to work more on is laying her on her tummy so she has more practice lifting her head. She was able to do it for Dr. Luci, but not for long. I personally think it was because she was so tired, but oh well. :) Nick wants Lilly to be doing everything just PERFECTLY and wants her ahead of the game...so I was watching his face as she was having Lilly lift her head. I could tell he wasn't happy with the results and sure enough the first thing he said in the car was...we need to put her on her tummy a lot more.:) Another thing that Dr. Luci mentioned was that when she was listening to Lilly breathing she noticed a murmur in her lungs. She said that it is normal and should go away by the time she is 6 months. She just said that we will monitor it and make sure it resolves itself. Mommy mode...Inside-panic mode...something is wrong with my precious baby :-/...Outside...smiles..."Okay, sounds good.":) So the last part of the appointment...the dreaded shots. The nurse came in with them...I immediately start scanning to see what all she has with her. I walked up to where Lilly was laying and I held her little hand and whispered in her ear the whole time. The first round was oral...and she did not like it at all...she kept spitting it out and not wanting to swallow it...but she finally did. Then it was time for the 3 needle shots. Oh she screamed...loudest ever..and turned beet red and was just crying. It was awful! So pitiful!! I hated every minute of it. In between my own tears, I kept telling her it was going to be okay and that I loved her. As soon as the nurse was finished I picked her up and held her so close to be. She cried and sobbed for a few minutes and then calmed down. I had never been happier to have something done and over with!! When we got home we all climbed in the bed together and took a little nap.:)

As I am ending this post today, it is Wednesday, December 10th. Lilly is 9 weeks old today. It doesn't seem like another week has already gone by, but somehow it has. She is laying in her rock n'play now sound asleep listening to her music box sound. I gave her some Tylenol a little bit ago because she had a low grade fever of 101,1. She hasn't been very fussy today, but just not acting herself. Somehow she is still managing to smile and coo at us in between her moaning.:) I will be so glad when she is feeling all better..until then we will be giving her lots of extra kisses, hugs, and snuggles!!

**Here are memories that we caught in pictures!:) 

(7 Weeks-9 Weeks)

Aunt Kelly loves snuggling with Lilly:):)

Uncle Ja and Aunt Kelly came over to visit Lilly and Uncle Ja helped Nick put up the lights:)

Nick and I went on a date night and my mom/Granna watched Lilly for us. She sent me this picture of Jonah while we were gone.:) Too funny!!

Making faces with mommy:)

Oh I could just eat her up!! So stinkin' cute!!:)

Oh weee!!:)

Just precious!!!!:):)

She loves this time with me as much as I do!:)

Look at that happy girl!:)

Absolutely adorable!!:)

She has my heart!:)

I love this one...her favorite 'word'... 'ohhh'.:)

Of course I had to make a Pic Collage and send it out to family:)

Jonah and Lilly getting some Vitamin D:)

After her bath:)

Snoozin' away all warm and cozy:):)

Jonah loves to check on her every few minutes!! It is so sweet!!:)

Just hanging out in her rock n' play:)

A little exercise time!:)

Yes, mommy is taking ANOTHER picture!:)

She loves looking at herself in the mirror!:)

 7 weeks!!! Already!!:(

During one of our afternoon naps:)

The cutest little butterball in the world! She and her daddy have started a Thanksgiving tradition of watching the Thanksgiving Day Parade together.:)

She's saying 'please mom...no more pictures' :)

Random picture from our annual Kiawah family beach trip. Nick's stepmom, Joy, posted this on FB on Thanksgiving. Lilly was in my tummy in this picture, but it makes me so happy to think about the fun memories ahead with her at Kiawah:):)

We were waiting on daddy to come take a family selfie Thanksgiving Day night:)

Here we are on Thanksgiving! The day was over and I had just realized we didn't get a picture of us 3 together so we stood in front of one of our many trees and took a quick picture with our sweet girl!:)

We woke Nick up from a nap to take a picture of us 3 together! We haven't taken pictures together in awhile!:)

Then we woke Lilly up to join in on the fun!:) It was time for her to have her bottle before her bath anyway:)

I love my mommy and my sissy!!!

We were trying to console Lilly who was not in the mood for a photo session!:)

Aunt Madi makes time between her busy college life to come visit her sweet niece:)

Aunt Kayleigh was enjoying spending time with Lilly, too!:)

Nick and I did our 2nd annual trip to the mountains the day after Thanksgiving to get our tree. This was a picture of the snow as we were headed up the mountain. My mom/Granna kept Lilly, but we did bring Jonah along.:)

Snow!!

More snow!!

Beautiful!!

They had gotten more than we expected to see:)

So pretty and white!!:)

In the little village area at Beech Mountain:)

The sky blends right in with the white snow:)

Nick and Jonah enjoying their time in the snow:)

Jonah and I:) He wanted to lay down in it!!

He really does love the snow!!

He likes to eat it!!:)

Silly selfie as I was following Nick to pick out our Christmas tree:)

This one caught his eye and it is the one we ended up getting:)

My two boys!! <3

Jonah found a tree that he liked ;-)

Showing off my cute outfit from Aunt Kelly and Uncle Ja:)

Look at that face:)

Lilly and Emily on Carolina/Clemson game day...Lilly has on her Georgia headband, but she is sporting her Gamecock socks since most of our family loves the Gamecocks:)

Uncle Jacob and Emily with Miss Lilly:)

JoJo and Lilly hanging out:)

She had on her monkey jammies and was holding her monkey:) I call him Mr. Monkey:)

I just love her so!!

Making some music with her strong legs:)

All dressed up to see two of her aunts:) Aunt Kelly and Aunt Kimberly came to visit her:)

Just the sweetest:)

That face means she has a full tummy:)

She loves looking around:)

Her onesie says. "Best Gift Ever"...I have to agree:)

Give a little smile:)

I could eat her up:)

Talking to me after her bottle:)

Just a smilin':)

She .loves her mommy:)

I wouldn't trade this time with her for anything:)

Happy Baby Girl:)

Bailey got to meet her cousin Lilly for the first time:)

Spending some time on a Sunday afternoon with these two great grands:)

Lilly is one of 15 great grandkids!!!

Lilly was talking and smiling with her MiMi:)

They were having too much fun!!:)

The cutest baby in the cutest jammies:)

Pure sweetness:)

That face:)

Love <3

She was in deep thought talking to us:)

We did a one night trip to visit MiMi and Aunt Kayleigh. I had Nick's mom/MiMi take our picture together because it was the day Lilly turned 2 months old!!

I love my little family!!:)

Just hanging out in my jammies!:) Thank you Aunt Kelly and Uncle Ja for these comfy, warm, and cozy jammies!!:) They are so soft!!

We can't get enough pictures of her!!:)

Sweet girl!!

Family pic in front of their tree:)

I love them!

Nick's mom liked this one because she said we look like angels because of the white light:)

Daddy was on duty:)

I posted this on Instagram with her pic collage for turning 2 months old. 

Just a smiling!!

Talking away to us!!

She got excited!!

2 months!! Bittersweet!! So many wonderful memories so far and so many ones ahead, but I can't believe how quickly it has all gone by!

Only Lilly in this one..not mommy:)

She was snoozin on our way home the next morning:)

This was her when we got home:)

That face!!!:)

That smile!!:)

Mommy's whole world!!:)

Going to the doctor for her 2 month check up...and shots:(

I kept her in her cozy jammies so it would be easy to take on and off for her check up and so after he shots we could quickly get her dressed and I could love on her!:) Plus it was going to be an all day snuggle day afterwards...so who needed to dress up for that?!?:)

On our way home from the doctor...mommy and Lilly both cried:*(

She was still a happy baby after her shots:)

Her battle wounds

One on this leg:(

All day snuggle time after he doctor's appointment:)

Loving on my sweet girl!!

Mommy and Lilly selfie:)

Hello!!

Sweet baby girl!!:):)

Daddy picked out her jammies that night...his favorite ones of hers. He was giving her lots of extra kisses too:)

Precious!!

Melts my heart!!

She loves her daddy!!

All cozy and warm with her "Pinkie the Binkie":)

The day after her shots...9 weeks old today!!

She loves looking around!!

Ahhh....look how pretty!!

Just smiling at mommy!

Precious!!!

I just can't stop taking pictures of her!

Look at those eyes!!

Another...

Sweet baby girl!!

Drooling is her new thing these days!:)

Precious face!!

She loves holding her monkey..he is so soft!!

Soooo sweet!!!

"Ok, mom...are you done yet?!?"

One more...

Pic collage I sent out for her 9 weeks!:)

Here are some things that we have LOVED or not LOVED so much since she's been born...

1.) This is what she slept in at first...the bassinet on top of the Pack n' Play. We loved it so much because it was right at eye level for us to check on her while we were laying in our bed, which was right beside it. Also, you can take the bassinet out, so we would bring it with us into the living room sometimes when she was napping.:) It is made by Graco and was purchased from Babies R Us. :)

2.) This is what she sleeps in now. We love it because it vibrates and is great for soothing her to sleep. Also, it is very light weight and again something we can maneuver around the house easily. We also carried it to Georgia with us this week for her to sleep in while we were there.:) This is made by Fisher Price and was also purchased from Babies R Us.:)

3.) She was not a big fan of the MamaRoo at first and we were so disappointed because we had heard so many good things about it and that it was a HAVE TO HAVE item. However, she loves it now! She will sit in it for awhile and has even fallen asleep in it. Right now we have it set up in the office in front of one of our Christmas trees because she loves looking at the lights. We love this because she enjoys it so much, you can plug your phone into it and play music through the speaker, it has several different levels and settings, and again is something that can easily be moved from room to room. This was also purchased from Babies R Us.:)

4.) We tried the Medela bottles at first, but quickly learned about the benefits of the Dr. Brown's bottles for colic. She was practically drowning while she was drinking milk from the Medela bottles. The Dr. Brown's have a nice slow flow.:) We purchased these from Wal-Mart.:)

5.) She really loves this!! It is so precious to see her on it!! She loves the mirror and kicking the piano to make music.:) We bought this from Babies R' Us. :)

6.) We have loved this Boppy since we got it. It is so nice to put under her when you are holding her. Now she is really being able to use it and enjoy it because she can be propped up in it now. :) We purchased ours from Babies R' Us. :)

7.) We love the bottle warmer. It gets the milk just the right temperature and doesn't take long at all to heat it up.:) We purchased ours from Babies R' Us. :)

8.) We love using the sterilizer to clean the bottles. After soaking them in a little bit of soapy water in the sink, we rinse them, and put them in the sterlizizer in the microwave for 3 minutes. I also put my shields in there for breast pumping, too.:) Babies R' Us:)

9.) Against my wishes...a few weeks after she was born we realized we were going to use a pacifier. She LOVES to suck and it does soothe her when she needs to relax. We try not to overuse it though...it is not something to make her be quiet..just to soothe her.:) Ours was given to us at one of her baby showers. I love that the little stuffed animal is connected to the paci because it makes it easier for her to keep it in her mouth. She is also so sweet now because she will rest her hands on it and grip it some.:) It is called a wubbanub. :)

  

10.) I thought I would...but I DON'T...Halo Sleep Sack...I tried putting her in it a few times, but I felt like she was so confined and it felt like a straight jacket to me. I may try it again since she's gotten a little bigger.

11.) I thought I would, but I DON'T...infant gowns... it is harder to me to change her with one on, which I had heard was one of the big benefits. I have to pull it up so high to get to her diaper to make sure not to get any pee or poo on it when changing her. I'm just not a big fan, but I know a lot of people who LOVE them!! Also, several of the ones we had were so hard to get over her head. It just seemed like more trouble than it was worth?!?

12.) Swaddle Blankets...we used the receiving blankets at first and swaddled her in those all of the time. Now we just use any blanket. She looks the most comfy when she is swaddled in her soft blankets.:)

13.) Aveeno Products...I used Johnson N Johnson at first to bathe her in, but her face was covered in bumps. A friend told me that it may be from what I was washing her in. So, I switched to Aveeno and her face has been clear ever since. I also use Aveeno lotion daily on her face every morning and all over her body at night after her bath.:)