Day Two

As I was so kind as to actually warm the milk that I mixed with Jayla's cereal last night, she returned the favor by absolutely sopping up every bit of cereal in the bowl. A few times I almost stopped feeding it to her because she was scrunching up her nose at it. Then she did a complete 180 and started opening her mouth very wide every time she saw the spoon coming towards her. I do think that she's got the hang of it. I think I'll stick with rice cereal for another day or two and then move on to oatmeal.

I experienced another very exciting Jayla moment yesterday. Jayla relies on pacifiers to calm her down when she is sleepy. It only works when she is sleepy. She will not take it any other time (and even spits it out as soon as she is sound asleep). So, when she is fighting sleep, she is trying to holler and suck at the same time. It doesn't work so, she ends up losing the pacifier and hollering louder until someone crams it in her mouth and holds it there until she falls asleep. My husband and I have been absolutely living for the day when she has the coordination to just put the thing in her mouth at will instead of needing us to do it every time. Well, I saw her do it TWICE yesterday!! I was SO excited. I gave her the pacifier so that she could relax enough for our after work/school nap on the couch. I watched her take it out of her mouth and place it back in twice...without so much as a wimper in between. I do believe this is going to be huge for our sanity.

In other news: A friend of mine from college is coming to live with us for a while. She is moving here from Atlanta to start a job on Monday. So, she's staying with us until she gets an apartment. I made it clear up front that I cannot guarantee a full night of interrupted sleep every night - she wanted to come anyway...(In Jayla's defense, I will say that she has slept 7-8 hours straight each night for a week now.)

Introducing Rice Cereal

So last night we finally let Jayla eat a little bit of rice cereal from a spoon. We planned to give it to her right after her evening feeding. I'm trying to do this where it will affect my milk supply as little as possible. So, after I fed her, we put her in the high chair and made up just a little bit of cereal with breastmilk for her. She took it VERY well and seemed to really enjoy the whole experience. She only ate a little bit but, everything that I put in her mouth pretty much stayed in her mouth and was ultimately swallowed. The experience was not nearly as messy as I thought it would be. After a few spoonfuls, she lost interest and became completely engrossed in exploring her high chair instead. I count it a success, especially considering that the cereal was mixed with ice cold milk! I promise to remember to warm it up a little tonight. Here she is in her chair and after finishing her meal:

Great Weekend

The highlights:

Two of my childhood friends came to visit this weekend. They specifically wanted to meet Jayla so, seeing me was just an added bonus. It was great for the three of us to get together again. The last time we were all three together was at my wedding 4.5 years ago. We didn’t do much but hang around the house and places right around my house. Jayla was great all weekend. She warmed up to my friends very quickly, which was nice because they wanted to play with her all weekend. She, in turn, managed to take the equivalent of ¾ of a nap all weekend. But, she slept through the entire night on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday (about 8 hours each night) so, I can’t complain. I honestly think last night was the first time that I have had 6 hours of uninterrupted sleep since we brought her home from the hospital! (I have got to learn to go to bed when she does instead of hanging out another 2-3 hours.)

I’ve noticed that Jayla has been making chewing motions with her mouth. I’m thinking she may be catching on to this eating thing that everyone around her seems to be doing. We got her high chair and assembled it yesterday so she sat in it while we ate dinner last night. She wasn’t particularly pleased with it – probably because she was exhausted from the weekend. Anyway, I guess we’ll start cereal soon enough. I’m in no particular hurry.

Extra-curriculars

Every night this week I have been subjected to watching 13-year-old boys playing 8th grade basketball. The games were video-taped in 1991 and include my husband and all his childhood friends. Sadly, he remembers every play and every game score as if it happened yesterday. What’s worse – my baby girl can’t peel her eyes away from the television when it’s on! She has always been mesmerized by sports on TV but, she has been even more intrigued with the video tapes this week.

Last night we went to a live basketball game. My husband plays in a church league and Jayla and I have to be his biggest supporters every Thursday night. She LOVES to watch him play! It is adorable. She watches the ball and players go back and forth up and down the court as if she knows what’s going on. My husband is thrilled. He can’t wait to video tape her 8th grade basketball games!

Now, I was never a sports player. I was always in various choirs, bands, dance teams, a cheerleader – you know the type. And since Jayla is a girl, I obviously want her to love my extra-curricular activities so that I can be one of those ridiculous stage mothers. We play music a lot for her so, hopefully, she is developing a love for music. I’m determined to put her in dance by the time she is 2. And just for good measure, I think I’ll throw in some of my middle school show choir tapes from 1990-93 this weekend and make her watch them. Yes, my husband will kill me…

Five Months

5 Months ago today:

• I was laying in a hospital bed, waiting on a consistent contraction pattern that would ultimately never come.
• I would give birth to my first baby by c-section in about 12 hours.
• I had no idea that the first time I’d see my baby, she’d be hooked up to an IV machine and have a large tube down her throat, emptying the contents of her distended belly.
• I had no idea that I wouldn’t get to hold my baby for another 2 days.
• I had no idea the physical pain that I would feel the first time I got out of bed the next day.
• I had no idea how much emotional pain that I would feel as I continued to visit my baby in the hospital for the next 27 days.
• I wasn’t sure if I would be a good mother.
• I had no idea how to take care of a baby.
• I had no idea how much more deeply I would fall in love with this person whom I already loved so much, even in the womb.
• I had no idea how unselfish I would become.

I couldn’t picture the baby that she is today. At 5 months old, being with Jayla is absolutely the highlight of my every day. She reminds me so much of her father and her mother – a perfect blend. She smiles every time that she sees or hears either one of us. She is learning to play with toys, her favorites being her hands and her feet. She is learning to sit up on her own and can do it for several minutes at a time. She puts weight on her legs when held in a standing position. She still hates being on her tummy but, has perfected the ability to roll over to her back without expending a lot of energy in the process. She loves to squeal and make laughing motions. Although, she doesn’t quite now how to produce sound when it is appropriate to laugh. Her sleep is still somewhat erratic but, more often than not, she will sleep through most of the night and take 3 naps of varying length during the day. She has not yet had any solid foods but, still seems to be thriving on 100% breastmilk.

It is amazing how quickly she has developed a very distinct personality. I am very excited about watching her continue to develop and grow. I am excited about what the next month, weeks, and years will bring. How ironic that I still don’t think I’m “ready” for kids but, I can’t imagine not being Jayla’s mommy.