Sleep

Tonight we are hoping for a 3rd night in a row, and praying this isn't a passing thing. Katelyn began sleeping all night just 2 nights ago. She slept Friday night from 8pm - 6am, and even more impressive, she slept from 7:30pm - 7:30am last night! For the 1st time in months ... many, many months I got 7 consecutive hours of sleep. I feel really, really, really GOOD! I'm trying not to get too comfortable, but I am full of hope.

4 a.m.

In the November issue of Real Simple magazine 12 writers and 1 photographer were asked to answer the prompt: the most MEANINGFUL MOMENT of my day.

Yesterday had been an unusually difficult day for both Katie and myself. There had not been any clear wake or sleep cycles ... just a constant sleepy cry for more food. When she did finally fall asleep at 8pm, I was exhausted and overwhelmed but relieved. I went to sleep at 9:30pm hoping to get a few hours before Katie would awaken me. At 1:30am I completed a REM cycle and awoke with the physical need to feed my baby; however, Katelyn was sound asleep. I was not about to begin the painful cry cycle again in the middle of the night so I bottled 10 ounces and crawled back into bed beside Joe. Just as I was beginning to settle in I heard a faint familiar sound - Katie, but she wasn't crying. I listened while trying to fall sleep for the next hour as she contently played in her crib. Talking to herself, kicking her feet, looking around at the room ... after an hour I needed to check on the situation. She lay there in her crib completely happy!

When she saw me standing over the crib looking down at her with amazement she made another happy noise. I lifted her up and held her as she grabbed onto me, snuggling against my shoulder. After a quick diaper change and 2-3 ounces of milk it was clear that Katelyn just wanted to play. She smiled at me, made adorable sounds, and snuggled. As she finally drifted off in my arms I realized that 4am is the most meaningful moment of MY day. It does not have to be exactly 4am - just anytime during the stillness of the night that my precious daughter and I can spend a few uninterrupted moments together just loving each other.

*It's amazing how God has used Katelyn to change me from being a selfish sleeper who grumbled whenever getting up early to one who joyfully greets her baby girl at any hour of the night. Nursing, although difficult at times, has given me the opportunity to have these moments with Katelyn ... moments I wouldn't trade for all the sleep in the world!

Baby Dinosaur Receives Award

So, it's official ... Our baby dinosaur attended her 1st Halloween party last night, and received 3rd place for her adorable costume! Under 2 months old and she has already won a competition. Her Daddy also won a much deserved award - he cracked the case of the murder mystery at the party. Joe was the ONLY person to guess correctly who the responsible party was. Fortunately, I also won something ... BINGO. We went home with smiles, prizes, and a pile of candy. It was a super-fun party! Our family is so looking forward to next year.

Additionally, I created a family photo site with Shutterfly ... it's by invite only, so come check us out at lilligfamilymiracles.shutterfly.com

Baby Dinosaur

Yesterday Katie and I ventured out to Cape Girardeau for a day of shopping at a mall I had never been to. She was such a good little shopper ... sleeping most of the day, and looking around and happy when she was awake! I was able to buy her Easter sweater (I already have the dress), winter coat (6-12 mo), and most importantly her Halloween costume. Our little Baby Dinosaur is going to be a baby dinosaur for Halloween. I got this $28 Carters (3-6 mo) costume at Macy's for 50% off too! Last night I tried the costume on her - she's already too long to wear 0-3 mo one piece outfits ... so sad. In this case it worked out well since there were not any left on the rack. So, my Katelyn is by far the cutest most adorable little dinosaur I have ever seen!!! She was so cute I had to take a picture, and as she sat in the corner of her crib while I giggled and laughed at just how adorable she was ... she began to smile - a real smile! This has happened one other time when Joe was laughing and she was sitting on his tummy. It is so beautiful when she smiles - of course the camera missed the smile, but I got a couple other adorable pictures. Her dinosaur picture is currently my Facebook profile photo. I cannot believe how much she has grown in the past 6 weeks.

Another quite amazing thing happened last night ... Katelyn slept from her bedtime at 8pm until 5am!!! I of course did not sleep that long - I woke up freaking out at 2am and consequently decided that Joe needed to know that Katie was still breathing too! He didn't seem as concerned, but decided that since he was awake Barkley should be taken out briefly. At 5am Katie ate her regular amount of food and promptly fell back asleep - what a good baby, I am so blessed!

1 Month 10 Days

Katelyn was born on September 1st at 7:09 pm. She came into this world COMPLETELY healthy! No sign of Cystic Hygroma at all - truly a miracle ... thank you Jesus. We have had a wonderful month of first time experiences. I had expected to update more often; however, having a baby keeps me very busy. Here's a few highlights from the past month and 10 days.

On our first night home from the hospital (September 3rd) Katelyn rolled from her back to her side - a skill expected sometime during the 2nd or 3rd month. She is incredibly strong! Katie can hold her head up pretty well (and had been able to since birth) ... although I often find myself supporting it as if she can't - overprotective mothering already in effect. At 17 days old she rolled from her tummy to her back - another skill not expected until much later. I am loving being a Mommy, and am so in love with my daughter!

Saturday, September 26th was our first day officially out. We went to Home Depot to purchase blinds for Katie's windows in her room ... of course, this also meant we needed to go to Target too (simply because it's near Home Depot and so much more fun). Tuesday, September 29th I got a craving for an apple dumpling at the local orchard. Katie made her way to the orchard with us to purchase some apples and take pictures. We left the state for the 1st time last weekend - October 2nd was the first time Katie was babysat by Grandma! It was thrilling for my mom and scary for me ... I missed my baby so much. Joe and I were gone for exactly 4 hours! Grandma did a great job - Joe and I had fun dancing at our friends' wedding and eating an uninterrupted dinner. This past Thursday was a "Very Hungry Caterpillar" reading event ... Katie and I participated by reading this wonderful book together. Our participation counted toward the national total.

Tonight with Katelyn's cord/bellybutton healed and my incision healed as well ... we made our way into the bathtub together for the 1st time. It was so much fun holding Katie as she kicked and splashed her hands in the tub. She smiled as she lay on her back floating in the water - with me holding her of course! Although I was sure she was getting cold ... like a true little fishy she cried when I handed her off to Joe who promptly wrapped her in a towel. Daddy dried her off, dressed her in pajamas, and I read her a story. We kissed her and she was in bed by 7:45 ... after a bit of crying she was sound asleep by 8pm - the beginning of a beautiful bedtime routine!