Mila's Birth Story

This pregnancy sucked, plain and simple. I thought Harley's was bad--this was worse. Not only was my sickness way worse, I now had a toddler to take care of when I couldn't even take care of myself. To say I was getting impatient towards the end of the pregnancy would be an understatement. I was miserable, eager to meet our sweet baby, and had a bit of a time crunch. Jason has to leave for a work trip on Friday the 13th. My doctors wouldn't induce me until at least 41 weeks, which would have been January 9.

I had been having labor symptoms for weeks. I'd have contractions for hours but they would never lead anywhere. I remember telling Jason that after this pregnancy and all the false labor, this baby better come flying out and give me the easiest birth ever.

Sunday morning I went into the hospital, begging to be induced. I had a terrible headache that had lasted more than 3 days, I was really nauseous and I just wanted to be done. I got excited to see that my favorite OB and my favorite hospital doctor were both working. Unfortunately, since I wasn't in labor and they were full of moms in preterm labor (grrrr) they told me I was dehydrated and just sent me home.

I was on the verge of a meltdown but decided that all that stress just wouldn't do me any good. I told Jason "I still think the baby can come today." I went home, ate, and took a nap. When I woke up from my nap I started immediately having painful contractions. Jason was playing soccer so I texted him that I was contracting, but didn't think they would turn into anything. They were already about 5 minutes apart, with varying intensities. I started believing maybe I was actually in labor, but refused to get my hopes up. I really felt like if I were to go to the hospital, the contractions would stop, I'd be sent home and be devastated all over again.

By the time Jason came home from soccer I could barely talk or breathe through the contractions. He decided for me that it was time to go to the hospital. We packed up, told my mom to come get Harley (Jason's brother Brandon was here to watch her in the meantime) and headed to the hospital for my second time that day. When we got there my contractions were two minutes apart and I was in so much pain I could barely walk. It took us forever just to get inside the hospital from the parking lot. We arrived at about 7pm (two hours after my contractions started).

After assessing me in L&D, they decided I needed an IV right away because I was "very dehydrated." Cue eye rolling from me when I saw the stupid nurse from earlier who sent me home without trying to hydrate me first. Thanks to her, my current nurses had a really difficult time finding a vein because they were collapsed. I remember them apologizing to me for not numbing me, and for having to poke my arm so many times. Meanwhile, I am having the worst contractions ever (they were just as bad as my Pitocin induced contractions with Harley, which I was not expecting at all) and am in so much pain I want to scream. I didn't even feel the arm pokes haha.

It just wouldn't be an Elise pregnancy story without some vomit ;) I had eaten Burger King earlier that afternoon and had some onion rings. Once labor started, I regretted that decision immediately. Every time I threw up that's all I could taste and it was disgusting haha.

I asked if Dr. Bell was still here, and they told me he just went home and I was going to have a midwife named Sylvia. She is the ONE provider from my OB office that I had never met. Luckily she was amazing! I loved my nurse as well, Tanya. She was like a sweet grandma with a British accent.

Just before they took me back into a labor room, my water broke on its own. I was able to get an epidural about an hour after that, which was heaven. I could still feel when I was contracting but the pain was 98% gone. When I got to the hospital I was dilated to 4cm (I had been for about a week). After a few hours I was dilated 6 but Mila was kind of at a funny angle so they put the big peanut ball in between my legs to help her position. Kim came and brought Jason some Taco Bell because he hadn't gotten to eat dinner. Sylvia told me she was going to go take a nap, but came back into the room about 15 minutes later. She said she just had a feeling she should check me. She takes one look and goes "Oh! Don't cough, laugh or sneeze--she is right there! Baby's coming!" Good thing she didn't go take her nap! :)

I sent Kim out of the room, they called the pediatrician in and it was time to push. With Harley I pushed for over two hours and it was awful. With Mila, I pushed for about 15-20 minutes. In between pushes I asked what day it was because I knew it was close to midnight. They told me I could still have her on the 8th if I pushed hard, or I could rest and have her on the 9th haha. No sense in waiting so Mila Quinn Katwijk entered the world at 11:59pm  (5 hours after arriving at the hospital) Sunday night. They joked that I had my baby on the 8th but I was still pregnant on the 9th because my placenta took forever to come out--longer than it took Mila. The first thing I noticed when they placed Mila in my arms was that she already had a double chin haha. Despite that, and her HUGE cheeks, I thought she looked so tiny! She wasn't. She was 8lbs 11oz. Even being super sick for 9 months I still managed to make a large baby :)

We are thrilled to welcome Mila into our family. Harley is excited and loves her sissy already. I am so happy to not be pregnant anymore! I can't believe how fast everything happened this time, and although I was mad about not being induced, I am SO GLAD I wasn't! Everything went so much better since it happened on its own. I felt way better afterwards and my body has been recovering quicker.

HG

(Disclaimer: this is going to be  really long, and possible TMI)

During my pregnancy with Harley, I was diagnosed with hyperemesis gravidarum. No one really explained to me what it was, and I didn't bother looking it up. I just thought it was really bad sickness during my pregnancy.

So basically I had "morning sickness" my whole 9 months of pregnancy with Harley. It got better in the second and third trimesters, but it never stopped. I think the longest period of time I went without throwing up was two weeks. Most of the time I would only throw up once or twice a day, but many days it was way more than that. I ended up in the hospital twice for IVs after being severely dehydrated from not being able to keep anything down for over 24 hours. The only medication I was ever offered was Zofran. I tried it all through my first trimester and it never worked.

Looking back, I am frustrated and annoyed that my midwives never really tried to help me. They kept asking if I was still sick, and when I would say yes, they would just say "Hmm. Well some people are just sick their whole pregnancies." That's it. Now I know there are at least 4 other medications they could have tried to prescribe me. I am frustrated that I did not educate myself. I could have fought for better treatments, more options.

I had wanted to get pregnant with Harley for over a year (not to mention wanting to be a mom my whole life), and it was devastating to be so miserable and to hate being pregnant. I tried SO HARD to love being pregnant, but I just couldn't. I loved the fact that she was in there, and that I was getting a baby, and I loved feeling her move but that was about it. I could not WAIT for her to arrive.

After Harley, it was hard to imagine wanting to ever be pregnant again. We talked about just having her be our only child (before having kids, we originally wanted to have 4). Eventually I realized that I didn't want Harley to be an only child. I didn't want to deprive her of a sibling, and I was starting to feel like maybe we should have another. More than anything, I wanted the chance to ENJOY a pregnancy even though that is not something I could guarantee. I told Jason that if my next pregnancy was easier then maybe we could consider having 3 kids total.

We decided to get my birth control taken out the end of March, because it was making my body do crazy things. We agreed that if we got pregnant, we'd be okay with it. We were also okay if it took a little while. Well, it didn't take long at all--I got pregnant almost immediately.

I started feeling really nauseous one evening and thought it was just because I had been traveling that day and had eaten a lot of crappy fast food. The next day I was still feeling sick, and I started to wonder when I got the birth control taken out. I counted about 4-5 weeks ago. I brought it up to Jason that I had not had a period since getting it out, and he just said my body was probably adjusting and it may take awhile. I tried to believe that, but the nausea was pretty hard to deny. On Mother's Day I took a pregnancy test first thing in the morning and it was positive.

I honestly didn't know how to feel. I was happy, sure, but I was a little surprised. How did it happen so fast?! It took forever with Harley and we weren't even 100% ready for a second--we were kind of counting on it taking at least a couple of months to happen. Probably a day or two after I found out that I was pregnant, that horrible nausea turned into puking. SO. MUCH. PUKING.

Probably a week or two later, I had thrown up so much that I could tell I was losing weight. Every single day was a battle to keep ANYTHING down. I'd take a sip of water and it would come back up. I started to hate food. All food. I hated water. I hated everything. I remember Kim came over once with a pizza, and as soon as I smelled it I ran to the bathroom to throw up. Another time Jason was just shaking his leg while on the couch with me. That shaking motion made me run to throw up. My body hurt and ached so bad from being so hungry and dehydrated. Showering was the hardest thing I did each day, and took everything I had to manage it. Several times I was just throwing up stomach acid because there was literally nothing else in my body to throw up, and that is incredibly painful. I kept having to run to the bathroom to throw up, and try to lock Harley out. She'd cry at the door but I didn't want her to see me like that. A few times I couldn't shut the door fast enough so she witnessed me in all my puking glory.

Another super fun (and embarrassing) thing that was happening--apparently now I cannot throw up without peeing. Even if I have just gone to the bathroom, and even if I am super dehydrated. My violent puking forces me to pee. I have to sit on the toilet while I puke into a bowl. If I'm not fortunate enough to make it to the toilet, well then I have to change my underwear. Hooray. Because the puking is not enough to deal with.

It became nearly impossible for me to take care of Harley. I was literally doing the bare minimum--I would change her diapers, feed her, put her down for naps, and give her hugs and kisses when I could. She was basically on her own. The mommy guilt set in quickly. I felt SO BAD that I couldn't take her out of the house, to the park, or anywhere, I could tell she was getting cabin fever and hated being stuck at home all the time. I felt guilty for getting pregnant because it was taking me away from the baby that was already here. I couldn't play with Harley, I couldn't enjoy her, and I felt like I was torturing us both. A couple of times I asked my mom and mother-in-law to take her for awhile because they could give her the love and attention she deserves.

If I had a "real" job, I would have had to quit. I had to withdraw from my classes and take a leave of absence from school, which I really didn't want to do because I am so close to finishing. HG takes over your life. I couldn't make any plans to do anything because I knew I would just be too sick to do anything.

I felt guilty about this baby as well. I felt like I hadn't even had a chance to really be happy about the baby because I was so incredibly miserable. How could I be excited about something when it felt like it was slowly killing me? With Harley, even in my sickness, I always felt a strong connection to her. I was so excited she was in there and I felt so much love for her from the second I knew she existed. That didn't happen with this baby, which made me really sad. Even after seeing it on an ultrasound, I still didn't feel connected.

I think around 7 weeks pregnant I had my first trip to the ER. With Harley, I made it until my second trimester before having an ER trip. I went to St. Pete's after 2 days of not being able to keep anything down. I waited in the waiting room for over 6 hours before finally getting seen. I was given IV fluids and medicine. The doctor suggested I try vitamin B6 and Unisom. It seemed to work for a day or two (even though it made me super tired and I couldn't stop passing out), then stopped.

A week later I ended up in the ER again. This time I went to Capital Medical Center, since that is where my OB is and that is where I'll be delivering. My waiting room time was only about an hour and a half, which is way better than every time I've been to St. Pete's. They were a lot more thorough--besides the IV and medicine, they tested my blood and urine, and gave me an ultrasound. They were concerned about the baby's growth and development since I had been so sick. Luckily the baby was fine and I went home feeling much better. They asked me about Zofran, and I mentioned that it hadn't worked in my previous pregnancy. We agreed that I should try again since every pregnancy is different.

Miraculously, the Zofran worked! I've been taking it for weeks now and it helps SO much. I still feel really nauseous most of the time, but the vomiting has stopped--hallelujah! I can now live a somewhat normal life. I still hate food--it is a constant battle. My medicine causes TERRIBLE headaches, but I'll gladly choose that over nonstop vomiting.

A friend showed me a HG support group on Facebook so I joined right away (Thanks Hayden!). I love this group. I have learned so much, and it is so nice to have people who can relate. I actually feel incredibly lucky because there are SO many poor women who have it WAY worse than me! There are many women who have to administer IV's to themselves at home, weekly or daily. There are women who have to have feeding tubes hooked up to them at all times. There are women who are on multiple medications and still throw up all the time. From what I have seen on my HG group, there are no "natural" remedies that have ever worked on HG. Most women with HG would definitely not choose to be on medications their whole pregnancy (like me! I don't like taking medicine ever), but have to because nothing else works. There are women who consider, and actually go through with, terminating their pregnancies because they simply can't take it anymore. There are women who become so depressed that they become suicidal. There are women (like me) who decide that they can't take another HG pregnancy so they are done having children, despite wanting more. There are women who endure this horrible condition, only to lose their baby to malnutrition because their bodies aren't able to remain healthy enough to give the baby what it needs. 

I really want to bring awareness to HG. There are too many doctors and health care professionals who are not familiar enough with it. Many women are told that it's all in their heads, or that there's nothing that can be done. More people need to become familiar with this, so we can help those who are suffering. I am glad to have more knowledgeable medical staff working with me this time around, and glad that I am getting treatment that is helping. It is not talked about enough--more people need to be aware. 

I know people try to help, but a lot of times people say the wrong thing and it is frustrating. I'm not saying this to be mean, I am saying it to educate and inform people. Equating your morning sickness to this condition is rather insulting. Offering crackers or ginger is insulting as well. Don't you think we would have tried the most common and easily available solutions before pumping our body full of medications? Thanks, but please don't try to help with something you have no understanding of. Please just think before you speak. It may not be the best example, but I saw a woman in the group say that comparing your morning sickness to HG is like saying to someone who has stomach cancer, "Oh I totally know what you are going through, I had a stomach ache once."

This condition is terrible, simply put. If it makes women consider taking their own lives and terminating their wanted pregnancies, don't you think there should be more help available? I hope this has given you all just a small insight of what HG is like.

An Ode to Harley

I have had the pleasure of being Harley's mom for 16 months now. I cannot believe that I am still SO obsessed with her. Several times a day I just stop and stare at her. She is so perfect and I can't believe I made her. I want to always remember feeling this way, and I want to share these thoughts with her when she is older, so here is my little ode to my sweet baby Harley.

HARLEY SAVANNAH

You can make anyone smile. I can't count how many times we come across grumpy or busy people in the store and once they see you, they cannot help but smile at your cute little face. You say hi and bye to everyone, wave, and blow kisses.

You are almost always happy. You wake up happy, you go to bed happy. When you are grumpy or sad, it never lasts long. It's almost like you can't stand to be anything other than happy.

You have the sweetest little voice. Even when you are cranky and yelling "No!" at me, I think your voice is the cutest thing ever.

Your "little" body is just perfection. Every single roll, every single finger and toe are absolutely amazing and I wish you could just stay this size forever.

You LOVE to dance. Even when there is no music, you will shake your groove thang. You dance to the sound of a dishwasher, washer and dryer, the toilet flushing, ANYTHING. You dance anywhere and anytime, without a care in the world. I hope you always do this. Never be embarrassed to bust a move.

When you are sleeping, you are the cutest and squishiest thing in the world. I stare at you every single night and fight the urge to crawl into your crib with you.

You are smart and can comprehend a lot more than I give you credit for.

You have your own silly little language that is adorable and hilarious. You totally know what you're saying even when we don't.

You are always excited to see your mom and dad, which makes my heart melt.

You freak out and get SUPER excited when you see a dog, cat, ball, or balloon. Every. Single. Time.

You have always been a good companion to run errands with. You don't mind being in the car, and you love "popping" (shopping) with mama.

You have a weakness for old men, because to you they are all "papa" and someone who needs love from you.

When mama is not feeling well and passes out on the couch, you come over and plant multiple kisses on my face. When mama is throwing up in the bathroom, you come in and say in the cutest concerned voice, "Mama? Mama?"

You are fearless. You have fallen off couches and down stairs, but that does not stop you from doing it again and again.

You are such a little bookworm. You love to read and be read to. You laugh at books when you are reading them, and you love to point out the things that you recognize (dog, baby, etc.) or make animal sounds at them.

You let mama dress you and do your hair every day even though it annoys you to stop playing.

It has now been months since you've seen your best friend Ezra, but you still pick up my phone and "call" him, and get super happy if you see a picture of him.

You LOVE stuffed animals, baby dolls, and anything soft/cuddly including blankets, pillows, and clothes.

You love everyone and everyone loves you.

You are the craziest person I have ever known, in the best possible way.

You are going to be the best big sister in the world, and your new sibling is incredibly lucky to have you <3

Mommy and Daddy couldn't have asked for a better daughter. We love you more than you'll ever know sweetheart.

The Other Kind of Mommy Guilt

The whole 11 months and 2 days that I have been a mother, I have felt like I am not supposed to express a lot of things that are on my mind. It's not what most mothers share, so I assume I am not supposed to talk about it.

Mothers, especially first-time mothers, are supposed to be exhausted. They are supposed to get no sleep, rely heavily on caffeine, want to get away from their babies, etc. At least this is what is expressed to us. Most of the things I see online about motherhood are humorous, but still paint it in a rather negative light, such as...

Harley is, and has always been, an "easy" baby. My pregnancy may have been hell but from the second she entered this world, she has been "good." I cannot count how many times people have told me:

"She's such an easy baby!"

"She's so good!"

"Is she always this happy?"

"You're so lucky!"

I actually hate when people say those things to me. What if she wasn't easy? What if she wasn't good? What if she wasn't always this happy? Would I love her any less? Would I be any less lucky to have her as my daughter?

Yes, I know I am lucky. Yes, I am aware that she's easy and good and happy. She has been an amazing sleeper from the beginning, she always has a huge smile on her face, and she is generally mellow and pleasant.

Obviously, she is not perfect. No baby is. She cries. She screams. She is learning to test my boundaries. She gets into things. She throws food. Sometimes she decides she doesn't want to sleep.

The overwhelming majority of the time, however, she is good. She makes motherhood seem like the easiest thing ever. I genuinely love spending every second with her. Jason makes fun of me because when she is asleep, I will look at pictures and watch videos of her. Yes, that's right, I miss her when she sleeps. I hate leaving her, even for a half an hour. She does just fine when I leave her, and I know it's good for both of us, but I miss her terribly. 

When moms say, "I just need to get away!" or "I need a break" I can't really relate. Maybe twice in her life have I been frustrated enough to feel like I maybe could use a little break.

I felt pretty excluded before I had Harley. Most of my friends were moms, and it was this special little club--you couldn't possibly relate to anything in their lives until you had a baby of your own. Well, I had a baby and I honestly still feel excluded. Not in a bad way, but simply in an "I can't relate" way. 

I have always carefully selected what to say on social media, and never wanted to seem like I was bragging about my daughter. When moms complain or vent, there is always a herd of fellow moms there to offer support, guidance, and to commiserate with. I usually cannot be one of those moms. If I were to post what I want to, I have a feeling that my comments would be met with silence, judgment, or offense taken by other mothers.

Motherhood, for many, is about survival. People make comments like that and I honestly feel weird when they say that. I don't know what they are talking about. I'm not "surviving" anything, I am loving and enjoying and cherishing motherhood.

I need to clarify that this post is not to brag. It is not to make other moms feel bad. I am very aware that Harley is not like most babies. I know that most babies are difficult, and that most mothers are a lot more stressed out and overwhelmed. It is completely understandable for them to be that way, and this is not bashing any mother. Please do not take offense to anything I have written.

I simply want to say what has been inside my mind for 11 months and 2 days. I know that I am very blessed to have my daughter. Even if she weren't so "good" and "easy," I would obviously still love her. I do not think that I have to feel guilty for having a "good" baby. 

I should not feel guilty for loving every second of motherhood. I should not feel guilty for not being able to relate to a lot of other moms. I should not have to feel like less of a mother, or like I can't possibly understand motherhood.

My baby is "good" and "easy" and I know that she is probably not always going to be this way, but if she is? Great! I want to be able to enjoy every second of any stage in her life, whether it is easy or not.

It's okay to have difficult babies and children. It's okay to be exhausted, stressed out, overwhelmed, and feel like you want to die. It's okay to think motherhood is the hardest job you've ever had. It's okay to secretly think evil things about your baby as they lay there screaming in the middle of the night.

But...it's also okay to not feel that way.

However motherhood is for you, it's okay. Enjoy it regardless. Love your children, love yourself, love this wonderful opportunity you have been given, and love this amazing time in your life.

So Long, Farewell 2015

January: my last month of pregnancy! Harley was supposed to make her debut this month, but decided that she wanted a February birthday instead. Stubborn little thing from the start! ;) All I really remember from January was being huge and miserable, and dying for Harley to come. I went on countless walks trying to make myself go into labor. I would start having contractions and get all excited, but then they would stop. I didn't ever want to go anywhere because I was afraid my water would break inside Target or something.

SO TRUE!

One of the last pics of me before having Harley

Trying to "rock" her out 

February: I become a mom! Best thing in the world! Harley was born on the 3rd, and we spent most of that month just soaking it all in and learning to be parents to our precious little gift. When she was 3 weeks old, we took a little trip down to Corvallis, OR to visit Jason's grandparents.

The most perfect chubby cheeks

Newborn photo shoot

March: Nothing too memorable here, so enjoy some pictures.

Church

So precious. I'm sad she outgrew this before ever wearing it again

Looks just like Daddy!

Jason decided it would be fun to burn himself with 400 degree bacon grease

Blue steel

Sweetheart

April: Harley and I flew to California for Amber's (my best friend, Harley's godmother) wedding. First time flying and traveling with a baby, and I had to do it solo. Luckily my child is amazing and is an awesome traveler! We also celebrated Easter, Harley's baby blessing, and had some family come visit.

My cousin Brittany and her son Isaiah (Elijah was in her tummy)

Harley meeting her cousin Aiden for the first time. He said "Hi Harley, I'm Aiden Richard Gavel." SO cute! She loved him.

Baby blessing at my mom's house

Baby's first Easter

All smiles at Amber's wedding

Three pretty cousins!

All prettied up for the wedding

May: I got to celebrate my first Mother's Day. Harley moved into her crib and her own bedroom.

June: Jason and I celebrated our 3rd anniversary. We left Harley with grandma and went out to dinner. I got a "mom" haircut, because it was super hot and I just needed to chop it all off. We drove down to Oregon for a day of river rafting with Jason's family. Harley and I went to California again for my friend Liz's wedding. She was a pro traveler by now! I took her to the beach for the first time, but it was super windy and she didn't like all the sand blowing in her face.

July: We spent 4th of July with Jason's family. Harley did not like the fireworks, but slept through the ones that went all night when we got home. I turned 29, and went to birthday brunch at IHOP with Eliza (my birthday twin). Michelle and her family came to visit, we went to Lattin's and the county fair. It was a very hot Washington summer so we spent a lot of time swimming.

Birthday twins

August: We had a family reunion in southern Oregon. Harley loved having lots of family to love her and cousins to play with.

September: Jason turned 27 and traveled to Chicago for work. Harley and I took that opportunity to go to California for the third time in 2015! This time we went to San Francisco and the Santa Cruz boardwalk, and Harley discovered that rides are fun!

October: Harley had a really bad allergic reaction that resulted in her first trip to the ER (it was Sunday, otherwise I would have just taken her to her doctor). We never did figure out what caused it but it hasn't happened since. It was really rainy on Halloween but we braved the rain and crowds and took Harley to the mall and then trunk or treat. On Kim's birthday, we went to O'Blarney's and the pumpkin patch. 

November: We went to Idaho for the week of Thanksgiving and spent it with Jason's family. Harley got to see snow for the first time, and jump on a trampoline. We also drove down to Utah for a night to see my grandma and family.

December: Jason surprised me with tickets to see the Sound of Music live in Seattle. It was amazing! Harley loved her first Christmas, and as expected, was more interested in the wrapping paper than the actual presents. For New Year's Eve we went to Jason's parents for dinner and games, and came home to put Harley to bed. I fell asleep around 11:30, and Jason rang in the new year with his friend playing video games online together haha.

2015 was an amazing year. I finally became a mother, and Harley is the greatest blessing I could have ever asked for. Jason and I love being her parents. I hope you all had a great year, and may 2016

be even better! 

Family Updates

I remember thinking that once I had a baby, I'd blog all the time. The last time I blogged, Harley was 7 weeks old. She is currently 5 1/2 months. Oops!

We are currently renting my mom's downstairs to save money. It's nice having a built-in babysitter, and Grandma and Grandpa LOVE seeing Harley every day! Auntie Kimmee moved home from New Mexico so it's a full house, and Harley loves having so many people around who love her to death!

Jason is still working for his father building decks and I am still doing online school. I had a 3 month leave of absence when I had Harley but I am back into it. I'm also starting to work out regularly again FINALLY! I was getting tired of being stuck in between maternity and regular clothes. I'm excited to start seeing some results and getting my pre-baby body back!

Some fun things about Miss Harley Savannah:

• Currently in the 100th percentile for height and 64th for weight
• Started eating solids at 4 1/2 months with her doctor's okay (she has been showing an interest in food since she was almost 3 months old!)
• LOVES eating and usually cries when she is done
• A few days ago she started sitting up by herself
• Refuses to roll over because she doesn't want to be on her stomach
• Sleeps through the night most of the time
• Loves being outside
• Loves her kitties! Zuko loves her back but Jack doesn't really pay much attention to her
• Giggles at Daddy the most (even when he doesn't do anything to make her laugh)
• Smiles when she sees cell phones because she thinks we're going to take a picture of her
• Loves looking at herself in the mirror
• Screams, squeals, shrieks, and says "mama"
• When I lay her down on the floor, within a matter of minutes she is in a different place or turned completely different
• Heard her daddy's voice on speakerphone once and started smiling and giggling immediately
• Loves baths
• Hates me touching her face at all (wiping off her face, picking her nose, wiping eye goobers out, etc.)
• Doesn't like hearing other babies cry
• Enjoys being serenaded and watching me dance like an idiot
• Likes being read to, and likes to "read" the books back to me
• Very good at entertaining herself so mommy can get stuff done
• Loves people, and all the attention she gets from strangers when we are in public
• Still breastfeeding, but my supply has started decreasing. I've been taking fenugreek to keep it up
• Has already flown on a plane twice to CA for two different weddings. She's an amazing traveler!

Now for the pictures!

I truly cannot believe how big my little girl is getting! It is so much fun to see her grow and watch her personality develop, but I already miss her being a tiny little thing! Time is flying by and I just want to pause haha. I finally understand why parents always say that! Either way, I absolutely LOVE this child. She is such a blessing in my life and makes me so happy. I'm incredibly lucky to be her mom. I couldn't have picked a better baby, I love my crazy weird spaz of a child!