One Month Old!

Lydia,
You were one month old this week!  Wow!  It seems like just yesterday that we were taking a tiny baby home from the hospital.  It's amazing how time has flown by.  I have to admit that the nights don't always fly by, but that's just because your Mommy really likes her sleep!

Since we haven't been to the doctor for a few weeks, we are guessing you are approximately 10 pounds and 21 1/2 inches long.  You are definitely long!  You have outgrown almost all of your newborn sleepers.  There a few newborn outfits you can wear yet, mostly because the waist usually has some extra room for you.  You are definitely filling out, though!  Your thighs and arms are starting to get roly-poly, and of course you've got your Momma's cheeks!

Now you are eating 4 ounces of milk every 2.5 to 4 hours.  I can't wait for you to sleep longer stretches at a time :)  Speaking of sleeping, you no longer sleep in the Rock 'N Play next to our bed.  After 2+ weeks, we moved you to your crib because you are SO noisy!  You grunt, groan, moan, and squeak frequently in your sleep!  During the day, we try to keep you up for about an hour after you eat.  At some point we'll have to get these days and nights straightened out, girlie :)  If you could, you would love to sleep against our chest.  I'm pretty sure you would sleep forever that way!
You don't mind tummy time and playing on your activity mat.  You like to have people talk to you and look at their faces.  You also like riding in the car--yay!  (Although you don't really like getting stuffed into your carseat, you're fine once we get going.)  You are starting to enjoy "sitting up" more and you like when we get really close to talk to you.  We love your one dimple on your right cheek, and we laugh when you only open one eye when you're waking up.  Bath times are okay, as long as you're warm.  You DON'T like it when Mommy slathers lotion on you every morning.  You sneeze and hiccup a lot...sometimes you have the hiccups up to three times a day!  Good thing they don't usually bug you.  You've also gotten really good at pooping on the changing table...while we're changing your diaper.  Yikes!
Little girl, you are growing SO fast!  We love you very much and feel blessed to have you in our little family!

Life Lately/Mass Picture Update

I keep thinking I'm going to have all the time in the world to blog, cook, clean, work out, etc...but I'm finding out that definitely is NOT the case!  Our little lady takes all  my time!  We are getting into a routine, (ie. I'm either feeding her, rocking her, changing her diaper, or trying to keep up with house) if you can call it that.  For someone who thrives on schedules and planning, not having a schedule really threw me for a loop!  Anyway, we're getting use to our new "normal" and loving every minute of it (except those few times at 2 am...)!  Here's a picture update!

My favorite newborn pic :)  Love that dimple!

Trying to wake Daddy up

First time to church

First real bath

Playing with Dad 

Meeting friends: Ellie & Jaylee

This is the way we get stuff done around the house!

Love those blue eyes!

Introducing...

Lydia Ruth Ten Clay was born on 12.26.13 at 10:33 pm at Avera Mckennan in Sioux Falls.  She weighed 7 pounds, 11 ounces, and was 21 inches long!

We successfully avoided a c-section--yay!  We went in that Thursday morning to be induced and weren't expecting things to progress so quickly.  Let's just say epidurals are amazing!  We also weren't expecting Lydia to be this big.  They sent us home on Saturday, so we've been learning the ropes of child-rearing ever since.  It's been a challenge, but I think we're slowly figuring some of our "new normal."  Can't say I'm too fond of the lack of sleep, though!  We've been dealing with some feeding issues, weight loss, and billi-rubin counts, but I think we're on the upward trend with all of them.  I hope so, anyway!  

I have all these grand plans of things to get done, but I find myself either wanting a nap or just enjoying cuddling Lydia.  So many people have told me to simply enjoy these precious moments of having a newborn...especially the snuggling.  So today with the windchill being -42 degrees (yikes!), I think I'll do just that...cuddle :)