Giraffe Riding in a Strawberry Car

Have you ever had one of those moments when you get an itch at the exact moment it's the most inconvenient? I get them quite a bit lately whenever I'm trying to soothe Lily to sleep. I'll have been pacing the house with her in my arms taking in each yawn as a small victory and hiccups as a small setback when eventually (usually about 20-25 minutes) that magic moment hits. I'll stand still and enjoy her eyes becoming too heavy and this calmness come over her. When I was much more of a novice at the soothing routine, I would make the rookie mistake of letting my mind wander to what I'd like to do when I put her down asleep like SIT DOWN. Babies can sense this and will suddenly jolt to life with a cry or this "don't even think about putting me down" look. It's at this magic moment where she's just about out when I'll get this itch on the back of my leg or in that hard to get spot on the back and if I try to scratch it, Lily will wake back up. At that point, every second counts because my arms and back are talking not so nicely to me and I'm starting to go crazy from pacing back and forth feeling like a robot. The funny thing is once my arms are free, the itch is gone.

Breastfeeding used to be the #1 topic on my mind by a landslide. It's still up there because I just do it so often and still seems so bizarre to me. By the way, I'm reading the book "unbuttoned" which is a collection of true stories about the pain, quirks, joy, and frustration of breastfeeding. It's a good read so far, all except the story about the dating and lactating woman who went on a date with a guy who had a fetish for breast milk! The new topic most on my mind is Lily's sleep, lots of healthy sleep. She isn't on a daytime routine yet so trying to figure it out and how I can help her is like a puzzle to me. I already know there is no solution to the puzzle. As soon as I figure it out, the puzzle will change. It's probably on my mind so much because Lily is getting close to when many experts say her sleep pattern will be more established and pleasing to the parents. Now, when she goes to bed, I go to bed. I'm looking forward to when she goes to bed and I drink a glass of wine and watch a movie with my husband.

Our last visitors left last weekend, unfortunately. G'ma and G'pa Mather as well as Aunt Emily (Nate's sister) were in town. They were a huge help and we already miss them. I knew they'd be a big help but I didn't expect to see G'ma cleaning out the refrigerator and G'pa scrubbing the stains off our hardwood floor. I was just grateful to see them interact with Lily as much as they did.

Even though most of what I do these days is pretty mind numbing like change a diaper, sing a nursery rhyme, or rock a baby to sleep, that's ok. I do enjoy the creative outlet it gives me whether it be making up songs to get new expressions from Lily or coming up with simple stories to keep both me and Lily entertained. Thanks to my mom's gift of a stuffed giraffe riding a strawberry car, I get a headstart with keeping Lily creatively entertained. As Lily gets older, I'll probably make up whole skits that involve Nate to perform in front of Lily to get just that one giggle - totally worth it.

We posted some new pics from the last month, check 'em out. The album is titled July 09