2 months!

I seriously cannot believe my little baby is two months old already.  Where oh where has time gone??  In some ways it feels like yesterday that I was meeting Lyla for the first time but in so many other ways it feels like she's been in my life forever.  We just recently got our cd of pictures from Lyla's birth and my heart almost breaks every time I look at it.  Lyla has already changed so much that it almost feels like I'm looking at a completely different child.

I'm seriously writing this and becoming so overwhelmed by the thought of how quickly my little pumpkin is changing that I just want to go snatch her up from her crib right now and cuddle with her all night long.  

I have purposely taken moments out of every day to stop and truly cherish Lyla for who she is at that moment. I know that one day I will blink and it'll be her first birthday and I refuse to get to that point and regret not embedding her milestones in my heart.

First piggy tail!

Some of my favorite moments include Lyla's sweet snuggles after she eats. I'll be trying to burp her and all she'll want to do is bury her nose in my neck.  Really I just love snuggling with her in general!

I also love watching the way she tries to suck on her fingers. There's no way to really capture how hilariously cute she is as she has slobber pouring down her chin after she's attempted to stick her knuckle in her mouth. 

I love the noises she makes as she sucks on her binkers. Especially when she's mad about getting a diaper change or when she is tired of being in her car seat.

She is becoming more alert every day. It is so much fun watching as she explores the world around her.  

By far my favorite parts of the day are those moments when she is smiling at me and talking to me!  Her coos are getting louder and longer and I swear we are almost carrying on mini-conversations.

Don't you want to eat her up?!?!

We went to her 2 month check-up today.  She broke my heart when she cried from getting her shots.  I consider myself pretty lucky for having a baby that is as happy as she is.  But it's made me totally unprepared to hear her cry so hard!!!  Can we just skip shots completely?!?!?!

Lyla's stats

Weight: 10lbs 5oz (25%)

Height: 22.75in (60%)

Head: 39cm (70%)

Clothing size: 3 months

Every good and perfect gift is from above, 

coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights

James 1:17

Update on Little Lyla

Last week we took Lyla to get the much-anticipated ultrasound done on her hips.  I was so thankful that it was finally time to start getting some answers and insight on what was going on and what kind of timeline we were looking at.

It really is true that motherhood brings out a whole new side of you.  Since the moment I heard her first cry I have been feeling emotions that I never knew possible.  My love for her is immeasurable and it was breaking my heart to see my itty bitty laying there on that huge bed already going through obstacles in her life.  I just wanted to swoop her up and take her home in that instant.  

mmmm snuggly!

But luckily Lyla didn't care one bit about what was going on around her.  As soon as her bumpkin hit those heated blankets she instantly went to snoozeville.  It was so adorable!  My mood quickly relaxed because of all her smiles and because my sweet sweet husband was being so loving and protectant of her.  (Having a baby also brings out a whole new love you have for your husband too). He's such a great daddy.  Really.

Two days later, on Halloween, we went to see Dr Geitz to hear about the results.

While at the ultrasound a doctor came in and pulled on her legs and said she couldn't feel anything abnormal at all so we went into this appointment being very optimistic about what he would have to say.

Dr Geitz explained to us that your leg should be going into your hip socket at a 60 degree angle.  Lyla's hips are at 56 & 57 degree angles and therefore, she is doing exceptionally well.  

Unfortunately though, since it's not at 60 degrees yet he wants her to continue to wear her brace for 6 more weeks.  We will be getting another ultrasound done in December and hopefully then we will see better results.

We sat in his office for a while as he talked to us more about hip dysplasia and all the scary things it can mean in the future for children (being braced for 2+ years, major hip surgeries, full body cast, etc).  Jesse had to remind me once we got in the car not to get too emotional and freak out just yet because we were just hearing all the worst case scenarios.  The doctor is completely optimistic about her recovery and I think he was just telling us those things just to educate us on this condition and all it can mean (especially since I also had this as a kid and had multiple surgeries because of it).  We just have to continue to trust in God and his plan and trust that if we continue to do what the doctor says we can soon be putting this all behind us.

So, keep praying for our little one!

And we will keep you updated on what we find out next.

In the meantime, take a gander at all these precious little gems of my precious little girl:

What an amazingly amazing little girl she is.  

We are so lucky to have a sweet baby like her.  

I love everything about her

and could watch her all day long.

She is already seven weeks old! 

I can not believe it

Praise God for Lyla Mae!

And I'm ending my long picture series with this shot. 

This is when you know you've gone a little too crazy with the pictures/videos 

Happy Halloween!

I love that Halloween was Lyla's first holiday!

She was way to little to even begin to enjoy it 

but I loved every minute of dressing my little cutie up in her costume.

My little peacock!

I wanted to make something simple that would work with her brace.  

So I figured a little tutu action would be just the ticket.  

And besides, those colors look amazing on her!

I can't wait to take this girl trick-or-treating!

Yesterday morning Lyla had her doctor appointment.  

The receptionist there is so sweet and LOVES when Lyla stops by

So we were sure to make her look nice and festive that morning.

hello.

Too bad that outfit didn't last too long.

{Oh that joys of motherhood!}

After her appointment, and outfit change, Lyla and I did a little bit of shopping while we waited for daddy to get out of his appointment.

My shopping buddy

That evening we went over to our friends house for dinner.  

Julia did an amazing job with the decorations 

and inspired me to be a bit more festive with our house next year!

So cute!

I wish I could've got a picture of the other little boy there.  

He's 5 months old and was dressed as a chicken!

They took a white boa and made his body and yellow rubber gloves for feet.

a-dorable!

{If Lyla is a chicken next year you know where I got the idea!}

Trick-or-treaters were few and far between but it was still a fun evening.

Lyla all snuggled up on Julia (and meow cat)

One holiday down and more to come!

Morning Sweetness

Mornings have never really been my thing.

Back when I was a kid and I would be grumpily sulking into the living room 
hair an unruly mess 
a "don't even think about talking to me" look on my face
my mother would always chime

"Good morning, Medusa!"

Yep.  

My nickname was after the woman who people turned into stone when looking at her.  

Thank you.  

Thank you.

Okay so maybe it had to do more with the hair....

Well, now mornings have quickly become my favorite part of the day.

I happily wake up to my smiling newborn!

But not only is it her irresistibly cute face that puts my mood in a happy place, 

it's the time I spend with my little family.

Since Jesse is still off work our routine goes something like this:

Lyla finishes her morning feeding
I put her in the bed between us

propped up on her boppy 
  and out of her brace

Jesse and I stare at

play with 

laugh at 

and take a million pictures of Lyla.  

This is when she is the most alert and content and doing a million and a half cute things!  

We do this for over an hour until she is ready to take a nap 

then usually she falls asleep on one of us 

and we continue to stay in bed as we drink our coffee 

and browse the internet or watch Netflix on our iPad  

Seriously could life be any sweeter?

 

1 Month

Lyla is one Month old!

Hooray 

Hooray 

Little Lyla Mae!

{Okay, technically she is 5 weeks old today... I'm a little behind}

My sweet little girl is still sporting the newborn clothes.

She loves to look at her mirror.

She has started smiling at her mommy & daddy.

She loves bath time.

And she has started to make the occasional coo sounds.

We love our little girl so much.

I can't believe how much she has grown and changed so much already.

Here's a video from her birth day
....feels so long ago

Lyla Mae Elmore is here at last!

I can NOT believe that my little girl is almost four weeks old.  

I do not know where time has gone!  

I was just telling Jesse last night about how much I love her already.  We were sitting in a restaurant and she was sleeping in her carseat next to me and I actually MISSED her.  

I seriously never knew I could love someone as much as much as I love her.

I plan on writing her birth story here in the next couple of days.  
For now, I wanted to write a quick entry about her little brace.  
The more pictures I share of her, the more people I get asking what she is wearing.  

Most people who know me know that I have had some major hip problems in my life.  When I was 3 years old I had to have reconstructive hip surgery due to late diagnosed hip displasia.  I then had to have another reconstructive surgery when I was 15 and I finally had a hip replacement a few years ago.  This has been a major obstacle in my life and something that I wouldn't want anyone else to deal with. 

Little Rachel back in the day

When I met with Lyla's pediatrician two months ago, I shared this history and my concerns about my baby potentially having the same problems (despite no one else in my family having hip problems therefor making it unlikely that it is genetic).  
He heard my concerns and we made a plan to be sure to take extra steps to check that her hips are properly developed.

So there I am laying on the operating table, listening to my baby crying in the warmer, patiently impatiently waiting for it to be time for Jesse to bring her to me.

 A doctor suddenly leans over me and says that her APGAR score was wonderful but he noticed some popping with her hips when they were fully extended and that he was going to make her pediatrician aware of the issue.  

Now, the man was very unaware of my fears and therefor dropped this bomb on me like it was nothing.  I laid there for what seemed like forever thinking about what that would mean until the whole world stood still as I was able to see my precious Lyla for the first time.

Jesse meeting Lyla

First family photo!

Later that day, Dr Yeager came to the room and checked out her hips.  He told us he was calling an orthopedic doctor to come see her and double check everything.  
He told us he wasn't too concerned with everything because he had to fully extend her legs before any unusual movement happened.  

And that was that.

Only a couple hours new!

Well, the next morning, at about 7am, in comes Dr Geitz.  

Jesse and I are slightly delirious after our sleepless night and we tried to pull ourselves together for his visit.  The doctor checked little Lyla out and he said that she does indeed have hip displacia. 

Now, it's unknown why she got it.  Could be genetic, could be because she came out with her legs crossed very tightly, or just.... because.  Either way, due to my history, he didn't want to take any chances and went ahead and put Lyla in a brace.  

The brace holds her hip joints in the proper position so that as her bones fully develop they will grow in the proper position.  He told us to expect her to wear it for 12 weeks (could be less) and in 6 or so weeks we would get an ultrasound done to see how everything was developing.

One day old Lyla

I know God is good and I have complete faith in his plan but it was a very devastating moment for me.   I was overcome with a feeling of guilt and my heart broke for my precious little girl.  

That morning I cried a lot.  
I knew the brace was for the best and that everything was going to be okay but, like I told my mom, I just needed to feel the full extent of my pain and cry as much as I needed to so I could then be strong and put it behind me.  

Which I have.

Isn't she the cutest thing ever?!

We've seen the doctor two times since then and every appointment it's harder for him to get her joints to pop.  Hooray!

She can now take her brace off for an hour a day so we can wash it and give Lyla a bath.  
Every time I take the thing off I just can't believe how LONG this child is!!!  
I'm thinking she might end up being tall like her mommy :)

Lyla at one of her doctor appointments

One long baby

So there's the long answer to the question, "What's that blue thing?" that everyone asks me!  

Really it's just a great reason to rock the leg warmers! 

The bow is seriously half the size of her face!

Jesse & Lyla :)

Her expressions crack me up!

Our little girl is perfect in every way and we couldn't love her more!  

One of her birth photography pictures

For you created my inmost being;
    you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
    your works are wonderful,
    I know that full well.
My frame was not hidden from you
    when I was made in the secret place,
    when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed body;
    all the days ordained for me were written in your book
    before one of them came to be.
Psalms 139:13-16

38 weeks!

How far along? 38w2d

Baby is as big as a?  WATERMELON (19 to 22in, 6.5lbs)
Maternity clothes? All I can wear

Best moment this week:  We went on a double date last night with some of our close friends.  The waiter was really funny about me being pregnant and came over to the table before our food came with a fruity little drink just for me.  It was very unexpected and pretty sweet.  I've heard of a lot of pregnant women hating when people ask about their pregnancy and stuff but I love it!  Maybe it's because this is my first... or because I've only had it happening in the last couple weeks... I don't know.  Either way, I love it :)

Most pregnant moment this week:  When I looked in the mirror the other day and realized I no longer have a belly button....

Sleep: I have to sleep propped up on two pillows to help manage the heartburn.  This baby must have a head full of hair!

Movement:  She's moving a little less now that it's getting so crowded in there.  My favorite thing still is when she gets the hiccups :)

Food cravings:  Would you believe I've gone four days without a Rollo McFlurry?!  Aw man... just saying that makes me want to get in the car and go get one...

Anything making your queasy or sick?  Well speaking of sick, I've had really bad allergies the last couple of days.  We had a terrible wind storm a couple nights ago (100+ mph winds! woah!) and I've been sick ever since then.  No fun.  No fun at all.

Symptoms:  I've been so beyond blessed with this pregnancy that my hips haven't really been an issue.  I have always been told that I would probably be on bed rest when I got pregnant due to how weak they are and therefore I've always been afraid of pregnancy (my weak hips and the fact that I had a hip replacement 4 years ago is why I'm having a c-section).  God is good and has answered a LOT of prayers.  I know physical therapy and going to the pool helped a lot and thankfully I haven't really gained too much weight and I stayed relatively small for a long time. I've had a lot of hip pains lately but, the pains I have been feeling are nothing more than just the normal pains women get this late in the game.  Praise God!

Labor Signs? Still just braxton hicks a bunch during the day. 

Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy!  And the occasional freakout.  This is Jesse and my LAST weekend along together.  My mother is coming in on Friday (yayyayayayay!) and then baby will be here on Tuesday. 
Miss anything?  Drinking a ton of coffee.  It's Pumpkin Spice Latte time people!
Looking forward to:  My mom coming to town!  This will be her first time in Alaska.  I'm excited for her to come visit in general (because I know she will love it here) but, also because I know it means it's time for our baby to come!

More headbands!

He's going to miss my bump when it's gone.

One strong baby!

Jesse making Gizmo's changing pad cover.   

My printstagram order finally came in.
So excited to start working on the baby book!