And hopefully one day we’ll get the ball rolling over here again!

Today Milla had her well baby checkup with the pediatrician. We got to find out that she has grown to 23″ and 12lbs! She’s still in the average/normal percentiles. We’re excited that she’s growing so much, but also a little sad! It’s bittersweet

Everything else checked out great, which we were very happy to hear. She also began her first round of vaccinations. That part wasn’t so wonderful. It was pretty horrific to see her in pain even for just 2 seconds while she got her shots. She felt a little unhappy for most of the rest of the day, but after a lot of naps & a tiny dose of infant Tylenol, she was smiling & sweet again.

In the waiting room at the pediatrician, looking a lot like Daddy while sitting on his lap!

Immunizations definitely seem to be one of those controversial hot-button topics for moms (along with breastfeeding, cloth diapers, co-sleeping, etc.) I’m one of those people who believes in letting people make their own decisions about what they feel is best for themselves and their child & try my best not to judge. I don’t feel like things always have to be so black & white – there’s always room for a little gray! After weighing all the pros & cons, I decided that getting Milla immunized was the way to go. For the record, I also currently breastfeed exclusively, use disposable diapers, and have had Milla sleep in the bed with us a handful of times, but for the majority she slept in her bassinet right next to my side of the bed.

Speaking of sleeping, the little bean is now spending nights in her nursery crib. She was almost to the point where she was too big for the bassinet, and she’s also been sleeping through the nights (!!! HOORAY !!!) so it just felt like the time had come. She has her awesome Sleep Sheep stuffed animal (a sweet gift from our good friends George & Ryane) that plays different soothing sounds while she falls into deeper sleep. It’s working like a charm!

Milla in her crib in the morning. Somehow she had wiggled herself all that way away from her hat during the night!

Just so this update isn’t completely boring, I finally added a new video to the site. It was taken last night on her bedroom floor. She was in the best mood! I even got something resembling a laugh towards the end Go check it out!

She did however wake right up while we were trying to trim the tree, so it ended up being the longest tree decorating in history, spread out over a few hours, haha. The little bean already has quite a few of her own special ornaments! Geoff & I bought her two different “Baby’s First Christmas” ones that we came across & couldn’t resist. My grandma & papa (mom’s parents) sent the special personalized “a star is born” one, and Geoff got her the Rudolph one as a sweet gift from daddy.

Last year, my friend Missy sent me a little pink tree because I’d been aching for one & couldn’t find any. It was the perfect bit of holiday cheer to set up in Milla’s nursery! We added yet another ornament we got for her, and the tree ‘topper’ came from a bouquet of roses our friends Leo & Jeff brought over after she was born. Clever reusage huh?

Milla seems pretty indifferent to it all. She looks at the lights on the main tree, but quickly becomes interested in looking at other things as well. That’s ok though, we’ve already taken plenty of photos & videos from the season that she will love looking back on when she gets older!

]]> http://www.milla.thedrewseum.com/updates/2009/12/10/tree-time/feed/ 2 http://www.milla.thedrewseum.com/updates/2009/11/30/turkey-baby-target-baby/ http://www.milla.thedrewseum.com/updates/2009/11/30/turkey-baby-target-baby/#comments Tue, 01 Dec 2009 04:42:54 +0000 admin http://www.milla.thedrewseum.com/updates/?p=52 Milla is 3 weeks old today, holy cow! Time is flying This past week she celebrated her first Thanksgiving. Geoff & I watched the Macy’s Parade in bed while cuddling with the little bean, and then we had a big get together with my dad’s side of the family.

She slept most of the time, except for right when I was going to eat my stuffing & yams. She of course chose that time to start fussing to be fed. So I didn’t have much of a Thanksgiving feast, but these are the sacrifices that must be made as a mommy!

I was so preoccupied the whole time, I didn’t even get a good shot of Milla’s cute little outfit, bleh! She got passed around a lot since most people hadn’t seen her since the hospital, if even at all. Everyone fell in love with her of course!

Also this week, we were gifted a couple of Target giftcards, yippee! My favorite store in the world. Today we went to the new super duper one nearby us, with the big grocery section. The store was so nice! We stocked up on diapers & wipes, and also found quite a few newborn outfits. For some reason, that has been way harder than expected, we completely struck out when looking at Kohls & Babies R Us! Since Miss Milla pees/poops/spits up on her clothes on a near-daily basis, we definitely needed to buy some more!

Yesterday was Milla’s 2 week check up at the pediatrician. We were delighted to find out that she’s up to 8 pounds! She’d lost a little weight after birth, so it was good to see that she’s put it back on & then some. She also grew a bit in length. The doctor was pleased with her color & reflexes as well. Yay Milla!

The only bad part was that she had to have a little bit of blood drawn to check for several different diseases. She was not happy about it at all & screamed the whole time even though I was holding her. It was so hard for all of us! Once it was over though, she immediately was worn out & fell asleep until we got home.

Later that night, she had projectile vomit all over me, weeee! I’ve done more laundry in the past 2 weeks that in the last 4 months combined, easily! At least she’s still sleeping pretty well at night, only waking about 3 times and she usually falls asleep quickly after being fed.

That’s all for now! My laptop is working again so it will be a lot easier for me to update this blog. We’ll definitely have photos to share after the little one’s first Thanksgiving!

10:45AM – We arrived at the labor & delivery wing of the hospital and were immediately set up in a huge & comfortable room. The TV was on when we entered the room & what should be playing but a Drew Barrymore CoverGirl commercial! I took that as a sign that everything was going to go smoothly

The nurse got me all set up in a gown & on the bed, and then attached the monitoring straps to my belly. We were able to watch & hear the baby’s heartbeat, as well as see on the screen every time I had a contraction. However I didn’t need a monitor to tell me when I was contracting! It was seriously severe pain, felt all the way from my back to my upper thighs. I was having them about every 2 1/2 minutes so it was official – I was in labor! On my due date no less!

11:30AM -  A really great nurse named Bobbi was with me the whole time. She checked my cervix & I was dilated to 3 centimeters. She called my doctor and Geoff began calling all our family members to let them know that the baby was coming. I was about ready to scream from the contractions, they hurt so badly. The anesthesiologist who would perform my epidural was in another surgery at the time, so I had to be patient & wait for him to be done there. I was really struggling & with every contraction telling Geoff that I wasn’t going to be able to make it. He was wonderful, holding my hand and having me take deep, calming breaths.

1:30PM – Finally my epidural arrived! I was practically in a whimpering ball at that point, so I couldn’t have been happier about a needle being stuck into my back. Anything but the pain of contractions! The process was relatively quick & painless, and I began feeling better soon after. It was incredible to see my contractions on the monitor & not feel a thing! I could still feel my legs, everything was just slightly numb below the waist. I honestly don’t know how any woman has survived a natural birth – much respect!

2:30PM - My cervix was checked again and this time I was already at 7! We couldn’t believe how fast everything seemed to be going. I asked the nurse when she was going to break my water & she had to inform me that she already had, somehow I just hadn’t noticed! Everything was feeling really easy at that point, and I was finally able to relax & just enjoy the experience.

3:30PM – All of the sudden, I was dilated to 10 which means BABY TIME! Geoff frantically called everyone to let them know they had to get there as soon as possible. My mom had just left work & quickly hopped on the earliest flight from San Diego that she could catch. Because we were waiting for everyone to arrive (including my sister Amanda who had started driving in from LA that morning after Geoff called her), we weren’t anxious to pop the little one out quite yet. I wasn’t feeling the need to push either, so my doctor asked if I would mind if she finished out her office hours. Since her office is literally walking distance from the hospital, I was completely fine with that.

4:30PM - The nurse had me do a couple practice pushes, which I needed because I wasn’t very good at it! She was having me take in a deep breath & hold it while I pushed, but I kept letting it out while I pushed instead, haha. Luckily I got it down & the baby’s head was crowning! I wasn’t sure how much Geoff would want to see, but he couldn’t resist taking a look. I’ll never forget the moment when he first saw her head. His face was just so full of awe & love. It was so special. Most of my family began to arrive, along with our friends Angie & Joe.

5:05PM – Dr. Moss came in the room, was all prepared in moments, and literally after 2 1/2 pushes, the little one was born (at 5:13PM)! I couldn’t believe how easy it all felt (thank you epidural!). Geoff immediately proclaimed that she had my nose, and did his daddy duty of cutting the umbilical cord. Then her messy & crying little self was placed in my arms for the first time. It was total love! I couldn’t believe that the tiny one I’d be carrying around in my belly for 10 months was finally here.

She was then weighed & measured, and cleaned off a bit before being put in the warming bed right next to me. Geoff held her tiny hand & comforted her while she was laying there and while the doctor & nurses continued working on me. I really was paying no attention to what they were doing down there since I couldn’t feel a thing and couldn’t take my eyes off of our baby! Once I was all taken care of, Milla was placed back with me & I nursed her for the first time. She took to it immediately with almost zero difficulties, just further proof of what a perfect little being she was!

The rest of our stay at the hospital was very pleasant, full of plenty of visitors & lots of bonding with our baby. Everyone on the hospital staff was incredible, plus they sent up home with all kinds of goodies like diapers and pacifiers. We were able to bring her home the following day around 6:00PM and have been the happiest little family ever since! We’ll be putting up a gallery of photos from the hospital soon, so watch for that.

Milla Rose Lampton was born November 09, 2009 at 5:13 pm in a Las Vegas hospital, delivered by the wonderful Dr. Moss. At birth she was 19.5 inches long and weighed 7 pounds, 4.6 ounces. She has steel blue eyes and dark blonde hair (but her eyebrows & eyelashes are so blonde that they’re almost transparent!). A full birth story will follow in the next post, so stay tuned!