Family Update!

New Family Photo!

Lyla... looking cute

Close-up

The best stocking stuffer EVER!

I love that smile!!

Lyla fell asleep as she was feeding...

Nate and Lyla taking a little nap... Nate LOVES holding her like this.

Lyla and mom resting together.

Lyla's "Take Me Home" outfit. I love this picture.

She looks a little stoned here but she's still cute...

We found this at our door when we got home... We have awesome friends!

One of our first adventures of parenthood at home... a bath. She hated almost every minutes of it!

The first time I changed her diaper (Nate has been very diligently taken most of the diaper duty... and I didn't even have to ask!)

Nate's mom, Pat, came down to Utah from Idaho to stay with us for the first week. She has been such a great help!

Lyla, chilling on the boppy. I just thought she looked so cute here!

Well we've been home for a few days now and things have been going pretty well. I have been recovering somewhat nicely. Lyla has a little bit of jaundice, so we have to get her tested for the next few days. We don't have to do any lights or anything but they said as long as she feeds frequently she'll be fine and her body will get rid of it. Unfortunately, that hasn't really been our strength. She has had a tough time eating frequently enough and just eats when she wants to. So we would sometimes go 5 hours without feeding and she would only feed for 5-10 minutes. I had been getting pretty concerned. The past day we both have been getting better with it. We also went to a lactation consultant today and we feel a lot more confident in her feeding abilities. It turns out that she gets a ton of milk in a short amount of time so we don't have to worry about that. She has also been eating a lot more, so it seems to be getting better. We also saw our pediatrician for the first time. He said that her club feet actually look really good. He said that he doctor who treats her at Primary Childrens will be very pleased because her feet really aren't that bad. He also said that he doesn't think she will need to have surgery and that casting should be enough for treatment! So, that left us feeling really good. We have an appointment at Primary's on Friday, which is the day they do casting, so more than likely she will get her first casts on that day. In all honesty, I am dreading that appointment. I think I will have a hard time with it, but I know it needs to be taken care of.

Anyway, I love being a mom. I never thought I could love and care for someone so much, and I have only known her for 4 days. I love being able to feed her. I love that she already knows who I am. I know I probably won't love this forever, but I love being up with her in the middle of the night to feed her and then to just snuggle with her afterwards. I always want to be with her. I just love her to death. I think it's so interesting that my emotions are so tied to her and how she is doing and all the things that are coming toward her way. Even though I won't be working anymore (which I love to work), I really could not be happier and would not have this any other way. As for Nate, he LOVES being a dad. He said today that he never expected that he could feel the way he does about Lyla. He feels so protective of her and has been my biggest helper. He changes her diapers and clothes, does the main part of bathing her, swaddles her in blankets, holds her and calms her down. He pretty much does everything but feed her and he loves doing everything he can to make her happy. And when she cries, he gets flustered and assumes responsibility to get her to stop. It has really been cute watching him develop his relationship with her. Nate also loves to sing to Lyla and she seems to love it too. His singing will always get her to either stop crying or more often, she will fall asleep at the sound of his voice. He has also been getting excited to see that she is starting to recognize him as her daddy. In short, even though it has been and will be a lot of work, she has been the greatest joy in our lives thus far. We couldn't be happier.