Peekaboo with Aunt Cindy

Aunt Cindy came over to watch Mila while I worked on the boarding pass invitations for Chuck and Lori's wedding. She is so great with her! Look how much fun they're having!! :)

It cuts off at the end because my camera's memory card got full! By the time I started recording again, she was more interested in the camera than the game. But at least we got this short clip. How cute is she?!

Celebrating Our Anniversary

I'm a simple girl. I don't require much. I'm also an ice-cream-aholic. All I wanted to for our wedding anniversary was some Coldstone's Ice-Cream. I'm easy to please!

And not only did I get that, but he stayed home from work and we spent the morning together before our Mommy & Me Class. He even cleaned the bathrooms! I have the world's most wonderful husband!! :)

Mommy & Me Class

Even though Jorge was home today for our anniversary, today was also the first day of Mila's Mommy and Me class. We had a wonderful time! We sang a bunch of songs (which I recorded with my camera so I could learn them later) and Mila loved them!! But when it was time to play with the toys, Mila wanted to nurse, so we didn't get a chance to do too much interaction. After the class, the teacher gave us a tour of the facility and it was fantastic! They have music classes and art classes and even a class where kids can make a mess! In that class, they are all 2 years and under and stripped to their diapers and they are free to grab pudding and jello and all that fun stuff and go crazy! I would LOVE to do that class with Mila! Sounds like so much fun! They also offer daycare services and classes where the mom can stay or where you can leave the kids. That way, you can transition the children to being in the class and getting to know the teacher while you're there, and when you and they are comfortable, you can start leaving them for a couple of hours. I know at some point we'll have to put Mila in daycare and it's just so great that they have this option. I also really like that I can get to know the teachers and the facility myself, as opposed to just dropping her off someplace I'm not familiar with. I know, I know, I'm a hovering mother!! Ugh, I can't help it!

Here are a few pictures from our class. :)

Three Years Today!

Wishing my wonderful husband a happy anniversary today! It's been three years since I married this amazing man, and I couldn't be happier! How amazing is he, you ask? He surprised Mila and I and stayed home from work today to spend the day with us AND right now he's making me a delicious breakfast... is he great, or what? :)

I love you!!

Night Routine... Another Change

So for the last few weeks we've had a new nighttime routine. Mila's been sleeping great, she's gone up to 6 hours straight! Since I've had the clogged ducts, I'm no longer pumping during the night and I'm sleeping much better. No more pumping at 3am! Horray! But in order to avoid the clogged ducts, instead of Jorge giving her a bottle of pumped milk like we used to, I'm nursing her to sleep. Which is fine -- I do miss my "me time" at the end of the day when Jorge would put her to sleep, but it wasn't so bad. She'd pass out right away after nursing and we'd put her in her bassinet without any problems. It was great! It was going wonderfully!

Except now... for the last few days... it's been a bit rough. She's no longer falling asleep on the boob. Instead she's nursing for an hour, dozes, but as soon as Jorge picks her up, she's wide awake! Last night it took us two and a half hours to put her to sleep! Ack! What's going on??!

They say that at 4 months everything changes. Mila is 3.5 months. At 4 months, there's something called "four month wakeful" where a baby that normally sleeps well suddenly is awake more often. It's because of all the milestones their going through: rolling over, finding their hands/feet, binocular vision, sitting up and the big one is just around the corner: teething! (Can I tell you how much my nipples are dreading it?) I'm hoping this will be a short phase. It's so hard to do the nighttime routine now. Figures that the moment you figure something out, it changes!

Speaking of sleep, here's a video of Mila napping on me in her baby carrier as I'm typing this. She gets the snoring from her daddy - HILARIOUS! :)

Visit From Aunt Blanca

Aunt Blanca came by to visit! Yay!!! Mila was wearing her cute Ralph Lauren dress that Blanca got for her. She looks so precious in it! Aunt Blanca will make sure Mila stays fashionable, LOL!

Baby This Week: 16 Weeks Old

Your baby loves to reach out and touch anyone and anything she can get her hands on. With increasing coordination, she can reach for and pick up things that pique her interest. You can help her practice her grabbing skills by outfitting her crib and play yard with fascinating toys, especially ones that squeak and rattle. Spending time in an activity saucer or under a floor gym offers the same benefit.

When placed on her stomach, your baby will probably lift her head and shoulders high, using her arms for support. This mini push-up helps strengthen her muscles and gives her a better view of what's going on. She may even amaze you (and herself!) by rolling from her back to her front, or vice versa.

You can encourage this rolling skill through play: Wiggle a toy next to the side she customarily rolls to in case she's interested enough to try again. Applaud her efforts and smile. She may need your reassurance, as this new skill can be a little frightening.

-BabyCenter.com

My Grandmother's 81st Birthday Party

My Grandmother turned 81 on Thursday so my family had a big get together on Saturday to celebrate. It was great -- almost everyone was there! But it was packed! It's funny, there hasn't been a baby in my family for several years and needless to say, everyone is so excited to see her... so much so that we barely made it through the door, when we were attacked by uncles and aunts and cousins that all want to see her and hold her! It was like out of a movie-- so funny! We were literally trapped in the entrance hallway! I wish I had taken a picture, it was crazy! I always get a little worried when there are so many people around her -- I know I'm a bit overprotective, but I know I get overwhelmed with so many people, -- I can only imagine it's overwhelming for Mila as well. Also, she'd barely napped all day. She's usually slept maybe 3-4 hours by the time we got there, but she'd only napped maybe an hour. I was afraid she'd get fussy. By the time we left I swear I could FEEL her exhaustion. I knew she was tired. She cried a little bit, but passed out in the car. Whew! But then we had to stop at Babies R Us on the way and she woke up. She was fine initially, but then she was super cranky when we left. We even had to pull over to feed her. We didn't get home till late and by then we were all exhausted. But it was worth it -- it was nice to see everyone, even if it was only for a little bit! :)

We'll be going down again to visit for Mother's Day in a couple of weeks-- let's hope it's a bit smoother!

Sandra and Jon Visit

Today our friend Sandra and her husband Jon stopped by to visit. It was so nice to see them! They're expecting a little boy in July. I have to admit that seeing her baby bump gave me a touch of baby fever! I usually only remember the tough parts of my pregnancy (nausea, vomiting, constipation, exhaustion ... ugh!) but seeing her and hearing her talk about her pregnancy and talking about seeing the baby in the ultrasounds, made me remember the nice parts. My favorite part of the pregnancy is the anticipation of meeting the baby and for that first moment when they are born... Oh, SO exciting!! Haha -- but don't get me wrong, it was a MOMENTARY touch of baby fever!! My grandmother is already asking when we're going to have the next one!! My goodness! Give us some time to get used to this one! It would be great for Mila to have a sibling, but we're still adjusting to just having one. I honestly can't imagine what it'd be like to have a newborn and a toddler running around. My mom did it - my sister and I are a year and a half apart. I have no idea how she survived... crazy!

What I'm really happy about is to hear that Sandra mentioned that after reading my birth story, she's considering a natural birth. I'm so happy to hear my blog has inspired her! There's really so much more to birth than what you see in movies. It's nothing like that. I'd recommend on getting educated on the subject... a good place to start: read "Husband-Coached Childbirth " by Dr. Robert Bradley. That book changed everything for me! I can't recommend it enough. Read that book and watch the documentary, "The Business of Being Born." Very interesting. I guarantee you'll learn something. :)

Here are Sandra and Jon holding Miss Mila... They are going to be awesome parents! Can't wait to meet little Mr. Oliver in July! :)

Chunky Baby Legs... NOM!

Are these not the cutest little baby legs??!! I could eat her up! :)

Boarding Pass Wedding Invitation

Here's a sample of the wedding invitation that I'm working on for my sister Cindy's in-laws, Chuck and Lori's wedding vow renewal ceremony. They've been married for 30 years, which is practically unheard of these days! They have this whole "Love Fest" theme going, it's so cute! They want to incorporate it into their invitation. Cindy loved my boarding pass wedding invitation that I'd made last year for Cynthia & Andres' wedding, and she thought it'd be fun to make the invitation a "Ticket to the Love Fest." Lori specifically requested coral and olive colors as well as hearts and swirls to go along with the "Love Fest" theme. I worked hard to incorporate all of her requests and here's what I came up with:

(Wedding details have been edited to protect privacy.)

They absolutely loved it! We're just waiting on final wording and we'll start working on production. Can't wait!

(For more information on wedding invitations, visit my website: www.paperpetunia.com)

Mila Found Her Feet!

Mila has found her feet! She sees them, reaches for them, grabs them and opens her mouth up WIDE to put them in her mouth. It's HILARIOUS!!! She has yet to actually put them in her mouth, although she tuggs on her sockies and she gets saliva on them. I find them wet all the time, LOL!

Here she is playing with them during a diaper change:

Coffee Themed Wedding Invitation

Here's the sample wedding invitation that I'm working on for Naya and Bernardo's wedding. Naya was looking for some unique invitations that fit her theme. She and her fiance met over coffee and she wants her invitations to reflect a coffee theme. Here are a few of the designs I came up with for her:

(Wedding details have been edited to protect privacy.)

I was so happy to hear she loved them!! I can't wait to get working on these!

(For more information on wedding invitations, visit my website: www.paperpetunia.com)

TMI: Clogged Milk Ducts ... Again

As I go through motherhood, I find that I come across experiences that are interesting to me that I would like to discuss, but at the same time they may be too much for some people. I know I appreciate hearing and learning from the expereinces of other moms, especially the ones no one talks about. But I also understand some people just come to read my blog to catch up on the Mila, not to read about clogged milke ducts, haha! So, I'm going to label these posts as "TMI" as in, "too much information." Stop reading now if you're not interested in learning more about motherhood than you want to know. Ok, you've been warned!


For the last few weeks, I've been having a huge problem with clogged milk ducts. It's been AWFUL! I'm getting clogged what seems like every other day! Once, I even clogged up on the right one and I was so focused on putting Mila on that side, that the other one got engorged and clogged up too!!! It was terrible! It took days for it to get better. Ugh.

I think it was all the pumping that I was doing that caused it. Since I was still waiting to work things out with my job, and I thought maybe I'd have to go into the office a day or two, I was pumping like crazy so I could build up a freezer stash. I was really worried that I wouldn't be able to pump enough during the day, since like I mentioned in my previous post about our nighttime routine where we give her a bottle of pumped milk before bed, she downs a WHOPPING 7 oz! (I've read 3-4 oz is the norm! EEEEk! She'll cry and cry if we give her any less. I asked the pediatrician about it and he says however much she wants to eat she should get. I asked at the La Leche League meeting and they said she might be crying because she wants to nurse not just for food, but for comfort and to bond with me. So many opinions!) In any case, I had been pumping a lot during the night and I'd get as much as 12 extra ounces that I could freeze. But now that I'm not going back to work, I've cut back on pumping. But it seems like my boobs are adjusting and they still think I need that extra 12 ounces! The way breastfeeding works is where there is demand, supply is created. So the more Mila nurses or I pump, the more milk I make. If Mila starts eating less, I'll make less milk, but it takes time for my supply to adjust. Since the demand has gone down drastically, I'm dealing with the oversupply and I'm clogging up because Mila's not emptying out the breast. And let me tell you: it sucks.

The only solution to a clogged duct is to keep putting the baby on the breast. The pump won't be as efficient at unclogging as a baby is. (A baby's suck is much stronger.) And these clogs aren't like the last one I blogged about, where I had a milk blister that I could see. These clogs have been internal and I just have to massage it out. But not massage in a good way -- when the lactation consultant showed me how to massage it out I felt like she was going to rip off my boob, she did it so freaking hard!!!

Because of the clogging, I've pretty much stopped pumping and we no longer give Mila a pumped bottle of milk before bed. I nurse her as often as I can. It kinda sucks because I liked that Jorge would feed her before bed so I could get some time to myself, even if it was just an hour, but the clogged ducts are so much worse. Now I've got all this frozen milk in the freezer. I've read that breastmilk can last 3-4 months in there. I hope we use it at some point though, I'd hate to throw all of that away! I remember when Mila was first born that we had all that trouble breastfeeding and I was pumping every meal for her. I could barely get out 2 ounces! Anything I could pump was like liquid gold!! Now I have all of this milk and I'd hate for it to go to waste.

Needless to say, breastfeeding is definitely challenging. My last clog was last night but it cleared up by the time I went to bed. I'm hoping my supply adjusts quickly and this will just be one more obstacle we've overcome.

Happy Birthday BisAbuelita (Great-Grandma)!

Wishing my grandmother (Mila's great-grandmother) a very Happy Birthday today! We love you!!!
Besos y abrazos, 'Lita!

Mila & the Bumbo

Mila just cracks me up! We've started putting her in her Bumbo chair and she just looks so adorable in it!

I SEE YOU MILA!!!!

Playdate with Saeryn and Bijou

Today, Lisa and Spencer came over with Saeryn and Bijou. It was great to hang out with the mommies and it was so cute having the babies together!

It's so nice to hang out with other like-minded moms. We have so much in common. I just know our little girls will be great friends!! Looking forward to our get together next week ladies! ;)

Baby This Week: 15 Weeks Old

By now your baby has gone from being a passive observer of the world to being — or at least wanting to be — an active participant. Some babies this age even like trying to "stand." If your baby seems to want to stand up while being held securely on your lap, it means those little leg muscles are probably sturdy enough to explore this new sensation.

Your baby is starting to draw conclusions about the world around her. She's looking at everything with curiosity, even her own reflection.

Prop an unbreakable mirror next to her or set her in front of your mirror when you're getting ready in the morning. Your baby won't realize that it's actually her image in the mirror (which usually begins to happen well into the second year), but that doesn't matter. She'll love staring at her — or anyone else's — reflection, and she may show her delight with an all-out gummy grin.

At last, your baby's sleep patterns may start to settle down, giving you some rest. Many 4-month-olds sleep for a six-hour stretch through the night, though others still wake for an occasional feeding. Some babies take until age 6 months or later to sleep through the night, though, so don't get your hopes up! Two daytime naps are usual now.

Your baby may stop to listen to your voice. By cooing or making noises at her, and by describing even the most mundane household chore, you're not only connecting with her but also encouraging her to express herself. Wait and see if she "answers."

Your baby is becoming more animated and engaging (even with others) — flashing smiles, oohing, and cooing. And the fun has really begun as she's starting to laugh.

When you're with friends, keep your baby nearby so she can hear the richness of human interaction. She'll enjoy watching the antics of other babies, toddlers, and pets, but keep up your guard: Neither she nor they know the rules of safe engagement just yet.

Anything within your baby's reach is fair game now. While she's mastering her grabbing skills, give your baby interesting things to hold: lightweight rattles that are easy to grasp, a plastic or rubber ring to hold with both hands, squeaking toys, or soft stuffed animals.

Your baby will start to favor one hand for a while and then switch to the other, but you can't really tell whether she's a lefty or a righty until she's about 2 or 3 years old.

- BabyCenter.com

Visit From Family

Today some family came by to visit. Two of my aunts weren't able to make it to the baptism a couple of weeks ago, so we had them over to see little Miss Mila. My mom and my grandmother came along with my sister Cathy and my uncle Ricky. So nice to see everyone!

I love this pic of Mila with her Great Grandmother!!

49ers Onsies

Since Jorge is a HUGE San Francisco 49ers fan, I've been looking to buy Mila some cute 49ers onsies. Surprisingly, there aren't very many out there and the ones I find and actually like, are not available in stock! So I decided to make my own with clothng iron-ons.

Here are the two I made. Jorge absolutely LOVED them. How cute are they?! One says, "Shhh... Daddy and I are watching the game!" and the other says, "Born a 49er fan, just like Daddy!"

Dustan Baby Language

When Mila was first born, our friend Spencer lent us this great video Dustan Baby Language. A woman who has a keen sense of sound (she can play back music after only hearing it once), realized that her baby cried differently for each need and realized the pattern for each cry. Jorge and I watched the video when Mila was about a month old and it really helped. I'm not sure if we're able to pin point each cry exactly, but thanks to this video, I can almost tell whenever Mila has a burp! It's a really interesting concept.

The video explains that when babies' cry sounds like "neh" it means hungry, "eh" means burp, "air" means gassy, "heh" means uncomfortable and "ow" means tired. I try to listen for the cry, but I can't always tell. The video gives lots of examples of crying babies so you can hear what it sounds like when they make the sounds. I thought it was helpful!

Here's a clip of her on Oprah:



And here's a clip from the actual video, where she covers the first word: "neh" which means hungry.

Saeryn, Bijou and Mila

Our friend Lisa from my Bradley Childbirth Class emailed me last week and invited Mila and I to a Newborn Class she's taking. I was so excited to hear from her and Mila and I were thrilled to go! We met up with her and her beautiful daughter Saeryn as well as our other Bradley mom Spencer and sweet little Bijou. The class was just AMAZING and Mila and I loved it. We sang songs and played with the toys in the room. The teacher was so cheerful and she played different games with the babies. It was great to see and learn all the different ways to interact with them! Sometimes I'm home with Mila and I can't think of how to play with her aside from dangling an toy in front of her! I loved the songs too -- so fun! I could tell Mila had a lot of fun too! She was so curious! I signed up for the class once a week. I really think it'll be great for both of us.

Here are pictures of Mila and her Bradley class friends! So cute!!