Four Weeks

Lila Starts Rolling Over

My mom was giving Lila some "tummy time" and noticed she was trying to roll over from her belly to her back. So, even though she was clearly not enjoying it, I had to get it on video. (I highly suggest you turn the volume down before watching).

Three Weeks

Lila Smiles

This morning, Daddy was entertaining Lila with some of his goofy faces and she let out the biggest smile. Supposedly babies this young don't smile ("it's just gas"), but there was no mistaking this one.

Abuelita Comes to Visit!

My mom, Sylvia, is now otherwise known as Abuelita (grandmother in Spanish). After much anticipation, she flew in from Orlando for a two-week visit. She was so thrilled to meet Lila, as evidenced by this video, and the two of them are having such a good time together. Mom is sharing Lila's room with her and they're quite content as roommates, even when Mom has to wake up multiple times in the middle of the night to quiet her granddaughter. Abuelita has endless patience with Lila, and it's so rewarding for me to watch the two of them together. Not to mention, Mom cooks, cleans and changes all of the dirty diapers; she even organizes closets. I'm one lucky girl.

QT with Nana and Papa

Lila is very lucky to have her Nana Barbara and Papa Don close by, as are we. Papa loves to take Lila for walks through the neighborhood. Yesterday the two of them stopped for some lunch in a local restaurant, and Papa beamed as all the women in the restaurant made a big fuss over Lila. He can turn the most mundane activities into a captivating story for Lila, and she loves listening to him. Nana gets the babysitting gold star, though. Not only does Lila love their time together, but Nana insists on cooking, cleaning and doing laundry every time she comes over. I am a little nervous, however, about a conversation I overheard in which Nana was teaching Lila all about diamonds; she is definitely a princess-in-training as far as Barbara is concerned.

The First Two Weeks

The day after we got home, Monday the 4th, we had our first appointment with the pediatrician. We were relieved to find that Dr. Oppenheim was so nurturing and patient. Lila weighed in at 6 pounds and 1 ounce, so we left determined to put some weight on her.

Naturally, the first few nights with Lila at home were exhausting. Because she had been jaundice, the doctor gave us strict orders to feed her every three hours around the clock. And because it took about an hour for her to eat, she nor I got more than two hours of sleep at a time. I was an emotional wreck, but I'm told it's just due to the shift in hormones. Whatever the reason, I'm pretty sure Gabe was terrified to be in the same room as me. Breastfeeding took a toll on me, so I pumped and passed off some of the feedings to Daddy. (I was very lucky to have him home on paternity leave). We went back to the pediatrician on Wednesday the 13th and found that Lila had gained 11 ounces since her first visit a week and a half before. Dr. Oppenheim was very pleased with her progress and gave us the OK to stop waking her during the night for feedings. That night, we put Lila down around 11:30 pm and she slept until 6 in the morning--we got REALLY lucky with this one.

From the start, Lila had incredible strength in her upper body. She was able to lift her head and neck off of my shoulder and look me in the eye. Many times she did so to try and latch on to my nose--for some reason she was convinced she could get some food out of it.

Lila had many visitors over the last couple of weeks, including: Jenn, Craig and Ethan Lewner, Jeanna Novelli, Jess Ferrara, Lorne Fierbach, Suhaib Altaie, John Kwasek, Limor and Jordan Mann, Sara and Adam Bobkin, Diana, Mike and Maddie Mann, and Sam Mendez. She also enjoyed several visits from her Uncle Nicky, and her Nana and Papa. She seemed quite intrigued with her Uncle Nicky's silly ways. And she loved the walks she took with her Papa, and the conversations she had with her Nana Barbara.

The first couple of weeks were an adjustment, but Gabe and I are both on a high...having this little girl in our lives is better than we ever expected.
Jamie gave me the idea to take weekly pictures of Lila using one of her dolls as a frame of reference. Actually, I stole the idea from her, but thanks anyway, Jame.

A New Year's Eve Baby

Gabe and I checked into Mt. Sinai Hospital on Wednesday night, 12/30/2009, to be induced. I was 40 weeks and 2 days...and nothing was happening. We got comfy in the room, and then the doctor came round to start a pitocin drip and foley bulb to get things moving. I declined the epidural off the bat, but after an hour of my cervix being manually stretched, I was more than ready for it. After that I felt almost no pain. We slept some through the night and woke up on Thursday morning to a beautiful snowfall outside.

Dr. Callipari stopped by and noted that the baby had not moved down into my pelvis at all. By noon it was obvious that things were at a standstill, so we collectively decided it was time for a c-section. Within minutes they had wheeled me into the OR and Gabe was suited up in scrubs and a mask. Dr. Callipari worked quickly and our little girl came out screaming! Gabe's reaction to our little girl's arrival was priceless--he was overwhelmed with emotion. Watching him, I was not at all sorry that I couldn't see the birth myself. But within a minute the nurses brought her over to me and I could do nothing but cry. I'm sure the medication was partially to blame, but I was stunned into grateful silence.
She was born at 12:55 pm, weighed in at 6 pounds, 10 ounces and measured 19 1/2 inches. She also came with quite a set of lungs. From the OR we went into recovery and our dear friend, Bea DeGea (www.beadegea.com), was there to capture some of those moments on film. Not surprisingly, the baby took a liking to her right away.
Soon after, our families began trickling in; I don't think there was a dry eye anywhere. It was exciting getting to watch Dad, Andi, Barbara and Don meet their new granddaughter...and Nick and Kenzie their new niece. Below is a photo montage of some of Bea's beautiful photos--we're so grateful for this amazing gift she gave us.

We decided on the name Lila Jewell Stern. Lila was derived from Gabe's maternal grandmother, Lillian Fodor. And my paternal grandmother, Nina Jewell Durham, shared Lila's middle name. We hope this is a way for us to honor these two women whom we loved so much.During our hospital stay we enjoyed a visit from our good friend, Damon Winter, as well as Lila's Uncle Jeremy and Aunt Shveta. We also had to say goodbye to the Texas crew, but they promised to come back and see Lila very soon. On Sunday night, after many hours under fluorescent lights to treat Lila's jaundice, we were released to go home. Nana and Papa drove us, and when we finally made it home Uncle Nicky was there to greet us. He had spent the entire day cooking meals for us to enjoy over the days to come--love my little brother!