Our big 9 lb girl!

This weekend we took Kayla to her first party. It was a cinco de mayo party at a friend's house. It was good to get out and socialize again but I think it wore us out a little bit because we ended up just pretty much relaxing on Sunday.

It is so fun to have Kayla smiling. We only see it about once a day if we are lucky but it is so great when it happens. I have to say, I think we are pretty lucky on her sleep schedule but I'm still exhausted all the time. She eats somewhere between 10 and 11:30 at night. Then she seems to sleep until 3:30 or 4 and then on a good day, she doesn't wake again until 7. There are the nights where she is up ever 2 hours or more but that was mainly when she was not feeling well. Last night was pretty funny because she was up at 2:30 for a feeding, then up at 5, 6 and 7... At her first waking of the night, I feed her in her room and change her. Every other time she wakes up during the night, I just sit on the edge of the bed and nurse (unless it is a really bad night and we end up sleeping together on the couch). Well, around 6 last night, i was sitting on the side of the bed nursing and apparently fell asleep :) Jose called out to me a couple of times and I finally answered and he said I was asleep nursing her - ah motherhood :) I'm just glad I didn't drop her!

She hasn't done anything new but she seems to be awake more often during the day and is definitely noticing more around her. Today we went for a walk and she stayed awake looking around for most of the walk. She most often notices contrasting light patterns but seems to be noticing brightly colored things too. She has her two month appointment tomorrow and I'm really glad because I have to ask about her pooping/gas issue. She only seems to poop every 4 or 5 days and while they say it is normal, when she goes, she cries out in major pain. Gas is causing her pain too. I did talk to the nurse about it and she said it is her trying to coordinate her sphincter muscle with the gas or anything else but I'd like to know when it is supposed to get coordinated.

I always feel way better on the days I have enough energy to exercise. Today I walked to meet a friend for lunch and I felt so much better the rest of the day.. it is just finding the energy to get out there. It is really nice not to be kind of stuck in the house anymore. My next goal is to try to find some mom's group in the area.

Everything is going well and I'm looking forward to my first mother's day. I'm enjoying being a mom more every day.

On a side note, I found a great way to cook eggplant - cut in half, cross hatch it with a knife, then cover it in two mixures (diced canned tomatos with garlic, olive oil and oregano; then bread crumbs and parmesan cheese on top of that). Then either bbq it (like we did) or roast it (400 degrees for 30 minutes or until tender).