4 Weeks Old

Our Miss Lily is already 4 weeks old. Amazing! She is doing great, and growing like crazy.

Teddy doesn't stand a chance! She's passing him up with lightning speed.

Pretty adorable...if I do say so myself!

Todd and I have said that Lily could go from 0-60 in less than 2 seconds. She is very assertive little girl, not afraid to communicate what she needs and wants! When I began to see her dynamic personality, I didn't think I'd be able to understand her or relate to her. But I feel like I'm starting to get the hang of it. She is so fun, and SO strong. We are just loving every day with her.

We've already gotten a couple of grins out of her! She's starting to smile a little bit every day. She is also trying to roll over. Her sleeping patterns are getting better and better. She will normally go to sleep at about 9, and sleep in 4-hour blocks. She got up to a 6-hour block last week! We still have rough nights here and there, but are plugging along.

We can't wait for Lily's baby blessing this Sunday! I think it will be a beautiful experience, and we're excited to see our family and friends.

3 Weeks Old

I can't believe our little girl is already 3 weeks old. Time is sure flying by. Todd went back to work last week, and Lily and I survived our first week home alone together! It's definitely been an adjustment, but we're getting used to things.

She's got the "Todd Scowl" goin' on :)

We have thought that Lily was getting colic, but aren't positive. We know she has a sensitive stomach and has a hard time coping with any sort of tummy troubles. Her sleeping schedule is also a little backwards still (she thinks she needs to be wide awake between midnight and 1am), so the combination of fighting sleep and upset tummy has made for some interesting nights. She is getting a little better each night though. We've started giving her Hyland's brand Colic tablets (thank you Amanda and Becca for suggesting them!) which seem to help calm her stomach down. So, now we get to figure out how to fix her sleeping schedule...and are very open to suggestions!

She is so good during the day! She is actually starting to smile a tiny bit. She is such a cuddly little girl, and loves to snuggle with her parents. She takes great naps during the day, and is finally getting the hang of nursing. For how much she's grown already, we're surprised she's still fitting into her newborn clothes. 0-3 month clothes are still a little too big for her. She is already in Size 1 diapers though!

We had quite the firework adventure last night! One of the smaller aerials tipped over when it went off, and shot right where we were sitting. One went off by my elbow while I was holding Lily, and fortunately didn't get either of us. She looked completely content through the entire adventure. She slept really well last night, so maybe we just need to give her a little adventure every night :)

Newborn Photos

Hello all!

Our awesome neighbor and friend, Amanda Gibbs, took Lily's newborn photos last week. If I do say so myself...they look fabulous! I thought I'd share some of them with you :) Enjoy!



We are so happy to have this beautiful little girl in our lives. I can't beleive how much she has changed already. It's so fun (but kind of sad...) to see her growing up. 

2 Weeks Old!

Miss Lily turned 2 weeks old today! She had her second Well-Baby checkup today, and passed with flying colors. We've got a growin' girl on our hands...she is now 8lbs 9oz, and almost 22" long. She had her second PKU test done (hence the bandage on her ankle) and was not a happy camper after. So glad we don't have to go back to the doctor for another 6 weeks!

She's already passing up Teddy!

Lily got 5 uninterrupted hours of sleep the other night. If she keeps this up, she'll be sleeping through the night in no time! She's starting to get a little more fussy, but is still such a good baby. She just has a hard time coping with tummy troubles and gas bubbles. Hopefully she'll grow out of that soon.

We took her newborn pictures last week, and should have them back tomorrow! I'll post them when we do. They are beautiful! Or am I just biased? :) You can see a sneak peek here.

Todd went back to work yesterday. Lily and I are working on adjusting to this new situation. I got very used to having Todd around all of the time! It's been pretty overwhelming, but we're getting the hang of it.

1 Week Already!

Oh goodness...how is our little baby possibly a week old already? It has absolutely flown by.

We are going to track her growth against Teddy (aka: Fuzzarilla, as Todd would call her!)

Milestones of the week:

• First sponge bath - she was not so thrilled!
• First real bath  - this one she mildly enjoyed, although she had a skeptical look on her face the entire time.
• First two doctor visits - She had lost 8oz and had a little bit of jaundice at her first visit, and is back up to 7lbs 12oz (3oz above her birth weight!) and no jaundice at her second visit.
• No more meconium! - TMI, I know..but that stuff it no fun for us OR for her!
• First throw-up - Yep...it was a doosy. I couldn't help but laugh, because I had NO idea how she fit that much milk in her tiny little stomach. None of it got on her, but all of it got on me!
• Sleeping longer during the night - She slept for a 4hr block, then a 3hr block last night. MUCH better than her regular every-two-hours feeding schedule.

Lily has been such a good baby. We feel so blessed, in so many ways! Thank you to all of our friends and family who have visited or brought us meals. We appreciate it so much, and have thoroughly enjoyed not having to cook all week. 

Lily Fay Parris ~ 7/3/12

We are so thrilled to announce the birth of our little angel!

Lily Fay Parris

Born July 3, 2012

6:00 pm, 7lbs 9oz, 19.5"



I had hoped to post this earlier, but things have been a little...well...busy! We have absolutely loved having our little girl home with us. She's nursing well, sleeping well, and is so fun! We definitely have our ups-n-downs (as all new parents do), but Lily is doing a good job of training us :)

Lily dropped 8 ounces by Thursday, and is back up to 7lbs 12oz today! Three ounces more than her original birth weight. The doctor joked that we must be feeding her lard, haha.

Our experience at the hospital was perfect. I won't sugarcoat it and say that labor and delivery was "easy," but I can say without hesitation that it was the most amazing experience I have ever had, and was definitely worth it! Here's the short version of our birth story. We have decided to only share the full version with select individuals, as it was a very personal and special experience for us.

From very early in my pregnancy, Todd and I both thought that Lily would come early. So, when my due date came and went, I begant to feel very discouraged. Each day was a challange. Finally, the night before my 41 week appointment, Todd and I decided that it was time to turn it over to the Lord and trust that He knew what He was doing. The next morning, I said a prayer expressing my desire to have this baby naturally without the need for induction, and hoped that my wishes and desires could be taken into account. Within minutes I felt my first contraction! They continued until 1:00, when we went to my doctor appointment. Our doctor said that I was dilated to a 5, and was beginning to leak amniotic fluid. We were sent right over to Labor and Delivery at Ogden Regional Hospital.

We were checked in by 2:30, and my mom arrived around that time as well. Our doctor got there around 3:15 and finished breaking my water. Within minutes my contractions went from 5 minutes apart to 2 minutes apart. Everything went very quickly from that point! After laboring for only 2.5 hours, Lily was born. It was a very intense and speedy process. Our little girl was anxious to come, and she helped move the process along very efficiently.

As many of you know, Todd and I learned and practiced the Hypnobirthing technique for natural childbirth. Although I wasn't able to use it quite like I had hoped, I was able to impliment the breathing techniques. I can honestly say, I don't think I could have done it without those techniques! I was so fortunate to have my sweet husband, my mother, and our Doula (Marie Chase) all there with me.  So, details set aside, giving birth was the most intense, most challenging, most amazing, most awe-inspiring experience that I have ever had.

Thank you to everyone who has offered their love, help, and support to us during this journey. We are so happy to have our little girl here with us, and are enjoying our new life with her.

Due Date: Come and Gone...

Well, for those of you anxiously awaiting the arrival of Lily Fay, she is officially late! We never thought we'd make it to our due date, and here we are breezing right through it. That's what we get for having expectations, right?

The thing Todd and I have learned most the last few weeks is just how little control we have over certain situations. We've had to accept that our little girl must not be quite ready to greet the world, and that between her and my body, they know what they're doing. I will admit that I have a hard time accepting that some days, but am working on my patience and trying to connect with the power that my body and my baby inherently have to birth naturally.

Fortunately, everything is still looking great on our ultrasounds. She is very healthy, with a strong heartbeat, surrounded by plenty of fluid, and in the proper position for birth. Our doctor is comfortable with letting us wait a little longer to let her come natrually, without being induced. We have a 41 week appointment scheduled for July 3, and hope that she comes before them or we may need to start considering an induction date.

 I am also doing very well, despite some discomforts some days. It is a bit difficult to stay up-beat when I wake up so stiff I can hardly roll over! But I know how fortunate I've been to only have these pains and discomforts this late in my pregnancy, when SO many women experience them for much longer than I have. Lily has been very kind to me and my body this pregnancy, which I appreciate so very much!

The funnest changes I've noticed over the last few weeks are as follows:
- Not being able to see my feet. A straight-down view is SO overrated...right?
- Struggling to be able to TOUCH my feet. This makes making my toes look pretty a little tricky...
- Stretch marks. I made it SO close to not having any stretch marks! They're so small that I really shouldn't complain...but I am... lol.
- A bladder the size of a golf ball. This one is fairly self-explanatory, I think!
- Going to the doctor every week. It's beginning to feel like we live there.
- Realizing that a Due Date is actually a Guess Date. Doctors don't really know when these babies are gonna come!

OK, my pity party is over :) Here's a picture of me on my due date!

Todd and I went to dinner wtih some friends tonight to "celebrate" and distract ourselves. We had a blast! I highly recommend Settebello's Pizzeria in downtown SLC.

Well all - wish us luck! Every day is an adventure, wonding if  "today is the day." One of these days, it actually will be! We'll be texing family and friends when she's born, and will post pictures as soon as we're up to it. Can't wait to introduce you all to our sweet girl! We're even more excited to meet her ourselves :)