Fourteen Months Old

Things are definitely starting to get a little more interesting around the Hughes household! Ok, so I'm not officially a "Hughes" yet but we're getting there. It's hard to believe that in just four short months I'll officially be someone's wife. I don't think I'll ever fully get used to calling myself that but it's definitely going to be an honor to carry that last name!

Ready For Church With Mommy and Daddy!

Now for Miss Lyla Jane....what has she been up to?? EVERYTHING! I can already tell that these next few months are going to be so much fun. She's no longer a baby who just sits around or wants to be held all of the time, she is Miss Independent, with a capital "I"! Don't get me wrong, she still loves cuddle time with mommy or daddy but for the most part, it is GO! GO! GO!

If you're eating something, she wants to eat the same thing, no baby food please. If you're washing dishes, she wants to see whats going on and get in on the action. If you're outside picking weeds, she's right behind you. The majority of the time, walking won't get her there fast enough, so she'll plop down  and scoot across to wherever she needs to be! The happiness of her day consists of how many games of peek-a-boo were played. Seriously....that kid loves playing peek-a-boo and will laugh and smile every single time.

First Ponytail

Brushing Those gummies

Her daddy is so proud because in just a matter of days, he taught her how to high five and how to give kisses. Of course as any proud papa would, he gets a little jealous when people (meaning ME) try to steal his tricks for their own selfish pleasure :) But how can anyone resist slobbery, open mouth toddler kisses? I absolutely cannot wait until she's able to run up to me and give me the biggest hug. It has got to be the best feeling in the world to have your precious baby wrap her arms around your neck and squeeze tight. Sometimes when she's napping on my chest, she'll wiggle around trying to get comfortable and then, without knowing it, she'll wrap both of her little arms and little hands around my waist. I smile in that moment thinking, "she really loves her mommy."



One major step that we have achieved in the last few weeks is that she is back in her own bed. Hipppp Hippppp Horray!!! Just kidding. Kind of. I miss seeing her cute little face next to me when I roll over at night, but it sure has been nice getting some decent sleep lately. We kept putting off the transition because we thought it was going to be a pure nightmare for at least two weeks but we were wrong! I'm not for the "crying it out" method so I thought this would never work. We put her in her own room the first night, she cried for about 3 minutes and then went to sleep. She woke up about 1:00 am, cried for about a minute and went back to sleep. That little stinker didn't wake up until almost 8am! I couldn't believe it and it has been like that ever since. She'll wake up a few times in the middle of the night, probably to see if we're coming to bring her to our bed, and then she slowly put herself back to sleep.

Watching Cartoons Under The Coffee Table

LJ's Fun Facts

SIX TEETH!!

Size Three Diapers

9m - 12m Clothing

Favorite Foods Are Sweet Potatoes, 

Nilla Wafers, Cheese Grits, and Teddy Grahams

Still on Baby Formula to Gain Weight

Suggested by Pediatrician

Favorite Toys are her Penny The Pig Stuffed Animal and a little Tea Pot

First Birthday Party

Lyla's first birthday party was a success and now it's time to rest for a few days! I'm so thankful we have so many people that love our little family. She received so many wonderful gifts but just having everyone there to celebrate our tiny miracle's first birthday was more than enough.

Before I even started the planning process I was given a lot of good advice that I wish I had followed. Things like keep it simple, don't invite tons of people, stay calm and stress free....but mainly to not go overboard and just enjoy every moment. Well, if you know me, then you know all that went straight out the window. I was literally on Etsy two months before the party, ordering decorations and planning every detail.

I logged about 45 hours on Pinterest those next few weeks and our spare bedroom was consumed with tissue paper, ribbon, string, balloons, mason jars, flowers, food trays....well you get the idea. I told myself time and time again that I WAS NOT going to get stressed out about this party and let it completely take over. Well, I admittedly had a few pitty parties and crying sessions but for the most part everything came together perfectly. (With a HUGE thanks to Josh's parents and family for helping us!) My only regret was that the party seemed to pass by way too fast. I wish I could have paused time for a little while so I could have sat down and enjoyed everyone's company.

The only bad part of the day was that the birthday girl was cutting another tooth and was feeling rotten. I felt so sorry for her because I wanted her to be able to enjoy everyone that came and to play her little heart out. For the most part she was attached to my hip but halfway through the party, when she got her hands in the birthday cake, she started feeling a little better. She enjoyed helping her daddy open gifts, even though she was way more interested playing with the tissue paper than she was with any actual toys :)

Last, but certainly not least. Two of our very best friends, Penny (Lyla's fairy godmother) and Daniel, gave Lyla one of the sweetest birthday gifts. A burlap pillow with Lyla's name on the front. It was meant as a keepsake so that everyone from the party could write a little something for the birthday girl. After the party was over, Daniel sat silently in the living room and wrote one of the sweetest poems on the back of the pillow. He came up with this off the top of his head, which makes it even more special. "A Birthday Sonnet: We can't believe you're one year grown! Soon you'll walk and run on your own. On this day you had four teeth, and lemonade cake for us to eat. Before you know it, you'll be two and oh the things that you will do! From two to three and three to four, we'll be there through many more.Keep God and family first above all. They'll help you up if ever you fall. Keep love in your heart and to yourself stay true. Because there's no one else as special as you! We still can't believe you're one year grown and we will always love you as if you were our own."

Now if that isn't the sweetest thing and doesn't bring tears to your eyes, then I don't know what will. This was one of the most thoughtful gifts and we are so lucky to have these two in our lives. What a wonderful keepsake to remember our baby girl's first birthday!

HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY LYLA JANE!!!

Twelve Months Old

I can't believe it has been an ENTIRE YEAR since our tiny 2lb 4oz baby made her arrival. This has definitely been an eventful year, to say the least. We've been though so much as a family that it has only made our bond with one another so much stronger than I could have ever imagined. I have realized what it truly means to face some sort of adversity and to come out of the situation better and stronger. A year ago, I couldn't even imagine what our baby girl's first birthday would be like. It seemed like such a huge stretch of the imagination. From two months in the NNICU, to being on a heart monitor for several months, to having a seizure, to having a milk allergy, to having severe reflux, along with alllllllll of the 100's of other things that come along with being a mother and caring for your new baby girl. We would never have been able to make it through all of these things without one another and believe it or not, Josh and I would have never been as strong of a couple as we are now, if we would have never had to face these things together.

Lyla had her second developmental checkup in Macon. We always worry because since she was so early, we are aware of all the possible setbacks and problems she could have along the way. It's always in the back of our minds and probably will be for a very long time. Developmentally she is only 9 months old so the doctor was checking to make sure she was doing all of the things that a healthy 9 month old should be doing. She passed all of her checks and was even at the 12 months level in some areas, which is absolutely fantastic! They informed us that her weight is still a little lower than they would like it to be, but she's just a small baby and it's perfectly normal. Once again, they told us that by two years old, she should be completely caught up on a developmental level. I think it is such a blessing that her daddy works in Neurology so he knows all of the milestones and developmental checks so he works with her how to make sure she's where she needs to be!

I almost forgot to mention the new addition....her BIG GIRL front facing carseat!!! I've been ready for this for months now and I know she has too! She's always been so active and so interested in everything around her. I've felt terrible riding around with her in the car and knowing she's bored to death just staring at the back seat. Not able to see out the window or anything that's going on around her. Now she is as happy as can be. When I'm driving, I can see her sweet face through the rear view mirror, which may not be such a good thing, but I'm loving every second of it. We'll make eye contact and she'll smile so big! 

Since it has gotten so warm outside, I've been trying to get outside more on my days off. Lyla is hilarious when you put her down in the grass. She doesn't know what to think of the texture so she'll bear crawl (crawling on her hands and feet, no knees involved) all through the yard. I can't help but laugh every time. I've also been letting her play in her new Minnie Mouse pool but she prefers to sit outside, instead of inside the pool, and splash around with her hands. This little girl loves playing outside.

LJ'S FUN FACTS

Four Teeth!

Size 3 Diapers

9m-12m Clothes

Loves Everything Your Eating

Says maaaa maaaa, daaa daaaa

and baaa baaa

Loves Peek-a-Boo

Nine Months Old

Six Months Old

She Loves To Stand!

It is amazing to see how much Lyla has grown and developed. I never thought that two short months could make such a difference!

First things first, we have FINALLY gotten her on a sleeping schedule, praise the Lord! Normally, she would be up every 2-3 hours in the middle of the night and it was so exhausting. Now, she goes to bed at 9pm and wakes up between 7am-8am. She's still sleeping in our room, but hopefully Santa is going to bring her an Angel Care video and movement monitor for Christmas so we won't have to worry all night when she's sleeping in her own room. Unfortunately, she has had a couple of apnea episodes lately so I've been hesitant in making this transition.

Me and Daddy Match

Another big moment is that we have officially survived her first cold. I have never felt so bad for this poor baby. She was completely miserable for almost two weeks. She was running fevers, coughing, sneezing, and extremely congested. She would be so exhausted and as soon as we would lay her down, she would get stuffed up and couldn't breathe. There were many nights when her sweet daddy would sleep with her on our couch so that she could sit up and not have problems breathing. Boogie Wipes and a suction bulb became our best friends during that time.

On a better note, she is getting so strong! She loves to stand up. We have to hold her hands to balance her, of course, but she smiles and giggles the whole time. She is trying her best to crawl. She knows that she wants to move around but she just can't figure out how to get those legs to work. She has started being more aware of her surroundings and noticing different things that she never paid attention to before. The past couple of weeks, she's started grabbing objects and pulling them to her. She loves looking at my phone and trying to put it in her mouth. That's her new thing, trying to put everything in her mouth.

So Focused

She loves sitting in her Bumbo seat and watching TV. At first we would turn on the Baby First TV channel and she was amazed at all of the bright colors and sounds. It was so cute watching her head move back and forth trying to follow the objects on the screen. She gets so focused and then jumps when she gets excited about something she's seeing. Now, we've figured out that she is her daddy's little girl. She LOVES watching Sports Center and football games. It is so funny when I walk in the house and see them sitting on the couch, both completely focused on a football game.

She is still a tiny little thing, only weighing about 13lbs. She is wearing three month clothing, size one diapers, and size one shoes. We've started feeding her baby food and she loves it! From what I can tell, her favorites are peaches, applesauce, and green beans. She doesn't care too much for sweet potatoes. We've increased her milk to 5oz and two scoops of rice cereal every three hours.

I can't wait to see all the changes that the next two months bring. I pray that she gets bigger and healthier as each day passes and for her to be happy and strong. This little girl brings so much joy to our lives and brightens our day just by seeing her beautiful smile. We are so blessed!

Four Months Old

Lyla had her four month check up with Dr. Griner last week. She is 9lbs 12oz and 22 inches long! After going through such a struggle for the past several weeks, our little girl is finally doing so much better. The combination of Prevacid and Reglan has helped to get her acid reflux under control and Dr. Griner has taken her off of the Caffeine he had prescribed for the apnea episodes. If things continue to go well, he plans on taking her off the apnea/heart monitor at her 6 month check up. She hasn't had an apnea episode in several weeks so we've been keeping the monitor off except for when she goes to bed at night. It has been such a blessing not to have to carry that machine around every where we go but I'm also extremely nervous to not have it anymore because at least now we can rest easy at night knowing she's breathing and she's okay. The good news is that I found this wonderful little invention called the Snuza Halo Monitor. It's small and attaches to your baby's diaper for when he/she is sleeping. It vibrates to stimulate your baby if it doesn't sense any movement for 15 seconds. If your baby still isn't breathing after another five seconds, it will sound an alarm. Lyla is still sleeping in a bassinet in our room so I will definitely be purchasing one of these when we make the transition into her own room.

Lyla was in in Macon when she had her first round of shots so this visit was difficult because I had to see them give her three different shots. It broke my heart. She started crying, so obviously I started crying too. The bright side was that we got to show off her Tweety Bird band aids to her daddy when he got home from work :)

This beautiful smile is what I get to look at every day

Although she is almost 10lbs, she is very long and lean so she is in between clothing sizes right now. Her newborn clothes are getting a little snug but some of her 3 month clothes are a little bit too big. She's in size 1 diapers and still eating 2-3 ounces every three hours. I was a little worried that she wasn't eating enough at one time but the doctor said not to worry because even though she's technically four months old, developmentally she's only 6 weeks old.

I've been trying to get her on somewhat of a schedule but it has been difficult because she was so sick. Since she's gotten better over the past couple of weeks, I'll usually try to give her a bath around 8pm, then feed her shortly after and try to put her to bed between 9pm-10pm. Sometimes that works out pretty good and sometimes it doesn't. One thing is for sure, she will wake up between 6:30-7:00 every single morning. At first this took some getting used to because I would desperately want to go back to sleep but now I use it in positive way to get myself up and going for the day. I usually feed her as soon as she wakes up, get us both dressed, and then we go on our morning walks around the neighborhood around 8am. She's become way more alert and notices more things going on around her. She smiles a lot more but we've noticed that she usually only laughs when she's asleep. It's so precious. We'll be holding her while she's completely asleep and she starts giggling. I always wonder what she's dreaming about.

One of my favorite times is when I give her a bath every night. Her eyes always get really big when she hears the water turn on and she immediately clinches her little fists. She hasn't quite figured out what's going on but I love seeing her little facial expressions when I pour a cup of water over her tummy. Thankfully, she seems to enjoy bath time and only cries when I take her out and wrap her in a towel.

These past four months have been absolutely wonderful and as time goes by, she keeps getting healthier and everything keeps getting better. It has been such a blessing that Josh works so hard to provide for us so that I only have to work part time. It has also been such a blessing that I have a job that allows me to bring her with me while I work. I love spending all day with her and I can't imagine ever having to leave her. I can't wait to see how much she's changed in the next two months!

How It All Started

Lyla Jane Hughes made her arrival twelve weeks early and was born on May 10th, 2012 weighing a whopping 2lbs 4oz. However, it was not an easy journey and had many complications along the way.

One of our favorite pictures

It all started because of some minor epigastric pain that progressively got worse. The real fun didn't start until after I was admitted into Labor and Delivery at SGMC. Hours later the pain had gotten much worse, my BP was starting to increase, I had severe swelling and elevated Liver Enzymes. The on-call physician, Dr. Yarborough, decided it would be best to transfer me to MCCG in Macon just in case something happened and I had to deliver early.

After a very long ambulance ride, I arrived at the hospital in Macon where things went down hill quickly. I was diagnosed with Pre-eclampsia and found out later that it had progressed to HEELP Syndrome. After three days in the hospital, things started to look a little better and I was hopeful that I might get to go home the next day. I was sadly mistaken. My BP stayed around 180/110 but at some point it got even higher and caused me to have a gran mal seizure. Soon after that my liver and kidneys started shutting down and Dr. Boddy decided to proceed with an emergency c-section.

I was so scared that me and my baby weren't going to make it or that Josh would be left to raise Lyla alone. This entire experience made me value Josh even more than I already did. He never left my side and stayed positive the entire time, assuring me that everything was going to be okay. Just knowing he was there made me feel safe.

She was so tiny and so precious

Before I could go see Lyla, Josh had been several times to visit with her. The nurses said that they had never seen such a proud daddy. I've always known that Josh was a wonderful man, but seeing how much he immediately loved his baby girl melted my heart and confirmed that he was the person I'm supposed to have in my life and start a family with.

All the complications leading up to my c-section was the easy part. The hard part was not being able to hold your baby in your arms after she's born. The even harder part is having to lay in a hospital bed not knowing if your baby is going to survive. The first time I ever saw Lyla, I was so out of it from all the medications and I didn't remember anything. So instead I count Sunday, Mother's Day, as the first official time we ever met. She was so tiny and already so beautiful. All I could do was cry and smile. I couldn't hold her and I couldn't kiss her, but I was so thankful that she was alive.

The first time I met my sweet Lyla Jane

After four days in ICU and fighting off multiple infections, including pneumonia, I was finally discharged from the hospital. As happy as I was to be going home, it was bittersweet because I knew I wouldn't be able to have my baby girl with me. It was so difficult leaving that day and knowing she had such a long road ahead of her. The doctors warned us that she would have good days and bad days but our little girl was so strong and she progressed quickly. Regardless of any problems she has had or may be having, we are beyond thankful that our tiny blessing survived and is here with us today. It's so easy to take things for granted, but I try to stop and thank God every day for allowing us to experience such a miracle.