about my layla

There's a lot to say about our new little girl.  Let me fill you in.

• She looks exactly like Brian.  Exactly!  I sometimes look at her and I cannot believe the resemblance between her and his baby pictures.  I would say out of my kids, she more resembles McKay over Elle, but she seems to have a different look altogether.  When I first saw her I thought she looked just like Ellery.  It's funny how they can look like everyone and it's always changing.  Nobody looks like me though.  

• For someone who looks so much like her daddy, she sure is stingy with her snuggles with him.  She likes me.  She likes when I hold her.  Brian will be holding her and she'll be screaming and then he'll simply place her in my arms and she is content.  It drives him crazy.  Lets just say they are still developing their relationship.

• She's got a sensitive tummy.  She seems to not tolerate any dairy, chocolate or spicy food well at all.  This means I'm on a diet.  This means that a vegetarian just knocked out two other food groups: dairy and chocolate.  Isn't chocolate it's own group?  When I was still eating these things she would scream and scream and there was nothing we could do to comfort her.  I did this with McKay too, and it took four months for him to outgrow it.  Needless to say, mama's hungry!

• She is most definitely my cutest newborn.  I am not blinded by love.  My kids look squishy and blotchy when they first arrive.  It takes awhile to see their cuteness.  Of course, they are cute to me, but I get that they aren't going to win any contests.  After all, when McKay was born it was I, his loving mother, who pin-pointed his resemblance to Gohlum.  Anyway, Layla was less squishy, and less blotchy upon arrival.  She was very cute. 

• Don't let her looks fool you.  She is a stubborn little thing.  I saw this from the beginning.  If she's left crying for even just a minute she will begin screaming so loud that she turns purple.  She did this when she was two days old and is still doing it now.  And she's got these angry little eyes that she pulls.  

• She can already hold her weight on her legs and could from the very beginning.  She is strong and will stand if you hold her up.  I can't believe such a little thing can be so strong.

See?  Angry eyes.

• When she was first born she was so tiny that the newborn diapers slid right off her.  She was drowning in them.  And just after three and a half weeks, she moved into size one!  She's growing like a champ and I'm sure she'll be a little chub in no time. 

• She is so alert.  She loves looking at her mobile, her brother and sister, and the paintings that we have on the wall.  

• Besides crying, she is pretty quiet.  She hasn't cooed much at all yet.  She cries and grunts and that's about all we get from her. 

• When we discussed the name Layla during my pregnancy we recognized that there weren't really any nicknames for it.  Oh, not true!  You're looking at little Layes.  It just happened.  I didn't really want it to happen, but it did.  I also didn't really want Laysie to happen either, but oh boy, that one did too.  Not to be confused with lazy, although I'm sure it will be.  I think she's cool enough to pull them off, don't you?    

• So far, she doesn't like her bed.  She'd much prefer to take advantage of her poor exhausted mother in the middle of the night and sleep in bed with her.  She will be dead asleep and we'll place her in her crib as gentle as can be and she perks right up and starts squirming around. . .then turning purple.

• She's still spending most of her time sleeping, but we do get a few good hours in the late afternoon where she is awake and alert.  

• It's so fun to have a newborn in the house.  My other kids just adore her and of course she already has Brian wrapped around her little finger- the girls tend to do that to him pretty early on.  It's also been hard to have a newborn again.  Much more challenging with two other kids to take care of.  I feel like I"m always feeding someone or wiping someone's bum.  I'm so glad that Layla is mellowing out and I'm sure I am too.  

 Oh, I love this little girl so much.