Lily’s had a very, very busy few weeks, ever since the holidays started! Now it is all back to normal, so Mommy can finally update regarding what’s been going on in the Life of Lily.
First, Auntie Sophia (my sister) visited for a week for Christmas, and then, a week later, Uncle Eddie (my brother) visited for a week. It was the first time both of them had met Lily, and of course, they both fell in love with her as soon as they saw her. Eddie even got the baby voice out, and started talking to her in a high-pitch tone (which sounds oddly off because his voice is so raspy and deep). At first, she wasn’t sure if he passed her approval scale, as she only let him hold her for two seconds upon the first meeting before she cried out for Mommy to take her back. But, an hour later, he tried again and she was fine. The rest of the week, she was completely fine with him.


Then, as the week progressed, we had some fun with Lily. It was still snowing up here in Southwest British Columbia, so we decided to finally take some advantage of the snow, and Eddie and Bianca (his girlfriend) made a couple of snowpeople! It’s supposed to be of me and Lily Bean. They were going to make Dave as well, but it got too freezing cold for their poor hands (they weren’t used to this weather — in North Carolina it only maybe snows twice a year, if that).

Uncle Eddie finishing one of the snowpeople while
Daddy held onto Lily Bean in her eskimo suit.

She was the cutest little snow baby ever!

We even managed to get a wave from her when the snowpeople were done!
Then, midway through the week, Lily started getting a cold. It started off small, but caught on quickly. She began with a wee bit of a cough, and some sneezes. We noticed it on Wednesday, but then by Thursday morning it was full force. Her cough was very raspy and phlegmy, and her nose started dribbling snot. No fever, but her throat hurt. We could tell because after she let out a ripping series of coughs, she looks at us and whines. Our poor baby girl. We started giving her Infants’ Tylenol on Thursday morning — the recommended amount for her age and weight. It doesn’t appear to have gotten any better, though. Her coughs are actually getting worse. We have a doctor’s appointment for her on Thursday, which is also for her 6-month check-up. I don’t think we can wait that long though, so we’re going to a health clinic tomorrow and see what the doctor there has to say about it.
I’ve also rubbed some Vic’s vapor rub on her throat and chest, and on the bottom of her feet before putting socks on her. That seems to help a bit with her sleeping, but hasn’t alleviated any of the symptoms, unfortunately. However, she is just about the cheeriest, most easy-going sick baby I’ve ever come across. She’d cough, whine, and then break out into a giant smile for us, as if to say, “I’m not feeling well, but thank you so much for taking care of me, Mommy and Daddy!” So CUTE!!
This has affected her sleep a lot. Last night, she went down at 10p, which is over an hour past her usual bed time. The night before, she didn’t even go down until 1am. She was so, ssooo exhausted, but she couldn’t fall asleep because she kept coughing when we put her on her back. And she was fussy because she was so tired. She would want to sleep in our arms, and once we put her down after she’s fallen asleep in our arms, she wakes up again with a coughing fit. She was just tired out and puckered by 1am, and she forcefully went to sleep at that time. The night before that, she didn’t go down until 10:30p. And, throughout these nights, she wakes up coughing and whining, so I have to tend to her about every hour or so. Our poor baby…
We think her immune system is down because she’s teething. She’s been trying to gnaw at things pretty ferociously. She tries to sink her teeth into everything! This photo is an example! I put this bumblebee toy of hers in the freezer for a couple of hours, then gave it to her. She immediately put it in her mouth and was instantly relieved. When it finally melted, she threw it away and cried to me. Heh.

And I want to show this photo to you here because it’s just so darn cute not to:

Today, we will be giving her her first foods! I went to B’ham’s Food Co-op to get some awesome organic baby rice cereal. We’re doing it tonight. Tomorrow is officially her 6-month birthday, but I have to work tomorrow so we want to spend some time to be able to do it today. Well, this late afternoon. It’s all very exciting!!! We’ve put her in her high chair and gave her a spoon to play with, and she thought it was pretty nifty — until she realized there was nothing on the spoon to eat, and that if there was nothing to eat, there really wasn’t any reason to be restrained in a chair with a tray in front of her. Heh. She’s a quick one, that girl.

