4 months

Jake and I were talking today about how we can hardly remember a life without Ilyana, but at the same time we can't believe she's already 4 months old! The time with her has been flying by and she is continuing to grow bigger every day! Some of her new skills this month include: rolling over (back to tummy), putting everything in her mouth, giggling (cutest thing ever!), and squeeling (usually with delight!). Everyday she just seems bigger and more alert. She's so much fun to be around and play with! She's starting to turn into a bit of a mama's girl but still enjoys playtime with daddy! She is getting so strong and wants to be on the move at all times. We're going to have to put up baby gates pretty soon! This month has been a little rough as far as sleeping goes, the 4 month sleep regression has been tough. But we are slowly but surely getting back into our good sleeping habits. Plus in the morning when we get her out of her crib we receive the happiest greeting in the form of a big, toothless, wide-mouthed smile! Ilyana is such a wonderful baby!

Ilyana loves: splashing in the bath, play time, reading books, standing, 'conversations' with mommy and daddy, music, her bunny.

Ilyana dislikes: being passed around, being held like a baby, being patient ;)

Weight: 11 lbs. 4 oz.

3 Months

Ilyana is now 3 months old! I can't believe how time flies! Ilyana is now starting to get into a regular sleeping pattern. We start our bedtime routine around 7, she feeds once throughout the night, and then sleeps until anywhere between 8:30-10 usually. We've recently started working on taking consistent naps throughout the day, usually about 2 hours after every time she wakes up. During her awake time we've been having a lot of fun playing under our activity gym working on grabbing toys, playing in our Fisher Price sit-me-up, reading, and doing tummy time. Ilyana has recently learned how to roll over from her tummy to back and has been holding her head up like a champ! She's getting so strong! She also giggled for the first time recently! Whenever she giggles she seems to scare herself into getting the hiccups. Haha! Ilyana is such a fun baby and we love getting to watch her grow!

Ilyana loves: Splashing in the bath, books with bright pictures, mommy and daddy, her activity gym, standing (with help), watching daddy play video games.

Ilyana doesn't like: being held like a baby (boohoo!), getting out of the bath, being passed around.

Weight:10 lbs. 5 oz.

Sorry for the late post, we've been busy moving! We're so excited to finally be in our house! Moving went really well and we have been working hard at unpacking and getting settled. We love our new house and our new neighborhood and we can't wait to make memories in this house!

Top 8 baby gear picks for 0-3 months

Recently, I've had several conversations with pregnant friends about just how much stuff there is for babies. You have the essentials: diapers, wipes, crib, clothes, etc.. but what about all that other stuff, is it really worth it, or is it just a waste of space? Well here's my list of my top 8 favorite (non-essential) baby items for 0-3 months!

1. Boppy Pillow
The boppy pillow is advertised as a nursing pillow, which it definitely does the job. I definitely prefered the boppy over it's large competitor, the my breastfriend. I felt like it was more comfortable for both me and Ilyana. However if the boppy was only good for nursing it wouldn't have made this list. As it turns out, the boppy pillow can be used for so many other things! At Ilyana's age, she loves to use the boppy to be propped up on her back, use it for tummy time, and even be cradled in the center hole to take a snooze! As she gets older she'll be able to continue to use it to have support while sitting too. The boppy has so many different uses which definitely makes it worth it.

2. Summer infant swaddleme
It's the middle of the night, you're running on 2 hours of sleep, and you just finished feeding and changing your little bundle of joy, can you still successfully swaddle your little one? If so, I'm impressed, especially as they get bigger and stronger! Ilyana LOVES to be swaddled so the swaddleme has been a life saver. It's the perfect thickness to keep her warm but not let her overheat and it's super easy to use. We originally tried out the woombie but found that it was really tight around her neck which made us nervous. The swaddleme is tight enough to keep her otherwise flailing arms contained but loose enough that it's not like a straight-jacket. And as an added bonus, she ends up looking like a cute little baby burrito!

3. Sound Machine
When a baby is in the womb there is constant noise, the sound of your heartbeat, the amniotic fluid swishing around, even your voice. Now that they are out of the womb, having things that remind them of the comfort and safety of their past home helps to relax and comfort them. We have used a sound machine in Ilyana's room since day one and I really think it has helped her to be a good sleeper. Not only does the sound comfort her, but it drowns out background noises as well. The sound machine we have is the "mybaby soundspa". It works great as a sound machine, you can set a timer or have it run all night and it has 6 different sounds to pick from (we prefer rainstorm). My only beef with this specific machine is the projector. It was really neat the first few nights and Ilyana loved to look at it, but the projector portion quit working after a week of using it.

4. Layette gowns
Technically this is clothing, but I feel that these gowns have definitely earned their spot on this list. Diaper changes in the middle of the night usually consist of one eye half open, the other eye still shut trying to sleep. I can not imagine trying to correctly button, whilst keeping kicking feet in a onsie in the middle of the night. These wonderful little gowns are definitely a lifesaver. They come in both boy and girl patterns so either gender can wear them, and they are usually long so a baby can continue to wear them for several months. Another added bonus is they usually have sleeves that you can flip over and cover up their razor sharp little finger nails so they don't cut themselves at night.


5. Activity gym
Babies need to stretch out and work their limbs to develop the muscles necessary for rolling, crawling, and eventually walking. An activity gym is the perfect toy to help with this. Ilyana has loved her activity gym since she was just a few weeks old. She loved to just lay there, squirm and just look at all the colorful objects hanging down. Now that she's a little bit bigger she's working on grabbing and batting at the toys. The activity gym has been great for entertaining her while I shower or get chores done. The activity gym we bought was the infantino grow-with-me activity gym. As Ilyana gets bigger and is able to sit on her own, we will be able to put up the sides and make it a ball pit! We really love having an activity gym!

6. Bouncer seat
A baby bouncer seat is a lifesaver. We've gotten pretty lucky with having a pretty chill baby, but there are still some days when she just doesn't want to be put down, but sometimes mommy needs to go to the bathroom, or eat, or get blood flowing back in her arms and the bouncer usually keeps Ilyana content for at least a little while. The one we have vibrates and plays music too so it's not only comfortable for her to sleep in, but it's fun to play in too! Ilyana loves to bat at the little dangling sheep. Another added benefit of the bouncer has been that it's an easy way to keep Ilyana sitting up right after eating to help with her not spitting up.  I will say that as she is getting a little bit older we aren't using the bouncer as much, however it was definitely really helpful in the beginning!

7. Fisher-Price Sit me up
We just got this today, but as you can tell, it was an instant hit! Ilyana LOVES to sit upright, but she isn't quite strong enough to sit by herself yet so I really wanted to find a chair that she could sit in. I had found a bumbo seat at a consignment sale but after reading this post by a pediatric physical therapist about how bad the bumbo is for a babies development I knew I needed to find something else. After lots of research and recommendations we finally decided on the Fisher-Price sit me up. It's perfect for babies who love to sit and have decent head control but maybe can't sit by themselves yet. It has a little tray, toys, and little squeakers that make noise when the baby kicks them. Not only is it fun, but it's a great opportunity for her to work on her neck muscles! It was super easy to put together and folds up nicely to take it places too! I definitely recommend the Fisher-Price sit me up!






8. Video baby monitor
A regular, sound-only, baby monitor can definitely do it's job, however I have LOVED having a video monitor. Although they are a little more expensive, it is so nice to be able to just peak in on Ilyana while she's sleeping without having to worry about waking her with opening or closing her door. It's also really helpful to be able to look in at her to see if she's just making noises in her sleep or if she's actually starting to wake up. Another benefit to the video monitor will be when she's a little older so I can see what she's doing during nap time. The video monitor we have has a button that allows us to use it like a walkie talkie. This feature could be really handy in the future!




Do you have any baby items you love? What do you love about them?

2 Months

Our sweet little girl will be 2 months on Tuesday! We are falling more and more in love everyday! Ilyana is such a great baby. She is an amazing sleeper. She goes to sleep around 10:30, eats around 5 or 6, then goes right back to sleep until 9 or 10 (sometimes even later!). She has also learned to fall asleep on her own, which is great! Ilyana also had her first social smile! I was talking to her and asked if she wanted to go see her aunt Jenna and she gave me a HUGE smile! She doesn't smile consistently yet, but she smiles the most for her daddy (I can't blame her, he's pretty great!). All we could get on camera for today were a few half smiles, but they're still pretty cute :)

Ilyana loves: Daddy and mommy, going on walks, listening to music, her toy zebra and light up turtle, bath time, Mommy and Me time at the hospital.

Ilyana doesn't like: waiting for a bottle, getting out of the bath, being tired, being passed around to a lot of people.

Weight: 9 lbs 9 oz.

Height: 22 inches

May will be a very busy month for the Marzen family. Jake will be graduating from Mount Mercy on May 17th. We close on our house on May 20th and move in the following weekend. Our house is really coming along and looking great! Finally, the last week of May Jake has the week off before officially starting full time at Rockwell.

1 Month

Miss Ilyana is already a month old! Where did the last four weeks go? Life with Ilyana has been more wonderful than I could have ever imagined! I just love being her mommy! She has a very sweet, calm, snuggly demeanor and has been such a wonderful easy baby. She rarely cries for any reason besides being hungry or gassy, usually sleeps about 3.5-4 hours between feedings at night, and is a great napper during the day as well. We really could not have asked for a better baby!

Ilyana loves: Snuggles, being swaddled, laying chest to chest, being wrapped up in warm blankets (just like daddy!), sucking (on a pacifier, her hand, a finger, a bottle, anything she can!), listening to mommy or daddy sing.

Ilyana doesn't like: Being gassy, being cold, having to wait for a bottle.

Weight: About 8 lbs. 

Height: 20 in.

In other Marzen family news, it sounds like our house should be done sometime near the end of April. We are so excited to finally be able to move in and have more space! Also, in May Jake will be graduating college and starting as a full time employee with Rockwell. I am so proud of how hard Jake has been working, especially these past few weeks. He works so hard to get good grades, support our family, and still manages to make time to spend with his girls. He is such a fantastic husband and father, I couldn't ask for more!

Having a baby, the things they don't tell you.

At 1.5 weeks postpartum, I've realized there are quite a few things (good and bad!) that no one ever seems to tell you about having a baby, so I've decided to start a list! Feel free to add to the list in the comments section!

Labor and delivery:

1. You don't really see the actual doctor often, it's mostly just you and your nurse. Make sure you like your nurse, you want to feel comfortable with them. (I loved my nurse, Keely!) If you don't feel comfortable with your nurse, consider asking for a new nurse, however, give them a chance, some nurses take some time to warm up to!

2. You can't eat while in labor (besides popsicles and chicken broth), eat before you go in!

3. If you are even considering the epidural, sign the consent form before you're in the heat of labor! By the time I decided I wanted it there was no way I could have signed a piece of paper!

4. Being in labor can make you shake (like full body convulsions), this is totally normal.

5. You might throw up while in labor. It's ok, just let your nurse know you're feeling nauseated, they'll hold a bag for you.

6. Getting an epidural hurts, but it sets in pretty fast.

7. Things won't go exactly as planned. Find peace with that before giving birth and it'll be a lot more enjoyable.

8. You will probably poop while pushing, you probably won't even know it.

9. During pushing, the doctor will probably use a finger to stretch out the hole around the head. This hurts, but it means you're close!

10. Even with an epidural, pushing hurts.

11. The moment they put your baby up on your chest is indescribable.

Postpartum

1. All the stuff in baby crib they use (receiving blankets, burp cloths, diapers, etc.) are free game, take them.

2. Breastfeeding causes menstrual-like cramps.

3. Breastfeeding is hard and is a lot of trouble shooting. You will figure one thing out and a whole new problem will come up.

4. Get a lot of disposable breast pads (the reusable don't work as well), you will leak A LOT once your milk comes in.

5. Personally, I think the recovery is worse than the actual birth. You'll probably be in significant pain for days.

6. I promise the pain will get better (I think I started feeling noticeably better around day 5).

7. If you're in a lot of pain, ask your nurses for stronger pain meds (they can even give you a prescription to take home).

8. Take your stool softener. After your first few bowel movements, continue to take the stool softener.

9. No matter how prepared you feel, there will be a time when you feel like you don't know what you're doing. I promise you and your baby will be ok!

10. Babies smile in their sleep. It is the cutest thing ever.

11. Postpartum depression doesn't necessarily mean you'll feel sad (although it might!). For me I felt apathetic and cried at the drop of a hat. Talk with your spouse about how you feel, it really helps to just acknowledge it!

12. You will probably receive a lot of unsolicited parenting advice. The most gracious response I've come up with so far is "This is what my husband and I have decided is best for our family".

13. Paper plates, bowls, cups, and silverware are a lifesaver when you're at home. Nobody wants to be doing dishes those first few days...

All in all, having a baby is hard, but it is SO worth it!

Ilyana Noel Marzen

(I realize this post is a bit delayed, but having a baby is time consuming!)

Ilyana Noel Marzen was born Saturday February 21st 2015 at 6:58pm. She weighed 6 lbs. 5 oz. and measured 19 in. long. She is perfect in every way! Here's her birth story...

Saturday morning I woke up around 7 and was laying in bed thinking about how I felt very overwhelmed with the idea of going to church the next day. If we went, people would be pestering us about when we were going to have this baby, but if we stayed home we would be receiving texts and calls all day asking if we missed because we were in labor! After some prayer and meditation thinking about how God is our protector I drifted back to sleep until around 8 o'clock. Around 8 I felt a small amount of fluid leak out, at first I just figured it was some weird pregnancy thing (there's a lot going on down there when you're 39 weeks pregnant!), but when I got up to go to the bathroom there was a huge gush of fluid! At this point I knew, this was either my water breaking or my bladder had exploded (either way, it was time to go to the hospital). Before rushing off to the bathroom, I turned to Jake and said something along the lines of "Uh, Jake, I think my water just broke.". He woke right up and was very excited (who gets a full night of sleep before going into labor?!). After showering and eating some breakfast we headed off to the hospital. Around 9 o'clock they checked to see if my water had broke and knew right away that it was indeed my water. They checked my cervix at this point and I was dilated to 3.5 cm, 100% effaced, and her head was at 0 station. After they admitted us and set us up in our room they suggested we walk the halls a bit to see if we could get some contractions started (at this point I wasn't feeling any). Around 12:30 I still wasn't feeling much besides the occasional mild contraction and the doctors were planning to re-access around 1 o'clock to decide if I needed pitocin (a drug that brings on strong contractions, which I really didn't want!) so we decided to give our essential oils a try and rubbed some Joy (which has jasmine oil in it) on my stomach and ankles. Within minutes I started feeling mild but consistent contractions! Around 1 o'clock they were glad to see that I was starting to contract, however, if I wasn't progressing (which they thought was likely since the contractions were so mild) they were strongly considering the pitocin. But when they checked me I was already dilated to 5 cm! After getting checked, contractions started to really pick up and become closer together and more painful so I decided to get into the whirlpool bathtub to try to help ease some of the back labor pain. At this point, I really didn't have any sense of time. It seemed to me that only about 10 minutes had passed when in reality it had been closer to about 30-45 minutes before I was telling (begging) Jake to tell a nurse to get me an epidural. The back labor at this point was just too much to handle. I wasn't even aware of when I was having contractions because the back labor was so intense. As Jake went to go call our nurse, I was sitting (writhing) in the bathtub when all of the sudden the whirlpool jets turned on for no reason. I think I was just overwhelmed by the loud noise on top of everything my body was going through and I started yelling at them as I tried to find the button to turn them off! This was the point that I really started to break down emotionally. Around 3:00 I was finally out of the tub, gowned, and back in the hospital bed. As they waited for the anesthesiologist to arrive, they checked my cervix again and I was still at 5 cm, but her head had moved down to +1 station. Finally the anesthesiologist arrived and I was able to get an epidural (thank God I had listened to my nurse that morning and signed the consent forms for the epidural "just in case". There was no way at this point that I could have signed anything.). For those of you who don't know, I HATE needles, so a large needle going into my back was a pretty horrible experience. Before they can put in the actual epidural they have to give you a shot in the back to help numb your back. This was probably the worst part of labor for me. I was already in excruciating pain from the back labor and contractions, the shot was extremely painful, I was thinking about the large needle in my back, and I had the anesthesiologist yelling at me to calm down (You calm down, buddy! You aren't the one in labor with a large needle in your back!)! Finally, I was able to calm down enough that they were able to get the epidural in and the pain started to diminish. Around 4:00, once the epidural had set in, they checked me again and I was at 8 cm. Apparently the relaxation the epidural gave was exactly what my body needed. The plan at this point was to check me again around 6:00 so I watched a movie while Jake finished writing a paper, it was great! Around 5:30 I started to notice some added pressure 'down there' and felt like I wanted to push. A little after 6 the doctor finally came in to check me and confirmed that I was indeed at 10 cm and her head was down far enough that she could probably see it if she cheated. At 6:19 it was time to start pushing! The first 20 minutes or so the pushing wasn't too bad, just some mild discomfort with the pressure down there. After that, the pressure started to get pretty painful so I don't really remember much. According to Jake, Dr. Lyons (the doctor who delivered her, who was spectacular, by the way) got to the room a little after 6:50. I remember opening my eyes long enough to see she was there and seeing that she had a scalpel. which I quickly put out of my mind (Jake said she never actually used it though). After several minutes the pressure was to the point that I felt like I couldn't do it any longer when all of the sudden a push felt REALLY good and they were putting a baby up on my chest! I couldn't believe it! After 39 minutes of pushing, she was finally here! After a minute or two on my chest she was still pretty purple so they took her for a minute to give her a little oxygen (she pinked up right away after that!), clean her up, and check her weight and height. Finally they brought her back and I was able to hold and cuddle my little girl! Even though my labor didn't go exactly according to my plan, I wouldn't change a thing about it (besides things I couldn't control, like the pain, etc)!

Ilyana has been the most perfect baby. She's absolutely beautiful and Jake and I are just so in love with her! I thank God everyday for entrusting us with His beautiful creation!