Team Gabriel: Another Week of Firsts...

For both Lily and I! Last week was the first week I worked in about 4 months (I think a little longer than that actually) and the first time I had to arrange my schedule at work around one single (semi) permanent daily task. It was the first time I left Lily with anyone for more than a few hours at a time. It was the first time Lily went to work with her daddy and the first time she stayed with her babysitter for a whole day. What a week!

Going back to work went really well for me on Monday and I have to say a big thank you to everyone who said a prayer for us that day - they were definitely felt! Although Lily was a little fussy for her first day at her daddy's office, I think it was enjoyable (for the most part) for both Lily and daddy. Tuesday went even better! On Wednesday, I dropped Lily off at her sitter's house for her first all day stay away from both her dad and I. She was a little fussy that day, but didn't do too badly. Thursday and Friday both just kept getting better and I think she's now pretty used to staying with her babysitter and I think she'll do really well there. Both Richard and Erica (Lily's sitter) sent me pictures and updates throughout each day and Erica now expects, and encourages, a daily call from me - although that first day, there was definitely more than one!

Lily hanging out at her daddy's office:

Busy girl at Miss Erica's:

My first day back was so busy, with discovering new projects and catching up with everyone I had missed while on leave. Everyone was so welcoming and had lots of questions about Lily and how we were doing - it was really nice to see everybody. It was especially nice to catch up with two of my co-workers who are now expecting their first little ones within the next year. It's so much fun to talk baby stuff with them! I can't wait to hear how things are going as they progress and I really can't wait to see these new little ones when they arrive next year! Both of them are going to make the most wonderful parents and I'm so super excited for both families!!

One big change for me was making time in my work schedule for pumping. I'm going to continue to nurse and feed Lily expressed milk as long as possible and am very lucky in that my workplace is so supportive of nursing mothers. They've provided us with a Mother's Room, which gives us the privacy and comfort needed to pump and with a separate refrigerator in which to store the milk throughout the day, all of which enables me to have food for Lily when I'm not there to nurse her. I'm so grateful to have this resource at work and to have an employer that recognizes and supports my needs. So far, it's been going really well and I hope it continues that way!

Lily is officially 16 weeks old - how did that happen?? She will be 4 months old next Saturday, the 4th and I feel as though she was just born yesterday (ok, not really yesterday, but you know what I mean!) She's such an active, happy little baby and she entertains us daily. She found her voice this week and I love to sit and chat with her every evening. She's constantly moving and is rolling from side to side now; I expect one day she's going to just flip right over and surprise both us and herself. She doesn't do much rolling from her stomach to her back now and actually, she's tolerating tummy time pretty well. She's now figured out that she can turn her head from side to side to see what's going on and that helps a lot with how much time she'll stay on her stomach. Her head control just gets better every single day and she can hold her head upright for at least a few minutes when she's sitting propped up on a pillow. Still, though, her favorite thing to do is stand and she has such strong legs! I was able to catch her chatting and squeals on video yesterday evening and this afternoon, so I had to share them with everyone, as well as a few cute pictures. Enjoy them and I hope everyone has a wonderful rest of the week!