Four generations right here...

Riley has been spending LOTS of time with her grandma, and got to meet her great grandma for the very first time!

And so far (fingers crossed), she has been sleeping like an angel!!

The weather here has been wonderful so far, and we're loving it!  Shorts and t-shirts every day, and it's meant to get even warmer.  And I may or may not have bought Riley some ridiculously cute clothes and shoes today.  And swimsuits.  And a hat.  And maybe some leggings.  So so so cute.  She is going to be one stylish little bubba!

After a short nap, I think I can now be coherent enough to write this, although it's rather challenging for me to keep my eyes open still (after being awake for about 30 hours straight).  But I have to say, the trip over here really could not have gone any better.  It was not without challenges, but overall Riley was a little angel!  We first flew from Wellington to Auckland, about a 45 minute flight, which was Riley's first flight ever.  Everyone kept telling me to make sure that I fed her during take-off and landing to help with her ears, but that is a little challenging when the flight is only 45 minutes long... so I fed her during take-off, and we didn't have any problems, and then she slept for the entire flight.  I chose NOT to wake her up to feed her during landing, and she seemed quite content until she let out a loud scream of pain.  I immediately was worried about her ears and oh-my-god-what-if-she-was-in-pain-because-of-the-altitude, and oh-no-what-did-I-do!??  That is, until Mark goes, "My bad."  Apparently he was trying to lean over to see out the window, and squished her little feet in the process, causing her to cry out.  As soon as he un-squished her, she stopped crying, problem solved.  Phew!

She then slept during our transfer from the domestic to international terminal, all through security, and right up to boarding our plane to San Francisco.  Now, because she was so sleepy, we didn't have a good opportunity to change her diaper, so we waited until after we boarded the plane, and Mark took her to one of the bathrooms to change her diaper before we took off.  Well, because she was a bit hungry at this point, she was not so happy about having her diaper changed, and she screamed while Mark tried to bring her back to our seats.  This lady walked by me and said rather rudely, "Oh great, a baby..." looking for me to agree with her... And then when Mark brought her all the way to our seat, I could hear the people behind us cursing their bad luck for being seated by a baby.  And they were NOT subtle about it.  Hmph. 

Anyway, the next 12 hours of the flight were a whirlwind of feeding, sleeping (baby only, Mark and I did not get to sleep), and pooping (again, just Riley here).  In fact, Riley decided to poop not only in her diapers, but ALL over one of the bathrooms as well.  As in, Mark was changing her, and she pooped mid-diaper change and it got everywhere!!  Mark wins daddy of the year award for his efforts on this flight, he changed every single diaper during the flight!!  And he helped keep her quiet, which was essential!

Anyway, so we managed to make it through 15 hours of travel with only about 2 minutes of crying, which is amazing, if you ask me.  She was so well behaved, so happy, and it made the trip much less stressful for me and Mark.  And now we're nestled in to my parents' house, enjoying some free babysitting, and excited for our vacation to begin!

Sadly, we managed to forget to pack the cord to connect my camera to my computer, which means I cannot upload photos until we buy a new one tomorrow.  So, until then, no pictures. :) 

Later today, we will be boarding a plane, beginning a long journey to California.  And I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous.  I am SO excited to go visit friends and family in the warm CA weather, but not looking forward to the flight(s).  I so do not want to be THAT person with the screaming baby on the 12 hour flight when everyone is trying to sleep.  The thing is, she is going to cry.  It's a 12 hour flight, it's inevitable.  But how much?  Who knows.  We could be really fortunate, because it's an overnight flight (leaves 7:30pm NZ time, arrives 7:30am NZ time), and somehow we have been blessed with a baby that NEVER cries at night.  And by night, I mean during the night, so like 9pm onwards... Early evenings, those are another story.  She can be a bit fussy in the evenings.  But the nights?  As long as she's fed in a timely manner, she is happy as can be, and goes back to sleep.  We could get lucky, and not hear a peep from her except to let me know she's hungry.  Oh how I hope that's true.  I also hope that we get the seats with the bassinet, so I don't have to hold her the whole time.  Don't get me wrong, I love holding a sleeping baby... just not for 12 hours in a row. :)

Wish us luck!!  Many pictures to come over the next few weeks!!

First of all, we were without internet for the past 24 hours, and I sort of did not know what to do with myself!  I am almost always playing around on my computer while Riley is eating, or sleeping, and I found myself with nothing to do (hence the lack of blog posts).  Thankfully it is now working again. :) 

Anyway, lately a few new opportunities have presented themselves for me, and I'm a little torn.  In the upcoming months I have the chance to play soccer again, and also the potential to earn a decent amount of money by coaching again.  Both of these are harder to do when breastfeeding.  See, I've decided now that I have developed a love-hate relationship with breastfeeding.  I think there are actually more things in the "hate" category, but the quality of things in the "love" side makes it still worthwhile.  And to be fair, it's not really "hate" per se, more like sort of dislike/annoying.  Riley is still exclusively breastfed, and my goal is to make it to 6 months, then re-evaluate once we get there.  But anyway, on to the loves and hates...

HATE

• Leaking boobies, which necessitates wearing breast pads 24/7, and doing laundry more frequently.  Oh yeah, and which causes some embarrassing public situations...
  
• Having to constantly wear specific, breastfeeding-friendly clothes/bras.  No more t-shirts and sweatshirts!!
• Engorgement.  Even if Riley sleeps 5 or 6 hours, I wake up in pain basically waiting for her to wake up to feed.
• Trying to rush/plan outings in between feedings
• Feeding in public.  It's challenging for me!  Riley is squirmy, and LOUD, and I need to be able to see her while I'm feeding her, which makes it tough to be discrete.
  
• Oversupply.  Too much milk = a mess!
• Not being able to sleep on my stomach still.
• Pain!  Feedings don't hurt at all, but my boobs are just always a little sore feeling when full of milk.
• The complications with exercise.  As in, it's painful to run/work out, and I can only do it right after I feed AND pump out all the milk... but then my supply increases for the next day, which is extra annoying!  And don't get me started with trying to play soccer...I might not even be able to play in this upcoming season if I want to keep breastfeeding.
• My inability to leave Riley for an extended period without bringing a breast pump. 
  
• That I will probably feel really guilty if/when I decide to stop breastfeeding.

LOVE

• That I am providing the healthiest, best food for my baby.
• That I was able to make it work when so many people have such a hard time.
• That I don't have to hassle with prepping and cleaning bottles all day.  Also means Riley never has to wait for food.
  
• It's free!  Formula is expensive.
  
• I don't have to get out of bed in the middle of the night.  Well, that's not entirely true, but I don't have to go to the kitchen to prep a bottle.
• The bonding.  Breastfeeding is so incredibly intimate, and I love that aspect of it the most.
• Availability.  Food is ready and available anywhere, anytime. I think I've already said this one like 3 times.
  

She definitely LOVES breastfeeding... and with our upcoming trip to the US, breastfeeding might be the only way I get to hold my baby, so that's a plus!! :)  And now, on to the star of the show...

See that little red spot by her eye?  That's where she stabbed herself in the face with her fingernails... it's an almost daily occurrence where she makes herself cry. :( I'm trying to keep her nails short, but it's quite challenging to cut those things!  She ends up just having to wear those little mittens when she sleeps so she can't claw herself in the face. We call this face, "Deer in Headlights."  We see it often.

Now, off to continue packing, we leave in 24 hours!!!

Today Riley is 2 months old!

She decided to celebrate being two months old by sleeping 6 hours in a row last night, and taking lots of good long naps all day today!! Hooray!  She also wanted to show off a little smile for you.

She's pretty much doing all the same things as last week, although she's smiling a lot more, and she will smile for no particular reason sometimes, which is just so very cute.  She is also getting better and better at grasping things, which makes playing on her play mat quite entertaining (probably more entertaining for me than for her, to be honest...)

I swear, she gets cuter by the day!!  And check out her little chin and sassy hand.  Mwah!

I think I must have bad luck.  Or maybe just bad timing.  Or both.  I was awake at 10pm-ish, with Riley sleeping in the moses basket right next to me.  I almost said "sleeping soundly," but just as I typed out s-o-u... she starting waving her arms and grunting, so I promptly deleted that part.  See usually, when we first put her down to sleep, she sleeps at least 3 hours in that first stretch, normally more like 4 and maaaaybe 5 if we're lucky.  So last night, after putting her down at 9, I decided to go to bed, figuring I'll sleep 'til midnight, and that would be pretty good.  Well, it was taking me forever to fall asleep, then guess whose little eyes popped wide open come 10:00??  So up I got to get a drink and a snack before she started crying and needed to be fed, only to come back to a sleeping baby... which, don't get me wrong, is what I wanted, but I just ate a snack and got out of bed for nothing... and then it was this weird time where she miiiiiiight have slept for 2 more hours, but then again it had been almost 3 hours since she last ate, so she could have also woken up soon... so do I sleep?  Stay up?  It seems that every. single. time. I make a decision, the opposite happens.  As in, if I decide to stay up, she sleeps for 3 more hours.  Or if I decide to go back to sleep, she wakes up 15 minutes after I fall asleep.  So, of course, I decided to sleep, and she woke up 5 minutes later.

Funny thing is, we started her out in her crib last night.  I put her in there around 8:00.  She was awake, but quickly fell asleep.  I went and did a few things around the house, then came back in her room to turn the heater on ever so quietly, and I decided to sneak a peek into her bed every so sneakily without being seen, and I see this...

Does that look like a sleeping baby to you??  Me thinks not.  Obviously the light was off, but I turned it on to snap a quick photo or two...

And yes I know, gasp!  Crib bumpers, pillows, a loose blanket, stuffed animals!  Holy safety hazards!   Eh, she's also tucked in pretty securely with a sleep positioner, so she's not going anywhere.

Anyway, she finally fell asleep, and therefore so did I, and we're all rested and happy and ready to take on the day!  In fact, it's nap time/ snuggle time with baby.

Someone wanted to say hello...

And show off her outfit/nike shoes...

Yesterday she slept a ton, so she decided she wanted to be awake most of today, which means I didn't get much done! 

While yesterday this little babe was happiest with her daddy, today she decided she just wanted some mommy lovin'.  This little peanut took all her naps with me today, snuggled up in my arms, her little hot breaths on my chest.  And sure, I got nothing done today, but you know what, I don't mind one bit.  She won't be this little and cuddly for long, so I'm soaking up every minute of it.

Oh my baby bug.  I hope she sleeps this well on the airplane next week!

Lately, over the past few days, there has been something magical about daddy.  If Riley is crying, when she gets in daddy's arms, she stops.  Sometimes, she even falls asleep.  Like I said, magical.

I finished a few more of Riley's scrapbook pages, so I thought I'd share!