48 Days Later...

We have been blessed with the presence of Lily Ann for 48 days now. Those days have been filled with poopy diapers, cuddly naps, gallons of spit-up, splishy-splashy baths, crying, cooing, and gorgeous, nose-wrinkling smiles. Lily now weighs 8lb 14oz, and is 21.5 inches long. She’s gained more than 3 pounds since we left the hospital, and has already grow 2.5 inches! She is already growing faster than her mommy can handle! She’s starting to fill out, though she is still (and I think may always be) a skinny little thing.
Lily’s beginning to reach some of the “baby milestones”. On October 5th she lost her umbilical cord and was finally able to have her first real bath. She loves to take baths, and I love to give them to her. She’s also able to hold her head up and look around, and she’s turning into a little smile factory! Most babies don’t start smiling until they are 6 weeks old, but Lily started cracking smiles around 4 weeks of age. Most people aren’t surprised by this – any child of mine is going to be advanced in that area. Lily is even starting to “talk,” and is developing her laugh…it’s pretty adorable. I love to watch Lily change and grow – every moment with her is a new and exciting adventure.
As I look back on my life before Lily, I can’t believe that I ever had the nerve to say that I was busy - I didn’t know busy until Lily introduced me. Besides raising a daughter and further developing our own relationship, Aaron and I are both trying to finish up with college, and Aaron is working full-time on the weekends. Throw in a couple of cats and some friends on the side, and you’ve got yourself a regular smorgasbord.
As hard as I knew it would be, it was my plan all along to continue with classes after Lily was born. Whenever I mentioned that plan to anyone, they gave me the “yeah right” look, and told me that I was crazy. (Little do those people know that their doubtfulness only further motivated me to succeed.) So when the time came for Lily to be born, I told my teachers of my plan…again, I got the “yeah right” look, though they all told me that they were willing to work with me. As planned, I headed back to school eight days after Lily was born. As hard as it is to be away from Lily for those few hours 3 days a week, and as impossible as it is to do homework with a husband, newborn, and house to tend to, I wouldn’t change anything about my life right now. I find myself looking to God and to those around me for help and support, which is something that I used to have difficulty doing. I am also proud to say that, even though I may end up being a stay-at-home mom (for a while), I will have a COMPLETE college education! I will be proud to tell that to my daughter when it is time for her to decide which path to take in life.
Everyday is a new adventure for the McDonald family. We continue to enjoy our life (though we can't wait for it to slow down a bit) and find blessings from God around every corner. Please keep our family in your prayers...we have many more tired days ahead, and we need God to keep holding our eyes open during class.