Lilly's a big girl now!

I can't believe we have just three weeks until this baby makes her debut. This entire pregnancy flew by. I know pregnant ladies are always, "Wow... that was fast. Blah, blah, blah. Where'd the time go?" But, seriously. Where did the time go?! It feels like just yesterday we were bringing Lilly home and now, here we are, less than a month to go until we meet her little sister. I even scheduled all of my final doctor appointments today. Only three left!

With so little time on our side, Aaron and I realized we needed to step up and take care of some important things we've been meaning to do for a while now.

No. 1: Move Lilly to her own room. Oh man, this was a hard one. We have been co-sleeping with our little bug since the day she was born. We've shared a bed for the last year. I know a lot of people disagree with the idea of co-sleeping but I love(d) it! I love having my sweet girl right next to me and it made nursing so, so, sooo much easier. But with Addie's arrival nearing, we realized we had to change it up. I don't want the new baby waking her sister up every few hours and I really can't imagine squeezing another body into our bed. (Lilly tends to flop around a lot and she loves to sleep perpendicular to us.)

So, about a week ago, I decided to start putting Lilly down for naps in her crib in her own room. The first day was a total nightmare. The second day was a lot smoother. And these days, sheesh, it's a total breeze! She loves her crib. The only caveat is that I have to hold her hand until she falls asleep. Not that I mind...

She's also sleeping through the night by herself in her crib... well, if by herself means with us sleeping on a mattress next to her. I know, I know! But we're working on it. We plan to have the mattress out in a few days. Wish us luck!

No. 2: No more boobs. 20 months strong. That's how long I was able to successfully nurse my monster. I love breastfeeding and I am so thankful we were able to keep it up for as long as we did. Lilly was exclusively breastfed for six months before we started solid food. She hasn't had a drop of formula and she has had less than ten bottles of pumped breastmilk in her entire life. I know I'm starting to brag but, so what? Breastfeeding is hard. HARD. I am stoked that I did it for so long.

It breaks my heart when I hear women say they just don't want to breastfeed or that they think it's weird or gross or whatever. Grow up! It's natural! It's the perfect food for your baby! It's free! Not to mention how awesome the bonding can be! OK, enough rambling.

Anyway, I decided it was time to stop nursing Lilly about a month or two ago. My boobs have been crazy sore this pregnancy and letting her latch on was murder. She was down to nursing just before naps and bedtime so I figured quitting wouldn't be that hard... and I was totally right! One day I just told her that boobs were only for babies and since she is a big girl she gets big girl sippy cups and big girl snacks. She totally bought it! She still asks for boobs every once in a while but she's kind of lazy about it and she usually settles for some juice. I'm hoping she won't revert back to her old ways once Addie is here.

No. 3: Ditch the diapers! This was way easier than we thought it would be. Lilly had a pretty gnarly rash a few months ago so we let her run around naked. Out of the blue, she walks up to her potty and takes a seat. We've had a few accidents since then, but for the most part she is totally potty-trained... well, at home, that is. We haven't tried it out in public yet.

So, here we are. Our little Lillybug sleeps in her own room, doesn't need to nurse and she can control her bladder. I'm so proud of our big girl!