Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Saturday, April 24, 2010
To summarize...
The baby that was 9 pounds 11.5 ounces on Wednesday was 10 pounds on Friday.
P said we have a different baby. He thinks this one ate the other one.
Pictures to come. If she takes a good nap today.
P said we have a different baby. He thinks this one ate the other one.
Pictures to come. If she takes a good nap today.
Friday, April 23, 2010
So amazing....
Each day is something new for Isla. She noticed Speckles a week or so ago and now likes to watch her move around the room and tries to talk to her. She was laying in the floor playing on her activity mat and I was standing next to her so Speckles came over. Isla looked at her and there was suddenly this expression on her face like "WOW--We have a DOG!"
We've been practicing sitting up and now she doesn't want to lie back in mommy's arms anymore, she wants to be up looking around! I brought her Exersaucer up from the storage room this morning. When I first tried to put her in it, it collapsed (yes, with her in it!) because I didn't have the legs locked. It crashed and scared her. I did better than I thought I would--it was obvious she was just scared, not hurt--but I still felt guilty about not being more careful. Mimi put her back in there while I was at work and let her stay in there for a few minutes several times today. She just leans back and looks at all the little toys on it. I took some pictures this evening--I'll try to post those (and her 3 month Winston pictures) this weekend.
Last weekend we laid on the big bed and practiced rolling over. When she was on her back, she'd take my finger and I'd pull her to roll her onto her tummy. She doesn't much care for her tummy so she'd flip herself back onto her back. Last week she did some push-ups while on her tummy but I haven't seen her repeat that.
There's a nursery rhyme book that she really likes--especially some of the animal pictures. She also likes the sing-songy cadence to the rhymes.
One day this week my mom called me at work to ask how much Sesame Street Isla is allowed to watch. She was watching television and mom didn't think she needed to watch what she was watching so she put on Sesame Street. Apparently Isla would start to get bored and fuss a bit, then Elmo would come on and she'd be all better. That afternoon she didn't care much for Clifford the Big Red Dog but she did watch Criminal Minds with Mimi while P and I had small group that night. A couple days later she was watching Fox News with my dad. That is NOT allowed! I agree with my brother that this is a form of child abuse. I didn't expect we'd have to address television issues so young nor did I expect that we'd have to lecture Grandpa on what is appropriate viewing for the child. I think its time to invest in some Baby Einstein videos. We have the one on sign language already--maybe we'll watch that this weekend.
Yesterday I could hear Isla "AAARRR, AGGG, ARRR, AAARRRR, AAGGGGG!" on the phone while I was talking to my mom. Apparently that's Isla for "FEED ME NOW!" Mom was having to wait to feed her because she'd just given her her medicine. I had the same problem this morning only Isla advanced from the "AAARRRR, AGGGG, ARRR, AAAARRR, AAAAGGG!" to a full cry before I could feed her. Then she'd try to take a drink and have one of those after-cry-quick-breath-almost-hyperventilating-gasps. It took another 5 minutes to calm her down enough to eat.
I am just so amazed by this little girl and can't wait for each new day to watch her grow and learn. I'll try to post some updated pictures this weekend. We don't have much planned for the weekend because P has to work all weekend and its supposed to rain all weekend.
We've been practicing sitting up and now she doesn't want to lie back in mommy's arms anymore, she wants to be up looking around! I brought her Exersaucer up from the storage room this morning. When I first tried to put her in it, it collapsed (yes, with her in it!) because I didn't have the legs locked. It crashed and scared her. I did better than I thought I would--it was obvious she was just scared, not hurt--but I still felt guilty about not being more careful. Mimi put her back in there while I was at work and let her stay in there for a few minutes several times today. She just leans back and looks at all the little toys on it. I took some pictures this evening--I'll try to post those (and her 3 month Winston pictures) this weekend.
Last weekend we laid on the big bed and practiced rolling over. When she was on her back, she'd take my finger and I'd pull her to roll her onto her tummy. She doesn't much care for her tummy so she'd flip herself back onto her back. Last week she did some push-ups while on her tummy but I haven't seen her repeat that.
There's a nursery rhyme book that she really likes--especially some of the animal pictures. She also likes the sing-songy cadence to the rhymes.
One day this week my mom called me at work to ask how much Sesame Street Isla is allowed to watch. She was watching television and mom didn't think she needed to watch what she was watching so she put on Sesame Street. Apparently Isla would start to get bored and fuss a bit, then Elmo would come on and she'd be all better. That afternoon she didn't care much for Clifford the Big Red Dog but she did watch Criminal Minds with Mimi while P and I had small group that night. A couple days later she was watching Fox News with my dad. That is NOT allowed! I agree with my brother that this is a form of child abuse. I didn't expect we'd have to address television issues so young nor did I expect that we'd have to lecture Grandpa on what is appropriate viewing for the child. I think its time to invest in some Baby Einstein videos. We have the one on sign language already--maybe we'll watch that this weekend.
Yesterday I could hear Isla "AAARRR, AGGG, ARRR, AAARRRR, AAGGGGG!" on the phone while I was talking to my mom. Apparently that's Isla for "FEED ME NOW!" Mom was having to wait to feed her because she'd just given her her medicine. I had the same problem this morning only Isla advanced from the "AAARRRR, AGGGG, ARRR, AAAARRR, AAAAGGG!" to a full cry before I could feed her. Then she'd try to take a drink and have one of those after-cry-quick-breath-almost-hyperventilating-gasps. It took another 5 minutes to calm her down enough to eat.
I am just so amazed by this little girl and can't wait for each new day to watch her grow and learn. I'll try to post some updated pictures this weekend. We don't have much planned for the weekend because P has to work all weekend and its supposed to rain all weekend.
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Mommy's feeling better....
Just wanted to take a minute to update because I know a some friends have been worried about Isla. Things are looking up. We got a script for Prilosec this week so that should help control her acid production. We have an increased dosage of the Zantac to use to handle the acid until the Prilosec kicks in. She's already eating better and we just started Monday afternoon (increased Zantac) and Tuesday afternoon (the Prilosec). We know she CAN eat, we know she WILL eat, we just have to be patient for the meds to work that will LET her eat. I don't think she's had a lot of the pain that a lot of reflux babies have and she's a great sleeper (unlike most reflux babies), I think she's just controlled the pain by not eating very much. Smart kid, huh? Wish mommy could control her appetite like that!
Overall, she's doing wonderfully--developmentally, everything is right on track--she's just a little girl and will need some time to catch up in her growth.
This weekend I want to sit down and write a long post about all the amazing things we're seeing--she's realized this week WE HAVE A DOG! and visually follows Speckles around the room, she's a chatty little thing and communicates well with different tones of her voice, she loves to sit up and look around, her head control is doing really well, her dislike of tummy time has her rolling from her tummy to her back with just a little bit of help, and its amazing to see her recognize voices and see those big eyes light up as she starts looking for the people she loves. She's also started recognizing the bottle and is showing excitement to see it as we get her tummy symptoms controlled.
Thanks for all the prayers and well wishes. Keep praying that the Prilosec will control things for her and that we don't have to spend a lot of time trying to find the right dose or trying other meds.
Overall, she's doing wonderfully--developmentally, everything is right on track--she's just a little girl and will need some time to catch up in her growth.
This weekend I want to sit down and write a long post about all the amazing things we're seeing--she's realized this week WE HAVE A DOG! and visually follows Speckles around the room, she's a chatty little thing and communicates well with different tones of her voice, she loves to sit up and look around, her head control is doing really well, her dislike of tummy time has her rolling from her tummy to her back with just a little bit of help, and its amazing to see her recognize voices and see those big eyes light up as she starts looking for the people she loves. She's also started recognizing the bottle and is showing excitement to see it as we get her tummy symptoms controlled.
Thanks for all the prayers and well wishes. Keep praying that the Prilosec will control things for her and that we don't have to spend a lot of time trying to find the right dose or trying other meds.
Friday, April 16, 2010
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Feed Me NOW!
Wow--what a difference a week (and a dozen doses of Zantac) makes! Isla started eating a little better Wednesday, then even better Thursday and Friday. Saturday she took 24 ounces of formula and about 25 Sunday (compared to around 12 on Tuesday)! Woo hoo! My mom warned me to expect the little diva to become more insistent about eating as she started eating more. Um, yeah. The next meal after she told me that, Isla decided she wanted to eat and she wanted to eat NOW! And instead of crying an ounce and half into a bottle because she doesn’t want anymore, she's screaming at us to give the bottle back when we take it away to burp her. When I weighed her Saturday morning, she'd gained about 6 ounces since Monday. My mom kept telling me to trust my instincts--I KNEW something wasn't right with this baby's eating but I didn't know how to fix it. I'm so thankful that it seems to finally be fixed and pray that she continues to chow down!
Friday, April 9, 2010
Baby bulimia
I know there are many things in the world that are troublesome: drugs, alcohol, abuse… And I know there will be challenges ahead with raising Miss Isla. I don't know when I have to stop listening to Kid Rock when she's in the car or when Patrick has to stop watching violent movies if she's next to him in her bouncy but we plan to do our best to shield her from social pressures, raise her to be actively involved in church, and encourage her to discuss things with us as they come up. I thought we had some time to enjoy her childhood before worrying about the societal pressures children face. I was wrong.
Baby bulimia. A new social epidemic.
After a day of fairly hearty eating with MiMi, I came home to happy baby. We played last night, we took a bath, we went to bed and slept 6 hours before we woke up. It was joyous. I was tired but I felt like I can do this working mommy thing.
But an evil was lurking in our midst. Apparently Miss Isla felt like yesterday's food intake was at binge levels. This morning she was playing in my arms, cooing, smiling, and sucking her fingers. I'd take her fingers out and stick her pacifier in--I'd rather she take the paci than the fingers because it will be easier to take away from her when the time comes. We're just sitting there, loving each other, enjoying each other. Then she decided to purge. As she sucked on those long fingers she got from mommy, she quickly slipped them further in her mouth and suddenly I saw the gag reflex kick in. Up came a little bit of the bottle she'd just taken. Then more. Lots more. She purged all of breakfast. Luckily mommy got pretty good at liquid containment when Isla was having so much reflux. It was all over mommy and baby, but just a drop got anywhere else.
This was different than the reflux--that never bothered her. This came from somewhere else and it scared her. She started to cry. Mommy cuddled her a few minutes to help calm her down, then MiMi took her to change Isla's clothes as mommy went and changed hers. Usually laying her on her changing table is a calming mechanism for her, but she fussed a few more minutes as MiMi cleaned up breakfast. We both got changed and mommy had a few more minutes to love on her before she had to leave for work. Happy baby was back by the time I left. Hopefully she'll binge on the bottle again today but we'll be able to stave off the purging tomorrow.
Baby bulimia. A new social epidemic.
After a day of fairly hearty eating with MiMi, I came home to happy baby. We played last night, we took a bath, we went to bed and slept 6 hours before we woke up. It was joyous. I was tired but I felt like I can do this working mommy thing.
But an evil was lurking in our midst. Apparently Miss Isla felt like yesterday's food intake was at binge levels. This morning she was playing in my arms, cooing, smiling, and sucking her fingers. I'd take her fingers out and stick her pacifier in--I'd rather she take the paci than the fingers because it will be easier to take away from her when the time comes. We're just sitting there, loving each other, enjoying each other. Then she decided to purge. As she sucked on those long fingers she got from mommy, she quickly slipped them further in her mouth and suddenly I saw the gag reflex kick in. Up came a little bit of the bottle she'd just taken. Then more. Lots more. She purged all of breakfast. Luckily mommy got pretty good at liquid containment when Isla was having so much reflux. It was all over mommy and baby, but just a drop got anywhere else.
This was different than the reflux--that never bothered her. This came from somewhere else and it scared her. She started to cry. Mommy cuddled her a few minutes to help calm her down, then MiMi took her to change Isla's clothes as mommy went and changed hers. Usually laying her on her changing table is a calming mechanism for her, but she fussed a few more minutes as MiMi cleaned up breakfast. We both got changed and mommy had a few more minutes to love on her before she had to leave for work. Happy baby was back by the time I left. Hopefully she'll binge on the bottle again today but we'll be able to stave off the purging tomorrow.
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Sigh.
Almost 2 weeks have passed since my last update. We're still struggling with eating. Yesterday we switched to Nutramigen, a hypoallergenic formula that should digest more easily. I pray that it helps our little girl find an appetite. So far she's eaten a little more in the past 24 hours since we switched than she had been but she's just eating an ounce or 2 here and there. Her sleep cycle is messed up though--we got back from vacation yesterday morning, she slept all afternoon, then went to bed at 6:30. Needless to say, her new habit of getting up only once a night, inhaling a bottle, and going back to sleep didn't happen last night. Hopefully after a good nap (she's asleep now, finally!) she'll be good and hungry.
Tomorrow we go back to see the SLP about sucking. She's made a lot of improvement in this area in the past 3 weeks. She can down a 4 ounce bottle in 10-15 minutes in the middle of the night and (most of the time) is doing better with her other bottles also. Unfortunately she's developed a habit of drinking 2 ounces then screaming at us. That's part of the reason we switched to the special formula--maybe the other formula isn't digesting well. We'll give this one 2 weeks and if she doesn't do better with it than the last one, we'll switch back because this one is really expensive. We also go back to the doctor tomorrow for a weight check. She's gained some since last time but not as much as we would have hoped, especially since we were mixing her formula to a higher calorie recipe. Mommy may ask about some happy pills too. I'm much less stressed than I was when I was pumping but I'm still having a lot of emotional lability. I hate the idea of taking anything though--those meds frequently have appetite side effects that I don't need--Isla needs an increased appetite, I don't!
Tuesday I have to go back to work. I really have mixed feelings about this. I'm so grateful I had 12 weeks to stay home and I really don't think I could be a stay at home mommy all the time but it seems like I'm just starting to get to know her. I'm sure I'll come home at lunch on Tuesday. I'm going to TRY to go to the gym after work and then I'll come home and spend all evening with my little girl. Another problem with going back to work is that I get bored there which makes the days drag by and will just remind me how much I miss Isla. Gotta talk to the powers that be about finding something to occupy my time more.
Tomorrow we go back to see the SLP about sucking. She's made a lot of improvement in this area in the past 3 weeks. She can down a 4 ounce bottle in 10-15 minutes in the middle of the night and (most of the time) is doing better with her other bottles also. Unfortunately she's developed a habit of drinking 2 ounces then screaming at us. That's part of the reason we switched to the special formula--maybe the other formula isn't digesting well. We'll give this one 2 weeks and if she doesn't do better with it than the last one, we'll switch back because this one is really expensive. We also go back to the doctor tomorrow for a weight check. She's gained some since last time but not as much as we would have hoped, especially since we were mixing her formula to a higher calorie recipe. Mommy may ask about some happy pills too. I'm much less stressed than I was when I was pumping but I'm still having a lot of emotional lability. I hate the idea of taking anything though--those meds frequently have appetite side effects that I don't need--Isla needs an increased appetite, I don't!
Tuesday I have to go back to work. I really have mixed feelings about this. I'm so grateful I had 12 weeks to stay home and I really don't think I could be a stay at home mommy all the time but it seems like I'm just starting to get to know her. I'm sure I'll come home at lunch on Tuesday. I'm going to TRY to go to the gym after work and then I'll come home and spend all evening with my little girl. Another problem with going back to work is that I get bored there which makes the days drag by and will just remind me how much I miss Isla. Gotta talk to the powers that be about finding something to occupy my time more.
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