Road Warrior

Well we successfully made our first car trip to Iowa this last weekend-more about that in a moment.
First things first-she had her 2 month appointment yesterday which was quite traumatic for us. It was the fateful vaccination day. She was double teamed by the nurses-one on each leg in order to give 2 shots at the same time. I was standing next to her with my hand on her but couldn't look. When they were done, I looked at her face and it crumpled, turned bright red and out came a cry that I have never heard before. After the initial cry, her mouth was wide open but she couldn't breath in. The nurse told me to blow on her to get her to breath in- AWFUL I tell you! I asked if I could stay in the exam room to nurse her and they let me. It calmed her down for the time being. We brought her home and she seemed fine-I left her with Chris around 5:30 to go to a kickboxing class. When I returned at 7:30 the downstairs was completely dark. I took in the evidence: the bottle I left was empty, her medicines were side by side on a tray in the den (mylicon and Zantac), there was a broken glass on the kitchen floor. I went upstairs and found Chris and baby in her nursery on the couch. She was peaceful and sleeping on his shoulder but Chris had this battered look about him. Apparently she started crying hysterically as soon as I left and never stopped. We tried to put her down in the crib but she started crying in her sleep. I tried to nurse her but was crying while trying to eat- she has never done that before- nursing has always calmed her down. We eventually got to the point where she was sleeping and only waking every 20 min or so with a cry and then going back to sleep. We called the doctor at 10:00pm and she confirmed it was most likely the shots. She suggested Tylenol so Chris was sent out to a 24 hour Walgreens. It seemed to work! She is fine now but WOW that was awful.
Here are her stats: Weight- 11.4 oz!!!
Length- 22.5 in (I think, I need to confirm)- bottom line- she is thriving!
I brought up my poop concern with the doc and she recently read an article that basically said- TREAT THE INFANT, NOT THE POOP. With that said, she is healthy so I could care less what color her poop is.

Back to the trip to Iowa...She was perfect! She slept most of drive there and back. We only stopped 1 time at the DeKalb Oasis to feed her and change her. She got to meet Gobbie (Chris' grandmother) Frank and Beth (Chris' Brother and sister in Law) and her cousins. She hardly fussed all weekend- a real trooper. It was kind of a pain being out of our routine for me though. Hotel room living, especially a Comfort Inn that has gone downhill, sucks. I didn't want her touching the bedspread or blanket because I am so creeped out by hotel linens- thanks a lot Dateline NBC.
Oskaloosa, IA is, however, the place of the purchase of her first stuffed animal that we have creatively named Lambie (as he is a Lamb). I hope she is as good when we fly to New Mexico next month!

POOP!

Arrrgh- green slimy poo again!
I will ask the doctor on Monday about it.
We are going to Iowa to see Chris' Grandmother and Brother (and family). We leave on Friday morning.
Should be an interesting trek in the car...
Will post after the journey- stay tuned!

Status Quo

Not really much to report because everything is going great.
We are getting out quite a bit to meet other moms/babies for lunches. We also made a 90 minute trek out to a party this last weekend. She was really well behaved and actually was content in her new Weego carrier. She slept the entire party but we did have one issue to contend with... people touching her without asking or washing their hands. Maybe I am being overly protective but I don't want strangers who have been outside all afternoon eating and drinking coming up and touching her head. I appreciate that they think she is beautiful and want to admire her but we ended up in the bathtub at 10:30pm washing cigarette stink off her noggin. How do you politely tell people to keep hands off?

She is also loving her swing finally- she hated it at first but now it is a guaranteed sleep inducer- plus it plays classical music that actually sounds pretty decent...she will be a well rested, cultured baby. She really is starting to notice objects like the bear mobile above the swing. She stared at them until she fell asleep.

The GERD is under control but not totally gone- it is manageable though. Nursing is almost perfect (who woulda thought that was possible).
Poop is great though she grunts like a grown man when she is trying to go!

We are gearing up to travel to Santa Fe next month and to get back to work. I have to say that I am not ready to return to work. That is all I will say at this point b/c I don't want to think too much about it right now but I need to get on the ball and figure out what we are doing for childcare!

This entire experience is so wonderful- I am so IN LOVE with my baby it is truly inexplicable (except to other moms who smell what i'm cookin'!)

Baby Horoscopes: Find out what the stars say about your little one!

Many people believe that the astrological sign your baby is born under can influence her personality, interests, talents, and who she'll best develop relationships with later in life. Here's the inside scoop on what to expect, with a little

View >>

growing...

Quick weight update-
9lbs 8oz
She gained 6 oz from last monday after only gaining 1 oz the week before. I personally suspect the original weigh in of 9.1 was incorrect...
Also, she is losing her soft, silky hair in the front...looks more like her daddy everyday;)

new update: first true smile in response to me- just now!

Hooray

Well it looks like the Zantac is kicking in. She is a lot less miserable than she has been. We both slept until 8:30 this morning! That was after a marathon feeding at about 1:30- Now that I can nurse without so much drama, I have learned to "nap nurse" her lying down. It is great b/c we can both just lie in the dark while she nurses. She ate voraciously for 45 min and then sort of slept and nursed for another 15-20 more. I can't believe how much she slept after that. I actually had to wake her to take her meds and eat again. She needed the sleep because she has not been napping during the day- she is sound asleep on me right now. She is a very attached baby. She does not like to be alone at all-not sure if that is inherant in her personality or a creation of mine.

Poop Scoop: It has been a great seedy yellow but this morning it was a slimy green which indicates a food allergy. I am going to cut out dairy right away just to see if it is a cow's milk allergy. The milk in coffee and cereal can easily be replaced with soy or rice milk- I will miss my cheese though- I eat cheese and crackers daily...

Now that she isn't s fussy, we can do a little tummy time- see video... (amateur at best- taken with my camera as a trial run to see how video looked)

Zantac

Well she has been taking Zantac for 3 days now and I think the medication is finally working! She is pretty much on a daily regimen of Zantac and Milicon right now- thank god for meds! She still is not sleeping much during the day though (and night)- she is so tired but can't let go. I can get her to fall asleep but she easily wakes up and then is fussy- this could all be from the GERD though so we will see...I also have the fear that maybe she isn't getting enough to eat so I feel we are constantly nursing- she only gained 1 oz last week. The doc isn't concerned though but we do have a weigh in next week just to be sure.
She is starting grasp things now- she grabbed my fingers in each fist and wouldn't let go. She also grabs my hair when I am carrying her and won't let go.
I am starting to see the signs of baby acne on her beautiful skin- I know it is totally normal and I promise I won't mess with it but I hate to see her perfect complexion with red marks!
So, all in all it has been a very challenging week but nothing we can't handle!
Pictures to follow soon I promise!