Addie had her first real bath a few days ago. We weren't sure how she would react seeing as she screamed bloody murder during all of her sponge baths. However, she loved it!
That is her happy face.
1.07.2009
1.03.2009
In Our Spare Time
Since Allen's been home for the last few weeks, he's taken on a couple of projects. The first was to build an entertainment center for our bedroom. We had the drawers for the amoire that matches our bed set. But, they weren't high enough. Allen built a place for the TV, the cable stuff and our DVDs to rest so we can actually see it while we are in bed. He designed it himself. It's been a nice addition.
Allen has also been working on Lexi's closet. The two bedrooms have this jack-and-jill closet that they shared. It was huge, but you could tell used to be 2 separate closets. We decided to put it back that way since we always use one room as the guest room and it's nice to have your own space when you're staying at some one's house, you know? Plus, it's just weird for two rooms to share a closet. Allen built a new wall, put up sheet rock, did the mud work, textured, and then painted. Because it's an all white room, he figured Lexi could help with the painting without the risk of hurting anything. I decided to make her paint without her shirt so that she wouldn't ruin any of her clothes. The pants are already stained so she kept those on. She kept saying, "I'm painting naked!!!"
1.02.2009
Two For Two
We did it again! We have another reflux baby. That's two for two: 2 girls, 2 NICU babies, 2 milk allergies, and 2 refluxers. Yea for us!
Even after the butt diagnosis, we were still on the lookout for any changes in Addie's habits. On Tuesday, she threw up. Not spit up. Threw up. Then again on Wednesday. Then again Thursday. We examined the pattern and decided something was amiss.
This is how things would go with Addie: We feed her 8 times in 24 hours. About half of the time, she would eat with no issues. She was eager and happy. She was content after eating and slept well between feeds. Then, she'd have one feed where she'd be a little less happy. She'd root around and act hungry, but as soon as she took the bottle, she'd cry and fuss. She pulled her knees up, arched her back and was miserable. Then, she would eat but would choke, sputter and cry through the feed. The next feed would be the same, but even worse with her taking even less food. This, of course, made it hard for her to sleep between feeds. Then, we'd get to the third feed with these problems. Finally, she'd eat a little, throw it all up, and about 10 minutes later would finish the bottle and seem happy. She'd be fine for the next four feeds. Then, it would start all over again. This had become a reliable pattern and it just wasn't sitting well with me.
My nurse friend called last night to check on Addie. When I had told her about the butt problem, she immediately called her other nurse friend and a pediatrician. None of them had ever heard of the problem and thought the method to fix it was absurd. She recommended we go to the ER as our doctor had told us to do if anything changed. She said that the throw up was a new pattern and a sign that something else was going on. So, we loaded up and went in to the ER.
We had another great set of doctors. We've had really nice, empathic doctors who are genuinely concerned about our kid. That has really helped since we've been going in almost every other day for the last week. They heard our list of issues and experiences and said that Addie was a pretty confusing case because she had so many different symptoms. They suggested we might need to have x-rays, barium tests and ultrasounds to rule out any conformation deformities (which is what our pediatrician had mentioned, too). Our initial doctor called in his boss to visit with Addie. He watched her for about 1/2 an hour and then started asking me some questions about her behavior. Does she thrust her tongue a lot? YES! Does she arch her back a lot? YES!
They both agreed Addie was a typical case of GERD, or acid reflux. We had over looked many of the signs because we had only seen Lexi's extreme manifestation of reflux. We figured the thrusting was a normal baby thing. We figured the barfing was normal. Hey, for us, it was a break to only deal with 3 fussy feeds and one episode of throw up compared to what we had with Lexi. Both doctors jaws dropped when we told them how we had experienced reflux and told us Lexi was not the normal presentation! Good to know.
So, Addie was given a prescription for Zantac. They both said to make sure if anything else develops or she doesn't seem more comfortable in the next 3 or 4 days, to take her back in. The throwing up will likely get worse before it gets better with a peak around 4 months. Most fluxers resolve by 6-9 months (which would seem like a dream since we had to live with it for 18 months with Lexi). But, the medication should reduce the pain factor quite a bit. It usually takes a few weeks for the acid to start hurting so Addie's progression has been normal and it's finally hurting enough for it to effect her feeding and sleeping. The major difference here is that when Addie does feel good, she is eager to feed. Lexi never wanted to eat and every meal was a fight. If we can just get Addie pain free, things should go pretty smoothly.
At this juncture, these are Addie's diagnoses: she has a definite milk allergy which manifested as blood in the stool. We will have to keep her on Nutramijen for the first year of her life. Then, we can try milk since most kids grow out of it in the first year. She also has reflux. She'll stay on meds for at least the first 6 months and then we re-evaluate. The poor thing was hurting on both ends! This seems to fit together so much better than the other answers we've received. I feel way more at peace with this new development than the previous ones. Before, it just wasn't settling well. I knew we were missing something. I didn't think reflux, though. But, after hearing the doctor and watching Addie, it looks pretty obvious. Hopefully, we'll get this kid comfortable and in a few months, this will be a distant memory!!!
Even after the butt diagnosis, we were still on the lookout for any changes in Addie's habits. On Tuesday, she threw up. Not spit up. Threw up. Then again on Wednesday. Then again Thursday. We examined the pattern and decided something was amiss.
This is how things would go with Addie: We feed her 8 times in 24 hours. About half of the time, she would eat with no issues. She was eager and happy. She was content after eating and slept well between feeds. Then, she'd have one feed where she'd be a little less happy. She'd root around and act hungry, but as soon as she took the bottle, she'd cry and fuss. She pulled her knees up, arched her back and was miserable. Then, she would eat but would choke, sputter and cry through the feed. The next feed would be the same, but even worse with her taking even less food. This, of course, made it hard for her to sleep between feeds. Then, we'd get to the third feed with these problems. Finally, she'd eat a little, throw it all up, and about 10 minutes later would finish the bottle and seem happy. She'd be fine for the next four feeds. Then, it would start all over again. This had become a reliable pattern and it just wasn't sitting well with me.
My nurse friend called last night to check on Addie. When I had told her about the butt problem, she immediately called her other nurse friend and a pediatrician. None of them had ever heard of the problem and thought the method to fix it was absurd. She recommended we go to the ER as our doctor had told us to do if anything changed. She said that the throw up was a new pattern and a sign that something else was going on. So, we loaded up and went in to the ER.
We had another great set of doctors. We've had really nice, empathic doctors who are genuinely concerned about our kid. That has really helped since we've been going in almost every other day for the last week. They heard our list of issues and experiences and said that Addie was a pretty confusing case because she had so many different symptoms. They suggested we might need to have x-rays, barium tests and ultrasounds to rule out any conformation deformities (which is what our pediatrician had mentioned, too). Our initial doctor called in his boss to visit with Addie. He watched her for about 1/2 an hour and then started asking me some questions about her behavior. Does she thrust her tongue a lot? YES! Does she arch her back a lot? YES!
They both agreed Addie was a typical case of GERD, or acid reflux. We had over looked many of the signs because we had only seen Lexi's extreme manifestation of reflux. We figured the thrusting was a normal baby thing. We figured the barfing was normal. Hey, for us, it was a break to only deal with 3 fussy feeds and one episode of throw up compared to what we had with Lexi. Both doctors jaws dropped when we told them how we had experienced reflux and told us Lexi was not the normal presentation! Good to know.
So, Addie was given a prescription for Zantac. They both said to make sure if anything else develops or she doesn't seem more comfortable in the next 3 or 4 days, to take her back in. The throwing up will likely get worse before it gets better with a peak around 4 months. Most fluxers resolve by 6-9 months (which would seem like a dream since we had to live with it for 18 months with Lexi). But, the medication should reduce the pain factor quite a bit. It usually takes a few weeks for the acid to start hurting so Addie's progression has been normal and it's finally hurting enough for it to effect her feeding and sleeping. The major difference here is that when Addie does feel good, she is eager to feed. Lexi never wanted to eat and every meal was a fight. If we can just get Addie pain free, things should go pretty smoothly.
At this juncture, these are Addie's diagnoses: she has a definite milk allergy which manifested as blood in the stool. We will have to keep her on Nutramijen for the first year of her life. Then, we can try milk since most kids grow out of it in the first year. She also has reflux. She'll stay on meds for at least the first 6 months and then we re-evaluate. The poor thing was hurting on both ends! This seems to fit together so much better than the other answers we've received. I feel way more at peace with this new development than the previous ones. Before, it just wasn't settling well. I knew we were missing something. I didn't think reflux, though. But, after hearing the doctor and watching Addie, it looks pretty obvious. Hopefully, we'll get this kid comfortable and in a few months, this will be a distant memory!!!
12.29.2008
Tight Ass
Yes, that was our diagnosis. No, I'm not kidding.Apparently, Addie has a tight muscle in her rectum that is causing her to spray blood when she farts and right before she poops. Then, the poop coming out has a little blood in it from passing through the area, too.
Our doctor (who was fantastic) was very concerned when she first heard about the spraying issue. She promptly called the hospital and spoke with the gastroenterologist who said that they see this issue all of the time. The spraying is what clued him into to our problem.
The fix? I have to insert my finger into her bottom every day for the next 14 days to help "loosen" the overly tight muscle. You heard right.
I can't even begin to put into words how I feel about this development. It's not something I expected to hear, that is for sure. The doctor did say if anything changes, if Addie gets more fussy, has any more blood, mucous, anything to go right into the ER. Her initial concern was that Addie bowels had become blocked or flipped over on themselves. Because we haven't determined for sure if it's tight ass syndrome or something else, she wants us to err on the side of caution if anything else seems amiss. But (pun fully intended), she said that she felt everything the specialist had told her to feel for and thought this was a strong possibility. Before we go in for further testing, she wants us to give this routine a go.
If you subscribe to Freud's theories, Addie has no chance of turning out normal after this round of treatment!
When Will I Learn?
If I've learned anything, it's to keep your mouth shut. Why don't I do it then? With Lexi, I said, "No c-section. We'll be totally prepared. Everything will be perfect." Whack! Got hit upside the head with that one.
With Addie, "We're going full term. Expecting everything to be fine!" Again, slam! We did go full term, but we've already hit our challenges and we're just 2 weeks out! The NICU again and now the bloody poop. Come on!!!
Last night around 1 a.m., Addie had more blood in her poop. More than the first time around, even. It's been getting progressively worse as the day wears on, too. She's eating worse. This morning at 11 a.m., she farted pretty good and sprayed a good amount of blood inside her diaper. She followed that with more blood streaked poop.
We're off to see the doctor...
With Addie, "We're going full term. Expecting everything to be fine!" Again, slam! We did go full term, but we've already hit our challenges and we're just 2 weeks out! The NICU again and now the bloody poop. Come on!!!
Last night around 1 a.m., Addie had more blood in her poop. More than the first time around, even. It's been getting progressively worse as the day wears on, too. She's eating worse. This morning at 11 a.m., she farted pretty good and sprayed a good amount of blood inside her diaper. She followed that with more blood streaked poop.
We're off to see the doctor...
12.28.2008
Night and Day
Well, it seems like the new formula is helping little Addie. She has no more blood in her stool. She's spit up a few times, but that must be normal for most babies.
She is, however, extremely cranky for her 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. feeds. Thus, she's usually awake and rooting around until the next feed because she's not full enough to sleep well. Sometimes, at 1 a.m. she doesn't eat very well either. The rest of the time, however, she seems to be normal. I think she's gassy (hey, her dad is a Riddle after all) at that time during the night. I also think she's not very hungry at 1 a.m. (unless she is starving because she's eaten terribly the 2 feeds prior), but is in the habit of waking up.
She also has her days and nights totally confused. In the night, she's more alert than the day time hours, but usually goes back down within an hour of waking. She's not fussy or crying, but she's awake. This is our first go with a 2 week old who's actually at home so we're working through the issue. Thankfully, she's been resting well in the mornings so she hangs out with Allen and Lexi while I catch a couple of hours of sleep.
Seeing as I haven't ever done this part of the schedule before, I'm a little unsure as to how to proceed. I've heard some conflicting reports about holding a 2 week old to a conventional schedule. Some have said they are way too young to train. The NICU has convinced me that most kids can do a 3 hour feeding schedule easily, but we need to clarify night and day for Addie. Other sources have said from the end of week 1, you can get your baby on a pretty normal routine. Eat, wake time, and then sleep. But, in the night you go straight from eating to back to bed. Addie doesn't go right down, though. She squirms, grunts, farts and burps for about 15 minutes and then goes to sleep. But, then grunts a little more and wakes back up. And then goes down again, but could fart and wake herself up.
The bummer about that is while she's "settling" into sleep, I'm kept up by all of her noises. This is my plan: during the day, encourage wakefulness after eating. Starting with the evening feeds, put her right back down and let her squirm around for a bit. Obviously, if she's uncomfortable or crying, we'll have to get her fixed. Then, back to bed. It may be time for the crib, too. Then, I won't hear all of her bodily functions and I might be able to fall asleep faster. Hey, 15 minutes is a lot of sleep when you're counting by the hour.
I am all ears when it comes to advice at this junture. Like I said, we haven't ever had a 2 week old at home that we could let sleep at night. If you have any tips, please feel free to share them. If they are too long for comment, email me at riddlez@comcast.net!
She is, however, extremely cranky for her 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. feeds. Thus, she's usually awake and rooting around until the next feed because she's not full enough to sleep well. Sometimes, at 1 a.m. she doesn't eat very well either. The rest of the time, however, she seems to be normal. I think she's gassy (hey, her dad is a Riddle after all) at that time during the night. I also think she's not very hungry at 1 a.m. (unless she is starving because she's eaten terribly the 2 feeds prior), but is in the habit of waking up.
She also has her days and nights totally confused. In the night, she's more alert than the day time hours, but usually goes back down within an hour of waking. She's not fussy or crying, but she's awake. This is our first go with a 2 week old who's actually at home so we're working through the issue. Thankfully, she's been resting well in the mornings so she hangs out with Allen and Lexi while I catch a couple of hours of sleep.
Seeing as I haven't ever done this part of the schedule before, I'm a little unsure as to how to proceed. I've heard some conflicting reports about holding a 2 week old to a conventional schedule. Some have said they are way too young to train. The NICU has convinced me that most kids can do a 3 hour feeding schedule easily, but we need to clarify night and day for Addie. Other sources have said from the end of week 1, you can get your baby on a pretty normal routine. Eat, wake time, and then sleep. But, in the night you go straight from eating to back to bed. Addie doesn't go right down, though. She squirms, grunts, farts and burps for about 15 minutes and then goes to sleep. But, then grunts a little more and wakes back up. And then goes down again, but could fart and wake herself up.
The bummer about that is while she's "settling" into sleep, I'm kept up by all of her noises. This is my plan: during the day, encourage wakefulness after eating. Starting with the evening feeds, put her right back down and let her squirm around for a bit. Obviously, if she's uncomfortable or crying, we'll have to get her fixed. Then, back to bed. It may be time for the crib, too. Then, I won't hear all of her bodily functions and I might be able to fall asleep faster. Hey, 15 minutes is a lot of sleep when you're counting by the hour.
I am all ears when it comes to advice at this junture. Like I said, we haven't ever had a 2 week old at home that we could let sleep at night. If you have any tips, please feel free to share them. If they are too long for comment, email me at riddlez@comcast.net!
Woman's Work?
Lexi received a cool workbench for Christmas from some friends of ours. She has been "working" ever since we opened it. She often asks Allen, "You wanna come to work with me, Daddy?" The set has a working drill that Lexi assembles herself and then proceeds to screw in the appropriate bolts to the table top.
Lexi also got some princess shoes for Christmas from Santa Claus. She got the Sleeping Beauty set to go with the new Sleeping Beauty movie she got from Gma and Gpa.
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What girl wouldn't wear her new high heels while working with her tools?
12.25.2008
Christmas Morn
Even though we hit a rough patch with Addie, we enjoyed our Christmas. Lexi has been anticipating Santi Claus (as she calls him) for the entire month. In fact, one day, we were looking at a picture book of the Great Flood story from the Old Testament when Allen asked Lexi if she knew who the bearded man was (Noah). "Yes!," she replies, "It's Santi Claus!"
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She dove into her stocking and then helped Allen and I open ours. Lexi had a melt down about half way through and decided she was done with presents, though. She quickly recovered, however, and was back at it. She loved some of the toys she got. She said, "How cute!" about the clothes she received, but just threw them aside as she went for the next toy. I think her clothes were adorable, however.
We spent the day watching "Sweeping Booty" and playing with our new toys. Our neighbors brought us home made bread which was a nice treat. We caught up with some family and tried to take naps when the girls went down this afternoon. It was a lazy day, but a nice day. We loved seeing Lexi enjoy her gifts. She says the funniest things sometimes and we are always happy to watch her discover new things in life. Addie was mostly pleasant, but clearly uncomfortable. She has handled her bad tummy with grace and been fairly quiet about the whole thing. It hurts to know your kid is in pain, but we're cautiously hopeful that we're on the road to recovery. We felt really pleased and content to be home together as a family to celebrate the birth of our Savior.
We hope you all had a very Merry Christmas, too!
Here We Go...
Again. Last night was pretty rough. Addie threw up 2 of 3 feeds and continued to have bloody stools all night and into today. She was frustrated because she was hungry but didn't want to eat. It took me about an hour to get 10 cc (1/3 of an oz.) down her at our 2 a.m. feed. About noon, we noticed that the blood seemed to be a little less than the night before. She has kept down her last 2 meals, too. She's been really cranky, but my guess is her tummy is still pretty tender.
We will most likely see the dr. tomorrow. It is also extremely likely we will get the "well, stay with what you're doing and see what you get" advice. You know, I wish I could tell people stuff they already know and get paid 100 grand a year for it. Anyways, we'll keep up the Nutramigen for as long as it takes if it keeps Addie growing and happy.
I did have a pretty good sized melt down at 1 in the morning as she heaved up her food again. Allen was on his knees cleaning while I held the baby as she got sick. We both looked at each other and the tears welled up. I started crying and simply said, "I cannot bear this burden again." It's hard enough having a baby at home. To have one with extra needs is so tough. Plus, I'm so intimidated by the idea of caring for a sick Addie and being a good mom to Lexi.
This whole food thing is so hard, too. Some kids hate the car or taking a bath. Having a kid who has a love/hate relationship with food is really tough. They HAVE to eat. You feel like you're torturing them to keep them alive. You have to feed them at least 8 times a day. At a minimum of 1/2 an hour for each feed, that's 4 hours a day of torturing your kid. Not to mention the repercussions that follow if they do get ill after they eat. Allen and I have mentioned to one another that we could be dealing with really serious stuff and this is pretty minor. But, it's still frustrating.
I did a little math while my hamsters (my thoughts) were running circles in my brain last night. That formula is about $10 a day. That makes our food budget (for Addie alone) nearly $300 a month. That's a pretty big hit. That will definitely mean some rearranging of priorities and budget cuts. What I dread most is the failure of the new formula. Now, we have seen an improvement and I hope that continues. I can take paying out the wazoo for food if Addie stays all right. I just want the relief of knowing we've got the right stuff. The waiting game is so obnoxious. Hopefully, tonight will be better than last night. If this is really the fix, it's pretty simple. We're uttering prayers by the hour that our "liquid gold" works and Addie won't suffer anymore.
We will most likely see the dr. tomorrow. It is also extremely likely we will get the "well, stay with what you're doing and see what you get" advice. You know, I wish I could tell people stuff they already know and get paid 100 grand a year for it. Anyways, we'll keep up the Nutramigen for as long as it takes if it keeps Addie growing and happy.
I did have a pretty good sized melt down at 1 in the morning as she heaved up her food again. Allen was on his knees cleaning while I held the baby as she got sick. We both looked at each other and the tears welled up. I started crying and simply said, "I cannot bear this burden again." It's hard enough having a baby at home. To have one with extra needs is so tough. Plus, I'm so intimidated by the idea of caring for a sick Addie and being a good mom to Lexi.
This whole food thing is so hard, too. Some kids hate the car or taking a bath. Having a kid who has a love/hate relationship with food is really tough. They HAVE to eat. You feel like you're torturing them to keep them alive. You have to feed them at least 8 times a day. At a minimum of 1/2 an hour for each feed, that's 4 hours a day of torturing your kid. Not to mention the repercussions that follow if they do get ill after they eat. Allen and I have mentioned to one another that we could be dealing with really serious stuff and this is pretty minor. But, it's still frustrating.
I did a little math while my hamsters (my thoughts) were running circles in my brain last night. That formula is about $10 a day. That makes our food budget (for Addie alone) nearly $300 a month. That's a pretty big hit. That will definitely mean some rearranging of priorities and budget cuts. What I dread most is the failure of the new formula. Now, we have seen an improvement and I hope that continues. I can take paying out the wazoo for food if Addie stays all right. I just want the relief of knowing we've got the right stuff. The waiting game is so obnoxious. Hopefully, tonight will be better than last night. If this is really the fix, it's pretty simple. We're uttering prayers by the hour that our "liquid gold" works and Addie won't suffer anymore.
12.24.2008
Spoke Too Soon
I love being a mom. Addie is perfect. Yeah, yeah, yeah. See what optimism gets a person?
At 10 p.m., we fed Addie. She was acting really uncomfortable and refusing the feed. Allen was feeding her and asked me to see if I noticed anything amiss. I took her and she ate ok, but then starting squirming around and acting like she was in pain. Addie has a pretty regular schedule and routinely poops (with much fanfare, I'll add) while she eats her bottle. Tonight, she'd been making all the noise and doing all the grunting, but no poop. Then, she finally gets some action. She's still refused a lot of her bottle, but otherwise seemed ok.
You know the voice. The "this is not ok" voice you hear from your spouse, mom, kid, who ever, when something is serious. "Trace, please come here" and I jump from the couch to the nursery door immediately worried. Addie managed to poop. Blood. Really, there was a little poop with some blood. A little concerning. Not rush to the ER concerning, but bothersome none-the-less.
Can I just mention we had seen the dr. today!?! Did she bloody her pants then? Nooo. Of course not. So, we call our poor neighbor (who, I'm sure, has now changed all of her phone numbers and locks) and she says call the doc. The doc says (and I knew this was coming - I mean when Addie was born I knew this was coming) "milk allergy". Why is that a big deal? It's not. In the grand scheme of things, it's a very small blip. But, it does entail the dreaded "formula game" to figure out if it really is the problem. It also involves buying the incredibly smelly (as in Lexi barfed it up for 18 months, smelly. By the way, did you know that the olfactory senses are some of the strongest for helping to recall memories? As soon as I got a wiff, all of my precious memories came flooding back.) and very, very expensive formula. Like, $28 for 3 days worth, expensive. And that doesn't even guarantee it will work.
Lexi had a milk allergy so why wouldn't Addie? Allen's family has seriously jacked up stomachs, too, so why wouldn't he pass it on down the line with our second kid? She's already on lactose free stuff because the nurses in the NICU felt she was fussy. I just had a mommy hunch that this whole formula thing wouldn't iron out very easily. So, I ran out to the 24 hour store at 11:15 to get our "miracle gold". Of course, I'd made all the bottles for the night so I dumped those, washed the bottles, and made brand new when I got home. We get to be on poop patrol for the next couple of feeds. If it gets any worse, we'll be on our way to the ER. If it looks better, we will likely be on this ultra high end formula for the first year. I'm still trying to see the bright side, but it just proves there are no free rides on the parent trap.
At 10 p.m., we fed Addie. She was acting really uncomfortable and refusing the feed. Allen was feeding her and asked me to see if I noticed anything amiss. I took her and she ate ok, but then starting squirming around and acting like she was in pain. Addie has a pretty regular schedule and routinely poops (with much fanfare, I'll add) while she eats her bottle. Tonight, she'd been making all the noise and doing all the grunting, but no poop. Then, she finally gets some action. She's still refused a lot of her bottle, but otherwise seemed ok.
You know the voice. The "this is not ok" voice you hear from your spouse, mom, kid, who ever, when something is serious. "Trace, please come here" and I jump from the couch to the nursery door immediately worried. Addie managed to poop. Blood. Really, there was a little poop with some blood. A little concerning. Not rush to the ER concerning, but bothersome none-the-less.
Can I just mention we had seen the dr. today!?! Did she bloody her pants then? Nooo. Of course not. So, we call our poor neighbor (who, I'm sure, has now changed all of her phone numbers and locks) and she says call the doc. The doc says (and I knew this was coming - I mean when Addie was born I knew this was coming) "milk allergy". Why is that a big deal? It's not. In the grand scheme of things, it's a very small blip. But, it does entail the dreaded "formula game" to figure out if it really is the problem. It also involves buying the incredibly smelly (as in Lexi barfed it up for 18 months, smelly. By the way, did you know that the olfactory senses are some of the strongest for helping to recall memories? As soon as I got a wiff, all of my precious memories came flooding back.) and very, very expensive formula. Like, $28 for 3 days worth, expensive. And that doesn't even guarantee it will work.
Lexi had a milk allergy so why wouldn't Addie? Allen's family has seriously jacked up stomachs, too, so why wouldn't he pass it on down the line with our second kid? She's already on lactose free stuff because the nurses in the NICU felt she was fussy. I just had a mommy hunch that this whole formula thing wouldn't iron out very easily. So, I ran out to the 24 hour store at 11:15 to get our "miracle gold". Of course, I'd made all the bottles for the night so I dumped those, washed the bottles, and made brand new when I got home. We get to be on poop patrol for the next couple of feeds. If it gets any worse, we'll be on our way to the ER. If it looks better, we will likely be on this ultra high end formula for the first year. I'm still trying to see the bright side, but it just proves there are no free rides on the parent trap.
Mini Me
Allen scanned this picture for comparison's sake.
That's me, on the day I was born.
Addie, the day after she was born.
I say we have one that looks like Allen and one that looks like me.
That means we're done, right?
Mentioning the Unmentionables
So, you all saw my "I'm happy to be a mommy" post. You all also know that I'm not one to hide the truth, sugarcoat the miserable, or quietly work through my struggles. If I'm not happy, every one gets to hear about it.
I will say, without any if's, and's or but's, the mommy responsibilities with Addie have been pretty dang pleasant. She's reasonable, quiet, a great eater, sleeper and a nice little baby (so far). I am still waiting for the bottom to fall out, though. I keep expecting her to cry endlessly throughout the night. I anticipate having to play the "formula game", and I sit on the edge of my seat with baited breath as she eats wondering when she'll start arching her back and spewing forth formula like the Exorcist baby.
But, let's talk about me for a minute. I honestly, and foolishly, thought I'd be ready for the New York marathon after having Addie. I figured if I wasn't having surgery, I'd be in tip-top shape. I'd push her out and bound out of bed eager to fulfill my new mommy duties. I mean, really, what could be so painful about a regular birth? Ok. Let me just say that was one stupid thing to think! My ribs felt like a gang of misfits had their way with me. My legs were shaky and weak. I had an awful, sharp, pulling pain in my lower gut area every time I got out of bed. My back was so sore, I thought someone had sucker punched me while I wasn't looking. Even though I had no incision, no surgery, I couldn't stand up straight and I limped around for the first few days wondering who had beat me with a 2x4! Each time I laugh, I'm reminded of a certain song only I substitue some words: "Does your gut hang low, does it wobble to and fro?" And let's not forget that it does take some time and pain for your insides to fall back into their respective places after having been shoved aside for the last 9 months while the baby took up occupancy in your guts. I was tired after showering, let alone walking up to the NICU to see the kid. And honestly, that leaves out the most personal part of the journey as even I have enough scruples not to blog about that situation. I'm sure you can all figure it out, though.
I know this method of delivering has been an easier recovery overall. I think back on my c-section and I can't seem to remember why I hated it so much. Baby out early, good drugs, even better drugs after they take the baby, etc. etc. I do remember a very bad ripping feeling in my tummy area when I first tried to stand up, falling into bed because I couldn't support my own weight, and feeling like I had a hernia every time I tried to do anything. But, God has mercifully stripped my memory of most of those things. You know, if he didn't do that for us moms, the human race would die out pretty quickly.
So, this time around hasn't been all roses. I had myself so psyched up for this VBAC thing and I have been a little put off by the recovery time. I guess you can't expect to bring forth another human being, out of your own body no-less, and not have some battle wounds, though. Anyhow, I've done my fair share of complaining as my body has slowly come back from the whole birth process. Thank goodness Addie has been a good kid and I've had gobs of good help these last 2 weeks. And really, the extra week of recovery while Addie enjoyed the room service in the NICU was pretty helpful. Again, no matter what the method, a woman must go through the gates of Hell to bring back those little Spirits from Heaven.
I will say, without any if's, and's or but's, the mommy responsibilities with Addie have been pretty dang pleasant. She's reasonable, quiet, a great eater, sleeper and a nice little baby (so far). I am still waiting for the bottom to fall out, though. I keep expecting her to cry endlessly throughout the night. I anticipate having to play the "formula game", and I sit on the edge of my seat with baited breath as she eats wondering when she'll start arching her back and spewing forth formula like the Exorcist baby.
But, let's talk about me for a minute. I honestly, and foolishly, thought I'd be ready for the New York marathon after having Addie. I figured if I wasn't having surgery, I'd be in tip-top shape. I'd push her out and bound out of bed eager to fulfill my new mommy duties. I mean, really, what could be so painful about a regular birth? Ok. Let me just say that was one stupid thing to think! My ribs felt like a gang of misfits had their way with me. My legs were shaky and weak. I had an awful, sharp, pulling pain in my lower gut area every time I got out of bed. My back was so sore, I thought someone had sucker punched me while I wasn't looking. Even though I had no incision, no surgery, I couldn't stand up straight and I limped around for the first few days wondering who had beat me with a 2x4! Each time I laugh, I'm reminded of a certain song only I substitue some words: "Does your gut hang low, does it wobble to and fro?" And let's not forget that it does take some time and pain for your insides to fall back into their respective places after having been shoved aside for the last 9 months while the baby took up occupancy in your guts. I was tired after showering, let alone walking up to the NICU to see the kid. And honestly, that leaves out the most personal part of the journey as even I have enough scruples not to blog about that situation. I'm sure you can all figure it out, though.
I know this method of delivering has been an easier recovery overall. I think back on my c-section and I can't seem to remember why I hated it so much. Baby out early, good drugs, even better drugs after they take the baby, etc. etc. I do remember a very bad ripping feeling in my tummy area when I first tried to stand up, falling into bed because I couldn't support my own weight, and feeling like I had a hernia every time I tried to do anything. But, God has mercifully stripped my memory of most of those things. You know, if he didn't do that for us moms, the human race would die out pretty quickly.
So, this time around hasn't been all roses. I had myself so psyched up for this VBAC thing and I have been a little put off by the recovery time. I guess you can't expect to bring forth another human being, out of your own body no-less, and not have some battle wounds, though. Anyhow, I've done my fair share of complaining as my body has slowly come back from the whole birth process. Thank goodness Addie has been a good kid and I've had gobs of good help these last 2 weeks. And really, the extra week of recovery while Addie enjoyed the room service in the NICU was pretty helpful. Again, no matter what the method, a woman must go through the gates of Hell to bring back those little Spirits from Heaven.
Help From Nana
My mom came in the night we went into the hospital and stayed until Monday, the 22nd. What a blessing! Mom jumped right in without any help or idea of how we run things at home and did a great job.
We were totally blindsided by this NICU stay and if mom hadn't been here, getting time at the hospital would have been a lot more difficult to arrange. She only got 4 days at home with Addie, but was so helpful. She went from cooking meals, to watching Lexi, to laundry, to play time with Lexi, to organizing my cookbooks and closets, to running errands and then would jump in to help with Addie, too. She did get a few hours of quality "holding the baby" time before she had to leave.
With Allen home and mom here, all ran pretty smoothly. We are so glad she got to come and meet Addie, catch up with Lexi, and hang out a little. Thanks mom!
Addie-tude!
It's almost been 2 weeks since Addie was born. Time is flying by! We went to our first check up today. She's weighing in at 9 lbs. 8 oz. and is 21 1/2 inches long. So, she obviously growing!This time around has been vastly different from our experience with Lexi. When we brought Lexi home, we literally had an Excel spreadsheet for all of her meds and she projectile vomited at least 4 of the 8 feeds we gave her (and did so for 18 months). What a special time. Allen was mentioning how he doesn't fear the "HELP!" call at 2 a.m. with Addie. I remember how I would call out for his help and sometimes he'd wake up, sometimes he wouldn't. One long night, I was once again cleaning up barf and I remember just sitting down after I was done and crying and crying and crying. Allen hadn't heard me and it was, what felt like, the umpteenth time I'd cleaned up that night. Because we had spent a week in the hospital before Lexi was even born, Allen had used all of his time off and didn't stay home at all after Lexi came home. Oh, it was really hard sometimes.
Little Addie, bless her little heart (or stomach), keeps her feeds down, rarely spits-up (but when she does, it's almost everything she's had - there's no doing stuff half-way for this one), eats every 3 hours and so far (now, if tonight she's up I'm going to curse even mentioning this) goes right back down after our middle of the night feeds. Her first night, she was up from 2 a.m. to 6 a.m. (oh, and Lexi had to join the fray, too, so I was running from the newborn to the 2 year old in the night). The next day, we (meaning, my mom while I got a good 3 hour nap) kept Addie up for some of the day. The next night, she got up, ate, and went quietly back to sleep. Now, she has a couple of hours of quiet wakefulness during the day and has maintained her solid night-time sleepiness.
We got the ok from dr. today to let her sleep thru one feed at night, too. She's already done that once and her weight gain has been good so dr. said to let the sleeping baby lie. How nice! Again, Lexi was so close to going back into the hospital for failure to thrive that we had to feed her every 3 hours for at least the first month she was home - it might have been two.
We've had one little bump in the road with feeding when she started crying during her feeds, wouldn't eat, and then cried after all while seeming so hungry. Of course, I freaked out and immediately thought we'd be changing formula and dealing with a sensitive stomach again. Instead of making a rash decision, I called our neighbor (who happens to be a NICU nurse - and yes, at the hospital where Addie stayed) and asked for her advice. She recommended a new bottle/nipple combination. She said it sounded like Addie was collapsing the nipple, thus, getting frustrated, eating less and always seeming hungry. We quickly went out and got a new kind of bottle/nipple arrangement and wa la! everything is right back on track. Thank goodness for our neighbor!!!
"I'm done!!!"Otherwise, Addie has been a really nice baby to be around. She needs her gas drops to be totally happy, but doesn't complain much otherwise. When something does bother her, she goes from zero to pissed in about 3 seconds flat! I can't believe how much more quickly time has been passing, too. I'm sure having Lexi around has made the days go by faster. Allen has been home and will be for the next 2 weeks so I haven't been on my own either. I have to say this round of mommyhood has been pretty great so far!
12.19.2008
Home, Sweet, Home
This morning Allen and I left at 7 a.m. to head up to ABQ. Allen was going into work to finish up some things. He's been dropping me at the hospital and then picks me up on his way home from work. He was going to drop me off and try to come back in about 2 hours so we could be discharged from the NICU. Since he's taking the next 2 weeks off, today was pretty important. Well, we took the Excursion to put the car seat in and forgot Allen's badge in his car at home. So, we both hung out in the NICU for about 5 hours.
They had to give us "instructions" and do one last hearing test, too. It's probably a good thing we were sitting there with the car seat looking eager to leave since the hearing people didn't get to us until after 10 a.m. (that was with 2 phone calls requesting their presence, too).
We brought a cute pink outfit for Addie to wear home. She's been wearing those awful wrap shirts the whole time and using the hospital linens. We were so excited to have her wire free and in real clothes. As we were getting ready to leave, we took off her leads (the wires connected to the monitor), got the IV out, and dressed her in her cute outfit. We fed her one last feed and sat around waiting for the official word that we could leave. As Allen put Addie in the car seat, she spit up all over her cute outfit (let me state that Addie has only spit up one other time in the week she's been alive!). I knew that was going to happen. So, she came home in a hospital t-shirt and cute pants. Figures.
Lexi has been really nice to "baby sista" since we got home. She's held her and asked to feed her. She doesn't understand why she can't hold her all of the time, though. I'm sure we'll have lots of learning experiences in the next months. We are really glad to have all of us in one place and home for the Holidays.
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About Me
- Riddlez
- What started as a way to communicate with far away friends and family has become a place for this horse trainer/HR manager turned stay at home mom of 3 girls to hold on to a bit of her own identity. It's my take on the ins and outs, the ups and downs, the thoughts and feelings, the mistakes and triumphs of this family as we bumble our way to eternity.