10+ weeks.......

It has been another busy week here at the Shockley's. This week is my last week off before I head back to work. Although I am very sad, I knew this was coming and tried to prepare for it. Layla is feeling a bit better so that makes me a little more comfortable. We visited her room at the school last week and her teachers were very sweet. They have had reflux babies before and know what to expect as far as her needs. We had her last visit with the chiropractor last week. Although he is very nice and Layla loves her treatments, I don't think they are helping enough to justify the cost. We see the GI next Monday to follow up and make sure Layla gained enough weight.

Layla still has periods where she is obviously uncomfortable during the day and she still spits up quite a bit, but she is still improving and the worst is behind us. Within a month or two she should be much much better. We look forward to the day that she is comfortable all day and doesn't wake up crying in pain ever.

Layla got lots of good time with her dad this weekend. She is getting 3 bottles a day (to mimic what she will get when I am back at work) and she is doing great. She has been taking bottles from her dad and grandma this weekend so she should be over the "must eat from mom" thing. She nurses in the morning and evening still just fine. It was a lot of work getting to this point, but it was worth it since I can still provide her breastmilk for a bit longer.

We have had 3 nights in a row where Layla has slept until 5am! It's wonderful even if I don't get to go back to sleep after that. As long as I get to bed by 10 - I can get almost 7 hours of sleep! Better yet - in a row! We are hoping it lasts. We moved her to her crib after the first night she did it and that seems to have gone well also. She doesn't go back down after she eats because she is usually pretty uncomfortable in the early morning for some reason. I will know she is really better when this feeding is not so rough for her.

I had to get this shot of the three of them reading books. It didn't last long, but it was cute. These three people are my whole life.

This is Hannah's last week of summer day camp and she will be moving to a full blown pre-school room next week. She is such a big girl now. We did not tackle potty training this summer as I had planned, but she will do it when she is ready. She is ahead of many kids her age in counting and letters. Her teachers are very impressed with her.

We are looking forward to a fun weekend with Uncle Mark, Aunt Beth and Abbey! The girls are so excited to meet their cousin. Take care.

2 months and big changes.....

Layla is 9 weeks old! She had her 2 month appointment this week and did great. She weighs 11 lbs 14 oz and is 22 3/4 inches long. She is right on target for her 50-75%. She screamed like a champion when she got her shots and then hiccupped for the next hour - poor baby. Her reflux issues made this whole experience worse for her since she spits more when she is upset, but we made it through with lots of cuddling and rocking.

Starting this week - Layla has been drinking out of bottles. She (like Hannah) decided that milk only comes from Mom and bottles were unacceptable. We tried one bottle a day for a week and it was excrutiating for everyone. She screamed and cried and bucked the whole time. It took over an hour sometimes to get her to drink 3oz. Since I am returning to work soon, we knew this was unacceptable so we moved to bottles. This was a rough transition for both of us, but we are getting on ok now. Layla will drink about 4 oz without much of a fuss unless she needs to burp. After some encouragement, I have continued to pump and maintain my milk so I can still nurse her at night and in the morning. I will hold out as long as I can with this schedule, but it sure is busy! The longer I can keep her in breastmilk the better though since she is finally starting to feel better. She is still uncomfortable throughout the day and spits up a ton, but she is in less pain than a week ago, so we are trending towards better. Now would be a terrible time to introduce formula to her belly.

Layla saw her chiropractor again this week. She will see him one more time and then we should be done. She will also see the GI specialist again in 2 weeks and unless she reverts or gets worse, we should be done with her also. I imagine Layla will be on the Nexuim for a few months before we can wean her off of it. She will most likely continue the Axid until she is over a year.

We are expecting a visit from aunt Shelly this weekend and lots of swimming since it will be over 100! Layla may get her first swim in even if it is short. She has a tiny suit that we just have to put on her before she can't fit it anymore. It will be snug as it is!

I didn't get very many pictures this week since we were so busy, but did attach the ones I did get.

Have a great weekend!

8 weeks and finally some sleep

I suppose since it has been a few nights now, I can say that Layla is getting one good long stretch of sleep at night (from about 9 or 10pm to 3 or 4am). It has been like heaven for me even though I had to pump those first couple of nights. My body is adjusting to the longer stretch and I should start to get 4 or 5 hours of sleep in a row. Her sleep after that is still very fussy, but we'll take it vs being up all night. Her daytime sleep is still very sporadic and sometimes non-existent, but we know once she is recovered, she will sleep.

Today is Layla's second day on Nexium. This is the last medicine they have to give her to try and heal the damage before we have to schedule the surgery. Although I don't want my baby to have surgery this young, at this point I will take it if we need to. Anything to get her feeling more comfortable. We also saw a chiropractor this week. He was very nice and gentle with Layla and she didn't fuss the whole time he was doing his "treatment". They don't crack babies, but just pull and tap them - it was rather odd but interesting. We go back next week so we'll see how she is doing then. I am mixing traditional and non-traditional treatments, but it will be worth it if it all works. She is having a good day today, but of course it could be a coincidence - we shall see.

Layla is not taking a bottle well at this point yet. She seems to really struggle through it so we will be incorporating more bottles into her daily routine so she gets lots of practice. She is still 100% breastfed and will hopefully stay that way. I am on a very strict non-dairy diet (including anything that was made with any dairy products). To me it is worth it to continue breastfeeding even though it means nothing delicious for a while. They do have dairy free fig newtons that are pretty good:) Layla's biggest improvement so far has come from my diet changing so that is very rewarding. I did try to eat some dairy last week and Layla was miserable so I am back on the wagon.

Tonight Layla will get her medicine with a spoonful of applesauce! This will be much less dramatic than trying to squirt the tiny pellets from inside the capsule into her mouth with a syringe. She is aweful young to try to get to eat something, but maybe my little chubber will enjoy it. I imagine she weighs somewhere near 12 lbs this week, but we will know for sure next week at her two month visit. She will have to get a bunch of shots so that will be rough, but maybe she will take it in stride compared to the other issues she has faced.

Take care.

Hannah

My last post got lost or cut off somehow........

Hannah is doing so well and getting so big. She found her "L"'s this week so her speach is coming along very well. She is such a cutie most of the time (when she is not whining). I had to post these pictures from Hannah's trip to the butterfly house with Aunt Shelly because she is so darn cute.

Time flies

Well Layla is seven weeks old and getting so big. She was 11 lbs this week at the doctor and gaining well. No new news on the reflux so I won't digress too much about that (too depressing).

We have seen out first real smiles this week. In the moments Layla is awake and not in pain or eating, she does smile and coo at us which is nice. She has a huge grin which is funny and she even laughs sometimes. She loves the bath and is usually quiet on her changing table (same as Hannah). She plays on the floor a couple of times a day even if she doesn't like it. She does good for a few minutes even if it is accompanied by some spit (see picture:). Our days are pretty spitty so it doesn't phase us anymore.

Six weeks already.

Well another week has past us by here at the Shockley's. This week brought another trip to the GI and another new medicine for Layla. Apparently she is in the minority of babies that didn't respond to the prevacid. She seems to be doing a little better (I'd give it 30% at this point) and she has her good and bad feedings. She just took an hour nap in her swing so I'm lovin life today. We are heading back on Monday for another consult to see if we need to do anything else or if she will continue to improve on this medicine.

Layla and Hannah got to meet their newest cousin this week. Noah was born on the 5th and was the calmest baby at the meeting despite my girls being loud. I'm sure he will find his voice soon and join in the screaming :)

Layla has had a lot of visitors this week (yay). This is nice for her and mom. She gets a change of arms and mom gets to eat. Kathy from work, Grandma, Papa, Aunt Mary, and cousins Candace and Carly all came to visit this week. Layla is a popular girl. I believe only Kathy got away without being spit up on -I'm sure Layla will make up for that the next time we see her.

On Monday she weighed in at 10lbs 4 oz so I imagine we are about 10lbs 8 oz at this point.

Hannah has learned to negotiate this week - at least the two year old version. Her new thing is "how about". When I ask her to clean up her toys, her new response is "Mommy - How about you clean up the toys". It is very cute. She has also enjoyed all the attention from the visitors this week.

Overall we are doing well despite the lingering issues with Layla. We are not so patiently waiting for her to feel better and start sleeping better, but she is a sweet baby and we know this will all be over soon.

Take care.

5 week update......

I am hoping this is the last time I have to say that we are really really hoping things are turning around for Layla. We increased her meds again this week and have seen some improvement. We are giving it a week at the new dose before the doctor can determine if we need any next steps. We have been able to put Layla down once or twice a day when she is sleeping so that is a huge improvement. She doesn't stay asleep as long as she should just yet (wakes up to fuss and spit) but it is a step in the right direction. We know it is taboo, but as you can see she is on her belly. Hey - we are in survival mode here and we know she will be just fine as were the millions of babies put to sleep on their bellies for centuries.

At the pediatrician on Tuesday Layla weighed in at 9lbs 11oz and is 21 inches long. She is growing like a champ so that is good news. She is still 100% breastfed and doing well. We are introducing the bottle again this week to make sure she gets comfortable with that before she (like her sister) decides that milk only comes from one place. I know this is a lot to take on in the midst of her illness, but mom needs a break too and if she won't drink from the bottle, I will never get away for an evening. I have a hair appointment today so wish Matt luck :)

I haven't taken enough pictures this week, but will try to get more (and some of Hannah) this weekend.

Take care.