4 Months

At the corn maze and pumpkin patch with Daddy

 

Wow!  Ellie is already 4 months old.  She is learning and growing every day, and it's such a joy to watch her.  She is 12lbs, 8 oz (25th percentile), and 24 inches (40th percentile).  She also has a labial adhesion, which we're having to treat her for.  Basically, her labia is fusing together.  For the past month we've been using Calendula gel (a homeopathic treatment) to keep it slippery, not sticky, so it won't stick together.  At her four month check up they said it's gotten worse so now we're on to prescription cream to try to treat it.  She has to wear disposable diapers while using this cream, too.  Good for the washing machine, bad for our wallet (those diapers are expensive!).  But we should be able to go back to cloth diapers in a couple of weeks.  Hopefully this cream works.  If it doesn't and it continues to get worse, she may have to have surgery to open the labia back up.

The major even this month was Halloween.  The weekend before Halloween Ellie went with us to a party.  Then, on Halloween we went to my wound care doctor (yep, c-section is still not healed!  I'm hopeful that it'll just be a few more weeks of regular wound care), and afterwards Jeff and Ellie came to my office.  She went "trick-or-treating" in the office (really just going around to show off her peanut costume).  Our students were trick-or-treating too, so it was loud and busy, and I think a little overwhelming for her.  But, everyone had fun seeing her!

Is this not the cutest peanut you've ever seen?

 

She has a very regular routine.  She is an excellent sleeper; Jeff sometimes has to wake her up at 9:30 so she won't sleep the day away!  She usually goes to sleep around 9 or 10, and sleeps until 8:30 or 9:30.  She gets up, eats, plays, then takes a long nap.  She spends her afternoons alternating between eating, playing, and napping.  She loves her exer-saucer (on loan from cousin Drake), and rolling around on the floor.  She also likes to watch TV, especially if football is on.

Watching football together

Here are the milestones we reached this month:

• Rolling over (front to back, and back to front -- usually toward her left side, though)
• Learning how to grab and guide items to her mouth (she's still learning how her hands work, so this is usually an accident)
• Reaching out for things
• Desperately wanting to learn to crawl (I watched her army crawl in her sleep, halfway up her crib, but she hasn't figured out how to do it on purpose -- or while awake! -- yet)
• Sitting up (requiring a little support from us)
• Recognizing Mama and Daddy by sight (nothing makes me happier than to watch her smile as she sees me coming into a room)

Hanging out with Mama!

 

Presley sleeps in Ellie's room most nights, but in our room once or twice a week.  Both dogs love to try to play with Ellie when she's on the floor.  They give her kisses and watch over her.  Yesterday Ellie was on the bed near where Mauja was sleeping.  She reached out and tried to crawl forward, succeeding only in grabbing Mauja's tail and then her foot.  Mauj just opened her eyes, looked at Ellie, then turned her head -- not even bothered by being grabbed at by a baby at all! 

Presley is not sure about this, but Ellie likes it!

 

Next up is the holiday season!  This will be a month of firsts for Ellie (first wedding, first Thanksgiving, first trip to Disney World...). Stay tuned to learn about all of our adventures!

Baby Fest 2012

On November 10, 2011 our friend and boss, Sonnie, lost her battle with cancer.  It was a sad, sad time in my office as we grieved together.  Sonnie was a wonderful, smart, funny woman that I am fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with and learn from.  She was my mentor during two internships for my Masters degree.  I was welcomed into my job at the school and immediately made to feel like a member of a large (and loud) family.  That was Sonnie's doing.  The office and the school iteself are not the same without her.  We miss her every day.

Around the same time that Sonnie passed away, lots of new life was happening for the women in my office.  I found out that I was pregnant a week after Sonnie died.  One of my friends and colleagues heard her daughter's heartbeat for the first time on the day that Sonnie died.  All in all, seven women in my office were pregnant together.  Most of the babies were conceived shortly before or shortly after Sonnie died.  We'd all like to think that she had something to do with it.  She certainly would have loved being around all of the babies!

On Saturday a group of us got together for lunch to remember Sonnie.  We cried a little, laughed a lot, and passed babies around.  It was so much fun to see the babies all together.  Ellie and Sicily even interacted a little bit (they are about 3 weeks apart), laughing together and communicating in their baby way.  It was a bittersweet afternoon.  Sad that we were there to without Sonnie, but so much fun to have the babes together.  Sonnie would have loved every minute of it! 

Rolling, Rolling, Rolling...

Ellie is rolling over now.  She really loves to roll over, actually.  She always looks so proud of herself when she does it, and she gets so frustrated if she's unable to do it.

The first time she rolled over was a few weeks ago.  She went from her tummy to her back.  Later that day we put her down for a nap on her back, and when Jeff went to get her, she was on her tummy.  Then, nothing.  No rolling over for over a week.

On Wednesday or Thursday of last week though, she just went crazy rolling over and over.  She'll roll from her back to her tummy to her back and so on until she runs out of room.  She still gets stuck from time to time, but is getting better at rolling every time she tries!

I have a video to post with this.  I think it might be too big because I haven't been successful in uploading it.  Maybe we'll try to take a shorter video and see if I have better luck showing you how good she is at rolling over!

Happy Halloween!!!

Our Halloween season this year was pretty tame.  A couple of weeks ago we went, along with cousin Zach, to a farm with a corn maze and pumpkin patch.  None of us had ever been in a corn maze before, and I think when Ellie is a few years older she will really enjoy it.

In the corn maze

Our first visit to a farm

On Friday of last weekend we went to our friends' house for their annual Halloween/FL-GA party.  The big FL-GA football game is played in Jacksonville every year the last Saturday of October, so it's a great reason to combine the two for a party.  Ellie did not wear a costume (because I wasn't done making it!), but she did wear some cute Halloween clothes Aunt Genevieve gave her.  Jeff dressed as a race car driver in his Mazda gear, and I was a gypsy.  Ellie was a big hit at the party!

At Meghan and Drew's Halloween/FL-GA party

 

 

Today (Halloween) Jeff and Ellie took me to my weekly appointment at the Wound Care Clinic.  My wounds are getting smaller very slowly, but they are making progress.  It'll still be a few more weeks before they close up entirely (of course, my doctor has said, "a few more weeks..." every week for the 8 that I've been going to him).  After the doctor they took me to work and Ellie was able to go trick-or-treating in my office.  Since she doesn't have teeth and is only eating breast milk, she really just went around to say hello to everyone, not to get candy.  Her Halloween costume is a peanut, since she is our little Peanut.

 

Our little Peanut

 





We had one pair of trick-or-treaters tonight (our next-door neighbors), and Ellie went outside to show off her costume and give them candy.  Next year I hope to be able to take her around a little bit in the neighborhood.

 

 



An Open Letter

Dear PPD,

You and me?  We're not friends.  I don't want to be friends.  I don't want you hanging around.  You need to know that I'm stronger than you.  You won't get the best of me.  You can try, with your intrusive thoughts and forceful nature to make me doubt myself, but I promise you, I won't let you. 

Consider this your eviction notice.  Start packing your bags and moving out.  You are not wanted here and I am ready to move on without you.  It make take a while, I understand that.  We might have some things to work through.  I get that, too.  But you won't be around forever.  Start making plans, PPD, it's time for you to start moving on.

Sincerely,

Amanda

Three Months

Whew!  We've been busy!  I'm a little late on our 3 month post, and, I didn't even get a picture on Ellie's 3 month birthday.  We spent that weekend in New Orleans with my family to celebrate my mom's birthday.  Ellie is doing really well.  Her most recent weigh in had her at 11 lbs, 5 oz (still about the 25th percentile).  She won't have her length or head circumference measured until her 4 month checkup. 

After taking 13 weeks off for maternity leave, I went back to work a couple of weeks ago.  It's so nice to be back at work and to have a regular routine.  I never would have been out for so long had my wound not caused me so many problems.  I'm still seeing the wound care doctor, but am no longer on the wound vac.  We're packing my wounds with Aqua Cell (packing material made from seaweed and silver) and they're getting smaller every week.  They aren't tunnelling anymore, so I have 2 completely separate wounds.  My pain is much, much better, and I'm a lot more mobile.  It's a lot easier to take care of Ellie now that I'm feeling better! 

Ellie is so very lucky to be able to spend her days with her Daddy.  Since Jeff works from home we decided not to put her in day care.  I think we're going to have to hire a nanny since he'll start traveling again soon, but that will only be on a part time basis.  I know the two of them are going to have an amazing relationship because of this time that they are spending together.

This month Ellie:

• Started laughing (especially at noises we make with our lips)
• Began sleeping in her own room (Presley moved into Ellie's room too, she can protect her better there!)
• Has learned how to get her fingers into her mouth and she loves sucking her thumb
• Is finally calming down after a colicky couple of months -- evenings are MUCH quieter!
• Took her first plane ride (to New Orleans)
• Went to the zoo for the first time
• Started learning how to sit up

Here are some pictures from this month:

We finally redid the floors thanks to Leslie, David and Zach's help!  This will be the last plywood photo you see.

Drake and Ellie

Mia and Ellie

 

Reading with Daddy

Checking out the pups

 

Tubby time!

 

Pump, Pump, Pump it Up

Exclusive pumping is hard work. 

Ellie never really caught on to nursing.  When she was about three weeks old I gave up (so many tears, from both of us every time she was hungry!), but wanted to continue to give her breast milk.  So, I joined the ranks of exclusive pumpers.  I pump and bottle feed her my expressed breast milk. 

For the first couple of weeks it was a race to make sure I had enough milk for her everyday.  Then, I started taking Fenugreek (an herbal supplement) to help increase my supply.  Within days I had a surplus, so I was able to store some in the freezer for when I go back to work.  That was the plan, at least.  Instead, we found out that one of the reasons my incision wasn't healing was because I had a staph infection (OSA).  I had to go on antibiotics, and the dose was high enough that I had to stop giving her breast milk.  It was a sad day for me.  I was so committed to keeping her off formula for as long as possible.  But, I knew that keeping her on the breast milk while on the antibiotics was too dangerous.

Since I had a decent supply of breast milk (about 90oz) in the freezer, we were able to mix breast milk with formula for the 12 days I had to pump and dump (so sad to watch my milk just go down the drain!).  I've been off the antibiotics for a week now, and Ellie's been back on breast milk since Tuesday.  We're back to the races to make sure I have enough.  I'm taking 3 Fenugreek capsules, 3 times a day (which worked last time), and pumping hourly.  I'm sore and tired!  Since I pump for 15 minutes, I only have a 45 minute break in between sessions.  I've been watching old shows on HBO Go to help me pass the time.  So far I've finished Deadwood, Six Feet Under, How to Make it in America, and am now on season 2 of the Sopranos. 

I'm hoping to go back to work on Tuesday (I see my nurse tomorrow and as long as my wounds are smaller, I'll be going to work -- hurray!!!).  This means that I have to get a surplus again, so Ellie has milk during the day while I'm at work.  Hopefully I'll be able to get at least 10 oz extra over the next day and half so we won't have to supplement with formula.  I think that'll be enough to stay ahead of her.  Wish me luck!

The one bonus of pumping and bottle feeding is that other people are able to feed Ellie.  Here she is with Grandma, right after eating.