Monday, August 15, 2016

Evie: 3 Months



Y'all. I can't lie. This month has been HARD. Probably the hardest month of motherhood to date. We determined Evie has acid reflux. I am NOT a fan of acid reflux, and I know she isn't either. Our sweet girl just constantly hurts. When she passes gas, she cries; after she eats and it comes up in her throat, she cries; when it starts working it's way through her digestive system, she cries. IT. IS. AWFUL. I can't help her fix it and it completely tears me up. She wasnt eating very well and as a result, wasn't gaining weight like she should. We went to the doctor on the Monday we got back from Florida (July 18th) and he decided to put her on Zantac to see if that would help. (the Zantac doesn't prevent reflux, it just calms down all the acid she produces in her stomach so that it won't hurt as bad) She weighed 8 lbs. 13 oz. at that appointment and I was given instructions to give her the meds twice a day, as well as pump twice day (with a toddler and a 2 month old), and supplement with 1 oz of formula after feeding to help her gain. My supply started increasing and the medicine almost immediately helped. After 48 hours I could tell a huge difference--she was happier, she ate much better, and she wasn't constantly hurting. Yay! The only hiccup we had was one night, she turned purple from the reflux getting stuck in her throat and we had to suction her out and whack her on the back to help her breathe again. Talk about having a heart attack! I just reacted, taking care of the situation, and then when she was fine I completely fell apart. The doctor reassured me that her turning purple was the best thing because it meant her body was functioning correctly, preventing anything from aspirating into her lungs. However, it was still scary! We went back for a weight check the next Monday and she had gained 12 oz!! Up to 9 lbs. 9 oz and he wanted us back in two weeks to re-evaluate.

Things were greatly improving that whole next week. Then we got to the second week and things went back downhill. She got a fever virus and it seemed like her reflux was acting back up. She resorted to not eating as much again. We went back to the doctor this past Monday (August 8th) for Holt's 2 year well check up and had her weighed while we were there. She was 9 lbs. 12 oz.---good in that she hadn't lost anything, but I could tell that being sick and her reflux acting back up wasn't helping her. We decided to up her medication a little bit and see if that helps. We went back today (August 15th) and she had lost 2 oz. back down to 9 lb. 10 oz. Our plan is to supplement after nursing and I'm going to pump when I can. Please pray for us as this is very stressful on top of taking care of a toddler.

Even with all of that, she still smiles and talks to us all the time. It just makes it hard because we can't put her on her back much at all, she has to either be upright or on her tummy and she only catnaps during the day since she hurts (usually 30-45 min at a time). Plus it makes it hard because I can't devote much time to Holt during the day. Mom guilt is a daily thing for me right now. I am so proud of him though! He easily entertains himself most days and when I do get to spend a few minutes with him, I try to make them count. I know it will get better as she gets older, but for now there's just not much I can do.

She still sleeps at night pretty well. She is still in our room and at this point I have no idea when I will feel comfortable enough to move her into Holt's room or what that transition will even look like. Our schedule has COMPLETELY gone out the window this month because I've just been doing whatever it takes to keep her happy and trying to feed as much as possible to help her and build my supply back up. Hopefully with the medicine we can start getting into somewhat of a routine. She has started going to sleep between 8:30-9PM, waking about 1:30AM or so to eat, and then eating again around 6:30AM. She also wakes up intermittently throughout the night hurting from gas so I have to get up and help her work that out. Being on the Zantac should help that quite a bit. Overall, I am completely exhausted and overwhelmed most days, but I have so much support from my husband and my family and my close friends. I wouldn't be able to do it without them! I also hold onto the hope that this too shall pass and it will continue to get easier as she gets older.




Weight: 9 lbs 12 oz (5th percentile)
Height: 22 inches (3rd percentile)


Milestones: *spits bubbles all day long *smiles, coos, laughs *found her hands and fingers *really studies certain patterns *holds her head up, unless she is studying something down low *sort of discovered her feet a little bit *can roll from tummy to back

Favorites: *paci *loves to talk and smile (when she's not hurting) *likes bath time  *loves to be bounced on the bouncy exercise ball

Feeding: This has been a huge battle. Between low weight gain, low supply, building back up my supply, continuing to be dairy free. IT IS SO HARD!! But, I'm still trying and I hope we are over the biggest hurdles and it will get easier from here on out.

Sleep: She still sleeps in our room. No idea when we will move her. She sleeps on her tummy in the pack-n-play. It is better for reflux babies to sleep on their tummies because it moves the contents of the stomach down to the bottom (towards the intestines) preventing it from refluxing back up into the throat. She is sleeping SO much better since we switched out of the Rock-n-Play. She still wakes up about 45 minutes into a nap with gas pains. Sometimes I can get her to go back to sleep, sometimes I can't. She wakes up a few times a night with gas pains too. Can you please pray for her? And for me?

Photo Dump:
trying out infant massage--she was a fan!

typical Saturday morning

rare picture with mama

our beautiful girl

if I could compare my baby picture, she has my profile

sweet big brother

He came up to Evie and said "hold it!"

I could watch her sleep all day (is that creepy?)

that look brought to you from her Aunt Hannah

smiling happy girl

Tuesday, August 9, 2016

Holt is 2!






Well, we have a TWO year old! I'm not quite sure how, it just happened so fast. This last year (from one to two) went by WAY faster than the first year. Probably because I actually got sleep (haha) and probably because I was pregnant for most of it. Time truly does go by so fast, but this year has been a BLAST! So many fun and new things have happened and it makes me look forward to this next year. Here is what has been happening in Holt's world the last 3 months:

*helps feed Sophie
*helps vacuum, sweep, mop, put things in laundry, load dishwasher
*favorite word is "no"---working on our attitude and saying "no thank you"
*huge interest in animal movies/TV shows---Daniel Tiger, Curious George, Dinosaur Train, 101 Dalmatians, Lady and the Tramp, Fox and the Hound. He also loves Super Why on PBS kids.
*went on his 2nd beach trip (if you missed it, read all about it HERE)
*he finished swimming lessons
*celebrated Daniel's birthday and Father's Day
*celebrated my birthday
*traveled to Conway for Jordan Reunion
*traveled to NLR to celebrate Lowery birthdays
*loves music and loves to dance---can even recognize piano and guitar
*loves trucks and cars--especially climbing up in RoRo's truck and pushing all the buttons
*talks ALL DAY LONG. i love it!
*loves to draw and use stickers
*LOVES football (or any sport with a ball) and I think he is going to love football season this year
*he has a toy lawnmower and wagon and loves to pretend he is mowing like daddy.
*he also loves to watch his daddy mow---every single time
*favorite fruit: strawberries
*loves peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, goldfish, raisins, pouches (the only way he eats vegetables), pimento cheese sandwiches, french fries, and ketchup...and bacon, lots of bacon
*LOVES donuts ("no-nuts") and chocolate and ice cream, but we try to monitor those pretty well
*still in size 4 diapers and size 5 night time diapers---not really interested in potty training yet, but does understand the concept of going on the potty and realizes when he goes to the bathroom in his diaper. I'm not rushing this AT ALL and kind of hopes he waits until next summer to want to potty train.
*his understanding of concepts and vocabulary is mind-blowing! He can say and understand so many things, which is so nice!
*celebrated his birthday with our best friends and close family--Daniel Tiger themed of course! He loved every minute of it!
*takes one nap a day--I lay him down at 12:30pm and he is usually asleep by 1:00pm. He will sleep anywhere from 1.5-2 hours on average. We put him down for bed at 7:30pm and he normally sleeps until roughly 7:30am.

Weight: 31 pounds (80th percentile)
Height: 35 ¾ inches (90th percentile)

My sweet boy, my mama heart can hardly believe you've been on this earth for TWO years. Boy, what an amazing two years they have been! You constantly amaze me and I am so proud of you! You are growing up before my eyes--last year you were a wobbly, gibberish-speaking baby and now you're a running and squealing and talking toddler! God made me to be your Mama and I will forever be humbled and grateful for the opportunity. You are one amazing little boy and my heart could just burst with love for you! Here's to year THREE---happy birthday little man!

love, Mama

Photo Dump:
swimming lessons with daddy

he did a great job!

enjoying our pool in the backyard

swimming lessons with our best friend Lorna

sweet kisses for sister

happy father's day!

he loves his daddy!

helping sister during playtime

soaking in snuggles with my big boy while sister naps

life is never dull

helping RoRo answer phones at his office

such a big boy!

family reunion with cousin Katie Jo

such a ham!

banana popsicles on a hot day

exploring our new tent for our beach trip

hanging with Aunt Kimberly

bubbles. clothes optional.

snoozing and rocking the shades

love being their mama!

sweet friends

Saturday morning waffles

CHEESE!

love that smile

"Hold it"

mowing with daddy's shoes

sink bath!

Daniel Tiger birthday party

Hi Neighbor!

Yummy cupcakes

his favorite present--a truck!

 blowing out the candle

dig in!


Lorna came to help us celebrate

happy birthday to you!

our handsome two year old!

thankful for our Johnson fam!

more truck time