The 3 Of Us. . .

Kindergarten.

2011-09-15T14:25:00.003-04:00

2 years? That's a record. What possessed me to write in here? I dunno. But, my baby girl.. who was once 4lbs 6oz, is now a 33 pound little girl who boards a school bus, and spends the day at school, learning lots of new things and making new friends.

And, she's becoming a cheese...

She loves school.. and I can't believe the child who (just a year ago) would cry when someone even visited the house, now sits with friends on a bus and waves from the window.

Before I know it, she'll be having a kid or something.

Might I mention... iPhones rock. So does Instagram.

Beautiful Waters

2009-07-13T14:24:00.002-04:00

Sometimes I wonder why the heck I live where I live! Other times, I remember...

My husband took that photo of Central Park (that'd be the one in Schenectady, not New York city). I love taking Alexis to walk around the park... she loves to feed the ducks. Speaking of- the weather is absolutely gorgeous here- it rained almost all of last week, the sun has been so nice! I think we'll go feed the ducks now. . .

TOP SECRET recipe.

2009-06-17T17:56:00.002-04:00

I have a recipe for all of my readers... especially to my readers who happen to be mothers. This is a top secret recipe. Upon reading said recipe, you have to promise you won't share it with anyone else. For better understanding on how to make this very special meal, I documented the entire process with photos- everyone loves a great visual, right?

You need salt. And you need a pan. And some water. You'll be making some noodles! I don't ever question the salt- I've always been told to add salt when I boil pasta noodles. Why? The world may never know.

Fill pan with water. Turn on burner. Wait. Ohhhhh... pretty bubbles!

All the COOL moms use 2 different noodles. Are you cool, too? If you're ULTRA top of the line COOL, you'll use whole wheat noodles for better nutrition for yourself and your child/ren.. apparently, this cool mom ran out. So, I'm not perfect all the time.

Once above water has boiled, drop the noodles in the water. You do have a slotted pasta spoon. . . . right?

You ready for the TOP secret recipe?! I guess I'm ready to share it. . . .

Oh admit it!!!! You know you do it, too.

Do NOT forget the bread. You gotta have bread! I tend to prefer a nice slice of fresh italian bread with some butter- sometimes I like some garlic bread. Just don't forget the bread.

Who's ready to dig in?

Lake George

2009-05-14T20:36:00.002-04:00

We took a trip to Lake George in the beginning of the month - I'm a little late posting. But, we had SUCH fun. I had wanted to get in a trip there before it got very hot outdoors, so decided on the spur of the moment we should go. Traveling at the age of 3 is just perfect! I remember when she was an infant/young toddler and we would take this same trip - I'd have to be in the backseat the entire time trying to keep her occupied with 100,000 toys and snacks. Plop 5 books in her carseat and she was good to go this time- I'm excited for longer trips at this age now!

It's a good thing we didn't lose the Barney in the water . . . .

We brought a ball with us, so we could play around in the field near the lake-

But, if you know Alexis. . . well . . . she would rather play with the nature-

Running after her papa.. weeeeeeeeee!

All pooped out-

So now it's mama's turn-

I'm sure we'll go back soon! (right Chris?)

The Park

2009-04-25T13:26:00.003-04:00

It's in the 80's here ... so we took Alexis to the park this morning! We went at 9:30am before it got really brutal out - it was nice because there wasn't a lot of people. She realized she enjoys the sandbox, hates the slide.. and would rather collect rocks than anything else. She didn't like the slide last year, either... maybe someday! (or swings). What she would rather play with at the park are the little "beads" and wooden shape games... she is her fathers daughter.

The Great Outdoors/Recipe

2009-04-03T19:13:00.004-04:00

Yesterday (the 2nd of April) was such a gorgeous and beautiful day out... we spent the afternoon outdoors! Chris got out of work an hour early (woot!) and was able to come out with us. I had a fleece on and ended up taking it off because I was dying of heat... I LOVE this weather. Unfortunately, today we were stuck indoors... but we made good use of the day by playing with play-doh for an hour, and then taking a bath because little girl was filthy!

Blowing bubbles- (and the first thing Chris does when he comes home is rips off the tie!)

Barney might be in a coma here.....

Picking grass... don't you wish YOU were so easily amused?!

My 2 loves... can life get ANY better? :*)

Peanut all pooped out on me..

How gorgeous is she?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And for Tania ♥ who asked for our M&M cookie recipe- here you are, love! :)

Soft & Chewy M&M cookies:

* 1 1/4 cups sugar
* 1 1/4 cups firmly packed brown sugar
* 1 1/4 cups margarine or butter, softened
* 2 teaspoons vanilla
* 3 eggs
* 4 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
* 2 teaspoons baking soda
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1 1/2 cups plain M&M's

Heat oven to 375*F.

In large bowl, beat sugar, brown sugar and margarine until light and fluffy.

Add vanilla and eggs; blend well.

Add flour, baking soda and salt; mix well.

Stir in M&M's.

Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake at 375*F for 8 to 10 minutes or until light golden brown.

(makes 6 dozen cookies - we froze half because it was tons!)

Baking Cookies!

2009-04-02T21:20:00.004-04:00

I think we have a future baker on our hands! Either that, or a professional M&M eater. Alexis loves, loves, loves to help me bake. Too bad I HATE BAKING! I absolutely love to cook, but bake? Eh. Cookies are especially..... gah. Making a dough, plopping on tray, in oven.. waiting... waiting... taking off tray... putting more dough on... put in oven... wait... wait... what a tedious chore. Alas, I bake because my princess likes to. Oh.... the things we do for our kiddos.

This is "the look" I get when I try taking her picture. It's the look of.. "yo mama. really. STOP taking my picture and lets MAKE THE COOKIES!!!!"

Pouring in the sugar!!

... and touching it.

OH HECK YA! Bring ON the M&M's! She picked these pretty "spring" like ones..

She has the need to TOUCH everything she puts into the bowl. This is why, folks, we thoroughly wash the little girls hands before we attempt ANY baking or cooking session, ha.

Doesn't she look sneaky? (as she steals an M&M?)

The cookies were absolutely delicious. Too bad I forgot to take a picture of them. Hmmph.

Then she decided to read.. and read.. and read... can you tell it was PJ day?

This was her "cheese" smile.. when I said "K, Alexis.. smile for the camera!"

Hmmmmmmmm...

Lots more to come tomorrow! We spent some time outside today (sans the PJ's) and mama is just too lazy to put them here right now. Yep.

Happy 3rd Birthday!

2009-03-27T19:40:00.005-04:00

Ok, so I'm a few weeks late... that's nothing out of the ordinary, right? I actually have QUITE a few new pictures I'd like to show everyone, along with some from NYC when Chris and I went away for a day- so in the next week or so I'll catch up with those.

I can't believe my baby girl is THREE. Where in the WORLD did time go? It feels like yesterday that I was staring at a pregnancy test in amazement and wonder... now I'm staring at a little person who is the light of my life. Alexis talks up a STORM now - I just love this age. It cracks me up to have conversations with her... sometimes she says things and I look at her like "whoa! where did you learn that?!" - she absolutely amazes me. I've also learned that at her age, certain parents (ahem) need to watch their mouths because certain 3 year olds walk around saying 'where the heck is that freakin dumb toy I lost!" - he, he.

Our "baby" is no longer in a crib- she's moved to a toddler bed, which she absolutely loves. We ARE "battling" something "strange" at night... for the first time since she was 4 months old, she's waking in the middle of the night crying! It's always something different.. she lost her Barney, she can't find this or that.. 2 nights ago she said "her giant fan was blowing her hair" (even though it wasn't).. I'm not sure if she's having dreams, or becoming afraid of the dark for some reason hopefully whatever it is, ends soon!!

Here are some photos from her birthday party: (as you can see, she doesn't like Barney or anything).

Christmas

2009-01-05T22:15:00.003-05:00

Merry Christmas - 11 days late! As per usual, it's been awhile since I updated- but, not as long as usual so I guess that's good. It's been busy here! Alexis has given up her naps, 100% of the time. A few months ago we were dwindling down to a few days of the week skipping naps.. now she hasn't taken one in 3 or so weeks, I've lost count. Needless to say, it's a bit more hectic now!

But, I thought I would post a few Christmas pictures. It was SO FUN this year! She understood tons more than last year - we just had a blast.

Opening her DR. kit from Mimeux and Pepe- she loves her bandaid from the kit and always wants to put it on me.

Her play dough activity table from Mimeux and Pepe! Uncle Larry and Aunt Barbara also gave her a play dough kit) and we gave her play dough- it was the year for it! And a great one, at that. She never actually played with it until now - it's her absolute favorite thing in the world. I think we sit on the floor together at least 2 hours a day and play play dough. She likes to roll it out and stick the shape cutters on it. Of course, she also likes mixing all the colors- oops!

A cookware set from us- an apron, hat, oven mit and glove, spoon, spatula, etc- she looooves "making and baking" in her kitchen-

All pooped in her new old navy slippers...

And just a few random ones from this past month-

In closing - my two loves- aw!!! :*)

Poopies

2008-10-11T13:31:00.002-04:00

I just love having a conversation with a 2 1/2 year old! How funny! Did I mention I adore this age? So, after lunch we had this talk.....

Alexis: Gonna go poopies, mama!
Me: Ok, let's go on the potty! Hurry!!
Alexis: NO
Me: Yesssss.. big girls go poop on the potty!
Alexis: I'm not a big girl. I'm a baby.
Me: No, you aren't.. you ARE a big girl
Alexis: No wanna go on potty today. No like the potty.
Me: You never like the potty
Alexis: Yes, go on potty! Get m&m's and stickers, maybe?
Me: Yep! I'll give you a sticker. Let's go!
Alexis: No want stickers or m&m's now.. Dini doesn't want the stinkin' dumb potty. (err)

*poops in diaper*

Alexis: now I can have m&m's, maybe.
Me: You didn't use the potty!!!
Alexis: Papa get me special brown M&M's.. not mama, just papa.

So- let's get this straight. A 2 year old is gonna sneak behind my back and try to get her papa to get her M&M's because I said no? Hmmph. I think she'll be potty trained at around.. 10. perhaps 15. Is 20 too old?

And yes, she still calls herself Dini!

Some pics from last week, when it wasn't freezing yet..

The Outdoors!

2008-09-30T21:55:00.002-04:00

First of all- the most important news of the day~ Chris' last day of work was today! WooooHoooo!!! Goodbye Taco Bell and 55 hour weeks, hellllo dress pants and ties! Ahhhh. We have a 5 day "vacation" in between the end of his "current job" (which isn't actually current as of today) and the start of his new one.. whatever do we do with 5 full days? Where no one can call him in?! That'ssssss the life.

So, Alexis chose not to nap today ::grumbles:: the little girl doesn't always realize it, but she honestly does need her naps (and I'm not saying that for my own sanity). By the time 6pm hits, she's ready to fall down (not to mention she's a miss crank pot!)- I always put her into bed at 7pm when she skips a nap - when she naps, she stays up until 7:30pm. But, I decided we needed some air.. it was a nice day out! So, we took her "ball popper" out and she "vacuumed" the sidewalk with it. I love toddlers!

Here are a few pics from today.. her shirt is from her Uncle Dan and his girlfriend (Sue) when they took a vacation in Cape Cod a bit ago.. it says "Don't Mess with the Kid" .. well, if you take a gander at her expression.. I think the shirt is right on.

This is her beloved Barney.

... and her Barney.

Oh Look! It's Barney. Heaven Forbid we should leave the Barney on the steps, someone might steal him!! She's picking grass here.. so easily amused. isn't it awesome?!

Her hair is getting looonger.. she actually needs a hair cut, though.

Concentrating... or picking her lip. Something like that- lol.

It's a birdddd.. it's a plane....Oh wait, it's a little fluffy floating in the sky..

Now, Alexis... plllllease nap tomorrow!!!

Funky Hair!

2008-09-28T22:09:00.003-04:00

Just wanted to share Lexi's new 'do..

hehehe.. isn't that great?! Her hair is so long when it's all wet and straight!

And this is what Miss Toddler does now when I break out the camera... ay yi yi...

Niagara Falls Trip

2008-08-31T21:46:00.002-04:00

Look, I'm here with an update! I wanted to share some pics with you all. Chris and I recently (a few weeks ago) took a mini vacation (sans Alexis) to Niagara Falls to celebrate our anniversary and birthdays (which all happen to fall within 30 days of eachother). Me Me and Pe Pe (and Uncle Cody!) watched Alexis for us.. and while it was a tiring (!) experience for them, they had tons of fun! And even though we missed our baby girl SO much, Chris and I had a blast.

We actually stayed in Canada, which we had never done... there was SO much more to do there, it was tons of fun (we were there for 2 nights/3 days). They even let us come back into the country.. haha

Here are some pics..

This was a double bus? I wasn't sure I had ever seen one before.. two busses attached.

Sorry- these are all small. I accidently resized them to the incorrect size and didn't want to do them all over again. I took this because I thought it was funny.. a Quizno's, Popeye's and Starbucks RIGHT next to eachother. In Canada!

For some reason, this made me chuckle. In case you can't see it, the sign says "bridge to USA" and has an arrow directing you to the lane. I've been to Canada MANY times.. I don't know why I still find it humerous that you can just cross a bridge and be in another country.

This almost made me ill to watch. These people are CRAZY!!!!!!!!! They're crossing over the whirpool at the falls.. in this cage-like thing.. over wires.. you couldn't pay me 1 million to do this.

Up that to 5 million.

I petition to have a Tim Hortons here. They had REALLY REALLY good coffee!!!!

At night.. gorgeous

Just moi

Hope you enjoyed!

Oh, and because I can't leave little peanut out..

I'm a BIG girl!

2008-07-31T13:42:00.002-04:00

Ok, so I'm not the greatest at keeping up with blogging. Actually, I'm pretty terrible at it. It's a shame, too, because I love looking back at previous entries. It's not until someone says "hey Erika.. you haven't updated since 2007" .. that I think "Hmm.. maybe I should do an entry". Oops.

Big girl Alexis (or Dini, as she calls herself?) is almost 2 1/2 years old. Whoa!

My beautiful princess-

DINI! A few months ago she was Mary.. now she's Dini. "NO Alexis. No like Alexis. I'm Dini!" So, as you can see.. we're at the "imaginative" stage of her life. This age is TOO fun! Well, besides potty training. Potty training bites! The famous words.."no like potty! throw garbage potty!" ring a bell several times a day.

Alexis talks SOOOOO much!! I remember a few months back at her 2 year appointment, her pediatrician asked if she was were putting 2 words together (and sometimes 3).. and we said "actually, she's putting 9 together and having full conversations with us"- ha ha. She talks our head off. It's so amazing how they learn SO fast.

And our little girl.. IS a girl..

:-)

Halloween!

2007-11-05T13:58:00.000-05:00

See, I told you I wouldn't disappear!
We had a great Halloween! We didn't bring Alexis out trick or treating this year.. I thought she was still a little young for that.. plus, I didn't really want her to have a pound of candy at this age ;) I think we'll start taking her next year. But we dressed her up to go visit with her great-grandparents.. and then we visited papa at work!! Then we came home and passed out candy. She actually kept her costume on the whole day/night without complaints!

Here's our cute lil' ladybug..

Throwing her rubber Elmo ball into the air.. it's about to hit her in the head ;)

Isn't THIS lovely?!?!?

.. getting into trouble.. :)

Poooped out

Hope everyone had a great Halloween, too!

20 months..?!

2007-10-30T20:05:00.000-04:00

Err... wow!!!!!
So, it's been like.... a year since I wrote ::ducks down:: I don't even know, and I doubt, if anyone even checks this anymore. But I'll e-mail my very old faithful readers to give you heads up that I did an entry .. and that I plan on doing a lot more- for real! What is it about blogs and my ability to KEEP writing in them? I've always been like that. But I really DO need to write - too much of her family is so far away...

So, "little peanut" is now 19 months old.. almost 20! Whew! I do, however, need to mention that peanut.. is.. indeed, STILL my little peanut! At her 18 monther she was STILL not 20 pounds.. but she definitely is now, according to our scale. Might I mention, however, that she's a PIGGY! The girl would eat ALL day if I let her. AFTER she was done with dinner tonight .. she had TWO boxes of raisins (that she asked for).. after she had oatmeal for breakfast, she asked for some cereal.. she pretty much asks for cereal all day, I think she could live on cereal alone. And peas. And beans. She ate 1/2 a can of beans the other day, at one sitting! She loves her fruit, too... especially apples. And chicken.. Mmm! Don't try and feed her ground beef, though ;) I think she must have a high metabolism, like her father. Or it could be the fact that she runs back and forth ALL day, all over the house.

So, what has she been up to?
For a girl who was "a bit later" on the crawling and walking (which was opver 14 months).. she sure as heck has excelled in the language department. We stopped counting after 120 words or so.. I had them all written in a notebook, but then she started throwing out new words left and right.. and it got to be too much! lol .. I would imagine she's at around 250 words.. at her 18 monther she was at 80 or so, and her pediatrician said that was REALLY good for her age.. so I guess 250+ would be even better ;) Tonight she said a REALLY long word.. it didn't come out quiiiiite right, but it was so cute! We were watching tv and that campbells tomato soup commerical came on .. where they show the kids adding stuff and dipping in the soup (crackers, grilled cheese, etc) and at the end they sing "possibilitiesssssss" and she said "pasabisities" and then said it the whole night.

She doesn't say many "phrases" or two worded things.. just a few (she says shopping cart, good girl and drive safe - yes, really! I say that to Chris when he leaves for work.. and she does, too! haha).. but maybe soon!

And for a few pics -
"WE" carved a pumpkin this morning for Halloween.. Ok, I did! I told her she could dig in and help me get out of the "goop"... but Alexis is a Miss Priss :) ... who does NOT enjoy dirty hands- at ALL! Is that normal for a kid? ;) So she stared into the pumpkin and then went to play with her toys...

She had no interest ;)
And here is mama's end result.. after a million hours-

And then we baked a cake!

And she stole the evidence........

See the oreo crumbs? ;)
Ok ok.. mama gave her one!

Tomorrow is Halloween.. she's going to be a ladybug! Of course, I'll take plenty of pics.
And I WILL write more. REALLY.

:)

9 Monther!

2006-12-21T09:07:00.000-05:00

Sorry it's been so long! I keep saying I'll write more, and time escapes me.
But we're doing great!

Alexis had her 9 month appt last week - no shots, yipppeeee. She's still a teeny peanut in the 5th percentile 15 lbs 5 oz)... height went up to 26 1/2"! And head went from 40 3/4 cm's to 42 3/4 cm's. She has to go for another weight check in 6 weeks. Then goes back for her 1 year'er! (omgoshhhhhhh).

Poor baby girl SCREAMEDDDDDD during her appointment soooooooo bad (Kristen - like she did at Jeffrey's party, haha).. so it was a good opportunity for me to ask "is stranger anxiety THISSSS bad normal?" and she said her behavior was perfectly normal for some babies. In fact, she said her own daughter (who is now 15) would do the same thing when she was Lexi's age... they could never have anyone over, go anywhere. She said her daughter would cry so hard and lose her breath that she would pass out!!! She also said some kids will vomit! Yikes! Alexisn't isn't THAT bad, but she's pretty bad. We didn't even attempt to visit Santa this year and get a picture- that wouldn't be a pretty scene in the middle of the mall. It'll be nice when she gets over this!

Lexi bear has another toofer!!! She has 3 now, 2 bottom... 1 top. And I think another top on the way - her gums are pretty swollen and red up there. She handled this top tooth MUCH better than her first 2. She's still refusing solids, but her DR isn't concerned (not unless she loses weight)... she thinks it's from all the teething. We've been making a go at some table foods (she's eats puffs, but won't let me feed them to her... she has to do it herself- so she gets a few when they make it in), she's had some american cheese pieces, some turkey (sandwich meat), some canned peaches that I chunk up small... I tried an elbow noodle the other day that I quartered... but she just sucked on that for 10 minutes making awful faces, finally swallowed... then gagged and threw it up- ack!

Here's a recent video -
Alexis with some puffs around her on the floor... you can see in the beginning what her trademark is - she's a puff flicker :P She flicks them ALL the time. None of the puffs actually GOT in her mouth in this video, haha... but she does get some in. Then she went to reach for something............................ and... you'll see ;) (it's the 2nd video, btw)

The first video is her new leapfrog learning table! She's standing all alone... Chris is just there in case she wobbles over (which she did quite often when we first gave her the table... now she doesn't wobble anymore much, she's doing REALLY good standing at it now)

Friday, December 15, 2006

That's all for now! I'll write more... really :P

4 videos!

2006-11-17T08:57:00.000-05:00

I have quite a few videos here, so watch when you can!! She's been very "video worthy" lately ;)

Wednesday, November 15, 2006

The first one is about 29 seconds long. I'm trying to teach Alexis how to use her sippy cup! This is a new Gerber one we just purchased this week- the one I was trying out before was too heavy for her, and had no handles... she had a harder time holding it. She still doesn't quite "get it", but she tries!! (she doesn't get that she has to tip it to get the water!)

The 2nd video is a few seconds over 1 minute long - her sippy cup has become a teether! AGhhh.. it's such a horrible sound! You can see after about 30 seconds that she's examining her pants because a little water spilled out...lol

The 3rd video is a bit over a minute, too ... tummy time! Yep, she STILL hates tummy time- I think she always will! She does "swim" now... and you can see at about 54 seconds in, that she lifts her bum up a bit.. and at the end, SORTA kinda starts to get on her knees for a second. That's our closest attempt to crawling, hahaha.. I think we still have awhile for that.

And the last video is short (17 seconds)- maybe she'll learn to crawl on her back first? lol .. :P That's her backwards crab walk... lemme tell you how fun it is when I'm changing a poopy diaper and she's doing it on her changing table!

I can't believe how fast she's growing! She'll be 8 1/2 months next week! Wahhh...

Weight Check!

2006-10-26T20:30:00.000-04:00

Peanut had her weight check this morning! If you recall, she hadn't gained much between her 4 & 6 monther so her pediatrician wanted to do a weight check in between her 6 & 9 month appts just to make sure she's gaining ... she sure did! A whole 1 pound & 8 ounces! In just 6 weeks- yippppee. She went from 13 lbs 6 oz to 14 lbs 14oz .. so just about 15 pounds! I could tell she gained- when she's nekkid and I lift her outta the tub at night, she sure feels it :P

I had her check her ears, also, because she's been rubbing and playing a LOT with them ... but she said both were completely clear (can we get another woohoo? woohoo!) - she's probably playing with them because she's teething (boy, isn't that fun) or just because she likes to play with them.

And her pediatrician also said Alexis is going through stranger anxiety a few months early :P She said it normally hits about 9 months... and well, Lexi has had it for over a month now- and it's getting so much worse! She won't even go to poor Grampy now.. and she sees him daily! (but only for a few minutes in the AM before he goes to work.. and when he comes home for a little bit). Basically, the only people who can hold her are myself, Chris and my mama. She even screamed with her DR today! And when I say scream and cry - this is what I mean........

For those that aren't family and don't know- that's my grandma (fathers mother)... Lexi's great grandma! At least grandma was happy... poor Lexi sure wasn't! hehehe... and yes, she does this with EVERY SINGLE person - NO one can hold her- agh! So to those that try and hold her and feel sad and offended, please don't... LOL - she has such wicked stranger anxiety with the whole world! Hopefully someday soon she outgrows that... hmmph.

Before I close- a few more pics!

Yes, she doesn't match. Yes, she has carrots on her sleeve. Yes, there's a big purple cup glaring at you. But she sure is cute, eh? LOL

Btw- she is doing SOOO good sitting up - she can easily do 20+ minutes w/o falling... she usually starts to wobble when she's excited or tired.

Daddy and daughter! Awww...

Big girl in her tub! (yep, she still fits in it!) - tell me she doesn't have gorgeous eyes! (and a pretty cool mohawk, too)

More pretty girl with pretty eyes...

Last but not least.. chillin' in the big white box!

Have a good nite, all!

Gargles!

2006-10-16T19:41:00.000-04:00

Before I post the 2 videos I promised (see, told ya I would tonight! Alexis just went into bed... so I have a few hours of relaxing.. ahhhhh...) - my lil' peanut tried meats for the first time today! At her 6 month appointment, her pediatrician told us she'd like to see her started on meats within the next month (she also wanted us to go to 3 solid meals a day.... but I don't think Lexi is quite ready for that, so I'm holding off for right now - we do a mid morning and late afternoon now). Anyway- so today we started her on meats. I didn't figure she would like them (after I opened the jar and it kinda resembled like dog food... along with smelling pretty rank! LOL). But hey, I'm not a baby. (thank goodness).

I decided to do a meat combo thinking she'd probably enjoy it more... so we tried out some chicken w/ pears. MMMMmmm. The child gobbled them up like it was her last meal on earth! She kept opening and opening. I wasn't going fast enough for her, apparently! (which is really good considering she went on "solid strike" a few weeks ago and it was a struggle to get 1 teaspoon down her- no matter what food it was, even her faves). So she had 1/2 jar of stage 2 chicken and pears! (I stopped her at that because she would have eaten forever... and she still needed her bottle). Then later she gobbled her carrots like it was another last meal of the day :D

So,
Here are the videos I promised!

This outfit she's wearing is from her oma (gramma) in Holland - thanks Inge! It's one of our favorite outfits!!!!! :)

These were actually taken on September 23rd, so nearly a month ago... but since I went on "blog strike" or something... I'm a bit late.

This is Lexi's famous gargle.....
and the 2nd one is .. "how to amuse a child for 15 minutes. Who needs toys?"

Saturday, September 23, 2006

Oops!

2006-10-15T20:41:00.000-04:00

This is for my mother in law and brother who say I don't write enough in the blog ;) So ok, it's true! I didn't realize it has almost been a MONTH... oops. Time escapes me! I have mama brain. I can't even remember what I had for dinner last night.

So, I was supposed to update you all on her 6 month appt (which was forever ago)- well now it's been so long I would have to look up her stats in her little green book from the pediatrician! hehe .. off the top of my head- her weight was 13 lbs 6oz .. she went from almost 25% to 10% ... her ped. wasn't worried. She went from her high calorie preemie formula to "normal" formula- and also had that "bottle strike" when she was teething, and she wasn't eating much then. So given those 2 things, there wasn't a concern. She said we could go back in 6 weeks to check her weight if we wanted (which is now in 2 weeks)... so we go back October 26th just for a check. Her length sprouted up from 10% to 25% (another reason she could have gained less- she grew way up!).. she's up to 25 1/4" now. Anddddd her head cm's escapes my brain right now.

Anyway.
Little princess is 7 months now!!!!! :-O I can't believe how times flies... 7 months!!!! (and 4 days, to be exact!). Besides wobbles here and there (when she gets excited and can't stay still!) she's sitting up REALLY well unassisted. She loves her new view of the world!

That was taken last weekend at the apple orchard!
"who cares about those big ol' dumb orange thingies? What's this cool feelin' GREEN stuff?!?!"

She's really tired here ;) This was near the end of the "trip" and she had been up for 3 hours.. she still naps after being up for 2. But she was an ANGEL the whole time, especially for having a late nap!

The sun was in her eyes here...lol

And here she is having the time of her life eating a real apple from her mesh feeder!! Mmmmm!

In other Alexis breaking world news- my big girl is now in her OWN bedroom! So ok - it took this mama 7 months to finally separate from her daughter... and I even cried twice the first night (when I said goodnight to her, and when I walked into our bedroom and she wasn't there!)- but it's working so much better. I'm actually sleeping now! (rather waking everytime she kicks in her sleep, or makes a peep- she can be pretty loud in her sleep). It's also nice to be able to turn on our TV if we want before bed, not have to whisper, and not have to worry about a creaking floor or bed and waking her up! That said- I still go into her room before I go to bed and check on her... will I do that when she's 16?

And lastly- my big girl really is a big girl! She's now eating (on average) 27 oz of formula a day (past week or so she's put herself on a schedule- besides nightime, we never really had one before... it's kinda nice!!! Give or take 20 or so minutes sometimes... if she naps longer than usual or gets hungry a bit sooner)... she eats 6oz at 7am, 6oz at 10am, 6oz at 1pm, 6oz at 4pm and 3oz before bed at 7:15pm. (and 2 solid meals a day) - she used to eat 20-24 oz... and 4 oz bottles each feeding. So I'm excited to see her weight!

And on that note, I promise to write more. See what happens when I don't write in forever? I write a book. Oops!

Tomorrow I have a video or 2 to post... so stay tuned! (and I really WILLLLL post them tomorrow!)

Teeth and Solids!

2006-09-21T15:22:00.000-04:00

I don't have much time, I just heard sweet pea starting to wake.... but wanted to post a picture and few videos since I haven't updated in awhile. As soon as she heads to bed later I'll update more (she had her 6 month app. last week).

Look at her toofers!!! (she's lookin' bug eyed because I was trying to make her smile and laugh with my goofy self and she thinks I'm off my rocker, heh)

Hope you can see 'em. A bit tough in a photo!! But boy are they there... and boy can she BITE!

She's doing SOOO good with solids. She's only disliked 1 food (peas).... she LOVES yams the most... (homemade) and bananas (also homemade)... also loves applesauce and carrots. Tomorrow we start a new food (pears, I think I'll start)... it's so fun :D She loves her solids.

Do you think she likes peas??!!

Friday, September 8, 2006

What about yams?!

Tuesday, September 12, 2006

Ok, up from nap!! Byeeeeeeeeee for now.

Outside!

2006-09-07T20:29:00.000-04:00

We spent lots of time outside tonight- brought out a few blankets and toys... it was gorgeous out!! Grammy sat out with us, we had a great time!

This was Alexis this morning - look at my big girl!!!!!

And outside...
My mama took this- I think I'm shooing away a bug :P

Uh oh... gonna fall downnnnnnn...

BOOM!

Ok, so we went photo crazy and took 20 more... but I picked my faves, hehe... enjoy!

2 Videos!

2006-09-06T08:22:00.000-04:00

This is Alexis getting MAD because her ball wouldn't fit in her mouth! :P

Sunday, September 3, 2006

And this is me making a pig like noise because for some reason it just made Lexi laugh and giggle every single time, haha... hey, a mama's gotta do what a mama's gotta do! :P This was actually the end of the laughing... she had been doing it almost 5 minutes before we grabbed the camera!

Tuesday, September 5, 2006

Jumperoo!!

2006-09-02T12:09:00.000-04:00

Here's a video I took this morning in her jumperoo... although we like to call it the marcheroo! She hasn't grasped how to jump, she marches! :P

Saturday, September 2, 2006

Poop and Bananas!

2006-09-02T11:37:00.000-04:00

Sorry, I was "supposed" to get on here the other day and share the poop story with you all! But Alexis decided that I wasn't allowed :P (man, teething is tiring! The tooth is really popping up more, so hopefully she has some relief soon).

So the other night I put Alexis on the bathroom rug so I could run her bath water... since she loves to be nekkid, I took off her diaper for some freedom. Well, a few nights this past week she's decided to poop at NIGHT (which she NEVER does), but she always does it in her diaper! So when I put her on the floor, I always wait a few moments... then take the diaper off. So I did as usual. All of a sudden she starts to push! I had NO time to grab anything, it came out so fast. Last week she was constipated for the first time (probably due to the new formula, which has rice starch in it for vomitting) and so when she pooped on the bathroom rug, I thought she was constipated again... since it was a little hard ball. Since it was hard and teeny, I just plucked it from the floor and tossed it in the garbage... hey, a moms gotta do what a moms gotta do! :P

I assumed they would all be little hard balls, so I look around me and grab whatever was closest... a bib. All of a sudden, she starts pushing again... and what seemed like a 4 mile soft poopy came out!! AGHHHH! It filled the whole bib. I ball it up and throw it in the garbage (I'm not washing that thing.... I guess cloth diapering isn't for me, eh? haha) and assume she's done since that was a huge poop! Well, she pushes again... so I looked around quick, and plucked her old diaper out of the garbage :P I don't untape it or anything, I just stuck the 'folded up' diaper under her bum... and she does another big one! Now thinking she's REALLY done, I set that diaper aside and grab a washcloth I saw on the edge of the tub so I can wipe her up, so I make sure I get it all and her bath water doesn't get icky.

All of a sudden Lexi decides to get excited and go on a total kicking spree! (she kicks when she's excited, REALLY hard!!). She hits the diaper... before I know it, I have poop all over the bathroom rug, smeared all over her legs, between her ankles, on her arms because she touched them to her legs, in her hands... it's up her backside since she pooped with no diaper on. Then it's all over me since I'm trying to wash her off, but she's kicking like crazy!! Ack!!

Let's just say Alexis had the best bath of her life! Might I add.... as I'm cleaning her, I hear one of our cats puking in the kitchen. And right before her bath, I was downstairs and my parents dog peed all over their rug and I sat in it! What a night!! That was definitely the grossest night of mama-hood thus far :P Glad I could share it with you all, hehe.

------------------

On a different note- we've started up solids! I'm not doing cereal, there's enough of that in her formula. We started on bananas (I made them myself) and she absolutely LOVES them. We're on day 2 now! She's figured out how to open her mouth when the spoon is there. And she doesn't spit as much out anymore, she swallows better. Yesterday she did 3 teaspoons... and today she nearly 4 teaspoons (1 tablespoon). Yay Lexi!

Here are some pics:

"oooohhhhhh... what is THIS, mama?!"

Whatcha Think?

2006-08-30T17:00:00.000-04:00

Do you think Alexis has outgrown her bassinet?! :P

I put her down for a nap today and she was talking to herself... all of a sudden she started whining, then crying. I figured her gums bothered her, went in to check... and she was like that in her bassinet!! AGHHHH!!! She's NEVER done that before. Earlier in the day she was completely BACKWARDS- her head was where her feet should have been. She whines and then cries because she gets herself stuck and can't move. It's a small space, I have no idea how she moves in there like that.

But I was afraid she would flip herself out or something... she keeps resting her feet on top of the bassinet!

So here's my big girl now...

.... so I started this entry at 4:30pm and it's now 8:04pm ;) I had to stop mid entry because I had Alexis in her crib and she woke up SCREAMINGGGGGGG... I think she was scared because she's not as familar with her room - she's slept in our room for almost 6 months now. So for tonight, she's in her bassinet... and I'll keep trying naps in her crib tomorrow. Hopefully she doesn't flip all over tonight and stays asleep!

Poor baby girl is most definitely teething! She's eating more ounces now (almost up to her normal most days)... but she still screams big time, it takes forever to get the ounces down her. I've found that if I go out on the front porch to feed her that she eats better... I think the traffic distracts her, and she loves to be outside. Hopefully it doesn't rain tomorrow, lol. Chris and I went to babies r us today for a few things... and I was sitting in the back with Alexis in case she was fussy, and as Chris parked the car when we got home Lexi opened her mouth really wide and we saw a tooth on her bottom starting to break through! FINALLY!! You can feel it now, too... if you rub her gum line you feel a bump. And if you push down a little on her gum line you actually feel the sharpness of the tooth starting to poke through. Hopefully it comes through all the way soon and she starts to feel better.... cause this mama is POOPED!!! :P (but, of course, the other tooth is still a "mound" and hasn't poked at all... so we'll still have to deal with that!). How many more teeth are left?! ;)

I'm wiped tonight- but tomorrow I'll make an entry sharing with you all about last night... and the most digusting night of mama-hood thus far ;) Let's just say..... I dealt with poop all over my bathroom rug, in between her toes, up her legs, on her arms... and I'll leave it at that! Goodnight!! hehe

5.5 months!!

2006-08-27T08:11:00.000-04:00

I know- a long time again!! Aunt Karen- this update is for you!! ;) And before I forget - mimeux.... it was Alexis that moved all of your magnets upside down yesterday at the picnic. She just needed to get that confession off her chest, she told me to tell you......... :P

I haven't been able to get on as much because someone stole my happy baby! (and I'd like her back, thankyouverymuch!). Starting about a week ago, her feedings became really bad. As soon as I get her into our feeding position (cradled in my arms), she starts to scream and arch her back. Sometimes I'm able to get some sucks down her, sometimes she just screams too hard and I have to sit her up and try and calm her. After 3 days of it, I called her pediatrician and made an appointment (we/they wanted to rule out an ear infection, the nurse on the phone said swallowing can hurt the ears if they have one). So on Monday we had an appointment... NOTHING "physically" wrong with her. No ear infection, no sore throat, no hard tummy, everything looked fine. It was a different pediatrician since it was a spur of the moment appt (actually, it was my pediatrician from 27 years ago!! Wild, huh?) and he noticed her dosage of Zantac was pretty low... so he upped her dosage, thinking it was possibly that bothering her (arching of the back is VERY common in reflux babies).

He also told us to change formulas- no more Neosure! He told us to try out the Enfamil A.R. (it has added rice starch to reduce spitting)... she's been doing GREAT on it. She actually hasn't vomitted in 8 days! (we're going on 9 today)... and on the Neosure she was forever having minor "spits" and "cheeses" and those are almost totally gone.

However, she's STILL arching and screaming (besides the first feeding of the morning and the last feeding at night before bed, I don't know why). Chris and I have come to the conclusion that she's teething- which the pediatrician mentioned might also be the case... but he saw nothing different with her gums. However, in the past 2 days- we sure have!! She now has pale "mounds" where her 2 bottom teeth will pop through- you can also feel lumps when you rub her bottom gum line, which were never there before. That could explain the bad feedings- the nipple could be bothering her gums. We bought Hylands teething tablets yesterday- I don't know that I notice MUCH of a difference, but she does seem a little happier after them (they certainly don't help with the awful feedings, though lol).

I noticed that she LOVES a washcloth, though! Last night during her bath she grabbed the washcloth and jammed it in her mouth and kept chewing and chewing.... so I may stick one in the fridge and get it cold, and give it to her later... see how that works.

Teething sucks. That's all I hafta say.

But on a good note- here's my purty baby!

She felt like wearing her winter hat the other day ;) (don't ask, haha). That blanket is her taggie blanket, her favorite thing EVER! I wish tags around a blanket would amuse me, too.

And here she is all dressed up!

Cowgirl!!

2006-08-13T08:57:00.000-04:00

I only have a few moments, Alexis is probably going to wake from her nap soon... I just wanted to share a couple of really cute recent pics!

Daddy found this hat in Old Navy (the BOYS section, might I add lol)... he thought it was TOO precious to keep in the store :P

And how do you like her new shoes? hehehe .. ok, they're really uncle Cody's new sneakers... but we thought they matched her outfit pretty well :P

Nekkid Baby Rolls!!

2006-08-08T20:27:00.000-04:00

Ok Rated XXX post ahead- read at your own risk...... nekkid baby alert!!!!!! :P

I was giving Alexis some "naked time" after changing her diaper when we were downstairs visting grammy and grampy... (she loves naked time, don't ask me why! Freedom!). So I decided to break out the camera so I had a handful of nice pictures to show her future boyfriend (which, btw, doesn't happen until she's at least 45 years old)... I thought she would love me for that one. And I'll be darned- look at what she did!

She started like this:

And then she says "I'll show YOU for putting me on my tummy to get butt pictures!! Hmmphhhhhhhh....."

Ta DA!!!!! So there!!!

My very own naked roller!! (not for sale, sorry).
She's rolled twice from her tummy to back now - yay Alexis! She's almost getting there the opposite way, too... she gets to her side ALL the time but can't figure out where to put her arms.

My baby is growing up! :*)

Busy Day!

2006-08-04T14:23:00.000-04:00

Have I mentioned how much I love when Chris has the day off? Well, besides the fact that he's home all day and we get to see him... I enjoy getting out!!! We went to Walmart this morning pretty early (I bought Alexis 2 onesies, they were each $2!!! Also bought her a pair of pants for $3 and a shorts/shirt outfit for like $7 ... gotta love clearance). Then we came home, gave her a bottle... and went to the mall. We walked around a bit, had lunch in the food court (Nathans, yummy)... then I fed her in the food court, then we walked around a bit more. Mimeux called when we were in Sears and said a friend/co-worker wanted to see Alexis so asked if we could stop by... so we went there (nursing home). She started getting cranky and tired after seeing so many people, rubbing her eyes and whining (and yelling, she gets SO mad sometimes). So we took off to go home and she fell asleep in the car! She never woke when Chris took her out of the carseat, so we just put her in bed for a nap. She was an angel everywhere we went!! Even had a great feed in the mall.

Day before yesterday we went to the peds office because they called and said her formula was there... $200 worth, baby! They gave us 2 cases (so 12 cans). We also made an appointment for the GI specialist concerning the vomiting... but they can't get her in until August 31st. By then the throwing up will probably be done with :P

Alexis has REALLY started discovering her feet - it's so cute, but sure can make diapers changes interesting!!!

Friday, August 4, 2006

There are two feet videos!! The 2nd one gives you an idea of how she normally is on her changing table- SOOOOOO excited!!! She loves having her diaper changed and LOVES being on her table... she always kicks her feet all over and smiles. Of course, now she just wants to play with her feet so she isn't able to kick them as much!

And some tummy time...

Look how high I can lift my neck now, everyone!! (she's watching Spongebob, lol)

Ok, mama.... my neck is getting kinda tired, can you flip me over now??

:::::cries::::: I asked you to flip me OVER!!!!!!!!!!!!

Finally, thank you!! Gosh, that tummy time made me so sleepy......

Pics and Pics!

2006-07-31T07:28:00.000-04:00

Have I ever mentioned I dislike shots? :P
Poor Lexi was backwards this time! At her 2 month shots she was miserable that entire day, but became more of herself during that night and the following day. This time (4 monthers) she was better during the day (just random bouts of cries) but was miserable during the night (although she still slept 10 hours, she cried in her sleep a LOT)- and the next day she had a 99.6 fever and didn't feel so good (vomitted several times). She's fine now- but I already dread the 6 monthers! lol

Chris and I celebrated our 2nd anniversary last Thursday- can you believe it's been 2 years?! Grammy and grampy babysat and we went out for Mexican food and had a nice night. And tomorrow is my birthday (the big 27)- Chris has to work, though (he took off our anniversary instead- he gets 2 days off a week but his work week is from Wednesday to Tuesday so they fall in the same week.... even though they aren't to me :P But anyway, we're going out to dinner on Thursday for my birthday! (I haven't decided where yet... hmmm).

And here are more pics of my beautiful peanut (who I guess isn't such a peanut anymore!). Speaking of, I was looking through her preemie clothes yesterday and I don't think she could fit her left arm into one! :P They look like they could fit a doll, it's so funny!! I can't believe she was that small. Chunky Monkey is now in size 3-6 and size 2 diapers!
<~~~~ remembers when newborn diapers were HUGE on her and she leaked all over! Here she is!

Can you tell EVERYTHING goes into her mouth now??

Lexi and her uncle Cody!

4 month Appt!

2006-07-25T11:40:00.000-04:00

Alexis had her 4 month appointment today! (which is actually 4.5 months.. and was supposed to be on Friday, but they made a mistake- it's all good).

Alexis is doing so good growth wise! Yipppee. She was 9lbs 2oz at her 2 month appointment and is now 12 lbs 11oz!! (went from 10% to almost 25%!!!!!!!!)... length was 21" at 2 months (10%) and is now 23 1/2" (still 10%... short like mama!)... head went from 36 cm's (not on the chart) to 39 3/4 cm's (almost 10%)... her ped. was really pleased with that! (so are we!)

We got a referal to see a GI specialist (cause our baby hasn't seen enough specialists, eh?!) for the reflux... probably to do some tests to see if she actually HAS it. Her vomitting has been good (average of once per week) but she's recently been eating more and has been vomitting a bit more (once a day for the past few days)... so we'll see what he has to say for that. And he needs to recommend a formula - her ped. said she can be off Neosure between 6-9 months or when she's 25% on the growth charts... well, she's just barely 25% now so her DR. said by her next appt. she'll be off it... thank goodness!!!!! It's double what any other formula costs. We buy it by the case (just 6 cans) at babies r us and it costs us over $90 ... doesn't even last a month. Last time we were there they gave us 3 free cases (so almost $300 worth!), this time they said they had none (we don't ask or anything) but she said she contacted "the man" who gives them the Neosure and he'll either drop some at our house (!!!) or bring it by the office for us to pick up. Sweet! Hopefully it's a few cases! :P

On a somewhat bad note, poor peanut did NOT handle her shots well. Last time she just cried and cried... this time she SCREAMED and SCREAMED. Mama's touch didn't even "touch" this one! It took me forever to calm her. I cried while she got her shots (shhh lol) and the nurse was funny - she said "I feel worse for the mothers!" and she kept patting my shoulder and asking if I was ok, haha... her screams were like nothing I had EVER ever heard before, it was heartbtreaking. She finally stopped so we could actually take her out of the room... she exhausted herself. She fell asleep in the car and we put her to nap her in the swing as soon as we came home... she's been asleep since (an hour later). We did give her tylenol in the office... we'll see how she is when she wakes. Last time she was wicked fussy and irritable, got a low grade fever... had no appetite. Hopefully she feels ok. Dumb shots. Hmmph.

A few pics...
Hey!! Where's the TV?!

Just chillin' with my toys.... like my jeans? :P

"what are YOU lookin' at?!"

:*)

Look at what Pepe got me! A rocking chair! My shirt says "Somebody in Schenectady NY Loves Me!" (from grammy)

Update!

2006-07-20T08:00:00.000-04:00

Gosh, it's been forever since I've written! Time flies when you're having fun, eh? But no, I haven't stopped! Time just escapes from me and I do other things.

So what has Lexi been up to? Well, first of all, she's sleeping much later! She hasn't gotten up before 6am in several weeks! Today was 6:15am... but yesterday and the day before she went to bed at 9:15/9:30 (ish) and woke up between 8 and 8:30! And the few days before that she was waking up at 7-7:30. I tried giving her a slightly earlier bedtime last night, but she woke up earlier... the selfish part of me is going to bring the bedtime back up to 9:30pm ;) But she now gets 9-11 hours of sleep (straight, no bottle feeds in there at all) at night... and then she has a bottle whenever she wakes up and goes right back to sleep for a few more hours (usually 3 or so). She certainly loves her sleep- she's like her daddy!! If they didn't have to eat, I think the both of them would sleep all day if I allowed it!

Lexi is "talking" tons!! She's getting quite LOUD about it, too! She really enjoys talking to her fishes above her on her swing mobile... especially in the morning or at the end of the day. It's like she's telling them how her sleep went or how her day went :P I have a video of her talking, but I'll have to post it later... my camera cord is in the bedroom where Chris is sleeping (he didn't get home from work until 4am).

As of a few weeks ago, she's actually tolerating tummy time! Previously, we would put her on her tummy and she would scream after just 10 SECONDS... bury her face in the blanket and cry until I rolled her over or picked her up. Now I can get 5 minutes or more sometimes! She's realized "hey! I can lift my neck now!!!" so she likes to look up at the tv I have on in the background (oh boy!)- she lifts her neck up higher and higher each day... and she props up on her forearms, I thought she'd never get there! Now if only she would roll over. She tries, and sometimes gets to her side... but never all the way over.

Her reflux is doing pretty well- we only had one projectile vomit in the past week (went 6 days without) which is a record. But daddy didn't get her Zantac grape flavored this time, so we're having a problem getting it down! (it's naturally peppermit flavored and she HATES IT). I may try to head to the pharmacy today and bring it to them... just to see if they'll add the flavoring for us. She takes it MUCH better then.

And speaking of reflux and vomitting, we tried rice cereal a few weeks ago for the first time! Unfortunately, it didn't work so well... we did 2 days of it (1 feeding a day) and then stopped. She got HORRID gas from it... and I think it hurt her poor tummy! She would cry in her sleep and draw her legs up, her tummy got a bit 'hard'... she also got WAY more fussy than typical of her, both days. And on the 2nd day, she actually vomitted AS she was eating her cereal. She didn't even open her mouth at all, it was hard to get in! So we stopped and I'll try again in a month or so, I don't think she was quite ready.

Her 4 month appointment (and shots, ick!) are next week (she'll actually be 4 1/2 months)... a day after our 2nd anniversary! Gosh, time flies. Not even sure what we're doing- maybe I should ask Chris that ... lol. (and my birthday is a few days later).

Anyway- here are a few cereal pics to tide you over since I didn't update in a trillion years... I'll post more when I have my camera cord!

Happy Belated 4th!

2006-07-05T07:42:00.000-04:00

Happy belated 4th of July, everyone! We stayed in last night- that's the first time I've missed the fireworks in.... forEVER. You know you're getting old when you curse at the people down the street shooting them off because they're annoying... or because they're going to wake up your baby! :P Chris had to work last night, anyway.... and I decided this probably wasn't such a wise year to bring Alexis. The poor girl would be scared of her own shadow if it made a noise! She can be all smiles... then a firetruck goes by, she gets a startled look on her face, then her lip quivers... then she cries and screams. Same with my food chopper, my hair dryer, my vacuum, motorcycles... she gets so scared of noise! I thought the fireworks would scare her. So we stayed in last night. But we WILL be going next year :P

And here's my special care package...

She wore that same outfit for Memorial Day, and it fit her MUCH better yesterday ;) It was a little big on Memorial Day. We're startintg to buy 3-6 month clothes now (the outfit above is 0-3 but runs a bit larger) because some of her 0-3's are getting snug! Little butt is still in size 1 diapers, though!

And here are the pictures of her in her new jumperoo I had mentioned...

And yes, her fists are ALWAYS in her mouth- as is EVERYTHING she touches! Yesterday she kept lifting up her dress to suck it. Whenever she has a shirt on she lifts it up to suck it. When she has a onesie on and can't get it up to her mouth, I think she gets frustrated ;) One of these days she's going to get a rash on her hands from sucking so hard :P

Appt!

2006-06-29T14:53:00.000-04:00

Alexis had her appointment today! I was unsure of whether or not it was her 4 monther, but it turned out not to be. Last week Chris called the peds office because we needed her Zantac re-filled... and the DR she had seen while having her vomitting issues called me back asking when her next appointment was.. I said it was July 28th and in his words "Ok, lets move that apppointment to next week" (which was today)... so I made the assumption it was her 4th month visit with shots and all that fun. But it wasn't! He marked it as a sick visit. He just checked her weight (11 lbs 4 oz, baby!!!!! Almost tripled her birth weight!), her length (21", but he measured different than her normal ped... so we'll see), checked her head circ (he did inches, her normal ped does cm's) and then checked her throat and abdomen. That's pretty much it. But I love getting a weight check!

So her 4 month appt is July 28th- I already dread the shots! (she'll actually be more like 4.5 mths).

As soon as my booger wakes up she has a new little gadget that Grammy and I bought (well, Grammy bought until she gets my half of the money- right mom? haha)- she has a new deluxe jumperoo!! I had wanted to get her one because she LOVESSSSS to stand on our laps or other surfaces- and she bounces her legs a lot. She fits in the seat really good (and her neck control is fine in it), but she's so short that we have to put something under her so she can reach the ground ;) She LOVES it, though. She doesn't bounce much yet in it because I'm not sure she knows she's supposed to... (sometimes instead of bouncing up and down she moves her whole body and it swings back and forth lol)... but she loves the flashing lights and the little orange bear on the tray in front of her! And the music!).

As soon as she wakes up from her nap I'll take a few pictures or a video of her in it!

Video Slideshow

2006-06-27T08:52:00.000-04:00

I did this last week, but forgot to share it with everyone here :) Click the link!

Lexi's Life

Cereal

2006-06-26T07:21:00.000-04:00

Last week when Chris had a night off I took some bath pictures (he always bathes her the 2 nights he gets off, so they can have their bonding time!) - and then I went through some old bath pictures- wow!!! What a huge difference! (in both personality and body wise). She hated her first bath, but hasn't cried taking one since... she absolutely loves her bath time (I give her one nightly)... look at her chunk now compared to back then!

Then: (a few weeks old)

Now: 3 months and a week (when it was taken)

Took this the other day... such a pretty smile :*) (and getting such a round face!)

Sometimes Alexis decides to take a nap in the evening BEFORE bed time (which, btw, doesn't influence how much she sleeps at night!! She took a 2 hour nap before bed-time last night.... I woke her at 8:45 for her massage, bath, feeding, etc... and she slept from 9:30pm-6am... yippeeee)- anyway, this was taken last week after I had woken her from a nap to get ready for bed... poor girl just didn't want to wake up! I carried her to the living room to get her ready for her massage (she was awake at this point)... I put her in the chair so I could get her blankie on the floor... turned back around and she was out! (and yes, she has mismatching socks... and yes, grammy rolled her poor pants up to her neck! hahah)

And this is an awful picture, but I had to share! Alexis rarely has her thumb in... 99.9% of the time she just attempts to get her entire fist in her mouth- but last week she got her thumb for 30 seconds! :P We were sitting in a rocker ... and my camera was on the table right in front of us- she kept her thumb in long enough for me to grab the camera, turn it on, snap the picture (the reason it's so awful was because I was taking it RIGHT above her- and quickly)... then it popped out :)

The other day I was looking through my cupboard and remembered I had rice cereal that was sent to me from Beechnut when I was pregnant (a sample package). We're not ready to start Alexis on solids- we're waiting until at *least 4 months, but we're going to follow her "ready" cues more so (and she's definitely not ready yet)- but I wanted to do some experimenting! I'm going to attempt to make all of her baby food when the time comes (not only because I think those jars are too expensive for what you get!! But because I think it's just healthier for her)- the other day I was browsing the 'net and found some homemade infant rice cereal recipes. So I wanted to see the difference between the 2. The other day I prepared the Beechnut packaged one- just added water. I'm not sure if it was the brand, or if it was because it was a bit "older" and had been sitting in the cupboard for 6 months... but it tasted like watery carboard! Ick! I gave some to Chris, you should have seen his face... hehe. He said it tasted like the same- watery carboard (and it didn't even come from a box!).

So yesterday I made some homemade rice cereal- lemme tell you!!! It was so simple to make, and MUCH better tasting. *I* would eat it with a little sugar on top ;) I used white long grain rice because that's all I had in the house (and knew I would be throwing it away, anyway)- but I'll use brown rice when I make Lexi's. I just made the rice 'as directed' on package (used 1/2 cup water, boiled it... added 1/4 cup rice.. simmered for 15 minutes with lid on).. then I put the rice in my kitchenaid mini food chopper and added water- started with 1/4 cup to get it "working" and blended... then kept adding water to get it to a thinner consistancy.

Now I'm all excited to be making her rice cereal when she's ready- it was fun for me, will be much better for her... and MUCH cheaper for our wallet! :P

Update!

2006-06-25T11:44:00.000-04:00

Long time no post!
Things are going well! Seems my little baby is growing more and more every day- sometimes I get excited to watch her grow up because I can't wait until she's crawling, walking, talking... other days I just wish the clock would stop and she'd stay my baby forever! (but then I think of the sleep I would never get... so we'll forget that... hehehe).

Last night during massage time, Lexi was on her back... and she rolled to her side for the first time! :*) I'm pretty much thinking she'll never roll from tummy to back! She HATES tummy time SO much- she starts screaming and crying before we even get to 1 minute... she buries her face in the blanket and just flairs her legs. Little does she realize that if she DOES roll over, she wouldn't have to be on her tummy anymore ;) I think she would have rolled completely from back to tummy last night, but when she got to her side she stuck her fist in her mouth and then her arm was in the way... but she stayed on her side for awhile! Maybe she'll roll that way first. Of course, I tried this morning and she just laid there! :P

She's doing pretty good reflux wise. We only have maybe one projectile vomit a week (all of which may be my own fault- as she does really good for many days in a row so then I think to myself that I can go longer during a feeding between burps so it doesn't take SO long to feed.... and then it backfires... I know, bad mama). We got a re-fill on her Zantac and Chris picked that up yesterday- poor baby hates that medicine so much, makes an awful face! (but of course, then bursts out in smile right after... she's such a happy baby!).

She has an appointment this Thursday- her 4 month well visit was supposed to be July 28th, but the pediatrician she had when we went in for her vomitting called me yesterday and said he wanted to move the appointment to next week because they hadn't seen her since she was in the ER. Her normal ped. was booked this month, which is why her 4 month appt. was more like 4 1/2 months... now this appointment is more like 3 months and 3 weeks... so I don't know if she's getting her 2nd set of shots... or if they're waiting... or what, I didn't think to ask! But I can't wait to see how much she weighs. Unfortunately, it's not w/ her normal pediatrician, though... I love her, and I'm not so fond of this one... aw well.

Since it's been awhile since I posted (gotta work on that, I know)... I have some pics:

... of which I would love to post but it seems blogger won't let me, and that seems to happen everytime I do a longer post and then try and do pics ::grumbles:: I'll try to put them in another post.

(just tried... still won't let me)... but here are some videos!!

This is Alexis being a drama queen, she's good at it ;)

Friday, June 16, 2006

This is one of my favorites!! Lexi is REALLY starting to giggle a lot now, but this is the first time I caught on camera because they're so random! (sometimes she giggles at absolutely nothing)... I love the sound :*)

Wednesday, June 21, 2006

And this is her "new thing" - she's always eating all of her clothes! (and doesn't she look so pretty??) :)

Thursday, June 22, 2006

Vacation!

2006-06-16T13:45:00.000-04:00

We took Alexis on her first mini-vacation yesterday! We spent the day in Lake George and (for the most part!) had a wonderful time. The weather was gorgeous (although this mama got burned big-time!)- it's a bit over an hour away, she slept about halfway there and halfway back. She was so excited to be in the car, she loves the moving (I have videos of her 'talking' in the car to herself (or the back of the seat? lol)- I'll upload them later and share 'em. She was a bit cranky in the beginning... she gets VERY over-stimulated and overwhelmed when there's a lot of people, or when something is new or different to her. But she was great the rest of the time! Even took a nap in her stroller during lunch time so mama and daddy could eat! We visited the water, did lots of walking... I went to the Carters outlet!!!! (not that it excited me or anything!!!). We spent about 5 hours there and came home.

Here are some pictures of the day!

Here's grammy holding Lexi before we left- chillin' in her new sunhat from Old Navy! (bought it to protect her eyes and little bald head from the sun!)

Daddy holding Lexi by the water :) It was much to sunny out- we kept her in the stroller for 95% of the trip with the 'hood' from the infant seat protecting her... we only took her out if we were in shade and to snap this one photo:

Picture daddy took of the steamboats!

Daddy feeding Alexis - this was soon after we got to Lake George- little booger wanted to eat right away even though she had eaten right before we left! (and yes- her pants are off because she had a nice big poopy waiting for daddy, hehehe... and then he just left 'em off until we started walkin' aound again)

We bought 2 outfits at the Carters outlet (yippppeeeeee)- this is one of them! It's a 2 piece set (might I add, for just $7) - a onesie and the cutest pants ever. I love it! She looks adorable in it (and I'm not biased... hmmph). She doesn't have much blue so I wanted that color! We also bought another 2 piece set... skirt/tank top type of thing, purple. I have pictures, but they're on my moms camera... so as soon as she uploads them I'll share!

Oh geeeeeeeee... mama!!!!!!!!!!! Turn off that thing!!! I'm tryin' to poop .......... ::::evil grin:::

Pics

2006-06-11T16:48:00.000-04:00

Here are the pics that wouldn't post in the last entry (hopefully).. :

Yummy... tastes like chicken!

Just hangin' out with uncle cody and daddy!

And a video I took yesterday morning - she is SOOOOOO happy in the morning (she sure didn't get that from her daddy!!! hehehe)

Saturday, June 10, 2006

Routines

2006-06-11T16:26:00.000-04:00

Ahhh... I love a good routine!

For the past 1 1/2 weeks or so, I've tried starting to make a 'routine' with Alexis - not really during the day, during the day I just follow her lead... she eats whenever, naps whenever... none of the times are ever predictable. Sometimes she'll want to eat every 2 hours, sometimes 3 hours, sometimes 4 hours... sometimes she'll nap for 30 minutes, sometimes for 3 hours... she's the boss of the house ;) But I wanted to try and make her realize the difference between night and day, so I started a night-time routine... and lemme tell ya, the sleep is nice!

Depending on when she napped - if she's been up for awhile, I usually try and give her a few ounces of formula- then I give her a massage (which she loves), then we bathe, do a few more ounces of formula, read a story... and she falls asleep on my shoulder, and I put her in the bassinet. If I have to wake her (which is funny... I wake her to get her READY for bed, hehe) then I can usually hold off on the formula for a bit because she's not usually too hungry as SOON as she gets up. So we do our massage, bath, then a full bottle, a story... and she falls asleep on my shoulder, and I put her in the bassinet.

For the past 1 1/2 weeks she's had a bed-time of 9:30 ish.... give or take 15 minutes. Before that, she had a bed time of "whenever".. I never woke her from a nap, I just let her sleep... so sometimes I would be going to bed, myself, at 10pm... and then waking just an hour or two later for a feeding. Having a solid bed time routine is so nice!! She now understands that massage, bath, feeding, story = night time. And it takes her 2 seconds to fall asleep now, she knows that 9:30 is her bed-time... and having the same routine over and over has helped - she now automatically gets tired in that time frame.

On average, she now sleeps from 9:3pm0 to between 3:30am and 5:30am. Last night she slept from 9:15pm-4:15am (7 hrs, woohoo)... got up for a feeding, that took 30 minutes... then she fell back asleep for 4 hours and got up at 8:15am for the day! She will always go back to sleep for more than several hours after a 'night' feeding.. so even though it's broken sleep, we both still get 8-10 hours! (I sleep when she sleeps).

The difference between now and then - before our routine she'd just get up whenever... 1am, 2am, 5:30... it was more like 4 hours between feedings. Now, on average, she goes 5-8 hours at night (but again, falls asleep for hours after that feeding). Now I'm just waiting for a 9:15pm-8am sleep!! hehehe.

Have I mentioned how nice it is to get some sleep? :) And I absolutely love our night-time... Chris works nights so it's always myself and Alexis (unless he has the night off)- I bathe her myself... and she absolutely loves baths, so it's fun to watch her in there (and, of course, have a clean baby!!)- I used to be nervous to bathe her myself (I felt like I needed 4 hands)- I could probably bathe her in my sleep now! Massage and story telling is our "quiet time"... it's just our special bonding time and I love it :*)

Speaking of sleeping and waking - I took some pictures and a video yesterday morning when she woke up!!

............. well, I tried to post 'em! Seems half of the time try and post pictures on here it doesn't work ::rips out hair:: I'll try and put 'em in another entry.

... and more pics!

2006-06-06T07:47:00.000-04:00

I tried to post these yesterday but it wouldn't let me!

These were taken in her bouncer yesterday morning :)

And I took 2 videos!

Monday, June 5, 2006

Is she a happy little girl, or what?! :-D

Pics/Video!!

2006-06-04T12:19:00.000-04:00

Here are the most recent pics! :)

This is a gorgeous Gap dress that an old co-worker gave us for Alexis last week!

And this was her Memorial Day outfit!! (it's a bit big in the shoulder area!)

This is a funny pic... hehehehe - I don't remember what I was saying, but she thought it was pretty darn hysterical!!!!! :D She doesn't even look like the same baby as the one above ;)

And here is a video I took on Memorial Day!

Monday, May 29, 2006

Is she a ham, or what?? She doesn't smile a lot... nahhhhhhhhhhhhhh .. ;)

We're Alive!!

2006-06-04T11:51:00.000-04:00

Yes, I realize how long it's been since I updated ;) I have gotten everyones e-mails, but I haven't had as much time on here. Miss Lexi has decided to have a growth spurt - several days of wanting to eat almost every hour!! And in between eating, being pretty fussy and cranky... and wanting to be held all the time. Needless to say, it wasn't easy to sit down and update this! I think she's 'back no normal' today since she's been feeding about every 3 hours and is smiling again! -wipes brows-

Many of you have already heard - but we spent the afternoon last Saturday in Albany Med's ER ... to make a very long story short, Alexis had been projectile vominting after each meal... and she also had a VERY dry diaper after 6 hours at one point... it was during the night when she had slept quite awhile and that's usually when her diaper is most saturated from sleeping so long!! But it was dry as a bone so we were concerned about dehydration. I called her pediatrician's office on Saturday morning and the nurse told us to come in at 10:30... the on-call pediatrician checked her out (btw, she's up to 10 lbs 3 oz!!! So she certainly isn't losing weight) and he decided he wanted an ultrasound on her done... to rule out pyloric stenosis. I have Empire Blue Cross and we need aprroval before an u/s... well, it was the weekend... not only that, but Memorial Day weekend. Not good timimg! The nurse tried for 30 MINUTES to get a hold of my insurance and got no one. So they told us to ensure that it'd be covered, that we needed to go through the ER. Well, the local hospital that's 5 minutes away said they have no experienced techs/ DRs that are trained in spotting pyloric stenosis -rolls eyes- so we had to go all the way to Albany Medical Center.

Again, long story short... u/s came out negative and they think Alexis has reflux. I swear, poor baby girl has it all! We were given a script for Zantac (which she just absolutely hates and makes the worst face you've ever seen on a baby) - she has to take that twice a day. We also have to do feedings a blit slower... stop every 1/2 ounce or so to give her tummy a break... and then continue. Try and burp more, etc etc. So far so good - it's been a week and she's only vomited once ... last night. Has had 3 feedings since and she's been fine. Even through her growth spurt where it seemed she was eating non-stop for hours and hours... and ate a lot more than usual, she was fine. Thank goodness!!

I'm trying to post pictures but the blog won't let me... so I'll try it in another post, if that doesn't work I'll try again later!

Hot!

2006-05-26T08:13:00.000-04:00

Yes yes, it's been 3 days since I've updated! Not as much time. Alexis decided she didn't want to nap too much yesterday- she wasn't fussy, just didn't feel like sleeping... she wanted to be held all day :P Only so much typing and uploading I can do with one hand, lol. But she's napping right now (although moving a lot in her swing so I'm sure she'll be up soon).

It's supposed to be around 100 million degrees outside the next few days, so I was able to break out some sleeveless clothes for Alexis! (actually, the below is borrowed from a friend who daughters outgrew 'em)

And here are 3 new videos from yesterday!

Thursday, May 25, 2006

Obviously it's way too soon, but it looks like she wants to crawl in the first one lol ;) She's also trying really hard to roll sometimes, but we're not there yet! And I got 2 smiles in the 3rd video :) Funny how she changes moods so quickly, just like a woman! hehe. The 2nd video was taken, she was crying during tummy time... I flipped her on her back as soon as I turned off the camera, picked the camera back up... all smiles! Tears and smiles all within the same minute- gotta love it :-D

Giggled!!

2006-05-21T19:24:00.000-04:00

Alexis giggled for the first time today! It was the cutest thing :-D

I thought that was pretty funny considering the scrapbook page I did today!! hehe

And here's a video I took of her today... I caught her kicking her ball, smiling and then talking! :*)

Sunday, May 21, 2006

PJ's!!

2006-05-19T09:31:00.000-04:00

Happy 10 weeks, Alexis!!! :-D

I don't take a lot of pictures, do I? haha... one thing Alexis can never say when she's older is that she doesn't have many pictures of her as she was growing up! I think I'll have some pretty jam-packed scrapbooks goin' on!

Chris has the day off so we have a few errands we'll be doing... I have a gift certificate for bed bath and beyond that I need to use up so we're heading there (although I have no idea what I want right now!), we need to run to BJ's for some cat litter (and I want to see how much our diapers are there)... andddddddd we need to head to Walmart for a few things. Busy day! But that's how I like it when Chris is home since I'm cooped up in the house all day when he works. I like getting fresh air! (although it's raining).

So here are todays pics of the day! I took these PJ pics this morning before I got Alexis dressed for the day.

All smiles!! A goofy smile!! :-D She smiles SO much now, I love it!! Nothing more precious and beautiful than a big gummy toothless smile to make your day absolutely perfect!! Especially at 4am when she does it!! ;) She got me up at 4am this morning (5 hours after her last feeding, which is pretty nice) and I said "good morning, Lexi!" and she just beamed, and beamed, and beamed... it makes getting up at all hours of the morning totally worth it :) She always smiles now when I get her out of the bassinet or swing... :*) (and about 100 other times during the day). She's definitely our happy little girl!

Gamer!

2006-05-18T14:46:00.000-04:00

I think we have a future game-player on our hands! Looks like she's enjoying herself, eh? haha

Memories

2006-05-17T06:13:00.000-04:00

I was folding laundry last night when I saw a pair of Lexi's old preemie pants in there - she had dribbled some formula out of her mouth one day on the changing table and that was the closest thing to us, so I used it to wipe her mouth (hey, whatever works ... lol) - my mom and I were laughing at the pants because they looked like they could fit a barbie doll! They looked SO small to me. So, of course... it made me remember back 2 months when she actually WAS that teeny!!

And it all begins here..... ;) Do I look scared? That's because I was, lol.

Scared turns into relief and happy tears when they brought her to me! :) Even though she was soooo teeny and premature, we were allowed to hold her for more than several minutes after she was born because she was healthy! I remember as soon as they took her away I started to get really, really, really sick to my stomach (that nasty anti-nasua drink they gave me before the csection did nothing for me, apparently!)..... then I remember the anesthelogist at my head grabbed one of those kidney shaped basins for me since I kept saying I was going to throw up... then I started laughing in my head wondering how I was supposed to throw up in something so small... and flat on my back... without it getting all over!! So I kept thinking of that and eventually it went away ;)

Little peanut!! Awwww :*) She looks like a doll here! Scale says 4 lbs 6.3 ounces... and that wasn't her smallest - she dropped a few ounces in NICU and her lowest was 4 lbs 4 oz.

WHERE are her cheeks? lol... she looks so fragile and teeny to me, I'm having a hard time remembering her that small... and it was only 2 months ago!! She just got big and chunky SO fast that it's hard to imagine she was barely 4 pounds at one point.
Chris feeding her in NICU :*) This was when I was taken back to labor and delivery after my blood pressure spiked through the roof again... and I had to be put on magnesium sulfate for 24 hours and I was only allowed to see her once :*( I cried and cried... and now when I look back, those 24 hours seem like nothing in the scheme of things. I also remember what a struggle it was to feed her the first week of her life... and that's one of the reasons she had to stay in NICU for 6 days. The girl just wouldn't suck! Or she would suck, but not swallow. And we were forever rubbing her chin to remind her to suck and keep her mouth closed - we actually had to massage and push UP her chin to force her to swallow. And the goal back then, per the N ICU nurses, was to get down a little 15 ml's!! That's just 1/2 ounce of formula. Now the girl won't stop swallowing! She sucks so fast (sometimes TOO fast) and eats a good 3-4 ounces... and has gone up to 6 twice. (that'd be 180 ml's compared to her 15 ml's in NICU). Wow!
Her "little house" is behind Chris there... she had to stay in there to keep warm and keep her temperature up and regulated, she was in there for 2 days. But we were allowed to take her out for feedings and diaper changes.

And this is sweet smiley Lexi today :*)

Ahhhhh.... memories.... :-D

Pictures!

2006-05-15T15:51:00.000-04:00

I hope all of you mothers had a great mother's day yesterday!! :) (I did!). And I'm sooooo glad my poor baby is herself again. After I had written the last entry saying she was good after her shots, all heck broke loose! Poor baby was sooooooo so so miserable :*( We've been blessed with a baby that doesn't cry all that much :::knocks on wood::: when she's hungry, when she's overtired... sometimes when she's very gassy... and during tummy time because she doesn't like it ;) But other than that, she doesn't cry much! She just cried forever after her shots! She had no appetite.. I struggled to get 2 ounces down her (and she normally does 4 or more)... and what she did eat, came back up. She also ran a low-grade fever. I didn't check it because she wasn't that hot, but she was definitely warm. She was just in a lot of pain! :*( I've come to the conclusion I don't like shots... hmmph. Thank goodness it only lasted for around 7-8 hours.

On a good note, our big chunky monkey is now out of newborn diapers (after almost 2 months and a week, haha)... we moved her to size 1's the other day - yay! I'm tellin' ya, her thighs grew massively overnight!! We had JUST bought a pack of newborn diapers THE day before... and the next day Chris was changing her and we noticed it was really tight around her thighs and hard to get up on her stomach/waist because it was tight... so we moved to 1's! That's exciting to me, lol :-D

Now for some pics....

Looking up at my father... awwww :*)

MMMmm...

2006-05-13T14:52:00.000-04:00

Who needs formula when you have a shirt?

Saturday, May 13, 2006

That's my mom right there, in case you didn't know ;) (and my voice in the background)

Lexi's Appt!

2006-05-12T11:42:00.000-04:00

Her 2 monther went very well!! Poor girl is still off the charts for her head, it's so small! But it's consistant with her own growth, so it's perfect :) Her head went from 34 1/4 cm to 36 cm's. Her length went from 19 1/2 to 21" ... and her weight went from 6 lbs 14oz to 9 lbs 2 oz!!! :-D WooHoo! She went from 5th% percentile on both length and weight up to 10% this month. All around great news!

She had to get 3 shots :*( She did pretty good - let out a few pretty loud cries as they were getting down, and it took a good 2-3 minutes in my arms to calm her down afterwards, but she was fine after that! Even gave me a half smile in the car on the way home! She's now sound asleep in her swing and appears fine, so hopefully they won't affect her too much! I only cried a little as she got poked :P

The DR said she does have this: http://www.drgreene.com/21_1130.html - I won't get into that here ;) You can read if interested, lol. But it's very common and not a big deal, she said. We got a script for some estrogen cream to use on her.

Before the nurse came in to do her shots, she told me she had called me on Sunday because I was "on her list" - I saw that the peds office had called me on Sunday (11:15am), but didn't see so until way after, I was in church for Baby Day and my ohone was turned off. I was pretty curious why they had called, however, because they're only open for emergencies on Sunday!! But since they left no message, I brushed it off as an accident... thinking maybe they meant to call someone else. Anyway - she said "br right back, I have formula for you"

So look what she came back with!!!

That's right folks... CASES of formula! That would be $300 worth of Similac Neosure! :-O Awesome news, to say the least!! Her formula is so darn expensive! That was definitely a nice surprise. That nurse can call me *anytime* she wants to!! lol

And since the camera program is now installed on the laptop here, here are some picturs I took in the past few days!

Chubs!

2006-05-09T09:05:00.000-04:00

Just as I started to write this Lexi's orthopedic called and told us her ultrasound was clear, and that we could take the harness off (which we knew from the radiologist already 5 days ago and took it off... but don't tell him... shhh... lol). He wants a repeat u/s done in 3 months just to make sure all the bones are growing correctly. She's freeeeeeeeeeee!

We had a fun trip to Michaels yesterday to get more scrapbook stuff- yay! I bought a 12 pack container of decorative edge scissors, a pack of 108 papers and two sheets of stickets (one alphabet and one sheet of pink foot/hand prints)... I also bought Chris part of his fathers day present from Alexis there, but I can't tell you what because he reads this ;)

I took these of her this morning:

I love the 2nd one :) And look at the thigh chub she's getting!
Kristen - you asked the other day at church what she weighed - like I said, she hasn't been to an appointment in over 3 weeks so I wasn't sure, but had guessed about 8 or 8 1/2 pounds. (she was 6lbs 14oz at her last appointment). I weighed myself yesterday, and then hopped on the scale with her and did the difference... not the most accurate way, but better than nothing! She had on a light onesie and a diaper (clean, hehe) and I got 9 lbs!!! :-O Her 2 month appointment is this Friday AM so we'll see her true weight, I can't wait! Of course, I CAN wait for the 3 shots she has to get :*(

On a sad note, my poor computer isn't working! I was on it this morning and it shut down out of nowhere... and when I turned it back on it said something like "computer had shut down due to thermal something or other"... in other words, my father said something overheated, he thinks my fan is probably shot. Ack! So he lent me a laptop and he'll bring it into work with him (not until Thursday or so)... thank goodness for dads who work with computers, eh? ;)

And now it's time to get breakfast while peanut is sound asleep in her swing! :-D

I'm Stylin'!

2006-05-06T18:01:00.000-04:00

Thanks for the onesie cousin Lori! :-D (0-3 months still a bit big!)
In case anyone can't see, her onesie says "I'm too sexy for my diaper" ... hehe

And here I am stylin' in my new clothes! Thanks for the pants, grammy! :-D
(I'm so excited her harness is off that I wake up every morning looking forward to putting pants and little socks and shoes on her!! haha)

Videos!

2006-05-05T21:02:00.000-04:00

Lori - I'm done changing my template, haha... I couldn't decide which one I wanted! And to answer your question - I haven't even called her orthopedic... oops!! A radiologist did her ultrasound and told us right there that her hip was no longer shallow and everything was fine... so we took off the harness as soon as we came home. Her orthopedic goes by what the radiologist says, so he'll just look at the report he sends him and tell us the same exact thing... so we didn't see reason to wait for him to call and tell us she's better when the radiologist already told us so ;)

I took some videos of Lexi tonight:

The first one is of her talking to me ;) (bout 40 seconds long).... the 2nd one is Boris trying to play with her toys, hehe... (also about 40 seconds) and the 3rd one is a very unhappy Lexi during tummy time ;) (27 seconds)... poor girl has the hiccups 40 million times a day! See how she's moving those feet without that harness?! She's freeeeeeeeeeee... and she says "get me OFF this dumb floor!!!!!!!! I don't LIKE tummy time!!!!!!!!"

Smiles!

2006-05-05T10:36:00.000-04:00

I decided to do a load of dishes while Alexis was up - I usually do them while she's napping... so I grabbed her vibrating bouncer and brought it into the kitchen, put it on the floor next to me... and put some music on for us... do you think she had a good time?

Then I decided to press my luck with a shower, too!! (I never take those while she's awake). So I picked up the bouncer (with her still in it) and put her on the floor right next to the shower... and this is the end result:

I think she enjoyed that, too....lol

Guess What??!

2006-05-04T22:25:00.000-04:00

I walked into the living room while Chris was burping Alexis earlier, during a feeding, and the way the pillow was made it appear as though she was inside it!! So I said "did you put her IN that pillow?!" and he said "no, but lets see...."

Ok, that's Chris for ya!!! hahaha. (this picture makes the bottle look huge, bigger than her head!)

On a good note... I just took these pictures about an hour ago................ do you all know what this means?!??!!?!?!? :-D (*hint* look at her legs and feet) ;)

Ortho Appt!

2006-05-03T16:43:00.000-04:00

Same as last time ::rolls eyes:: in out, wham bam... pay me on your way out! :P Harness looks fine (of course) - we did mention some parts were getting a bit snug because she's growing ... in particular, the feet of the harness. So he said we could cut the ends off - yay! Now I can see her little piggy toes! (besides just during diaper changes!) - she's ticklish there :-D He undid a bit of the bottom of the harness to check for the click and couldn't find it (he wasn't able to 2 weeks ago, either) so that's great news.

On a really good note, her ultrasound is tomorrow, not next week! Yeah!! Chris has the day off (today, as well... he's never had two days off in a row) so it works out perfect. He told me to call if I don't hear from him in 3-4 days... I'll be calling Monday! (even if it's not quite 3 days, lol - they don't count weekends)... won't hurt to just see if he recieved the results from the u/s tech. So please cross your fingers that all goes well tomorrow, and that everyone moves quick with the results so, hopefully, her brace will be off early next week! (hey, thinking positive here! An unhealed hip is totally OUT of the question, right? hehe). I'm so excited to make use of her wardrobe!! She has so much she can't wear right now because it won't work with the harness. We can't do pants, sleepers, socks - none of that! And diaper change times will be cut in half (since we have to un-do the bottom each time).... what a blessing diaper changes will now be at 3am! ;) Tummy-time will be easier, holding her in different positions will be easier.... aw... I hope it's healed because I guess I have my hopes up, eh?

Speaking of clothes - my wonderful friend (and old co-worker) Dee gave us lots of clothes!! We went to visit her at the nursing home last week and she said she would look through her clothes that had snaps at the bottom (since that's all she can wear - and dresses) - she gave us a lot! (her daughter is now over a year old)...

Alexis has already worn several of them - they're so cute!! I took pictures of her this morning in one of the little dresses... it's actually a onesie/dress - it snaps on the bottom (under the dress part) like a onesie... and if you look at her from the back, it looks like a onesie... but the front looks like a dress :)

She has to wear a t-shirt under all clothes (under the harness) so that it doesn't rub too much on her and give her a rash/sore ... can't wait to get rid of those, too!

Lovin' Daddy!

2006-04-29T19:02:00.000-04:00

How precious is this? :*)

We drove to Clifton Park today to go to the Scrapbook store (I got 2 sheets of stickers and a thingymabobber to make the edges of pictures round)... poor Lexi spit up while we were at lunch! We don't typically have to feed her when we're out, we usually time it just right so we're home for feedings... but she was hungry much sooner than usual! So we went to TGIFridays and had to feed her in the booth (the waitress even asked if we wanted her to warm up the bottle, lol) - anywho - we usually use powder formula and we used pre-made today (because we carry a jar and empty bottle with us so we don't HAVE to warm bottles or pack cold packs - she'll do room temp)... it's thicker than the powdered and she drank way too fast and it all came out - ack! Poor girl had it all down her back and all over her neck.. *note to self* next time pack TWO bibs and TWO burp cloths so you have extra when the first set gets messed up... oops! Live and learn ;)

... so Alexis has a harness free night! She spit up all down the back of it... there was no way I wasn't taking that off to wash it. You aren't even supposed to, you're supposed to hand wash it - blech!! It went in the washer. You aren't supposed to dry it so we'll air-dry it tonight and put it back on her in the morning. So I was able to try an outfit on her that she hasn't worn since she's had the harness on because it has legs... ut-oh! None of her preemie stuff fits, it's only been 2 weeks! Well, I guess it's almost been 3 now. She's gained some length - the feet wouldn't go in! So I put on a 0-3 month pair of pants and a onesie... both SWIM on her! Poor girl needs an in between size! (I guess that would be 'newborn' but we don't have much of that, so she'll just have to deal with it, lol). I even stuck on a pair of socks :) She hasn't been able to do pants or socks or anything with legs, so it was fun dressing her! You should see her moving her legs and feet... she won't stop!

Too bad it has to go back on tomorrow :sigh: She has an orthopedic appt. this week, just for him to check the harness (oy vey, can't wait to see him)... next week is the ultrasound to see if she's healed, cross your fingers! The girl likes her freedom!! :D

Videos!

2006-04-27T09:05:00.000-04:00

It's supposed to be really beautiful out today, I think we may take a visit to Jumpin' Jacks! (for those that don't live here, it's a "food place" - burgers, fries, hotdogs, ice cream etc) located outside by the water and a park... we went 2 weeks ago when we had one good weather day and it was packed... I'm sure it will be today, too! Alexis enjoys the outside :) Yesterday she took a visit to see Uncle Cody play tennis at the courts (he's doing afterschool tennis)... we love these nice days!! Love those stroller walks!

I took a video of Alexis this morning at the crack of dawn after a feeding... I wanted to see if I could catch a smile! I didn't get much, hehe. I got an attempt at a half smile that's really hard to see ;) Not her usual huge gummy ones. But she had the hicupps and she gets really mad when she does! Pardon my silly voice in the background ;)

Thursday, April 27, 2006

I just took one of her in her swing, too... she was taking a nap in her bassinet but she was really, really gassy... when she's gassy that much I usually take her off her back because she's restless (her gas is worse when she's flat)... so I put her in the swing to get her upright, but still nap a bit (she always falls asleep after a few minutes). You can see how wide awake she was at first ;) She loves ataring at the fishies above her. She was awake for 5 minutes and she's soundddddd asleep now!

Bebe Pod!

2006-04-26T19:14:00.000-04:00

Gramma bought a Bebe Pod for Alexis for Easter... since she can't have candy ;) She's too small for it now, but we've put her into it a few times to see how she did - the results:

Hmm.... I'm not sure what to think of this thing!!! But the colors sure are pretty... and so is my neat outfit!

Ok.... I've decided I don't like it very much :(

ZZZzzzzzzzzzzz.. changed my mind... this is a GREAT place to sleep! ;)

Alexis had a bad day yesterday - I think she had an upset tummy!! She had SO much gas that she was crying through several of her feedings, as if it hurt the poor baby to eat. She was crying... and crying... and crying... did I mention she was crying?! At 9pm we finally decided to bring her in the car! She hadn't slept well at ALL because she just wanted to be held 24/7 and would scream bloody murder whenever she was put down ... she will always sleep and relax in the car, she loves rides!! So we went out for 1 1/2 hours. She fell sound asleep the whole time and slept great at night, too.

She's having a much better day (after a massive poopy - she needed it out!)... we visited Dee, Elaine and Jeri at the nursing home (hi girls!) and went to babies r us to buy a few things. And we hit a smile record!! She was SO happy this morning, all smiles!! I think we hit more than 15 all day! Big massive gummy smiles where here whole face lights up. Definitely not from gas ;) It's so amazing to see that :*)

Now it's time for me to go since she wants to be held ;)

Big Baby!

2006-04-21T18:19:00.000-04:00

I don't update for 3 days and I get e-mails asking where I am and why haven't I posted new pics, hehehe.. sorry guys! Alexis has decided she prefers not to sleep at all during the night and I'm tired - hmmph!

I was sitting here looking at some "old" pictures of her - oh my! I'm amazed at the difference!

This first one was at the hospital, just a few days after birth. How teeny does she look compared to now?! Her cheeks were NON-existant!! haha

And here she is, 6 weeks later (Happy 6 weeks, Lexi!!!!!) with marbles in her cheeks ;)

She was so mad during this picture, can ya tell? I kept stopping her swing in order to take pictures... she didn't like that too much! As soon as I started it up again, she was a happy girl!

Speaking of pictures- some of you reading this have already signed this... and I know it's a bit after the fact (like by 6 weeks) - but if you want:

http://www.growingfamily.com/webnursery/babypage_view.asp?URLID=4U4L3A2A9Z

That's Lexi's hospital photo/page and I'd like to print it out before they take it off-line to put in her baby book... along with all the comments on the bottom. So if anyone wants to add anything before I print, feel free!

(and look at how teeny she was in those pictures! There are 4 different photos there (click the next button on the right hand side of the picture to see 'em).. that hat there in the 4th picture was one they sent us home with as she was their smallest baby there.. and had been their smallest in quite awhile, so it wasn't fitting any of the full term babies! (preemie hat). I LOVE that hat... but it was short-lived! it barely fits her head.. and certainly doesn't cover her ears like it did in those pics! I don't even know if it fits - last time I tried was 2 weeks ago and it barely did. :::sniff::: she's growing up!

I'm so cute!

2006-04-18T16:34:00.000-04:00

Chris, Lexi and I made a trip to Babies R Us yesterday - Chris wanted this!

It's a wrap (created by moms) and you can carry the baby in 5 positions... tummy-to-tummy, forward facing, on your back, on your hip, or sleeping/nursing position (like a pouch) - daddy loves carrying Lexi in it (Lexi loves it, too!)... now his hands are a bit more free when Alexis wants to be held... and held... and held... ;)

We also bought 2 new outfits at Babies R Us.. we have to buy Rompers as they're the only things that fit over her harness (she can't wear anything that you have to put her legs IN.. it just has to snap at the bottom)....

Isn't it cute? :) It's a 0-3 monther and actually fits well over the harness! (of course, every outfit makes her look really, really wide... hehe.. that's the harness that does that, she really hasn't put on 30 pounds! ;) That little bug next to her is one of her favorite toys! The black and white part crinkles when you squeeze it and she loves the sound... and if you dangle it over her head and move it around, she follows it! We were having some play-time before we had to take her to the orthopedic today.

I've decided I want to be an orthopedic! Unbotton romper, move legs and hips around for 2 seconds, say "everything looks good" and get paid! Must be nice! ::sigh:: Have I mentioned I'm not fond of her orthopedic? :P (Lexi's ped gave us a referal for him, I wouldn't have picked him otherwise)... he repeats himself 5 times and says the same thing to me over and over (as if I didn't quite catch it the first 4 times), he doesn't DO anything (I could have told him the brace was on fine, we know what we're doing... I also could have told him there was no click since uhhh... last time he found no click) - when she got her harness, he didn't even put it on her... he had a nurse do it. Then he came in to "fine tune" it for 2 seconds. He's always out and in in 2 minutes and ... have I mentioned he repeats himself? I get the fact that her ultrasound was borderline - you really don't have to tell me 3 times during each visit. And you really don't have to keep telling me the harness is better off loose than tight twice a visit, either - I kinda get the point! (and did last week when you told me). That was the most pointless visit of our life... my $20 copay could have been use on diapers, thankyouverymuch!

Now that I got THAT off my chest, I feel much better... thanks for stopping by!!! ;)

Easter Pics!

2006-04-17T12:45:00.000-04:00

:::waving:: Hi everyone!! I had so much fun on my first Easter!! Don't I look so pretty in my Easter dress?!

Ok, I'm starting to get a little restless... lemme see how this fist tastes! I know my mama is gonna take lots and lots of pictures.. ::sigh::

:::yawn::: oh boy.... this is tiring!

I'll show HER!! ::sticks out tongue:: Hmmmph!

Now I'll REALLY show that mama of mine... I'm gonna try and escape from all of these stupid pictures....

Oh... that's right... I've seem to forgotten I can't move by myself!! :::::screams:::::

Boppy!

2006-04-15T10:17:00.000-04:00

Someone helppppppp meeeeeee.... mama stuck me on this darn pillow and I can't get up!!!!!

Hmmm.... maybe I'm kinda getting used to this....

Ahhhh... yeah, I like this boppy.... it's so soft!! Thanks for the soft cover, Mimeux! I really like this!

But now I have another problem!! I'm losing all my hair on top and it's growing really fast in the back! I look like a lil' old man! Anyone have any hair I can borrow for the top of my head? It's kinda cold up there!! ;)

Kristen -
She has to stay on the Similac Neosure until she either hits 6-9 months, or until she's in the 25 percentile for growth on the charts (she's at 5% now) - whichever comes first :/ The gas is better than last week, but still there. Her pediatrician said to ride it out another week, if it gets any worse that we need to call and she'll talk to the neonatologist who put her on Neosure to see if there's maybe a soy version of a premature formula she can take, or something else we can do. Hopefully we won't have to and it gets a little better!

Appointments!

2006-04-13T18:45:00.000-04:00

Alexis had a great appointment! I was wondering if she had hit 6 pounds - not only did she hit 6, she practically hit 7!! She weighed in at 6lbs 14oz! Just 2 ounces shy of 7 pounds - wow! She had a poopy diaper before we left for the pediatrician.. then when we were in the room waiting for her ped to come in and undressing her to get ready, we heard a "blurppppp" - lo and behold, she decided to do it again ;) Her pediatrician chuckled and said she probably would have been 7 pounds if she hadn't pooped twice, hehe. Her length went from 18.5" to 19.5" and her head circ. went from 32.5 cm's to 34.25 cm's - yippeee!! She actually made the growth charts for the first time! Of course, she's at the very low end (5% on all 3 things), but that's ok - that's to be expected with a preemie... but it's good that's she's on the charts now! Her ped was so happy with all the good news and health today, that she said she was now putting her on a "normal" well-visit schedule (she was being seen a bit more often than a full term baby would have been)... so now we have a whole month until our next appointment, she'll be 2 months (and has to get 3 shots ::sigh::). She didn't even notice a hip click anymore, which is great (we took the harness off for the visit) - so hopefully when she has her repeat u/s in 3 1/2 weeks, it's gone! All in all, she had a great appointment!

Mine was great, too - although my BP was high again - ack! (136/90). It ahsn't been that high since I've been pregnant, but I told them it was NOT an accurate reading. I take it at home twice a day (and the machine I use was always comparible to theirs when I checked before each appt when I was pregnant)... I average in the 120's over 70's twice a day when I check. Sometimes it's even insanely low for me (it was 106/63 the other day). But I was mad before we left (long story short - Walmart lost or gave away my picture- I had uploaded it on their site, then you're supposed to go pick it up in store... I did just ONE photo because I was running short of time - I wanted to bring it to my appointment to give to them for their "baby" wall they have there... and Walmart lost it!!! Grrrrr.. so I was upset about that). Then we were running late and all rushed... so I'm not surprised it was high!! My DR wasn't concerned - as long as I'm taking it at home and it stays "lower", she agreed the number was probably not as accurate.

Speaking of my DR..... Kristen, did you know Dr. Kerner is pregnant? :) I found out as I was making my next appoointment (I have to go back in 3 months, July)... the receptionist asked if I wanted to see Dr Kerner again and I said yes... and she said "just in time! she's going on maternity leave in August!" - you can't tell with her lab coat on! Amy (the one who checks your blood pressure, urine, weight, etc - there's Fran and Amy) is also pregnant, with a little girl. The pregnancy bug must be going around in that office, hehe.

On a closing note: awwwwwwwwww....

Easter Bunny!

2006-04-12T22:38:00.000-04:00

We did end up going to the mall tonight, and I just had to post these pictures! We saw the easter bunny! Alexis looked SO small in his arms, it was funny. I also found a handful of outfits that fit her nice with the harness. Gone are the preemie outfits for the time being (those won't fit over the brace right now) - we had to move up to 6-9 month clothing, haha. They may be a bit big around the shoulder area, but they fit perfect around her body and legs... because the harness is really bulky, it makes them fit as if they were newborn clothes on her. Rompers do good on her, because I can slip them over her head and they snap all at the bottom, so her legs don't have to be put in clothes (which would be impossible).

I had a dress on her earlier, but changed her out of it... I didn't want the poor bunny freaked out by touching bare diaper ;) I can't fit the little "diaper covers" that lots of little dresses come with over her legs b/c of the harness... but when she's home on Easter, she'll be wearing her little dress!

This picture isn't the best because we don't have a scanner... so I had to take a picture OF the picture... it looks much better in real life ($11 spent well :P) -

How cute is that?!?!? The bunny looks huge compared to her.

Here's a close-up of the outfit we fit her in:

Kind of a pain with the harness and diaper changes, so we probably won't do it all the time (especially for night feedings!), but it's nice I found some clothes to fit her if we go out!

ZZzzzz

2006-04-12T13:27:00.000-04:00

Aren't they so cute like this... sound asleep? So innocent looking, peaceful and quiet ;) And really, we haven't shoved marbles in her cheeks - nor is she hiding anything in there! (gramma always looks) - they really *are* that big, hehe. She's also developing quite the layer of chins there! I'm so curious to see what her weight is, I'm wondering if she's hit 6 pounds. 4 in her cheeks, 2 somewhere else! Her well visit is tomorrow at 10:40am, so we'll see then. I also have my 6 week post partum visit, which is actually more like 5 weeks... at 3pm tomorrow. Busy day!

Tonight we're taking our first trip to the mall! Chris doesn't know so yet (he's at work), but he's taking us when he gets home :D I'm hoping the Easter bunny is there so we can get her first "real" picture! Hopefully the bunny won't be afraid of her harness ;) And she'll only be wearing a gown since that's all that will fit over her, but that's ok... she'll still be beautiful! :)

Time for this mama to shower while she's asleep!! :::knock on wood:::

More Lexi Pics!

2006-04-10T17:15:00.000-04:00

::::::yawn:::::: Today was a tough day!

.... and now it's time for some ZZZzzzzz's....

Lori - we're convinced ALL weight she has gained has gone ONLY to her cheeks!! hehe. She has to wear the harness for at least 4 weeks, then she has a repeat ultrasound to check her hip to see if it's still 'shallow' - if so, I imagine she would have to wear it for longer... but hopefully just 4 weeks since her results were "borderline".

On a good note - Lexi doesn't seem to mind the brace whatsoever! The poor girl will be living in a t-shirt for 4 weeks, it sure will save us on laundry! ;)

::sniff::

2006-04-10T10:42:00.000-04:00

Here's our poor lil' peanut :*(

I'm NOT a Boy, Mama!

2006-04-08T13:51:00.000-04:00

This is called an overtired mama who doesn't have time to dress herself properly so she matches! (and gets out of her PJ's!)

... and these are pictures Alexis probably won't appreciate too much when she's older! See, there's limited preemie clothing to be found... we went to Walmart after she was born and pretty much bought every single girl preemie sleeper they had (scratch the pretty much factor - we DID buy every single one!). At the time we were having "peeing-through-clothes" issues (trying to find the correct diaper that would fit her chicken legs and thighs properly!) so we were going through several outfits a day (thankfully, we found Pampers Swaddlers are a total godsend for a little baby and haven't had a leak through since!).... but after buying every single girl preemie outfit, we went to the boys section to look around. We found a nice terrycloth blue sleeper - besides being blue, it wasn't boy-like (just had a bear or dinosaur on it, can't remember)... Lexi looks so cute in blue! I wish they made more girl blue clothes for newborns! Anyway - we bought that one... and I still thought we needed more, so I did what Lexi won't appreciate when she's old enough to know better... and bought her an adorable blue sleeper with wrenches and screwdrivers on it, hehehehe... oh, the shame- I know!!

So today I ran out of sleepers (time to do laundry!) and put the blue one on her... and went through her closet and found some bows that gramma bought her -

Awwww :*) It fit perfectly. Now she's wearing boy clothes, but kinda looks more like a girl, haha.
And this, folks, is her "STOP TAKING PICTURES OF ME, ALREADY!!!!" pose:

We're Here!

2006-04-07T18:42:00.000-04:00

Been a few days, sorry everyone! Hard to find time to sit down sometimes - I'm either feeding, cuddling, rocking to sleep, or trying to sleep myself! ;-) I got a call the other day from Lexi's orthopedic ::grumbles:: we were told if we hadn't heard anything in 3 days, to assume that meant good news - after more like 4-5 days, he called... and said they had noticed her hip was a bit shallow on the ultrasound :( He said it still may totally fix itself and could be due to my own pregnancy hormones and that we can wait a month for treatment and re-do things and see if it's gone.... but also said he would hate to waste an entire month if it doesn't go away because it's best to treat it asap, since she's still so little and it's very simple to treat. So my poor pumpkin' has to go in on Monday to get her harness :*( Chris wants him to double-check to make sure the click is still there... but most likely she'll have to wear it. Should make holding her, changing her, bathing her and dressing her pretty interesting :/ It sure doesn't look comfortable to wear (although her ortho said it's totally comfortable - it's just cloth... it just looks really uncomfortable to parents!)... hopefully she won't be in it long because he said she was "borderline" and this is more of a "better safe than sorry" type of thing.

She's also gassy as heck! Poor girl! We've tried everything (including Mylicon drops which do diddly squat for her) - I read this morning that her formula (Similac Neosure) can cause bad gas because of the extra iron and protein in it... it can be harder for a baby to digest. However, she's on it for a particular reason (it's a formula designed for preemies) so she may be stuck on that for awhile. her next appointment with the ped is on the 13th, so I'll be mentioning it then. It doesn't effect her too much when she's awake (and she feeds just fine, she's definitely an eater!), but it seems to bother her in her sleep! She grunts a lot, turns all red and scrunches up her legs all the time... sometimes she's restless for over an hour in her bassinet because she appears to be so uncomfortable (yet doesn't cry, so who knows!). Hopefully it goes away soon, or she gets off this formula if that's the cause... or her ped. has a solution/suggestion!

We put her in her crib for the first time yesterday!

How absolutely beautiful is SHE?! :*) She looked so teeny in there! We have her in the bassinet 99.9% of the time, but decided yesterday to just put her in there for a nap to have her get used to it... she enjoyed it! (can ya tell?).

On that note, she's calling my name.... :)

Trip to Park!

2006-03-31T19:20:00.000-05:00

Haven't updated in a few days! Hard to get on here and sit down for any good period of time, sometimes. Alexis had her ultrasound the other day, but we don't really know much. The technician wasn't really supposed to say much to us (they never can no matter what type it is or who is getting it - I hate that!)... our DR had said if we don't hear from him within 3 days that it's probably good news. She had her u/s on Wednesday and it's Friday... I imagine the office is closed for the weekend. So either it's good news or we get a call on Monday. She hated the ultrasound, poor girl! She screamed and screamed (I would too if I were sitting on a table all nekkid with gel all over my hips being probed!) - the binky worked a bit, but not the whole time. It's ok - she showed them how she felt. She went pee-pee all over their table, hahaha.

It was absolutely gorgeous here today - 74 degrees! Wow! I'm stuck in the house a lot (as is Alexis, obviously) so we thought it would be nice to take a stroll through the park - her first walk in her stroller! Of course, she hadn't a clue what was going on - she slept the entire time! We walked around the water, we had a good time! We saw one of her NICU nurses there at the park walking her dogs (I graduated high school with her, actually) and she was amazed at how much she had grown since she saw her :*) The hat she's wearing was actually supposed to be part of her coming home outfit from the hospital - but it didn't fit! The hat is big, too, but fits better than the pants and shirt (which don't fit, period) - that's my lil' munchkin!

We also tried the swing for the first time today! At first when we put her in and started it, she looked shocked and confused, haha:

And then... ZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...

She loved it :-D

Lexi's 2.5 weeker!

2006-03-28T17:58:00.000-05:00

Haven't had much time to sit down today and update!
Lexi's pediatrician appointment went well, for the most part! She was thrilled with her weight gain and growth - she's almost a pound above her birth weight! Last week she was 4lbs 13oz and today she was 5lbs 4oz - woohoo! Her length went from 18 1/4" to 18 1/2" ... and her head circumference went from 31 1/2 to 32 1/2.

When she went to look at her hips, she said the click had gotten MUCH better... but still wanted us to head to the orthopedic afterwards, to be on the safe side.

Unfortunately, poor Lexi is already on her first antibiotics! :( She has a small bacterial infection (in the creases of her thighs) - so she has to take some yummy smelling fruity pink stuff in a dropper for 10 days, 3x a day. She didn't seem to mind the first dosage this morning, so that's good. Hopefully it clears soon! (it started off as a small diaper rash and then turned into an almost white looking little blister type of thing)... I asked how it's caused, because we're so anal about changing diapers and cleaning her! But she said sometimes it just happens - nothing we did or anything - poor girl! :(

She also said she doesn't believe Alexis has a cold, her lungs were completely clear... so that's good. She said her nostrils and nasal passages are just so teeny... that any type of booger in there will make it appear much worse sounding than it probably is. She said use saline drops and keep on using the booger sucker!

After her ped. visit we went to the orthopedic... where everyone gushed over her! She was the star of the whole place! Everyone kept coming up to us and asking how much she weighed - a nurse was talking to another nurse and said "Gosh, this makes you want to have one, doesn't it?" haha - we even had a little boy come up to us and say "she looks like my sisters weight when she was born, how much did she weigh?" - we are ALWAYS asked how much she weighs, she must look so small to everyone! After we were brought into the exam room, the nurse even sent another nurse IN our room to see Alexis - she wanted to show her off!! I can't help how beautiful she is ;-)

Anyway - when the DR came in and we undressed her, and he looked at her hips... he said "I don't even find a click!" ... then after a bit, Lexi had moved her legs in a different spot and he tried again... and he found it, but had to "struggle" to find it. He's sending us to the hospital tomorrow at 11am for an ultrasound, JUST to be on the safe side... but it appears as if it's going away on it's own and most likely due to my own hormones while I was pregnant with her. What a relief!

She goes back to the pediatrician in 2 weeks for her 1 month check-up - she said she's doing so well and growing so good, that we can wait a few weeks to see her :) Now lets just hope the infection goes away quickly!

Tummy Time!

2006-03-27T17:31:00.000-05:00

We've been giving Alexis some tummy time every day to strengthen up the good ol' neck muscles - she's been doing so well! She's now able to lift her little head up and turn it to the other side... she's also able to lift it up and hold it for a brief time in the air - usually only 2-3 seconds, but it's something! She gets frustrated during tummy time... almost as if she wants to do more, but can't. It poops her out and makes her tired, too! (because she moves those legs ALL over, as if she's swimming!).

I felt so bad for her yesterday - I thought she was coming down with a bad cold already :( She was really congested and wasn't breathing to well, especially after naps. And when she cried she was snorting because she couldn't breathe. I tried the booger sucker, but apparently no one does it like dad! I got nothing out! He came home from work and got a massive amount of snot out (I think I treat her like she's more fragile than he does, hehe) - since then she's been breathing just fine, thank goodness.

She does have a ped. appointment tomorrow so I'll mention it - she also has her orthepedic appointment for her "hip click" so think good thoughts for her! (one appt is at 9am and one at 10am) - busy morning for us - it's a good thing she enjoys car rides! (ZZzzzzz)

I'm excited to see what she weighs tomorrow!! She's been eating a lot more lately - we're up to 80 ml's most feedings (which is almost 3 ounces) - she's a little porker! And you can see that in her cheeks already! (this was tummy time yesterday morning!) - she was 4lbs 6oz at birth, was 4lbs 13oz at her appointment last week, so I'm wondering if we hit the 5 pound mark!

Can she possibly be ANY more cute? ;)

Here is grampa and Lexi! (my dad)

First Bath!

2006-03-24T16:50:00.000-05:00

Chris had the day off, so we decided to give Alexis her first big girl bath! Needless to say, I'd make the assumption she didn't quite like it too much! I've never heard her scream so loud ::sniff:: Lexi told me to block her privates - sorry, she would prefer the whole internet world not see them ;) (didn't you know she can talk?)

The only thing that quieted her was when daddy put his finger in her mouth - well ok, that worked for 5 seconds. Maybe next time we'll bring the binky with us!

Even though she went through the torture chamber today, she sure does smell yummy!

BTW, she's a big 2 weeks old today!! Happy 2 weeks old, Alexis!!!

Kisses!

2006-03-22T15:03:00.000-05:00

Before we start, I have something important to give to you......... rather, Alexis does......

She's giving all her readers a big kiss!!! :*) (she wants you to please pardon her hair-do today!)

Today was daddy's first day back at work! He's doing night shift (3pm-1am) and he was sad to leave Alexis - who wants to make a bet on how many calls he makes to check up on us?! hehe

Lil' Peanut!

2006-03-21T14:08:00.000-05:00

She kinda looks like a doll here, haha :*)

First Ped. Visit!

2006-03-21T13:41:00.000-05:00

Alexis had her first visit with her pediatrician today (who was really nice) and we were all very surprised on how well she did weight-wise! She was 4lbs 7oz just 4 days ago at discharge and has jumped to 4lbs 13oz! That's a great increase! Her length was a little wishy-washy... she jumped up a few inches, and the ped seemed to believe that hike was too much! It's possible that the hospital was a little off on measuring her... but she said length tends to be on the innacurate side because it's a hard measurement to get (which we saw was true since Lexi kept curling up her legs, it was hard to get them straight!).

The only "issue" she has was a "click" in her left hip - she mentioned it wasn't "abnormal" - it could be because she was born early, or because of the way she was laying inside of me, etc. So she gave us a referral to an orthopedic and we have an appt with him next Tuesday morning. She said "worse-case scenerio" may mean a brace for 6 weeks to help straighten and align everything in place... but it could mean nothing! She didn't appear to be concerned at all and said we were lucky to catch it early, so I'm not worried.

On a good note, her ped. gave us 3 big cans of Similac Neosure powder formula! Alexis is on liquid gold! Ack. It's designed specifically for preemies and has added calories, protein, iron, etc. It's so hard to find. Price Chopper didn't carry it, Walmart didn't carry it, Hannaford had only ready-to-serve and it was $7 for just 2 1/2 days worth! (we obviously bought it, since we had to... but yikes!). Then we found the cans of powder at Eckerd for $32!! :-O (everything else was between $10-$15!)... needless to say, getting 3 free cans was nice (the same cans we saw for $32 a pop) - it'll last us over a month.

After Lexi's appointment was mine with my midwife for a blood pressure check - it's still very high (was 157/91 ish) so the DR. put me on a higher dosage (400 mg's rather than 200) and I have to go back next Wednesday for another re-check (man I'm sick of appointments, I thought they'd be done with!).

I have new pictures, but that part doesn't appear to be working right now... everytime I try and upload I get a blank screen. So stay tuned for some pictures later!

Picture Comparison

2006-03-18T16:10:00.000-05:00

Alexis lost her cord! :) It's the little things in life that excite us now! She also peed in mid-diaper change! (I thought that was a boy thing? haha) - Chris was changing her and I guess she had to go more! She started peeing when the diaper was open and it went allllll over her changing table pad and her onesie (that I had JUST put her in because she had peed through her first outfit of the day) - ack! We're running out of preemie clothes here!

I was taking a little nap before and Chris came in to show me a picture and asked "who is this?" - I said "well, that looks like Alexis!!!!" - he found a photo of himself as a newborn and they're spitting image: (first one is Lexi, 2nd is Chris)

Tons of resemblance! :)

She's HOME!

2006-03-17T17:30:00.000-05:00

Peanut is HOME! Chris and I went to Lexi's late night feeding last night... and the night-shift did her official weigh in - 59 gram gain! Yippee! She surpassed her birthweight and is now 4.7lbs (this was after a massive bowel movement, too!). So I called this morning and talked to her nurse (and I heard the pediatrician in the background) and they gave us the ok! We came home with her at around noon or so... she's already had 2 feedings and 3 dipe changes - that's my girl!

She's sound asleep in her bassinet right now.... ZZZzzzzz...

Delayed Homecoming

2006-03-16T10:09:00.000-05:00

Unfortunately, little peanut won't be coming home with us today :*( I called her pediatrician at the hospital and, for some odd reason, she lost a little weight overnight. We don't understand why because whenever we feed her she eats MORE! But they changed her to feeds every 4 hours rather than the 3 hour schedule she had been on... maybe she just needs to keep the more frequent feedings. I know they're just looking out for her and she needs to gain weight, but it kind of hits you like a ton of bricks when they tell you without a doubt that she'll be coming home one day and then things go a bit wrong and she's not able. He said "hopefully tomorrow" so keep your fingers crossed that she gains a bit of weight today and into tomorrow! (or I will be sneaking something in her diaper!)

In good news, she did pass all the tests she needed to past - her hearing test, her trending test (a test done on preemies in their infant seats, hooked up to monitors that read oxygen levels to make sure they don't slouch too much and can't handle the car ride home)... so the only thing we need is a weight gain!

We took lots of really cute pictures last night...

Look ma! I have gas! :D
Nothing more adorable than a daughter and her daddy!

First Entry!

2006-03-15T19:16:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone!
I decided to start a blog for our new daughter... we have lots of friends and relatives that are far away and won't have the opportunity to see her too much, so I thought this would be a great place to keep them updated (thanks to my cousins for the idea!).

Alexis Mariel joined the world a little sooner than planned (by about 4 weeks) - she was due on April 8th and came on March 10th - weighing in at a little 4lbs 6oz and 15 3/4" long (or short!) - she's our little peanut! After an ultrasound that went "wrong" - we found out my placenta wasn't functioning correctly anymore and Alexis wasn't receiving enough oxygen, we were told we were having a baby in a few days! I was admitted to the hospital an hour or so later and they started my inducement - the next morning Alexis wasn't handling the pitocin (and I wasn't dilating much at all) - her heartrate was going down with each contraction and they decided she needed to be delivered by c-section.

I remember how strong those little lungs were as soon as they took her out! She screamed and screamed (and screamed!)... and we cried and cried (and cried!). Thankfully, even though she was a preemie, she didn't have major medical issues! She had problems keeping up her own body temperature for the first 2 days, and the other only issue is her sucking. It took her several days to realize she needs to suck the bottle nipple, rather than sleep there or play with it!

Chris and I visit daily (several times a day) to feed and visit with her... and we were told this morning by the pediatrician at the hospital that she'll probably be coming home tomorrow - woohoo! She's doing awesome with her feedings - she's gone from 30 cc's (1 ounce of milk) to 50 cc's! (nearly 2 ounces!) and has gained an ounce in the past day (she started at 4.6 lbs, went down to 4.4 and is now back up to 4.5) - she's also moved from a preemie nipple to a regular newborn nipple (which was one of the goals in order to be released home)... so hopefully her feedings go well into the night so she can be where she belongs tomorrow - home! Keep your fingers crossed!

And to end.......
Our lil' peanut!