Fall Fun!

Babes and I went to the doctor today and our little chunker is 9 lbs 3 ozs! She gained an ounce a day for 5 days straight! Yay Miss Cordelia! She has really started to change in the last few days also. She is much more connected to everything and just seems older to me. I don't know how else to describe it! She is so sweet!

Mommy had a crazy idea to rake a giant pile of leaves in the front lawn and then put the baby in it for some pictures... took several rearrangements for it to work... first I put her just straight in the leaves but she kept sinking and it was unnerving... she didn't like it very much!

Hahahaha! Then I pulled out the boppy and it went much better! After a few positions I ended up with some adorable shots of her playing in the leaves! She loved it so much and was very mad when I took her out because she kept wanting to eat them! =) I didn't want to have to explain to her doctors that she got sick because I let her eat leaves!!!

It was a fun little day for mommy and baby =)

Twilight Zone Week!

Oh my goodness gracious me! What a nutso week it has been!!! Where to begin where to begin....

Tuesday we saw the speech pathologist, of course lover was acting up during her feeding but I like it when she does that in front of the professionals... makes me not look like I'm making it up =p She is so funny. Her feedings are totally variable as always. Her consistency is her inconsistency... makes it so easy to do a calorie count! AAAHHH. Oh well she'll figure this eating thing out one day =)

Wednesday was a very ridiculous day. Started off going to see the orthotist to have a helmet (or as I like to call it her bubble) check. She made a few minor adjustments and babes seems to be completely unphased by the whole thing. I of course have it decorated with her name in pink glittery stickers and Halloween pumpkins... SO CUTE! After we drove all the way home from Madison Hgts from that I noticed there was a sharp edge that didn't get buffered down after she made adjustments so back in the car we went. And can I just say that #1 I hate construction and #2 what in the world is up with I-75?! What a nightmare! People drive like they are possessed. Babes was also having trouble keeping her feedings down but she is still getting over her cold. Just a crazy day that ended in a crazy shift at work!

Thursday we went to the pediatrician for a weight check... 8 lbs 14 ozs yay!!! Thats a 6 oz weight gain in 2 weeks... not quite where she needs to be but a definate improvement! We also went up on her zantac for her reflux. It already seems to be helping!

Friday we went to the dietician to try and figure all her calories out but again she is so varying in her feedings. She is a tricky one thats for sure. For now we are going to stay on the original formula supplement at the original ratio of neosure to breastmilk because that is all she continues to tolerate.

The cardiologist office called me and wanted to move up her next appt to next tuesday... not sure why but to be honest the sooner we fix her little ticker the better. I think she will feel much better when she doesn't have to work so hard to do things like breathe and eat. I will surely keep you all posted on that. I am fairly certain she will have to have it fixed with the surgery through her ribs... thats what I am preparing myself for anyways. She tends to take the longer road... the girl cannot be rushed!

The worlds biggest news ever is that she rolled over!!! Of course she did it in the dark of night... stinker face. I put her to bed on her back and when I woke up she was on her belly. She hasn't done it since of course and I keep trying to get her to and she just smiles a big smile at me. "No way mommy I don't to tricks on command" HAHA

So far next week we only have to go to the pediatrician to get her 6 months vaccines. Poor little booger =( I do think her shots have more affect on her than they do me =p haha

Stuffy nose helmet head =p

So we went to the surgeon on tuesday and everything from his end looks good! I figured as much. There was some concern that perhaps her difficulty gaining weight was related to her colostomy but I didn't think so. And neither did he. We are right on track for her colostomy reversal in January. It was so funny because he just kept telling her how cute she is and she LOVED it! She cried when he left the room. Haha =) As if she doesn't hear that enough from EVERYONE ELSE!

The helmet is going ok, it does not seem to bother her once its on. The only problem is getting her skin used to it. I liken it to breaking in new shoes. She gets these little red spots on her forehead, but we have this special cream so we'll see how it goes. I am fighting the urge to leave it off sometimes. Hasn't she had to put up with enough?! Sometimes I just have to remind myself that this is all temporary and she is tougher than I will ever know. So I just have to be tough too.

She and I have matching colds right now and I am convinced I have seen the saddest thing ever: cleaning out a stuffy nose on a baby. She was just looking at me so sad. "Mommy what are you doing to me?" So pitiful. Her whimper is so pitiful too. =( It's weird because this is first normal baby ailment we have had so far. It's refreshing to not have to take her to a specialist for this problem. haha

We are still touch and go on her feedings but thats nothing new. We are trying to find a happy medium between adding enough formula (the formula from the hospital, not the crazy new one) and not adding too much. We want to bulk up her calories as much as we can, but too much and it aggravates her acid reflux. It's a fun game we play! It will all get figured out eventually. She can't be tiny forever, although I do know that one day I will look back and wish she was little again.

I think that's it for now. We are going for a record 4 appointments next week so I am sure I will have loads to talk about. =)

Tour de France

Big news today... we have our helmet. Its small and pink and she is ready to start training for the Tour de France. Or the roller derby we haven't decided yet! I still have to get some pictures of her in it... I'll post them when I do it's so funny =) It doesn't seem to be bothering her. Hopefully it will stay this way for the next few months!

We are still working on this feeding issue. Of course the day after the incident with that crazy formula I get a call from the supplier saying its 100% covered and they could drop it off to the house. Figures this would go right... geesh. I told them to hold off, we go to the speech therapist and dietician on friday to try and figure something out for this little peanut baby.

Her newest trick is she is all of a sudden the worlds most devoted thumb sucker! Morning, noon, and night and you can hear it from across the room its so hilarious! This is good because it means she is comfortable playing with her mouth which is new. She is learning that you don't always gag and have trouble with your tummy!

We go to the surgeon tommorow so he can check her colostomy and make sure we are on track for surgery in January. Shouldn't be a problem. That will make our second of 3 appts this week and we have 3 already for next week. Yay! So fun for mommy and baby =)

Our little trio has finally moved into the second floor of the house... only took me 2 years to finish it! Its wonderful! Babes has her own little nook and mommy and daddy have their big bed and big closet! So cozy and perfect =) Pictures to come!

Ok I think that about covers it for now. We'll see what the surgeon says tommorow.

Chicken Little Victorious

But Elizabeth, if Chicken Little is victorious thats a bad thing right? I mean that would mean that the sky has fallen right? If so what has happened to make such a claim?!

Mommy and Cordelia went to the doctors today for a weight check. Imagine my joy and excitement to learn that our insurance did not renew our coverage! Hooray for having no insurance =) What a thrill. We already have 3 appts next week for various things and her helmet comes in on monday. Yippee!

I did call my HR department after getting home and they just "haven't filed the paperwork yet." Well perhaps you should do that shouldn't you. I explained to the woman that I have a preemie who is at the doctor constantly... I need it filed today. She said it would go through today... I'll be verifing that. Good grief and by the way could you retrieve my stomach from the floor too Christine? Since I'm presently off insurance can I get that retrocovered when you file my paperwork please? Thanks so much =p

When we left the office I half contemplated walking home... would this be a safer choice for an uninsured pair like little monkey and myself? I concluded that we would likely fall ill from the cold and driving was worth the risk. If only she were already in her helmet... maybe I should have stopped for bubble wrap on the way home....I have never driven so carefully in my life! haha

The good news is that crinkle pants gained 3 whole ozs! Much better than her previous weeks. We are now at 8 lbs 8 ozs and she is 22 1/2 inches long! So thats the most important part of all. Thank you for being such a good girl Miss Cordelia! =)

Hopefully that's all the excitement for today... if I don't post anything for a while check to see if there had been any random pianos falling on peoples heads because surely you would find me there =)

Chicken Little

As I sit and wait for her bottle to be warmed up I thought I'd throw in a quick update. We saw the speech pathologist again on monday and she was showing improvement with her eating... yay! She also found some sample cans of the new formula which she gave me. This was much appreciated since all the insurance issues havn't been resolved yet and I want a fat baby now! =)

But, in true Cordelia style the new formula was a complete and total failure!!! She took 2 sips and I suspect that first of all she doesn't like the taste and second of all it has a funny consistency but she went absolutely balistic! She was so hysterical her face was completely red and instead of swallowing all these gooey globs were pouring out of her mouth. It was so traumatic!!! She was making noises I would never think a human being could possibly make. It was so wild. After I calmed her down I had to laugh because it was such a ridiculous spectacle. It took her a half hour to relax.

This may be a blessing in disguise though because if insurance didn't cover this stuff Chris and I would be shelling out about $600 a month to have her on this formula. So now the type of girl she is continues to be a mystery. Apparently not one that can be won with expensive things =)

The best part of the whole day was after I decided to put her in cloth diapers so save some money. (Just one of my many brilliant money saving ideas... haha) I went out and bought the old school plastic pants and pins, I already had diapers I had been using as burp cloths. Saved a ton the way I figured. Which is true but there is a wonderful biproduct of this new plan. These things are hilarious! First of all, she looks like she has the biggest butt in the world! Secondly, I'm not sure if the plastic pants need to be washed a few times but it sounds like someone dressed her in a grocery bag when she moves. I called her krinkle butt all day and I'm not sure she appreciated it. But the endless entertainment I will get from them will be worth it!

I also decided to cut back on groceries and that was somewhat of a failure- I bought cheese, milk, cereal, and some chicken. I'm not sure what this was supposed to accomplish but hey I had a traumatic day! Chris was cracking up! He dubbed me chicken little because we aren't in such a bad way that he and I have to starve. So I'm being overly cautious. =p And now I still have to actually go grocery shopping because that can't feed 2 adults for a week. Oh me and my crazy mom brain.

Ok, I need to feed this munchkin. Off to the pediatrician for a weight check today. Come on Cordelia fat baby fat baby!

Baby steps

Our little monkey gained 2 ozs this week so is up to 8 lbs 5 ozs! Nowhere near what she should be gaining but she didn't lose anything so I will count it as a win. Her acid reflux is still an issue but the pediatrician is hesitant to go up on her dose of zantac because they do infant dosages based primarily on weight. The last thing she needs is to OD on zantac! I went today to get the new supplement she needs and it's only $60 per can! =( Man they make this stuff so expensive! It is going to take a week for it to come in and in the meantime they are going to work with our insurance to see if they will cover any of it. Here's hoping!

On a very fun note little miss is a total smile machine! It's sooo cute! She is such a sweet happy little baby. This weekend will mark the finale of our September Wedding Marathon. Jacqui's wedding last weekend was so lovely and my mom made lover a dress to match mine... =)