Oatmeal Really Cleans you Out!

Well I just want to thak God for the woman who suggested we give Kaitlyn oatmeal instead of Rice cereal to thicken her formula. We started doing this a few days ago and have been adjusting how much we are actually putting in it since. In the last day and a half it seems as though we have the thickness pretty well figured out to keep her from throwing up. She still spits up a tiny bit here or there but thats normal. She may burp a little up or just spit some up, but only a couple times a day instead of 4 or 5 time after each feeding.

Today has been wonderful for Kaitlyn and me both. She is extremely happy and smiley. She has been doing wonderfully for the last two days. I really think that the Oatmeal is helping to clean out her system. Since she has been eating the oatmeal she has been pooping a lot more. She was only going once a day and now it's 3 or more times a day. I don't know if that is helping her reflux and delayed emptying or not but I would like to think that if the intestines are not full it gives the stomach more room to empty and not reflux into the esophogus. We'll see how things are going as time goes.

We have decided to keep Kaitlyn on the Alimentum until she is two months old and thickening it like we have been. After she is two months old we will start weaning her off and back on to regular formula. We plan on adding in one ounce of regular formula each week until we are at a full bottle of regular again. We will still thicken it though and then maybe when she is 3 months or so we will try slowly thinning it back out and hopefully by the time she is 4 months old she will be back on regular formula all together!! We'll see, we're also going to be seeing a Dr after we move so I guess it all depends on what they say to do too but thats my plan. I'm not sure how long she will be on the meds, her Dr here only gave her one month. I'm thinking that when we move we can talk to the Dr there and see if we can work her off of the Prevacid and onto Zantac and see if that still helps her. Then as she gets older we can try to take her off the meds completely.

Anyway, Jon is on his way back from Long Island. He drove down there today with the cats so we didnt have to worry about them when the moving company gets here Tuesday. We also gave our fish and fish tank away today too, to a family with 3 little girls. I hope they enjoy their new home. We just decided it was easier to give them away than to try to move down there with them and take care of them... they were being a bit neglected since Kaitlyn has been here. It's not her fault, it's just that we dont have time to clean their tank and always forget if we even fed them. I think it's better that they go to a loving home!

Anyway, we have two days left to pack now and I think Monday is going to end up being the "pick up what you can and throw it in a box" day and nothing will be organized. At least I have gotten a lot of stuff organized and labeled. Well I'm going to get some packing done while Jon is headed home and Kaitlyn is napping.

I'll update soon if there are any changes!

6 Week OB Check up, Already?

Well I have an OB appointment this morning for my 6 week check up... it's hard to believe it has been almost 6 weeks since my beautiful little miracle entered my life. Then again there are days when her reflux is so bad it feels like it has been 6 years!!!

Today, well, this moring anyway has been just wonderful. We had to take Jon to work this morning so since we got back Kaitlyn has been sitting here half asleep on the couch next to me propped up in her Boppy. She is having such a great morning! She is sitting next to me giggling out loud in her half asleep state and even woke up to let out a big burp and then looked up at me and smiled real big and laughed! Then a few minutes later she was grunting and farting (yeah she's going to love finding out how much I talk about her farting and pooping when she is older) and she looked up again with a HUGE smile on her face and just laughed again!

Oh this is just great... to see her happy and smiling and feeling better makes my heart just melt. Today is the first day I really noticed her REALLY smiling and laughing. She has been smiling before but I dont think she knew she was until now!Sometimes I cant believe I made something so beautiful!

Well other than going to the OB today, we're going to visit the people who made it all possible at Albany IVF. I want to make sure to get pictures of Kaitlyn with Dr. Horvath and the staff there because we certainly would not have her if it wasnt for their help and caring. Then we are going to see Daddy at work and take care of a few insurance things there. It's going to be a busy day and I think I might have to bring TWO bottles with me!!!

Well we are off to start out day!

GERD - Infant Reflux Disease

I just added a link to the InfantRefluxDisease.com website to my blog. I'd like to take the oppurtunity to make everyone aware of this horrible thing some children have to endure. If you get some free time go check it out and maybe it will give you a better understanding of what some parents go through with a screaming infant in pain.

Anyway, yesterday Kaitlyn had a pretty bad day... she was hurting and it seems like her Prevacid is wearing off way before it should be. Just so you know, Kaitlyn is now on Prevacid, Alimentum formula thickened with oatmeal and using Dr Brown bottles. She still gets some gas but thats not the worst part. It's when she refluxes and spits up and throws up. It burns her little esophogus and you can just see the pain in her eyes and face when she looks at you for help.

Today wasn't such a bad day but still not a great one. Tomorrow I am going to try to split her Prevacid into two doses and see if that helps any with it wearing off so soon. We'll see how that goes.

Kaitlyn is getting bigger everyday. She is really filling out and since she weighs more she needs to eat more too! She has started eating mostly 4oz bottles now the last few days and eating a little less frequently.

As for mom and dad... we're very stressed and frustrated when she has a bad day but we work through it. Lately Daddy has been taking care of Kaitlyn in the evenings so Mommy can work on packing. We're moving in 4 days and the house is not quite ready to be loaded in the moving truck yet! Saturday Jon will be driving down with the Cats and Fish to the new house and then driving back. It's going to be a long few days but we will get through it and then we can relax and start our great new life with Kaitlyn in our new home.

Until then... we stress out and do what we have to do!! And pray that Kaitlyn has more good days then bad!!!

Milestones...

Well we have noticed this week that Kaitlyn has started following or Tracking as they call it just about anything she fixes her eyes on. Even Daddy or Mommy walking across the room! Jon even walked out of the room and she kept pushing her head back trying to see where he went!! It's great to see these little but amazing things!! She smiles and giggles more now and you can just about MAKE her smile by tickling her or playing with her or giving her kisses. She is also "talking" a lot more. Lots of coos, grunts, sighs and giggles... of course then there is always crying as a form of communication which she has down pat! hehehe

Today Kaitlyn found it quite funny that she cried to get my attention and when I looked at her and asked her what was wrong she looked right at me and giggled!!! She is such a snot already! I just love her so much... she is so damn cute!!

We did have a huge crying fit last night and today already. It seems she must be going through a growing thing... I mean she is 5 weeks old now. She just keeps acting hungry, but then she throws up what she eats... or most of it. Speaking of her throwing things up, the Dr was trying to get us in for an ultrasound to make sure Kaitlyn doesnt have Pyloric Stenosis. Pyloric Stenosis is when the muscle at the bottom of the stomach has overgrown and is thick and doesnt let food go through into the intestines or only lets a little and the stomach doesnt empty. Then the baby will throw up and sometimes throw up so hard it's projectile! I'm not sure if thats what she has or if she just throws up a lot, but I do know it upsets her so much to throw up. I try to tell her it's ok and calm her down to clean her up but she still screams... I feel so bad for her. I hate to see her hurting and it really makes me feel so helpless to hear her cry and not be able to do anything to help her but hold her and hug and kiss her and tell her I love her while she screams.

She is awake so much more now too and thats great, except that I'm trying to pack!!! hahaha We're moving in exactly one week and I am not nearly ready. Oh and she also holds her head up almost all the time... she does get tired but she is very good about keeping it up if you hold her sitting up or standing. She's getting so big already!!

I can already tell she is bigger than a few weeks ago... I used to be able to easily put my fingers around her tighs and now she's gotten heavier so I can barely get them around now! She is still tiny and amazingly beautiful but growing like a weed!! :)

Well I need to get a few things done before she wakes up to eat so I'll update again as soon as I can!

Growing Big and Strong

Ok well... I know I havent posted as of yet about Kaitlyn but when you have a newborn you dont have much time to sit around and type!!

Kaitlyn is now 1 month old and we went for her visit to the Doctor. She weighed in at 8lbs 2.5oz and was 19.5inches long. She is growing big and strong and she seems to be a very healthy baby. Kaitlyn did start some Prevacid a couple days ago because she has reflux and she was getting tummy acids in her esophogus and was in horrible pain. The Prevacid helps to reduce the amount of acid her tummy makes and then less gets past the valve at the top of her stomach. This is not something she will be on forever, but for awhile until her stomach and valves mature a bit more. She is also on special formula called Alimentum which has predigested proteins because she is getting gas so bad she cant handle it and screams. We also got her some new bottes that are supposed to help with the gas and throwing up. Both the medicine and the formula are recent changes so we are hoping that will make things better for her and she wont be hurting as much.

So far she has been a wonderful baby, with the exception of her screaming and crying in pain from her terrible gas and reflux. She sleeps very well at night, sometimes she even sleeps 6.5 hours at a time! It's great for Mommy and Daddy when she does!! Other than that, she smiles and enjoys laying around looking at things and of course being held by mommy!! She has a few toys she is just starting to notice and she has also started grasping at everything. She will grab onto anything in reach and squeeze it with her little death grip! She is such a strong little girl. She holds her head up on her own most of the time now but of course gets tired easily and she also tries to sit up on her own too... but ends up falling more forward because she cant hold herself there! :)

As for Mommy and Daddy, we love her to death and couldnt be happier with our new life. I'm still recovering so it's hard to have "Mommy & Daddy private time" but it's slowly coming back together. Emotionally it has been very hard for Jon and I both. In the beginning we both cried a lot because we felt so inadequate and with Kaitlyn screaming and being in so much pain all the time it made the feeling that much worse. It's hard to have your daughter, who is only a few weeks old, staring up into your eyes, crying so hard and screaming because it hurts and there is nothing you can do about the pain. Mainly because you have no idea what the pain is and because most of the time there is no way to make it better... for instance if she has gas... it just has to pass.

Being a first time parent is extremely difficult... absolutely the hardest thing I have ever done in my life. Bringing a newborn home from the hospital and all the trial and error of getting things right is scary, tiring and drives you bonkers.

Everyday that passes we're getting better and better at learning how it all works and what works for us as a family. Jon and I are becoming more familiar with the different cries and needs Kaitlyn has and slowly we're becoming more confident in out ability as parents. I think it is taking a harder toll on Jon because Kaitlyn is soothed more easily by me since she is used to my heartbeat and she spends more time with me and is used to the way I hold her. He gets frustrated and still feels inadequate because he cant get her to calm down as quickly as I can. It will take him a little more time and things will smooth out for him as well.

Well I will do my best to come update as often as possible.

My Miracle has Happened!!

On Friday June 10th we spoke to Dr Basso and she told us to come in the office on Monday and that we would be doing our c-section that evening. We went to the office in the morning to see the Dr, we got everything set up for the C-setion at 5pm that evening. We were told to be at the hospital at 3pm to get paperwork done and be prepped for surgery. Things took a little longer than expected and another woman ended up having her baby just before we were supposed to go in the OR. We ended up being delayed just a bit.

Anyway, in the prep room they monitored the baby, gave me an IV with fluids and put in a catheter. I was VERY upset and crying when they did the catheter, not only because they hurt me but because I felt so vulnerable and neither of the nurses talked to ME while doing the procedure. It would have been nice to have them talk to me and explain everything they were doing. That was very hard to cope with and I just cried. I'm glad Jon was there to support me. When they took me in the OR room they told Jon to wait in the prep room until they were ready for him to join us. That was hard for me because I was already freaked out about everything going on as it was. They had to get my spinal done and everything and get all set up before they brought him in. Anyway, I ended up having a spinal for anesthetic, which the woman had a hard time doing (because of my weight I'm assuming) and she had to stick me about 5 times to get it in there right. Getting the spinal was painful... not necessarily the sticking of the needles, but when the stuff was put in my back it was a horrible, instant pressure down my spine from the middle of my back down and out across my hips. It was a feeling I have never felt before and I couldn't possibly explain it well enough for anyone to understand how it feels. My chest, butt and legs got tingly and numb almost instantly so they were ready to get things started.

They laid me on the table and put up the sheet... the anesthesiologist told me to tell her if I started to feel sick and she would give me medicine to help. Well just as she said it, I said.... "I'm feeling sick." She put a towel next to my head incase I threw up and well as much as my body wanted to, I was numb from the chest down so I didnt have the muscle control to actually do it! It was a weird feeling as well. Now it was weird trying to breathe, I was so numb that I had to take deep breaths to even realize I was breathing! I also remember feeling like I was floating. It felt like my head and shoulders were laying on the table and that everything below that was hovering just above the table. Trying to talk to my hubby felt weird too because you really have to concentrate when most of your body is pretty much paralyzed. Anyway, I did not feel ANYthing during the surgery, no pressure, no nothing. The only thing I felt was kind of a rocking/shaking feeling as they were moving my body around to get to the baby.

Once they started, the baby was out within about 5 mins or so, she was born at 7:13pm. We did hear that the cord was around her neck, but the Dr's sounded like it was no big deal and we weren't worried at all. Now, waiting to hear the baby make a sound and cry felt like a lifetime, when in reality it was about 15 seconds I think!! She had the most beautiful tiny cry. She was squeaking like a little squeaker toy too and her cry was so cute and quiet. I remember just getting a huge feeling of relief and feeling so incredibly happy. I think I cried or wanted to but I could barely feel anything at that point! Jon got to see them working at cleaning her off and even got to go over and touch her hand and I think he instantly fell in love with her! The Doctors were finishing me up and sewing me back up and they finished getting baby wiped off and were going to take her in the other room to bathe her and get her weights and measurements. Jon went with the baby and after I was finished I was sent down to recovery.

Normally the recovery stay is about 45 mins while they get you on some pain meds and get you comfortable enough to be taken back up to your post partum room. Well it took them three hours to get enough pain killers into me to make me comfortable. Finally I was able to go to my room where Jon and Kaitlyn were there waiting for me. Before this time I had only seen her for 3 seconds before they took her to clean her and everything. I kissed her on the forehead and didnt see her again for 3 hours!!!

Kaitlyn was born on Monday June 13, 2005
at 7:13pm she was 6lbs 12oz and 19 inches long