Week in Pictures

Addie and I have a wonderful week in Virginia visiting family. We really miss Nathan, who is working a ton of hours back at Ft. Drum. We can't wait to see him soon. Addie was fortunate to meet many new family members, and she loved hanging out with both sets of grandparents again. Anyways here are some recent pictures.

Addie's goal is to have all 8 fingers in here mouth at once. She didn't quite get them all in in this picture, but she sure was trying. We believe that she is in the process of teething. Of course Nathan said she does everything well before the suggested age markers, and why would this be any different.

Nana insisted that Addie get her picture taken in the begonia bed. Unfortunately Addie wanted to eat the begonias.

Addie's favorite new toy

She loves Aunt Heather and Grandma
Sporting the "Pebbles" look

Fence Pictures

Nate and Ben mixing cement

My (almost) Before The gate
Everyone loves a power tool
After

Thanks so much team Council/Farley! I also want to say thanks to my mom for cleaning out my attic. I thought I might get in trouble if I posted the pics I have of that though ;) Everyone's help is greatly appreciated. I will be especially thankful when it is below freezing and I am NOT chasing after a curious Jake!!

GERD

I have been a bad blogger as of late due to the fact that I have been dealing with Addie's first illness. Well, it's actually more of a condition than an illness. That's right, Addie has a condition called GERD (gastro-esophageal reflux disease).

I noticed a couple of weeks ago that she was becoming fussy at meal time. But the real problem started late last Tuesday night when she absolutely refused to nurse. She was arching her back and screaming every time she came close to the breast. Anyone who has spent much time around Addie knows she is very content, which was why this was disheartening. Luckily we had an appointment scheduled Wednesday morning at the pediatrician's office for another round of shots. At the appointment the pediatrician suggested that I give Addie a bottle of expressed milk, and that this was probably just a phase. Needless to say we didn't get any shots that day, and we had another appointment scheduled 2 days later (Friday).

By the time Friday rolled around Addie had not voluntarily nursed in 3 days. I say voluntarily because I was able to get her to latch on when she was really sleepy, and wasn't quite aware of what she was doing. She also snubbed the bottle, which makes perfect sense because she's only taken an ounce from a bottle when she was 8 weeks. At one point I did resort to feeding her from a medicine dropper. I fed her approximately 2 ounces from a 2 milliliter medicine dropper. For all you math whizzes, that equals a really long time to get 2 ounces down the hatch.

At the appointment on Friday morning the pediatrician told me much of the same (i.e., just a phase, try the bottle). Addie dropped half an ounce between Wednesday and Friday. This was not enough to worry about from a medical standpoint, but as a mother I was definitely concerned. I was also told that Addie would be put in the hospital for observation on Monday if she was still not eating or gaining weight. At this point I was desperate to get her nursing and feeling better. My motherly instincts told me there was more to this than Addie being stubborn.

I knew the best place to go right after the appointment was to see my favorite lactation consultant at the hospital. Sure enough, after 5 minutes of observing me trying to nurse Addie she informed me that Addie had reflux. That's right folks, the lactation figured the problem out in 5 minutes. In the meantime she gave me some suggestions on easing Addie's pain. She also wrote me a note and told me to drive right back to the pediatrician. Approximately 30 minutes later Addie had her first prescription.

The Zantac seems make Addie feel better, but she still has a slight aversion to eating. Luckily for Addie the best treatment for GERD is breastmilk. It is very easily digested, and it has anti-inflamatory properties. I am confident that things will be much better for her in the coming weeks.

Lessons learned from this experience:

• Lactation consultants are a godsend. What a priceless resource!
• Doctors don't know everything
• A mother will truly do anything to ease their child's pain.
• Nothing hurts a mother more than to not be able to ease their child's discomfort.
• I truly cherish the nursing relationship I have with my daughter.

Labor Day Weekend

Well, our weekend task of installing a fence in our backyard is complete, thanks to the tremendous help from my mom, dad, and Ben. I will post more pictures at a later date as my camera battery died, and most of the pictures are on my parent's camera. We are so thankful for their help.

Also, Addie turned 3 months old on Saturday. I can't believe she has been with us for 3 months. She is such a wonderful baby. Her coordination is developing rapidly. She is now able to grasp toys with both hands. She can also roll from her back to her side (not quite to the tummy). As you remember she could get from her tummy to her back weeks ago. I believe its not too long before the roll is a full 360 degrees. I look forward to posting our fence pictures soon.

Addie's 3 month picture

Uneventfulness

Sorry for the lack of posts over the past week. We've actually had a pretty uneventful week. Nathan has been working really long hours. Addie and I have been going about with our normal routine. On Wednesdays we love to walk to the farmer's market. Addie and I meet up with friends and we camp out in front of the library so Addie and Will can play. We also go to a breastfeeding moms playgroup on Fridays, which is a lot of fun.

We are looking forward to my parents coming up over the long weekend. We have big plans, which include building a fence, taking out our back deck, repairing and painting our foundation, and who knows what else. We're also looking forward to celebrating Addie's 3 month birthday on Saturday! We're planning on getting her 3 month portrait taken sometime in the next week or so, so watch your mailboxes this month for new pictures!!

These are just some random pictures I have taken this week.

I just had to take a picture of Addie's first time with dirty feet. We were playing in the grass and she just kept kicking her feet so hard into the ground. She loves to kick those feet really fast and hard. She actually had another first this week...her first knot in her hair. It was pretty bad and I debated cutting it out, but I knew I had to try to untangle it before whipping out the scissors. Luckily I was able to distract her with a rattle while I worked the knot out. Disaster averted.

Roll Over Beethoven

Addie is now a rolly polly. As I announced a couple of weeks ago she discovered she could roll over when Nathan was playing with her. I wasn't really expecting her to consistently roll over for at least a few more weeks. Well, it seems as if she takes great pride in performing this new skill. Maybe she's been watching the Olympics a little too much (joking...no TV for this youngster). Last week she got virtually no tummy time since we had family here, but yesterday afternoon she whipped right over for me. Of course when I retrieved the camera to film her new acrobatics she was over it. After trying to film her rolling over on 4 different occasions, I finally got it!

Also, it seems as if Jake has taken a keen interest in Addie. He was a bit indifferent to her at first, but now he wants to be wherever she is. I even caught him napping beside the crib as she slumbered. Oh the joy!

Addie gave me a nice big burp right before she rolled. So funny!

What a week

What a week we've had. We were sad to see all of the Farley's leave on Saturday. Addie really enjoyed meeting her Grandpa, Grandma (again), aunt and uncle. I think that Addie was held by someone the whole week (except for when she was sleeping and riding in the car). The week passed by extremely fast, which always seems to be the case when you are having a great time. Anyhow, I've included pictures from the past couple of days. Nathan pointed out that there was no picture of me in the last post , so I was sure to include one here ;)

Sacketts Harbor Brew Pub

Addie looking at herself in the mirror
Jake enjoys tummy time too

Sittin on the dock of the bay

We had such a wonderful weekend at Henderson Harbor with the family! Check out the pictures!

Addie's first boat ride

Addie's first time in the lake

Yup, that's Nathan

So many kisses...

And lots of attention

Grandma made Addie a hat and sweater!

The cute girls always get to sit in the front of the boat

New Friends

I just had to post some pictures of Addie in her tie-dyed onsie that her Uncle Ben gave her. It's probably one of the cutest things she's ever worn. Sorry about the really bad red-eye. I am working on eliminating it, but can't figure out what is wrong.

We have good news to report: Addison is now sleeping through the night (for the most part). Three nights out of the past 5 she's slept 7 hours. The first night this happened Nathan woke me up around 3:30 a.m. inquiring if she had woken up yet. I was absolutely shocked when I saw the glowing numbers on the clock. Keep your fingers crossed for us that Addie will keep this up, as we all wake up bright eyed and bushy tailed when she sleeps for a 7 hour stretch. I believe that she might be ready to sleep in her own room soon. Although, I am not so sure that Nathan and I are ready for this monumental change.

Also, within the past week she has discovered how awesome her hands are. She plays and stares at them, and it seems that she is amazed by what they can do. Oh to be a baby! Addie has really made me slow down and enjoy the small pleasures of life. She finds the greatest joy in looking at a leaf, or a face, or anything for that matter. I think that most adults can take a lesson from babies by simply stopping and enjoying their surroundings. Take it all in.




I've also included a video of Addie playing with her new friends on her bouncy seat. A few weeks ago she had no interest in playing or looking at them, but now she loves them. She even carries on conversations with them as you will see. They entertain her for about 10 minutes, which is just long enough for me to eat breakfast (unless I'm filming the antics of my adorable daughter).

Round 2

Sorry for the delay since the last blog. I was having trouble uploading pictures for awhile, and I believe that the pictures are some people's favorite part of the blog. Anyhow, since the last blog Addison celebrated her 2 month birthday! Nathan and I celebrated her birthday in the same tradition as the first (by giving her a new book).

Her growth in the last month has been absolutely phenomenal. She has not only grown in size, but also has made leaps in the development of her large motor skills and mental development. She actually rolled over 3 times the other morning! We were so proud of her. She hasn't done rolled over again. I don't really expect her to be consistent with this skill, as it usually doesn't happen until close to the 4th month for most babies. Over the past month we have also really seen the emergence of Addison's personality (so sweet with a little kick of feisty).

At her 2 month pediatrician appointment she weighed in at 10lbs 2 oz, and was 22.5 inches long. She also got vaccinated, which she was not a big fan of (poor baby). Her are some pictures taken this past week.

2 months

I love the way my arm tastes!