Two Months Old!

Aleeya is 2 Months Old!
10 lbs 10 oz
22.5 inches

Aleeya is the sweetest, most good natured, beautiful little baby. To prove it, she slept for 11 straight hours last night! (Not too shabby for a 2 month old!) We are so thankful for her, and for her health! She has filled the void in our family that I never knew we had! She was meant to be with us, and I can't even picture life without our little LeeLee!

Funny Prayers

Makaylee has always said the most sincere and adorable prayers. She really thinks about what she says, and has such simple, easy faith. Sometimes she says the funnies things though, and I have to stop myself from giggling out loud!

Tonight she was saying her bedtime prayers and said "I love Mommy and Daddy, Rowen and Aleeya, my cousins and Grandmas and Grandpas. . . And I love you too Heavenly Father and Jesus, because you are THE BEST-EST GUYS IN TOWN!"

The other night at dinner she said: "And please help us to not throw a fit when we don't get what we want. Like how I didn't get what I wanted for dinner, but I am still happy with what I got." (I take it that she didn't like what I cooked?)

Ten Tiny Toes

A Beautiful Day

A Beautiful Day

Makaylee did a happy dance right in the middle of the store,
I giggled because I’d never seen her so uninhibited before.

Rowen drifted off to sleep while watching a show,
He looked so angelic you could almost see him glow.

Aleeya took a warm bath and I was so surprised,
To see my slippery baby with a huge grin and happy eyes.

Terrill walked in the door and gave me a sly smile,
I'm so lucky that he still loves me after all this while.

After these twenty-four hours I have to pause and say,
I am so thankful God gave me this beautiful day.
-Stef 2010

Things are Looking Up

Aleeya's test results all came back negative. She doesn't have any obvious infections of her intestines. The Dr. wanted to see her again on Friday to make sure he wasn't missing something more serious. When we first started talking he told me that he was going to do some blood work and another abdominal X-ray. But when he started to examine her he said "She just looks so good and healthy!" He pushed around really hard on her tummy and she just looked at him like "Excuse me!" He explained that if it was something serious (like NEC) she would be screaming all the time and look "wicked sick." So he decided to skip the x-ray and just check her hematocrit to make sure she wasn't losing too much blood. (Her blood count was excellent.) He said "Thank you for bringing her in, I am going to have a much better weekend knowing that she is okay." How sweet is that?!

He thinks she just has a bad case of a protein allergy that was aggravated by the RSV virus and the antibiotics. He said we could try switching to Alimentum to see if she tolerates it better and gave us a few samples.

The amazing thing is that within 24 hours her bum rash was gone! (And it was a really bad bum rash!) Her diapers have also been slowing down and getting progressively better. (About 1/2 have had no blood!) I am so relieved that things are looking better. I think we just have to wait this one out. I can't wait for the day that I can stop examining messy diapers!

Patience. . .

The good: Aleeya's RSV is all but gone! She hasn't even coughed for a couple of days and her breathing is slowing down and getting deeper. When I watch her breathe in her sleep she is at about 40 respirations, and it is making me breathe a little easier too!

The bad: There is still blood in her stools, every diaper change, and every day. I was supposed to wait until Friday to bring a stool sample into the Dr., but I called and asked if I could bring it in today instead. I am learning that patience is not my strong suit (at all!) It takes 48 hours to culture and see if an infection is causing the problem, so that means more waiting. I am hoping that the on call Dr will let us know what the results are by Saturday, and if not I will have to wait until Monday. I have read that it can take up to two weeks for an allergen to be completely removed from your system, so I am trying to wait another week until we change Aleeya's formula again. This all is not helping me feel any better about not nursing her anymore, as the blood in the stool is the reason I stopped! There are not many more options of formulas either, she is already on the most recommended hypoallergenic formula. There is another brand called Alimentum, but after that you have to buy a special formula that is broken down into amino acids, and you can't even get it in a normal store!

In the mean time I made an appointment with the Pediatric Gastroenterologist that Rowen saw when he was a baby. She is booked out until March 30th! Wait, wait, wait. . . Life just isn't supposed to be this painful or complicated for a newborn.

I am trying to figure out what I am supposed to be learning from all this? Does it mean that I am strong, and the Lord knows I can get through it? Or does it mean that I am weak and need to learn something? I read a quote from the prophet: "Patience may be required as we watch, wait, and work for a blessing to be fulfilled. Remember that you do not walk alone. As you walk through life, always walk toward the light, and the shadows of life will fall behind you. . ." As I mentioned, I am lacking patience, and I am such a worrier that I have a hard time letting the light shine through. When I read that quote, it gives me peace, (but the minute I stop reading it the anxiety sets in) so I am trying to read it often!

Follow Up Appointment

Today we had Aleeya's follow up appointment with her Pediatrician. She is still breathing pretty fast, but her oxygen saturation was awesome today (99-100%.) The Dr. said "She's about done with this RSV stuff" and that I should stop worrying about her.

Oh, but if only I was just worried about her breathing. . . Her diapers have had a little more blood in them for the last two days, so this morning I wrapped one up and brought it to the Dr. like a smelly little present. He said that it was unusual that she had that severe of a reaction to my breast milk and that we should keep her on the Nutramigen. If the blood doesn't go away by Friday we need to bring in another diaper for a stool test to rule out an infection or some other complication. Yesterday I did the math. She will drink two cans a week. At $21.00 a can that is $168.00 a month! I guess I will be going back to work a little sooner than I thought!

On the lighter side, I was looking at Rowen today, and he looked so HUGE to me. (I know it is partly because I have been holding Aleeya for almost 24 hours a day for the last week.) I decided to throw him on the scale for the fun of it and my eyes almost popped out of my head. He has gained two pounds in the last month (28 lbs!) I have been force feeding the kid for almost 6 months trying to get him to gain weight, and the one month I have not been able to pay much attention to feeding him he finally packs it on. The irony.