Some Cute Pictures

10:26-07: Mommy and Lauren

10-27-07: Daddy and Lauren

10-24-07: Bath time!!

10-27-07: All smiles after waking up from a nap

10-27-07: Lauren sitting up in her Bumpo...yes, we know it was recalled, but she is supervised when sitting in it.

Lauren seems to be feeling a little better today. She's still sneezing a lot. Her coughing has increased, but, bless her heart, that little girl has been full of smiles the past two days! I just don't get it! Lauren has taken longer and more frequent naps so I know she's trying to get better. She vomited 4 times today and had a leaky diaper...and I'm not discussing a wet diaper, either. She ended up having an emergency bath, so we snuggled afterward and she fell asleep. Just thought you all might like to see some fun photos of our little girl that I've taken the past three days!

It's a virus

I got my first call from daycare to pick Lauren up for being ill around 9:45 on Friday. I picked her up around 10:15. Apparently she had only eaten 3 oz. from a 5 oz. bottle. She had been put in her swing to keep upright and projectile vomited. They were getting her out to clean her up and she did it again with vomit coming out of her nose. They said that the first vomit was a good bit, but added with the second vomit, it was over the 3 oz. she had just consumed. Her bowel movement also smelled different, so they thought it best to call me to get her. When I got Lauren home, I discovered th at she had fallen asleep in the car and slept for 3 hours.

I got a 1:00 appointment at the doctor, so as we waited, Lauren woke up and wanted a bottle. She took it with some difficulty. The formula was just leaking out the side of her mouth. She couldn't really eat and breathe at the same time. (It was also cold and she's used to a room-temperature bottle.) We got in with the doctor. Lauren's ears and lungs were clear. Lauren had her first finger prick blood test. She was fine with the prick, but she was not patient while they had to fill a tiny tube with her blood. (It took about 5-7 minutes.) The labs came back that she had a virus, so there isn't anything for us to do but wait it out. (She finished the bottle, which had warmed up, without any more problem or vomit while we waited for her labs to come back.) I was told to continue to saline her nose to help the goop slide down out of her throat which should help with the cough. I have the humidifier running in the living room where Lauren is currently napping. I saw a different doctor than we normally see because they worked us in so Lauren could be seen before the weekend, so maybe I am just crazy, thinking she's sick...Hopefully I'll get this figured out soon! The good thing is that Lauren shouldn't pitch a fit when it's time to go to the doctor because it will be such a familiar place to her!

OH! And we weighed Lauren who has hit double digits with her weight as well as her age! She weighs 10 pounds and 1/2 an oz. Yea! That is a 10 1/2 oz. increase since last Wednesday when she had her shots!

10 Weeks 10-25-2007

Lauren has hit double digits! I can't believe how much growth and change she has made during her short life thus far! Her teachers at school just love her--they said today that she's starting to talk to them more. Paul & I still get a fair bit of talk from her. I think she's laughed, but it sounds like a deep bark, not her soft talking voice.

She doesn't seem to be full of congestion in her nose; however, she is still sounding wheezy. I think it's gotten worse. I've heard her cough, too. I talked to our school nurse today. She said unless Lauren is running a fever and is really struggling to breathe, the doctor won't do anything--because it's just a cold. I've voiced that I'm worried she'll have asthma like me. With me being asthmatic, she has a 50% chance of being one, too. I made her sleep in her carseat last night to keep upright. She slept the night through (I didn't--I awoke at each gasp). So...we'll see if it's worse tomorrow. If so, I'm storming the doctor's office (again)!!

Lauren is really starting to prefer to sit up. She will launch herself forward if she's reclined too much. She doesn't wiggle when we stand her up, either, which is new during the past week. Her head control is still gaining (although she usually drops it a bit when we have her stand). Paul was holding her the other day and she was crawling up him. He had to keep putting her down lower so she wouldn't jump off his shoulder!

We have noticed that Lauren has been blowing a lot of little bubbles. We just thought that this was a cute thing. However, Paul was looking at her gums on Monday night...and she has started to bud a tooth! Yes, my daughter will have a fang on the left side of her mouth! We aren't sure when it will come all the way through, but it is starting to show.

Until next week...or the next doctor's appointment...

There was a Little Girl, Who had a Little Curl...

We bathed Lauren on Sunday, making sure to wash her hair. I didn't notice this until Monday evening, but there is a patch of hair on the top of her head that was standing up. There was a bit of a wave to it. I tried to get it to go down, and it would not budge. All I could think of with this discovery was the nursery rhyme:

There was a little girl who had a little curl, right in the middle of her forehead. When she was good, she was very, very good and when she was bad she was horrid.

I do know that the curl isn't in the middle of her forehead, but you get the reference, I'm sure!

9 Weeks (A Little Late!)

Well, I've been sick! That's what has been new here, so I didn't get a chance to post Lauren's blog on Thursday like normal for her 9 weeks. Lauren has been stuffy, too, but I've been able to keep her nasal passages moist with saline and a humidifier, and I've been sucking goop out with a bulb sucker. Fortunately, we've had luck with this. She has been in good humor even being stuffy. Since she hit the 6 week mark, Lauren has been in a general happy mood with occasional fits. It's been much easier since she's been in daycare. I hate saying this, but I almost think that it's good for all of us. Lauren lets me leave easily (for now) and she is really happy when I pick her up. The highlight of my day is picking her up (physically) from school, her realizing I'm there, and her nuzzling my neck. She gets a look of contentment upon her face (her teachers tell me) and she smiles. When I get her in the hall to put her in her carrier, I get grins when I ask if she wants to go home!

Lauren must have hit a growth spurt this weekend. Either that or she understood Dr. Vierling when he told us that she needed to eat more! We had been feeding Lauren between 4 and 5 ounces every 3 hours. She was pretty responsive to this schedule, too, and we knew it had been 3 hours since she last ate. However, we gave her 5 ounces this weekend and she'd cry for more. We'd give her another 2 ounces and she'd be happy. Then, between 2 and 2 1/2 hours, Lauren would get really fussy again--more food! she demanded. All we did all weekend was feed her! It was crazy. I know that this may seem funny, but Lauren actually looked like she had grown over the weekend--even one of her teachers said she looked a lot bigger this weekend--length and width. =)

Some new nicknames--Huff and Puff (from her daddy--she gets all riled up when he's around!), Peanut, Baby Girl, Peanut Head Gallery (that's another from Daddy...I shake my head!).

Lauren has also been very active. She can sit in her Bumpo for about 10-15 minutes unassisted, keeping her head fairly upright. I've caught her shaking her head both yes and no...I'm really trying to insist upon the yes shake, saying "Yes, ma'am," to her, hoping she'll pick up that courtesy later on. We can pray...Her new favorite position is standing which she could do all the time. She tuckers after about 30 minutes of on and off standing. It's incredible how much she's grown and developed!

Her evening fussiness has subsided for the most part. We still get some whining when it's time for bed. But truthfully, it's so much better than before. We can deal with it without too much frustration.

Lauren's sleeping about 9 hours a night and most of that is through the night. We've been fortunate to get her to take a few naps here and there, but we can't let her nap past 6 pm or she won't sleep.

I'm sure you've all noticed that her hair looks a little red in her pictures. She seems to have a red tint to her hair once in a while. It's very odd. Some days it's blonde, others it seems brown. Sometimes it's all three colors at once.

She's alert, almost too much for her own good, I worry. We've been reading and playing together in the evenings and we encourage Lauren to get time on her tummy. She won't roll over. I almost think she'll crawl first. She will wiggle across her mat on her tummy. She moves her legs alternatively. If she could get her arms in motion with her legs, she'd be scooting across the room!

Lauren is a talker! Some nights she coos and gurgles forever! Those are the nights we get the best smiles. She's been making two syllable sounds. I even think she's trying to mimic my laugh. She makes a barking sound when she's really excited, so I think this would be a laugh. Her talk is higher pitched like you'd expect of a girl, but the barking laugh is more deep, maybe even a little throaty. At least she's happy!!

Slippery Rock Kid

Future alum??

My alma mater, Slippery Rock University, sends me a publication every 4-6 months with news about the university. They have a section for announcements for higher degrees, weddings, deaths, and births. I recently received the latest edition and thought it my duty to report my latest additions in my education as well as Lauren's birth. I received a very excited email in congratulations of Lauren's birth soon after from the Alumni Association (who takes care of the updates). Several days later, I received a package in the mail. The alumni association had sent a card of congratulations of Lauren's arrival, as well as a bib for her in the school's colors--green and white. The bib says, "Slippery Rock Kid." Talk about fun!!

2 Month Shots

Lauren went to the doctor today for her 2 month well-baby checkup as well as her 2 month shots. Her head circumference was good--I think it was 14 1/2 cm. She was 9 pounds 6 1/2 ounces, so she lost weight between Friday and today (4 1/4 ounces). Her weight is in the 25th percentile. Doc said to pump the formula into her. Paul and I give her what she wants--she either refuses to eat more or spits up if we try to force more down, so this isn't an option. She is now 23 inches long, so she's grown 3 inches since birth. With length, she falls into the 70th percentile.

She had shot 1 of 5 for DTaP, shot 2 of 3 for hepatitus B, 1 of 3 of the Hib, 1 of 4 for PneumonoConjugat, and 1 of 4 for polio. While it may sound as though she had 5 shots, she only had 3. Considering how it could have been, Lauren (and I) did exceptionally well. She cried, of course, when jabbed. (I teared up, but nothing came don my face!) The third shot was the worst--she screwed up her face, stopped breathing normally so that her face turned as red as a burnt tomato, waited until she was all good and ready, and let out a wail. We were able to distract/calm her fairly quickly with her pacifier and her bottle. She ate and then immediately fell asleep for about 2 1/2 hous. She woke up hungry and consumed 7 ounces of formula. She then calmed as she started to slip into sleep. Truly, not a horrible experience, at least so far. I was extremely grateful that Paul was with us. He held her down while she was jabbed.

Dr.'s Appointment

I took Lauren to the doctor on Friday. She had been having a lot of bowel movements since the previous Saturday and we (well, in all truth, I) wanted to be sure she was okay. She had also become stuffy starting Tuesday so I panicked that it was allergies or a sinus infection. Lauren is also scheduled for her first shots on Wednesday, so if something was wrong, I wanted to make sure that we were taking care of it to make sure she could still get her shots. The good news is that she hasn't run a fever through all of this. So pretty much what the doctor told me is that once she starts having normal poos again, I can continue to to add one-two small drops of olive oil in one to two bottles weekly (not one bottle a day like we had been). He seemed to think this a good idea (after he lectured me on how I shouldn't be so worried how often or what kind of poos Lauren has--I retorted that he didn't have to hear his daughter scream to poo, so I was using a the most sound suggestion I'd been given to make sure she didn't have to strain or be in a ridiculous amount of pain when it was unnecessary). For the stuffiness, he told me to use saline nose spay and a bulb sucker to pull out the goop, which I'd been doing thanks to a mommy's friend suggestion. The interesting thing he said was that he's seen quite a few people with the poo and stuffiness together---he seemed to think that the poo was more virus oriented. He even said that this combination was one his own family members had become afflicted with. Little Miss is healthy!

And here was some surprising news...when we weighed Lauren, she came in at 9 pounds, 10 3/4 ounces! WOW!! Paul noticed that her cheeks are starting to get a little chubby. She isn't getting fat, but she's gaining weight! It's still all going to her feet, lengthening her.

Lauren has also become fascintated by the bugs we have put on her carseat. She was smiling and cooing at them yesterday as she hit them. She's starting to develop more of a personality which makes her a little more fun. Paul's really been enjoying the changes in her development.

8 Weeks

Here are some pictures of Lauren at 8 weeks! She is just finishing her 2nd week of daycare. Daycare has been great for all of us. Lauren is getting a schedule for sleeping. We've been getting at least 7 hours of sleep a night--sleeping straight through!! She's also NAPPING at daycare and at home (as evidenced above). She's eating between 25 and 30 ounces of formula a day, right where she needs to be. We weighed her and she was 8 pounds 13 ounces this past Sunday.

We've had a lot of issue with her bowel movements. Starting this past Saturday, she was having very loose stools. We aren't sure if it was the olive oil we'd put in one bottle a day for the week previous, the Nystatin for her thrush (her second round with it), or if she was sick. She was sleeping and eating well, had no fever, and was very alert and playful, so we didn't think it was illness. We've laid off the olive oil all week and today was the first day her bowel movements seem to be getting back to normal. However, I think she has allergies because she started getting really stuffy, sounding congested. Again, no fever, eating and sleeping well, and she's been in good spirits, even at night. (Since starting daycare, the amount of fussiness we've experienced is tremendously minimal compared to before she started.) This has led me to suspect allergies.

So, we have an appointment with her doctor on Friday to have her checked out for all of the issues above. She gets her first shots on Wednesday the 17th so I want to make sure she's healthy and can still get them. Plus, I want to make sure that she isn't sick to put my mind at ease.

Lauren has been doing a great job holding her head upright. She's been sitting in her Bumpo, playing on her tummy (even scooting herself forward!) which Daddy likes because he helps her try to crawl, hitting the bugs that hang on her carseat and the zebra on her vibrating seat, kicking the ball in her gym...Lauren is extremely active. One of her teachers said she thinks Lauren is going to hit a lot of milestones like sitting upright independently, crawling, and something else in quick succession within the next month or two. She said she's extremely alert and happy, too. (I'm just happy to hear she isn't the whiny kid in the class!) She's moving and shaking well. The other night she was fussy when Paul was holding her. He checked her diaper, tried to feed her, cuddled her...nothing was working so he propped her up on the bed so that they were face to face and said, "Now, listen, kid." Before he could start lecturing her, he noticed that she was all grins--because she was standing.

Lauren's eye duct is opening slowly. We have some days where the drainage is extremely minimal and other days where she leaks fairly often. I don't think it will be something to worry about.

Daddy and Lauren 10-05-07

Paul likes to talk with Lauren when they can look at each other face to face. He put her in her Bumpo, asking her about her day at school. Apparently, she had a lot to say because she kept going on and on...this led Paul to say, "I thought what happened at school stays at school, but I guess not with you!" (Please ignore Lauren's red eyes...apparently this is another thing she's inherited from me...)

Going to Church

Here is a picture of Mommy and Lauren before church. We don't seem to have many pictures of the two of us, so I made Paul take one.

We all went to church on Sunday. Here is Lauren, ready and waiting looking pretty in her dress that Daddy picked out. She slept through the entire service. Just as we were taking communion, she woke up, so we slipped out just as service ended.

7 Weeks

Lauren's 7 week pictures



Lauren in her Bumpo Oct. 3, 2007


Lauren is now 7 weeks old. She has met a lot of developmental milestones. She tracks moving objects with her eyes, she continues to hold something that you put in her hand, she bats toys hanging in front of her. She's doing a great job sitting up with assistance and her head control is phenominal! We bought her a Bumpo sitter on Wednesday to help her sit up. She can sit about 5 minutes before tiring (or getting irritated and wanting held). (The Bumpo is recommended for kids 3 months and up.) We've found that she is very responsive to my voice. When I pick her up from school and she hears my voice, she turns her head to try to find me! Talk about love! She also smiles when I tell her I missed her and am so happy to see her!

We spent Lauren's 7 week birthday with Aunt Suzy and cousin Harris (who was two weeks yesterday). Both babies slept while we ate lunch. They had great naps lasting about 3 hours. Suzy and I came back to the house to enjoy the cooler air on the patio...the babies continued to sleep. Harris woke up first to eat--he kept falling asleep. I woke Lauren up because she had slept so long and I didn't want her to be awake all night long.

Lauren has recently learned to love objects like mobiles above her head. I took the pictures while she was sitting in her swing which has a mobile. You can see how happy she was last night!

End of an Era

Try as hard as I might this morning, Lauren just would not fit into a newborn onesie! I cannot believe how quickly she has grown. I had to go through drawers to pull out all newborn attire (except pants) because she's gotten so long. The newborn pants fit her better than the o-3 month pants because she is so skinny. We had 0-3 pants on her over the weekend--they needed to be pulled up to her boobies to stay up!

Lauren had a good Tuesday at school. She did art. If you're questioning this, too, believe me, I found it extremely odd that infants can do art projects. Lauren's teachers put the kid's hands in paint and made handprints to go on a bulletin board for Halloween. The handprints were the leaves on the scary old tree.

Lauren also had a good Tuesday at home. She had a really good long nap and quite a few catnaps. We bathed her around 9:20 pm. I snuggled her when we were done, and she was fast asleep by 9:45. I put her down and she never woke up until 5:15 am when I fed her a 5 oz. bottle. She went immediately back to sleep. She woke up again at 5:55 to expel a burp and went back to sleep until Paul got her up for school at 6:45. Then...she cried. She was not impressed that we woke her up to change her diaper and clothes, then to put her in her carseat. She quieted on the ride to school then started full force as we neared. I had to snuggle her for 15 minutes to calm her and lull her back to sleep. Her teacher, Miss Misty, swaddled her and then cuddled her. (We also decided that I need to leave the house by 6:55 so as to have snuggle time before going to work because of this morning.) She's growing up so fast!!

Lauren's First Day of School

Lauren getting ready to go home from her first day at school.


Lauren's classroom. Her crib is on the left (which you cannot see).


Lauren started school on Monday! She attends Abernethy Child Development Center, which is about 3 miles from our house. She's only a few miles from my school. We wanted to give her (and me) a chance to adjust to the change in caregivers before I started back to work. She was at school from 7:30 am until 1:15 pm for her first day. She was a little fussy--I called around 10:45 to check on her and I heard her crying. She only slept 30 minutes during this entire time, in two-15 minute stents. She ate extremely well, burped well, and even had a bowel movement without shaking up the entire center. Her teachers commented that she was a snuggler. They got Lauren swaddled and said she liked it (which she hated if I tried to do) and she was content in the travel swing (which she wants nothing to do with at our house!). Whatever works...that's my motto and that is what I told her teachers. Lauren is one of three girls in a class of ten.