Zantac is Helping Lexie

Lexie has now been taking zantac twice a day for almost 2 weeks and it really seems to be helping. She's not as fussy or gassy and doesn't spit up nearly as much. The outright screaming has almost stopped as well. I give her the zantac and gas drops each day and she does great. Thank you Lord for small blessings like medicine for babies!

She's such a joy now. She loves to talk and coo and have conversations with you, and she just started outright laughing... it's the best!

My mastitis is practically gone, but I have 3 more days on the medication. It's amazing how bad I felt in the beginning, but after 2 days worth of antibiotics I felt so much better.

Our garage sale was a huge success. God has really blessed us with getting rid of lots of stuff and letting us make decent money at the same time. You gotta love that!

Our Annual Yard Sale

I just wanted to invite all my faithful blog readers to our annual yard sale. It will be this Thursday, Friday and Saturday, June 26, 27 and 28. We'll be open rain or shine from 8:00 am til dark.

Here is the link on Craig's List with more details:
http://dayton.craigslist.org/gms/730190799.html

Hope you can stop by. There's something for everyone!

Feeling Tons Better

Thank you everyone for your prayers. They are really working, because I feel 85% better today than the last couple of days. The antibiotic is working and nursing the baby on the infected side is helping as well.

I'm having a great day and haven't even needed a nap! God is so good!

Mastitis

Well, it looks like I have mastitis. I've been feeling really run down with a bad sore throat with swollen glands for the past couple of days. I was also having a lot of pain nursing Lexie on my right side. Then last evening in the shower I noticed large red patches that were hot to the touch on my right breast. I checked online and these are all classic symptoms of mastitis, which is a bacterial infection.

I have a call in to my OB. I'm hoping they'll call in the antibiotic so I don't have to spend $15 on an office visit. Apparently, that's the only way to cure this. I also need to get plenty of rest and drink tons of water.

Thank God my sister is on her way to pick up both kids for the afternoon. All I feel like doing is going right back to bed. (Please pray that Lexie will drink the bottle of pumped breastmilk for my sister!)

I'm calling in lots of favors this week to help with the kids, especially since we're having our annual garage sale Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Unfortunately we can't reschedule because Marty already took those days off work.

Please pray that I'll get the medicine right away and that it will kick in quickly so I'll start feeling better tomorrow. Thanks!

A very Grumpy Baby (again!)

Just when we thought Lexie was doing better... she had a bad screaming episode last night. For about an hour and a half, she screamed really hard. It sure seemed like she was in pain. I had changed her, fed her, given gas drops and zantac, biccyled her legs to help get the gas out, and nothing seemed to help. I eventually had to swaddle her tightly, give her the binky and bounce her in her bouncy seat until she fell asleep. Then, she woke up happy. Go figure. I'm guessing it was gas.

Then today, she's just feen fussy off and on... more fussy than happy. I'm definitely worn out. I managed to nap an hour while she slept. Thank God Luke still naps at least 2 hours!

Please pray for my health. I'm fighting off a sore throat and am generally feeling run down and very tired. Gotta go put a tired toddler to bed now...

Lexie's 2 Month Checkup

Lexie's checkup went well. She now weighs 11 lbs 13 oz, which puts her in the 75th percentile for weight (and head size). She's 20.75" long, which is the 25th percentile. She enjoyed cooing and smiling at the nurse and doctor today while they examined her.

She's very healthy except for 2 things: her left tear duct is blocked and infected; and it appears she may have acid reflux. She still screams a bit each day, usually during or right after eating. She pops off while nursing and cries periodically. And when she spits up or gets the hiccups she cries as if it hurts her. The Nurse Practioner said those are both symptoms of reflux, so she'll be taking zantac 3times a day.

She screamed like mad during her shots, but quickly settled down. The binky helped, and she promptly went to sleep in her car seat. In fact, it's been over almost 3 hours since her shots and she's still sleeping. I believe that Luke slept 4 hours after his first set of shots, then woke up screaming with one of his legs all red. I had to keep giving him tyenol every 4 hours to ease his pain.

Please pray that she'll be okay and won't have any reactions or side effects from all the vaccines. One blessing is that she's really sleeping better at night. She's been sleeping 11-7 with only one nightime feeding around 3 or 4 am. I can deal with that!

A Happy Baby... Finally!

Each day, Lexie gets a little less fussy. I think her tummy and digestive system are finally maturing. She's been smiling and cooing more and more and has been adorable! She still has some grumpy moments in the evenings and seems to have a little pain with spitting up, so we'll get that checked out tomorrow at her 2-month checkup. She has to get her first round of shots, too, so she'll probably be unhappy after that.

We went to Kings Island yesterday for Father's Day and had a blast. We were there from 1-9 and both kids did really well. They have a Baby Care Center in the Kid's area across from Chick Fil-A where I was able to nurse Lexie in air conditioning and a comfortable glider rocker. Very nice.

We actually got both kids to nap in the double stroller at the same time for about an hour. What a blessing. I went on 2 whole rides: The Italian Job, which is super fun, and the tiny train with Luke.

We discovered that most parents with small kids come early and are gone by late afternoon. Luke was able to get right on several of the toddler rides without any wait and went on the little cars and the carousel 2-3 times in a row. He loved them! He also greatly enjoyed the entire water area where you get doused in the kid's area. My poor mom got drenched, too, but they both had a blast!

Tired Days

We're still hanging in there. I'm just taking each day one day at a time. Sorry I haven't had the time to update this blog more than once a week. Just when Lexie will wake only one time in the night, then she goes back to waking 2-3 times.

I'm so tired most days. I try to get a nap in when Luke naps, which is usually from 12:30 - 3:00 pm. Lexie will sleep at some point during that time, but it's usually only an hour or so. Friday it was 2 hours, which was a blessing.

The night feedings are still a bit unpredictable. The night before last she ate at 11:30 pm, 3:00 am, then 6:30 and 8:30. I was loving that; it was a night of luxury compared to how the nights usually go! Then last night she ate at 11:00 pm, 1:30 am, 4:00, 6:30 and 8:00. Yuck.

I found a used Baby Bjorn front carrier at a garage sale for only $15! Yay... especially since my friend couldn't find hers; so now I have my own. Lexie likes it for short periods of time, especially when I face her out, but she won't sleep in it. It sure is nice to have my hands free, but I have to be careful because it puts a bit of a strain on my upper back if I wear her for too long.

On a positive note, though... Lexie sure is cute. Her personality is really starting to show. She loves when you talk to her and will try to mimic your facial expressions and her blue eyes get so big. When her tummy doesn't hurt, she coos and gives big gummy smiles! She really is a darling.