5 months

Eli turned 5 months old today!

I've been meaning to post something lately but I kept putting it off. I told myself I had to post on his 5-month date anyway, so that was my deadline. So here I am for a big old update.

First of all, what I meant to come and tell you all was that on Thursday, July 31, Eli woke up a different baby. Goodbye, colic! For two weeks he was a completely different kid... happy, smiling, laughing, showing interest in toys, using his hands, and just so much more content. I was certain it was over and I was so happy to know I had survived 4.5 months of colic. But the last week he's been pretty miserable again... I am really hoping it's just teething or something and not a reversion.

In spite of his preemie status, he's been hitting his milestones a-ok. He's rolling both back to front and front to back and he's so close to sitting up unaided. I've been using sign language for "milk" with him since he was about 2 months old and he definitely recognizes it now. I can't wait for the first time he actually "tells" me what he wants! He's scooting himself backward and around in circles, so I'm waiting for a crawl. No teeth yet but they just have to be coming, as fussy and slobbery as he is.

We've had a bit of company lately! Eli got to meet lots of family, take his first trip to the zoo, and go swimming for the first time. I think he liked all of these things.

He and I both had nasty colds for over a week. Mine has morphed into allergies since my nemesis ragweed has finally come to town. My cold is gone but Eli's nose is still a snot machine, so I wonder if he might have my allergies. I didn't think they developed that young but I guess I'll have to read up on it.

And in the latest news, Josh is leaving us on Monday for two months to go to Texas for work. He'll come home to visit now and then, but it's probably going to be a long and difficult time for us. I'm a little afraid, since Eli is not the easiest baby to care for all hours of the day and night without any help. And I hate that Daddy is going to miss milestones. These are important months!

catching up

Okay, it's been a long time. My surgery got me all out of sorts and now I really feel like I'm finally catching up with everything... in real life too, not just in blog-land.

I am gallbladderless and it went fine. It was a lot worse than I expected though--a lot of people made it seem like it would be a really simple surgery to recover from but I didn't find that to be true. My parents came and were such a huge help when I really needed them. My belly button incision got infected so I was back visiting the doctor last week but otherwise everything has been fine.

Eli turned 3 months old during my blog-hiatus. I attempted to take him for some real, official 3-month portraits but the little stinker wasn't having any of it. He cried the whole time we were there so it was really a waste of my time. I have lots of pictures but I was really hoping to get some official ones at the milestones. I hope he's a lot more cooperative by 6 months! Oh well. Here's his monthly shot:

Speaking of shots, we are finally caught up!

Another new development is hair loss. I'm not sure how my hairy little man has now become almost completely bald on top! I miss his hair! I hope it comes back soon but in the meantime, it's something to giggle about. He looks so funny with his pattern baldness.

Josh's car is broken and we are getting tired of being stuck in the house all the time while he takes the car to work. Argh! We have replaced a lot of things and so far nothing is working. Pray for this! We are not in a financial situation that will really make room for a new vehicle. We started living on one salary this month and it is really rather terrifying. We are trusting God with this. I'm trying to fit some freelance editing in where I can. It's not easy but I hope as Eli gets a little older we're going to fall into a good routine where things do get a little bit easier.

I guess that's all I have for now. Here are some random pictures since I made you wait so long.

... and a video of Noah holding Eli. I love how he's talking to him and we can't understand it. :)

good days

I think we're seeing the light at the end of the colicky tunnel!

Thursday afternoon Eli started acting like a much happier baby. All of a sudden I could see such a huge change! We've still had our moments, like screaming through diaper changes, hysteria after a bath, and so forth, but in between we're having a lot more happy, smiling moments. Suddenly we're having fun and I'm so excited to say so! I hope it sticks. It started the day after he turned 12 weeks old, so I guess the 3-month estimation on the colic was true!

Josh's car is on the fritz so we've been stuck at home all week while J drove my car to work. It was kind of rough but we spent some time at the park right down the street, where I learned that Eli loves riding on the tire swing with me, and we just love the short walk to get the mail. He really loves to be outside.

My gallbladder surgery is tomorrow. I'm starting to get nervous now! I just can't wait until it's over. I was going through hospital bills yesterday... argh! We owe money at hospitals all over the city now with my surgeries and Eli's issues. I'm trying not to think about it too much. Staying home is a blessing but it's also a little scary!

Anyway. Here's some proof of our recent happiness!

2 months

Eli turned 2 months old yesterday! It was an especially fussy day so I had a hard time getting him to pose for a picture. I thought about cheating and taking another one today, but it just wouldn't be right.

Here's an attempt at a comparison from last month:

His reflux has been doing a lot better with the cereal in his bottle. He's still colicky and fussy but at least he's not spitting up all the time. I feel like he might be getting ever so slightly better... maybe an extra half hour a day he isn't quite as fussy. I'm trying to be optimistic and see that there is an end in sight. Jen came over to relieve me for awhile on Sunday evening and I really felt better when I got back. And then... he slept almost seven hours! I fed him at 7 and put him in bed by 8 and he didn't wake me up until 1:45am. I couldn't believe it. Last night he went 6 hours. I'm tempted to start putting him to bed later so we only have one wakeup but I don't think it's fair to mess up his nighttime routine. I am very grateful for any extra sleep he decides to give me!

I've started putting him down for naps on a schedule and in his crib. He seems to be responding well to that, sleeping better and longer for all his naps and I'm finally realizing how SAHMs get anything done! Suddenly I have a couple hours of uninterrupted time to myself when I can get things done. I'm so glad I'm starting to learn the ropes of this motherhood thing. Of course, right in time to add work into the mix...

Speaking of work, Josh has a potential position change that would put him on a normal M-F day shift. Pray for us! I really need him at home at night, and it sure would be nice if Daddy always came home for dinner.

Eli's appointment today

I took Eli to the doctor this morning. I was really impressed that the doctor spent so much time sitting down and talking with me about things without ever making me feel dumb or incapable. Doctors always intimidate me, but he seems like such a good guy!

Eli is up to 10lb6oz now, so regardless of all the spitting up and misery, he's still gaining like a pro. So there's the sunny side.

The doctor and I came to the agreement that the formula has pretty much nothing to do with things, so we've switched back to the regular old gentle formula. He's having us add rice cereal as a thickener to try to keep the milk from sloshing so much and hopefully that will keep it in his belly. So far today it's been going down (and staying down) just fine. Whew!

Next problem: the screaming. He said according to the upper GI we had on Monday, Eli's top valve isn't working right, thus the reflux, but also, the lower valve isn't working quite right either, so his stomach isn't emptying as fast as it should be. He said I've got bum luck because the top valve problem means Eli is fussy while he eats, and the bottom valve means he is fussy after he eats, and then he's colicky the rest of the time since his poor belly is all crampy and full of crap. :)

Regarding the colic, the doctor asked if I have anyone to help out because he wants me to leave the house for 2 hours every day for awhile. He said babies feed so much on our emotions, and my stress from his constant screaming is causing him stress. I am not surprised to learn that he's picking up on my anxieties, but it sure isn't a good feeling. The doctor said it's common with screamers and he sees it a lot where a mom will bring a baby in screaming but then when handed to the doctor, the kid stops crying. He said we need to try to break the routine we're in where he cries all evening by finding someone to help me out when Josh isn't home so that I can be out of the house and we can try to "reset" things for Eli. He also made a point to say that while he does care about me and my mental health, he is telling me to make this happen for Eli's sake, not mine. He said I can sit on the porch and cry for two hours if I want to, but I need to be out of the house.

So that leads me to my last point. Since I don't have any family here to help out, I'm really at a loss for who to ask for help. I'm jealous of people who have their moms nearby! Anyone out there willing to come and sit with little Eli for two hours (5-7) some evening, maybe once a week for the next couple weeks? Next week will be Sunday, Wednesday, and Thursday. The week after that will be Monday, Tuesday, Friday, and Saturday. Pay is hugs. Plus, he'll probably be an angel for you. He only screams for me!

formula and family

Eli's gastro issues have been driving me nuts! Him too, I'm sure. If he's not sleeping or eating, he's crying. I have a hard time just accepting that he has colic and is going to be like this for two more months, but I'm afraid we're heading that direction. He's been a screamer since 2 weeks, and the screaming is much worse in the evenings. He has reflux and gas issues and we just can't seem to make them better.

He had an upper GI yesterday morning. He had to fast for 4 hours before the test, and I was certain he would be screaming, but he did fairly well for being hungry. He wore a cute little hospital gown (albeit pink) and they X-rayed him while he drank some barium. I guess he was starving, because he sucked the nasty stuff right down! The test showed he legitimately has reflux but nothing else is wrong with his insides, so that was good news. The doctor switched Eli's formula to some apparently powdered gold that costs $26 a can. A small can. Ugh! So far it does seem to help a little with the reflux but he's still having butt trouble. So he's still screamy and I'm still frustrated and we're paying out the wazoo for it.

(crappy picture taken with my crappy phone camera. I can't believe I forgot my camera!)

We had Eli's dedication at church this past Sunday, so the family came in for it, which was nice. There were about 20 babies being dedicated at the same time, so Josh was spared the anxiety of being in the spotlight and I was able to take off my shoes on stage without anyone really noticing. And wonder of all wonders, the kid slept right through it! I was sure he would be the baby who cried, but he made his mama proud. Probably because he knew it was Mother's Day.

a little help

After many nights on shift by myself had me frazzled enough to call home and cry, I finally got a little help from the fam. Dad brought Mom last Sunday and drove back to pick her up on Saturday. Laurie flew in Friday and left Monday afternoon. It was so good to have help, especially with the nighttime feedings. Mothering is so much harder than my regular job! Here's my nanny crew with Eli (note the pacifier--I guess he was upset that they were leaving!).

I did something new today--I braved going out with both kids! Josh was at Bible study and I needed to go to Babies R Us, so I loaded up two kids in two carseats and plopped two kids in one shopping cart. I considered taking a picture for you, but it was raining and I kind of had enough on my hands. It was a successful trip. It helped that Noah was quite good!

In not-so-good (okay, terrible) news, my friend Kristi's sweet baby Kaden lost his battle to a disease called CDH today. Kaden fought CDH for 17 days. Kristi and her husband knew about Kaden's disease long before he was born and they trusted God to take care of their family and now they are faced with accepting God's way of answering that prayer. Please pray for Kristi and Craig as they mourn their baby and seek peace and understanding.

Baby Kaden

Well, midnight feeding is over, so it's time for bed for us. We're going to try leaving Eli in his crib tonight even though Noah is sleeping in their room, so I'll let you know how just heavy a sleeper Noah really is!

2 weeks

Eli was 2 weeks old yesterday and had another doctor appointment today. He is doing great gaining weight! He was born at 5lb2oz, left the hospital at almost 5lb4oz, was 5lb11.5oz at 1 week, and today he weighed in at 6lb7oz! He is still tiny but he seems to be filling out a little bit. We can see a difference in his cute little cheeks.

He is a gassy little creature so he's been fussy lately. Josh went back to work on Monday and it has been rough. He works night shift and it is a looong shift, so that means I am on my own day and night, since he works all night and then sleeps all day and gets up to go back to work. I hope we can adjust to this schedule soon.

Everything is going fine though, other than all of us being quite tired. I need to take some more pictures... I've been so tired lately and just sitting around zoning out these days. I'll try to post something new soon.