First Family Run

There is way too much to look at to bother with a silly camera

I really haven’t had much motivation to get back to running since Brody was born.  I have been doing lots of walking on the days that it is warm enough to take Brody to the park, but for some reason the idea of running (for fun) makes me ill.   I used to feel this way, before I “became a runner”, so I know that it will pass.  And it better, because my October 23^rd Marathon is rapidly approaching. 

I figured, what is a better way to throw myself back in, than to participate in an organized race, so Saturday morning we loaded up the stroller and drove downtown for the St. Patrick’s Day 5 mile Run.  I have participated in this race every year since I started running, with the exception of last year when I was just too pregnant lazy exhausted to do anything besides sit on the couch.  After I pinned on my number and laced up my shoes, I began to feel a little nervous excited. 

My intentions were to run as much as I could, and walk when I needed to.  Cody volunteered to push the jog stoller, so I could just run.  Man, that thing is heavy, especially when you add a 12 pound baby to a 35 pound stroller. 

We bundled Brody up, as it started out a little windy.  But, the sun came out and warmed everything up nicely.  We were able to run comfortably in short sleeve shirts.  

There were tons of people there, and we just took our time.  I was very happy with myself as I was able to run almost the entire race, with only a few minute walks along the way. 

Well, we did it.  Our official time was 1 hour, 4 minutes, 1 second.  Official Snail Pace. But I have to start somewhere, right?

That was fun Momma, can we do it again?!

{5 months}

Well, here we are.  Five whole months old.  I can hardly believe how quickly the months are flying by.  We have really been enjoying the warm up in the weather, and have been taking advantage of these warm, sunny days by going on walks and playing at the park.  

March 4, 2011

He is developing so quickly these days.  I'm afraid that if I blink, he will be going off to kindergarten.  We are working on sitting up (while being propped up), still working on that rolling thing too.  He has found that tummy time isn't too bad after all, so why bother rolling over.  His newest trick is pinching and scratching.  He likes the sound that his fingernails make on different surfaces, scratching the walls while on his changing table, the bedding in the crib, and momma while he is nursing.  

Speaking of nursing... we are now nursing every 2-2.5 hours, trying to get extra calories into our small fry.  It seems to be working for him, as I am starting to see a little bit of baby fat, however it is tiring momma out.  And I am starving all the time!  He is pretty efficient however, nursing only 5-7 minutes per side, instead of the 10-12 we had been doing.  We are still giving him Prevacid two times a day, but haven't seen much improvement in the spitting up.

We have adjusted his diapers up to the next size, hoping that will help where it rubs on his little thighs.  

Even though he isn't quite at that 17-22 pound range, it seems to be helping a little bit.  Because Brody's legs are so skinny, he was leaking out the sides, but we also changed the liners to the more absorbent ones, which has mostly solved this issues.  We are slathering him in hydrocortisone cream and vaseline 1-2 times a day, and are seeing a small improvement in his eczema too.  

Doesn't he look like he is up to no good?!

More pictures to come.  I promise.  

Brody's First Big Boy Cup

Last week (March 7th) we decided it was time to attempt a sippy cup.   

We choose the Advent 4 month Trainer cup, as it has an interchangeable nipple and sippy cup lid.  

We started with the nipple and he did pretty well with it. He was able to hold it and put it into his mouth (of course EVERYTHING goes into his mouth, so this wasn't surprising).  He wasn't nearly as interested in the sippy cup topper, which I'm guessing is because he had to work a little harder for his milk.  

More Weight Woes...

Last Wednesday we took Brody back to Dr. Agolia for his weight check.  He had been on Zantac three times a day, for two weeks, and we felt that his spitting up was getting worse.  In the three weeks since his 4 month check up, he only gained 4 ounces, putting his weight at 12 lbs, 14 oz.  Dr. Agolia changed his medicine to Prevacid, and suggested we see a GI specialist for some more advice.  

So, today we visited Dr. Nasir.  

Doesn't he look like such a big boy? 

Brody's weight at Dr. Nasir's office was 12 lbs, 15 oz.  So close to Wednesday's weight at Dr. Agolia's office.  I am sure it was just the difference in the scale not an actual gain.  They measured him at 26 inches, which means he grew another whole inch since 4 month checkup.  I think Brody is just going to be long and skinny. 

Brody and Dr. Nasir

Dr. Nasir said that his upper GI is pretty much normal, and we are just have a "Happy Spitter" on our hands.  We just need to figure out a way to keep the food he is eating from coming back up. 

Our plans are: 

1) Continue the Prevacid, with a few adjustments on the time that we give it.  

2) Increase bottle feeds from 5 ounces up to 6 ounces on the days I am at work (3 days/week).

3) Add 1.5 teaspoons of formula to each bottle (of expressed milk) to increase the calories (only on my work days).

4) Add an extra feeding during the day, on the days I am home since we are still exclusively nursing. 

5) Hold off on starting cereal and baby food until 6 months of age.

6) Go back to elimination of dairy from my diet (I really enjoyed those 3 days while they lasted), and also eliminate eggs and peanuts/peanut butter, as they are common causes of food allergies in infants.  

We follow up in one month, and I hope we see a drastic decrease in the frequency and volume of spit up.  Momma is tired of being puked on!!!!  

Momma and her "Happy Spitter"

First Trip to the Zoo

Last week we had such nice weather predicted, Wendee, Melissa and I took the boys to the Zoo (Tuesday February 15th).  Turns out we should have gone the next day, as it was still pretty windy and chilly, despite it being 53˚ outside (Wednesday and Thursday it was 70˚, sunny and beautiful).  We all bundled up and spent about 3 hours wandering through the exhibits. 

There weren’t too many animals outside, but we did see some camels, checked out the penguin house, saw a black bear and a few animals inside the children’s Zoo. 

I still can’t wait for it to warm up a bit and spend the whole day.  I have been telling Brody about the Zoo since he was just a few days old.  I want to take him on the train and the carousel, have lunch overlooking the water at the Lakeside café, explore the Children’s Zoo, buy a zoo balloon to tie to the stroller, and enjoy the sunshine on our first family trip.  I know… I’m good at creating memories in my head before they actually happen.  They never turn out like I imagine it, but hey a girl can dream right?!

4 month check up

Brody had his 4-month check up on February 11.  He is meeting all his milestones, including rolling over.  He got two more vaccines (HiB and Prevnar), and we will be going back in March to finish up the rest of the 4 month-ers.  He is still a LONG, skinny baby. Here are the stats:  length: 25 inches (55th percentile), head circumference:  16 inches (50th percentile) and weight: 12 lbs, 10 oz, (10th percentile).  Dr. Agolia was concerned that he hadn’t gained enough weight, he said that by 4 months Brody should have been double his birth weight.  I didn't think he was so little until I considered this... double 8 lbs 6 oz is almost 17 pounds, so we aren’t even close. 

We scheduled an Upper GI, to eliminate any structural abnormalities and to see if Brody has reflux (which we know because he spits up EVERYTHING he eats, hence the problems with the weight gain). 

Mercy Chidren’s hospital (where I work) has just opened their new Pediatric Testing and Treatment Center, so that is where we headed for Brody’s test.  

We checked in at the new Pediatric Admitting desk, and waited our turn.  The waiting room had lots of bright colors and fun pictures on the walls.  Brody watched trains on tv and looked around at everything while we waited.  Next, we went into the XRay room, and they gave me a shield to wear so I could stay in the room.  The tech fed him a bottle filled with Barium (yuck) and I took pictures while he ate.

The radiologist was really nice, and told us everything he was doing.  He even let me take pictures of the screen.  You can see all of his ribs.  Pretty cool huh?

nothing like a barium mustache...

Everything looked pretty normal, except that he has mild to moderate reflux (well, duh!), so we have started Zantac liquid 3 times a day.  So far, Brody has been taking it like a champ.  It tastes terrible, so I had the pharmacist flavor it grape.  He opens his mouth for each squirt, and even “helps” me by trying to hold the syringe.  We are scheduled for a weight check with Dr. Agolia on March 4th.

4 Months Old

Well, technically 4 months and 1 week now that I am finally getting around to blogging, I did manage to take the  pictures at 4 months.  

They call this age the golden age for babies.  And I can see why.  I see his personality developing every day.  I am finally starting to see a little of daddy in him too.

His hair is a mess these days.  Most of it has fallen out, and what is left stands up every which way.  Every one keeps telling me it looks like a comb over, but I think it is pretty adorable.  

 Brody is so observant of everything going on around him, he is a real busy body!  He is still exclusively breastfed, and I am really happy we have been so successful for 4 whole months. I really enjoy the bonding time that comes from those 6 feedings a day.  Ideally, I would like to make it to 1 year, but we will see how I feel about that once he starts getting teeth!  Ouch!

He is really discovering his voice too.  Smiling and goo-ing at anyone that will listen, and when he gets excited he squeals at the top of his lungs (thanks to daddy, I think!)  Every once in awhile, we get a big belly laugh out of him.  It is too cute!  He has finally figured out that tummy time isn't so bad, and now he doesn't scream the whole time he is on his belly.  He has rolled over a few times, but nothing consistent yet.  He loves to sit upright in his exersaucer, and we have graduated to being strapped into the seat of the stroller, without the carseat attachment.  

So, there you go... more updates to come.  I am a little behind!

Happy Valentine's Day

Coming up next...

Brody had his 4 month check up today. Photos and details to come next week. I have two busy work days ahead of me first. Happy Friday Everyone.

Winter Storm 2011

Well, what the news was calling "The biggest storm of the Century", "The one we'd be talking about for years" turned out to be a big fat flop.  We did get some snow, but nothing like I had hoped for.

Thanks to our neighbors Heather & Evan, who shoveled the driveway while Cody was stuck at work, we only had to shovel the snow drifts and the pile the snowplow left.

Brody didn't really like the snow.  He seemed a little bewildered while we were outside, and his hand me down snow suit was a bit too snug as well!