Team Thompson » April 2008 Journal Entries » AboutMyBaby - online baby scrapbooks, photo albums, videos, birth and pregnancy announcements

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Wed, Apr 30, 2008 10:55 PM
Wow, we had quite a day today. First of all, Noah woke up with a bloody nose. I was at the gym, so Chad was the one who saw him in the morning. We have no idea why and his nose was runny and a little bloody all morning.

Joshua turned over a bunch of times for Daddy! Chad said he went from his tummy to his back about 4 times in a row! Yay, Joshua!

Later in the afternoon, I gave Joshua formula for the first time. He didn’t like it at all and started fussing and pushing out the nipple. He did get a few gulps of formula down though. Then Joshua got really cranky and kept scratching at his face – drawing blood! – and just being all-around fussy. He scratches his face a lot, so I didn’t think anything of it. I just trimmed his nails, so he couldn’t hurt himself so much. About 40 minutes after getting the formula, I noticed he had some raised white bumps on his cheek and around his chin where some of the formula dripped and where he was scratching. That’s when I started panicking and ran Joshua up to Chad so he could see. Thank goodness he was home. Chad was napping (bad night at the station), so I woke him up. Chad undressed Joshua and checked the rest of his body; he had a hive-looking rash on his back, in his armpits and in the insides of his legs and arms and in his diaper area. Yikes!

We called Dr. K – our pediatrician – and his nurse said to could give him 1.25 ml of children’s benadryl, to wash him off and to watch him for the next 20-30 minutes. If he got any worse (like swollen eyes or lip, etc.), we were to call 911. Ahhh! We gave Joshua the medication – first time he tried it, didn’t seem to like the taste of that either – and then Chad took Joshua into the shower with him. Noah was very interested in what we were doing this whole time.

After Joshua was cleaned and dressed again, I cuddled him for a bit and tried nursing him. He must be hungry I thought since he didn’t eat any formula and it was now almost 2 hours since mealtime. He did well for a few moments, but then started dozing off. Chad noticed that the benadryl was already making him really sleepy. So, I put him down for a nap and let him sleep. I took a nap, too. I was tired because Joshua was up a few times last night working through the teething pains. Plus, he had jammed his legs in between the crib slats and couldn’t get himself out, so I was always getting him out and scooting him back up to the top of the crib.

When I was napping, Chad talked to Dr. K and asked if this meant that Joshua has a dairy allergy, and he said not necessarily. So, Chad is going to start Joshua on a little soy formula mixed in with his breastmilk tomorrow and see how he does. Once Joshua is one soy exclusively, Chad wants to try to slowly bring in some milk-based formula in hopes to wean him off soy and into dairy. We'll see how it goes.

I slept a couple of hours until 6:30 pm and went downstairs to check on the boys. Joshua was still asleep, too. I was surprised since I thought for sure he’d wake up early because he was starving. He was an hour overdue to eat. He nursed ok, but not very long. He played for a little bit afterwards and then we put him to bed a bit late, just after 8 pm.

At 10 pm, I went to wake Joshua up to dream feed him, and he was resting so peacefully. I called Chad in to see him because he looked so cute. Chad tried playing with Joshua’s hands and arms to get him to wake up slowly, but he was out cold. Usually, Joshua wakes up right away, but not tonight. That first dose of benadryl was really working on him. Finally, Joshua woke up, kinda all-of-a-sudden with eyes wide open, and had a confused look on his face. It made me laugh and Chad started laughing, too. He nursed on one side and then refused the other. So, back to bed he went.

Joshua had one of worse nights yet and was crying more than he was sleeping. I don't know if he was up because of the teething pains or because he was hungry. But I didn't nurse him because I didn't want to start a cycle of him wanting to eat in the middle of the night. I did get up a couple times to put orajel on his gums and to pull his legs out of the crib slats. Chad got up one time to do the same. Our poor little guy. It was definitely the most dramatic day in his life so far.

Comments:
traci: Oh my GOSH! What a crazy day! You must be exhausted. How scary that he had such an intense reaction. I absolutely feel your pain, Kate's milk allergy is bad but Joshie's sounds even scarier. I will send you some info on getting on Allergy Alerts. As a Mom of a baby with food allergies, I am constantly reading labels and have to be so careful - milk and/or dairy is in almost everything, it gets very depressing. I am doing most of our shopping at Whole Foods now, which really helps a lot! Call me if you want to vent, or if you want advice...I won't give it if it's not wanted. But I will pray for my little Joshie!!!!

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Tue, Apr 29, 2008 9:32 PM
Joshua had another tough night. I sound like a broken record, I know. I got up once and put orajel on him. I keep trying to feel for any teeth coming through, but nothing yet. Leter, Chad got up to put more orajel on his gums. He said that Joshua had moved around again and that his legs were sticking out of the crib. I remember having to "rescue" Noah a few times when he was getting his legs caught in the crib, too.

Joshua turned over for the first time! I had just come home from work and was playing with him on the floor. I put him down for some tummy time and he started fussing and pushing up and to the side. After a few tries, he was on his back! I'd never seen him even try to turn over, so I was completely surprised! I was so excited, that I yelled and clapped. I think I scared him because he started crying. :( I tried to get him to do it again, but I think the first time tuckered him out. Yay, Joshua!

I pumped 4x today as usual, but still came up about a bottle short today. I started taking Fenugreek, but will just finish the bottle and that's it. I'll finish the Mother's Milk supplement that Traci gave me, too. I won't bother doing much more than that. I'll just finish what I have so it won't go to waste. I've extended my nursing for long enough. I'm going to try to make the last few nursing sessions with Joshua as memorable as possible. He fussed when I switched him over to the other side tonight though...the little stinker! I hope he sleeps even though he only ate "half" the usual amount.

I'm ok with Joshua starting formula. We'll probably start him with one bottle tomorrow. Chad's been so supportive and grateful to me and to my boobs ;) for all the nursing we've been able to do so far. He says my boobs have super powers! Yep, they've sustained our 2nd born for the first full 5 months of his life! That's pretty remarkable when you think about it. All that little guy has had to eat has been mommy's milk, and he's already more than doubled his birth weight. They cured Joshua's goopy eye, too. It hasn't come back since...knock on wood! We women are amazing. :)

Comments:
traci: Nursing for five months while working full time and having a toddler is an AMAZING feat! Not a lot of women can do it, you are a HERO!!!!

Uncle Bruce: Have enjoyed very much reading your blog. When the boys are older they will really appreciate your efforts to record their accomplishments.
Love,
UB

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Mon, Apr 28, 2008 9:54 PM
Joshua's gums were hurting him again last night. He cried around 3 am, and by 3:30, I was putting orajel on him gums. By the time I had walked back to bed, he was already quiet. He must have really been hurting. Poor little guy.

Pumping went well on my first day being off the drugs. ;) I was about 3 oz. short, but luckily had some leftover from pumping over the weekend to make up for it.

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Sun, Apr 27, 2008 9:44 PM
Daddy had to work today, so I took the boys up to Mama & Papa's to spend the night. It was so hot today. Noah got to run around the backyard and play with more water. First, Julia squirted Noah with the water gun, then Papa did it. Later on, we got out the sprinkler ball and a water fountain toy.

Noah has had a farmer tan from being in the sun so much! I think it really got going when we went to Sea World a couple weeks ago.

Later on, everyone (including the boys!) helped me with a painting/craft project. (Yes, I'm being vague just in case "someone" reads this.) It turned out really cute!

It was my last day on Reglan. I'll let my boobs do their thing and not try to prolong my nursing/pumping any longer. They've had a good run. ;)

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Sat, Apr 26, 2008 9:38 PM
Joshua is 5 months old today! He had kicked so much during the night that he ended up all the way down at the end of the crib and had rotated 90 degrees. I almost panicked when I didn't see him where I left him the night before, haha! He was just trying to play hide-n-seek with me. ;)

Tonight, we met the Woods family at the Irvine Spectrum for dinner. Colin & Danielle have 3 girls and they had given us a lot baby stuff, including the infant seat and the double stroller that we were using. So, they got to their old stuff in action and still going strong. We met at the food court and I forgot that they had a little water play area for the kids there. Noah LOVES those kind of water fountains and couldn't wait to get in there. Unforunately, we didn't bring any swim clothes for him, so we just stripped him down to his diaper and let him go. He loved it. It was 5:30 pm, but it was still warm out. It was actually a perfect night to be out. We all walked around after dinner and did a little shopping. It was a beautiful night for a walk.

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Fri, Apr 25, 2008 11:16 PM
Today at work, there was an "Administrative Work Fair" that I stumbled upon. Vendors were giving away freebies and I got some cool stuff. I entered a raffle on the way in and I WON! I got a Jabra wireless speaker for my car! I was so excited when I got the voice mail. Unfortunately, I was too late to pick it up today, so I'll have to remember to do it on Monday.

When I got home from work, Noah greeted me at the door with a big smile. He's such a cute boy. Soon he was pointing to a banana - his favorite fruit. "Do you want a banana?" I asked. And he gave me his "yes" which is always a fuuny laugh, like he's saying "duh!". I said and signed "banana" and gave him one. It was a big one and I asked for a bite, which he gladly let me take. I peeled the banana as he ate more and more of it - taking huge bites as usual - and when I got to the bottom of it, I guess he thought I was taking it from him because he turned away from me, put his head in the corner and started crying. Oh. My. Gosh. He is a "Gube"! He LOVES his food and doesn't want anyone to take it from him. Haha!!! I gave him the last part of the banana and he was happy again, his eyes still pooled with tears. Crocodile tears for sure! He finished that huge banana and signed "more"! Yay, Noah! It was the first time he signed it. Too cute. Gammie said he had a big dinner, so I gave him another banana. He couldn't finish it and shoved the last bit in my mouth. Even then, he was still signing "more". Crazy kid. I didn't give him a 3rd one.

Joshua finished all his bottles (1 7-oz, and 3 at 6-1/2 oz each), so Gammie suggested I go to 7 oz. for all of them. We're definitely going to have to start formula soon. Today is my last day of taking Reglan 3x/day. Tomorrow, I drop down to 2, and Sunday (the last day) drops to 1. Joshua had scratched the back of his left ear in a few spots, so I made sure to cut his nails today. I found out an "easy" way to cut Noah's nails, too...do it when he's eating a banana! He was nice and still for me the whole time for the first time!

As I nursed Joshua tonight, I looked at him and realized these nursing sessions will end soon. It's bittersweet. On one hand, I'm sad that I won't be able to provide him with breastmilk for the first entire year of his life as I'd like to. On the other hand, it will be nice to be "freer". It's so easy and FAST to pop a bottle in his mouth. It takes him minutes to finish a 7-oz. bottle. But it takes us a good half hour to nurse. On the last day I was off (Wed), I only pumped (instead of nursing and then pumping out the rest because I'm most full in the mornings) since I was short on time. Joshua ate in less than 5 minutes and we were on our way. I think I'll do that from now on, on my days off. It's much faster and definitely more time efficient.

11:30 pm...Joshua woke up crying and wasn't settling, so I put some Baby Orajel on his gums. He doesn't seem to like the taste very much. I ended up changing his diaper, too, because it was full. He had also kicked his legs out of his snapped in pj's so I put some babylegs over them, just up to his knees. Hopefully, that will keep him from kicking out of the snaps. Love those babylegs. I probably won't get much more use out of them since the weather is getting warm.

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Thu, Apr 24, 2008 4:41 PM
It was “Administrative Professionals” Day yesterday (formerly known as “Secretary’s Day”) and I wasn’t working. But everyone surprised me with a little party today. My desk was decorated with a beach towel and slippers and sand and candles and streamers for waves hanging from the ceiling and on my desk. It was very cute. Later, we have lots of yummy goodies and everyone gave me a card with a VISA gift card inside. WOO HOO!! I knew exactly what to get – the “Turbo Jam” work out DVDs I’d been coveting! It was meant to be. : ) I ordered them as soon as I registered that card. Haha! I couldn't help but think that maybe this was my last...

Joshua kicks so much! Chad had been calling him "Sir Kicks-a-lot". I sometimes wonder if he hurts himself pounding his heels into the kick 'n play over and over again. He loves to kick.

We gave both boys baths tonight. It was our first try and bathing Joshua in the tub, and it was a little tricky. Chad held on to Joshua & I tried to work around his arms. It’s much simpler to give him a bath while Chad is in the shower with him, but at least I don’t get wet like I always do when we do it that way.

We put Joshua in a new (to him anyway) pj - size 6 months - and it fits him just right. He's definitely big for his age. I need to buy size 3 diapers soon. Crazy to think that Noah is in just one size bigger - size 4.

Chad took all of Joshua’s stuffed animals out of his crib along with his Moses basket. He’d been sleeping in the basket which was in the crib this whole time. But he’s quickly growing out of that, so tonight was our first night putting him directly in the crib. He’s grown, but looked so tiny in the crib all by himself. He did alright, thankfully. But he’s been waking up every night lately in the middle of the night. I really think it’s the teething that’s been bothering him. Poor little guy. He’ll fall asleep after a few moments of crying.

You can really hear him kick with him just in the crib now. The pounding sounds like there's a t-rex walking around in there. Haha! He's a strong little guy.

Comments:
traci: HAHA! YOU FINALLY GOT YOUR TURBO JAM!! AWESOME!!!

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Wed, Apr 23, 2008 4:30 PM
I had a great day with the boys today. First of all, Joshua is such a cutie! I had so much fun just playing with him and making him laugh. He laughs whenever I nuzzle his neck and was giggling each time I sucked in my breath to make a “surprised” sound. He’s such a happy baby! He’s getting better at tummy time and will stay there for about 5 minutes before he starts fussing. He’s still not close to rolling over though. Today, he hit the ball on his activity gym so hard that it flipped over the top and got tangled like a tether ball. I got it on video. : )

Noah loves taking our large plastic serving spoons out of the drawer and playing with him. He’s been doing that for about a month or so. I don’t mind. At least he’s not opening the other drawer with the plastic bags and foil and stuff and pulling all that stuff out!

Noah started doing this funny "mean" face where he drops his chin and looks at you from the top of his head. I have no idea where he learned it, but I tried not to laugh when I saw him. I don't want to encourage him!

I had such a fun day with the boys. They went shopping with me in the morning and then we went to the Discovery museum in Santa Ana in the afternoon. Vivian used to work there and got us free passes. Yay! We walked through the tiger exhibit and then let Noah run around and play with all the interactive stuff they had for Clifford the Big Red Dog. There was a fun “virtual reality” volleyball game that you played in front of a green screen and watched yourself on the monitor above. Noah was laughing as I carried him and ran around trying to hit the ball. And, hey, we won on our first try at that game! Joshua did well despite not getting any restful naps with all the noise and jostling around.

Afterwards, we went to the Pinkberry that just opened across the street from there. It’s expensive and not at all close to the variety you get at Yogurtland. For under $6, I got a medium sized coffee with almonds. It was good, but I prefer the regular flavors of yogurt over the “tart”. But it’s a cool place to be seen. The furniture is hip and the floor is made of pebbles and they’ve got some cool kitchy merch, too. I really wanted the nutcracker, but it was $78! I was taking pictures of Noah running around, flirting with the table of girls next to us, and then one of the workers stopped me to say they don’t allow photography. Ooops! I guess they don’t want people stealing their design ideas. ;P

I’ve realized that getting out of the house (even to just the park) is a nice way to break up the day and makes the time go by fast. Now that I’m getting more rested, and more comfortable & confident with handling both boys on my own, I really enjoy doing that. I don’t think Noah screamed at all today…maybe because he wasn’t bored. If that’s the case, I’ll take him out all the time! Actually, there were still at least 5 or 6 places that I wanted to go to, that were on my “to do” list, but I ran out of time and didn’t want to go out again after dinner since I had interrupted Joshua’s naps all day already. Oh well, as I mom, I guess there will always be more to do than gets done.

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Tue, Apr 22, 2008 4:29 PM
I got almost 14 oz at this morning’s pumping session. That’s the most ever yet!

Joshua has had a couple of rough nights. Last night, he cried about 4 different times…eventually falling asleep on his own. The night before, it was 3 times. I think (hope) it’s because he’s teething. And not because he’s hungry because he’s not getting enough milk from me.

Chad & I had fun playing with Noah tonight. Noah loves playing and pretending to talk on cell phones, so Chad gave him with his heavy-duty one…at least that’s what it’s sold as being…durable. I pulled out my phone and kept calling Chad, so that his ring tone would play. Noah would dance every time. I must have called Chad’s cell about 20 times. Who knows how many voice mails from me ended up on his cell.

It’s still a challenge brushing Noah’s teeth. All he wants to do is bite the toothbrush, so it’s hard for me to get his teeth as clean as they should be, esp. the top ones where he has the majority of teeth. For some reason, he’ll let me brush his tongue pretty well, but that’s it. It WAS helping to tell him to say “ah” and “brush mommy’s teeth”, so he would “brush” mine and open his mouth wide at the same time, but not any more. All he wants to do now is turn on the faucet and play with the water!

Comments:
traci: 14 oz!!! HOLY COW!!! (literally!)

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Mon, Apr 21, 2008 4:29 PM
Ooo, I wasn’t feel great today. I was feeling dizzy and had a headache in the morning. I took Excedrin and it went away. But when I got home, it was back. Thankfully, I was able to fall asleep fairly quickly.

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Sun, Apr 20, 2008 4:29 PM
Noah learned a new sign today: open! He loves playing with our cell phones and he wanted me to “open” mine (it’s a slider). So, I “made” him sign “open” when he wanted me to slide it open. It worked!

We had a FUN day at Disneyland today with the Banisters. It was our first day to be full-on “Guests” at the park as a family. Joshua is still to little enjoy anything yet. But Noah has only ever been at night during Cast Member events and never had been on any rides. First of all, it was so crowded. We waited in line for at least 15 minutes to just “pay” for parking! Noah started getting restless. I was, too. We parked, packed up the double stroller and waited in line (the theme for the day) to get on the tram. We had to wait for 5th tram before there was room for us. Then, we found out that we had to take the kids out of the stroller on the tram – they don’t let the kids stay in the stroller. That means there’s no way for me to take the boys on the tram on my own. We finally got to the Parks and met up with Donnie, Traci & Kate. We were supposed to be there at 2 pm…it was after 2:30 pm by this point. It was a beautiful, warm day, so our first stop was to California Adventure so that Noah could play in the jumping water again. After that, Chad wanted candy, so we got some gummy bears and chewy sprees. We wanted to take the kids to see the new Playhouse Disney, but the line was so long. Some people we already in the “stand by” line. So, we headed over to Disneyland. We took pictures in front of the Mickey flowers and then went to the Jungle Cruise. It took us maybe 5 minutes to get on that ride. Yay! Noah seemed to love seeing all the animals – it was Noah’s very first ride! And the “tour guide” guy was really funny. I can’t ever get enough of those corny jokes. After that, we walked over the Critter Country. Joshua fell asleep, so Chad hung out with him while we all rode the Pooh ride. Noah loved it. As soon as it was over, he was signing “more”. He’s so dang cute! So, we met back up with Chad & Joshua, and then we switched off so that Chad could take Noah on the ride again, along with Kate & Traci. It was 5 o’clock, so we decided to have dinner. We went to Traci’s favorite place “Café Orleans” and it was really good! We loved the pommes frites and the salads we ordered. It was yummy and someplace we’d definitely to go again. It was now 7 o’clock and time to head back to the trams to head home. It was a tiring, but fun day!

Comments:
traci: That was such a fun, perfect day! I am so glad we went! If you guys ever want to go with the B Family again, call us anytime!!!!!! =)

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Sat, Apr 19, 2008 9:34 PM
Noah's been getting into the really bad habit of putting his feet on the dining table when he's sitting to eat. He'll do it when he's in his high chair or when he's strapped into either one of his 2 travel booster seats. It's really bad and we hope we can break him of it soon.

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Fri, Apr 18, 2008 4:29 PM
Aubrie was over visiting and playing with Noah when I got home from work tonight. She asked if I was had another baby in my tummy…hahaha!!! I had to laugh! Time to get serious with the work outs!

Noah was straining, it looked like he was trying to poop, but only farts came out. He laughed after each one. Hahaha!

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Thu, Apr 17, 2008 4:28 PM
After work, Chad was still at the Park with the boys, so I met them all there instead of going home. I made the mistake of giving Noah my car keys and he proceeded to press the alarm button…over and over again. I got some funny video of it.

Chad taught Noah how to make a “big face” – which means opening his mouth really wide and raising his eyebrows, too. At dinner, we practiced switching between his “big face” and his “silly face” and it was very funny!

Chad is so cute. For a long time, he’s been calling Noah “ridiculously cute”, and now he calls Joshua “absurdly cute”. He’s such a proud Daddy! ALL my boys are CUTE!

Joshua’s rash on his face and chest still comes and goes. It doesn’t seem to be affecting his mood though, so it’s not that serious. He makes these funny grunting and snorting noises when I change his diaper at night. He makes us laugh. He’s such a big kicker. He is always moving his legs. He’s growing so fast, too. We put him in a pj that was a bit too small for him. Well, the next time we checked on him, he had both legs hanging out of the snaps of his pj’s that he had kicked open. Just another piece of clothing to put in the “too small” box! He’s playing and grabbing the big ball on his play gym now, too. Soon he’ll be batting it around like Noah loved to do. The trick is to keep Noah away from it now because all he likes to do is pull the toys off when Joshua is trying to play with them.

My hair is falling out like there is no tomorrow. It’s been going on for weeks now. Chad is always sweeping up handfuls of hair from the bathroom floor. And I have to clear the drain after every shower. It is so gross. I remember that was another reason why I wanted to cut my hair. So, the shorter strands would make it look like I wasn’t losing so much hair! And why can't the WHITE ones fall out instead?

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Wed, Apr 16, 2008 3:04 PM
After this morning’s nursing session, I pumped (as usual) because I’m fullest in the morning. Well, I got maybe 2 teaspoons from both sides. : ( I need to get an extra 6 oz. for his bottles tomorrow, but it doesn’t look like I will be able to. At his 12:30 pm nursing session, Joshua would not stop crying and fussing and I know it’s because he wasn’t getting any milk from me. That was the first time he’s ever done that and I was so sad! I gave him an extra 4 oz. from my pumped supply and he sucked that bottle dry. That ended up being the trend for the day. At 3 pm, I nursed him at the footprint place, but not very long. Thankfully, the girl at the store let us hang out there. They had cute sitting benches and lots of toys to keep Noah busy while I nursed. Joshua slept in the car on the ride home, apparently more sleepy than hungry. Not surprisingly, he was hungry early. So I started nursing him just before 5:30 pm. He cried and fussed again, so I gave him 6 oz. of my pumped milk. He drank all, but a teaspoon of it. He was up again just after 8 pm, which is early, but I nursed him for as long as I could before he cried & fussed, and I gave him 2 oz. of my pumped milk. He finished all but a couple tablespoons. So, all in all, I used 12 oz. of pumped milk, and I was still short 6 oz. from the day before. So, I had to pull about 18 oz. from my frozen supply. Thank goodness I was able to freeze my extras. Otherwise, we would be starting formula for Joshua a lot sooner than I wanted. I did pull out a couple formula cans just to get used to the idea…sigh.

Noah had his first Gymboree class this morning. He had fun going down the slide, catching bubbles, riding on the parachute, walking on the big log bag and climbing up the ramp of one of the many gyms. I tried to keep Joshua in his infant seat, but he was tired and cranky. So, I carried him around using the front carrier - facing out! I think he had fun watching all the kids 'cause I didn't hear a peep out of him until he was back in the infant seat. Noah was out cold by the time I got home, and Joshua was ready to eat.

I took Joshua to get his hand and foot impressions in clay...finally! He’s already 4-1/2 months old and we took Noah when he was barely 2 months old. So, it won’t be a “fair” comparison to see their handprints side by side. Bummer, I was just so out of it in those early months...there was no way I was together enough to get this done any earlier. The impressions were done by two different places because I had two different “free” ornament coupons. Joshua’s hand was too big already for the mini ornament that I should have gotten free when he was a newborn, so we had to pay extra for that bigger size and for getting his name engraved, too. The footprint only cost extra for the colored glaze. Thankfully, they didn’t charge for the size of his foot because he’s got some looong toes! Both should be done in 6-8 weeks and we’ll hang them up in his room – a great idea from the girl at the handprint store. I need to remember to pull Noah’s out of the Christmas boxes and hang his in his room year-round, too.

I got the ok from by dr to try one more round of Reglan. YAY! I’m going to take the full dose this time (3/day instead of 2/day) and pray that it will help me maintain my supply and not just sustain it during the 12 days of treatment. At least Joshua will get a couple more weeks of breastmilk, which will take him just past his 5 month birthday. After that, we’ll see how long my milk lasts…but I probably won’t try too much harder or longer to maintain it. We’re close enough to the 6-month goal I had hoped for.

Comments:
Stephanie: No worries Tina, you did a wonderful job making it to 6 months!!!! I only made it to 7 with my Noah and he was supplementing too by that point!
Joshua got the best of it!

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Tue, Apr 15, 2008 3:03 PM
Chad was finishing his shift at work, so before going home, he picked me up from work and we went to our favorite lunch place Benihana. I pumped on the way to the restaurant and maybe got 2 oz. Not good. Chad choked on a piece of wasabe and we reminisced about how well Noah did when he popped a full marble-sized ball in his mouth. He’s a tough little guy. On the way back, I pumped again and got just a teaspoon or two. Not good. Overall, I was short a whole 6 oz. for Joshua’s bottles on Thursday. I’ll need to pump at least a couple extra times tomorrow to make up that amount.

We’ve been laying Joshua on his back in his play gym and tonight was my first time noticing that he’s now starting to swat at the toys that are dangling above him. Wow! He’s also pushing up on his legs now when we sit him on our laps, or in the Bumbo. And he’s been doing the “bridge” move since his 4-month birthday whenever we’re changing his diaper. He’s beginning to strengthen all of his muscles now.

Joshua gets really cranky when he gets tired or if he has a poopy diaper. He'll start fussing and, if it's nap or bedtime, you know he wants to sleep. If it's not nap or bedtime, he's got a poopy diaper. He's such a good baby. :)

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Mon, Apr 14, 2008 3:03 PM
My first pumping of the day (Day 1 without Reglan) went great – about the normal amount – 9+ oz. But the second pumping I only got 2+ oz! YIKES!!! 3rd session – 5+ oz. I need at least 8 more oz. and I won’t get that from my last session…so it looks like I’ll have to stay up late and pump right before going to bed. :( That Reglan really works, but unfortunately it’s apparent that I have to be on that to make milk now.

I started taking Fenugreek and drinking Mother’s Milk again. I hope it kicks in soon!

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Sun, Apr 13, 2008 3:02 PM
Another Sea World Day! We took Noah to see the new Sesame Street show that opened last month. Well, we missed it ‘cause we got there too late. Drat! Who knew they only did one show at 11:30am?? Oh well, another reason to visit again soon. We were all having a yummy lunch in Del Mar at 11:30 am. Thankfully Noah is too little to understand that we missed anything. We saw the 4D Sesame Street show, but Noah wouldn’t keep the 3D glasses on, so that was another bust. It was so HOT. I lubed up the boys with sunscreen, but forgot the attachable canopy for the double stroller. ARGH! I was worried that Noah would get too much sun, esp. since he refuses to wear hats now. We tried and tried, but he just kept pulling them off. Thankfully, it doesn’t look like he got sunburned at all. I did though! The boys did great in the heat. I brought our little water mister/fan which kept us all cool and – bonus – kept Noah entertained! That was a lifesaver. I think I lost my camera case there…argh. I need to call their Lost & Found tomorrow.

Noah loves Clif bars! Chad had let him try some the other day when the two of them were out shopping. On our drive home, Noah woke up and we hadn’t gotten anything at McD’s for him when we stopped for dinner, other than milk. Thankfully, Chad had packed some Clif bars and told me he liked them. That turned out to be a great make-shift meal for him with the milk. We need to start packing those bars into our diaper bags as emergency food for our first-born.

We’ve been playing a Bible songs/Bible stories CD for the boys in the car. Well, during the story time, there’s a sound effect of a bird chirping in the background. And EVERY single time Noah hears it, he laught “birdie!” It’s sooo funny because you realize just how often they are making that bird sound during the story. He’s a crack up!

I’ve had white hairs since high school and would always pull them out. But now it looks like I won’t be able to do that anymore. There are LOTS now. I used to have to search for the whities. But now they are all over! Chad even helped me pull some out…ah, marriage! ; )

My last day of Reglan. I hope my supply continues. Chad pulled out about 24 oz. of frozen milk for Joshua tomorrow. I hope he likes it and eats well. He’s taking 7 oz. in his first bottle of the day now. The rest are still at 6 oz.

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Sat, Apr 12, 2008 3:01 PM
Joshua ate 7 oz for breakfast today! Chad played hooky from work today (reciprocating for when I played hooky on Thu), so I got to go to a Step class in the morning and then Ohana practice afterwards. It was great to see everyone at Ohana after being gone for months since Joshua was born and I got lots of hugs and smiles which was nice.

It was a really warm day, so after lunch, we packed up the boys and went to the pool. It was Joshua’s first time and he seemed to enjoy the water. There was no crying, nor any kind of reaction at all…haha. Noah had a blast in the toddler pool. I put him in a new floaty ring we bought for him, but the pool wasn’t very deep and Noah was tall enough to walk around the pool with the ring on. So, Chad took him out and just let him play without any ring or anything. He was all over the place and had fun playing with the other kids and all the toys they brought. (Note to mom: Buy pool toys!) He would lose his footing at times and fall into the water. But Chad was right there and would slowly pull him out after a couple seconds of being under the water. Noah did great and never cried. He knows how to hold his breath under water! Chad would say “blow bubbles” and Noah would do that, too! He remembers from his swim lessons last summer. : ) Good job, Noah!

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Fri, Apr 11, 2008 3:01 PM
I came home from work today and froze all the milk I pumped. We are getting to the 3-month mark for the milk that is frozen, so we need to use that first. I am actually making more milk than I need for Joshua now. Yay!

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Thu, Apr 10, 2008 3:01 PM
I was supposed to work today, but my allergies started up last night and I was still feeling tired and sicky. Chad was on his last (6th) day off, so I called in. Chad volunteered to watch the boys, so I got to sleep in until 9:30. That felt great. The rest of the day, we spent together!

Noah’s 20-month birthday! We celebrated by taking him the Zoomar’s in San Juan Capistrano. Chad’s been wanting to take Noah to a petting zoo forever. Noah had more fun climbing on the bridge in the goat pen than petting the goats. He loved feeding the rabbits and Chad & I held our breath as his fingers would get close to those chomping teeth. Thankfully, he didn’t get bitten. Noah also had his very first pony ride! He was strapped into the saddle and reached for me briefly as soon as he was strapped in. But that was it. He rode and rode (2 laps) and didn’t make a fuss. Actually, he didn’t show any emotions at all – no smiles, no laughs…he was like “whatever”. He sure looked cute on that horse though. He’s so little that his feet barely hit the bottom of the saddle, who knows how much longer until his feet will actually reach the stirrups!

Noah’s got 2 more teeth – so he’s up to 14 now. The two upper canines are out and I don’t know when those actually popped through…’cause I just noticed them!

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Mon, Apr 7, 2008 11:03 AM
Chad's home all work playing Mr. Mom. :) He says Joshua is outgrowing the bassinette! It’s true. He’s almost maxed out the length.

It's helping! I'm engorged in the mornings, so I haven't increased the dosage to 3 pills/day. I'm sticking to just 2. I haven't had any shortages for Joshua's bottles the next day. So, I'm happy. :)

There was a really good seminar on autism here at work today. One of our Cast Members, William, talked about his 2 twin sons who are autistic - Joseph & Samuel. He was candid and inspiring and funny and soo hopeful. His story brought me to tears. I could barely talk to him afterwards and could only get "thank you" out and gave him a hug. They did a repeat seminar later and I wanted to go again because the first one was so good. William brought his wife and sons to the second, later seminar and I got to see them briefly before they I had to go. They are so cute. I was able to speak to William this time ;) and told him about Noah & Joshua and talked to him about my concerns in regard to vaccines. He said he recommends delaying them, so I'm going to look into that schedule.

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Sun, Apr 6, 2008 11:02 AM
Joshua & I shared a room, and he woke up about 3:30 am crying really hard, like he was hurting. It definitely wasn't a "normal" cry. So, I picked him up and tried to rock him back to sleep. When I got close to getting him settled, he woke up again. And by that time, I really had to go potty. So, instead of putting him down in the moses basket, I carried him to the bathroom with me. That was my first time doing that - haha! I rocked Joshua again until he settled and then put him down, and let him cry for a minute or so more until he was finally back to sleep. I was still tired when he woke up for the day at 7:30 am.

We got packed up and met up with Daddy at home in time for Noah’s morning nap. I went to PICS and Chad took a nap with the boys. Then, I came home and took a nap, and then we watched the church service online. It was a pretty low-key weekend for us!

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Sat, Apr 5, 2008 11:02 AM
Chad worked, so I took the boys up to Mama & Papa’s house to spend the night. We just hung out at the house. The boys got baths, we all cooked dinner, got frozen yogurt & boba. The line at Yogurtland was huge! That frozen yogurt is so hot right now. We watched Atonement - what a sad story. I still like Pride & Prejudice better.

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Fri, Apr 4, 2008 11:00 AM
On the way home from work, I met my boys at Peppino’s for dinner. That’s another kid-friendly restaurant where they give children’s coloring menus and crayons. Noah is doing better scribbling with crayons on paper, but he gets bored quickly and tried to eat the blue one a couple of times. Towards the end of dinner, he was being really silly licking a lemon slice. We got a cute video of it. Joshua was a bit fussy, but it was a noisy restaurant and so he was hardly noticed.

At storytime, Noah started noticing his shadow on the wall. It was cute watching him discover how the shadow moved when his hand moved.

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Wed, Apr 2, 2008 3:51 PM
I was home with the boys for the first half of the day as Chad was finishing work. We all took a long morning nap. It was awesome, but I woke up in a panic because it was 2 pm and we usually get Noah up at 1 pm! He was just lying down, playing in his crib. He’s such a good boy.

Chad got home and then we all went to the pediatrician's for Joshua's 4-month check-up. Joshua is doing great! He's up to 16-1/2 pounds now - which is in the 90th percentile - he's doubled his birth weight. He’s 26-1/2” – which is in the 95% percentile, and his head is 43-1/2 cm – which is in the 75% percentile. All measurements are on a good “curve”. Dr. K said we didn’t have to burp him anymore.

Joshua got 4 more shots. He cried for about 10 minutes. He didn't stop crying even when Chad held him. :(

On the way home, we stopped to get frozen yogurt. It was Noah's first taste - he loved it of course and kept saying “please” so that we would give him another spoonful. ;)

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Tue, Apr 1, 2008 3:50 PM
April Fool’s Day! I tried to trick Chad. I e-mailed him a pic of me holding a positive home pregnancy test stick (it was Noah’s) and typed “how do you feel about a 3rd?”

Almost as soon as I sent it, he called. He didn’t fall for it. ;) But he did say the first thing that popped into his head was that we didn’t have a big enough house!

Joshua woke up just before 5 am this morning. :( He cried off and on for about 20 minutes, then I finally got up and checked his diaper. It was only a little wet. He soon went back to sleep.

On my drive to work, I pumped as usual. Unfortunately, the bottle lid wasn't screwed on well and so a bunch of milk spilled - probably over an ounce. I was so sad! I'm working hard for every little drop.

Dr. Kaminskas gave me a Rx of Reglan - a medication to help me produce more milk. I'm very excited to try it.

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traci: That is a FUNNY April Fools! Remind me to do this to D next year! HAHA

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