Hi all! Happy Mother's Day to all you Mom's out there! My Mother's Day was very nice. Steve, Alex and I went to Longwood Gardens after church. We stopped for lunch and had a nice dinner out. It was a perfect day to walk around outside. We really enjoyed ourselves and Alex did great! She slept till 11:00 a.m. the following day! We were all exhausted...A long day but well worth it. We forgot the camera though - I am soooo mad! So no pictures... Arrrrg!
Alexandria's nutritionist appointment went well. They decided against testing my breast milk (at least for now) and are focusing on the baby food aspect of Alex's diet. Since Alexandria eats well and eats a good amount of food they recomended that I make my own baby food. Store bought baby food is fine but is mostly water...(if you look at the back of the jar you will see water as the first ingredient in most cases) so for babies who have trouble gaining weight they recomend that Mom's make their own baby food. As I make it I need to add Safflower Oil (for extra fat and calories) and in some cases my breast milk or broth (insead of water); no juice (juice is mostly sugar). I am also to introduce Alex to baby yogurt, egg yolk, beans, pasta and meats. Little by little...not all at once. Alex loooves yogurt! She also really likes avacodo and garbanzo beans. She loooves pears and raspberries I made for her. On the other hand she HATED the egg yolk and the salmon. The pediatrician said to keep trying because it can take many times of introducing a food before the baby accepts it. I think I will start with something not so strong tasting...like chicken and cod when it comes to meats...Alex is also to practice drinking out of a sippy cup since she refuses to have anything to do with a bottle. She can not hold the cup and drink out of it yet. She likes to play with the cup though and drink out of it when Mommy or Daddy hold the cup for her. We have a follow up appointment with nutrition in 4 weeks.
It has been decided that Alex does not need to see the Feeding Team at CHOP. She does however need to see a G.I. specialist and has an appointment scheduled to see one on June 6th. Between Alex not gaining weight well and her constipation as well as acid reflux the docs want to do some tests to make sure her G.I. system is okay and that there is nothing there that would prevent her from gaining weight or not fgrowing properly. This Nutritionist recommended this (she, by the way, is on the Feeding Team at CHOP) and Alexandria's pediatrician strongly agreed.
Alexandria's P.T. visits continue to go well. I really like the P.T. Alex is seeing! She really works Alex pretty hard during our appointmetns and gives me no nonsense exercises to do with Alex at home. Plus, Alex really likes her and so do I!
Alexandria's hives are better but still popping out here and there...We have a follow up appointment with the allergyst next week (I think it's next week...).
Yesterday Alex had pink and light red throughout her morning diaper...She was fine other then that and pretty happy AND it was the only diaper like that. We did get a urinalysis and a culture test to be sure that there is not blood in Alexandria's urine and that she does not have an infection. The urologyst also wants to do an ultrasound of Alexandria's kidneys on Monday the 18th instread of waiting till August to make sure Alexandria's kidney stones did not move or get bigger. It all could be nothing...The pink/light red tinge in the diaper may just have been uric acid...but with all the kidney issues they need to make sure.
Alexandria had her 9 month well-check visit today during which she weighed it at 12.25 lbs! Phewww! I thought we would never reach the 12 lb mark! She should be weighing in at 15.5 lbs...and so she is still well below where she needs to be as far as weight. Her height and head size are growing much faster and are officially on the chart which is good. It means there is no concern about Alexandria's brain development or her height.
I've been trying to go to the gym 3 times a week which takes more time out of my schedule then I like but it is very helpful to my physical and mental state. Alex loves the 2 ladies and 1 guy in the babysitting room. The guy is a Biology student and the two ladies are older. The lady who is in charge is a very strong Christian (a pastor's wife) and was a preemie herself! Everytime I walk in to pick Alex up one of the 3 are carring her around. :) They all noticed that Alex keeps her head to the right a little and have been trying to "tick her to look to the left by putting toys on the left side, etc.". on their own initiative! They really like Alex over there and take good care of her. She likes to go and hang out with her "new friends" so it makes going to the gym a lot less stressful for me. The gym is affiliated with a hospital and is super clean! They are always walking around disinfecting stuff. Alex doesn't seem to really care about other kids or babies yet. She likes to watch them but that's about it.
Between the gym, baby food, all the appointments and life I've been needing to adjust to a new schedule...which I am no where near adjusted yet...So on top of all the prayers for Alex could you throw one in for me also? There never seems to be enough time in the day and so cleaning our house in a distant fantasy! Lol! I am happy to get all the appointmetns, scheduling, laundry, dishes, grocery shopppng and disinfecting the kitchen and baby areas in...before I pass out for the night. So if you ever come over don't look too closely at our floor or shelves! :)
Have a good one!
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