Liz' Life: 5 Months

 Five Months

Elizabeth,

I am amazed to see how much alert you are and all the things that you do! At your last checkup you weighed 17lbs 14 oz(off the charts) and were 26 1/4 inches tall (off the charts). You are so tall! Since we changed to organic diapers and Aveno products your skin is looking a lot better! You are constantly putting something in your mouth and you like to suck on your fingers. I am waiting anxiously for that first tooth to come in. You stayed a whole weekend away from mommy and daddy this month while we went on a church retreat. We missed you so much!  You smile a lot and it just lights up everyone around you. I'm still waiting for you to roll over again but you are liking tummy time a little more. You wear 6-12 month clothes and 9 months fit you very well. You also can wear 12 month clothes. We can't wait to see what next month brings!

Love mommy & daddy

22 Week Stats:


Sleeping: You go to bed around 8 p.m. and usually don't wake up till 6:30 a.m.!!!! You have some nights where you wake up at 4-4:30 and mommy just puts you in bed with us and you sleep for another 2 hours. No more late night feedings!!!!! If we are home you take a 2 hour nap in the mornings and then a 2 hour nap throughout the day.

Eating: Mommy feeds you in your high chair now at every feeding if we are home. Daddy feeds you your last feeding in your room. You have eating a little less now which I think means your starting to want solids. We will see what the doctor says at your next appointment. For breakfast mommy feeds you an ounce of rice cereal out of a bowel along with your bottle. You are eating it so much better now and have been eating it all!

Activity: You are enjoying your bouncy a lot better and I just love to watch you figure out your toys on there. We bought you a tummy mat that has toys on the end which you seem to like better. You are grabbing onto everything!

Likes: You can spend a long time on your activity mat and you enjoy being the center of attention. You also like it when mommy and daddy tickle you!


Dislikes: You still hate being burped!

Pics from this month:

Liz and her great great grandma

Mommy and Elizabeth

Liz and Aunt Krysti

What are you looking at?

Holding her teething ring

Liz' Life: 4 Months

 Four Months

Elizabeth,

This month you've really gotten into a routine. I feel like a lot has changed this month and I love to see the new things that you do. At your last checkup you weighed 17lbs (off the charts) and were 25 inches tall (95 percentile). I hope that you grow to be 5'7" instead of 5'4" like your mommy. You had a really bad rash this past month and we found out that you have severe eczema. The doctor put you on organic diapers and wipes and we had to switch from Johnsons baby products to Aveno. We have been putting Derma Smooth on your skin twice a day and your skin has cleared all up! Dr. Goldberg was so happy to see you talking to him and making eye contact. He was besides himself. You really like to grab things now and this month you learned to pull your car seat toy hard enough to make it sing and it brings a smile to my face every time I hear it! You went on your first road trip to see your great grandparents on my side of the family and you did very well and slept half the ride. Mommy is sorry for not taking any pics of our trip :( For the most part you aren't as fussy anymore and it seems your reflux is getting a lot better! You are also sleeping through the night most nights which makes mommy and daddy very happy! You now wear 6-9 month clothes and 9 months fit you very well. You also can wear some 6-12 month onsies. We are enjoying every minute watching you as you grow!

Love mommy & daddy

18 Week Stats:


Sleeping: You go to bed around 8 p.m. and usually don't wake up till 6:30 a.m.!!!! You have some nights where you wake up at 4-4:30 and mommy just puts you in bed with us and you sleep for another 2 hours. No more late night feedings!!!!! If we are home you take a 2 hour nap in the mornings and then 30 min to an 1 hour nap throughout the day.

Eating: Mommy feeds you in your high chair now at every feeding if we are home. Daddy feeds you your last feeding in your room. You are eating 6 oz at every feeding and for breakfast you also have an ounce of rice cereal out of a bowel. You are eating it so much better now and have been eating it all!

Activity: Your GiGi bought you a bouncy which you aren't that tall enough yet to bounce on it but you like to sit in it and watch your cartoons. You still love your activity mat and mommy has been working with you to sit up on your own and roll over. You did roll onto your side from your tummy for the first time recently but haven't done it since.

Likes:  Being held is your favorite, then playing on your activity mat and watching cartoons. You love bath time with daddy and you love to stand up.


Dislikes: You hate being on your tummy still and I am hoping that changes soon! You hate when I have to stop and burp you.

Pics from this month:

Liz and her Uncle Mike at Grandpa Ace's funeral

Family pic at reception after Joey's grandfathers funeral

Liz and Grandpa Junebug

Daddy and Liz watching first UH game of the season

In her bouncy for the first time

Rolled on side for first time

Liz' Life: 3 Months

 Three Months

Elizabeth,

I can't believe you are already three months! You are growing like a weed girl! You have really started talking and smiling more this month and your smile just melts my heart. It makes all that crying you do worth it! This month you started watching cartoons and you really enjoy them. You started grabbing on to your toys on your activity mat and you sat in your high chair for the first time. Dr. Goldberg put you on Soy this month but truthfully momma doesn't see much difference in your reflux. He also started you on solids for breakfast. Momma tries every morning to feed you rice cereal and sometimes with bananas with a spoon but you really don't like it. You would rather have your bottle. And it is the messiest thing! This month you also met your Great Grandpa Lopez who's in a nursing home for the first time. You wear some three month and some six month clothes. You are kind of in between right now. Just yesterday on your three month birthday we put you in a size 3 diaper because the size 2's were getting too small. When we weighed you yesterday at home it said you weighed 16lbs. I'm not sure how accurate that is since at your ped appointment on August 6 you weighed 14.2 lbs. You are a lot more awake during the day now and you rarely want to take a nap which gets a little annoying when momma has stuff to do. You really love your Uncle Ken and I think yall are going to have a special relationship like my papa and I did. You have become really needy or spoiled and don't want to be put down. The only time your not crying is when your held but momma can't hold you 24/7 woman! I can't wait to see what the next month brings.

Love mommy & daddy

13 Week Stats:


Sleeping: You are still going down for the night between 8-9 p.m. and usually sleep between 5-6 hours then wake up to eat and sleep for another 3 hours or so. Last night though you slept for a whole 8 hours then ate and slept for another 2 1/2. Momma's praying you have more nights like that! Recently during the day you aren't wanting to take your naps. You used to sleep for three hours in the morning after your first meal and now you wake up every hour. Not sure what that's about.

Eating: You've been eating between 4-6 oz at every feeding. You are now on Similac Soy with 3 tsp of rice cereal at each feeding and 6 tsp at your night feeding. You are not really fussy during feedings any more but you hate to be stopped to be burped. You get fussy about an hour after feedings and you get really bad hiccups afterwards.

Activity: You prefer your activity mat to anything else besides being held. You are up most of the day now so it's getting harder for momma to entertain you. All of a sudden you started not liking your swing. Not sure what that's about besides you wanting to be held all the time.

Likes:  Being held is your favorite, then playing on your activity mat and watching cartoons.


Dislikes: You hate being put down more than anything. Not liking your swing right now and you despise tummy time which makes it hard for me to get that in during the day. You prefer to be sitting up and surprisingly your head is very strong without having tummy time.

Pics from this month:

Taking a Break

I'm sad to say that I'm taking a break from blogging for a while. I made the decision on Friday after having a complete meltdown and feeling like a horrible mother because I let me daughter cry for 4 hours on and off during the night without feeding her. I was trying to break her habit of waking up at the same time every night because I read that between 9-15 weeks bottle fed babies could go 8 hours without eating and I was trying to extend her nights according to the Baby Wise book. I know now that after the first 45 minutes of crying on and off I should have just fed her. I cried the entire next day and after talking to my family I decided to put the books up!

I was trying so hard to get her on a schedule according to the book and kept referring to it nonstop. I have a problem. I admit it. I compare my baby to every other baby her age and I read too much into things. I have decided that I need to let her make her own schedule for now at least until I get a job and we then we can figure how her schedule needs to be. I know that every baby is different and unique and I need to be proud of my baby and love her no matter what for who she is and not try to change her. So I've decided to take a break from blogging so that I can focus on my daughter and learn to not compare and just be happy with who she is.

I know this is a weird all over the place post but I didn't have a lot of time to get my thoughts in order but I wanted to let my followers know why I haven't written. I hope this break isn't too long and I hope to still read all of your blogs from time to time.

With much love and respect,

Heather

Morning Playtime

Bye Bye Baby Weight & More - Week 1

For those that have read my blog for a while you know that I have always had an issue with my weight. I was starting to try to loose it before we got pregnant and then I had to put that on the back burner. Before baby I weighed 164 lbs and needed to loose about 30 lbs for my BMI. When I got pregnant I wanted to only gain 15 lbs since I was already overweight but of course I didn't eat or exercise the way I should have and gained 30 lbs. When I had Elizabeth I weighed 194lbs!!!!!!!!! And I'm only 5'4" people!  As soon as I had Elizabeth I automatically lost 19 lbs. I now weigh 175 lbs and am only 11 lbs away from my prebaby weight.

For the past 10 weeks I really haven't been eating any better and working out just seemed daunting because I feel like I'm tired 24/7. But Monday night I decided that I'm absolutely tired of the way I look. I'm too big and am just not happy when I look in the mirror. I'm still wearing my maternity clothes for heavens sakes because nothing fits me. So I decided to only allow myself a dessert once a month which is my BIGGEST weakness, drink a diet coke only once a week and when I get fast food only get a salad. I also decided it's time to start working out and I started the 30 Day Shred again. I did this before I was pregnant but never finished it. So here are my goals:

Short Term Goal: Loose 15 lbs by my birthday (Nov. 27)
Long Term Goal: Loose 40 lbs total by next Summer
This Week's Goal: Have only 1 diet coke, no sweets and finish level 1 of 30 Day Shred.
Current Weight: 175 lbs.

Wordless Wednesday {8.3.11}

Liz' Life: 10 Weeks

 10 Weeks

Sleeping: Her sleeping has gotten sooo much better since my last post since I didn't do a 9 week post. She sleeps for 5-6 hours when we first put her down at night then wakes up to eat and goes back to sleep for another couple of hours. We have her on a schedule that we got from the book Baby Wise. She eats then we try to keep her awake for a while then we put her down for a nap for an hour an a half and we do that all through the day. It seems to be working. Some days we have to go off the routine but she seems to get back on very easily.

Eating: Her pedi changed her formula to Enfamil AR which has a little starch and rice in it so we are no longer give her the extra rice cereal. She is eating between 4-6 oz at each feeding and twice a day we give her an ounce of water to help with the swelling of her esophagus.

Activity: My baby girl has been a totally different baby. She is smiling so much now and responds to you when you make faces and smile at her. She is talking a lot and is keeping her hands open more. She has found that she can suck on her hand and does that a lot.

Likes: She likes to suck on her hand, likes her swing now, likes it when you stick your tongue out at her, likes to be sitting up rather than laying down.


Dislikes: She hasn't been liking it when we read to her lately. Not sure what's up with that! She hates taking her medicine, hates getting dressed and hates getting her neck cleaned after a feeding.

Highlight of the Week: She met her new baby cousin this week and went to two birthday parties!

Pic from this Week: (I have been so bad about taking pics. I have just really been trying to enjoy her but I need to start taking pics at least one a day!)

Elizabeth and her cousin Jayden

Lopez Updates

Sorry I have been MIA. We have had a lot going on and I couldn't write about what's been going on until today. Do you remember my post about Comparing and Worrying? Well the day after I wrote that we had Liz' 8 week appointment with her pediatrician. It turned out to not be that great of an appointment and had me worrying even more. So here is the rundown:

Since she was born he has been worried that she has a really small head. She wasn't even on the positive percentages at birth. Since the first time we saw him he said that's something we have to keep an eye on. He said Joey and I both have small heads and she should be fine but we just have to watch it. Even though her head cm has grown every time we see him it was only at 5% last week. So while we were talking I had asked him about her keeping her hands in fists all the time and if that had anything to do with her reflux. He said no and continued looking at her body. I also mentioned I didn't think she was smiling enough. While he was checking her he said that her body was really tense and she wasn't as flaccid as she should be. So then he asked if we've seen any tremors in her body. I told him she does have tremors in her legs sometimes but I didn't think anything of it. Because of everything we told him and what he saw he recommended us to a pediatric neurologist. Also I'm not sure if I've ever mentioned on here but after Liz' umbilical cord fell off she had an umbilical hernia appear. Usually they disappear before an infant turns one but at this appointment our pedi thought it had gotten bigger which isn't good and also recommend we see a ped surgeon.

So as you can imagine I started freaking out that something was wrong with my little girl. We started researching her symptoms (which you should never do before you see a specialist) and it kept coming up that she could have Cerebral Palsy. I seriously cried every day for a week. I didn't write about this last week because we decided not to tell our families until we found out if something was wrong. We had her neurologist appointment yesterday and he said he thinks her tone and motor skills look great! He said he isn't worried about her head circumference either. He did order an EEG for Aug 8 to make sure that she's not having any seizures since she's been having leg tremors but he said he doesn't think so. Now we're praying that the test comes back normal.

Even though he thinks she's perfect I still am a little worried. He said he didn't think she needed an MRI but I think I would have felt better just to be on the safe side. She has her next pediatrician appointment next Saturday and we're gonna see what he says and ask if he thinks we should get one to be on the safe side. I don't think I'm gonna feel 100% better until we do. I know the neurologist knows what he's talking about and I might be over worrying but I had a bad feeling and I just want to be sure.

Next Monday she has her appointment with her pediatric surgeon to see how bad her hernia is and when/if he thinks she will need surgery.

In other news, I have a job interview today!!!!!!!!!!!! It is at Crime Stoppers in Houston. The job description is a little different than what I've done in the past and I am really excited about it. I really hope it goes well. I haven't worked in 3 months which is the longest I've gone since I was 16 and I am ready to start working again. Please pray for us and wish us luck!

Liz' Life: 2 Month's Old

Elizabeth,

You are two month's old today. You have not had a good day today though and have cried most of the morning poor baby. The past month has been a bit challenging but we have gotten through it. We found out that you have acid reflux and it hurts you a lot. We have you on medicine and have changed your formula to Enfamil AR and we are hoping this will help. You are now a whopping 13 pounds and your mostly so big because mommy overfed you for two weeks by adding too much rice cereal to your formula. Know that mommy is truly sorry but you will outgrow it. You are wearing size 3-6 month clothes and are in a size 1 diaper. You are sleeping better at night. You go to bed between 8-9 pm. and sleep for 5 hours then wake up to eat and go back to sleep for another 3 hours. You usually take your morning nap with mommy on the bed and I just love that time. You are not a very happy baby for the most part but I'm hoping that will change after we get your reflux situated . You are really strong and hold your head up high and on your own for a good while. We didn't have a great 8 week appointment and will be seeing two different specialists to get some things looked at. We are praying that you are absolutely fine but we just want to be sure.

Mommy & Daddy love you very much!

8 Week Stats:


Sleeping: You've been going to bed between 8-9 p.m. and sleeping for about 5 hours and then waking up and sleeping for another 3 hours. You don't go right to sleep after your late night feeding. Some days you take naps and some days you fight it and want to stay up.

Eating: You've been eating between 5-6 oz at every feeding. We changed your formula to Enfamil AR to help with your reflux. You are really really fussy during feeding time and I have to admit its the worst part of the day. I hope your reflux gets better soon!

Activity: You are more alert during the day and we are getting more play time in. You're getting better at tummy time but still don't like to be there for long periods.

Likes:  You love bath time, looking at the fan or your mobile in your swing and the one in your crib and you love the vibration of your bouncy.


Dislikes: You hate burping and your reflux. You absolutely hate waiting 20 minutes before you can eat at every other feeding and you hate taking your medicine and always try to spit it out.

Highlight of the Week: You had your 8 week appointment where you got 2 shots and an oral medication and mommy and daddy got some not so good news. Today you are getting you meed your Aunt Lee Lee for the first time and mommy's super excited about that.

Weekend Recap: Moving, Party & CPR

We had a pretty busy weekend this weekend. Friday Joey took off work to help his mom and brothers move. They moved from a house into an apartment. Don't ask me why I don't really understand it. My mother in law's reason was because her landlord never fixed anything in the house. So she decided now that my brother in law has graduated from high school it was time to move.

On Saturday we were invited to a birthday party for a 3 year old. She is the daughter of a really good friend and the woman who was our photographer at our wedding. She had a cowgirl themed party and a pony ranch out in Katy. Since my nieces were down we took them with us and they had a blast. It was EXTREMELY hot outside but the kids had a good time anyway. They got to ride a pony and play games and go on a carriage ride. Elizabeth of course slept the whole time! That night my nieces stayed the night with us and we spent the night playing SkipBo. We love to play card games. I love playing with them because it reminds me of when I played with my grandparents.

Then yesterday Joey and I took our infant CPR class. There were mostly couples who were expecting in the class. It was a really easy class and CPR is pretty easy to do. Hopefully I'll never have to use it though.

So what did you do this weekend?