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?

Comparing & Worrying: Will Drive You Nuts

Being a mom has turned me into this crazy person. I read so many baby blogs and books and I find that I spend a lot of my time comparing babies and worrying that mine isn't where she should be. It is starting to drive my husband nuts! I'm always comparing Elizabeth with other babies around her age. I know that every child is different but I just want to make sure that she is developing the way she should be so I worry.

I worry that she sleeps too much. Some days she sleeps most of the day (like only awake maybe 5 hours of the day). I read that they should be sleeping about 15-16 hours a day and Liz is sleeping more like 18-20 hours most days. I worry because she hardly ever smiles. I can make funny faces and tickle her but she hardly ever smiles at me. She smiles in her sleep but she rarely smiles while looking at you. She also hasn't started trying to grab things yet. I've put her on her activity mat and get her to try to grab her toys hanging down but she wont. She puts her hands in her mouth when she's hungry but that's really all she does with them. I've put her in the mirror so she can see herself and she never looks straight in the mirror. She always looks side to side.

Every time I hear about a baby doing something on a blog I insistently compare Elizabeth to them. Then I go and tell my husband well Liz isn't doing this but this person's baby is and they are the same age. It is seriously driving us both nuts! I'm just ready for my little girl to start doing things and being awake more so I can play with her.

How do you deal with the comparing and worrying?

Liz' Life: 7 Weeks

Seven Weeks

Sleeping: She's only been sleeping for 2-3 hours at a time this week. She sleeps more during the day and sometimes I can't get her to wake up when I want her to since I've been trying to get her on a schedule but she lets me know I'm on her schedule.

Eating: She's still taking any where from 3-6 oz of formula with rice cereal and usually eats every 2-4 hours. She seems to be a lot more hungry lately. Feeding time has been a little hard because every other feeding I have to give her medicine for her reflux 30 minutes prior to feeding so sometimes I have to let her cry until I can feed her. Since I found out this week I was feeding her too much rice cereal she gets 1tsp per oz of formula now.

Activity: She looks around a lot more and is starting to sit up for longer periods on her own. I introduced her to a new toy this week and she seems to like it.

Likes: She likes to eat that's probably her favorite thing to do and she seems to like to visit her Abuela. She likes to be rocked and she still enjoys bath time with daddy.


Dislikes: She's not a fan of bath time with mommy. I guess I don't have that special touch that dad has. She HATES to have her nails filed. That is such a horrible process. She hates having her clothes changed and she doesn't like her swing most of the time.

Highlight of the Week: She had her 6 week check up this week where we found out mommy was overfeeding her and she was a whopping 11lbs 15oz. She got two shots and has started taking her acid reflux medicine. This week we also spent time with my foster family for 4th of July.

Pics from this Week

Bad Mommy

I have been a bad mommy! Liz had her 6 week check up today and we found out she has gained 2 lbs in just 2 weeks! Why? Because mommy has been over feeding her! Two weeks ago we went to the doctor because Liz had been vomiting up her food and her pedi said she probably had acid reflux and to add rice cereal to her formula. I took Liz to the appointment by myself and I thought he said to add 1 tbsp of cereal per oz of formula. WRONG!!!!!!! I was  supposed to be giving her 1tsp per oz!!!!!! So for two weeks she has been eating way more than she should. Her pedi just couldn't stop laughing. And to top it off my baby has been constipated all this time and I didn't know because she still has been having 2-3 bowel movements a day they just have been hard instead of runny. I feel like such a horrible mother. I made my baby the one thing I didn't want to do! I made her a chunky baby like I was and I hate it! I wish I could go back in time so I could do it over. She went from being in the 50th percentile to the 95 percentile.

I am just really really mad at myself! I know she'll grow into it when she starts getting longer and will hopefully burn some of that off when she starts crawling but until then I'm gonna know that I made her a little chubby thing.

Anyone else with kids ever do anything as stupid as what I did?

Happy 4th of July!

 Happy 4th of July from the Lopez Family!

For Elizabeth's first 4th of July we spent the day with my foster family. We chilled by the pool and ate steak, baked potatoes and corn on the cob and don't forget all the yummy brownies and cookies. We wanted to take a dip in the pool but I haven't had my 6 week check up yet :(  We did dip our feet in though! Hope everyone enjoyed their day!

Liz' Life: 6 Weeks

 Six Weeks

Sleeping: When we first put her down she usually only sleeps for a couple hours. After her midnight feeding she usually sleeps for a longer stretch. And she sleeps really good at her morning nap.

Eating: She's still taking any where from 3-6 oz of formula with rice cereal and usually eats every 2-4 hours.

Activity: She's been awake a lot more even during the night and follows her toy when you put it in her face and move it from side to side. She's also keeping her head up a lot longer.

Likes: She likes to be held all the time. She likes it when momma sings to her. Her favorite songs are the ABC song and The Wheels on the Bus. She also like her Bright Star toy. She loves laying on her tummy! She really enjoys bath time with Daddy.


Dislikes: She hates being put down for long periods of time. She hates laying on her back and still not a fan of diaper changes or changing her clothes.

Highlight of the Week: Joey's coworkers threw us a Diaper and Wipe shower on Thursday and got to meet Liz for the first time! (Of course she slept the whole time LOL)

Motherhood

It is very hard to write this post because I'm not writing it for my follower's to make me feel better but I am writing it to get it off my chest. I don't want anyone to judge me.

I have very mixed feelings about motherhood at this point. It is a wonderful and beautiful thing to see my beautiful baby girl and know that my husband and I made her. I love to look at her and hold her when she is content. It breaks my heart to see her cry and I just love her so much. I look forward to watch her grow up and to see what her personality is going to be like.

Every since I could remember people have always told me I was going to be such a good mom. But now that I'm a mom I feel like I'm a horrible mother! I have always been an impatient person and learning patience with a newborn has been difficult for me. At about 3-4 weeks old Liz was vomiting a couple of feedings and was really fussy and not being able to console her was so hard on me. She has been a little better since starting on rice cereal with her formula but she still gets fussy. She's not really on a schedule as our pediatrician said to feed her on demand and she hasn't been sleeping very well. She doesn't like to be swaddled and really doesn't like to sleep on her back for the most part. I always feel like I don't know if I'm doing things right and I always worry! I worry every time she gets fussy if she's sick or her acid reflux or is she just hungry or does she just want to be held. I still haven't distinguished her cries yet and I just want my baby girl to be happy.  I need to learn to not sweat the small stuff and to be more patient. I don't know if what I feel is normal and if every new mom feels this way or if its just me. I've had a few good meltdowns since she was born and I know a lot of it is from lack of sleep but I hope that it gets better soon.

I love my baby girl more than anything and am so blessed that I have her! Thanks for listening to me ramble on guys!