First Attempt at Addison's Four Month Picture

I tried to take Addison's picture on her actual four month birthday, but she was not feeling well from her shots and not cooperating. The only person she would smile for is Regan when Regan sang to her. So, I had to bribe Regan to sing to her by telling her I would take a picture of her after I took a picture of Addison if she would sing to Addison.

Addison's Four Month Well Visit

It was a busy day today in the Manning household, and it began this morning with Addison's four month well visit. It went really well. Dr. Baumboree was really pleased with her weight gain. He said that because her weight gain is progressing so well that the plastic surgeon might consider doing the surgery at 6 mos. if her tissue growth is good. This was music to my ears, especially because one of the ENT's said that she thought that they did the surgery when the baby was 20 lbs. This really concerned me since Regan, who was a big baby, was only 18 lbs. at a year and for a while after that. Anyway, Dr. Baumboree doesn't want us to start rice cereal yet. I think he wants to wait to start solids after her surgery. That was a little disappointing, but overall it was a really good appointment.

Here are Addison's Stats:

Height: 24 1/2 inches (55%)
Weight: 13 lbs. 3 oz. (50%)
Head Circ.: 17 inches (92%) I have two big headed kids. : )

Regan's New Hat

Meredith brought Regan a beret back from France. Isn't it adorable?

Regan loves hat's and she really loves this one because it is a hat and she can pull it down over her eyes and play peek a boo. A hat and a toy all in one. What more can you ask for?

Regan and Meredith

Regan got a "new" house today. One of my friends had it and wanted to get rid of it. Regan loves it and played in it a lot today. Meredith is visiting for a few days, and was lucky enough to come on the day that we got it. She and Regan played ice cream parlor. She told Regan that she liked Chocolate and Regan told her that she liked the "white one." She asked Regan for some cookies, but told her that she didn't have any. I guess she was fresh out. Regan is loving having her own personal playmate, and I think she will be sad when Meredith has to go home.

Regan Reading to Love a Lot

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7029053469893662833&hl=en

Breathing Treatments

Regan has allergies that just won't quit. We are doing breathing treatments again. We have come a long way from the first time we had to do them when Matt held her down and I held the mask on her. Now she sits and watches t.v. and holds the mask herself.

Easter Morning

As usual the Easter Bunny brought more for Regan than he did for Addison. Next year Santa Clause and the Easter Bunny are going to have to start evening things out or Addison might start to notice. : )

We also got the girls a swing set and we are just waiting for it to be delivered.

Now that Regan is potty training I had to get her out of the all in one pajamas. I bought her the nightgown and the short set. I thought she would like the nightgown better, but she likes the short set better. I am not sure if it is because she likes the short set or if she likes it because it only has one character on it.

She was very excited to get the Cinderella DVD, but did not watch the whole thing. It is a little long for her attention span. I also think that she likes the idea of the princesses more than anything else.

Right Ear

I took Addison to the ENT for her follow up visit for her tubes. They were able test her hearing in the right ear, and she passed!!!! So exciting! We knew that she could hear, but it is nice to have confirmation. We have not been able to re-test since she failed right after she was born. They couldn't test the left ear, because it is infected. They sucked out the Yuckiness, and gave me a prescription for more ear drops. They said we will be able to test her left ear in 14 days, and then they will give us a continuous prescription, because they agree with me that it is going to stay infected until she is able to have her cleft repair. The good news is with the tubes there won't be any permanent damage.

Regan is sick, too. This morning I was taking her temperature with a digital thermometer that has an alarm to let you know that it is done. Regan says to me when it rains we are finished. It didn't make sense, so I repeated it back to her and she said it again. It still didn't make sense so I repeated it back to her again. So, she says rings....like a bell.

Regan with her husband

I'm sure that you all remember that Regan's friend Christian has declared that he is going to marry Regan when he gets older. Well, he has taken it to a new level. Now he says that he is going to marry her and they are going to have a daughter named Charlotte. He told Matt that Regan was going to have a baby in her tummy. Matt was not thrilled with the idea of that. : ) He got the above pictured vehicle for his birthday. Regan tried to ride it by herself, but she doesn't understand how to control it. Christian is more than happy to take her on rides, though. On this particular day his dad was running the sprinkler, so Christian kept riding into it and sitting there. You can't tell by the look on Regan's face in this picture, but they both thought it was the funniest thing ever.

Easter Bunny

We went to see the Easter Bunny today after Kindermusic. We went with the same friend that we went with to see Santa, and it worked again....like a charm. Addison did not cooperate, but what are you going to do. She was more interested in chewing on her dress than anything.

Per Request

I am posting a picture of Regan's Big Girl room as requested by some. Now tell me why she wouldn't want to sleep in there. Her only reason is "Because I don't want to." Okay, then.

We went to the zoo yesterday with some of our playgroup friends. I wish that I would have had my camera to film Regan. Her favorite part of the zoo is the "choo choo train." It's particularly exciting right now, because we just got two zebras. Well, Regan likes to say All daboard the whole train ride. And she says it at the top of her lungs. Maybe she wants to be a train engineer when she grows up, I don't know. I'm not even sure where she learned that. She also put her hand on her friends shoulder and told her "that was very nice of you to share your goldfish with me." She's our little nerd. : )

Addison is doing much better with eating since we went to the pediatrician and he prescribed the antihistamine. I have been pulling so much stuff out of her nose lately, it is amazing that she can breathe. I still obsessively weigh her...although, I have relaxed about it a little bit....and she has gained 4 oz. since Tuesday.

Regan is doing really well with potty training. She has been wearing panties all day since last Saturday with no accidents (knock on wood). She won't poopy on the pottie....even though we have a care bear that she wants (as if this house needs another stuffed animal) sitting on the kitchen counter as bribery...and waits until her nap because she knows that we will put a diaper on her. That's fine with me, though. I know it will all come with time, and now I can relax about losing my deposit at the school that we plan on sending her to next year.

Weekend

We had a busy weekend this weekend. It seems like the Spring is just as busy as Christmas time. We have a birthday party almost every weekend. Next weekend we have three. We didn't have one this weekend, but we did have a neighborhood party Saturday evening and I had my twice annual tea on Sunday. Matt's mom was nice enough to come to keep the girls for our party and to help Matt on Sunday while I went to Mandeville.

We took Regan to the park on Saturday afternoon. It was a beautiful day, so we wanted to be outside. She had fun sliding on the slide and feeding the ducks with her dad. Addison slept through all of the fun.

I took both girls to the doctor today for the first time by myself. It wasn't to bad. I was right, and Addison had only gained 2 oz. since last Tuesday. He said he is not worried, because she has fat stored up. He thinks she is not eating well because she has a lot of congestion and it hurts. So, he gave me a prescription for that. We also have to give her 2 oz. a day of apple/prune juice to help with her constipation. He said Regan looks good. She had a bad cough that had sounded croupy a few days ago. He had given her an oral steroid, and that seems to have done the trick with the croup. He said her cough now is allergy related with all of the pollen in the air.

Sorry it's been so long

Sorry it's been a little while since I have posted. Nothing really exciting has been happening here. Regan has slowly but surely been continuing with her potty training. I have been letting her go naked at home for the past couple of day's, and she has been recognizing the urge to go tee-tee. I still feel completely clueless with this, but am listening to other parents advice on what worked for their children. Thank goodness for mom friend's is all I have to say. We are planning on moving her to her big girl bed soon. She is not wanting to give up her crib, so we are expecting a rough transition. However, Addison will want to move in soon (or her parents will want her to move out) so Regan has to move to the beautiful room that has been prepared for her. She does not do change well.

Regan is getting funnier every day. Some of her most funny comments have been the following:

Matt: I love you
Regan: Well, THANK YOU DADDY!

She has to call Matt every time she tee-tees on the potty. Today we got Matt's voicemail and I told her to leave a message. So, she says in an uncharacteristically quiet voice "I tee-teed on the potty." and then her normal loud voice says "Mommy, he's not der!"

She has learned all of her letter's and there sound's. She likes to figure out what letter's start with. It started with us asking her what letter words started with, but now she likes to do it on her own. However, she does not always pronounce things right. So, she will say things like tookie starts with a T!

Sometimes I feel like I should just follow her around with a video camera.

Addison has another ear infection, and is on ear drops. Even though we are not thrilled about another infection, an infection with tubes is better than an infection without tubes. I am concerned that she is not gaining like she should with the on demand schedule, so we may be going back to every three hours during the day when we go back for her next weigh in. We shall see. All in all, though things have been much better. She is very smiley, and loves to be talked to. It's so much fun!

Addison at 3 months

Went to see the Dr. on Tuesday. Addison is now 12 lbs 6oz. We can now feed her on demand during the day and night, instead of a set schedule. We only have to go for weigh-ins every two weeks. This message posted by Matt (you could probably tell already by the lack of colorful language).

UL Baseball Game

Matt took Regan to the UL Baseball game today with some of our friend's. He said it was fun, but that Regan was more interested in playing on the stairs than she was in watching the game. Apparently, she was trying to get our friend's little girl to play with her on the stairs and she was trying to get Regan to sit. Maybe Regan will be a leader after all. She seemed to have had fun, and was very excited that she saw our neighbor from across the street. She is a twelve year old girl, and Regan is really taken with her. She played with Regan one evening, and now anytime she is outside Regan is her shadow. I think she may rue the day she ever paid attention to Regan.

Addison Update

I took her to the doctor yesterday and she had gained six ounces again. They said that I now only have to bring her in every week, and if she continues that I will eventually only bring her in every other week. He also said that we can let her start feeding on demand at night, so no more waking her up every three to four hours to eat. Matt was especially excited!

We also saw the ENT yesterday. She said that her right ear looks perfect, but that there was still some fluid in her left ear. But she said it was much better. The tubes have been a godsend. Knock on wood, we think we are over the hump. They will check her hearing in the beginning of April, and then we just have the surgery. After that she should be as good as new.

Addison Smiling

Princess

Regan wanted to put on her princess costume to twirl around in her pull up diaper. She really likes the pull up diapers, but still doesn't get the concept of the potty. She will sit on it, but doesn't always go. I can't figure out if she doesn't get the concept, or if she doesn't want to stop what she is doing to go potty. Maybe a little of both? This is still progress from where we were, but I just feel clueless with this whole potty training thing.

Story Time

Regan likes to read to her stuffed animals before and after her naps. Don't ask me how she has room to sleep in her bed, but she does.

Weight Update

I took Addison for her twice weekly weigh in. She had gained 6 oz., which is especially good since she just had surgery on Monday. She has been doing really well since her surgery. She still has pain from it, especially when she yawns but the ENT said that that was normal. The Pediatrician said that if she has gained well on Monday that I can start bringing her just once a week to get weighed. So exciting!!!

Ear Tube Update

All went well. We left our house at 6:30am and were home for 8:30am. Matt's mom was kind enough to come stay, so that we didn't have to ask Jennifer to get here that early. Addison has been fussy all day and hasn't really eaten well. But they said to expect that. My friend told me that it is one bad day, and then we will see a huge improvement. It seems like she is starting to get better now, but it has been a long day.

Seeing Shadows

It was a pretty day today, so we took the girls to the zoo today and I guess Regan noticed her shadow for the first time. We were leaving and she was walking along, and she said"Oh! There are two of me. I am a big girl."

In other big girl news....Regan poopied on the potty tonight! I still think we have a long way to go before she is potty trained. I'm not even sure she knew she did it. She doesn't seem to quite make the connection, yet. She more sits on the potty for fun or for a stall tactic. But I was in the middle of reading her book to her this evening and she said I want to go sit on the potty. So maybe she is making the connection, I don't know. Either way, we were very proud of her.

Bowling

We went bowling with some friend's yesterday. Matt and Regan bowled. I am not a very good bowler, so I was happy to have Addison as an excuse. It was Addison's second time out in a inside public place. We took her to the book store last weekend. Bowling lanes are smoke free now, so we didn't have to worry about that. She is getting older, so we are slowly letting her out of house arrest.

Regan dressed for spring, because she wanted to wear her new dress. I bought it yesterday, and I tried it on her to make sure it fit. She was so excited about it, that we let her wear it. Even though it is not officially Spring, it is Spring like weather right now.

I think Regan had a lot of fun, and Matt was happy because he won among the adults. I think one of my friend's husband's is just as competitive as Matt, because he said that he and Matt are going to have to play again.

Addison's Ear Tubes

We saw the ENT today. Her surgery for her tubes in her ear's is scheduled for Monday morning. We are hoping that this will be the answer to our prayers.

Update

First the good news. Addison gained 6 oz. at the doctor yesterday. Their scale was, again, 3 oz. higher than ours so I will not be shocked if on Thursday she hasn't gained again according to their scale. However, the doctor seems to be leaning towards no feeding tube. He said that as long as she continues on an upward trend at a good rate that we should be fine. He told Addison that she was doing well. That she was making everyone worry about her, but that she was doing well.

Regan has an ear infection and a sinus infection. She has had a cough for a few days and yesterday we noticed that she was wheezing, so I made an appointment for her. She has to do breathing treatments every four hours for two days and she is on an antibiotic and an oral steroid. We are worried that she could be asthmatic. The doctor said that it is a possibility, but that he is not going to say that right now since we have only had two episodes of wheezing. Three, if you count the first one that I did not take her to the doctor for. He said that if she is, there is nothing that we can do to prevent it. The good news is that at least this time we are already getting up with Addison. So, it's not like last time when I was pregnant and we had to get up.

As for potty training....we had our first accident today. She wanted to wear panties and sit on the potty yesterday morning until Jennifer got here and then she wanted her diaper back on. Last night she wanted to sit on the potty, but didn't have any luck. This morning she wanted to wear her panties and sit on the potty. No luck, but she wanted to keep her panties on. Well, next thing I know she had a stain in the back. So, I took them off and cleaned her off and she wanted a new pair of panties. I reiterated that she should tell me when she needs to go potty, while not making a big deal about the accident. She wore her panties for about an hour and a half and just now asked for a diaper. I think she gets annoyed with us asking her if she needs to go potty. It's hard not to, though. Anyway, I see this as progress because before she would not wear panties or sit on the potty. I am going to tell them at school to at least take her to the potty everytime her friend Maddison goes. Maddison is potty trained, and I am all about positive peer pressure.

Visit

Our friends, the Liuzza's, from Mandeville came to visit for the day, and to see Addison. We had a great time with them, and are so glad that they came. Regan really liked playing with her friends. And the best part..... Regan tee-teed on the potty tonight, and we think it is all thanks to them. Their oldest is a year older than Regan and is, of course, potty trained. Well, she sat on the potty before she left and Regan and I sat in the bathroom with her. Tonight Regan tells us that she wants to tee-tee on the potty. I think it helped that it was bedtime, and she saw it as a stall tactic. We sat for a half hour, and she would not get up until she tee-teed. I was starting to think we were going to be there all night, but I didn't want to make her get up when she wanted to sit there because she NEVER wants to sit there. Especially on the big potty, which is where she was sitting. She finally did and she was very excited. We gave her stickers to reward her. We are very proud of her. I am going to try to convince her to wear panties tomorrow. We will see how that goes. Stay tuned!!

Regan Helping

Regan's Love for Elmo

Saturday night we went to a birthday party for one of our playgroup friends, and leave it to Regan to find the elmo in the house. He was attached to a push walker. Of course, Regan wouldn't walk behind one when she was learning to walk....prefering our fingers instead... I guess I should have gotten one with Elmo on it.

She also thought it very important that we all wear our birthday hat's. She wore her's the whole time, and everytime she discovered that I was no longer wearing mine she would bring me another one.

Regan Learning to Peddle

She is getting the hang of peddleing, but has not figured out the whole stearing thing. I think it would help if Elmo didn't have to go with her. It would also help if her wheel wasn't about to fall off. The piece that holds her left wheel on is defective. I have tried putting it back on, but it is done. So, I have to call the company tomorrow to get them to send me a new part.

Anyway, click the link below to watch her learning to peddle. I don't think it will be long once we get the new part and we have some consistently nice weather.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1782686109550918441&pr=goog-sl&hl=en

Another Ear Infection

Well, we got some bad news today. I took her to the pediatrician for a weigh in, and she has another ear infection and had not gained weight according to their scale. She has, however, gained weight according to our scale. I am trying not to freak out, even though I am anyway, and trying to wait until Monday's weigh in to see if maybe they just some how weighed her wrong this past Monday. Either way, she will be getting tubes in her ears. I have an appointment with the ENT next week to discuss when. We will have to decide about the peg tube before she gets the tubes in her ears, because they don't want to put her under anesthesia any more than they have to. The pediatrician thinks they will probably put her tubes in in about two weeks, so that gives us a two week window for her to do well on the bottle and gain weight on her own.

Addison at Two Months

Addison is starting to smile and respond to us, which is very exciting. I will try to get video of it next time she does it.

Stay of Execution

Well, Addison has finally started to take 3 oz. on the bottle pretty consistently. She started on Friday, and we are hoping that it isn't just a fluke. I took her to get weighed before her appointment with the surgeon and she had gained 6 oz. since Thursday. Dr. Baumboree was very happy with her weight gain, but he still wanted us to meet with the surgeon so that he would know who we are if this is a fluke. The surgeon explained everything to us, but said he does not anticipate seeing us again. Here's hoping he is right.

Dog Parade

Today was a busy day! We let Regan skip her nap to go to the dog parade here in Lafayette with some of our playgroup friends. Afterwards we headed over to chik fi le for some lunch. When we got home Regan spotted some of her neighborhood friends playing outside and so Matt took her to play with them. All of this and she has been in a good mood all day. The only time she got upset was when I was going to pick up dinner and she wanted to come with me, but it was very minor and short lived. It's amazing what adrenalin will do.

The dog parade was fun, but reminded me a little to much of a New Orleans Parade....and not in a good way. Here we were with a bunch of kids not standing right at the barracade and this adult couple and their dogs (with no kids) came and stood in front of us. I was a little aggravated. To me, a dog parade is for children. But they had no problem acting like we weren't even there with our kids. I had to hold Regan the majority of the time so that she could see. I thought my arm was going to fall off. Regan had fun, though. She was clapping and yelling yay! and putting her hand up for beads. It was obvious it wasn't her first time at a parade. She was more interested in the beads than the dog. Particularly the red ones that the people next to us caught in the beginning of the parade. Red is definitely her favorite color, although she likes purple too. I think it has something to do with her two favorite characters. We finally got a red pair of beads and her day was made.

Barney Train Ride

I heard Regan singing a choo choo song in her bed yesterday morning when I went to get her. When I went in her room she had her Barney's lined up on her white blankey in the corner of the bed and she said "Oh hi mommy. I am taking my Barney's on a train ride." I gave the standard answer of...you are? She said "yes, this is Daddy Barney, Regan Barney and Addison Barney." My first reaction was where is the Mommy Barney, but then I thought it was probably better that there was an Addison Barney.

Weigh in

Addison has not gained weight since Monday. We are meeting with the pediatric surgeon on Monday.

Addison's First Outing

We went to the zoo today with playgroup, and Addison came with us. The weather was in the 70's today and it was outside, so I figured she was at low risk of being exposed to anything. She slept most of the time, of course, but it was nice to be outside. The weather was really yucky here for a couple of weeks, and we were all suffering from cabin fever.

We are go to the doctor tomorrow for Addison's twice weekly weigh in. Here's hoping....

ENT

We went to see the ENT today, and I was very happy with the visit. She said that Addison will get tubes when they do the peg tube, if they do the peg tube. If she does not get the peg tube then she will get them when she has her palet surgery or after her next ear infection. Whichever comes first. I am very happy, because I hate that she has already had two rounds of antibiotics and she is not even two months old. Everyone I know that has gotten tubes for their kids love them. We go back in a month, if we haven't gone before then, and they will finally test her hearing. We are 99% positive that she can hear, but it will be nice to have the test confirm it for us.

Not Good

We went to the pediatrician this morning and Addison had only gained two ounces in seven days. She is doing better, but still not good enough. She only gained 2 ounces since Tuesday. So, it looks like she is going to get the feeding tube that they put in surgically through the stomach. He's not doing it right now, because her weight is still in a safe range. But if she doesn't gain properly within the next two weeks then that is what we are going to do. It's heart breaking, but I will do whatever I have to do to make sure that she develops properly. We go to see the ENT tomorrow about tubes. The pediatrician thinks that the tube down her throat is probably not helping with the ear infections which is another reason why he is considering the peg tube. He said she will probably get the tubes and the peg tube at the same time.

On a lighter note, Amy (my friend's sister who does my eyebrows), was kind enough to come over to do a house call on my eyebrows. Her sister and son came, too. It was an eyebrow waxing party! Spencer, her son, was so cute! He wanted to hold the baby, because she is so soft. He would rub his cheek on Addison's. It was very cute.

Frustrating

Addison pulled her tube out again this morning. I wasn't to concerned about it, because today was the day that the home health nurse comes to check on her. Well, she called me this morning to tell me that the insurance company has decided that Addison no longer needs the tube because she is gaining weight. Yes. She IS gaining weight BECAUSE SHE HAS THE TUBE! So, I spent most of the morning dealing with that. I called the insurance company who said I had to have the pediatrician call them to consult on why she still needs the tube. I was more than happy to do that, because I knew Dr. Baumboree would have no problem calling the insurance company. He was very irritated when I called him. He said that this happens all of the time, and usually the person that is making the decisions doesn't even have a medical background. My first reaction was how does the insurance company think that they know more than the pediatrician who is treating her. You hear about this kind of thing happening, but you never think it will happen to you. Anyway, Dr. Baumboree said that since it is out and we are treating her for an infection to go ahead and see how she does on the bottle tonight and I can bring her in tomorrow for them to put the tube back in. In the mean time he will fight with the insurance company. The home health nurse said that the insurance company told her that I could put the tube back in when Addison pulls it out. I don't think so! A nurse needs to do it, because it can go into her lungs and then we really have a problem. As it is, I have to check it every feeding to make sure it is still in her tummy. On the bright side, Addison is taking more from the bottle. She is up to 90 ml on her own, but I'm not sure if that is enough for her to continue to thrive. I guess we will see with her weigh in in the morning.

Change of Plans

Well, the y-cut nipple did not work. She did okay with it when she was awake, but when she falls asleep she chokes because it comes out to fast. However, we bought some level 3 6 month nipples and she seems to be doing well with those.

I took Addison to the doctor yesterday, because she was acting fussy on the bottle and just in general. I wanted to make sure she didn't have an ear infection before I took her to get her hearing tested. Well, she has an ear infection. So, we cannot get her hearing tested today and we are being referred to a ENT doctor. Our pediatrician is calling one today. We may have to get tubes before her mouth surgery. I'm not to concerned, because I know several people who's children have gotten them and they love them. It's very frustrating with her getting so many ear infections, so anything that will help with that I am all for.

New Bottle

We got the y-cut nipple in, and they work! Yay!!! We can stop using the hospital bottles that leak! She doesn't take any more from them than she does from the hospital ones, but it is a truer reading. I think at least 5ml leaks from the hospital bottles in one feeding.

Addison is getting her hearing re-checked on Wednesday. Fingers crossed.

I finally started putting Addison's birth announcements together. Somehow I did not pay to have the ribbon put through them. I can only blame sleep deprevation, because there is no way I would volunteer to tie ribbon when I can pay someone to do it for me. Hopefully I will be able to get them out by next week. I would like to get them out before she is 2 months old. Although, it was really starting to look like 2 years for a while there....so I guess 2 months late isn't to bad.

Regan at Quinn's Birthday Party

Ten Pounds

Addison was 10lbs. 2oz. this morning. We are very happy!! I don't know why, but 10lbs. seems like a milestone. I talked to the pediatrician yesterday, and he said that we can get off of the feeding tube when she is taking 90ml by herself consistently. Not sure when that will be. She usually takes around 65ml by herself, but it can be as low as 40ml sometimes. I asked him if he thought she would get better with it as she gets older, and he said that yes....he does not see this as a permanent thing. As long as she is gaining weight, I am all for it. But it would make my life a lot easier if she didn't have it. She pulled it out again this morning. Luckily it was right before the nurse came to change it, so it was actually perfect timing.

I talked to the financial people at the surgeon today, and the surgery will only be about $2000 with us being responsible for $500 of that. Whew! Matt had me convinced that it was going to be much more than that.

In other news....Regan is not allowed to have her sippy cups in her bed at night anymore. It was a really bad habit that we let her get into this summer. Since we brought Addison home from the hospital it has contributed to some major sleep issues. She was using it as a stall tactic to not go to sleep. Even worse, she was waking up in the middle of the night wanting it. So we made the decision to take it away. It was a bad the first couple of nights with her going to sleep, but I think it was the right decision. She is doing much better with going to sleep, and she has not woken up in the middle of the night since. Thank goodness! Getting up with one is enough!

Surgeon

We didn't really find anything out at the Plastic Surgeon other than he is not in our network. Which means that we will have to pay 20% of the costs. However, he works like an in network doctor in that they take the insurance company write off. So, we only have to pay 20% of what the insurance company says it should cost. I swear, Addison is only a month old and she is already trying to break the bank. It can only be downhill from here. : ) I just have to keep reminding myself that this could be so much worse, and Matt and I are fortunate that he has a good job so this will not be the financial burden that it could be.

They are now saying that they will do the surgery between 6 and 8 mos. I am really hoping for 6mos. The sooner the better.

Regan and I went to playgroup for the first time in a long time. It is so nice to have the babysitter to keep Addison and to help me with feedings. But I also have gotten to nap for the past two days when Regan napped while she kept watch over the baby. I feel a little spoiled, because I know I am getting more sleep than most mom's of two right now.

Story Time

Sometimes Addison joins us for storytime, and tonight was one of those nights.

Tummy Time

Addison did her first "tummy time" this morning. She doesn't seem to mind it like her sister did. Regan used to start to fuss almost immediately when you would put her on her tummy. Addison stayed for several minutes before she started to fuss. Regan told me that she needed "to read to my baby sister." She never actually read to her, but had the prayer book open and flipping through the pages.

Regan loves my prayer book. I don't know if it is because it is red or if it is just because it is my book, but she loves it. I even read a whole service to her one day and she sat and listened. Maybe she is destined to do something in the church. She loves Veggie Tales, too.

Matt took Regan to New Orleans yesterday for Quinn's birthday party. He forgot the camera, so sorry no pictures. I think it was exhausting for both of them. Matt has never taken her on a trip by himself. Apparently she wasn't very pleasant on the way home. It's a long trip to make in one day. I have done it many times, but it is long. It's much easier to go for the weekend, but we won't be doing that for a while. I think she had fun at the party, though. She was very excited to go to the party I know for sure. She asked Matt all morning "can I go to Quinn's birthday party, please." She loves her cousin Quinn.

Eczema

My grandparents were here this weekend. Pop thinks that Addison looks like him, which makes since because I kind of think that she looks like Aunt Carla. But I wasn't sure if it was just because of the hair. Maybe this means that one of my children will look like me. Not that I think that I look like either one of them, but at least they are in my family.

Matt took Regan to the doctor this morning for her skin. She has these little bumps all over her trunk that she has been scratching. It is mild Eczema, and they gave her a cream for it. If it's not one thing..... I'm actually glad that is all it is. Eczema seems to be pretty common.

I also sent him with a list of questions for Addison. The most important one being whether or not we could add a powdered formula to my milk for Addison instead of continuing to use the human milk fortifier. When we first started her on it everyone kept saying how expensive it was. We didn't really pay attention, because she wasn't taking that much milk and we of course want what we think is best for our child. Well, now we are using four packs per feeding and the cost is starting to add up. We have gone through 200 packs in a week, and it cost $168 for a box of 150. Now we know why everyone kept saying it was expensive. The dietician in the hospital said that we could add the powdered formula, and it would do the same thing. Matt asked the pediatrician this morning, and he said that was fine. Whew! Matt said he was also pleased with her weight, which is 9 lbs. 3 oz.

I think I have found a "mother's helper." That is what they are called when they are only helping you with the children. There is a little girl in Regan's music class that has a nanny. The little girl has been in Regan's music class the whole time we have been in, and the nanny has always brought her. I asked her last class if she knew anyone that would be interested in part time nanny work. Turns out her sister was a teacher and went to work for FEMA for a year in New Orleans, and is now looking for a teaching job for next fall. So, it seems like the perfect situation. I need someone until the summer, and she needs a job until the summer. The only thing would be if she finds something that pays more. She comes on Thursday, and I think I am probably going to hire her. I think it is mostly going to help me to stay sane. Especially since we don't have family near by.

One Month Old

Addison is one month old today. One month down and five more to go before her surgery. I have attached a picture of Regan at one month old for comparison.

My grandparents are here visiting, which has been nice. Especially because as soon as Sue left Regan started saying "I need my Granny." Pop and Lil has been a nice distraction for her. Even if she was bouncing off the walls last night, because she was so excited.

It seems that chaos ensued after Sue left. Addison decided to pull her feeding tube out right before her 11pm feeding. She had tried earlier in the day with no success, but apparently she is like her sister in that she does not give up. We talked to the home health nurse and the pediatrician on call. Both assured me that she would be fine until the morning. Then we either slept through the alarm or it didn't go off. Either way Addison went six hours without a feeding, instead of the three that she is supposed to. I don't know how long she would have slept, because we were still the ones to wake her up. Luckily she was still 8lbs. 11oz., which is what she was the morning before. So, technically she didn't lose any weight. However, when we weighed her last night she was 8 lbs. 14oz. But it will be our little secret.

Sue called today and she has no gas. Apparently her neighbors yard guy hit the gas line and they came out and took her meter. So, now she can't come back until that is taken care of. Yikes! My grandfather has a meeting on Monday, so they can't stay longer. I think I can do everything except take Regan to school. Matt said he would handle it this week. I think we are going to look into hiring someone to help me until after the surgery. As much as I hate to spend the money, I think it will give me piece of mind. Especially because until this problem is fixed we don't know what we will encounter. We have no idea how long we will have the feeding tube.....etc...

Alone

Sue went home for the weekend today, and I did the tube feeding for the first time without someone in the near vicinity to call for help. We survived. She did try to pull her tube out. I saw the number 18 on the tube, and the 20 should be right by her nostrel. I was able to push it back in, and it was still in her tummy. Crisis averted. I also forgot to put her antibiotics down the tube, and tried to do it by mouth. Big mistake. But we got through it. Regan was sleeping, so that helped a lot.

Weight Gain

Addison is up 5 ozs. since we came home from the hospital. Her weight now is 8 lbs 9 oz. Yay!!! It is a team effort to get her fed, but we are getting it done. If she cries during her feeding tube feeding the milk won't go down, so sometimes one of us is holding her and the other is holding the syringe. Usually she is good, though. It's nice to have help either way, because it would be a lot to handle on my own.

I had to take her back to the hospital today for an echo. They heard a heart murmer when we were in the hospital, and did an echo then, but the vcr wasn't working. Which means the cardiologist can't look at it. They didn't see anything the first time, and they didn't tell me anything today.....so I am assuming that everything is still fine. They said the pediatrician would have the results in a couple of days.

In other news....knock on wood....Regan is napping again. Only for about 40 minutes at a time, but at least she is sleeping a little.

Things are looking up. : )

Hospital

I'm sorry that I haven't posted in so long. For those of you who don't know, Addison was admitted to the hospital on Thursday. She had only gained two ounces in a week, when a baby her age should be gaining an ounce a day. So, they sent us straight to the hospital and I have not seen the light of day until today when we were released.

The first night she gained four ounces, and they thought we would be able to go home on Saturday. But then she lost an ounce on Saturday and an ounce on Sunday. Needless to say it was frustrating, but we are becoming slightly numb to it at this point. The pediatrician on call told us on Sunday to start increasing her volume. When they first admitted us we were doing 20 minutes on the bottle and whatever she didn't take from the bottle less 60 ml we were giving her through the feeding tube. This was every three hours. She was acting hungry every two hours, and the first night I had fed her on demand (which is what you do when you nurse) and they fussed at me saying I was giving her to much. That I had to wait every three hours. They said that if she is acting hungry it could be a tummy ache making her do that and if I overfed her she would throw up, and we would be defeating the purpose. One of the times that I fed her she did throw up, so I listened to them. But I knew she was hungry before the three hours were up. I didn't think that a baby would have a tummy ache at exactly the same time after every feed. It has been much better since the ped. told us to increase her volume. We went up to 75 ml at first, and she did fine but was still hungry before her next feeding. And then we went up to 90 ml. She did fine the first time we gave her 90 ml, but then the next time she spit up a little bit and was a little fussy so we went down to 80 ml. With all of that she finally gained weight. I would have been really worried if she hadn't. Today she started to act hungry again before her appointed feeding time, so we went up to 85 ml and so far she has done well with that. Having nursed Regan we are having to learn all of this, plus all of the extra medical things that go along with it. I have no idea how much a baby this age normally takes, and I have no reference point. I am considering going to medical school. : )

We are home now with the feeding tube. We will have a home health nurse come in three days a week to make sure that she is gaining and that her feeding tube is still in the right place. We check it everytime we feed her, but it is reassuring that we will have a professional checking it also. One of our neighbor's little boy had four holes in his heart and had to have open heart surgery. Needless to say, he had trouble gaining weight in the beginning of his life too. They were actually at the hospital at the same time that we were, because he had an extremely high fever. Matt ran into them at the coffee shop. They said that they actually owned a baby scale from when their little boy was having the same problems, and that we could use it. We are so greatful! It will give us great piece of mind to be able to weigh her every day. The pediatrician also seemed happy that we would have this. He wants her to gain 20 to 30 grams a day.

Regan seems to have handled this as well as a 2 1/2 year old can be expected to handle this kind of thing. She was a little hyper when we got home, but nothing that wasn't to be expected. She did ask us right before she went to sleep if we were "all done with the hospital." We told her that we were, and she went right to sleep. I think she is glad to have us home.

We got a lot of calls while we were in the hospital from friends and family that were concerned about us and Addison. Thank you all for all of your thoughts and prayers. It means so much to us. Also, we could not have better neighbors. They were so kind to come and take Regan to play and give Sue a little break. They are always willing to help as are our other friends out here, and we are very appreciative. One doesn't know how nice it is to have people to count on in times like these. Which brings me to my final thank you. We could not do this without Matt's mom Sue. She has been so wonderful to stay with us and help us during this time. We are so greatful!! It really does take a village!

Daddy time

Today Addison and I were alone together for the first time. We thought Regan started back to school today, so Matt's mom took her. Turns out she doesn't start back until Thursday.

Addison goes back to the doctor to be weighed on Thursday. Everyone keep their fingers crossed.

Regan is having trouble sleeping these days. We put her in her bed for her nap, and she doesn't ever go to sleep. She plays for a couple of hours and then we end up getting her down, because it is close to 4 o'clock. I don't know what to do other than keep putting her in there. At least she is trapped, and I can get some rest. Hopefully this is a short phase that won't last long. I think she is to young to give up her nap. Although, she isn't really cranky at night. Who knows?