I am thinking flu bug...

OMG is all I have to say. She had an awful day yesterday. She started barfing from about 3:30 pm until bedtime, which was around 9pm. She must have thrown up at least 15 times until there was nothing left in her except bile. It was so awful. I ended up stripping her to her diaper and running to the sink when she started to heave. She went to bed with absolutely nothing in her as she threw her last bottle up around 8:30pm. She was in pain as there was nothing left in her. This all happened after she drank some water from a new sippy/straw cup. I know water couldn't do this but I think that got the ball rolling maybe. Words cannot begin to describe this. Of course, Jack had to attend another after work dinner thing so I was flying solo until about 8:00pm. I handed her to him and she barfed all over him and unfortunately Parker got hit hard with, what looked like, 4 L of vomit. He had to have an emergency bath on top of everything. So, this bottle issue either has progressed into this or she has a flu bug. My guess is the latter. She was white as a ghost and had a constant stream of tears running from her. She was cold so I ended up wrapping her in blankets and just sitting with her all afternoon. I knew what to look for ref. dehydration from the last time she went to Emerg. She had a bone dry diaper this morning, but she managed to drink a 6 oz. bottle and keep that down so far. She slept from 9pm-7:30pm so that shows how tired she was, but I was a wreck and kept waking up with my heart racing and a horrible feeling in my stomach. When I would race in to check on her she was sound asleep. I thought I heard her crying. Then at 4am the Angel Care started beeping and I literally fell out of bed running to the nursery. She had herself tucked in a little ball in the far corner so she was off the sensor...ahhhhhh. Ok, I am not wanting to re-live this any longer so here are some cute/new things:

1/She rode in a shopping cart like a big girl for the first time yesterday as we needed to make an emergency trip to Wal-Mart for diapers. I thought I had another bag of them...nope. She had one left!!! She was thinking she was pretty cool sitting up there, but at the end of the trip she was getting tired so she was a little whiny as she is used to being able to kick back and have a little power snooze in the stroller. She did like the attention she received in the check out line though. hahaha She was also not feeling good apparently. :-(

2/I found the coolest (yes, that is a word) sippy/straw combo that she took to right away. Nuby makes it and the spout is very soft silicone and it is wider than the average straw. It has a variable control valve thing that she can vary the flow with how hard she sucks. She loooves it. Too many parts for my liking, but whatever works. It also has a slide cover to keep the straw clean. She literally sucked once and had it down perfectly. She sat in the Bumbo sipping away and then she barfed. :-(

3/She is talking up a storm. Her new 'words': Num..Num..Num. Nam, Nam, Nam. Mon, Mon, Mon. Notice there is everything but Mom? She did say it once and I totally flipped out and scared her so I am thinking that one will take a while. She says most of her words in the high chair while she is eating.

Well, she is napping so the smart thing would be to do the same so that is all for now.

Shari

p.s. if this had nothing to do with her regular bottle problem, I owe Janelle a big tall honkin' girly drink of her choice for suggesting this brand of formula. I will also give the Doc a big kiss the next time I see him for suggesting a lower iron formula (maybe not a kiss, but I will be very happy).

Here we go AGAIN!!

I knew this was too good to be true!
The bottle problem is back including power pukes and all. What else is there to say that I haven't already said in previous posts. I was in denial in thinking maybe she just has a touch of the flu...nope. Same symptoms. The max she has made it previously before an episode was just over two weeks so I wasn't totally getting my hopes up until we made it to the three week mark. NO such luck. I am very impressed with the quick response I have gotten from the Stollery...A-HOLES!!!

Happy B-Day to me!!!

I am one lucky girl. I received some absolutely beautiful cards from my family and just received the most beautiful bouquet of flowers from Colin, Heather and Robbie. The message was amazing. It is my private message so I am not going to recite it, but trust me, the words on those little cards mean so much to me and I will treasure them always.

Thank you so much!!

Visitors this weekend

My Dad and Diane came out this weekend to see Kailey (and us) ;-). We spent most of Saturday down at the Marina and the beach. Kailey had a major power snooze on the walk so they will have to see her on the baby swings the next visit. She played shy with Dad at first but it didn't take her long before she was a-ok. She definitely has a personal space boundary. hahaha. She was pumped to have someone other than us in the house and she showed off her voice and her Jumperoo skills. Here are some of my favorite pictures from the weekend. They were shocked at how much taller she is since the last time! I knew she just finished a major growth spurt.

To see all of them click here: http://s129.photobucket.com/albums/p220/sjrugg/May%2027%202007%20-%20Gido%20visit/

Kailey's play date

Today Kailey got to meet Connor (my friend's son). She thought he was pretty cute and smiled at him while he tried to escape....hahaha. He warmed up to her later one though and then they were staring at each other. Very funny to watch. We took them for a walk trying to find some swings and then we went back to her place where Kailey got to try out his toys. I forgot her bottle so we had to cut the date short as she was getting hungry/cranky. We came home and she finished her bottle in under 5 minutes and ate half a jar of beans after that. I guess all the excitement wore her out as she is having a major power snooze.

Oh YUCK!!! Girl germs...

7 months old!!

Another month...poof...gone!!

We had a great day. We went to the beach and she had a blast in the swings. She was introduced to sand and lake water for the first time. She slapped the water and quickly pulled her hand back and gave me a shocked look like, 'why is it not warm like the bath mom? and where are all my rubber ducks?' She spent most the the time in the swings and when she started to get tired we went back to the marina to watch the boats. She drifted off and I got myself an Iced Cap...couldn't resist. You can tell it is tourist season. There were quite a few people out walking so she met a bunch of people and was totally impressed by a 19 month old girl named Hailey who had these fancy beads on...hahaha. She got to wear an outfit I picked out for her before she was born (12 mth size - lucky I pulled it out to try it on). Bell bottoms...hahaha.

More pictures...

http://s129.photobucket.com/albums/p220/sjrugg/May%2023%202007%20-%207%20mth%20old/


A view of the public beach & the paved walking trail

Kailey visits the marina

Just when I think I want to move away from here all I have to do is take a quick 10 minute drive and I am at the lake. So peaceful and pretty. I took Kailey to see all the boats at the Marina this afternoon. She loved it. We then took our walk along the paved walking path(a newish feature in Cold Lake) along the water. It was just totally relaxing and awesome. They have a specialty coffee shop right by the water so I think I will have to grab a Latte the next time we go. Tomorrow, weather permitting, I will take her to the beach. Hopefully I will get some nice shots of her for her 7 month photo.

'On-the-go' stroller

Here is Kailey's new 12 lbs. stroller for quick trips to the mall and Dr.'s etc. As you can see in the pictures, she loves it and I have spent a good portion of the night pushing her around the house in it. It comes with a snap on bug/sun shade and also a rain shield.
The picture below I had to put on here as this is one of her expressions that totally melts my heart. It is not a huge grin but you can see the happiness radiate from her. This is the face she had the first time I put her in the swings at the park.

Kailey loves shoes...

Whenever we are at Wal-Mart I usually take her down every aisle and sometimes I stop to try shoes on her which usually results in her belly laughing. I wanted to find a pair of open toe sandals for her so I tried a few on her and decided on these. Very cute. Her problem is the fact that her feet are sooooo narrow so everything is way too wide for her. Luckily there are two adjustments on these. She loves wearing them and if she can see her feet she is constantly rotating her ankles and watching her feet. She realized quickly that they make a loud noise when she stomps her feet down when we are 'walking'. All in all...I think I am creating a shoe loving girl...yikes.

Can this be true??

Kailey actually likes another brand/style of soother....YES!!! You don't realize how awesome this seemingly minor thing is. Her current ones are not sold here and the only place in Edmonton that sells them (Toys R Us) no longer carries them. I had to order them online. I am forever going on mad binky search and rescue missions as she only has 2. She actually was pretty excited about these ones too. She hates any nipple - *I could stop typing there but I don't want to give myself a complex*- that has the ortho/bend in it. The size has to be just right too. I guess you could call her a binky connoisseur (yeah, thank God for spell check). The other cool things about the new ones is there are little bumps at the base for teething. The name is rather clever too...Paci-Flyers..tee hee.

Nap time!!

Kailey loves when I take her to bed with me for her morning nap. It takes her a little longer to fall asleep as she is so excited and loves to chat with me, but I love being face to face with her. Sometimes I just read or if I am tired enough I will have a power snooze next to her. No matter where I put her on the bed she manages to sneak over to me so she is right up against me. I managed to get some pictures of her waking up...can you tell she loves to wake up with me there?! She is a little sleepy today and ran a bit of a fever last night, but she is happy and playful, so the shots didn't effect her too bad.

I found a game for her to play where she can sit up and entertain herself for quite a while...yay. I put random things in a large bowl and she pulls everything out and taste tests each item and then puts most of the stuff back in the bowl banging it against the other items, or she chucks stuff across the room and the dogs try to steal it away...grrrr. She rather play with things like spoons & little plastic lids and containers than her own toys. She will sit totally unassisted for 15-20 min while discovering her items. She is in full concentration mode as you can see in the pictures. Very cute.

Kailey was a trooper!!!

We just got back from her shots and I am pleased to report that it was so very different than last time. She was totally happy and trying to impress the Nurse with her talking. It was a new Nurse this time and Kailey loved her, and so did I. She was awesome!!!! Kailey sat on my lap amusing herself and tried to participate in the conversation by squealing and doing her deep raspy laughing. She, of course, cried when the needles went in and it was so loud I could feel my ear drums popping. She recovered from the three needles very quickly and was back to 'talking' and smiling while we had to wait for 15 minutes to make sure there were no immediate reactions. This Nurse was the best I have seen or spoken to. She was totally helpful and so sweet to Kailey. She went over her and mentioned in passing that she has a flat spot but didn't make a big deal about it at all like the other one did. She told us that we are lucky to have such a good little sleeper even if she chooses to sleep flat on the back of her head. She really wants to help try and figure out her eating issues so she took a whole bunch of notes and is going to talk to the older Nurses to try to find something out. She was so positive about everything. She didn't chart her on the growth graphs so I didn't have to hear about how 'huge' she is. She told Kailey how cute & how gorgeous she was, so that had Kailey doing her head-cocking, eye rolling, silent squeal routine. All in all, a very good appointment. Phew.

Happy Mother's Day!!!

Yahoooooo...I really am a Mom. What an amazing feeling to know that I get to celebrate this day not only as a daughter but as a Mom. I am truly one of the luckiest people in the world. Happy Mother's Day to all the mommas out there, especially my Mom, who I wish was here. If I can be half the Mother you were for us Kailey will be one lucky girl. Love you. xoxoxo

Jack did something really special for us. He bought matching necklaces with pendants. Both of our birthstones - one in each with two diamonds to represent Kailey and I. I am wearing her stone around my neck and we put the other one (my stone) in her keepsake box so we can give it to her when she is old enough. Very sweet.

Click the link below to see some more pictures and a funny video of Kailey laughing in the tub.

http://s129.photobucket.com/albums/p220/sjrugg/Mothers%20Day%20-%202007/?mediafilter=all

Random shots

When I had Kailey at the shop yesterday, Jackie and I put these little Doggles on her and she didn't seem to mind them so I took them home to get a picture of her in them. Dog sunglasses...hahaha.

Look what Daddy bought me!!!

After our walk to the park today!!

New formula...

So this is the start of day 2 on the new formula. I am cautiously excited to report that she appears to be happier. She took to the new taste right away, but I did have to play with the temperature because she is accustomed to a room temperature drink(was on powder before and now on concentrate). It is nice being able to make the bottles up ahead of time and have them in the fridge. I figured out the perfect amount of time in the microwave to take the chill off and have it almost room temp. 20 sec. *AHHHHHH....NOOOOOO* that was the sounds of the health unit nurses screaming at the fact I am using a microwave...hahaha. I swish it around and test and feed. She is still only taking 2-3 oz at a time, but the big difference is the fact that she is not screaming during feeding. Instead of her symptoms getting worse as the day progressed she was actually feeling happier. Am I to assume it is the lower iron? Who knows. This is pretty thick stuff compared to the old stuff but whatever will work for her. Jack was surprised/relieved when he came home from work to a giggling K-Bear. We had a few outings yesterday. I took her to The Woof Inn to pick a couple of her dogs up from being groomed then we went to the infamous Boardwalk gift shop to see Dorthy(owner, yeah, I have purchased a few things there..lol). She was happy to be out and about. She went to bed with just a couple of ounces and a bowl of oatmeal in her around 9:30pm and slept until 7:45 this am. She is taking in about 20-24 oz of formula and three solid meals now. I guess her milk needs are decreasing due to the solids. I do think that she is losing weight though. Her thighs are starting to thin out. I guess I will see what she weighs as her 6 month shots are next week. I can hardly wait.

We plan to hit the park today if the weather cooperates. She is taking her big 2 hour nap right now.

Remember?
How tiny she was...amazing. If I could just have one day with her that tiny again.

Where Do I Begin?

So Miss Kailey went to the Doctor yesterday afternoon after what would be one of the most horrific days in Kailey history. She was not eating anything, not even her favorite cereal. She was crying pretty well non stop from 7:30am until 10pm. She took a crying break when I had her out in the stroller and at the park as you can see in the pictures below. I was losing it so I called the Hospital and they told me to come right away to see Dr. Stander. After an hour and a half in the waiting room where, surprisingly she was mellow and happy, we saw him. He looked at my face and knew I meant business. Fix my baby now!! He went over her again and, again, is at a total loss. He is calling the Stollery today to see what's up. The only thing he thinks may be causing this is her formula and the fact, like all formulas now, it is iron fortified. All the cereals she has been eating also has iron added so maybe that is why this seems to be getting worse. Some adults and babies have a sensitivity to iron and the main symptom is nausea and vomiting. He recommends I talk to the pharmacist and have them suggest a non fortified formula (I guess they make two or three) and give that a try. He also suggested trying some All Bran (1 tsp) ground up in her cereal once a day. He is the Doctor so I trust him, but there is so much emphasis on the importance of iron formula. I guess it is worth trying it to see if there is a change. I put her back on the #1 nipples because when she is ravenous she gulps too fast and chokes.

The poor thing is hungry you can tell. I will say this again because there still seems to be advice coming my way ref. maybe she is just not hungry, she'll tell you when she is hungry. I do not care how little or how much she is taking in as long as she is happy, healthy and gaining weight. This is not the case, however. She is starving during these bottle strikes and is in obvious pain. If she wants to drink only a fraction of what she normally does in any given day I wouldn't care, but it is the painful crying and obvious hunger that has my Dr. contacting the specialist.

She drank 20 oz over the period of the day and a couple spoonfuls of cereal. While she was sleeping she was sniffling/crying. Those 20 oz. were in 2 oz. intervals & while she was drinking she was crying. Tons of fun. :-(

She just drank 2 oz. out of a regular cup. I thought it would be messier than it was, but what a slow process to give formula that way. She managed a bowl of cereal and apples today and one 6 oz bottle so I am happier about that. She seems to be in somewhat of a better mood too so that is good. She is such a happy girl usually so this is awful seeing her change into a unhappy baby over this.

Do You Think They Are Related?

The Great Outdoors...

Yeah, I know, another post with more pictures. These are cool because this is the first time Kailey got to play in the grass. It is about to storm so it is lucky we got back from the park in time. She touched the grass and lifted her hand up and looked at me and smiled. She kept patting it like she was petting one of the dogs. Too cute. Yes, she does have several hats. The wind picked up so I put her knit one on.

Teething Toes?!

Mom, you never told me that I have on board teething toys!!

Just some funny shots

These were taken after our outing this afternoon. We met up with Jackie and Frasier at the ball diamond on base to let him and Parker play, but the highlight of Frasier's day was seeing Kailey. She is a pretty easy kid to take anywhere it seems. She had some of her bottle in her stroller and ate a bowl of cereal too. She later crashed for a nap so I reclined the stroller and put a blanket over her and she was out. When it was time to go I had to wake her up and she was a-ok with that too. As long as there is action she is a happy girl. She got to show Jackie how she can 'walk'. She is quite proud of this and my back is killing me because she likes doing it so much.

Oh, Holy Cow...there is a baby in that mirror!!

Not sure if you can see it, but her head is starting to change shape. There is improvement so I am thrilled. We inserted a foam orthopedic mattress pad under her crib sheet and I think it may be helping the situation. It will take some time but I am pleased that it is not as severe as it was in December.