4 Months Old

Well I havent blogged in a while, but things are changing and changing around the Driskell home, at least with Allison. She has two TEETH. She started teething around 13 weeks although I didnt know that was for sure what was happening and then when we went to the doctor on November 5th she already had a tooth budding at the gums. Poor Allison as I didnt know what was happening but the doctor explained that all the symptoms that Allison was going through were all related to teething. She went through screaming fits (not bad though), diarrhea, not eating hardly at all for three or four days, drooling all the time, and her hands were always in here mouth. When she wouldnt eat I had to call the pediatrician and start watching her diapers as we were concerned she was going to get dehydrated. Bless her heart!!! So once we knew she was really teething I went and bought all that I could, I am such a sucker. Lets see I got her some small teething rings that you put in the fridge, nighttime oragel, tylenol at night, teething pacifier, teething tablets and teething strips. Right now she loves this teething bee, that was given to her in Wimberley. She always tries and bites peoples hands, if you give her anything she puts it straight into her mouth. Allison is also making so many noises really more recently within the last week or so where she will squeal or babble more rather than just coo. She still loves to bounce on things especially legs but she is loving the jumperroo. She still loves her acitivty mat, her rattle, pulling on mommies hair, her swing-although she is getting too big for it b/c it swings very slow b/c she weighs more, her bumbo chair, and now her exersaucer. She is still pretty little in that her legs barely touch the bottom but she still sits in it and tries to play with some of the toys on it. She is wearing between 3-6 months although in some dresses she still wears 0-3 months. THE NEW NEWS is that Allison is sleeping in her own room!! Yay, although I miss her especially in our bed sometimes, but things are so much better in that Allison is sleeping 7-8 hours most nights. She gets to sleep around 7-7:30 after her bath and bottle she is out. Sometimes she will wake up at 11 and sleep until 6 or 7 and others she will sleep from 7-330 and be hungry. I really dont mind getting up at that feeding b/c it honestly takes 10-15 minutes and she is out again until 8. We finally had to take her paci away as the doctor felt like she had developed a habit of it with trying to go to sleep and thus the reason she was getting up so many times per night b/c she truly didnt know how to fall asleep. So we did the cry it out method and we got a sound machine that plays rock a bye baby all night LONG, so on the monitor that is all we can hear all night :) THE cry it out method was terrible although it really only lasted two nights. The longest she cried was about 40 minutes, but it was the longest 40 minutes ever! I had to go take a shower b/c I kept wanting to go up there and comfort my sweet baby. But honestly it worked and it didnt take long before she herself was getting more sleep. I read Healthy Habits, Happy Child, and it was a great book with many good references. All the other sleep books I didnt care for, but this one was straightforward and explained things in great depth. We also had our first weekend away from our baby girl. The Driskells kept Ally all weekend long for Alaina and Brett's wedding. I thought it would have been a lot harder, but with being so busy and me already used to leaving her some during the day it wasnt as bad as I thought. Since then she has had another slumber party with Mama Mel over Thanksgiving while dad and all of us went to Bandera. Allison is drinking between 5-7 ounces at this time every 3-4 hours. She is growing so much and is such a joy and good baby. She honestly cries when she is hungry, overly tired, and if she is bored. But she never cries long and is easily comforted. She recognizes people, especially me and Will. Its so cool to see her and her smile just light up. She is such a precious gift in our lives.

Allison Statistics: Weight 13.49, 47%, Height 25.25 84.9%, Head 16 41%

16 Weeks Old

Allison is getting cuter and cuter by the day, at least I think so :) She is so active and is laughing all the time. She rolled over from her back to her stomach at 14 weeks and now will not quit rolling over. I can no longer put her on her back without her rolling over. She rolled over from her stomach to her back a while ago but for some reason she wont do it anymore. She gets upset when she is on her stomach for a while and will start crying. She is so animated right now too. She grabs at things and loves her activity mat. She has noticed she can make things move when she hits them. She also loves her hands and they are always in her mouth. She is drooling a lot which makes me wonder if she is starting to teethe.
I went back to work a couple of weeks ago. I cried and cried the day before and the day I went back to work. It was so many strange feelings all rolled into one. On one hand I truly miss her and am wondering what she is doing all the time. Its hard going from being with a baby every minute to being away from her for eight hours. I think also it was a chapter that ended that I didnt want to end. You think you have so much time and then its gone. So I think I cried for that reason too.I absolutely loved my maternity leave and truly got to spend such wonderful time with Allison. But after the second or third day I got more used to leaving her and getting back in the full swing of things. If I had gone back full time I truly dont know if I could have done it, so I am so thankful I am able to work part time for now. I am getting some time still with her.
We have been relatively busy or shall I say poor Will has been busy traveling almost every week. It has been hard without him at home espcially when I have to work. Allison was doing so well with her sleeping but right when I started back to work its like she changed and no longer really sleeps until 3 like we had it. She can only stay up until like 730 or so without crashing. So I usually do a dream feed at nine and then she gets me up at 1, 3, 5, but there is really no pattern. Sometimes its better than that and then others it can be worse. But I will say I can get her back down in 10 minutes or so or less if I dont feed her. We go to the doctor next week for her four month appointment so I hope I can ask her what she thinks and also about the cry it out. Although she does very well going to bed, I just dont know how to handle the mid-night times.
I took Allison to the pedi at 12 weeks because she developed a really bad rash, which turned out to be eczema. It was really bad so we have to put cortisone cream on her and cetaphil lotion every day. AND cannot wash her clothes in anything scented. Once I rewashed everything and put the cream on her she is much better although it still flares up.

Being a Mom

Wow, our baby girl is almost three months old. I truly cannot believe so much time has gone by so quickly. I almost get teary eyed writing this as it seems like its going so fast and I am trying to savor every second. I am truly in love with our little girl and I am in love being a mother. Its truly the most special thing to be able to care and love something so dearly. She keeps rewarding me by giving me the cutest smile and small giggle every time I look at her. I can play games with her such as "bouncy baby" where she bounces and bounces off my legs with me helping her but I say over and over bouncy baby and she gets more and more excited. Its so sweet. We also still play Super baby where she is like a little superman. Yes corny but I love it b/c she loves it. We are still working on our schedule although she has done quite well at night. We have gotten 7 hours straight but its on average 5-6 at night so there is a usual 4am feeding although it only lasts truly 10 minutes and she goes right back to sleep for 3-4 hours and then we feed again around 7 and go back to sleep until 9. Usually at the 6 or 7am feeding I put her in bed with me. :) I am reading all sorts of sleeping books to see what I should be doing and for the most part we are doing what they say to do. Although I am a sucker for that pacifer, Allison truly loves her paci.Once I put it in her mouth when she is sleepy its like her eyes start rolling in the back of her head. Allison is not a napper, she is like clock work on a 40 minute nap schedule. She eats, we play, diaper change etc and after an hour with all of that she is ready for a nap. But then she sleeps for only 40 minutes and the rest of the time its me trying to get her back to sleep or we just hangout until the next feeding. Sometimes she wants to eat though 2 1/2 hours and she is truly hungry. SO who knows. ALLISON DID ROLL OVER last week. Only once and has not done it again. But we were doing tummy time (which we need to do more) and she had this burst of energy right when I put her on the mat and just rolled over. She is also smilling so much and cooing all the time. She half way giggles which most would count that as laughing but I am waiting for a full outlandish laugh. She halfway giggles at me and smiles at me so much that I am convinced I am hilarious. Who cares that she is only 2months old. My maternity leave is up this week :( I am truly in denial I still think and I start back to work on wednesday and then I work on Friday. Will is also been traveling the last three weeks and will travel the next two at least so that has been kindof hard. But I have been on maternity leave so we traveled to Wimberley/Austin last weekend and then I went to Houston and Crockett. It kindof broke up the week and mama mel helped me with Allison when she got off work. Allison is going to go to a lady on Wednesday and I pray that it works as good as I think it will. I am so nervous and sad although I think part time will be great and it truly is a great schedule. I just am not used to being away from her at all. I will truly miss her so much. Allisons reflux is still pretty bad, poor girl. you can tell when she is in pain. I got the medicine compounded (makes it in a liquid form) but she hates the taste that she keeps spitting it out. Jenny and Andrea both had their babies this month. They are adorable. I cant wait until we get them altogether. Life is truly so good and special right now. What a wonderful time in Will and I's life. I am truly cherising every moment.

Things to remember:

Maternity leave-traveling a lot with Will and being in Houston

Snuggling with Allison in my arms

Dream feeds (tried it three times, one time it got us to 6am but the other two she still woke up at 3)

Allison rolling over

Allison smiling, cooing, almost laughing completely

reflux still bad

2 1/2-3 hour schedule feed, play, nap, try to nap some more or hangout, play, feed again

dressing Allison in all of her clothes now that they fit

pumping, pumping, and more pumping... Allison not interested in breastfeeding except for in the middle of the night. She def prefers bottles so I have my hands free bra and pump away. I am still making about 3 1/2oz per breast for 10 minutes.

Allison is now drinking 4-5 oz per feeding- she did drink 6oz last week at one feed

Allison is now weighing 12 lbs or so. She has moved to size 2 diapers and is wearing in between 0-3 and 3-6. Her thighs have gotten so chubby as well as her cheeks. SOO CUTE.

9 weeks old- Smiles Smiles and more Smiles

Miss Allison is 9 weeks old. We have yet again been traveling. I came home from Houston on Thursday morning and Will was already home from his audit. It was great being with mom and fred and Allison enjoyed her grandparents. We had Allison's 2 month checkup and her following statistics were:

Heights: 23.5 inches long-92%

Weight: 10 lbs 5 oz- 45%

Head: 15 inches-39%

Statistics from previous appointments:

7/19/2010

Height: 20.75-66%

Weight: 7 lbs 5 oz-24%

Head: 14-38%

7/08/2010

Height: 20-64%

Weight: 6 lbs 12 oz-21%

Head: 13.25-18%

The doctor was soooooooo impressed by Allison and her strength. She said she was almost rolling over and she couldnt believe she was already showing signs of that. She said her head strength was really amazing as well. We ended up switching Allison to Prevacid twice a day (stronger than Zantac) and it has really helped. Feedings are so much better and she is doing great. She mainly only cries when she is hungry or overtired. She is such a good baby although she doesnt like to be alone. She constantly wants someone holding her or she wants to sleep by her mommy and daddy although she just wants to be by someone :) Doctor said we shouldnt let her cry it out until she is 4 months old. She got all her shots- they give her sugar water while giving her two shots at once. She cried for a solid 5 minutes loud but then calmed down and slept for about 2 hours. We thought she would have slept more but it didnt happen. I am happy that she didnt get any fever and didnt seem sore. She did great.

This past week we went to back to houston because Will had another audit in houston. BUT we got to celebrate our 2 year anniversary while Mama Mel babysat Allison all night long. We went to Brennans on the Bayou - nice steakhouse and stayed downtown at the Hilton. We had a lot of fun and it was a perfect 2 year anniversary. The rest of the week we stayed at the Candelwood suites- it was good at first b/c we had a living room, bedroom, kitchen, etc.. but after 3 days we were all ready to leave. WE all shared a double bed one night-will, me, allison, and bailey. Allison has done so well. She has literally traveled most of her life already -haha, she has been to Crockett twice, Houston twice, Longview twice, and Wimberly twice. This past weekend we were back in Wimberly. Allison got in the river for the first time. She had her leopard bikini on and actually did great. She ended up falling asleep in my lap.

IT has been so much fun these past couple of weeks. They say babies "wake up" after the 6th or 7th week and she really has. Its so fun in that she can interact with you more and smile. She has done a half giggle if there is such but its defiitely some type of laugh. She loves it when you make noises with her when you do the bicycle with her legs. She is pretty happy in the morning. She still loves baths and I have just begun reading to her at night. We started with Goodnight Moon. She still loves the car and it puts her to sleep. She has a mirror where she sits that plays songs and she has really started to interact with it. I love being a mother and I am so comfortable with her. It is truly a blessing and I just cant wait to see how she is going to look and act in these next couple of months.. I looked back at just two months ago and she has changed so much. Our routine at night is usually a last feed around 1030-1130 and then she will wake up to eat either at 3 or sleep until 530 or so. Then we will go back to sleep and she will wake me up around 730 to eat and then we try to go back to sleep until about 930. She has slept about 3-4 nights per week where she will sleep for 5-6 hours straight. During the day we are trying to incorporate more tummy time. Although she doesnt really like it, so we do it more on my stomach. She has great head control and loves to kick and jump off my belly. I usually lift her up high when she starts jumping. She smiles a lot when we play like this on the bed.

Things to remember:

Smiling (started around 7 weeks)-- it truly melts your heart when you see your child smile at you and interact with you

Eating- she still eats every 2 1/2-3 hours about 3oz although this past weekend she has been eating around 4oz

Pumping in the car :)

Bicycle- Allison loves this especially when Sherry does it

Lamb-sleeps with the sounds it makes every night. She also sleeps on the inclined sleep positioner in her bassinett, pack n play, and in our bed.

We dont swaddle her at all- she kicks all blankets off -- she is pretty hot natured

Still goes through about 10-12 diapers per day

This week we will be here at home-thank goodness but then next we are traveling back to Houston for Will's audit. Will post more soon.

7 Weeks Old

We have been pretty busy. We have had another trip to Crockett and now Houston. Allison has been doing very well. She has slept 2 nights now for 7 hours straight. Her routine normally is waking up about once per night usually around 3 or 4 and then goes pretty much back to bed. Which is pretty wonderful. When at home, she usually goes to sleep in her bassinett at night but if she is pretty fussy I will put her in bed with us. She has been going through some phases where I at first thought she had colic, but now I know it was acid reflux. Last Friday I called the doctor and told her some of the symptoms, fussiness while feeding, arching her back, screaming in pain etc etc and they called her in some zantac. It actually has helped, poor baby, I feel bad it took me a while to call the doctor so that she could get some relief. Its so strange but I can see some of her behaviors like she did in the womb, such as being very active for an entire day and night and then sleeping a lot the next couple of days. Although its a little different now, she does go through days where she is so awake and then completely drained. She has so far hit all of her milestones, the biggest and most rewarding I will say is when you see her smile. At first she would smile usuallly when she had finished eating but now she will smile (sometimes) when you play with her. She has grown so much and I cant wait to go to the doctor this Friday to see how long she is. I have weighed her and she is 11 lbs 5 oz, but not sure what the doctors scale will say. She has to get her first set of immunizations which I am excited about so I dont feel like she is so vulnerable and I can feel more comfortable getting her out and about. Granted she goes many places now, but I am still careful. Being a mother has truly changed and blessed my life. I cant believe she is ours, I am still in disbelief.
Things to remember:
Zantac medicine
Mylicone Drops (we use these daily, as Allison is quite gassy)
Lamb that makes white noise sound (she sleeps with this for every nap and nighttime)
Head control-- She is getting better and better about holding her head up
She doesnt like socks, blankets on her legs-always kicking them off
Hot natured
Smiling- she has started smiling at things in her enviroment
Loves to look at fans
Her trying to nurse on Will's nose :)

Allisons First Trip to Wimberly

Well last weekend we went to the river with Allison. We loaded up ALL OF OUR STUFF which consisted of pack n' play, pumping bag, milk bag, will's bag, my bag, allison's bag, and 2 other bags filled with all the other baby stuff we might need. John and Emily met us on Thursday around 6pm and we all rode down to Wimberly together. It was a good trip although we had to stop at Whataburger and feed Allison. I actually had to pump in the parking lot- man have things changed... haha, but we made it work. We got to Wimberly around 11pm- fed Allison and tried to get her down. I went to bed around 130 and Allison was up from 3am-6am... Needless to say I was exhausted Friday but excited to be at the river. We got up had coffee and enjoyed the day. I had my first beer in 10 months!! It was weird, I felt like I was doing something wrong. We hung outside for a couple of hours with dad, natalie, wyatt, john, emily, will and I. Sandra and Stan came down and met Allison. We then loaded up and all went to Salt Lick. Allison slept the entire time, she did great!! Then we got home, I took a small nap with Allison and the rest of crew floated the river for what was supposed to be one hour according to dad, but it ended up being 3 hours and they had to paddle/walk the entire time. HAHA, I keep laughing out loud about the scenario, they were so pissed when they got off the river. We ended up just hanging out that night and ate pizza. We got up the next day went to the big house on the hill, had coffee and listened to music. Got in the river that afternoon, and had a bbq that evening. It was perfect weather, and Sherry helped me out so much with Allison. I am forever thankful :) We headed back on Sunday pretty early and are now trying to get back into a routine...

The first weeks at home

We have been very busy, not to mention that we have already made three out of town trips. I know most people are not suprised as people say we never sit still, but at least for now Allison loves car rides so we are able to do it. The first week home was interesting as I was going through so much anxiety. Not sure if it was no sleep, scared that I was doing everything wrong, out of whack hormones, but I will say I was quite anxious. We went to the peditrician on that Thursday the 8th and Allison had gained all her weight back plus three ounces. The first night home was interesting, we ended up bringing the swing into the room and putting her in it as we hadnt gotten any sleep. She slept good in it and I was scared that our baby was going to have to live in that swing for her first year of life. I believe the second night we put her in bed with us on the sleep positioner. It worked for an hour or so.... although the doc said she wanted her to learn to sleep in her bassinett and fall asleep on her own. We are definitely still working on that, but will say the swing has stayed in the living room. Miss Allison is 4 weeks old!! Crazy that this time has already gone by. At this 1 month mark, Allison is definitely not on a schedule, some days she is really active in that she wont go to sleep so mommy thinks she is always hungry. And other days she sleeps during the day and will eat 2 1/2- 3 hours. I will say at night Allison does pretty good. Knock on wood, but it seems like she will go down and sleep the entire 2.5-3 hours and then go back down relatively easy. She has started gazing back at people and she will grab on to your clothes or will's chest hair :) She has so much better head control, she can lift her head up for a couple of minutes if she is on her tummy. She also can control her head for a little while if she is sitting on your lap. She is definitely a grunter, my nickname for her is my little goat, not sure if its gas or just her finding her voice. She makes all sorts of noises lately. She doesnt seem to like being swaddled, so we dont do it at night. Of course I wonder if we should and maybe she could sleep longer. Who knows?!?! She has had 3 nights where she slept 5 hours straight, although I had to wake her to eat. I didnt want to wake her but I knew she wasnt at her 10 pound mark and she isnt supposed to go longer than 6 hours until she is 10 pounds. All the rules!!!! The third week was good in that the second week was hard for me so anything was better. I wasnt as hormonal, not really anxious, got used to Allison, and probably more confident in myself to know what to do if she was upset. The second week Iwas anxious, she was sporadic in eating, I was still getting used to breastfeeding, and we made our first car trip. HOW I did it I dont know, but Allison did well in the car. I cant believe this child is 1 month old and she has made 3 trips, Longview, Crockett, and Wimberly. Go Allison.

Things to Remember:
Gripe Water- we use it often as it seems like Allison gets in pain from gas or what not
Mylicon drops- again gas drops- seems to help
Pumping/Breastfeeding every 2.5-3 hours often 2-2.5 hours
Grunting noises
Sweet smiles after feedings-not on purpose but you can tell she is content
Grabbing onto shirts
Head control, she can lift her head for many minutes especially if she is on your chest. Although she is still our "bobble head" she is gaining much more strength as she can sit on your lap without her head falling over.