Grayson: Three Months

I wish I could say life was a little less hectic around here but the truth is I've forfeited about ten household chores in the name of getting a quick blog post up while the kids are sleeping.  Only two days late... not too shabby.

Here is the rundown:

• We switched to Prevacid a few weeks ago and it is working!  He is such a happier little dude and I am a much less stressed out mommy.  It isn't hard now to make him smile and he has even let out a few little half-giggles.  Who knew there was such a happy boy trapped in that fussy body?
• Grayson is still not sleeping very well but we're working on it.  I am waiting until he's closer to 4 months old before we let him cry it out too much which means many hours of paci-in-paci-out while I give Ava a bath or make her lunch, and still a lot of 'Sorry Ava, I wish I could play but I have to hold your brother'.  He regularly sleeps for the first hour of his nap and then wakes and is usually unable to get back to sleep even while being held.
• A few days ago he rolled over from belly to back for the first time and is very close to rolling from back to belly.
• Still must be swaddled to sleep but has a couple of times fallen asleep unswaddled in his swing--something he would have NEVER done before the Prevacid.  However slow, we're making progress!
• He loves sucking on his hands when he's awake and they are free.
• Thankfully is now consistently sleeping between feedings at night, though he is still eating every 2 1/2 - 3 hours with the occasional longer stretch.
• He is quite the imitator of noises and faces and is so fun to 'play' with.  When I'm making silly noises and trying to get him to smile, without fail he will push out his lower lip and pout, I will imitate, and then he turns that pout into the biggest grin.
• Grayson is just moving to 3-6 month clothes and is able to wear a few of his 3 month and a few of his 6 month outfits.  He is also just moving up to size 2 in the Target brand diapers (they run big).

Schedule of the moment:

5:00am Feeding

6:30am Wake up

7:30am Feeding & awake time

8:45am Nap (wake at 9:45 for pacifier, holding, swinging, etc)

10:30am Feeding & awake time

11:45am Nap

1:30pm Feeding

2:45pm Nap

4:30pm Feeding

5:45pm Nap

6:30pm Wake him for Prevacid

7:00pm Inevitably feed him early

8:00pm Down for the night

10:00pm Wake him for feeding & then right back down

10:30pm - 5am Usually wake once or twice for a feeding

Some snapshots of the big, happy man:

38 Months with Ava

There have been a few new developments in Ava's little world since I posted about her last.

She is wearing panties for nap time!  Only a mother could headline with this news.  Though she has been potty trained for over a year, up until a few weeks ago she was still wetting her pull-up at both nap and bed times.  This big step is big news in our house!

Ava is going potty all by herself!  I am most proud of her newfound ability to get up in the morning, go to the bathroom by herself and get back in bed until her clock says she is allowed to wake up.

Whether out of desire or necessity, Ava has become quite the pro at solo play.  She is so fun to watch, her imagination is at it's peak and she will talk to herself and her toys for hours some days.

Despite her incredible memory and skills in speech and other areas, Ava has yet to master the alphabet.  She is actually quite uninterested, doesn't recognize most of her letters and I think she lies about the ones she does know just so I'll leave her alone about it.

Ava, my love, you are so sweet.  And stubborn!
You are just like your mama and you are quite the even match for me.
You love to rough house with daddy and play pretend with mommy.
You are encouraging, insightful, witty and full of fire.
Though it gives me a headache, I will do whatever it takes to make sure your firey little self never dims a bit.

Update On The Fussy Man

Here is my darling Grayson.

And here he is approximately 2 seconds later.

I wish I could say we were getting somewhere with his fussiness and acid reflux but that unfortunately isn't true.  And actually I might say the opposite is more accurate.  In the last two weeks Grayson has had very few good days and is now exclusively sleeping in either the swing or propped up on a Boppy pillow in his elevated crib.  With this change he is still waking shortly thereafter and is unable to get himself back to sleep, even while being held.  The poor little thing arches his back so much he won't relax in any position and remains that way until it is time to eat again.  Of course there are exceptions to this but this is the norm and he is sleeping far less than he needs.

Last night we finally received the call that his Prevacid prescription was approved by the insurance company and he got his first dose before bed.  The doctor said it can take up to 2 weeks before we see any real improvement but I am banking on it being sooner!  My poor man is miserable and we are exhausted.

I cannot wait to see if this medication change is the relief we've been waiting for.  I anxiously await the day when Grayson can spend most of his day sleeping, not scream when he's done eating, or burping or spitting up or supposed to be sleeping, and when we can again get into a routine of crib sleep and sharpening his self-soothing skills.  Of course I am also looking forward to the day when he will sleep through the night!  We are both yearning for it, I know.  He has twice done a 6 hour stretch but in general is sticking to two 4-hour stretches or something close.  And my goodness I long to see more of those precious smiles.  Be still my heart.

Acid Reflux

On Monday morning, with the company of my friend Erin, Grayson and I made the early morning trek to Geisinger Medical Center in Danville, PA for his appointment with a pediatric Gastroenterologist.

Thankfully, we left with a pretty certain diagnosis and treatment plan for Grayson's "extreme fussiness" (who knew this condition actually has it's own diagnosis code).  The NP we saw was fairly certain Grayson does not have a sensitivity to milk or soy in my diet (relief!) but is sure that he has acid reflux that is not well controlled with the Zantac that he's been frequenting.

In the last two weeks Grayson's fussiness has hit a new high and he spends many hours a day either inconsolably crying or whimpering, even while being held.  His eating schedule has remained fixed but his sleeping schedule is out the window for now.  The poor little man can't keep himself asleep even while swaddled and sucking in the swing or in our arms.  It's heartbreaking, to say the least, to watch him arch his rigid body while he cries a cry as if he's just broken a limb.  We are thankful for a game plan and praying that it produces some happier results for our Grayson.

The plan is to switch his dose of Zantac first from 2mL twice a day to 1mL three times a day, until his new prescription is available.  Once the insurance authorizes the switch, he will be put on Prevacid tablets to hopefully (within about two weeks) more potently squelch the acid situation.  With that, we've been advised to add rice cereal to his bottles, give him Maalox or Mylanta and a Probiotic, as well as elevate his crib and hold him upright for at least 30 minutes after each feeding.

Grayson is also scheduled for an Upper G.I. Series next Thursday to make sure we aren't missing anything anatomically that might be contributing to his discomfort.  Though I'm not expecting anything to come of this (he really isn't a huge spitter despite his other symptoms), I will be glad to be thorough.

I hope in a couple of weeks I can report back with better news!

Grayson's Photo Shoot With Maryn Lee Photography

My dear dear friend Maryn agreed to come visit us once again and take some beautiful pictures of me and my kiddos.  Unfortunately Blair had to work but she did an amazing job capturing our smiles even while all three of us were due for a nap!  I am so grateful for these photos of the (mostly) completed nursery and my sweet babies.  Thank you Maryn!

Here are some of my favorites from our photo shoot.  Visit her website for more photos!