Gastric reflux

Things will soon begin improving at our house. Poor Elise has been diagnosed with gastric reflux. Jeff and I recently noticed that Elise was getting more and more fussy during and shortly after feedings. She began to push away from nursing or from a bottle by arching her back and screaming. Obviously something was wrong!


Elise and I went last Tuesday to the pediatrician's office (she now weighs 7lbs 13oz!). After listening to all of our symptoms, the doctor prescribed Elise an antacid. She is now almost a week into her medication. We hope to see continued improvement but it may still yet be another week until it reaches its maximum potential. This is a medication that Elise will take this until she outgrows the reflux. As babies are born with immature sphincters (the part that stops acid from the stomach backing up into the esophagus), she will take her medicine anywhere from 6-12 months. It's hard being so small!!


I have also been wearing Elise around the house in a wrap (thank you Julie!!). We have other wraps and baby carrying backpacks but nothing has fit her size like this 'ultimate wrap'. It's perfect to wear Elise around the house. Not only do I get a lot more things done , but Elise is extremely comfortable. Hopefully it reminds her of more quiet times in the womb! I'll try and attach a photo of us kangarooed together. She almost always falls fast asleep right away. It's amazing how warm she can be.....I'm glad it's not summer!

Happy Valentine's Day

We hope everyone had a wonderful Valentine's Day! Elise spent most of the day sleeping- as did the dogs. We just wanted to post a couple of photos with Elise Paige sporting her holiday outfit.. compliments of our friends the Hebekas.

Due date

It's hard to believe that yesterday was my due date (February 11th) when Elise has been here for over 5.5 weeks! She seems to be leaps and bounds past what a newborn should be! She wants to hold her head up whenever she is awake until she wears herself out. It's amazing how she has all that control in her little neck muscles- enough so that she can lift her head and turn it around without too much bopping and shaking. She also likes to push up on her feet when you hold her against you. I am sure that she will go from laying to walking without crawling in between. Afterall, she seems to be sooooo advanced (don't all parents say that?!)!!!!!We celebrated her 'birth' day with a bath (which she hates except for having her hair washed) and Aunt Amy brought her a book (Snuggle Puppy). All-in-all, it was a regular day... and without any labor!

This past Monday we had our second pediatrician appointment. Can you believe that Elise is now 6lbs 13oz?! She's already almost 7lbs! Needless to say, she doesn't have problems eating anymore! The doctor still wishes for us to feed her when she demands which is anywhere from 1.5 to 4 hours. Of course I am always rooting for 4 hours when it's night but Elise doesn't always get my memo. Maybe in another month or so we will get the green light to start trying a schedule. Until then, it's a free-for-all! Unfortunately, the pediatrician in still wants us to keep Elise at home (and away from large groups of people. People=germs!) and no outdoor walks until it's in the mid 60s. That could be anytime from now until May with Ohio's weather. I'm looking forward to walking the dogs and the stroller all at the same time. One big family unit!

Announcement photos

I'm enclosing a link to the photos that we used (and didn't use) from our announcements. The Toledo Hospital has a photographer that takes pictures of all the babies before they are released. As you can tell, Elise is quite a ham!

http://www.our365.com/NewbornPortraits/BabyDetail.aspx?birthid=4bf35324-0aab-48f2-abfa-fcb8e7bc179c

We have a pediatrician appointment late this afternoon.... we'll be posting more updates soon!

The weigh in!

As it turns out, our insurance company covers Elise for the RSV vaccine. I was sure that after they reviewed our recent large bill (I'm not kidding when I say large!) at the hospital, they would decline covering the vaccine. We were pleasantly surprised when we received a call from the clinic asking us to make an appointment. Due to the high cost of the injection, our pediatrician's office doesn't even carry it in their office, so it was necessary to head back to the hospital.

Prior to getting her injection, Elise needed to be weighed in order to calibrate the correct dose. We all had been making bets as to how much she had gained. My arm has been getting more and more tired carrying her around the house so I wasn't thinking she had maintained the 5lbs that she weighed two weeks ago at her checkup appointment. My father (Papa) was able to join me on the trip-- so he was there when the nurse announced she weighs 6lbs 3oz!!! Mind you, this was after she shed her very poopy/wet diaper and spit up on herself. She could have weighed more! What a little tanker! We are proud of our little chow hound!

After the weigh in, Elise had her vaccine in her thigh. She wasn't very happy and her lungs got a good workout! In 3-5 days, she'll be 99% protected from RSV. Next month, she'll get the final dose for the season. If she should happen to be the 1% to contract RSV, it will be significantly milder. Thanks medical mutual for the $1000 shot!

We've been blessed to have so much help from our families. Jeff's parents have been helping with vacuuming (yes, two more weeks and I'll vacuum by myself everyday...all day long!), meals, and sitting while I run errands. My parents have been here for the week, spelling us on some late night feedings, giving us a date night, and time for napping. We truly are lucky. It does 'take a village to raise a child'! We are lucky to have such wonderful grandparents!

We're still eating every 3 hours-- even less when Elise gets fussy. Obviously nights are still a bit rough since sleeping 2 hours and up for 1 hour can be taxing. Maybe our pediatrician will change up our feeding schedule when we visit her next Monday. After all, our preemie is no longer a little girl! She's starting to wear big clothes now! No more preemie clothes...we are into newborn and 0-3month clothing! We love our little porker!