4 Months!

Lila Jane, you are FOUR MONTHS OLD!!

Looking back...
2 months:3 Months:
And now....FOUR MONTHS OLD!
You have changed SO much in the last month, Lila Jane!! You are now 13lb 10 oz and 25 inches long! That puts you in the 75th percentile for length and between 50-75th percentile for weight. Dr. Livera says that if you stay on this growth curve, you could be around 5' 6" when you grow up!!

You're really starting to eat well! While our first few tries at food were more about getting used to feeling the mushiness in your mouth, you've really started swallowing and figuring out what to do with the foods now. You've eaten rice cereal and avocado. You don't really act like you like food, but you also don't seem to mind at all that I'm poking it down your throat! Ha! You're still taking mostly breastmilk (about 5 bottles a day, with about 5-6 oz per bottle), but you rarely nurse anymore. There's not enough time in the mornings to nurse you, and we make sure your last bottle of the day is formula so that you'll sleep better through the night.

With all of that eating, one might think that you should be doing a LOT of pooing. However, you have decided that once every three days or so is plenty! After our first couple months with 12-15 poopy diapers a day, I never thought I'd see the day that you needed to poo MORE often! Dr. Livera told us to start using some glycerin suppositories to get you regulated, but every time we start to get to them out, you suddenly poop!

You've always been a very content baby, and would just be happy wherever you were. Now, though, you are SO interactive! If you're in your carseat, you want to be batting at the toys dangling from it. If you're laying on the floor, you want some toys or a mirror to look at. Even if we're holding you, you like to have a burp cloth or blanket to hold on to and chew on. You also LOVE faces. You like to "talk" to people, and even LOVE the little baby that lives in mirrors! When all else fails, you can be entertained for a looong time by playing with and chewing on your feet!

We finally started you on the medicine for your fat lip. It made Mommy REALLY nervous to put you on a blood pressure medication, but I'm already glad we did! We can see a big difference in your lip, and the lumpy hemangioma on your back is definitely smaller and softer as well. We are going to see the plastic surgeon once a week until he decides it's time to take you off the medicine. No one really knows how long that might take.

You had your first stomach bug this week, too. You woke up from a nap at school, and you spit up all over yourself. Mrs. Allison called me to tell me, and as soon as we got your clothes changed, you did it again! By the time the worst of it was over, you had puked 4-5 times and it was nothing but green bile! EW! We made a frantic call to the dr. office, and Daddy came and got you and took you in. I was really nervous that you were starting to have some side effects from your medicine, but Dr. Livera said he thought it was just a virus. Sure enough, you threw up some Pedialyte that night, and were fine by the next day. Daddy stayed home with you, and you guys had a great day while Mommy worked and worried about you.

This pic is of your in your beautiful sweater that Jude made!! Mommy made the sparkly bunny t-shirt underneath, but the sweater stole the show! You're also wearing your new shoes we got you!
This is the outfit you wore to school for your big 4 month birthday!! Mrs. Megan at school got you the cute polka-dotted tights, and Mim got you the polka-dotted bow!! You looked SO cute. Too bad you had to get that awful tummy bug and spit up all down the front of it. Oh well, you very rarely (if ever!) make it home in the same outfit you went to school in! Your teachers call you the "Trendsetter" because of all of your wardrobe changes! It might also have to do with the fact that you always have a matching hat, socks, and bows to match every outfit! They laugh at me, but I LOVE playing dress-up with you!!
You are such a beautiful and happy baby! I just love you so much that sometimes I could gobble you up! Your daddy feels the same way about you! As much as I hate seeing you grow up so quickly, I'm SO proud of all you're doing, and I can't wait to see what the next month will bring!!! I love you, baby girl!!

Derby City Roller Girl

Warning! The above picture is merely a teaser and has nothing to do with this actual post. It was just too darn cute to let fall through the cracks. With that disclaimer aside, on with the show!!

This evening, I put Lila on her pallet on her BACK. That's her favorite way to be. She hates tummy time, so I make her teachers do that with her so that I don't have to hear her cry. HA!

So...if I put Lila on her back....then tell me HOW IN THE WORLD DID I CAPTURE THESE PICS MOMENTS LATER?????

Do you see that look of pride? She KNOWS she's up to no good!
Yes, folks. I think we have the official first "rolled over" out of the way. She does seem stuck on that right arm a bit, but it didn't seem to bother her in the least.

And the reward for all of that work? She finally caught that pesky runaway hand she'd been looking for! That's my girl!!!


In other unrelated news, Lila will officially start her hemangioma medication tomorrow. We've put it off a couple times while we deliberated and sought further medical advice. We have kind of agonized over the decision to move forward with this, as it is pretty much a trial medication. It is a beta blocker and will lower Lila's blood pressure. We have now spoken with the plastic surgeon, two pediatricians, one cardiac nurse practitioner, and many online websites and forums. We will start the first dose in the morning, then go to visit the pediatrician at 10:00am for a check-in to make sure her body is tolerating the blood pressure change ok. I feel very confident that we won't have any problems, but we wanted to move cautiously....just in case. We took some "before" pictures of each of her hemagiomas tonight, so I really really really hope to have some astounding "before" and "after" images to share in a few days!!

Leapin' Leprechauns!!

These 1/4 Irish eyes were definitely smiling yesterday at the St. Patrick's Day parade!
One of my very first dates with Clay was to the St. Pat's parade, and we've been every year since. We couldn't wait to include Lila Jane in the tradition!
Even though she's wearing her "serious" expression, she really did have a great time! I shot these few pics before we left.
For all of you who comment and remind me to be sure and get pics with ME in them, here you go!

Lila got serenaded by a bagpiper right behind her! I really thought she would wig out because it was so loud, but she never did! She did finally startle a bit when a semi went by and honked, but I calmed her down and she was quite happy again!
She lasted about two hours through the festivities before she finally decided she'd had enough and got a little fussy. I carried her back to the car, and Clay shot this pic. I thought it was too cute with her little serious eyes poking over my shoulder!

Before the parade, it was kind of cool out and (you won't believe this!) I forgot to pack a hat for LJ. We were wondering around before the festivities, and I stopped in the Celtic Center, a little store that carries all Irish/Celtic items. I saw this little hat, and thought it was really cute, but I didn't want to pay the $$ for it. I came out and laughed and told Clay how cute it was, and he marched right in there and got it for our little 1/4 Irish princess! HA! Ya think he's wrapped much?
We had an awesome afternoon!! It's so fun to get to do these things with Miss Lila Jane!!

Look Who's Talking

I know it sounds kind of like babble, but Lila is trying to tell you all about her doctor's appointment today. We went to see the Plastic Surgeon today, and found out that there is a new drug that they are using for hemangiomas! It is a drug that is actually for high blood pressure, but they have recently found that it also is extremely effective in eliminating the pesky hemangiomas, so we're going to give it a try. She will be on it for 6 weeks, then we'll go back in to evaluate any changes. Sounds much better than surgery! The doctor said that while most hemangiomas resolve themselves beautifully without intervention, he's found that the ones in the T-zone (eyes, nose, mouth) of the face do not do so well. So, we're really glad to find a treatment option. Should we not have luck with this drug, he said we'd just wait until she's 3 or 4 to go in and surgically remove it. I had expected him to recommend a laser treatment, but apparently that is only effective on the bright red strawberry-like hemangiomas on the surface, as the laser reacts with the red color. Or something all technological like that. So, now we know, and have a plan!!

Someone...
is starting to try to roll over!

Happy Birthday!

This week we celebrated two very important Birthdays!! This outfit has BIG clues about whose Birthdays we celebrated! Can you guess??
Yup, Hop on POP, written by Dr. Seuss! Dr. Seuss's Birthday is March 2, and Pop's Birthday is March 3. What a fun week! Lila celebrated on Wacky Socks Wednesday at school with this fun outfit and her mismatched BabyLegs and silly socks.
Thursday was Pajama Party day!! I'm not really clear on the distinction between "clothes" and "pajamas" in Lila Jane's size, but we wore these fun fleecy jammies, and fit right in!
Today was Dr. Seuss's Birthday party at school. LJ wore her OTHER Seuss onesie (why, of COURSE she has TWO!) with her Rainbow Brite BabyLegs and fun socks. Since they all match, it was obviously NOT silly sock day. This is just normal Lila attire! Ha!

We had a lot of fun dressing up this week. I didn't get pictures of Lila's Mixed Up Monday or Top Hat Tuesday ensembles. I'm clearly slacking!

This weekend, we have big plans! Aunt Carrie and Uncle Andy offered to Lila-sit Saturday night, so Clay and I have the evening to ourselves. We've tossed around several fun ideas including a nice dinner out, a friend's party, and a play. We're still not sure what we're going to do, but in all honesty, I'd be just as happy to stay home and SLEEP! I'll keep you posted!

Last night, after I drug myself into bed, I had to give Clay a warning.
Lori: Honey, I'm too tired to do it right now, but I'm probably going to have a meltdown soon.
Clay: Oookay. Are you stressed about Lila not eating well?
Lori: Yes. And I'm exhausted. And I'm tired of washing dishes. And pumping. And feeding. And laundry. And waking up at 4am to feed some more. And doing more dishes. And my hair falling out. I'm VERY tired of fistfuls of my hair falling out every day. I'm going to make a rug out of lost hairs. I feel like Samson, and with every hair that falls out, I lose a bit of strength and sanity.
Clay: Oh. Ok. I'm sorry?
Lori: Thanks. Night night.

And with that, I'm off to wash dishes. And pump. And wash those exact same dishes again. And then go to bed. Because guess what! Lila Jane took a full 5 oz bottle before bed tonight with NO tears!! ...and she didn't cry, either. There's hope for a full night of sleep here, and I don't want to miss a minute of it!

Did you really want to know?

Carrie Beth emailed me earlier this week:

Hi there, How is Lila doing this week so far??

My reply:

Aside from a raging case of anorexia, she’s delightful! She’s been fever-free since Friday, and has been pretty much herself. Except that she no longer likes to eat. WHO IS THIS CHILD, and WHO ARE HER PARENTS?? We don’t quite understand the whole fiasco, but she’s holding strong, eating only when she deems it absolutely necessary, and only then IF it’s the exact right temperature and flavor and timing and the bottle is held JUST right and such. And then she’ll only take 3-4 ounces. OH, except in the middle of the night when she is too sleepy to remember her severe anorexia and suddenly wants to binge eat off my boob. Yay me. I’m thinking maybe she just has a lot of drainage going to her belly and keeping it full so she’s not feeling as hungry. I hope that’s all it is.

So fun story about Miss I’llonlyeatonmyownwhim… I woke her up this morning, got her all dressed and cute and fresh with her little matching socks and hat and all, then headed to the kitchen to get the bottle she was inevitably going to refuse, when I heard the unmistakable sound of the poo. It’s distinctive. So I turned right around and headed back to change her bottom before it squished out the legs. I was successful and had her all cleaned up on the changing table, but she was still making those little grunty squeaky sounds that babies make and squeezing out bits of poo, so I was cleaning as I went when IT happened. Yes, IT with all caps. She blew a LOAD of poo ALL over the changing table. And the nightstand. And the floor. And her MAMA. And into her open tub of Aquaphor. Oh, and there was pee involved as well. The nursery is destroyed. I didn’t even know where to start, so I cleaned her as best I could on the saturated stained table, put her naked self in the crib with a blanket between her legs, and started stripping the changing table. I used the soiled table cover to sop up what I could off the floor, but I’m not sure what I’ll do about the rug. I had to completely change my clothes, and completely redress her. I guess it’s a good thing she’s in her anorexic phase, because she didn’t even dare ask about her bottle after all the drama. I swear she just laid in her bed laughing at me. I’m copying mom on this email because I couldn’t bear the pain of typing out the whole saga again. So aren’t you glad you asked how Lila’s doing?