A Day in the Life: Jillian edition

I just put a call in to Jillian's pediatrician regarding her numerous reflux symptoms. We have been in a haze the last 3 weeks with her being in pain and us being helpless to help her. It's gotten pretty unbearable and has really stressed the family out. I tried changing my diet but it's apparant that we need medical intervention. I feel like Dominic has really gotten pushed aside and I really hate that.

That being said, I thought it would be interesting to document what a day in Jillian's life looks like, partly because I like to photograph her and partly because I know that this existence we are currently in will not stay etched in our minds forever. Believe it or not, we will forget how much she cried due to reflux, making those old man faces. We will forget trying so hard to figure out what will ease her pain. We will forget...eventually.

So here's an adapted version of Jillian's day yesterday.

Let's begin with a morning stimulating activity.

Ten minutes is about enough of that!

Time for a snack.

A quick snooze!

Wardrobe change! (due to spit up, NOT her diva attitude)

Some brotherly love.

Hanging with a good friend.

The bewitching hour (aka: cry time!)

That's about it for the day. I spared you having to see her cry at 3am. All in all, not a bad way to spend the day, eh? Minus the hurt and crying, that is.

I wish I could, but I just can't...

Today is National I Don't Give a Shit Day and I would normally LOVE to participate in this great day of observance, but I just can't bring myself to do it!

I've got so much going on in this house that I need to really give a good shit today and get this house back in order! Last week David was out of town on business all week. The first 2 nights were okay. Then it started to get harder. On Thursday we had to take a run to the ER with Jillian and thank God my parents were staying the night with us. I don't know what I would have done! Luckily, she's okay and we are coping with the idea that our little angel may have reflux. Yuk!

I am doing an elimination diet to rule out any sensitivities she may be having that would cause this reaction and man is it HARD! I thought giving up Cokes for Lent was bad. I can't have ANYTHING it seems!! The only way I can seriously cope is to look at little Jillian and know that this may make her feel better and keep her off meds, although I'm pretty sure prevacid is in our near future.

She is growing like a weed! Already up to 7 pounds!! My sister is supposed to come today and take photos of the little lady and I'll be sure and post some of her cuteness soon.

We've got some family coming in to visit (Hi, Aunt Suge!!) and we are really looking forward to that, as well. Dominic keeps talking about Aunt Suge's house. He seems to think that she lives right down the street because every time we pass a certain house he points and says, "Aunt Suge's house. Let's go!"

Other than all that, we have been pretty much home bodies, except for the occasional mall visit. Yesterday's trip was an epic FAIL so we tried again today and were able to redeem ourselves. Both kids are napping now so I'm going to get in some zzzz's while I can. Wish me luck!

Dad's Day is coming...

So Father's Day is quickly approaching in 6 short days. I have been scouring the internet to get some ideas for photo projects for the hubster and came across this site.

http://www.chicaandjo.com/2008/05/08/magic-folding-wooden-photo-cubes

The project intrigued me and I knew I could do it if the naptime fates would allow me some uninterrupted mommy time.

I was able to get this completed in two days. It was so much fun to go through the photos and pick out some of my favorites. This cube allows for 10 photos to be used. I just love how it turned out and I know David will, too.

Here's my finished product:

Isn't that just the coolest gift idea??

I figure it's okay to post this since the hubster only checks the blog occasionally and he's in for a pretty hectic week this week.

Baby's waking up for her 9pm feeding, so I've got to dash!!

Due Date!!

Today is my original EDD and Jillian is now 15 days old. We had our 2 week check-up yesterday morning and were shocked and thrilled to discover that she is now over 5 pounds! She has grown 2" and is doing great! I have designed her birth announcement and just need to print them out and get them in the mail. I would share one here, but it's got information that I don't want to post in a public place. You understand, I know...

Dominic has been warming up to his sister little by little. He loves to stroke her soft hair and hold her tiny hand. He repeats, "I think she likes me." It is really very sweet. Just look how proud he is:

We are starting to get into somewhat of a routine. The doctor recommended that we stay away from any playdates for another two weeks, but we are okay to have private playdates. This week we are meeting my friend, S and her daughter B, at the outlet mall to buy Little Miss some clothes. She only has 7 outfits that fit properly. Her NB clothing will probably start fitting better in a few more weeks if she continues growing like this.

I contacted a former LLL buddy via Yahoo Groups and we are planning to get the kids together next week sometime. She has a daughter who is a little older than D and she just had a son a few weeks before Jillian so we have two sets of kids close in age. Of course, Dominic has fallen in love with her oldest daughter, who talked with him at church one Sunday, thus earning a spot on his "cool list". Her "flashing" shoes helped her rise to the tippy top of the list.

Cabin Fever

Having two kids is slowly sinking in. Before Jillian was born I tried to prepare for just how to deal with two kiddos, but in reality there really is no way to know what to anticipate. For instance, we are totally sequestered this week. With us being homebound until Jillian gets her shots next week, we have all had a bit of cabin fever.

Tuesday we had AM and M come over to drop off dinner and they stayed for about an hour and a half so the kids could play. That was a wonderful distraction for both D and I. Jillian happily slept the entire visit!

Yesterday after Daddy got home from work and we'd eaten dinner, D and I headed outside to play hopscotch and to blow some bubbles. In the shade it wasn't too bad and we stayed out for about 30 minutes before his cheeks got all red.

This morning I had it all together enough to gather the two kiddos and head outside before the heat got brutal for some sprinkler jumping time! M and O spied us outside and headed over to join us. The boys had fun running after one another and seeing who could get closest to the water sprinkler before conceding defeat and fleeing to Mom. I'm proud to say I think D won that "contest".

Tomorrow we are planning on baking a little sweet goodness. What we'll bake is still up in the air, but we'll see how we feel tomorrow.

Only 4 more days and we are free to roam about the country (or at least the city).

And now a photo just because it's so cute: