Update to last week!

Things are much better this week. My breastmilk is back up and Livee is nursing regularly. We had a few rough days, but I'm so glad we came out on a positive note. But, we do have thrush now. So we will be dealing with that for about another month. Fun fun.

Now on to new developments. Dave has been holding onto her hands and letting her "walk" for the last week or so. She really does take several steps! And today I stood her up at the coffee table and let go and she stood holding on for at least 10 seconds!!! We couldn't believe it! Especially since she still wobbles and falls over when she's sitting up sometimes. She still hates to be on her tummy, so who knows if she will EVER crawl. Dave had her on his belly today and she was off of her tummy on her hands, but she still starting fussing after a minute or so.

So, here is a pic of our little overachiever!

Pediatrician and Breastfeeding Woes

Since last Thursday life has been pretty rough. I took Livee to the doctor for her 6 month checkup only to have to argue my way into the appointment. Even if you are making regular payments at our doctor's office, they apparently send the whole bill (!) to collections if the balance is not paid in 90 days. Then, if your bill is in collections, they will not do well-check appointments. I was totally unaware of any of this. They said they notified me that it would go to collections, but I don't have the letter.

Anywho, I finally got Livee in and then we had to see the nurse practitioner. Nothing against 'em, but I don't like this one. at. all. She has been very pushy and defensive with me both times that I have expressed an opinion that contradicted hers. Livee is a little thing - only 12 lbs 11 oz. Which isn't a great gain from her 4 month weight of 11 lbs 8 oz, but it's not horrible either. Well, the cpnp (nurse practitioner) INSISTED that I top her off after every feeding with 2 oz of formula because I can only pump 3 oz. RIDICULOUS! Anyone who knows anything about breastfeeding knows that you cannot tell how much your baby gets from how much you pump. So, I was already upset and stressed out from arguing about the appointment and this stressed me out more. Plus Livee had to have shots, so she ran a fever the rest of the day and the next day. Over the weekend my milk started getting lower and lower. Fortunately, Hayden was in the 'Ham with my in-laws for the weekend, so I didn't have to worry about him. But on Sunday I had to nurse Livee pretty well all day (like a newborn). Tonight it seems to be much better and I have gotten some herbal supplements that are supposed to help.

Hopefully there will be NO supplementing. Formula isn't the worst thing in the world and I know it wouldn't be bad for Livee, but breast is best in my opinion. And if there is ANY way that I can continue breastfeeding, I WILL do it. It is THAT important to me. If you start supplementing even just a little, it usually leads to a lot and to a loss of milk supply (which is really hard to get back I've recently discovered). So, long story short. I am breastfeeding her still, with no supplementation. She now nurses from both sides instead of just one and eats anywhere from 2 to 6 oz of food a day. I may stop by the pediatrician's office next week to track her weight gain and if it is non-existent I will have to consider other options. But for now, I am sticking to my guns...so to speak.

At 6 months, Livee is:

12 lbs 11 oz and 26 inches long

Reaching for everything

Sitting up pretty steadily on her own

Playing in her exersaucer a lot

"Talking" to us

Reaching for her toes all of the time

Scooting backwards on her back

Reaching for me when I hold out my hands

Still watching Hayden like a hawk

Using her pacifier most of the time to go to sleep

Taking 1 ml of Zantac twice a day

Drinking 1 oz of juice a day

Eating a variety of solids (homemade! yay!) including sweet potatoes, peas, green beans, butternut squash, avocado, applesauce, yogurt, pears, and peaches

Snow Day Video

Pardon my scary laugh.

Fun Times

Last week, we broke out the shaving kit that Hayden got for Christmas and let him play with it in the bath tub. He seemed to enjoy it-for about 5 minutes and then he was done. Oh well. Got some cute pictures anyway.

Last Monday, Dave and Hayden "camped out" in our den. Hayden got a new kid-sized tent from Santa, so he got to sleep in it. He was so comfy and cozy.

Also, wanted to give you a taste of 4 year old logic. The other night, Hayden and I had soup for dinner. I ate some butternut squash soup and gave him the rest of some leftover homemade potato soup. When he sat down to eat he said, "Mama, this is 3 times I'm eating this." As if that was the end of the world. He cracks me up sometimes.

SNOW!!!!

It actually snowed while we were in Georgia! Usually, it snows here while we're in Alabama and in Alabama while we are in Georgia. But last night, the white stuff actually fell and stuck! We are so excited and got out to play this morning while Livee was taking a nap. I'm a little sad I didn't get a picture of her in it, but she has a pretty congested cough so I just didn't want to drag her out in the freezing weather. Hayden slid down his slide and down the driveway on a pool float, made some snow angels, and threw a few snowballs. We stayed out for about 45 minutes, then came back in to warm up with some hot chocolate for Dave and Hayden and coffee for me.

Dave had to park his truck at Dollar General up the road last night because our street had already iced up when he got home at 8 to watch the game. Needless to say, schools were cancelled for today. As of right now, the ice is melting, but if it doesn't dry up then it will probably refreeze tonight. Oh well, we have our "milk and bread" so we are all set. Ha!

Getting Ambitious

So, I've been seeing pillowcase dresses in all of the baby stores for $50 and I kept saying to my friend that I could make those for a lot cheaper. They're not lined and they are 1 yard of fabric and a few hems. Today I went to Hobby Lobby (where there is a great sale) and picked out some fabric. I am super excited because they will end up being less than $7 each, plus some blood, sweat, and tears!

The fabric on the left will be two dresses, one for Livee and one for my niece. For Livee I will do the floral on top with the stripe on the bottom and for my niece I will do the polka dots on top with the floral on the bottom. The two on the right are for Livee. Check out my cute ribbon too! I will be sure to post pictures of the finished products!

This fabric is for a no-sew (tied) blanket for Livee. I plan on having her name put on the zebra side in hot pink to match. Hayden has one of these blankets (in blue and white) and we have used it a lot, so I thought I would make one for Livee. I've already cut it and it's ready to take to be embroidered. Then I'll just tie it up. Super easy, cute and cheap!!!