3 months old!



LJ loves his blue monkey!




Nothing cuter than a naked baby.




We have been celebrating Christmas all month!



Heading out to Grandma and Grandpa's for an early Christmas celebration! Thanks cousin Malachi for the outfit!

Just to show that he is awake sometimes!

LJ sticks out his toungue a lot...

Take one...trying to get a 3 month picture tonight. He wasn't having it.

And take two...still not working. Takes 3, 4, 5, and 6 weren't any more successful. It will create memories :)



Today LJ is 3 months old...a 3 months we will never forget, I am sure! Yesterday he weighed 10 lbs. 12 oz. and he is getting baby fat where babies are supposed to have it. LJ is becoming more and more aware of the world around him. He will now look at the puppies, and he likes to look at things with colors. He has started to reach for things...it's not coordinated, but he is trying. He seems to love his music, which doesn't surprise me being his Daddy's boy.

We have gotten out a little more the past few weeks. I will run up to the grocery store in the mornings when no one is there, and I keep him covered. I also have a sign from the hospital telling people not to touch him...usually it works, but I don't have a problem telling people to back off either. He visited my mom at her office last week because I needed to drop something off. We have spent a lot of time at my parents house because it is a change of scenery! Besides that, the doctor's offices seem to be our regular adventure.

Last weekend we celebrated Christmas early because my sister is going to Missouri to visit her in-laws for Christmas. Our nephew, Sam, is a year and a half old...he didn't really enjoy the festivities quite yet. I am sure by next year he will love opening gifts. It was funny though, LJ got a few toys that Sam has too...Sam sure noticed when we unwrapped them, and he would come over and take them.  Poor guy thought we were stealing his toys! Christmas day it will just be us and Mom and Dad...we plan on hanging out and relaxing for the day...I am sure a nap will be in order at some point! I am so lucky to have Matt home with me until January 9th! Over two weeks with him home all day will spoil me!

Yesterday we had our 2 week follow-up appointment with the GI doctor. I really like him...he is from Africa, and I can't understand about half of what he says, but he seems to know what he is doing. Unfortunately, LJ still has blood in his poo. After 2 weeks on the new formula, we were praying for better news. He still seems to hurt when he eats, but I hadn't visibly seen blood, so I assumed he was doing better. The doctor changed his formula again. I asked how much this new formula was....He said with his think accent,  "Think of the Nutramigen and Allimentum (the formulas he has been on that I thought were expensive) as the Mercedes or BMW of formulas...now think of a Lamborghini...that is the new formula." I knew then that we were in for it! Needless to say, I left the doctor and paid 46 dollars for a can of formula that will last him 3 days. Luckily, we found some on EBay...its like there is a black market for the stuff! The way it was explained to us is the old formula had milk protein that he is allergic to, but it is already broken down so that his body doesn't have to do it. This is usually enough to prevent babies with milk allergies to have a reaction. The new formula is amino acid based...it doesn't have milk or soy protein at all because many babies allergic to milk are also allergic to soy. The doctor also sent us for an x-ray this morning to rule out something else going on with his colon. In preemies, it is more common to find that they have a problem with their colon swelling. He thinks the blood is still related to the allergy, but I am happy he is being proactive. We haven't gotten the results of the x-rays yet. I hope we are one step closer to finding an answer to this problem because the screams when he eats now are heartbreaking.

On a better note, LJ is sleeping much better at night...he made it almost 5 hours last night! That is record setting! He doesn't want to go to sleep until about 11, and if you know me, I have always gone to bed really early, but if he sleeps after 11, I won't complain! He has also started napping in his crib during the day...some days he wants one nap, other days 2.  The other day he slept for 4.5 hours one afternoon!

I went to work today to pack up my things...it was great to see everyone there, and I miss being there. I don't have any regrets about staying home though. I had planned on bringing everything home, but once I got there, I realized I have no idea what I would do with a lot of it, so I brought a few things and left the rest for the teacher taking my place.

I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas!

One month at home!

Oddly enough, I just now realized that it has been one month today that LJ joined us at home! In some ways it feels like he has been here forever and in others, it seems like he just got home! It has been a whirlwind of long nights, countless doctors appointments, visits with family and a few friends, and so much love for our new little family. It's hard to remember our lives without him now that he is here.

Our schedules are settling in a bit.  I have come to terms with being up through the night, and LJ is actually starting to give in and let me even sleep a little.  We are up until he eats at 11, and then we sleep until 2. From 2 until his 5 am feeding are hit and miss...he likes to be awake through that time regularly, but we make up for it throughout the day. We have realized that he cannot cope with quiet...he needs noise to sleep. We have a Sleep Sheep that makes rain noises for 45 minutes at a time...after 45 minutes, he wakes up, cries, I turn it back on, and all is well with the world again. Today we bought a CD player that will provide him with full nights of noise. I sort of like the rain too...maybe I will keep the Sleep Sheep!  He sleeps as I vacuum under the crib, and when the dogs bark, and when the TV is on. It was never quiet in the hospital, so he doesn't know silence...works for me. It is rarely silent around here.

The puppies have taken to their new roommate.  We all sleep in our room. At first, every time he cried, or I got up, they all got up with us. Now, they ignore us. Occasionally, Tonka (the boxer) will get up with us quietly, come downstairs while I feed him and sleep at my feet.  Then he will quietly walk back upstairs with us. Bosco, the German, is having the hardest time because he is Matt's shadow. He is adjusting though...he's never been mean, he just whines. All 4 of the dogs check on LJ first thing in the morning...Costco jumps on our bed to look into the Pack N Play to see if he is there and then gets back off (He knows he isn't allowed on the bed, but I don't have the heart to yell at him because he doesn't try to hang around, he just checks in). Rosco...poor Rosco...he doesn't have a clue what is going on, but he doesn't seem to mind.

On Thursday we went back to the pediatrician to see if there was still blood in LJ's poo after a week on the new formula...there was. He was referred to a GI specialist, who confirmed the dairy allergy on Friday. He said it just takes awhile for it all to get out of his system. I was told that if I wanted to breastfeed again, I had to go completely dairy free...I did it for one day, and decided that at this point, the formula is working, and LJ is feeling better, so I am not going to mess with it. I called the insurance company and originally they told me that they would cover his formula 100%...so excited. Only to be told that they do not cover it for an allergy, only a metabolic something or other...I tried. I have found it much cheaper on Amazon though...just took some looking! Tomorrow LJ goes back in for his monthly Synagis shot...it helps to prevent RSV in preemies. He will have it for the next 4 months at least. Tuesday he has his bi-weekly eye doctor appointment...torture.

Matt's sister, Jenny, has been in town since Tuesday, and we are loving her company. We are pretty boring these days since we can't leave the house, but it is nice to have someone around for the week!

On top of all of this excitement, we are selling the house. With the change in our financial situation, staying here just won't work for much longer. We are sad in many ways...our current neighborhood has wonderful neighbors who have reached out in so many ways, and great activities and amenities for raising children. For me, the 5.5 years I have been here has had it's ups and downs, but the people around us have made it easier. We have had such support, many good times, and I hate that LJ won't grow up around that. It is definately going to be bittersweet, but Matt and I have also been looking forward to a fresh start for a long time, and now we are getting it. Since we got married, we have wanted to purchase a house of our own, but with the housing market and complications with dealing with banks, we have been unable to do anything until now. At this point, we are looking at what is best for our son. If all goes according to plan, we will be moving not long after the first of the year. Trying to show the house with an infant and 4 dogs is an obstacle I can't conquer!

It's been a whole new world...one with changes we didn't really expect, even after we knew we would be having a baby...an early introduction, quitting my job, moving.  It has at times been a lot to take in at once, but I wouldn't change it for the world. Every time I see LJ smile (even if everyone else says it's just gas), it makes it all worth it!

No Good Title...

LJ's due date is tomorrow! Instead we have a healthy 2.5 month old little boy...I can't imagine at this point still being pregnant! On Monday at his appointment he weighed 9 pounds...wow! I'm not quite sure where he is putting it all, but it must be in his cheeks.

LJ's tummy troubles continue...I took him back to the doctor on Monday because he had blood in his poop, and he was still spending his days very uncomfortable. The doctor believes it is a milk allergy, which is what I was afraid of. They had me take him off the extra calorie formula that I was mixing the breast milk with because it is milk based. She said that usually they keep preemies on the extra calories until they are 6 months old, but with his weight gain, he is ok without it. She also had me cut the dairy out of my diet. I did this for about 3 days and they took another sample of his poo...it was still bloody. Thursday they had him go off breast milk totally and go on a hypo-allergenic formula. It can take awhile for change to happen, but today it already looked better. I hate to say it, but formula may have to be the solution. Too bad it's the super expensive stuff, but  if it makes him feel better, it will be worth it! In the meantime I am still pumping until we figure it out, and I have a couple hundred ounces of breastmilk in the freezer. I am hoping to be able to donate it to the hospital for other preemies to use, just like milk was donated to LJ in the first days before I had any to give him.  If I can help another preemie, I will be more than happy to keep pumping for awhile.

LJ had another eye doctor appointment this week also. Mom took the morning off to go with me because I have drops to dialate his eyes before we go...it is impossible to do it alone! He still has premature eyes, but there is not any cause for concern as of yet. The eye doctor was telling us more about what they are looking for. Stevie Wonder was born prematurely and had Retinopathy of Prematurity (the technical name for it), and that is what caused him to go blind...they didn't have a way of fixing it at the time. Now, if caught early, they can do laser surgery to fix the problem before it causes blindness. It has to do with the blood vessels growing correctly.

We spent Thanksgiving at Mom and Dad's house, and we had extra to be thankful for this year. Our nephew, Sam, didn't really want anything to do with LJ yet, but he doesn't yet know that one day they will be best buddies!

By last night, I think the lack of sleep had gotten to me. Matt has been the best husband ever...he volunteered to take the night shift with LJ last night, and he let me sleep all night! 7 hours of straight sleep has never been so wonderful!  Luckly, Matt has every other Friday off, so he has an extra day to spend with us (and selfishly, split some of the night time feedings)! I tried to put him on a 4 hour feeding schedule one day last week, but it ended in disaster, so we are back to eating every 3 hours for the time being. I just pushed too hard. We are looking forward to Christmas break because Matt gets almost 3 weeks off again.

Below are some pictures that we had taken at the hospital the day LJ was discharged...one of the best days of our lives!

Full of smiles!