7 Weeks

In the last couple of weeks we have had so much going on! Melia was diagnosed with acid reflux. We basically have her on Zantac to help. It took a couple of days to kick in. She still spits up a lot and at times will choke on acid, but at least she's not in pain like she was before. We have figured this was the cause of her colicky nights. Feedings go easier now aside from the fact we have to feed her upright and keep her that way for an hour after each feeding. This poor baby is never laying on her back anymore or she is spitting up.

Sleep in our house is still a thing of the past! She went from staying awake 2-3 hours at a time to literally being awake all day long!! She has such a hard time falling asleep. Even after she gets there we have to make it past the 15 minute mark to know she is down for good. She will literally wake up after a couple of minutes and start crying again. She only naps a total of 3 hours every day...so will wake up in the morning around 9 AM and maybe crash for a nap in the middle of the day and be awake until 9-10 PM. It's insane! She is so exhausted but doesn't sleep.

Until just the last 2 nights, she would take 2-3 hours to go back to sleep after her night time feed. It wasn't because she was wanting to be awake. She just couldn't fall back asleep and would cry and fuss until she passed out. She is back to sleeping in her glider chair to keep her inclined while sleeping (for reflux). I have started using that to help put her to sleep. This baby doesn't like being swaddled so we put her in the glider with a binky and it helps her drift off faster. The last couple of nights has been 1-1.5 hours...so a good improvement! I just hope eventually when the reflux is gone we can transition to a crib without her needing the rocking/gliding to fall asleep. At this point I will take what I can to get her to sleep better.

Woke up the other morning to find all of Melia's toes poking through her blanket.



As I mentioned before, she is a very fussy baby. The last couple of days we've seen very slight improvements over her ability to sit alone. When I say slight I mean she will sit in her swing or sit on the couch for up to 5 minutes without crying! Believe me that is a big improvement. I am also beginning to think she really likes being out with a lot of people around. We went to Jacob's birthday party and she was really good...probably because she was held majority of the time though.

We are starting to see a few smiles here and there. This picture isn't the best shot, but it's the only one we've been able to get just yet. Tends to be more when she's really sleepy and about to drift off or when she just wakes up. I'm sure we'll see them more consistently soon as she gets a little older. She is also trying to find her voice.



The picture below is Melia enjoying football Sunday...as you can tell she really couldn't care less!

This is a picture of her first hiking trip to Red Rock Canyon. She pretty much slept the entire time we were there. She sleeps a lot when we go places in the car and this trip was basically following in the loop through the park and getting out at the observation areas to do some really light hiking/walking.

Sitting up like a big girl on the couch. She is just propped up between the pillows. Seems to prefer sitting upright like this to anything else.

Melia in her sling. This is usually the best way to keep her quiet during the day. She gets to be held, which is what she wants, and I can still get something done. Mostly we do this so she will stop crying and fall asleep easier.

With the reflux our doctor told us to add rice cereal to the bottle. We were surprised as usually this is a no no. Our struggle was the cereal would get stuck in the nipple and she would get frustrated because we had to keep taking the bottle away to fix it and get it flowing again. We gave up on the cereal in the bottle because it didn't do what it was supposed to do...fill her up more so she eats less and spits up less. Thought maybe we'd try cereal on a spoon. It was a bit easier with her than it was with Cameron. The reflux is supposed to start to subside by 4-5 months when they start eating more. Hoping getting her on solids faster will help. We will see. She sure loves the camera in her face though...wouldn't take her eyes off it. Just like Cameron was. We may have another entertainer on our hands.

5 Weeks Old

At Melia's 1 month appointment she weighed in at 9 lbs 5 oz!! This time she measured 21.5 inches. Growth all came in pounds this time versus inches. She is up to a 4 oz bottle every 3 hours and there are times she wants more so it's no wonder. To show you, the first picture was taken on 8/19 (in blue) and the second on 9/4 (in green). She has changed so much in just those 2 weeks!



We are officially starting to transition out of her newborn clothes. Some still fit, but the length is what is getting too short in most. We are still mostly wearing 0-3 month stuff. Luckily I have some that fit and are still summery since we have a couple more months of hot weather before it gets cold. The picture below is just for Aunt Lynn since this is an outfit she bought for Melia that she is just now able to wear.



Since Melia hit a month old, she has started staying awake more during the day...up to 2-3 hours at a time a couple of times a day. This is great except that she has become such a fussy baby! She quickly tires of everything and cries, even after you pick her up. We had to switch her formula to the Alimentum (hypoallergenic) because of all of the colicky nights. We have literally spent almost every night with screaming fits and not being able to get her to go back sleep even though she's tired. The crying after each feeding would start around 5-6 PM. Then the next 2-3 feedings would be the same ending with the 2 or 3 Am feeding lasting 2-2.5 hours...most of it with crying or fussing. Can't put her down because she cries more. Thinking acid reflux is part of her problem.

Cameron still loves her to death. Literally. He smothers her every chance he gets. Constant kisses and hugs. He has finally learned how to give her a binky without forcing it down her throat. She endures a lot of torture though. She lays on the floor, he lays on the floor beside her...she is in her swing, he is there leaning over or pushing her. We went to lunch and I had just finished feeding her. Cameron was practically on top of me hugging and kissing both of us. Gave the old couple in the booth across from us a good laugh.