Tummy Time

Spending time on her tummy is not her favorite, but it's doctor's orders :) She needs to strengthen her neck and arm muscles and we want to avoid the back of her head becoming flat.  Now wouldn't that be awful?   I had to snap some photos of this oh-too-cute afternoon ritual.

Assisted:

No More Help:

She Hates This:

A Look From Above:

2 Month Well Check

I had intentions of sharing Shelby's "stats" with you, but I have decided that they are totally inaccurate, rending them well, arbitrary. For example, let's start with her weight...

Last Thursday: 12 lbs, 12 oz
    - I thought she'd be closer to 13 pounds, but ok

Last Friday: 11 lbs, 7 oz
   - WHAT? She lost more than a pound in a day? She needs to be in the ER....
   - Medical assistant re-checks

New Weight on Friday: 13 lbs, 3 oz
  - Ok, so now she gained nearly half a pound in a day???

Today's Weight: 12 lbs, 13 oz
  - So she either lost nearly half a pound, or gained just an oz????

What the heck? Honestly, it is a joke. It's unfortunate these measurements are so crazy, especially with newborns who often drop a bunch of weight. Knowing what I now know, I am curious if Shelby really lost all that weight in the first 3 days. As far as her length goes, they told me she's 23.5 inches.....which is also crazy because she is at least 25. I mean, the kid has outgrown her 6 month sleepers! All that said, I really like my Doctor. She seems sharp and sympathetic - plus, she remembers Shelby, which was huge for me.

With all that, Shelby checked out well. Her RSV is no longer in her lungs and is, for the most part, gone. She is no longer contagious and just has an occasional cough and some extra mucus/congestion in the morning. We lucked out. We're going to cut the breathing treatments to just once a day and moving forward, I will be a hand washing Nazi.  Once she gets fully better, we plan to have her sleep in her room/crib. To date she has been sleeping in the Pack and Play in our room  but 1) She has almost outgrown the infant sleeper 2) The longer we go, the more of a habit it will become and 3) Having the Pack and Play downstairs would be really helpful.

The doctor went ahead and gave Shelby several immunizations. I was hesitant, but my Doctor said that she appears recovered from the the RSV and she would not at all suggest sending her off to child care without a couple of them. In fact, I might have to take her back in a couple of weeks if the Day Care requires the whole battery of them.

There is a silver lining in everything though. The Band-Aids they gave her after her shots matched her cheery little outfit for the day.

Love that little peanut!

Two Months

Today my pumpkin turns two months! My how time has flown. Today also happens to be Jack's mom's birthday, so she got a shout it too. She'll have her "well check" appointment on Friday, so I'll have her stats then:)

Pick a Number, Any Number

The next home improvement project on tap is adding some backsplash tile to our kitchen and master bathroom. We are planning now, but it will probably be a little while before we actually do the project; and by "we" that typically means Jack (especially now with baby on board). We have a couple of things to pay for first and if I have it my way, we'll paint our Master Bedroom first....it is the only room in our house that is not painted and it drives me crazy.

With the pending project, every house guest is pretty much forced to pick their favorite tile, one thru five. This is what our kitchen currently looks like. And don't worry, these are better secured to the wall so we don't have any fires like before! * Note the burnt sample, LOL!

This is currently the front runner:

We also have a line up for our bathroom, although I think we're still torn between two patterns here.

More to come on this project. My next task is buying paint samples. It only took me SEVENTEEN to find a color for Shelby's room; we'll see what this project holds!

Catching Flies

Despite Shelby being a little sick, this has been a really fun week to watch her grow. She has aquired quite a few new tricks and made a few new discoveries...

Her Tongue: It seems this week Shelby has discovered her tongue. She laps it out there like she is a frog catching flies. When I go to kiss her, she sticks her tongue out and it's so cute. Also, the nebulizer produces a moist vapor that goes directly to her mouth/nose. She is lapping it up the whole time and it cracks me up.

Her Arm: She has now discovered that her arm can move things. When she's nursing, she'll move things to where she wants them and is constantly trying to push around the nebulizer mask.

Whaaaaaa: She now has two distinct cries: I am hungry & I am tired. Then there is the "I'm in the car seat and hate it" cry, but that's a whole different level/story. When she is tired the cry is super whiny and normally ends with a "whaaaaaa" at he end. Also, this is the sad, pouty lower lip  cry. When she is hungry however, it's far more aggressive and powerful. I always heard moms telling the difference between cries, but now I get it!

The Coooo: This is the best one! When I catch her in a playful mood and can grab her attention, she will chat with me. If I am making coos and oooohs and ahhhs, she will too. It's the absolute best and new in the last few days.

**Sidenote too funny not to share: I told my mom Shelby's sleep schedule this morning. Having five kids she commented that she sleeps a lot "kind of like Seabuiscut." Now, I have never seen the movie fully, but I know it's about a champion racing horse, Seasbuiscut, who evidently slept a lot, but was really successful. I had to chuckle and from now on that will probably stick with me each time I put my sleepy bug down. Love you mom :)

Let Me See You Bumbo

During our visit to the Dr this week, she suggested we amp up the tummy and sitting time. It's not the best timing to get her on her tummy with the breathing issues, so I thought I would give her a few seconds in the Bumbo. I did not keep her in there much longer than the length of the video, but it was cute none the less. I think she needs a few weeks for her neck to get a little stronger before she can really use it. I love those little curled baby toes!

Sick Baby 101

I don't know if it's a good thing or a bad thing, but I didn't realize my baby was sick. I took her into the Dr yesterday becuase she had a small infalmation on one eye. It was swollen and  resembled a pimple, but with the weekend looming, I didn't want to take any chances. It turned out to be just that and today you can barely tell there was anything wrong with it. While at the doctor, I asked about the  classic "booger sucker bulb," as I don't feel my efforts with it yield the best results. The doctor asked if she has a lot of boogers. I informed her that I didn't really think so, but that I could hear that she was congested. From there she suggested we swab for RSV.....and it came back posative.

What? How? Oh no! I have had friends and family whose children caught RSV so I had  some knowledge of it, but mostly knew it has the potential to get serious. According to WebMD, RSV is: a common childhood illness that causes some of the same symptoms as cold and flu, such as fever, runny nose, and cough. For children less than 1 year old, RSV is the most common cause of pneumonia and bronchiolitis, an inflammation of the small air passages in the lungs. 
 From what I have read, almost all kids get it at some point by the time they are two. I have no idea where Shelby contracted it; it could have been from anywhere, but regardless, the point is moot.  Most kids have it for 8 - 15 days. I am uncertain when she came down with it, but I am thinking on Monday  being that's when I noted the change in her energy levels.

In addition to panic, I felt bad that I had no clue she was not sick. I had noticed that she was extra sleepy all week and had taken note of a few coughs here and there that seemed unusual, but other than that  - business as usual. She makes a variety of funny grunting/growning/snorting noises, but she has done that since birth. She has actually been more pleasant this week than ever before and continued to eat as usual.  I was also a tad overwhelmed when the Dr sent me packing with a nebulizer and three prescriptions. I personally don't love to take prescription drugs, so three scripts for a 8 week baby was a tad scary.

This picture illistrates what's taking place in Shelby's room at the moment:

Now that  things have sunk in, I've educated myself and she appears to be doing ok, I am far less panicked. I am still keeping a really watchful eye on her, keeping her at the house and will not bring her near other kids to insure they don't get sick, but today - she was all smiles (and kicks and wheezes).

I guess it's a posative thing that I didn't really know she was sick. I talked to the Dr today and she told me that "I would know if it got really bad - she would look and sound sick."  From here,  I have to get her breathing treatments a couple times a day and do all that I can to help her airways clear: keep her upright, keep a humidifier plugged in, nurse her in the steamy bathroom (thanks Allison!). I am optimistic she'll be ok, but the diagnosis was a little shocking and it definitely made me second guess my instincts.  I am very grateful though that I am still home and can go through this with her, rather than having to worry about her while she's at Day Care.