Swim For Melissa

Well who would have thought at this time last year that I would have a second story to share regarding the NICU. This past year since we participated in Swim for Melissa has been a struggle of ups and downs. Last year was great to see Alvin have a great time at the event and share his story with others. This year we now have a second story to share that most of you know all about. Elliot I guess wanted to make her mark on the event and now this year she too has a page of her own.

 

I am doing the swim with the kids again this year for a number of reasons but one really sticks out in my mind. This year the funds will not only be used to buy state of the art beds but also to provide for a family counselor. This is someitng that I really believe that they need. When Butters was born W and I only really had each other. No one else could relate to what we were going through. When the same thing happened to Elli we once again retreated back and relied on each other for support. We remembered how it was the first time which made it slightly more bearable. Having a family counselor on staff could really help out so many families like we were when Butters was born.

So this year both kids will be participating in a fund raiser called Swim For Melissa. You can read more about the basics of the program here. Butters and Elliot both are not old enough to actually swim this year but he is participating as what is called a paddler. He will be there getting to play with other kids his age and just helping out with any money we raise. The really nice thing is they have so many activities for all the kids and the shallow end of the pool will be open as well.

Since both of them are participating this year and I was hoping to get some people that I work with to also join I created the Splash Hawks team. From this link both Elliot and Alvin's pages are accessible. This past Friday we had our company picnic and did a dunk-a-boss booth to raise money for the team. As of this morning we raised $207! This far exceeded my expectations!

Also if anyone is interested a local salon is having a golden ticket event. When you buy a box of chocolates for $20 you get a golden ticket that is valued between $30 and $1000! I got one a couple of weeks ago and it was about a $50 value and doesn't expire til the end of November. For more information here is a link to the flyer.

 

 

9 months

Wow its been really nothing going on here. I've been absent for a while due to things just being crazier than normal. I really don't see how some people do it. With working full time, having Mac here for the summer plus trying to keep up with the other 2, its been busy.

There was also the small issue of a job I applied for out of state. I ended up not getting it but I had to keep quiet for a while.

Elliot is now 9 months old and she has grown a ton. Around 8 months old she started kind of rolling then scooting a little until she gets where she wanted to go. Just a couple of weeks ago she finally got the idea of crawling and has been really working on that more and more. Also in about the past week she has started crusing a little. She can pull herself up on almost anything she can find be it person or object. Also she even had her first hair cut. Her bangs were getting far too long and I was able to get someone to trim them for us.

With all of this activity eating has become a challenge with her. Nursing in particular and even bottles are seemingly far too boring for her and sitting still to do either one is something she wants to do much of. Lately this has shown itself by her wanting to nurse all night long. During the day she will only take one bottle and snack a little. So what she has been doing is called reverse cycling. I've found out its fairly common for babies of working moms to do this. She is growing and developing normally she just choosing to get the bulk of calories at night rather than during the day.

Her official 9 month stats are she is 27.5 inches long which is right around average and she weighed in at 21.5 lbs which is in the 87%. Our pediatrician was happy that she is eating all table food now. The only thing that he is concerned with is she is slightly anemic. He recommended giving her something called poly-vi-sol but we have tried that in the past and the smell is horrible and I'm sure it tastes about the same. So instead we are going to try and just give her more iron rich foods for a while and see if that helps. The first night she had watermelon, avocado, some broccoli and cheerios. Luckily we also have plain rolled oats that I made oatmeal out of and she eats on during the week. Our pediatrician said the cheerios were a great source and that her iron levels would also start to rise as she started eating meat more.

And now for a few pictures from the last 2 months!

Good morning!

Supporting her team in the championship game.

Loving the ball pit at an indoor play ground.

Look what I can do!

Happy baby girl!

7 months

Well I'm a week late on this but here we go. Elli turned 7 months old last week and now weighs in around 19.5lbs. My tiny little girl that fit into newborn clothes for almost 3 months is now primarily wearing 12-18 month clothes! She is babbling a ton and is on the verge of crawling. She has gotten really good about laying on her tummy and turning in circles. As far as food goes she hasn't found much that she doesn;t like. She has tried all kinds of things and most nights works really hard to get what is on our plates in addition to what she already ate. She loves to be held and the ring sling and mei tai are our best friends when we are out and about. She hardly makes a sound when in one of these and watches people around her very intently or just goes to sleep.

The latest development is a tooth. This past weekend we finally felt one pop through. She has been pretty good about it all and Hylands teething tablets have been our best friend!

There is one thing she isn't doing yet and that's sleeping for more than about 5 hours at a time. This past week she has been up every 3 hours at night wanting to eat. Out of me needing sleep she normally ends up in bed with us until I go to work then I move her back to her bed. While I personally never thought we would get to this point right now it works for us. I'm just patiently waiting for the day that she is consistently sleeping through the night so I can resume my crack of dawn workouts that I used to enjoy so much!

And now for the pictures taken over the past month.

Elli 6 months old

 At her 6 month appointment she was 17lbs 8oz and 26.5 inches long. She is now wearing size at least 9 months old but most of the clothes we have out are 12 month! She is so big and is really a chatty little girl. She has also decided that she would rather walk then roll. She has rolled from front to back but other than that she just doesn't care to do what we jokingly call stupid baby tricks. She is eating just about anything she can get her hands on and loves to sit at the table with us and either eating or just playing with her toys. She still isn't sleeping completely through the night but she is getting better and when she wakes up she has a purpose and after that is met she tends to want to go right back to bed. Here are a few pictures!

The truth about pumping at work

The truth is, I’m not fond of it. Most of you know that due to working full time I have to pump at work. There are days where it’s not a problem and others where I just loath it. But the truth of it is even on the days I want to stop I won’t let myself.

Be it either my cheap thrifty nature or something else I will not use formula. I would rather spend money on freezer bags to store the excess in the deep freeze than spend money on formula. Of course there are the health benefits and other things but I won’t go into that here.

Right now I pump 3 times a day and probably will continue this schedule for another few months until she is eating solid food on a regular basis. At this time I will be able to go down to pumping twice a day and then slowly weaning sometime after her first birthday.

But let me say this some days pumping is not my best friend. You know those days when your schedule at the office is just insane and you can barely find time to eat lunch much less get away from your desk for a few minutes. Or the days when you look at a day and realize you are stuck in meetings most of the day. Well those days have been about my past 3 months straight. Things at the office have been really crazy and some days it’s hard to get away. One week it was so bad that I ended up setting up timed reminders on my desk top. Then one day when I got into the office and looked at the outlook calendar I saw a full day of meetings and my first thought was I wonder how I am going to get a few minutes to go pump.

One thing that does make it easier is how little time it takes me to pump. I generally only take 15 minutes from the time I leave my desk to the time I return. In this time I can pump (normally around 6oz), wash out all the parts and dry them. I use a Medela pump in style that besides being a little big is worth every penny we paid for it.

Other days I love the time I get away from my desk to pump. It’s nice to not have to look at a computer screen or talk to someone about a program that I’m currently working on. Its also nice to get away from listening to some of the idiotic things I tend to overhear from the guys.

Since starting to write this I found out that with the new health care reform bill  that there is now a provision to allow for mothers to pump in a place other than the bathroom for one year. I’m not going to get political here but for working moms like me this is a huge step forward. I personally had to fight to get a place other than the bathroom and now with this on the books hopefully other moms won’t have to go through what I did.

To Butters on your 3rd birthday

In 3 years you went from this

To this

I’m still not quite sure how it all happened so fast. You are a constant challenge to us and your creativity of how to get to things never ceases to amaze us. You have been a great big brother to Elli even though most of the time you refuse to say her name and rather just call her baby. You love to try and give her a bottle and give her kisses. When she cries though you cover your ears and run!

You are our hockey playing little boy even now. You still love the game and get really mad when we try and change the channel. Over the past year you have made friends with players and coaches of our beloved UAH Chargers and have stolen many hearts at games with how well behaved and cute you are running around the VBC in your jersey. Of course this year also has been one of you learning the chants at games thanks to our good friend! Hearing you run around the house saying “U-A-H” and “ You feel shame. Sitdown hack. See you in 2 minutes or less” has been priceless. Of course you have also picked up other words too but sometimes I can’t help but laugh at how you say them.

Your 3rd birthday is starting out like the weekend you were born. UAH is off to the NCAA regional tournament and while we might not be at the game your father and I can’t forget how this time 3 years ago you were working on making your appearance.

Happy Birthday to my little boy!

Wordless Wednesday-The Stanley Cup comes to Huntsville

Of course we wouldn't be much of a true hockey family if we didn't get the kids picture taken with it!

(photos taken by @gamingwithbaby)