Georgia Aquarium

While in Georgia, Trey, Kate and I took a little family trip to the Georgia Aquarium. We left around noon and ate at the Varsity before hitting the aquarium. Then we spent the entire afternoon exploring. Kate loved it all so much...the darkness helped her sleep so great :) We also got to see the dolphin show, which was pretty great. It was such a fun family trip!

Back Home

We made it back home from Georgia last Saturday morning. Trey and I (Trey, really) drove all night and pulled into Canton 8AM Saturday morning. Kate was a wonderful little passenger and only woke up when I woke her to feed her.

So what's been going on in our household since being home? Well let me tell ya! Kate was a bit fussy our last few days in Georgia. She also had green poop about once a day and seemed in pain when she'd pass gas. Nighttime was just rough, to be honest! I didn't think anything of the green poo because stool can be different colors for breastfed babies. Last Sunday, however, her little poop was green all day, and she also cried all day. She actually had diarrhea and started to get a little dehydrated. After a couple calls to our pediatrician (who is awesome for calling us back), she told us to bring Kate in the next day. Long story short, the symptoms seem to point to a food allergy, and dairy is the most likely culprit...which means mommy is cutting dairy out of her diet to cut dairy out of Kate's milk. I never thought I could live without dairy, but then Kate came along and I'm willing to take that chance. We are cutting all dairy AND soy for the next two weeks. Then I will reintroduce soy to see if she's also allergic to it (60% of babies allergic to dairy are also allergic to soy). We will wait two more weeks and then reintroduce dairy. If her symptoms reemerge we'll know she's allergic to dairy.

But here's the crazy thing. Soy is in EVERYTHING. I mean seriously. Dairy is in almost everything, but then soy really is in everything, especially processed foods. The crackers in your pantry, your peanut butter, salad dressing, cereal bars. I could keep going, but just believe me, it is. This news was devastating to me, but like I said earlier, Kate is worth the sacrifice. Eating without dairy and soy is like learning to cook again. But we are making it. I have had some wonderful friends share recipes and encouragement. I've found tons of websites. And I visited a health food store today and walked out with ice cream (made with coconut milk), chocolate bars (made with rice), cheese (I don't even know what it's made of but I'll take it), butter (made from almond or rice, I can't remember). Anyway, my point is there are lots of options and we are going to survive! Plus this will force us to eat healthier. Dining out...is out for now.

And the most important news of all: Kate is doing so much better! Her stool is still greenish, but it's getting better. The milk protein can stay in my system up to 3 weeks, so we're still phasing it out. But the fussiness has greatly improved to normal baby fussiness, and she is not crying from tummy pains. We don't hear her poor little tummy rumbling from being upset. It is all worth it for this improvement in my baby girl's health and well-being!

Time with GA Family

I have been in GA with my family since Monday, July 11, and it has been wonderful! Mom flew in the Saturday before, and on Sunday at 2:45PM, we began our long journey across the states to Georgia. Kate was an EXCELLENT little traveller. She slept almost the entire way and only woke up when we stopped for me to nurse her. What a sweetheart. We made the trip in 13 hours, which is basically how long it has taken Trey and I to make that trip in the past, without a newborn. I was impressed. The first couple days here were not so easy, though. Poor little Kate had a very difficult time adjusting to new surroundings and the pack&play. The p&p we had borrowed didn't have the newborn sleeper attachment, so we would have to bend down and put her in it. She would wake up on that long journey down and not be happy! She ended up sleeping with me in the bed for a few days. The first couple days were pretty sleepless for all of us, but once she started sleeping in the bed with me she was JUST fine. Figures! My brother flew in last Friday, Trey flew in Saturday, and Gretchen got here Sunday. My two aunts also came for a few days. We have had a blast! Also, we borrowed a pack & play with the newborn attachment from my old friends from church (thank you Matt and Whitney), and she's been sleeping great in it.

One big milestone since we've been here: Kate slept through the night for the first time! She's only done it a few nights, but it has been wonderful. The past few nights she's been waking at about 3 or 4 for one feeding, which is fine with me. I can handle one feeding in the middle of the night if her sweet little 6 week old body needs food! When I'm done feeding her (takes about 20 minutes now), I lay her in her bed awake and she puts herself to sleep. I'm a proud momma!

Here are some pictures from our trip so far! Included in the pictures are Kate's first trip to the pool (unfortunately it's been raining here so the water was cold...she did not enjoy that!) and her first time meeting her Uncle JJ and Aunt GG! Jason and Gretchen both couldn't make it to TX so it worked out perfectly that they could come here to meet their sweet niece. We are here til Friday. Today Trey, Kate and I are making the trip to the GA aquarium. Should be fun!

My little girl turned 6 weeks old this past Monday. What a sweetheart!

She loves her Pops so much!

Marmee and Kate.

Fun with Aunt GG and Marmee

My beautiful seesy and my beautiful daughter.

Uncle JJ taking care of Kate.

Me and my girl. 

A proud daddy at the pool with a not so happy Kate!

My family!

Already raising her head like a champ and scooting on the mat during tummy time!

One Month!

Kate is one month today. I can't believe it - where has the time gone? She is such a sweet and loving little girl. At her 3 week appointment she weighed 10lbs 3oz (she gained 2 pounds in 2 weeks!) and was 23.25 in. long. That puts her in the 93rd percentile in weight and the 100th percentile in height! Yes, she is definitely LONG and lean. She sleep wonderfully at night, waking twice, typically, to eat. Last night, though, she slept 6 hours and only got up once to eat. How great that was! She is starting to smile some when I talk to her, and her little eyes will follow you as you talk. It's so neat watching her become more aware and recognize certain people, like mommy and daddy. Here are some pictures of her over the past few weeks...

3 weeks old

Her first (and only, so far) bottle

She tried to wake daddy up one morning...instead, they both just snuggled and slept :)

Me and my girl

One Month Old!!!

D is for Dreams

D: Dream Date, 7/1/11

We went on our first date without Kate! Trey's sweet mom watched Kate for us and sent us off for a couple of hours. The "D" date was mine to plan, and I've actually had this idea for a while. I read a book by Ted Cunningham and Gary Smalley called Great Parents, Lousy Lovers (highly recommend it, by the way!), and in one chapter Ted talks about the importance of dreaming with your spouse. Continuing to dream together is something that can easily be forgotten in the midst of children, work, money, and life, and it's something you have to work at. At the end of the chapter they even include a list of fun questions you can ask your spouse to dream together. I forgot I had lent the book out a few weeks ago and did not copy that list of questions, so we went to dinner and took turns making up our own questions. This turned out to be such a fun and relaxing time together. We literally spent the entire dinner answering our questions and making up fun dreams together. I'll include some of the questions and answers below.

A family pic!

GrandMary and Kate did not move from this position the entire time we were gone!

Our pic before heading out on our date :)

We ate at Easley's Cattle Company, a local steak restaurant. I had the ribeye and Trey had the filet, and it was all delicious. The dinner was so relaxing, and it all got even better when the live music started up, just a local guy and his guitar. He covered songs like James Taylor's Yesterday. It really added to the atmosphere. Here are some of the questions we made up and answered while eating:

What is your dream vacation? 

What is your dream family vacation?

If you could relive anytime in history, when would it be and why?

What is your dream job?

If your could swap places with anyone for a day, who would you choose and why?

If you could open a restaurant, what kind would it be and where would you open it?

Think of a defining moment in your life. How would your life be different if you had made a different decision or chosen a different path at that point?

Where do you want to be 10 years from now? 

We ended our dreaming by saying special dreams we have for our family. I won't share these, as they are special dreams just Trey and I can share together. 

Here we are at dinner. It was so delicious!

The live music.

After dinner we headed to Bahama Mamas and got us some yummy shaved ice. We needed something sweet but not too heavy, so this was perfect. Then we went out to see our horse and walk around in the peace and quiet of the outdoors. It was just what we needed!

Trey got black cherry shaved ice.

Enjoying my strawberry cheesecake shaved ice

My handsome hubby checking on the saddles.

To top the "D" evening off, we made a Detour to Wal-Mart to buy toilet paper. What a romantic way to end the evening!! Thank you to Marilee for our special evening out!