Of Course Our Child Would Have Allergies!

Mommy and Maggie's story time. She's loves listening to her books. I told Zac it was worth it to read to my pregnant stomach for all those months.

Maggie's new favorite hold. It makes her tummy feel so good!

Well, since my last post, we've had some new surprises from Miss Maggie. On Thursday we went to go meet her daddy for lunch at the park, and while changing her diaper I noticed there was some blood in her stool. We called into her pediatrician, and of course they had us come right in. On Monday, Dr. Ally had mentioned to me that if the reflux medicine didn't seem to work, as a last resort we would check one of her stools for blood to look for a possible milk protein allergy. I didn't think too much about it, because she told me it was very rare that this is the case, especially with breastfed babies. So after our second visit of the week to the pediatrician, I'm on a no milk protein (which means a lot more than just not eating dairy products) and a no soy diet. No soy because 30-60% of babies with milk protein allergies are also allergic to soy. This of course is all in an attempt to keep breastfeeding, which is supposed to be the best option for helping babies NOT develop food allergies--ahh, fun times!

Anyways, I'm trying to remain very calm and positive about the whole situation. I'm just hoping we can get it all resolved so she can feel better. I guess it takes about two to three weeks for us to get the milk proteins out of our bodies. I guess one positive is that eliminating this many things from my diet has to help me loose the baby weight a little faster:)

Onto other topics, it's Uncle Brad's birthday today. Maggie wishes Uncle Brad a very happy birthday. It's also football season, so Maggie got all dressed up in her Vandal gear yesterday. Of course being the dedicated alumni/real fans of our college football team we listened to the un-televised game on the radio. I don't really feel like commenting on it much though.

Well, that's all for now. I'll keep everyone posted on my new diet (did I mention Zac's doing it as well--he's so supportive) and Maggie's allergy recovery in the next post.

Enjoy your Labor Day weekend!!

1 Month Old Now!

It's been awhile since I've posted an update and a lot has happened. Maggie turned one month old over the weekend. In the last few days she has started smiling more, and it seems a little more in response to attention. We went to go see Dr. Ally yesterday and Maggie smiled right at her as soon as she picked her up. I didn't think it was possible, but she's amazingly even more beautiful with a smile on her face.

We went to go see Dr. Ally because Maggie was getting quite upset during a lot of her feedings. I had postponed going in, assuming she was just frustrated with the milk coming too fast while I fed her, but she was getting pretty mad, and starting to look like she was in some pain. I figured since she sleeps on her stomach mostly, and is breastfed, it couldn't be reflux, but apparently that's what it most likely is--that with a little colic mixed in. Oh ya, she's also got baby acne (she's having kind of a rough week). She's on some medication for the reflux, and it seems to be helping already.

On Sunday, I ventured out all on my own for the first time after having her!! I think this can be difficult for some new mom's, but I really enjoyed myself. I ran some errands in the morning, and then got to meet Ashley in the afternoon for some coffee. Zac had a very rough first day of having Maggie on his own--she slept both times I was gone, and so did he!! We'll get him next time.

Sorry, no pictures this time. My camera battery is dead, but I'll get some new ones posted soon (maybe after the baby acne clears).

My Loves

Sometimes they get very tired after a hard day's work!

And sometimes she gets a little jealous when Mommy pays to much attention to Maggie.

Meet Chris, and Good-bye Auntie Hailey!

Chris (right) and her co-teacher Kim

Maggie and her daddy in her new classroom.

The reading area in Maggie's classroom (of course in a box-a baby's favorite toy).

The sensory table--an essential item in any classroom.

Hailey and Maggie

As many of you know, because you've heard my complaints, finding quality childcare/early learning centers, and getting into the few that exist in Boise is almost impossible. We have been on the wait lists of the few quality centers that do exist since we found out we were pregnant!

My top pick was the BSU Children's Center. Not because of the center as a whole, but because of one specific teacher. I first heard about Chris when Sara took a position at the BSU Children's Center as a lead teacher. Sara was having difficulties adjusting to a new center after working for the amazing Jan Reed, former director of the U of I Children's Center, and told me about this other teacher that had been really supportive, and seemed to "get it" when it came to high quality early care and learning. When I took a position with the Infant Toddler Program I got to meet Chris when I took over a social group where we included the children in our program into community settings where they could interact with peers.

Over the past few years I've watched Chris in action with the children in her care, and the children I've brought in from our program. To put it simply, she's amazing at what she does. I've learned a lot from her about how quality and beneficial early care and learning settings can be. She has such a passion for teaching young children, and it shows right when you walk into her classroom. It's impossible to explain how excited Zac and I are, because last week we got the news that we actually got in!

Today we visited Chris, and her co-teacher Kim, and Maggie got to see her new classroom. The semester just started so Chris and Kim are getting their classroom all set up, and are just getting to know their new little ones that they will get to care for over the next three years. Maggie will start officially mid-October on MWFs, and will be going in for a few visits during September.

On a side note-Auntie Hailey leaves to go back up to Moscow tomorrow. Maggie sure is going to miss her Auntie. Hailey stopped by this afternoon for one last visit with Maggie before she leaves, and Maggie even gave her what looked like a little smile, she also showed her the famous "Maggie Stink Eye Face." We'll be up to visit Hailey soon though--GO VANDALS!!!

(FYI-I made sure to check awhile ago, and Chris has assured me that all children's individual differences, i.e. Maggie being a Vandal baby, will be greatly respected in her classroom)

Cousin Issac is 1 year old today!

The Crist brothers and cousins Issac and Maggie

The Birthday Boy

It's been a birthday party weekend for Maggie. On Saturday evening Maggie attended a birthday celebration for her Surrogate Auntie Ashley. She got to visit with a lot of our friends that hadn't met her yet. Although it was her usual fussy time of day, she was actually very social and content meeting everyone.

Today we had cousin Issac's birthday party. He's a big one year old today. Maggie was pretty sleepy after running errands all morning, and slept through a lot of the party. She did wake up towards the end of the party to visit with everyone a bit. Happy birthday Issac!!

More Pictures!

Here's a few more pictures of Miss Maggie. Yesterday evening we went over to her great grandparent's house for a visit. I added some pictures of her and her great grandpa George (Opah). It's hard to tell, but Zac is actually sleeping in the picture with him holding Maggie. He had just changed her and gotten her in her pajamas, and HE fell asleep. Then I just had to add the picture of Boston. You'll notice a little stuffed horse behind her on the bed. This happens to be Maggie's horsey, not Boston's. Boston keeps sneaking in the nursery and taking this horse out of Maggie's toy basket. I find it randomly on her dog bed, or in our bed--I guess Maggie and Boston will have to learn to share their toys!

Three Weeks Old!

Maggie is three weeks old today! Enjoy the picture of her after another bath, which she really enjoys now. And her trying to wake up and visit with daddy when he got home from work yesterday. She's also been displaying some amazing head and neck control, when she peeks up at us!

I was just telling Zac, before we know it she's going to be a toddler. It's quite amazing how much a baby changes so quickly. She's starting to get more of a schedule now, which is nice for me. She's taking about two to three good naps a day (all in her crib), and continues to sleep through the night. We have still been taking Boston for a walk every morning, and we were even joined by Grandma Tara on our walk today. Grandma Tara also played with Maggie as I showered and ate some breakfast this morning which was very helpful. It made me wonder how I really get anything done each day. I guess my baby sling has been my life saver for many of those times I need to get stuff done. It's amazing how instantly calm she gets when she's all curled up in there. Well, I have a pile of laundry waiting to be washed, and a sleeping baby so I better get to it before she's up.

Magnolia Update 08-11-08

Today was a fabulous Maggie day. Of course I think this everyday, because I swear she gets more and more beautiful each day. Maggie put herself to sleep twice all on her own in her crib. This means I laid her in her crib while she was awake, and checked on her later to find her sleeping. No crying, no pacifier--it was grand! This might not be a big deal to many, but as a child development specialist who assists families whose children at age one, two and three years old cannot put themselves to sleep without any assistance I was pretty happy my two week old did it so easily. We'll definitely keep working on this. Now if we could get her to sleep in her crib at night instead of our bed (I think this is more my issue than hers, but Zac doesn't really know this yet--shhh)!

Maggie and I also got out to run some errands today--meaning we went to the post office to drop off our Netflix because we missed the mailman, and to hit up Dawson's for a latte. Apparently, Maggie doesn't appreciate this favorite past time of mommy's (getting coffee) too much yet. When I pulled up to Dawson's I had a screaming baby in the backseat, of course because the fabulous pacifier fell out of her mouth, and I had to practically yell my order to the barista. Ahh, motherhood is grand.

It's getting late, and I've got to get someone in their PJs, and read her Pajama Time. Enjoy the picture of Maggie and Boston hanging out waiting for Zac and I to get our shoes on for our evening walk.