This week has been somewhat busy; we had a WIC appointment on Monday, Liliana’s well-visit on Wednesday and the weekly occupational therapist session on Thursday.

Going to WIC on Monday was easy, but I had to go to the store afterward to pick up some Pediasure for Liliana since we ran out of the Peptamen Jr that WIC ships to us each month. I had just opened Liliana’s last can of Peptamen Jr Monday morning, and with the shipment arriving on Wednesday, it was kind of an urgent matter to get her something else. It got really hot that day and the weather’s been warm ever since.

The pediatrician appointment on Wednesday was long and annoying. Since it was Liliana’s first time at this office they asked a million and one questions, and Damien started crying because he was hungry and bored. The problem with babies is that you feed them something before you leave, and then a car trip later they’re hungry again! I didn’t think the appointment was going to be long at all, but it ended up being an hour, not even counting travel.

I don’t feel like getting the print-out for the appointment, but basically Liliana weighed 21 lbs and 1 oz, and measured 30.5 or 31.5 inches tall. Her growth curves were fine for everything but her weight, as her weight has plateaued again. This thing with her feeding schedule really bothers me. The fundoplication makes the volume of her stomach smaller, so she has to have smaller meals throughout the day. The GI doctor eliminated her off overnight feeds so she could feel hungry during the day, but she’s not really feeling hungry because I have to feed her every 3 hours just to be sure she gets enough calories! We do 2 oral mealtimes a day on average. Liliana is, ultimately, NOT gaining weight.

I would much rather have Liliana taking in all of her calories at night (enough to ensure that she’s growing), then allow her to eat orally throughout the day. I know it’s impossible to do that right now because she gets uncomfortable with nighttime feeds most of the time, but it’s ridiculous that we can’t spend as much time on oral feeds during the day because I’m so obsessed with getting her g-tube feeds in. We’re seeing a nutritionist in a few weeks to figure all of this out.

Another issue Liliana has been having is mucus. Sean thinks it’s allergies, and so I asked the pediatrician about getting Liliana a non-drowsy anti-histamine per the advice of our Early Intervention nurse. The doctor was really hesitant about it because Liliana is already on an anti-histamine, prescribed by our GI doctor. I thought it was BS because shouldn’t doctors be able to look up possible medication interactions? I’ll have to call GI though to see what we can do, but I don’t really want to have to give this medicine to Liliana twice a day because she ends up taking too many naps.

Speaking of naps, here are two pictures of the nap she took after we came back from the pediatrician:

So remember how I said the weather’s been warm? Sean and his dad went and bought an air conditioner for the house earlier this week and they had to get a 3-prong outlet to update the 2-prong one that the A/C would plug into. After we had come back from the doctor, I fed Damien or was pumping milk out; when I checked on Liliana, she was asleep like this. She must have grabbed the outlet plate and sat in the Nap Nanny with it; when she got tired, she must have conked out.

I think this is great fodder for those “When You Were Younger” stories. I know that my relatives found it cute when I slept with the family dog on the couch. I think it would be funny to tell Liliana when she’s older that she used to sleep with hardware and home improvement supplies. “Oh yeah, you used to sleep with the rubber mallet all the time!” We could even stage a few photos by slipping the mallet onto her pillow while she’s sleeping.

Oh, Liliana napped through the OT appointment on Thursday. She even napped this morning, probably around 10:30. Too many naps!

Damien has been doing really well. He can sit up by himself for a few moments at a time, using his hands to prop himself up, until he leans too far on one side or rolls forward. I think he’s really close to crawling. I did get the play time mat tiles, and he loves being on them. He can rotate his body in whichever direction while he’s on his tummy, and he definitely can push himself backwards. He’s becoming a lot more interested in toys now as well, and has cried because of boredom. He didn’t use to do that before.

Most of you know that I’m a web designer; I’ve actually started a new project to earn money without being hampered by deadlines and client expectations. Without getting too technical, I’m now marketing products from a New Zealand company called Xtend-Life. They have nutritional supplements such as omega-3 fish oil, Multi Xtra, and even a Total Balance line that combines vitamins with immunity boosters, amino acids, and enzymes. They even have natural skin care products that rejuvenate and maintain the look of your skin.

If you buy any of these types of products, please take a look at what Xtend-Life offers. They have a lot of anti-aging products, all made from natural and clean ingredients, and they make an effort to provide the highest quality in their manufacturing. I’m sorry that this is coming off like I’m trying to make a hard sale, but I believe in this company and their products. Any of their products that you buy, if you use one of the links in this post, I get a commission from. If you continue to buy their products, I also get a commission from those. So if any of their products interest you, I highly recommend trying them out. You win by getting something you can use for your health, and I win by being able to buy diapers!

Okay, enough of that. It’s Friday, the sun is shining, and I need to get milk for Damien. Hope you have a happy Memorial Day! And Sean turns 26 on Monday! He’s going to catch up to his old wife who’s already been 26 for 3 weeks. Ha!