DQ.

As we drove by Target the other day, Eli saw the logo in the distance and said happily "DQ!". Now, I shopped at Target a lot while I was pregnant with him (right H1?) plus he did accompany me on Target runs often so he should know it, but perhaps those few ice cream DQ runs with Grandpa made him hope for Dairy Queens all over the place.

In any case, DQ is a new term at our house these days. Sadly, it does not refer to the delicious, creamy goodness found at Dairy Queen. Nope, it's referring to our very own Drama Queen!

That would be Annalee.

Our adorable girl is still having a rough go of it. Here's some update for those that care for details:

Latching: We had a home visit from a nurse last Friday (a free program the local health department does, visiting all newborns after they come home). She was also a lactation consultant. I explained our woes (my pain, her reluctance to latch at times) and after she saw her try nurse, she affirmed that Annalee just is not opening her mouth wide enough and is not latching well enough... thus causing my pain. I was pretty convinced I had some weird medical condition (I actually do have blanching but that's not necessarily pain-causing) so it was good news to hear that it's just a latching issue. The nurse told me to keep trying when Annalee is in a good mood, still sleepy. She also told us to put the bottle right below her nose and that will cause her to open up wider (it does) in hopes to get her trained to open up WIDE. If she doesn't latch correctly, then don't nurse her. So we've tried each day and have had no success. The nurse also said she may get it when she grows bigger. I'm REALLY hoping that is the case.

Pumping: I am so not a fan. I will keep doing it, of course, but it's hard to pump for 30 minutes (every three hours) then feed Annalee and watch Eli. Praise God for grandparents right here and for a very helpful Dad when he's not at work. One side is producing way less and I'm a bit worried about my supply, so I hope to do some power pumping in the next days. If you don't know what that is, don't ask. It does sound like some crazy exercise which I would not enjoy! I also worry my pump is getting old and I worry about running out of bottles and I worry about how I can keep this up...

Reflux: We tried Annalee on baby Zantac for three days and couldn't quite tell if it was helping. Then we took her off and we could tell she was better on it. So back on we are for now. We bought the rock-n-play sleeper for her (we were hoping for a perfect night that first night but it didn't have that great of an effect). She still spits up often and we keep her upright especially after feedings. You can tell she's in some sort of pain or at least discomfort after she eats...it's hard to watch... this leads me to the next point:

Fussiness: Miss Annalee is fussy. She has certain times she is just screaming out and is hard to console...  but if she's being held, she can usually settle eventually. She also goes from fine to MAD quickly... the nurse was so amazed at her temper! My biggest question is: is she fussy because that's her personality OR is there something legitimately wrong with her? Is she just a colic baby or does her digestive system have issues? 

Of course I'd love a magical solution to her fussiness. I want her to be a happy baby! I want her to sleep more too! I am going to try cutting dairy out and see if that helps. We also plan to keep massaging her tummy. And if she's still cranky, we may end up taking her to a chiropractor (friends swear by this though neither of us ever get chiropractic care so we are wary). But really, it may just take time for her to get settled. And it's okay that she is getting spoiled being held as we make sure she doesn't puke up each feeding, someday I'll dream of when she was so tiny and we held her. It would just be nice to get some more sleep. Last night Greg went to bed at 7:30pm and slept until 1:00am. We try take shifts (I still have to wake up to pump though). It's not easy.

Gaining/Feeding: Thankfully, through the spitting up and crankiness, Annalee is still gaining weight (which means she's keeping plenty enough in to keep growing). She grunts like a mad woman too (the nurse said babies born early grunt more)... just part of her many noises. I'll take grunts over cries though! When she wants to eat, she wants to eat five minutes ago... she takes a bottle like she's never ate before. And we make sure she's not famished between feedings! She hates burping. Hates it. We tried not giving her a pacifier (didn't want to add to the nipple confusion) but it looks like that's just going to happen. Eli never did pacifiers so having a child who loves one will be a change.

Even with all this going on with our girl, I'm still so very glad she's here alive. I could have chosen to keep her inside the womb longer. Maybe she wouldn't be having these issues if born closer to full-term instead of two weeks early... but I still would choose the same - her alive is worth it. She's still a delight!

Mommy did a photo shoot... hat made by my friend Cindy!

The kids and I are heading to MN tomorrow to spend time with my family (and give Grandma and Greg a break!). Greg has lots to catch up on and I'm looking forward to resting at my parents new house, hoping to work though some of Annalee's issues, while Eli gets non-stop attention from Grammy and Grandpa Lloyd.

-Heather