So when I do get a chance to get on the computer I tend to either get on twitter to chat with people or read your blogs.  I am trying to keep up with all of your journeys, but I don’t get the time to comment.  It seems like a lot of you who have one miracle are starting to try for number two or are already pregnant with number two which is amazing.  I don’t think I’m ready for another one yet.  LM is keeping my hands full all by himself.  I am also here rooting on all of you trying for number one!

So what’s new? Let’s see.. I’m going to break it up into the good and the could be better….

The good.  LM is growing and doing well.  I can’t believe he’s already six months.  He’s 16 pounds and 25.5 inches.  Everyone keeps saying how long he is.  His dad is 6’1 though.  We are almost in size three diapers which is crazy.  LM loves to laugh, smile, and he has found his voice.  His favorite thing to do right now is to yell/screech really really loud in a high pitched tone.  He’s not upset or anything, he just likes to hear his own voice.  In daycare when it’s quiet he will surprise everyone with a loud yell lol.  He isn’t babbling with consonants yet, but I keep saying mamamamama dadadadada to him and he thinks it’s funny and laughs at me.  He loves peek-a-boo, being bounced on his feet, and being held way up high.  He’s done pretty well with solids.  He loves rice cereal and yogurt.  We started him on the yogurt for the good bacteria.  He will eat his oatmeal cereal, but doesn’t seem as much of a fan compared to the rice. We are going to start him on avocado tonight.  I hope he likes it.  He will be graduating from the younger baby’s class in daycare at the end of the month and moving up into the older baby’s room.  After he graduates from this next room we get a discount on daycare costs, woo hoo.

The could be better – It seems like LM has been sick a lot this winter.  We had a couple of colds that turned into an ear infection.  He has had two ear infections so far.  They are a little concerned that since he has his first one so early that he may need tubes.  They say they are going to refer us to an ear nose and throat doc if he gets two more in the next couple of months.  Fingers crossed he doesn’t and it gets warm soon.  In between the ear infections he has tended to get the sniffles.  We are just finishing the second round of antibiotics of his last ear infection – 10 days on amoxicillin and then ten days on augmentin.  He now has a cold again independent from his last ear infection ugh.  I really hope it goes away soon. I can’t remember the last time he was completely healthy.  I really hope that all of this means that once he’s a bit older he won’t get sick anymore because he has already had everything.

He’s still going to PT for his gross motor skills.  The torticollis is mostly gone, but he still has plagiocephaly.  We are still thinking about possibly needing a helmet. I don’t want to have to get him one, but if it will help him I’m open to it.  The PT says he is behind about a month on his gross motor skills, which makes me nervous.  He will roll over to the left, but doesn’t like to roll to the right side (the side where his neck muscles were tighter).  He’s still working on rolling from his back to his stomach.  He can sit supported, but not on his own for very long.  I’m hoping that comes along soon.  I’m wondering if he’s just going to be a tiny bit behind on his gross motor skills since he came at 37 weeks.  Who knows.  I’m trying really hard not to compare him to other people’s kids, but I can’t help myself.

His reflux is something we are still working on.  He has good times when he drinks his bottle with no issues in about 25-30 minutes and days like today when we really have to work to get him to eat.  Right now I’m wondering if his teeth are coming in.  They teased us before and I thought one would be in by now, but nothing yet.  Hopefully he will go back to his normal eating again soon.  I need to start exercising and lose some weight, but it’s hard trying to fit it into my schedule and finding the motivation to do it. My mom says I should just keep him in daycare for an extra half an hour so I can exercise, but I am not sold on that and by that time we are both ready for nap time.

I will leave you with some recent pics of LM.  He is such a cute little guy  His legs are blurry in the two pictures in his chair because he loves to kick his feet.  He can get that chair rocking all by himself and all the toys on the toy bar go flying.

Ok onto the title of the post….My purse…

I like to be prepared just in case I find myself in a situation where I might need that particular something.  I’m a planner by nature.  I always try to be one step ahead of things.  Therefore, I carry a lot of stuff in my purse.  I got my current purse maybe three months or so ago.  It was on sale and cheap.  However, once I started using it I found that it didn’t have enough room for everything I carry.  I want to go out and get a new bigger bag.  Hubby says I carry too much stuff and should get rid of some of it.  I call it being prepared.  This is what I have in my purse

• Wallet
• Work ID
• Car keys
• House Keys
• Ipod touch
• Small bottle of zantac
• Small bottle of immodium (I have IBS so this and the zantac are for when I’m out and having stomach issues)
• Bottle of water (for drinking and if I need to take any of my tummy meds)
• Eye drops
• Glasses case with terry cloth
• Garmin (I hate getting lost so I use this any time I go somewhere new)
• Cell phone
• Small trinket hubby made me when we were first dating
• Chapstick
• Pen
• Small planner to write my appointments in
• Small brush
• Checkbook
• A pad just in case

I also have one of those purse organizers that you see on infomercials to see if that would help organize things and give me more pockets, but it didn’t help that much.  Do you think I carry too much?  What kind of stuff do you have in your purse?

As I said before I decided early on that since I couldn’t breastfeed that I would then make his solids.  This way I can save money that I couldn’t before when I had to buy formula, not have to feed him jarred food that has all sorts of stuff in it, start him out on liking all different sorts of food, and give him lots of fresh nutrients.  When I first started thinking about it I decided I wanted to buy one of those whole systems like the baby bullet.  I have thought about buying one of those for a long time and have watched the infomercial many times.  I thought about buying the regular bullet before, but didn’t because I have read reviews of parts breaking and it not lasting very long.  Then again there are some people that love it and swear on it.

Today while doing a little online shopping I almost bought one, but then decided on just using my normal blender that I have in the house, but never use.  I hope it’s strong enough.  I am also going to get a steamer basket and see how that goes.  I have never used one before and hopefully I will quickly figure it out.  Anyways today on twitter I asked if anyone had the baby bullet and what they thought of it.  Two women mentioned that they were doing baby led weaning and that they didn’t really use a baby food maker.  I was like baby food weaning? What is that?  So I did some research.  Basically it’s skipping pureeing a baby’s food into mush and spoon feeding them.  The parents prepare the appropriate food and cut it into smallish pieces and let the baby pick what they want to eat, how much, and feed themselves.  Basically the whole family eats the same thing together.

I’m not sure how I feel about this.  I think it’s an interesting concept, but I am not sure.  I think I am going to try doing the puree route in the beginning just to start and then see how LM does.  I have thought about doing it for so long I want to at least try it out.  If he does well on purees maybe then we will move towards baby led weaning. I also want to talk to his doctor at his six month appointment, though I think it’s a week or two after he’s six months.  As of now LM watches me when I eat and looks at my food closely, but he doesn’t grab for it.  Though I don’t eat right next to him or have him close enough that he could grab it.

So this is my thinking.  What did you guys do? Did you start solids before your baby was exactly six months? What did you start with? Is there anything I should know? I do know the four day rule or so to make sure they aren’t allergic to anything.  I’m excited to start this next adventure with LM.

Anyways – quick update on LM.  He’s doing well with PT. We go this afternoon and I’m interested to see if she notices differences. I do.  He actually grabbed some toys near his right side and rolled over last night so I think that’s proof.  We took him to the specialist appointment and they said of now he doesn’t need a helmet, yea!  They said wait until he’s about 6 months old and then we will reassess if I want too, but most likely it will get a lot better and to keep up with the neck stretching and PT.  I put him in a clean outfit this morning and it was fitting very tight lengthwise.  I checked the size and it’s 6months! Depending on the brand he’s in 6-9 month clothes, moving towards 9 months.  I’m not sure if I’m ready for this. I hope this means he will be taller like daddy.

Ok onto  my point of the entry.  I wanted to type out all my little hints and trips I have found to work with LM when he is refluxing and not wanting to eat. I know that some things won’t work for every baby, but if this could help someone out there I think that would be great.  I also want to hear other peoples tips and tricks to see if we can come up with a big list.  Ok onto the list.  I will start with the basics:

• Thickened formula (LM is on Similac Ready to Feed for Spit up).
• Have him sit up 30 minutes after eating
• Tire him out a little before eating
• Hold him in a position comfortable to him (on his side, cradle position, sitting up position, his back against mine work well)
• Keep changing positions when he gets fussy
• Breaks during feeding work well.  Come back to eating 5-10 minutes later
• LM loves movement.  A little rocking helps a lot during eating
• Getting up and walking while feeding helps
• Feeding LM in his chair when he can’t get comfortable in my arms helps
• When he is still fussy, making the chair rock back and forth while feeding helps
• When he stops eating and isn’t going back again, burping helps, but sometimes not
• I don’t take the bottle out of his mouth to burp him until he does it himself. That may go against what most people say, but it works for us.
• Shhhhing him.  Sometimes that breaks his focus of whining and gets him back on track for eating
• Going into a quiet room with the lights dimmed and no distractions

I bought a beco gemini soft structured baby carrier to also help. I’m hoping that having him in that and close to me while upright will help him feel more comfortable.  However, so far he has cried to get out of it after five minutes.  I am hoping that both of us just need to get used to it.  It came in the mail on sunday so I’ve only had it a little bit.  I’m having trouble reaching the straps in the back, but I like that it’s more straightforward in putting it on.

• Last time he got weighed he was just about 14 pounds.  He will get weighed tomorrow at a doctor’s visit and I bet he will be 14 pounds and maybe half way to 15 pounds.
• Is now on prevacid for his reflux – 1ml in the morning and 1ml at night.
• I’m not sure if it’s the prevacid helping his reflux or what, but he went from drinking 4oz bottles to 6oz bottles.  When we first started with the 6oz bottles he was eating every 2-2.5 hours.  Now he eats about every three so he is taking in around 36 ounces of formula!
• He is “talking” a lot. He coos and goes on and on for minutes like he is telling a complete story.  It’s pretty cute.
• He has been scratching his face up a lot. I am wondering if his face is dry, but I have been reading that it might have something to do with his reflux. We are going to keep his nails trimmed and maybe put socks on his hands at night.
• He was giggling the other day and it was very cute.
• One of his favorite games is peek-a-boo
• He loves to snuggle on his blankets and bring them close up to his face.  He also tends to kick them off himself while in his chair.
• He has tons of energy and will sit in his chair after eating (we keep him upright for 30 minutes after eating) and kick up a storm.
• He will lie on his back and scoot with his legs and move himself across the changing table
• He is working on rolling over, but gets stuck half way. The pt says that it’s because of his torticollis (tight neck muscles) that caused his flat spot.  We started him in physical therapy once a week to help strengthen his neck muscles and help with his gross motor development.
• We have an appointment tomorrow morning to see if he needs a helmet because of his flat spot. I have a lot of emotions about this, but I will save it for a blog post after his appointment.
• He enjoys daycare and his caregivers. He is a light sleeper there though and doesn’t sleep much while he is there. So when he comes home he sleeps from when I put him in the car to his next feeding which is usually about three to four hours.
• Last night he slept for eight hours during the night! I would say that is sleeping through the night. I was sad I had to wake him up to get ready for work. I wonder how long he would have slept if I was able to let him sleep as long as he wanted.

I was really wondering about his reflux medicine trouble so I called my dr’s office’s nurse line. I got lucky in that his pediatrician was on call and got to talk to her. After some run around and having to tell my story three times she said that I should try the prevacid again. He is on 2ml a day. She suggested that I split the dose and give him 1ml during the day and 1ml at night. She said he might just have a sensitive stomach and then the bug made it even more sensitive like I already thought. She said to give him the prevacid that way for at least a couple of days – to maybe tuesday or so and see how he does. If he is still throwing up at that point then she said that we might want to do an ultrasound or something to see more in depth whats going on. She talked about pyloric stenosis, but I seriously doubt he has that. So I guess I’m giving him 1ml of prevacid tonight. Hubs and I are not looking forward to it because we are both so tired of him throwing up and just want it to stop. However, if he does need an ultrasound I want him to get it and to catch whatever is wrong. Though he isn’t doing that horrible off his med’s. Though he is refluxing, you can hear it. As you can see I keep going back and forth. Maybe if we just wrap him in towels it won’t get all over him.

*edited*
I had to convince the hubs to do it, but we gave LM 1ml of prevacid (dividing the dose) before his dinner bottle. We wrapped him up in a towel just in case he did throw up. So far it’s been 20minutes and no throwing up yet, woot. I’ll update again with what happened.

It’s now a bit over two hours since the prevacid and no throwing up! Yea! I think splitting the dose really helped. I’m wondering if him falling asleep and not being as aware helped things. We will see if we can get a repeat performance tomorrow morning

*edited again*
Day lights saving time makes the time LM eats way too early ugh. So far so good on the morning dose. Checked my e-mail while waiting for the prevacid to kick in and got my daily e-mail from what to expect. The subject? How to take care of a child with rotovirus. LOL A little too late wte.

That got me to thinking even more about his reflux medicines bothering his stomach. I had increased his zantac by .2 ml a few days before he got sick. I’m sure he did have the stomach bug at some point or still does because I managed to get it. I was up last night throwing up and had the chills. I was not able to get warm under all the blankets with socks and a robe on and my electric blanket on. I seem to be doing a little better now. However, I’m wondering if LM is having some sort of drug interaction or drug allergy to the reflux meds because of or independent to his stomach bug. I wondered if he were allergic, but I don’t think so because he was on the zantac before and he doesn’t have the red irritation around his mouth I keep reading about on the net when babies are allergic to things. However, I am not able to take penicillin type drugs. I don’t get the red rash, but I can’t keep it in me – I either throw up or it comes out the other end. So I’m wondering if this is something similar. I just want him to feel better and stop getting sick. I also want him to be able to have his reflux under control so he can have a calm feed. It makes me nervous because I have read that reflux peaks at four months and he is only a few weeks away from that.

Anyone have any input, suggestions, or anything? I could use some help figuring things out. I’m also not going to give him any medicine for a day or two and let his system calm down. Hopefully that will make the vomiting stop.

Hubs took him to the doctor this morning after I was on the nurse line all weekend and they said he’s not dehydrated and it will probably run its course any time between a day or so to a week. I really hope it’s not a week. Though I wonder if some of his feeding issues were because of the stomach bug and not reflux. Fingers crossed he gets better soon. We’ve had enough of the sicknesses..

I first talked to a nurse who took all my information down. She being just a nurse didn’t seem to give me a lot of direction, just that I should call and get an appointment with this weekend thing my doctor’s group has. So I called in and got an appointment and we went over this morning at 9am. The doctor’s visit seemed quick, but I guess cause we got right to the point and I had given them all the info that was in the computer already. Basically we switched LM from zantac to prevacid. I am hoping the medicine change will help him to feel better and give us a calmer feed. So *fingers crossed* LM also got weighed again which I enjoy. I guess being a data person I like having the data points. On Oct 20 he was 12lbs and 13 ounces and today 9 days later he is 13 pounds 6.5 ounces. So I guess I don’t have to worry about him losing weight.

While I was returning the carrier I picked up something else I needed – a warm cover for his car seat. It’s been cold in the morning when I leave for work and I learned from classes that I’m not supposed to put a heavy coat on LM while he’s in his car seat. So I bought this cover thing that goes over the car seat so he will stay dry and warm during the winter. I’m looking forward to trying it out.

One more exciting thing – well two about one thing. One is that we upped LM’s zantac amount by .2ml in the morning and at night and he seems to be doing well with it. I’m not sure if it’s because of his bath last night or because of the right level of medicine, but he slept in until 5am for the first time in a few weeks! He had been waking up at 4:15 or 4:30am. I know that’s just thirty minutes, but yea for more sleep. The second exciting thing about his reflux is this morning I was talking to the ladies who take care of him at daycare. I asked them if they had any issues feeding him during the day and they said no. I said really? At home a lot of the time he will arch and push the bottle out of his mouth and whine and such. I asked them and I learned what they do to feed him – which isn’t really anything huge, but I think it will solve a lot of the stress we have during feeding which will make LM and I very happy. Basically when eating LM will suck down his first 2-3oz fine. Then he will stop and not drink the rest of it well. They let him drink as much as he want for the first part and then when he stops they put him down and let him have a 15-20minute break. Then they come back to it and he finishes it. They said he likes to eat when he’s tired which I have found as well because he’s not as aware of the reflux I suppose. It sorta makes sense. Your supposed to feed a baby with reflux small amounts more frequently so breaking it up probably helps when it flairs. I was doing this sorta before, but it’s a good reminder. I’m going to do this at our next feeding (in 30minutes) and see how it goes. I know we will still have some days when he fights me at every ounce, but hopefully this will cut down on most of the stress. *fingers crossed*

*edited*
Nope. Still fussed a lot. Cut down a little on the fighting the bottle, but not really. Actually threw up last night when hub’s was feeding him. I’ll keep trying though.