The Hollinhead's

10 months!

2012-01-17T18:12:00.000-08:00

I will get back to Christmas soon, but I didn't want to skip another monthly post! Campbell turned 10 months on January 8th! I am honestly freaking out a little bit that I am about to have a 1 year old. That just sounds so old and makes me feel old. It also makes me really miss having a little baby (not enough to bring a brother or sister into this work right now, haha!) So, Cam.... What are you up to this month??

Campbell's Stats:
-Weight: I have no idea... I can't believe I'm at a point in her life where I am not obsessing about her weight! Campbell has done so good for the past month that I KNOW she has to be doing great. I just can't bring myself to go for a weight check, even though Dr. C told me to.... Maybe this week... Maybe not!

-Height: Don't know this either!

-Diapers: Moved up to size 3! We were having a few too many blow outs.

-Clothes: She is fitting great into 6 month clothes and a lot of her 9 month clothes too! Is it safe to say this baby is FINALLY getting on track in the clothing department! We are letting her wear all of her 6 month pjs one last time before they go into storage and we break out the 9 month pjs!

-Eats: Oh I just can't wait to brag on this little bit! She is now taking 5 bottles a day (she cut out her 8:30 am bottle, which she took at school) and drinks between 25-30 ozs a day. Sometimes a little bit more! We are still fortifying her bottles with extra formula so her caloric count is a lot more than a regular bottle. **We are still having to feed every bottle while she watches some type of video on Youtube.. I think this is just the way it's going to be until we are done with the bottles.** In addition, she eats a fruit baby food (about 2.5 oz) and a vegetable baby food (another 2.5 oz) at school, and then has "dinner time" around 4:00 where she eats only solids. So far, the solids she eats are: cheerios, puffs, pears, peaches, sweet peas (doesn't like very much), carrots (also doesn't love), the skinny breadsticks from Newk's, and applesauce. It has been such a struggle with solids and she, still, throws up with them. BUT we are making progress! I knew this was going to happen (texture aversion... the OT in me knew this was coming), but I was desperately hoping that I would be wrong. Well... she does seem to have some texture aversion but it is getting better. Vibrating teethers, oral massage, consistency.... That is what has done the trick!

-Campbell now has 2 teeth! The bottom front two! As we speak, she is teething like crazy.. drooling and fussing! I can't figure out where this new tooth will be, but it's definitely coming!

-She has done so good at not getting sick for about 2 months now... However, she now has a cold and is feeling like poop!

-At the last, big monthly post, I asked about vitamins. Dr. C agreed that we need to get her on some vitamins because of her poor eating. We have started Tri-Vi-Sol liquid vitamins. We will see at her 12 month appointment if he is happy with her iron count. In terms of other medicine, she takes Carafate 3 x a day and Prevacid 2x a day (although they are no longer making Prevacid so we are having to get the compounding pharmacy to make something similar = VERY EXPENSIVE!) We are also putting Probiotics in her bottles everyday.

-She is still going to see Dr. Nicole (her chiropractor) 2x a week. We truly think this has made the difference in her eating habits.

-We are still having some major issues with Campbell's sleeping patterns. Truly, we are not man enough to let her cry it out. The times we have tried have led to her throwing up and we just don't want to risk it. However, Cam really needs some sleep intervention! She goes down okay in her crib, but then wakes up about midnight and refuses to go back to sleep in her bed. I am SOO tired of having a baby in my bed!!! Any tips??

MILESTONES:

-Campbell has stood up by herself a handful of times, but no longer will do it. We tried so much that I think we have scared her a little. Almost everyday, we will see her THINKING she is holding onto a table, but instead is holding onto a toy in her hand or her passy. It's only a matter of time before she gets the guts to just stand up and take her first steps!

-She LOVES to read, especially the "My First 100 Words" book. We always flip to the last pages where the pictures of the animal are. I will point out an animal and make it's noise. Eventually, she will point to one and growl, haha!

-Her favorite toy, right now, is the Fisher Price Laugh and Learn Dance and Play Puppy. It, basically, is a robot dog that sings, dances, claps, and moves it's ears. She will stop what she is doing, crawl over to it, and start clapping her hands. If she is really in the mood, she will dance!

-Cam LOVES music!! She will dance and clap whenever she hears a beat! This makes my heart so joyful!! I hope that she will be a dancer one day.

-Another favorite activity around here is to pull up on the windows (we have 5 foot windows all along 2 walls in our den). She will sit there for 30 minutes jabbering away at the neighbor's dog, Greta!

-Campbell also loves to crawl under and through anything. If she's not by a window, you can find her under a table, in a cabinet, or under the coffee table! I think we need to invest in a tunnel for her birthday!

-One, not so great, milestone is her ability to throw a fit!! I feel like we are already going through the terrible twos! If she doesn't get something she wants or we take something away from her, she throws her body on the floor and kicks!

-My mom taught Campbell how to sign "more" in sign language. Seeing as she is not big on food, she will only do this if you are offering her water (especially through a straw!)She is pretty great at it! I will post a video of it later!

-I already kind of mentioned this, but Campbell will growl like a tiger/bear if you start doing it first. She will also do this if you sneeze or cough... guess that sounds like a tiger to her, haha!

-Cam loves to go on wagon rides! She got a wagon from Santa and would go on a ride a few times a day, if you let her. She kicks her legs like crazy and squeals the ENTIRE ride!!

-She has started to HATE to get dressed and get her diaper changed. It's like wrestling with a screaming, crying bear!

-Campbell got some pink, bath foam in her stocking from Santa. I thought that she would LOVE to play with it in the bathtub.... I was so wrong... She started crying the minute she saw it and attempted to climb out of the bathtub... So weird...

-Campbell LOVES other babies and kids! She will try to hug and kiss them if she is close enough. If she's not, she will just squeal and laugh at them. She also loves the babies on her Praise Baby DVD and will stare and smile at them in amazement!

-Campbell is still only saying "Da-Da". Every once in awhile, we will hear a "bye-bye" or an L sound that sounds like "Lordy Lordy Lordy". This is kind of worrying me a little bit, but I am just going to wait until her 12 month appointment to bring it up.

-Her favorite game is chase. It doesn't matter who it is. She will take one look at you and take off. If she doesn't hear you running behind her, she stops and looks at you until you chase her.

-Her eyes are still as blue as ever! She still gets a million compliments a day about them. They truly are gorgeous!!

-She is still obsessed with Bella and Bella could still get a **** about her.

-Campbell still takes 1-2 naps a day. Her morning nap at school is hit or miss. If she doesn't nap at school, then she will take a 2 hour nap in the afternoon (only in my arms... we seriously need some sleep help!) I frequently will pick her up from school and while I am feeding her in the parking lot, she falls asleep.

-Still loves her passy

-Dislikes: getting changed, sleeping in her own bed, her carseat (most of the time), getting her nose suctioned.

We love you Cam!!!

-

My First Gingerbread House

2012-01-03T13:39:00.000-08:00

Well.... Mommy and Daddy's gingerbread house.... I wasn't too happy with this Christmas activity. I wasn't allowed to help or even taste anything!! The only thing Momma and Daddy let me do is take a picture beside the finished product. If this is what making a gingerbread house is about, then FORGET ABOUT IT!!!!!

Going WAYY back.... The search is on!

2012-01-03T13:24:00.001-08:00

I am determined that I will not forget any of the details of Campbell's first Christmas! So, let's discuss the search for the perfect tree! Keeping with tradition of the past 27 years of my life (maybe give or take a year or two), we headed over to the Vestavia Boyscout Lot for our search. Campbell seemed a little confused on why we were spending time in the middle of a "forest!" We let her crawl around on the pinestraw and she just loved it!(obviously, I have relaxed a little... guess that first time mommy anxiety is gone!)It only took us about 15 minutes to find our tree because both Clayton and I were getting over a nasty stomach bug and were not feeling 100%.

After we put the tree up in the house, it took Campbell about a week to really pay attention to it! After that, she was very excited about grabbing the branches and shaking them! The tree was a blessing for a good month in that we could hold Cam while we were feeding her the bottle and let her play with ornaments and she would eat! This came at a really good time because she went through a period of 2 weeks where eating was next to impossible!

WOW I'm behind!! 9 months

2012-01-02T18:56:00.001-08:00

Because my child will be 10 months on Sunday, I am going to do a short 9 month post with her pictures.

Campbell had a her big, 9 month check-up and it probably could have gone better (we are doing GREAT now though!) She had just gotten over ear infections and not eating for over a week, so we didn't have great weight gain....
-Weight: 15 lbs 8 oz (she had lost 2 oz from the week before)- She fell off the growth charts this month, unfortunately.
-Height: 27.5 inches
-Head circumference: I think 14 inches... that may not be right.... I know it was small though

He was a little worried about her weight this month. A funny thing that happened.... The first scale she was weighed on was low on battery power and came out that she weighed 14 lbs 14 oz. We all started to freak out because that meant she had lost a pount in a week. Not 1 minute later, Dr. C comes running in with a new scale saying, "If this weight is true, we have a pediatric clinic code blue!" Thankfully, the scale was wrong!!!

Cam got 2 shots and cried pretty hard (like always). Other than that, Dr. C was really happy with her developmental progress. The main things he wants us to focus on is eating more solid foods (finger foods), encouraging more use of the sippy cup, and continuing to push the formula. One disappointing piece of info from the day was that Cam will not be off of formula at 12 months like we thought. Because of her lack of weight gain, he wants us to continue with formula for awhile to make sure she is still getting adequate nutrition..... Sucks, but we will do whatever we can for Cam!

I will do a long, monthly post next week for her 10 month posts!

School Santa Pictures!

2011-12-09T12:49:00.000-08:00

Santa came to Campbell's school for a visit and a little picture time! This was her third attemt with the big man and probably the most successful!

Favorites from November... so far

2011-11-16T19:59:00.000-08:00

Here are some of my favorite pictures from November!

Can you tell that this girl loves her some Bella?!?

She even loves when Bella is licking all over her face! I think they will be best friends...one day.... on Bella's timing!

Okay... So there is a story behind this picture. When I first started decorating for Halloween, I noticed that everytime we passed by this dishtowel that I had hung on the stove, Campbell would start to jabber and laugh out loud. The dishtowel has a witch with green hair on it, who we have officially named Wanda the Witch. So, this picture sums up her infatuation with the dishtowel... I love ya, Cam, but you are a weird child!!

Happy baby!

So, Pop (my dad) thought it would be a good idea to give Campbell her first taste of candy a few weeks ago. He let her suck on a blueberry Tootsie Roll pop at their house. Since then, she has been obsessively trying to get a lick of another one! I took my eyes off of her for one second the other day and look what that Little Stinker found?!?! A BLUEBERRY TOOTSIE ROLL POP!!

Do you think she is proud of herself or what??

Pulling up on a storage box... Told you she will stand on anything!

**3 new blog posts below!!**

Playdate with Will!

2011-11-16T19:43:00.000-08:00

Last Wednesday night, Stacy and Will Morris and Aunt Melissa (Echols) helped keep Campbell and I company while Clayton was at class. Will and Campbell have met before, but they were both a lot younger. The minute we got them on the floor together, they were a riot!! There was a lot of hitting too hard, pulling of body parts, and trying to stand up on each other... but they had a great time! I have to say, I think the adults had more fun than the babies!! Here are some pictures from their playdate!

Campbell smiling at Will

Cam is going in for the grab!!

Really terrible picture, but I had to include a shot of Campbell clapping... Will doesn't look very impressed!

And this is when we had to end the fun because Campbell was getting a a little too touchy feely with Will... Hands off the booty, Cam!!!

Favorite pictures from October!

2011-11-16T19:32:00.001-08:00

Here are some of my favorites from October!!

LOVE those gorgeous, blue eyes!! This child is complimented on her eyes everywhere she goes!

Cam and Nonnie... They have such a special relationship! Campbell loves her Nonnie more than words can say, and I know Nonnie feels the same way about her!

I love Campbell's face! Nonnie was playing peek-a-boo with her and she was laughing hysterically!

Cam sitting on Daddy's shoulders! She loves anything where she gets to be a daredevil!

This is what happens when Daddy gives a shot at feeding Campbell! One big mess!

But she was oh so happy at being messy!!

One of Cam's favorite toys.... A pretend wand! She got it in her Halloween basket from Nonnie and Pop and she loves to shake it! (and pretend that she is casting spells!)

Campbell in action!

**POST BELOW!!!**

8 months!

2011-11-16T18:37:00.001-08:00

Here we go again! I seem to only post monthly, but at least I'm keeping up with the most important stuff. So, what's our Cam-a-Lam doing this month?
**By the way, please notice the change of compliance with our photos this month... Campbell has decided that sitting nice a pretty is overrated!

Campbell's Stats:
Weight- 15 lbs 9 oz!!! She is up over a pound since last month! We have started supplementing her bottles with additional formula (per GI), and it is working wonders!

Height- Don't know!

Diapers- Still in size 2 and I think we will be there for awhile longer!

Clothes- She is mainly wearing 6 month clothes. We can occasionally fit into some 3 month stuff and 3-6 month stuff.

Eats- She has done much better this month with eating!!! I took it upon myself (just call me Dr. Hollinhead) to take Campbell off of most of her medicines. I had this sneaking suspicion that they weren't doing doodley squat for her anymore and that I was just pumping her full of chemicals.... turns out, I was right! She is no longer taking the Bethanechol or Carafate! She is just on the Prevacid right now, which is great for her and our wallets! ;) We still have the occasional projectile vomit (case in point... tonight), but it doesn't seem to bother her.

So back to eating... Campbell is still taking 6 bottles a day, every 3 hours. She eats about 5-6 ounces with each bottle usually totally between 25-28 oz a day. You will see that those numbers don't quite add up... Campbell has decided that she only likes to eat for Mommy and Daddy. School just doesn't cut it in her book. We usually only get 5 or so oz over two feedings with them. Oh well, at least she is eating great for us!
**I have to say, I'm not being completely truthful here. My trick to get her to eat is "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse" or "Yo Gabba Gabba" pulled up on my I-phone. It works everytime ;)

In terms of solids, Campbell is doing really well with them! She eats 2-3 solid meals a day, usually only 2 because we get a little tired around dinner time. So far, she loves all vegetables but peas and likes fruit okay. We DON'T like apples, peas, bananas. She is also doing pretty good with "snacky foods: puffs, biter biscuits, rice cakes.... We are having some problems with textures and when she gets a chunk of food in her mouth. It usually ends up in gagging and puking. No surprise here, to be honest... I figured as much with how terrible eating has been her whole life. However, Cam has figured out that "Mommy don't play that"... She pukes, I wipe her mouth, and we continue on with eating. Puking ain't no thang in this house!

-Speaking of eating, this squirt still doesn't have any teeth! I guess I really don't care one way or the other. A lot of people have told me that babies tend to be healthier if they get teeth later...Hmm..... Totally not true in this house, but the sentiment is appreciated.

-So, speaking of getting sick... We have had an ongoing cold for T-4 weeks now. I think I am going to live in vomit and snot for the rest of my life. However, the NoseFrieda has helped wonders. If you haven't tried out this tool and you are a parent, you are TRULY missing out! We have done everything to get this baby well and nothing helps. Anyone have any recommendations on baby vitamins?

-Cam is still going to the chiropractor, but we are now going only once a week. I'm not sure that her chiropractor agrees with this, but Momma's pocketbook says that's all we are going to get... I kid.... We sort of made the decision together...

-So, we can't go a month without making a visit to Children's Hospital! On Halloween, Campbell decided that candy was for the birds and that she would rather grab Mommy's hair straightener! So instead of going to Rossbridge to trick-or-treat with my parents, we made a trip to Children's Hospital burn unit to get her left fingers (2-4) checked out. Turns out, it was a 2nd degree burn and they just gave us some cream to put on it and told us to follow up in a week. We have since been for a check-up and everything looks great with no scarring, most likely. Here's a picture of the burns at their worst.

-Another great thing about Campbell this month is her sleep regression, YAY! :( I don't know what the heck is going on with this child, but she decides to wake us up most nights 1-2 times and not go back to sleep in her crib. I mean, we could have rocked her for 30 minutes and she is dead to the world. The minute we lay her down in her crib, she is hysterical. Now, I know what you are all thinking... Let her cry it out. Well, seeing as Clayton and I both have jobs that we need to keep we just can't let her scream for hours on end. Oh, and trust me... we have tried it. I gave up after 1 hour and 45 minutes. Any tips welcome because this Momma is about to put the baby in the dog house!

Okay, so let's move on to her developmental milestones!!

-Cam is still doing GREAT crawling... She is super fast and get across a room in a few seconds (hence the burn on her fingers!)

-Campbell is now pulling up on EVERYTHING and I mean EVERYTHING. You can set her next to a rabid dog and she is going to try to stand up on it. She now will look at you with a smile and then let go... I guess to see your reaction. Usually she falls and cries and then does it again 10 seconds later... sigh....

-Her teachers really think she will be walking in the next couple of months at the rate she is going with her gross motor skills. I am really hoping she waits a little bit longer! I am not ready for a toddler!

-Campbell's new favorite thing to do is clap! Anytime she hears someone say, "Yay!" she will start to clap. She has also started to clap when she is upset or feels nervous/unsure. It is hilarious because she will stare at you with a sad face while clapping. HAHAH! I am laughing out loud as I am writing this! Another thing she has learn is to clap when someone sings, "If you're happy and you know it." I think they taught her this at school!

-She still loves that pointer finger. A funny thing she does (actually, it's a little weird but gets a lot of laughs from me and Clay): She will hold her pointer up in the air, and then grab that hand with the other hand and bring it to her face... That may not make sense to anyone but Clay and I, but I have to write it to remember it!

-Campbell is now saying "Da-da!" It is the cutest thing ever, but it would be so much cuter if she said "Ma-ma." She also has started saying "ya-ya" (??) and a sound that sounds like "This."

-Campbell had her Santa pictures (thanks Blink Lady!) this month! I was hoping so bad that she would hysterically cry so I could use a crying picture for our Christmass cards... of course, Campbell didn't play along. Instead, she glared at him.. Typical Campbell!

-Speaking of glaring, she decided that she wanted to glare for her school pictures as well! As soon as I get our copies of them, I will post the picture. It's actually hilarious!

-She still has very blue eyes!

-Loves to play peek-a-boo (she will hide under blankets herself if we say, "Where's Campbell?")

-Loves the horsey game, being thrown in the air, rough play, etc.... I think she wants to be a football player.

-Cam is still OBSESSED with Bella! If we go outside, for some reason, and don't go over to see Bella she pitches the biggest fits ever! Bella could still care less about Campbell, but we are working very hard to make her pay a little more attention to Cam. One of their favorite activities to do together is Campbell eating lunch and Bella licking it off of her hands and face.... Yum!

-Speaking of pitching fits, this child can throw a good one! This is accompanied by kicking of both of her feet on the floor.... Isn't she a little young for that behavior?? :) If we say, "No," she laughs hysterically at us.... Oh, she is going to be a fun teenager!

-We still don't nap great. 2, 30 minute morning naps at school and usually one, hour nap in the pm with me in our bed. I need to start putting her in her crib for naps, but I just can't help but want to cuddle with her!

-Likes: Mommy, Daddy, Nonnie, Pop, Bella, drinking out of sippy and big people cups, being bounced on a bed, stroller rides, playing with anything that is not made for a baby, her passy, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, DJ Lance Rock on Yo Gabba Gabba, other babies (she loves to manhandle them!)

-Dislikes: sitting in her carseat most of the time, sleeping in her crib, being cuddled if she isn't tired, getting her nose suctioned, apples, peas

I am so excited to experience the holiday season with Campbell this year! It is going to put a whole new meaning on thankfulness! I also can't wait to experience the "magic" of the holidays that you get with having children around! We love you Campbell A!!!

A journey through baby food

2011-10-16T09:20:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned in her 7 month post, Campbell started stage 1 baby foods this past month. I have taken pictures of almost every food she has tried. Here are some of the best ones.... good and bad!!

About to take her first bite of bananas...

Eating rice cereal

After her first bite of bananas... You can't tell, but she hated them!

First time eating carrots, SUCCESS!!

I LOVE SWEET POTATOES!!!!

Roll Tide!!!

2011-10-16T09:14:00.000-07:00

Since Mommy hasn't stayed up to date on the blog, here is a few picture of me getting ready for GAMEDAY!!!

First time to eat a puff

2011-10-16T09:07:00.000-07:00

I decided to see if Campbell would like puffs back in September. She LOVED them!! She only gets 3 at a time, max... but when she gets them, she goes to town! She also works so hard to perfect her pincer grasp! These pictures are from her first experience with puffs: September 24, 2011

August Picture Dump

2011-10-16T08:56:00.000-07:00

I have been bad aboud blogging, so here are some important and fun things that happened in August!

Campbell got her first high chair! She is pretty neutral about it. She would much rather eat in her exersaucer or bouncy seat.

Campbell got Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease from school! I know that she is going to catch all kinds of stuff from being in daycare, but it still makes me sad when she gets sick. It's hard to tell in this picture, but her entire body was covered in a rash, including the inside of her mouth!!!

Just some cuteness standing up on the couch. I LOVE this outfit!!!!

A milk-covered face!! This face sums up how she feels about bottles and her milk!

Loving on Mommy! These moments are rare around here, so I love them when they happen!!

7 months!!

2011-10-16T08:46:00.000-07:00

This month has come waaayyyy too fast! Campbell is officially closer to 1 year than being born! How crazy is that! I am so late with this post, but at least I am getting it done! What are you doing this month, my precious Cam??

Campbell's Stats:
Weight- On her 7 month birthday, Cam was 14 lbs 3 oz... not a great weight gain. This past Thursday at her GI appt, she was 14 7 oz. Not great weight gain. I attribute it to her being more active... maybe that is just to make me feel better, haha. Anyways, I'm a little confused on percentiles because at the GI, he said she is not on the charts, but I pulled up the CDC charts and she is right on the 10th. I'm just going to go with the 10th percentile!

Height- No idea. I tried to measure her height and it came out to 25 inches, but I truly think she is longer than that because she is not fitting, length-wise, into clothes that fit last month.

Diapers- She is wearing a size 2-3. No one has really heard of that size, but we found it at Babies R Us. It's the size between 2 and 3.

Clothes- Mainly 3-6 month clothes with the occasional 3 month or 6 month, depending if it runs big or small. We are officially out of 3 month sleepers and are only in 6 month!! She has to have grown in height!!!

Eats- I just need to take this question out, for my sake. I hate this question. Last month was GREAT with eating, but the weight gain still sucked. I guess I need to just focus on last month, since this is her 7 month post. I can talk about how terrible this month as been next month, haha. Last month, Cam ate between 4-6 ounces 5 times a day with a small bottle before she goes to bed. She averaged 25ish ounces a day. She also started on all stage 1 baby foods!!!! So far, they are pretty much a success story! THANK THE GOOD LORD. The only thing she doesn't like is bananas, which was pretty tangy in my book. Everything else she loves! We use Earth's Best Organic baby food and I make some. She has tried: carrots, sweet potatoes, squash, apples, pears, the little puffs finger snacks, and organic teething biscuits. We also tried avocado, but Mommy didn't mush it up enough... that led to gagging and projectile vomiting EVERYWHERE!! I'm hoping that the whole texture issue won't be a problem for her and that this is normal (to gag with lumpy foods.) This past month, she only ate one meal a day (around 5:30). My goal for the next month is to do 3 solid meals a day with the same amount of formula.... We are trying to fatten this baby up!

-We are still going to the chiropractor 2 times a week. I think it helps her a lot and Dr. Nicole gives us great ideas about enzymes to add to her bottles to help with some belly issues. We are now adding probiotics to one bottle a day, Lact-enz to every bottle, and are supposed to start adding Fish Oils to every bottle as well. I haven't started that yet, but need to.

-We went to GI this past Thursday for an emergency visit because we had switched one of Campbell's medicines. We took her off the Bethanechol because it didn't seem like it was working and put her on Baclofen.... Well, it turns out that Cam is most likely allergic to the Baclofen because she had a terrible reaction to it. After giving it to her, she didn't wake up for almost 5 hours... The dose we gave her really wasn't even a therapeutic dose and Dr. Cavender explained that such a low dose shouldn't result in any lethargy. So, we are now back to Bethanechol (he think the refill we got was bad.) He has also suggested we fortify all of her bottles with extra formula. So we are adding 50% more formula to each bottle, but keeping the water amount the same. That way, if she eats a 3 oz bottle, it's like she is eating a 6 oz bottle. Hopefully, that will help with weight gain. He is also the one that wants us to start giving 3 solid meals a day. Finally, we are back to thickening our bottles with 1 T of rice cereal per 2 ounces to help with the spitting up. His most important suggestion was for Clayton and I to take a day for ourselves once a week to keep our sanity, haha. My mom has graciously offered to take Campbell one day a week (for the day) and let us just do something other than feed her or worry about feeding her. I really think this is going to help our sanity. *Just being real here, we are very tired and frustrated, which leads to us being short with each other, Cam, and others. A little "me" time will do the trick, I think!!**

-Cam had 3 more vaccinations on her 7 month birthday: The 2nd flu shot, the Hep B, and IBV. She did really well with no adverse side effects. She was supposed to get the Prevnar vaccine for meningitis and ear infections, but they were worried that she didn't weigh enough. So we have put off that vaccine until her 9 month appoinment in December.

-I never posted about the sweat test results for Cystic Fibrosis. SORRY!!! Thank goodness, they were negative and she is not at risk for having CF! Clayton and I both agree that we can handle a little reflux, as long as we don't have CF!!!

-Campbell is officially crawling!!!!!! Who knew that this itty bitty baby would be crawling so dang early?!?! She had been army crawling for well over a month or two, but we are officially crawling now. Her belly never touches the ground and she is really moving her hands! She isn't the fastest crawler, but I am actually appreciative that I don't have to chase after her yet!

-Campbell has started pulling up to stand on things! Once she pulls up, she frequently lets go, haha!! We need to still work on this!

-Still no teeth!! I think she is going to look like a grandma forever!

-Eyes are still very blue!

-No mimicking consonants yet. Just screaming, squealing, and laughing!

-This baby is VERY ticklish, especially on her tummy, sides, and under her arms!

-Campbell's trademark hand position is having her pointer finger sticking out straight. If you look at 75% of her pictures, one or both of her pointer fingers are sticking straight out! I actually think this is a little weird....

-Cam can now sit independently and for long periods of time!

-Campbell's favorite toy is her Cabbage Patch Doll. Almost every morning, we hear her over the monitor cooing and squealing at her baby! When we go into her room, she has the doll's face in her mouth and is playing with the little curl on top of it's head. It is really hilarious!!! We think she is trying to kiss her baby!

-Her favorite "person" is still Bella! She gets so excited everytime she sees her and LOVES to sit and pet her. Bella even got a little too excited one day and stepped on Campbell's face leaving a bruise... Campbell, obviously, hasn't help any resentment against Bella!!

-Napping still isn't Cam's strong point. 1, 30 minute nap in the AM and usually 1-2 hour nap in the afternoon after I get her.

-I am blessed to be able to have cut my work hours even more this month!! I now only work 8-12 everyday!! I think these are the best hours because it gets me going in the morning, I feel productive, but I still get to be a SAHM for the majority of the day.

-Likes: Mommy, Daddy, Nonnie, Pop, Bella, Toonie (her cabbage patch doll), baby food, stroller rides, her passy, her lovies, our cellphones, cups (with or without drink in them), dancing, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse (I know I shouldn't let my baby watch tv but it helps me get ready in the morning)

-Dislikes: Bottles, avocado and bananas, carseat, getting suctioned

We love you so much, Cam-a-lam!!! You have made our lives so much better and rewarding!!

First attempt at eating!

2011-09-11T19:18:00.001-07:00

Here are some pictures of Campbell's first time to eat solids! She had rice cereal mixed with formula and breastmilk and just loved it!! Her favorite thing is to grab the spoon from you and play with it! Enjoy!

**POST BELOW!!!!!***

6 months!

2011-09-11T18:08:00.001-07:00

I cannot believe my baby is half of a year old!!! That is so crazy to me! It definitely doesn't feel like I had Campbell 6 months ago. It truly feels like yesterday that I was being admitted to be induced on March 7th! These have been some of the best and worst 6 months of my entire life. What is going on with Campbell right now?

Campbell's Stats:
*Weight: UGHHH the dreaded weight question. As of Thursday, September 8th at her 6 month well-baby check up, Campbell weighed 13 lbs 11 oz- this puts her a little bit above the 10th percentile! YAY! This is great news because she is actually going up in percentiles! Her eating hasn't gotten a lot better, but I'll discuss that more later.

*Height: 25 inches- about the 25th percentile (maybe a little bit higher). She has only grown one inch since her 4 month appointment, but they didn't seem worried about it. I am a little bit, but I guess I need to trust the doctors.

*Diapers: Size 2 is perfect!

*Clothes: Campbell is wearing 3 month clothes and some 3-6 month clothes, just like last month. The 3-6 month clothes are fitting a little bit better than last month. We are about to grow out of 3 month sleepers.

*Eats: Still eats 6 times a day (every 3 hours) and is offered 5-6 ounces. She still is very inconsistent and will eat between 3-6 ounces, usually 5. We are averaging 22-25 ounces, so you can see we are going down in amount. Very stressful for everyone.At her visit with Dr. Cavender (her GI), he decided he wanted her put on a different formula that is easier to digest. We are now on Gerber Good Start. To be honest, we haven't seen a change in behavior at all and Campbell seems to HATE that formula. I called him a week after we had started it and told him that it wasn't going well and he didn't really seem concerned or have another solution.... Yeah, I was pretty upset about that. Dr. Cortopassi said she is gaining good weight with that formula and to just stick with it.... At her 6 month appointment, we were given the go ahead to start solids (just small amounts and always after her bottle.) We did 3-4 days of rice cereal (which she had already been exposed to in her bottles a while back) and did great! She loved it, but would only take about a tsp or so... We have done one day of oatmeal cereal and it didn't go over that well. She was very gassy and screamed in pain throughout the day. Gluten allergy??? Doctors say it is too early, but I really feel like that might be contributing to her eating issues... I guess time will tell.

*We have started going back to the chiropractor as of last week. The last go around, we were SOO overwhelmed with everything. We had just started on all of these medicines and really were just starting to experience her eating aversion. We just had to stop because we couldn't tell what was and wasn't working because we started everthing at the same time. Well, we have now switched up and increased the dosage of all of her medicines and NOTHING has helped. So, I called Dr. Nicole Ussery at Balance Chiropractic back and she GRACIOUSLY accepted us back. Campbell started back last Wednesday and it was literally like magic. Starting Thursday morning, Campbell started eating 5 ounces at every bottle (it has slowly tapered off since then, but that is what is expected to happen since she needs to be adjusted every few days.) She goes back tomorrow afternoon and I can barely contain myself. I truly thing that the chiropractor might be one of the answers! Thank you, Dana!!

*The poop issues have improved since last month. We went over 3 weeks with Cam pooping around 15 times a day. No wonder the child wasn't gaining weight! We are now going 1-2 times a day! Yay! Maybe the formula is helping?? I have no idea!

*So I never posted about her GI visit. It was informative and helped answer a lot of questions for Clayton and I. He increased the doses of both the Bethanechol and the Prevacid and we are now on the Carafate 3 times a day until she shows improvement. I actually asked for this, and he agreed that he didn't mind her being put on it. It does have high levels of aluminum, but if it helps her eat then we can deal with whatever side effects later on. Some other information he gave us was that he thinks she has a milk protein allergy or sensitivity; he wanted us to wait until 6 months for us to start solids; and he wants us to continue adding probiotics to her bottle. We also asked about vaccinations and if we should break them up because she stops eating after them. He didn't think so because he said her immune response is that her belly gets upset. So, it doesn't matter if she gets 1 or 5 shots, she is going to stop eating. So, why put her through feeling bad more times than not? Makes sense, I guess...

*Campbell is in the midst of having her 3rd cold! At the well-baby visit, Dr. C recommended us taking her out of daycare and getting a private sitter or in home care. He explained that babies with bad reflux tend to have asthma issues later on and that she is showing some signs of that. She also was a little premature. All of that is setting her up for possible RSV this winter. Totally not what we were expecting or wanting to hear, but we will definitely make it happen if it is what's best for Cam. I am actually starting to only work 8-12 or earlier in a couple of weeks, so I will be home with her more. We just felt like it was necessary with her eating issues. So, anyone have any recommendations for private sitters in the Vestavia or Homewood area??

*Unfortunately, Campbell is still showing some possible signs of cystic fibrosis, so we are going for a sweat test on Wednesday morning, which is the test that the use to help test for CF. None of her doctors think that it will show up positive, but everyone wants to rule it out. We are just asking for lots of prayers this week in that this test is negative.

Let's talk about some fun things with Cam!! I'm tired of all of this saddness!!

*Campbell is now consistently army crawling and has started to push up into a quadruped position (on all fours) and is rocking! I think Cam-a-Lam is going to be an early crawler!!

*Still no teeth!!

*Cam has learned the fake cough and will copy you if you start it. She is also using this to her advantage with eating and will fake cough when she is done with eating. She will also blow raspberries at you to let you know she is done eating. I fake laughed at her the other night and she did it back at me... We haven't seen that since! It was hilarious though!

*Still no copying sounds like mama or dada or baba... Dr. C that happens around 9 months. I was a little confused and thought she should have already started that! Whoops!

*Campbell is really good and putting her passy in and out of her mouth, army crawling to get it and sticking it in her mouth, etc. Getting rid of that passy may be our hardest battle ever!!

*Everything goes into this child's mouth!!! Toys, clothes, bibs, peoples' fingers, EVERYTHING!!!

*Campbell can sit unassisted for a few seconds, but not much longer. We really haven't worked on that with her a lot, so Dr. C said to start focusing on that! We have pulled an old quilt down and kept it in the living room so we can start making this baby sit!

*Campbell LOVES to drink (or pretend to drink) out of cups and suck out of straws. There MIGHT have been a few times that I let Campbell put a straw in her mouth and I saw juice going into her mouth... Another whoops!! =)

*Campbell's favorite thing to do right now is give kisses! She will grab your face with two hands (very aggressively I might add!) and put her mouth on yours with her eyes closed. Occasionally, she will start licking you, hahaha!!!! It is the funniest thing ever to see.

*Speaking of kissing, Campbell had her first kiss ever at daycare a few weeks ago. One little boy in her class, Tucker, is infatuated with her because she is the only baby that doesn't crawl yet (she is significantly younger than the other kids) and will try to crawl on top of her. One day as he was crawling on her, she grabbed his face and started kissing and licking him!!! Their teachers were so excited to tell us when we picked them up! Thankfully, I know his mom, Ashley, and she thought it was hilarious!

*Campbell finally has decided that she LOVES Bella and any other dog for that matter. She gets so excited when she sees Bella and will smile, laugh, and jabber at her. Too bad Bella could care less about Campbell..... While she was still going to Mrs. Leslie's (her sitter this summer), Leslie would get Campbell to eat by letting her pet her pug during eating time. How hilarious is that???

*Campbell loves her lovies (little blankets with a stuffed animal head on it) and won't go to sleep without it. She will suck her passy and stroke the blanket with her eyes closed! It is so cute!!

*Bath time is not the favorite time anymore. She tries to sit up the whole time she is in the baby tub. I think it is time for a little seat for her or to just let her start sitting up in the tub.

*Her eyes are still light blue! Just beautiful!!

*Still not a good napper. Takes 2-3 naps a day at maybe 30 minutes... She sleeps great at night though! 7:15-5:00!

*Likes: Mommy, Daddy, Nonnie, Pop, BELLA, her passy, toys (especially her cat rattle and stacking rings), the exersaucer for short periods of time, tummy time, dancing with daddy, the horsey game, drinking out of peoples' cups, being outside, riding in the stroller, being in public or shopping (LOVES lots of people), pretty much everything... Campbell could win the award for the happiest baby ever. Most people who have met her have never heard her cry!

*Dislikes: EATING, loud screaming (we went to Melissa and Hunter Echols house for the game this weekend and she got very upset every time someone screamed!), being rocked if she doesn't want to go to sleep, the carseat on most days, ummmm getting hurt?? I can't think of anything else that she doesn't like!

Uh oh!!

2011-08-22T14:50:00.000-07:00

Today has not been a good day in the Hollinhead household! Yesterday (8/21), Campbell refused to eat almost all food. I think she ended up getting less than 10 ounces for the whole day. We were super stressed, and just mentally exhausted. Not really sure what was going on (we figured just another reflux issue), we sent her to Mountain Top for "school". I got a call today at about 12:00 from her teacher telling me that she was covered from head to foot in a rash!! She had eaten 4 ounces every bottle, but had to be picked up because of the rash.

After going to the doctor, Campbell now has Hand, Foot, Mouth Disease. She definitely caught it from school because we got a note sent home about 2 weeks ago saying that 2 kids in her class had gotten it. Basically, there is nothing you can do for it but treat the blisters in her mouth with antacids and treat the fever with tylenol. One of the main symptoms of HFM disease is not eating...... freakin great.....

So, as you can imagine, her weight was not so good today. She has actually lost weight and is back down to 12 lbs 15 oz. She has also been having poopy or diarrhea diapers about 15 times a day (I am not exaggeratingat all.) I think Dr. C. was more stressed about that than the HFM disease. Wednesday cannot come fast enough!!! (Her next appointment with her GI doctor.) I don't have a good feeling about Wednesday, so PLEASE pray that its just me feeling negative and not something serious.

I think Campbell is trying REALLY hard to be an only child!! So far, she is succeeding!!

5 Months!

2011-08-16T18:13:00.000-07:00

Campbell is one month away from being on this Earth for half a year! Campbell turned 5 months on Monday, August 8th (I am so late with this!!) I cannot freakin believe that!! Campbell has started doing so many new things this month and is so much more of a big girl!! So, what are you up to this month, Little Bit!

Campbell's Stats:
*Weight- 12 lbs 12 oz.- No idea of the percentile... I am trying to ignore the percentiles for now. They just stress me out! Weight gain is still a struggle for us and I think it will be for a long time. I'll go into more detail on this later. Campbell was 13 lbs 1 oz on Sunday night (we went to After Hours for a possible ear infection, we were wrong though!.... she was older than 5 months though and I don't want to count that!)

*Height- No idea... I guess I'll see this at her 6 month appointment next month!

*Diapers- Campbell is still in size 1. We are finishing up the remaining size 1 packs that we have and then are going to move up to size 2s. We have had some poopy leaks, so size 1s are probably getting too small!

*Clothes- Campbell is wearing 3 months clothes and some smaller 3-6 months clothes (like consigned clothes that have been washed and dryed a few times.)

*Eats- Campbell is sticking to the same eating schedule right now. We are not doing anything different until we get her eating and weight under control and more consistent. She still eats 6 times a day (every 3 hours starting at 5:30am-7:15pm.) She is eating between 4-6 ounces every 3 hours... So she is averaging about 24-30 ounces... If we hit 30 ounces, it's a really good day!

*So more on the eating. Campbell has to go for weight checks at the end of every week and she was still not gaining as fast as we wanted her to. Even though my breastmilk was tested and was okay, it seems that it is just not doing the job for Miss Cam. We are now doing 3 ounces of breastmilk and 3 ounces of formula. She has gained so much better doing this! Unfortunately, since she has been on the formula, we are having more than 10 diarrhea diapers a day!! We started out on Similac Sensitive, which is milk based... So, me and Dr. Cortopassi are thinking milk protein allergy.. Tonight, she started on Similac Isomil, which is a soy formula. Honestly, I am not really happy about her being on soy and want to change it, but I am going to wait for her GI appointment next week to discuss this with him. Another issue with the gaining of weight is a possible allergy or another diagnosis. I am going to request Campbell be tested for a milk protein allergy, yeast levels, Celiac disease, and whatever other suggestions GI might have. Our pediatrician also wants Campbell tested for Cystic Fibrosis. I don't think this testing is necessary, but I am just going to go along with whatever the plan is.

*So with the constant diarrhea comes TERRIBLE diaper rash! This is Campbell's first diaper rash ever, and it is a whopper! It runs from the top of her tootie to the top of her hiney cheeks!! In some spots, it looks like raw skin. We have let her sit without a diaper on and put aquaphor on her whenever she has a diaper on. It doesn't seem to be getting better, but hopefully, the diarrhea will stop now that we have stopped the sensitive formula. Any tips????

*Right now, Campbell is only taking Prevacid (half a pill two times a day), and Bethanechol (1 mL 3 times a day). We do rounds of Carafate every few weeks to heal the ulcers in her esophagus, but don't take it for long periods of time. Whenever she is on the Carafate, it is the best week for eating EVER. I would love to know why we can't just stay on the Carafate forever!!! I also think she needs to either be on a higher dose of Prevacid or combine two acid blockers. I can't wait to go to the GI doc next week to get her medical management sorted out!

*Campbell experienced her second cold! (First was over 4th of July weekend.) I guess that is what happens with "school" (remember, I don't say daycare) babies! We went to After Hours at Children's South to make sure she didn't have an ear infection because she was tugging at her ears, but we were all clear. This makes me think that a tooth is going to pop out soon!

*Campbell is by far the happiest baby ever! I have never seen a happier baby than her! After spending a lot of time with her, most people will agree! The only time she will ever fuss is when it's time to eat... not because she is hungry, but because she hates to eat.... She loves to smile at EVERYONE and most of the time will laugh at you if you talk to her! One of my biggest wishes for her was for her to be a social baby. I was such a shy child and didn't want that for my child. Hopefully, she will stay this way!

*Campbell is still LOVING tummy time and will cry to lay on the floor. She is starting to do some precrawling now. She pushes up into a "superman" position and rock on her belly. She also pushes up to a straight arm position, then will bury her head into the carpet and push off with her legs... She just can't quite do it all together to crawl, haha!

*Campbell can sit by herself in a tripod position for a few minutes at a time!

*Campbell's new favorite thing is her feet!!! Those things are either being held in both hands or in her mouth! It's amazing how limber she is!!

*Campbell is back to a swaddle again! We went through the whole month with Campbell waking up 5-10 times a night and us having to put her passy back in her mouth... No more of that!! I found this really involved swaddle at Buy Buy Baby where we can swaddle her with her arms on the outside. Since then, she isn't wasking up at all anymore!! Whew! Guess this child will be swaddled until she is in kindergarten!!

*Still loves her baths!

*EVERYTHING is grabbed by Campbell and put straight into her mouth. Her favorite thing is my cellphone! We can even lean her over and she will pick up toys from the floor!

*We think a tooth is going to pop through any day now!

*Campbell is still not a big napper. She will take 2-3 small naps throughout the day, typically 30-45 minutes at a time. Every once in awhile, she takes an hour or more nap.

*Campbell can now take her passy in and out of her mouth... Sometimes her aim is a little off, but she eventually gets it back into her mouth!

*Our angel still has light blue eyes!

*Campbell is still a little unsure of Bella, our lab. Sometimes she cries, sometimes she just stares at her. Today, she was trying to "talk" to her a little bit... It was hilarious!!

*Likes: Mommy, Daddy, Nonnie, Pop, Mrs. Leslie, baths, cellphones, feet, her exersaucer, tummy time, water (she drinks some water with her Prevacid... NOT MUCH), being cuddled, her bed when she is tired at night (no more rocking!), TV, pretending to drink from Mommy's cup, the "horsey" game, ice teethers, laying on the floor in her room, Soothie passies,

*Dislikes: Eating, nose suctioning, being held when she is tired, any passy but a Soothie

Cam-a-Lam,
We are falling more and more in love with you and your little personality everyday! You are the perfect baby for us! God knew what he was doing when he brought you to us! Me and Daddy can't wait to see what next month holds for you!! LOVE YOU LITTLE!

Campbell's First Beach Trip- July 2011

2011-08-09T18:28:00.000-07:00

This is another late post, but I definitely don't want to forget about this great trip!! Every year, we go to the beach with my family for a week. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to take off the whole week because I had just gotten back from maternity leave and had no vacation. Instead, we took off Thursday, Friday, and Monday so we could be there for 5 days over 4th of July weekend. This year, we went to 30-A for the first time, which is where Rosemary Beach, Seacrest, Seaside, Alys Beach, etc. is. We absolutely fell in LOVE with these beaches. We all agreed that we will never go to Destin again.... Sorry Destin!!! You don't even compare to 30-A!!

We had a great first beach trip with Campbell, but I have to say that is a completely different trip with a baby. No more laying out for hours on the beach, reading a book, relaxing at the pool! Instead, we stayed at the beach for about an hour before the 10:00 hour, took Campbell up to the room from 10-3 (babies her age can't wear sunscreen and that is the hottest part of the day), then brought her down to the pool or beach for another hour or two before having to go back up to get ready for dinner. Thankfully, Clayton was more than willing to stay in the room most of the time because he got pretty burned the first day! Another big change was getting to relax at dinner. Campbell's only fussy time during the day is around 5-7, which is dinner time. Clayton and I, literally, had to order our food, eat as fast as possible, and get home before she caused a scene. I think my parents were in shock how fussy she actually gets at this time because they never see her at night!

All in all, it was a fun trip....just different. I'm sure next year will be completely different and probably more fun because she will be older. Thanks, Nonnie and Pop for the fun trip! Enjoy the pictures!

Campbell's first time to see the beach! This was on Thursday right after dinner! She didn't smile or cry... Just was taking it all in... This is typical Campbell. Very chill...

Campbell and Mommy! I love this picture of us!

More first time at the beach!

Baby Toes!!!

Campbell and Nonnie at the Beach

Campbell and Pop at dinner!

First time in her baby pool!

Adorable new bathing suit! Thanks Aunt Lelia!

Campbell in the big pool!

Campbell's beach setup!

Campbell and me in the big pool!

Our Family at the beach!

Campbell sleeping on the beach! Too bad this only lasted like 10 minutes!

Campbell at dinner one night. Can you tell how tired she is?

Our family on the 4th of July!

Campbell and Daddy watching the fireworks!

Campbell's 4th of July outfit!! Thanks Nonnie!

And I just LOVE this picture of Campbell laughing at Nonnie! This girl loves her Nonnie!!

**NEW BLOG POST BELOW ON CAMPBELL'S WEIGHT CHECK APPOINTMENT!

Weight Update- 8/8/2011

2011-08-09T18:19:00.000-07:00

So, I have some SUPER great news. Campbell went in for a weight check yesterday afternoon to see how the weekend of formula went.

**Background info: introducing the formula was a lot harder than I thought it would be! The first sip she took of it, she gagged and projectile vomited, haha! I guess formula tastes a lot different than breast milk! We ended up having to do half breastmilk and half formula to try and hide the taste a little bit**

So, I was already nervous that she wouldn't have gained enough weight because she wasn't strictly on formula like her pediatrician wanted her to be. Well..... getting on the scale, Campbell weighed a whopping 12 POUNDS 12 OUNCES!!! That is a 7 ounce gain in 3 days, which is HUGE!! The average baby gains 1 ounce a day, so she exceeded that drastically! I didn't actually see Dr. Cortopassi, but his nurse said that, obviously, my breastmilk just isn't cutting it. For right now, we are going to keep her on the half and half because I still really want her on some breastmilk. At her next weight check, which I think will be the following Friday, we will see her weight gain to determine if we can continue doing the half and half.

I haven't heard from Dr. Cortopassi regarding the testing and didn't want to bug him so soon. I think I will call tomorrow and just see what he has to say. I know he was going to conference call Campbell's GI doctor, Dr. Cavender, to discuss the next plan for her. If I had to guess, I would think they would put off all testing since she did so good for those 3 days and just continue to monitor her weight gain.

Thanks for all of the prayers! God is definitely listening!!

Weight Check- 8/5/11

2011-08-05T16:02:00.001-07:00

Quick update on weight: Today, Campbell was 12 lbs 5 oz... A 4 oz. weight gain in a week. So, not so hot. We are doing a few new things over the next few days.
* All breast milk is discontinued. We are trying Campbell on formula to see if she can gain anymore weight than she does on breastmilk. Then, we will go in Monday afternoon to check out the weight gain. The goal is 3-4 ounces. If she gains that much, then no more breastmilk. If she doesn't gain any weight, then we are onto plan B.
* Plan B- Campbell will go to Children's for a series of tests to check for any other issues including cystic fibrosis, celiac disease, etc. I am extremely anxious about this and am only thinking the worst... I know I shouldn't, but this is just my personality. For ANYONE reading this, PLEASE pray that she gains some weight!! Please pray it's just reflux!
* Her GI is starting her on Nystatin to see if there might be any thrush. I highly doubt she has thrush, but I am humoring the doc.... whatever

She had a 100.4 degree fever today. Both her pediatrician and I don't think it is anything. Maybe just getting too hot. Campbell typically runs about a 99.5 degree temperature everytime we take it.... I think she is just a hot girl.

Campbell's Baptism

2011-08-03T19:01:00.000-07:00

I am SOO late posting about this, but it was such an important day that it doesn't need to be forgotten. Clayton and I decided to have Campbell baptized at our church, Trinity United Methodist, on June 26, 2011. It was a good time because my mom was still off of school, so she could help me with the many, many details! It was a perfect day and I would change nothing about it! She was the perfect baby during the baptism.... she slept the entire time, haha! The only time she woke up was during the sermon, which was the perfect time for me to walk out with her and feed her. After the service, we had a small party at our house to celebrate such a momentous occasion. Campbell is so blessed, in that she had so many family members and friends there to celebrate her special day. Thanks so much to: Donna, Carol, Chrissy, Nonnie (Mom), Pop (Dad), Grandma (Clay's Mom), Cecilia, Caroline, Nana, Granddad, Uncle Floyd, Maribeth, Manny, and Grayson! Here are some pictures of our girl's special day!

Campbell getting ready for church! She was such a happy girl! We kept saying, "You are getting baptized to Jesus!!" and she would laugh!

Our beautiful girl in her baptism dress and bonnet!

Campbell's name in the church program!

Mommy, Daddy, and Campbell waiting on the minister to talk to us before the service! Campbell was baptized with another little baby, a boy about 9 months old!

The whole family after the service! What a blessed little girl to have so many people who love her and support her relationship with God!

We love our friends, The Andino's!! They are some of our best friends and also go to church with us! Campbell went to Grayon's baptism when she was 6 weeks old, and he went to hers! They are going to be great friends!!

Some of our family waiting for the service to start!

Daddy, Mommy, and Campbell in the sanctuary!

Pop, Nana, and Granddad!

Pop and Campbell at her party! We got Campbell a "party" outfit in hopes that we could preserve the quality of her baptism dress (we want to get it framed in a shadow box.) Thank goodness we did this because the party dress got spit up on later on!

Grandma, Alison, and Campbell!

The food table at the after party! I was pretty darn proud of how nice it looked!

Mommy and Campbell opening her gifts! It was, literally, like a birthday party for Cam! She got so many nice things!

Campbell's YUMMY cake from the infamous, Dreamcakes!! Too bad she couldn't enjoy it!

Another close up of Campbell's party outfit!

Campbell and Nana! She just LOVED her great grandmother (and Campbell's namesake!) Campbell's middle name, Addilyn, came from my Nana's name, Adilee, and my mom's middle name, Lynn. Cam is so lucky to have great grandparents!! **PS: This was after she threw up all over her dress! HAHA! Gotta love a refluxy baby!

Weekly Reflux Update

2011-07-26T19:26:00.001-07:00

So, it's time for my weekly reflux update. I'm not sure why I feel the need to keep posting about this horrible issue that drives our family up the wall, but maybe I will want to look back on these notes when I am trying to decide on whether or not to have another baby, haha! I'M ADDING SOME PICTURES TO MAKE THIS SAD POST A LITTLE HAPPY!!

So, after Campbell's 4 month appointment she started acting fussy, as we expected. Well, the fussiness turned into lethargy and evenually a 103 degree fever. We called the after hours nurse and they said to keep giving her tylenol and room temp baths to get her fever down. She didn't seem worried, so we weren't either. Friday morning, Dr. Cortopassi called me bright and early (I was on my way to work) and said he was a little worried about the fever and wanted her in to check for a UTI or ear infection. Thankfully, everything looked normal and we just have a baby that reacts badly to shots.

So anyways, Campbell, obviously, didn't eat well for a couple of days after her shots. We were not worried in the slightest because we knew that her fever was high and causing her not to eat... Well, the fever went down, but the not eating stayed the same. It eventually progressed to Campbell eyeing the bottle and screaming or screaming when I held her (because I smell like her breakfast, lunch and dinner!) All of the previous reflux signs were back (i.e. arching of the back, turning her head from side to side, screaming when the bottle came close to her mouth, projectile vomiting, etc.) I was a wreck and crying everytime the 3 hour mark came up knowing that she was going to fight me again. Eventually, my mom just had to come over and feed her (or try at least) because I was afraid Campbell was feeding off of my anxiety.

Fast forward to yesterday. I called her GI doctor the second they opened and they explained that vaccines can cause reflux to come back with a vengence. Plus, Campbell had already shown some signs of needing to increase her dosage due to a growth spurt. So.... the new plans is: Staying on the same dose of Prevacid, increasing the dosage of Bethanechol to 1.0 mL 3x a day, and another round of Carafate (2.5 mL 4x a day) because we think the ulcers are back. In addition (thanks to some great advice from a trusted friend... Dana;) we have started her on probiotics to help level out her tummy and GI system. Finally, I have put in a call to a pediatric chiropractor to see if they can help out in any way. At this point, I am willing to try ANYTHING!!!

Today was a little bit better of a day. She ate 3 ounces at each feeding, which was an improvement from the 1.5 or 2 ounces from the previous days... Still not back up to her normal 5-6 ounces every 3 hours. Hopefully, we will work back up to that.

Sorry if this is boring to the majority of people, but I am want to keep this for myself!!! Also, if you have/had a child with significant reflux, please offer up some advice that has helped your child.
**Don't want to seem ungrateful for any advice, but we have already tried rice cereal (no longer taking), Axid, sitting up after meals, small frequent meals, eating in a boppy or bouncy seat.... All of the normal ideas!! **

Nashville

2011-07-24T09:22:00.000-07:00

Wow! This should have been posted a long time ago! Oh well! Better late than never!

We went to Nashville over Memorial Day weekend to get away before I started back to work from maternity leave. It was a nice getaway with our little family and offered much relaxation! Clayton, honestly, planned this trip so I wouldn't sit around our house and mope all weekend before I went back to work, haha :) We stayed at the Opryland Hotel for 3 nights, had lots of nice dinners, great shopping, and lots of family fun. This trip also marked a special occasion in that this was Campbell's first family vacation!
**I am just now remembering that she also accomplished two other firsts on this trip! She laughed out loud for the first time on this trip and she went swimming for the first time!**

Instead of boring you with details, I will just post what you are really looking for.... Pictures!!!

Daddy and Campbell in the hotel!

Our family walking around the hotel... and shopping!

Campbell on the way to dinner!

The Opryland Hotel!

Another family shot at the hotel!

Our family at the Parthenon!

The Parthenon

Campbell and tummy time!

While we were in Nashville, Uncle Ben and Aunt Courtney just happened to be vacationing there at the same time! Of course, Ben made Cam a little mad!!

Yummy Gigi's cupcakes!!!

Campbell's first time in a pool!! She didn't seem to like or or not like it... She was typical Campbell and was just....chill.... :)

YAY!!!

2011-07-21T18:24:00.000-07:00

So, quick update! Today, my mom took Campbell for her 4 month well baby appointment. Unfortunately, I couldn't take her because of work and I have ZERO vacation or sick days. I hate that I couldn't be there for her, but I took care of her when I got home from work!

So, as of today, Campbell's stats:

*Weight- 11 lbs 15 oz!!!! 10TH PERCENTILE!!!! YAY!! Campbell has gained a whole pount in 15 days! YAY BIG GIRL!!!
*Height- 24 inches- 40th percentile
*Head Circumference- 15.5 in.

We were all so excited to hear about her HUGE weight gain! I guess we are finally doing something right! Let's see, what else!

-Campbell got 4 shots and the rotovirus oral vaccine. Mom said she did so much worse this time and screamed until she was as red as an apple. She even burst a few blood vessels in her eye! So pitiful! Don't worry! Mommy and Daddy gave her lots of attention today and held her until she fell asleep.
- Dr. Cortopassi was so happy with her developmental milestones! He said she is very ahead of schedule with her motor development! YAY!! Mommy is a good OT, haha! She is close to sitting independently, is able to roll both ways (and will roll all the way across her room), is army crawling, etc.
-Campbell has a pretty good size birthmark on her left leg behind her knee that is about 2 inches long. We have been a little concerned by it because it has grown very fast. After looking at it, he has referred us to a pediatric dermatologist to check it out. He isn't too concerned, but he wants to keep quarterly tabs on it and get the initial boundary size for comparison. Clayton and I joked that Campbell is going to go to all of the specialty doctors that are available until we see all of them or Mommy and Daddy are broke!!!
-Campbell is in the pre-teething stage!!! He thinks we should see a sharp tooth poking through in the next month or so! She seems too little to already have a tooth!
-They discussed starting solids, and after discussing how she is FINALLY eating fairly normal, he thinks we should wait until 6 months or later to even THINK about solids. I completely agree and wasn't going to start them until around then.

I think that is about it! Our poor girl slept all day and then went to sleep at 7:15!! She is still sound asleep! I promise that I will update soon with our Nashville trip, our beach trip, Cam's baptism, and Dana's wedding weekend!

Until then, here is a picture to satisfy Campbell's fans!

Update on eating and weight gain

2011-07-10T09:30:00.000-07:00

Here is the promised update on all things eating and weight gain!
After Campbell had all of her tests at Children's South, we went for an appointment with a pediatric GI doctor, Dr. Cavender, to discuss her medication management and to get his input on what he thinks we should do. It was such a great appointment because we learned so much more about not only reflux, but also her avoidant eating habits. At that appointment, Campbell was 10 lbs 13 oz and 22 inches long. Long story short, he changed a few things with Cam.
1. Medicine management: She is now on 3 medicines:
-Previcid 2 times a day- he took her off of the Axid because it just wasn't strong enough to deal with the acid.
-Bethanechol 4 times a day- We have now changed her dosage back to 2 times a day because she was dumping her feeds (pooping about 8-9 times a day... wayyy to much)
-Carafate 4 times a day- He found ulcers in her esophagus, so this medicine acts as a bandaid and helps to heal the ulcers.
2. We no longer put rice cereal into her bottles. He explained that her GI system was just too immature to handle the rice cereal and it was honestly doing more harm than help. He also explained that it was weighing down her stomach, causing her to eat a lot less than she should. However, the rice cereal has very little nutritional and caloric content, so it was pointless! So, we no longer put in any rice cereal and will probably skip this step when introducing solids. Rice cereal really is a pointless "solid" to introduc and really can constipate....

So, skip ahead a week... We went to the beach over 4th of July week and Campbell got a pretty bad cold. When we brought her into the pediatrician on July 5, she weighed 10 lbs 15 oz. She really should have gained more weight than 2 ounces in a week. So, Dr. Cortopassi thought that her Bethanechol was just too much (which is why we went down from 4x a day to 2x a day). In addition, he finally brought up the important point that my breastmilk may not have enough calories for Campbell.

**TMI WARNING**
I'm not sure if I have explained this before, but I have a serious overabundance issue in terms of breastmilk prouction. At one time, I am able to pump about 16 ounces combined. Because of this, I have just been pumping until my containers fill up and just stopping. When I do this, I am only getting the fore milk and not getting any of the hind milk (or the "fatty cream") into the bottle. Meaning, Campbell has only been drinking skim milk essentially. So, he recommended that I go to Children's to get my milk tested for caloric count.

While I was there, I had to bring a bottle of the regular way I pump and then a bottle where I poured out the first ounce and a half. Once they ran the test on the milk, the number we were looking for was 20. The first bottle (the regular milk) was 17.1. The milk where I had poured out the first ounce and a half was 21. So, it was confirmed! So, from now on I pour out the first ounce and a half from both breasts and then only offer Campbell the last few ounces. In addition, the lactation consultant suggested that I put in 1-2 tsp of formula to add additional calories. That way, she is still getting the benefits from breastmilk, but also getting some extra calories from the added formula.

Whew! That was a lot to explain!!! Campbell goes back to the Dr. on July 21 for her 4 month checkup and immunizations (it was originally scheduled for her 4 month birthday, July 8th, but she was sick and I didn't want her to get shots at that time.) At that time, we REALLY hope to see a signficant increase in her weight gain. If not, I'm at a loss!! I have no idea what to try next. Her reflux is FINALLY under control, so the weight gain needs to follow! Please pray that this little bit will start to increase in weight gain!

**New 4 months post below!**

4 month!!

2011-07-10T08:48:00.000-07:00

I cannot believe that we are already here! As of Friday, July 8th, Campbell is 4 months old! I feel like she has changed the most this past month. I no longer think of her as an infant, but more of an interactive baby! What are you up do this month?

Campbell's stats:
*Weight: 10 lbs 15 oz- 2nd Percentile..... This is the thorn in my rear end! Campbell's weight gain has been quite the journey, to say the least. However, I think we have FINALLY figured out a solution that will help with her weight gain. I'm going to follow-up this post with a post explaining just her eating and weight gain isses because it deserves a post for itself!!

*Height- 22 inches as of 2 weeks ago- 40th Percentile!!! I can't believe the number 40 (or really, anything over 5, haha, is associated with our little bit!)

*Diapers- Size 1- We are wearing both Pampers Swaddlers and Huggies, both fit very well! I don't see us growing out of this anytime soon.

*Clothes- Campbell is wearing 0-3 months and some 3 month clothes. She really fits best into 0-3 months, but I am SOOO sick of all of these clothes. When I was pregnant, everyone told me that I should get like 5 outfits in a newborn size and maybe 10 or so in 0-3 months because she would grow out of them so fast. HA!!! Who knew that she would still be wearing these sizes at 4 months old!!!!! Selfishly, I had so many 3 month summer outfits with her monogram and appliques made for her and she still can't wear them. I guess she can enjoy the crab outfits around Christmas.....

*Eats- Once again, I will go into more detail in the next post, but Campbell eats between 3-5 ounces of breastmilk every 3 hours and each bottle has 1-2 tsp of formula (NOT RICE CEREAL) in it to add calories. She typically eats between 20-25 ounces a day.

So what else are you doing this month!

-Cam is talking a lot more this month. Whenever she plays or is interacting with someone, she CONSTANTLY coos and laughs. It's so funny because she will occasionally make facial expressions like she is trying to get her point across, haha! For example, she will raise her eyebrows and squint her eyes at you like, "You got it, Momma??"

-She can now roll both ways, from tummy to back and from back to tummy. It just depends on her mood if she wants to roll. Sometimes, we will do tummy time or lay on her back for well over 30 minutes and she will just play and play without rolling. Other times, you can put her on her tummy or back and she will not stop rolling!

-Campbell is also rolling over to her tummy while in her swaddle, which freaks this mommy out! We will find her occasionally face down in her bed. Thank goodness for the Angelcare Monitor!!

- Campbell continues to love standing with assist ALL OF THE TIME! I think this is her preferred position. She is so super strong and really needs little assist to stand up.

- Campbell's neck strength is great! When transitioning from lying on her back to being pulled into a sitting position, Campbell always keeps her head level with her body, if not ahead of it. Her Nonnie (my mom) frequently comments that it looks like she is sitting up on her own!

- Campbell is finally purposefully grabbing for items! She will work for like 10 minutes to grab the hanging toys on her activity mat. She will coo and coo while she is slowly grabbing them. Then, when she finally grabs the toy, she will get a little upset that she can't let go, haha!

- Everything goes into this child's mouth! This can be any and all toys to your fingers. If I let her hold my fingers, she immediately pulls them to her mouth and goes to town sucking on them! She is also drooling like crazy!!! She has started doing this weird sucking thing with her mouth where she looks like she is making "kissy" lips, but sucking on the inside of her gums. We are thinking (and could most definitely be wrong) that she is in the process of teething and we will see some pearly whites in the next month or 2. We will see!

- Campbell is still sleeping through the night. Our bedtime routine is bath at about 7:00, lotion massage/getting ready for bed, bottle, and Bible story time. We typically get her down between 8:00 and 8:30. Clayton wakes her up at 5:00 am to give her 3 medicines and then feeds her at 5:30. She will usually go back to sleep until 8:30, which is her next feeding. However, on the week days I get her to her sitter or school (I refuse to call it daycare....) by 7:30, so this morning nap hasn't been quite as long. She naps during day at around 9:30, 12:30, and 3:30 for about an hour at each time. Lots of cat naps in between. One thing that I can 100% say is that this girl is a sleeper!!! Thank goodness that we have one easy thing since her feeding is so hard!

-Campbell takes naps at school only in the swing, which is shocking to Clayton and me!! She hates the swing at home!

-Campbell still LOVES her passy, but her hands are definitely coming in at a close second, especially during bath time. Campbell will shove her entire fist into her mouth!!

-We are now back up to 4-5 poopy diapers a day. This is definitely caused by her medicine (which I will explain!)

-Her eyes are still very, very blue! I really am shocked by this because neither Clay or my eyes are blue! Her hair is starting to grow back and it looks a little lighter brown than when she was first born!

-She still prefers me, Clayton, and her Nonnie over anyone!

-She has finally started laughing more consistently!

-Likes: Mommy and Daddy, Nonnie, her hands, the passy, tummy time, standing up, BEING HELD AND CUDDLED (this girl would be fine to be held 24 hours a day), her swadddle, bathtime, being outside, WATCHING TV, her cat rattle,eating

-Dislikes: being in her carseat (this is definitely changed!!), eating (haha, notice how this is under both likes and dislikes?), taking her medicine but this has definitely improved... That's about it! Campbell is a pretty happy girl!

We are loving your little personality this month, Cam-a-Lam!!! You LOVE to smile and talk to people and will get a little embarrassed or shy and bury your head into their shoulders. I think you are going to be the sweetest, most loving child! We love you more than anything else in the world!! Happy 4 months baby!!!

Our First Father's Day!

2011-06-26T17:44:00.000-07:00

Clayton had a great first Father's Day! We all got to sleep in late, thanks to sweet Campbell! We were going to try and make it to 11:00 church, but Campbell had other plans! She was fussy off and on all morning and we just didn't think the congregation would be happy with a crying baby! So instead, we opened Daddy gifts, spent great quality time together, and went and ate with Nonnie and Pop at Michael's Steakhouse (yum!!) It was a really laidback day, but Campbell wasn't feeling her best. Here are some pictures to document the day!

Campbell and I made this Christmas ornament with her handprint at Do-It-Yourself Crafts in Homewood! The people there were SO nice and helpful! I think it turned out great!

Clayton reading one of his new "Daddy and Me" books to Campbell! Campbell loves to be read to, so it was the perfect gift for both of them! Plus, we were so bored of the books we already have! We read a couple of books to her every night before bed, so the books get a little boring after the 100th time you have read them, haha!

All of Daddy's gifts! He got 3 new "Daddy and Me" books, the handmade ornament, a handmade coffee cup, new sunglasses holders, and a new bathing suit for our 4th of July beach trip! Campbell stuck her passy in for the pictures because she loves it so much and just HAD to have it photographed. Silly Girl!

This is the coffee mug that Campbell made for Clay! Aren't her little feet print adorable! Once again, this was made at Do-It-Yourself Crafts! Awesome place!

Happy 1st Father's Day, Clay! We are so SO SO SO SO blessed that you are the Daddy in our family! I don't know what Campbell and I would do without you! From day 1, you have volunteered (and actually want to!) change diapers, feed Campbell, play with her, put her to bed, bathe her, hold her, go to her doctor appointments, clean up her many spit up incidents, and love her better than anyone! I am such a lucky wife to have such a hands-on husband who takes on so much responsibility (as I sit here and type, you are giving Campbell and bath, giving her her medicine, feeding her her last bottle, and putting her to sleep!) We love you so much!!!!

Random May

2011-06-17T19:37:00.000-07:00

Here are some random pictures of Campbell from May!! Just wanted to do a picture dump!

Loving bathtime, as always!! My favorite time of the day!

Tummy time!

Daddy and me waiting on my bottle to warm up before bedtime! Can you tell that Daddy is super tired? (The story of our lives now, haha!)

I love sleeping in people's arms... Actually, I will rarely take a nap if I'm not being held!

Mommy giving me kisses! I sure do get a lot of kisses from Mommy and Daddy! Sometimes, I will give them a "Yuck" face when I'm not in the mood for them! Other times, I will open my mouth really wide and give them a "wet kiss" right back!

Tests at Children's South

2011-06-17T19:11:00.000-07:00

We had the GI tests on Wednesday, June 15th at Children's South. I thought I had prepared myself for how rough the tests were going to be, but I really wasn't able to fully grasp just how much Campbell's pain and sadness really affect me! Campbell is obviously a very loved girl because her Mommy, Daddy, and Nonnie all accompanied her to her doctor appointment at 7:15 in the morning! Here are some pictures BEFORE all of the TORTURE, haha! She was in such a good mood before everything started!

Once we were called back, Campbell had the full abdominal ultrasound. This really wasn't bad at all and it really never phased her. All we had to do was stick her passy in her mouth, and she was very entertained at just watching the ultrasound tech do her job! Good news with this test! They found no structural abnormalities or blockages! What a huge praise! This means no surgery for Cam-a-Lam!

This is Campbell getting her ultrasound. I didn't take any pictures after this because I was crying, haha!

Next up was the Upper GI test... This is when things got rough. This test involves the baby lying on her back underneath an x-ray machine. The baby drinks the barium, which shows up on the x-ray. That way, the ultrasound tech will know if the baby is refluxing or aspirating while or after she is drinking. When we got in there, we stripped Campbell to her diaper. They, then, informed us that they had to restrain her, which I was not prepared for!!! The leg restraints didn't seem to bother her, but they had to restrain her arms above her head... Oh did Cam get mad! I really think it was all downhill from there. While she was restrained, they laid Cam on her back underneath the x-ray machine and forced a bottle of barium into her mouth. I'm sorry, but what baby eats flat on her back?!?! Campbell was having none of it and was hysterically crying, real tears and all. All of the sudden, the bottle burst all over her face, in her eyes, etc. This just completely upset her to the point that we had to stop the test for a little while so I could calm her down. I will admit, I was crying like a baby at this point (and I think Clayton shed a few tears.... shhh... I didn't tell!!) Finally, we laid her back down and she just gave up and drank about 1/2 ounce of the 2 ounce bottle. Very quickly, it was evident that she had reflux in that all of the liquid came up and out her mouth like a volcano!

The end verdict is that Campbell has Grade 4 out of 5 reflux... So pretty significant reflux. I am so happy there are no surgical issues, but now the journey begins with trying to find the right "fix" for her reflux. Dr. Cortopassi called us after he had spoken with a pediatric GI doctor, Dr. Cavender, and Campbell will begin taking Bethanechol 3-4 times a day on top of the Zantac 3 times a day. We will try this for 2 weeks, then Campbell will have an appointment with the GI doctor to monitor her progress. PLEASE pray that this is the solution for Campbell! I really feel like her pain is getting worse by the day, so we need a solution FAST!! Thank you, everyone, for all of the prayers on Wednesday. They were very much felt!

Update on Cam

2011-06-13T18:25:00.000-07:00

So, today we went to the doc for Cam's update for her reflux. Today, she weighed 10 lbs 9 oz, meaning she has gained about half an ounce a day. Dr. C explained that they like to see a gain of 1 ounce a day. So, Campbell isn't quite meeting that. After discussing all of her reflux issues including the vomiting, crying, refusing to eat, etc. Dr. C decided that Campbell needs further assessment. So...... on Wednesday, Campbell will be getting a full ultrasound of her abdomen and an upper GI (swallowing barium under an x-ray) to see what is going on in that belly of hers. If they find a blockage, then she will be referred to a surgeon asap. If there is no blockage, she will be referred to a pediatric GI doctor. Either way, we are getting something done about this horrible reflux!!! Both Clay and I are nervous and anxious about Campbell undergoing these tests, but honestly... we are just relieved that something new is happening. We have felt like nothing right has been done for Cam and now, hopefully, we can get the ball rolling in the right direction. Please keep Campbell in your prayers on Wednesday morning in that we finally find the problem!!

Campbell's and Grandpa

2011-06-12T19:23:00.000-07:00

Campbell FINALLY got to meet her Grandpa, Clayton's Dad, on Saturday, May 21! We were so happy for her to finally meet him! He was enamored with her and held her the whole time he was visiting. Here are some pictures of them together.

Our little B Girl

2011-06-12T19:15:00.000-07:00

In the spirit of my favorite show, So You Think You Can Dance, Campbell decided to dress up in her B Girl outfit... She has been doing lots of head spins with that beanie on!

3 months!

2011-06-12T17:57:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it, but our Cam-a-Lam is 3 months old (as of Wednesday, June 8th.) So, what are you up to this month, Campbell?

Campbell's Stats:
**Weight- 10lbs 4 oz... 5th Percentile- We are actually going back to the doctor on Monday (tomorrow actually) for another weight check. We went to the doctor on Monday, June 6th to get a weight check so we could up the dosage for her reflux medicine. Unfortunately, she had only gained 7 oz since her last doctor appointment and they were unhappy with that. So, we go in tomorrow to see what they say. I'm actually a little nervous about the appointment. Her reflux has gotten so bad and she really hates to eat. She typically projectile throws up (not just spit up... it's ALL of the contents of her stomach) at least one time a day. I feel so sorry for her because her little throat just burns all of the time, I'm sure. I'll keep everyone updated with the weight issue. I just want our little peanut to gain some weight! No one ever talks about their baby being in the 5th percentile (maybe no one is ever in the 5th percentile... which makes me even sadder.)
**Height- No clue... I'll ask them to check that tomorrow. Clayton and I think she has gotten much taller!
**Diapers- Finally a size 1!! She is wearing Pampers size 1, so I would bet that the Huggies would be too big. We have 3 boxes of Huggies that are waiting to be tried out!
**Clothes- We are still squeezing Cam into some newborn clothes, but for the most part they are too small. Newborn dresses fit great, but sleepers are too short. We are going to the Carters outlet this weekend to stock up on some 0-3 month and 3 month sleepers. Right now, she fits best into 0-3 month clothes. Nonnie accidently put her into a 3 month bubble and it was WAY too big!
**Eats- This is such an inconsistent part of Campbell. Right now, she is OFFERED 5 oz of breastmilk every 3 hours with 4-5 teaspoons of rice cereal. Very rarely will she eat all 5 oz. About 2-3 times a day, she will eat 4.5 oz and the rest of the time is somewhere between 2.5 and 4. I think this inconsistency has everything to do with her reflux. Her goal is to eat 20 oz a day at a minimum.... Some days we meet this with a couple of ounces to spare and sometimes we don't quite make it....Sigh.... All I can say is, thank goodness I am a milk producing machine or I would be really upset about frequently throwing out 2-3 ounces every time she eats!

So what else?!?!

- Campbell is currently on Axid for her reflux and takes 0.7 mL 3 times a day. We recently increased this dosage from 0.8mL 2 times a day. So far, this medicine as SUCKED! If anything, I think her reflux has gotten worse. So, guess who won't be taking Axid after tomorrow, haha! I'm going to ask if we can try another medicine, probably Zantac. I have heard many success stories with this medicine. Any one have any suggestions out there? PLEASE!!!

- Campbell is still such a happy baby when her reflux isn't acting up. She LOVES to talk to you and smile really big with her mouth open. Up until recently, she had a different smile for Clayton and I. Clayton said that she smiled at him like she was flirting and would almost hide her head like she was embarrassed. He said that when she would smile at me, she looked like she was enthralled or facinated with me. Now, she does the same smile for both of us (the facinated smile.) She will do this with her Nonnie too, but usually not anyone else. She will smile at other people, but not the same at us!

- She has laughed 1 time and we haven't heard her laugh since then. She laughed while we were on our family vacation to Nashville a couple of weeks ago (more about that later!) She is so close to doing it, but can't figure out how to make that sounds again!

- Y'all are going to think I am crazy, but we think she is getting a little bit of stranger anxiety. We noticed it the first time she met the lady that is keeping her for July and August. Her husband started talking to Campbell and she poked her bottom lip out and screamed. She NEVER cries like that! She has done it a couple of other times to people she doesn't know. At this point, it can't be a coincidence! I thought stranger anxiety didn't start until around 6 months, but this baby definitely as it!

- Her head control has gotten much better and she is rarely "wobbly" when we hold her. When she gets really tired, it will start to flop.

- Campbell still loves tummy time! She is now pushing up on her arms, not just raising her head. While she is proppped up on her arms, she kicks her legs like crazy. I don't think she is going to crawl anytime soon, but she sure is getting strong to prepare for it!

- Campbell rolls from her tummy to her back all of the time now. We have to repeatedly put her back on her tummy if we want her to have tummy time. She still looks a little shocked when she rolls over, haha!

- Campbell loves her mobile and the hanging toys on her bouncy seat. She coos and talks to them all of the time. It is soo cute!!

- I went back to work on Tuesday, May 31st. No one can prepare you for the sadness that you will experience when you go back to work. The first week was TERRIBLE!!! I cried every day on the way to work and would start crying the minute I would walk in from work! In between, I was okay. It is definitely getting a little easier, but I still wish I was at home with her. Right now, I am working Monday through Thursday 8-3 and Friday 8-2:30. I actually talk to my boss on Friday about starting to work everyday until 12. I have to wait until the summer is over, but I will be doing this soon! Thank goodness!! Eventually, I will probably only work Tuesday, Wed, and Thurs... but right now, I have patients from other states booked out until March that have to come every day.

- For the month of June, Campbell is staying with my Mom. This has made going to work a million times easier!!

- In July and August, Cam will be going to Mountain Top Day School M, W, F and has a nanny T, and Th. After Labor day, she will be only going to Mountain Top.

- Campbell has recently started chewing and sucking on her hands. We can't figure out if she is trying to get to her thumb or is just satisfied with her whole fist. On top of that, she is drooling like crazy. I know it's developmentally appropriate for babies to start drooling about now, but hers is like a fountain! My mom thinks this is because of the reflux and it is hurting her to swallow so much maybe?!?

- Likes: Campbell still loves bathtime, sitting in the carseat, tummy time, being held, being in the Baby Bjorn, being outside, swinging with Mommy or Daddy in the porch swing, being talked to, watching tv (haha, whoops!), getting her diaper changed, being swaddled, her Soothie passy

-Dislikes: her swing, eating, taking her medicine (this is her #1 hate!), strangers, not pooping for a couple of days (normally this child is like clockwork!), Nuk passy

We LOVE you so much, Cam-a-Lam!! Daddy and I say all of the time that you have made our family so much better! Not only do we have so much love for you, but you have made us fall in love in all new ways. You are perfect in every way to us!!!

Some favorites from April

2011-05-30T08:50:00.001-07:00

I'm cellphone dumping and wanted to post some favorites from April! Enjoy!

I love these next two pictures. I put this activity center thing over her and these are the faces that she made at it. I think it's safe to say that she didn't like it that much! She is literally glaring at it, haha!

Some sleepy pictures!

This next set of pictures can be titled, "A Range of Emotions." This complete change of mood happened in about 30 seconds. I was rolling on the floor laughing!

Momma, I am not sure about this!

I am so mad at you, Momma!

Hmm... Maybe I'm not so mad after all....

Momma, I think you might be funny!

You are so funny mommy! I love you!

Hope everyone is having a great Memorial day weekend!

Campbell's First Shots

2011-05-29T19:35:00.000-07:00

I have been putting off uploading some pictures from my i-phone. These pictures are from Cam's doctor appointment where she got her first shots.This was definitely the calm before the storm! As soon as she got her first shot (one of FIVE!!), she took a deep breath and..... softly moaned! It was, by far, the saddest thing I have ever seen in my life. I expected her to scream so loud. So, to hear a long moan was completely heartbreaking for me. Selfishly, I let Clayton hold her so she wouldn't associate Mommy with pain.... Plus, I was crying and had to turn away! I think it's safe to say that no one in the Hollinhead household is looking forward to her 4 month shots!

Quick Weight Update!

2011-05-17T11:10:00.000-07:00

I took Cam in to the pediatrician today for a weight check. I am always so nervous about her weight because she is so tiny. Also, she has been VERY lazy in terms of eating. She is reverting back to a newborn and falling asleep after eating one ounce EVERYTIME she eats!

Today, she weighed 9 lbs 9 oz and is 10 weeks old exactly (2 1/2 months). So much more than I thought! This still keeps her around the 5th percentile (actually 6.5%), but as long as she is staying consistent on the 5th percentile there is nothing to worry about! She is just going to be petite and tiny! Yay for adding some more weight, big girl!!

Mother's Day

2011-05-13T14:41:00.000-07:00

Sorry so late for my Mother's Day post. Every time I sit down to write this post, I always feel like putting it off. I was so conflicted this year with my feelings on this actual day that I have had a hard time putting it into words.

This time last year, we had been trying to get pregnant for over 6 months. If you have ever spent time trying to conceive, you know how frustrating and heartbreaking it can be to see that negative on the pregnancy test at the end of your cycle. I feel like most women have experienced this letdown, even if is was only for one month. I remember being so jealous of everyone around me who was pregnant, and wondering if I would ever get to experience this momentous occasion. I am embarrassed to say that I had hateful feelings for being who got pregnant so easy and without the help of fertility interventions. I judged mothers based on their age and appearance, wondering how such a loving and giving God could give these people babies but not me. Not me, who would be the best Mommy ever. For goodness sakes, I work with children with special needs every day! Who could be more patient and caring than me?

This year, I understand why I went through that journey. I just expected God to give me a baby because I was ready... God taught me that the desires of my heart will not necessarily be given to me because I THINK I'm ready for them. It's based on what God thinks is the best timing for me, for he ultimately knows what's best for me. Thank goodness I have someone so loving and incredible who looks out for my needs and knows what's best for me! I treasure every second with Campbell. To be honest, I don't know if I would have the same emotions if I didn't go through infertility. Yes, I would love her with all of my heart, but I know I wouldn't be so patient when she is screaming all day, refusing to eat her bottle, or spitting up all over the brand new couch!

This year, I also feel guilty... I feel guilty that I have Campbell and that there are millions of mommies who are waiting for their little boy or girl or who only had a short time on Earth with their babies. I feel like I talk about my rough journey, but other's stories are so much more difficult and marked with loss.

Gosh... I feel like I am rambling, but that's kind of how I felt this weekend. I felt so confused at my emotions!! However, I am SOO blessed to have this sweet angel and that God thinks I will be a good enough mommy for her!!

Okay, I'm done with all of that talk! Let's talk about my special day! Campbell and Clayton made it so special for me! We got up and went to church, where Andy talked about the importance of family! We also got to see two sweet babies be baptised, which is always s
o heartwarming to see!

Campbell gave me a wonderful card,

my FAVORITE flowers, tulips!

A gift certificate for me and Nonnie to get our nails done!

and my favorite gift!! Clayton and Cam had gone on a date night a few weeks back and made me a "sweets" plate with her little foot prints! On the plate, he had me a piece of Cheesecake factory, red velvet cheesecake!! YUM!!!

That night, we went to dinner with Nonnie and Pop to celebrate with them! Nonnie was so sweet and gave me three Mommy books to read to Campbell!

I had such a great Mother's Day and feel so blessed to be this little girl's mommy!!

First Time Mommy Survey

2011-05-09T10:02:00.000-07:00

I found this on another blog and thought it would be fun to fill out!

First Born Survey!

(from FaceBook)
Here you go mommies- a different kind of survey for a change. It's all about your first born! Let's see how much you remember!

1. WAS YOUR FIRST PREGNANCY PLANNED? yes, very much!

2. WERE YOU MARRIED AT THE TIME? yes

3. WHAT WERE YOUR REACTIONS? super excited and a little shocked!

4. WAS ABORTION AN OPTION FOR YOU? absolutely not

5. HOW OLD WERE YOU? 26

6. HOW DID YOU FIND OUT YOU WERE PREGNANT? took like 10 home pregnancy tests and got it confirmed at the doc a week later!!

7. WHO DID YOU TELL FIRST? Clayton, of course!

8. DID YOU WANT TO FIND OUT THE SEX? Oh Definitely!

9. DUE DATE? March 27, 2011

10. DID YOU HAVE MORNING SICKNESS? Yes! And it didn't end until about 12 weeks!

11. WHAT DID YOU CRAVE? fruit, smoothies, desserts... I didn't have a lot of cravings though.

12. WHO/WHAT IRRITATED YOU THE MOST? Having to be admitted to L&D every 3 days!

13. WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST CHILD'S SEX? girl

14. DID YOU WISH YOU HAD THE OPPOSITE SEX OF WHAT YOU WERE GETTING? No!!! I wanted a girl so bad!

15. HOW MANY POUNDS DID YOU GAIN THROUGHOUT THE PREGNANCY? about 35, and they are all gone, thank goodness!

16. DID YOU HAVE A BABY SHOWER? yes quite a few!

17. WAS IT A SURPRISE OR DID YOU KNOW? I knew about them

18. DID YOU HAVE ANY COMPLICATIONS DURING YOUR PREGNANCY? Oh gosh, where do I start?!? I had to take progesterone from weeks 1-12 to maintain the pregnancy because mine was so low, started having preterm contractions at 24 weeks and had to take Terbutaline until 35 weeks to prevent labor, and had gestational hypertension (high blood pressure, swelling, protein in my urine) until 37 weeks when I was induced!

19. WHERE DID YOU GIVE BIRTH? St. Vincents

20. HOW MANY HOURS WERE YOU IN LABOR? I was induced so they started the meds about 10:30 the night before and I had a c-section at 2:05 pm the next day. So I was in labor about 15 hours.

21. WHO DROVE YOU TO THE HOSPITAL? Myself! I had a normal, weekly appointment that morning and they admitted me because of high BP. They went ahead and induced me later that night!

22. WHO WATCHED YOU GIVE BIRTH? Clayton and the birthing team!

23. WAS IT NATURAL OR C-SECTION? c-sections

24. DID YOU TAKE MEDICINE TO EASE THE PAIN? Umm that would be very crazy to have a c-section with no drugs! But I received the epidural while I was in labor.

25. HOW MUCH DID YOUR CHILD WEIGH AND HOW LONG? 5lbs 11oz and 17.5 in long

26. WHEN WAS YOUR CHILD ACTUALLY BORN? March 8, 2011 (3 weeks early)

27. DID YOU OR YOUR CHILD HAVE ANY COMPLICATIONS AFTER THE BIRTH? nope! We were both oh, so healthy! They thought she might have a touch of jaundice, but we never had to treat it!

28. HOW LONG WERE YOU AND YOUR CHILD IN THE HOSPITAL? 4 nights and 5 days

29. WHAT DID YOU NAME HIM/HER? Campbell Addilyn

30. HOW OLD IS YOUR FIRST BORN TODAY? 2 months and 1 day (8 weeks and 6 days!)

**All pictures included were taken by my 2nd cousin, Maggie Copeland, this weekend. She is a junior in high school and takes INCREDIBLE pictures. She has already won awards for her pictures!!**

2 months!

2011-05-08T10:35:00.000-07:00

Campbell is 2 months old today! Wow!!! Time has gone by soo fast since we had her! I know I say this everytime I write, but it truly is going by so fast!

Campbell's stats at 2 months:
*Weight- she was last weighed at 6 weeks and 1 day and she was 8 lbs 1 oz- 5-10 percentile
*Height- same as weight, she was 20 " long- 5-10 percentile!
*Diapers- still wears newborn... although, we think her Pampers newborn size are too small, but the Huggies newborn size is just right!
*Clothes- newborn size.... 0-3 months is still just too big for this little bit!
*Eats- Campbell drinks between 3.5-4 ounces every three hours ON THE DOT (except for bedtime!) If that bottle is not ready at the 3 hour mark, she will kindly let us know, haha! We are also putting in 1 tsp of rice cereal per ounce in her bottle to help with reflux.

-I never posted about our 6 week doctor appointment, so I will need to do that asap. It was a VERY sad appointment because Campbell had 5 vaccinations. She was just pitiful! Anyways... She had been having a lot of projectile spitup issues, so we started her on 1 tsp of rice cereal per ounce in her bottle. It has worked WONDERS for her spitting up (she only spits up about once a week now!) It has also worked wonders for her sleeping through the night! We are now sleeping between 8-9 hours a night, PRAISE THE LORD!! I have been so nervous about this because I go back to work in 3 weeks and didn't know what I would do with no sleep!

-Cam is smiling all of the time now, especially at strangers! We haven't heard any "awake" laughs yet! Just dreaming laughs!

-She is so much more alert! She tracks objects all of the time and watches people's mouth when they talk (and sometimes will move her mouth in funny ways to mimick them!) I hate to say this, but this baby seems to really like TV too. We frequently catch her turning her head towards the TV while she is in her swing... Uh Oh!

-Campbell still loves her passy! It immediately calms her down when she is upset, and will usually put her right to sleep! This may not be a good thing later on!

-Campbell is starting to love looking at herself in the mirror. One of our favorite activities is sitting with Mommy while she puts her makeup on and straightens her hair! Campbell is so content while we are doing this!

-She still loves her Bumbo chair and would rather sit upright or on your shoulder than lie down. She is so curious!

-Campbell has slept 1 night away from Mommy and Daddy (she slept at my parents' house so we could have a date night!) She did great for them... Mommy didn't do so good though... I cried for 3 hours straight, but Clayton refused to let me go get her. I don't know why I got so upset, but I missed her SOO much! I don't think we will be away from her that long for a long time, haha.

-Campbell still loves bathtime! She will still start crying when we take her out of the tub!

-She is doing such much better with changing her clothes and her diaper. She never cries anymore when we do this!

-Her personality is definitely developing! Her different cries are definitely becoming more apparent. For example, her "pick me up" cry sounds like a sheep... "Baa, Baa!"

Happy 2 months, Cam-a-Lam! We love you more than you will ever know!!

Big Girl!!!

2011-04-25T15:07:00.000-07:00

Campbell's first experience with the bumbo chair (4-23-11)! I'll let the pictures speak for themselves!!

Easter 2011

2011-04-25T13:09:00.000-07:00

Easter was so much fun this year with a little bit to share it with! I said to Clayton, at some point yesterday, that holidays are just so much more special and meaningful with a child!

Our little family after church. I love the beautiful cross that our church does! We meant to bring some flowers to add to it, but forgot... Campbell did great at church this Sunday. She did coo a little bit during the prayer, but mostly slept. This was actually her second time at church, so maybe she was used to it!

Nonnie and Pop came to church with us today. Of course, Pop was not in any pictures because he HATES to take pictures!

Clayton and Campbell at our house after church. She looks so little here!

Mommy and Cam

Cam and her first Easter basket! I guess she wasn't too happy with what he brought her, haha!

Doesn't she look beautiful in her Easter dress?? I know I went out of control with the bow, but who can resist a good, southern girl in a HUGE bow!!

The Easter bunny brought Cam her first pair of sunglasses, although they are a little big! Maybe they will fit by summer.
**Thanks Aunt Lilly for my passy holder/lovie!! I LOVE to pet the bunny while I'm being rocked!!

Nonnie, Pop, and Campbell with her TWO, YES TWO Easter baskets from them!! Can you say spoiled? Clayton and I were talking about this yesterday and said that you can tell she is the only grandchild on my side of the family! Everything is all about Campbell! Our second child probably will get no attention! After church, we went to my parents house for an Easter lunch with my grandparents. I love getting together with family, and having a yummy meal doesn't hurt either!

A close up of all of the goodies from Nonnie and Pop! She got lots of great, bunny books, a bottle cleaner, bunny ears, and a new swaddle. Our two favorite gifts were the year zoo passes and her add a pearl necklace! Nonnie and Pop did just too much!

Here is a close up of her beautiful add a pearl necklace. Our goal is that she will get a pearl for all of her special holidays and birthdays. By the time she is 18, she will have a full, pearl necklace!

We had a great Easter! Most importantly, I love that our family was able to rejoice in the resurrection of our Saviour, Jesus Christ. All of the fun, spring activities are great fun, but it is so important to remember the reason why we are celebrating. We made sure to read Campbell a child-version of the Easter story! She always seems to be so happy when we sing hymns and discuss Jesus with her. I tell her that she is so happy to talk about Him because she just left his lap a short 6 weeks ago! Hope everyone had a happy Easter!!

Some firsts at 5 weeks!!

2011-04-18T12:15:00.000-07:00

So, not sure if anyone noticed...we didn't get around to a 5 week post. No reason at all except I just didn't do it! I will definitely get her 6 week picture up for tomorrow!

So, last week was memorable for Campbell for a few reasons! Let's share each with the help of pictures!

1. Campbell FINALLY lost her cord stump!! FINALLY!!! She lost it on April 12, 2011.

I have to say that this was more memorable for me than Campbell. That thing was STINKING!! I mean, what baby loses his or her umbilical cord at 5 week?!?! That nasty thing is supposed to fall off at 2 weeks. Campbell just wanted to stay attached to her Mommy as long as possible, haha. Her belly button is still oozing a little bit and it bled for the first day.

2. Campbell smiled at Mommy for the first time ever! She smiled at me while I was "baby talking" to her on April 12, 2011 (notice this is the same day that her cord fell off! She was all about making memories that day!) This was the sweetest moment since I had her. I was talking to her right after she woke up from her morning nap and she just smiled and smiled at me for over 5 seconds! I couldn't stop crying and had to call Clayton at work... Of course, he was jealous!
**Campbell smiled for the first time at Daddy today, April 18, 2011.**

3. Campbell finally had her first real bath on April 13, 2011!

You can't give a baby a real bath until his or her cord falls off. So, we have been dying for that nasty thing to fall off her belly! I know she is just a baby and isn't "dirty", but it is really hard to get the sour milk out of all of the rolls and crevices with just a sponge bath! She was a little unsure at first, but warmed up to the bath really fast! She just sat in the warm water, chilling! She actually got mad once we took her out! So funny, because she has HATED sponge baths!!

4. Campbell had her first poopy diaper explosion (and on Mommy!) on April 13, 2011.

Thank goodness she was able to have her first real bath! No other explanations are necessary, haha!

5. Campbell FINALLY got to meet her Uncle Galen, aka "Uncle G"!

Galen lives in St. Louis, so it is super hard for him to make it back to Alabama very often. He flew in on Friday, April 15th (after his plane being delayed for 4 hours!) It was love at first sight! She couldn't stop staring at him and he couldn't stop gushing over her! It was a really fast trip for him, but I am so glad they got to meet each other before he leaves for 3 months for Europe!

6. Campbell meets the Easter Bunny for the first time!

Campbell had her picture with the Easter Bunny at Brookwood Mall on Saturday, April 16, 2011. In true Campbell style, she slept through the whole thing, haha!

So, you can see that 5 weeks was a busy week for our growing girl! Can't wait to see what week 6 brings!

Picture Post

2011-04-12T09:39:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to put up some recent pictures of Campbell over the past couple of weeks! Enjoy!

4 Weeks and 1 month

2011-04-11T16:29:00.001-07:00

Campbell's 4 week shots! She wasn't as cooperative this time around, haha! However, please notice the HAIRBOW in her hair!!! I am so excited that I can finally fit in a bow into her hair. This baby will have a bow in her hair all of the time, so I'm glad we can start early!

Seeing as I am a week behind on posting this, I will just combine the 4 week and 1 month post. Oh my goodness, I can't believe my baby is already 1 month old! That sounds so big to me! Time has gone by so fast with her and it has just been the most incredible experience ever!

So what is Campbell up to?
-She is no longer the perfect, laidback baby, haha!! We are trying to decide if it is gas, reflux (which is what is most likely the culprit), or just a fussy baby. She still sleeps a good bit and will just stare and take the world in. However, she can scream like nobody's business! Throw that in with some projectile spitting up, arched back, flailing arms, and holding her breath I think we have a refluxy baby. We have been trying to keep her sitting upright while feeding her and after for awhile, which seems to help. Hopefully, we will get some more answers at her 6 week doctor appointment next week!

-She is so much more alert! She LOVES staring at the light and will stop crying immediately if she catches a glimpse of it. One of her favorite positions is to lay flat on her back in the middle of our bed and stare at the lights on the ceiling fan. So funny!
-She is getting better head control and frequently tries to lift it off my shoulder while I'm holding her. Tummy time has paid off!

-She is starting to occassionally eat 3.5 oz instead of just 3. BUT she does like to throw us off by only eating 2.5 oz at least once or twice a day. I'm wondering if this has to do with the reflux??

-Campbell had a big first this weekend! She went on her first out of town trip!! Clayton was in one of his best friend's weddings in Eufaula, AL this weekend. She did AWESOME on both the trip up and down. We only stopped once on our way to Eufaula and ZERO times on our way home (this is over a 3 hour trip people! YAY CAM!!) Campbell didn't actually attend any of the wedding festivities, but she was there in spirit! Clay's mom and sister came and stayed with her in the hotel room while Clay and I went to all of the events. Thanks Grandma and Aunt Alison!

-While we were in Eufaula, Campbell slept 6 hour stretches both nights!! We were both completely shocked and scared at first because this is NOT normal for her (and still isn't... I guess that is only for vacation, haha!) When we woke up and realized that it had been 6 hours, we both were afraid to look in her bassinet. Thankfully, she was still sound asleep! Clay and I woke her up though!! She probably would have slept so much longer!!
-This really should be under the next post, 5 weeks, but today Cam laughed out loud for the first time. Yes, it was in her sleep, but it was soooo funny to hear! I can't wait until she starts smiling at me!!

-For some bad news..... Campbell, unfortunately, has acquired some baby acne. It's not the worst case I have ever seen, but it sure makes this Momma sad to see! Dr. C said to let it be and not touch it, which is so hard for me to do. Hopefully, this will go away asap!!

I think that is everything new I can think of! Campbell is SOOOO excited for this weekend because she is going to meet her Uncle Galen for the first time! I know that her and Uncle G are going to be great friends! She is also going to meet the Easter bunny for the first time! Pictures will definitely follow of all these fun events!

3 weeks!!

2011-03-31T12:49:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it, but our baby is 3 weeks old (actually she is 3 weeks and 2 days now, haha!) Why is time going back so fast?? I feel like she was just born and now she is almost 1 month old!

So, Sweet Cam-a Lam.... What are you doing this week?

- You had your 2-3 week doctor appointment yesterday, March 30. Here are your stats:
*Weight: 6 lbs 14 oz!! You have gained 22 oz since you were discharged from the hospital! Yay big girl! Even though Mommy and Daddy think you are getting super big, you are still in the 5th percentile. Dr. Cortopassi really thinks by 6 month, you will be caught up with other babies your age.
*Height: 18.5 inches!! You have grown 1 inch since you were born! This still puts you in the 5th percentile.
*Head Circumference: 13.5 inches- 5th percentile

The good thing about all of her measurements was that she is uniform. We wouldn't want her weight to be in the 75% and her head circumference to be in the 5%. Dr. Cortopassi really wasn't worried at all, and he actually used the word "Porker" when describing her weight gain, haha ;)

She also had her 2nd newborn screening/PKU test, and boy did she react differently than her last heel stick. This time, she paused for about 2-3 seconds, took a really deep breath, and SCREAMED her head off. She was very mad for about 5 minutes and kept kicking the nurse, haha. That will show those mean nurses not to hurt my baby!!

Other than that, she is looking great. I was a little concerned that her umbilical cord stump had not fallen off, but he didn't seem worried about it at all. I was also anxious that I am not nursing Campbell anymore and strictly just pumping. He told me that I was being ridiculous for worrying and that she is getting the same effects that any nursing baby would get since she is still only getting breast milk. He said the "bonding" aspect of nursing is hokey and that babies bond in many other ways than just nursing. I can't tell you how good that made me feel because I have been SO STRESSED about everything breastfeeding for some time now.

- You have been so much more alert this week! You are staying awake a good 2-3 more hours during the day (and sometimes at night!) You love to look at the light or contrasting prints (example: I wore a black and white stripped shirt to dinner last night and you could not stop looking at it!) You also love to look and me and Daddy when we start to talk to you and just stare at our faces in amazement!

-You actually enjoy tummy time! With Mommy being a pediatric occupational therapist (and wanting you to be advanced in all of your developmental milestones, haha) I started tummy time from the minute you came home from the hospital. You actually seem to enjoy looking at the world from a different perspective every once in awhile. Your favorite is laying on my chest and lifting your head up from there!

-You are going more 4 hour stretches at night without needing to eat, which makes Me and Dad VERY happy!

-We think you have been going through a little growth spurt this week in that you have been more fussy and wanting to eat more frequently.

-You are doing MUCH better with changing your diaper and bathtime and not crying as much. You still will cry towards the end of bathtime, but it's not throughout the duration of the bath. I think you will like a normal bath so much better once your belly button is normal. SO FALL OFF NASTY BELLY BUTTON!!!

-This seems a little insignificant for most of yall, but I want to remember it. Mommy cut your nails for the first time this morning (3/31/2011). We normally just file them down, but they were super long and cutting your face so bad that I just took the plunge. It took me a good 30 minutes because I was so nervous! You look so fancy now with short nails!

Here are a couple more pictures from the week!

Big girl helping me hold her bottle! She is all about keeping her hands by her face/mouth. What is so funny about this is that she ALWAYS had her hands by her face in EVERY SINGLE ultrasound I had while I was pregnant with her!

I thought everyone would appreciate the stock of breastmilk I have built up. It is RIDICULOUS!! We actually had to buy another fridge last weekend because there was no more room in our freezer. So far, I have about 120 frozen bags! The lactation consultant actually says I have a hyper-abundance of breastmilk and wants me to decrease my supply... So far, all of my efforts have been in vain. Any suggestions out there?

We are still just head over heels for this sweet baby! She is honestly such a good baby most of the time. We feel so blessed to have a child with such a laid back and sweet disposition! I guess God felt like Clayton and I deserved a great baby after such a terrible pregnancy! We love you so much Cam-Cam!!

2 weeks!

2011-03-23T18:01:00.000-07:00

Our sweet Campbell was 2 weeks old yesterday, March 22, 2011!

I can't believe it has already been two weeks since I had this precious miracle! I had to tell Cam to SLOW down because Mommy doesn't want time to keep going by this fast!

Here is a little bit about Campbell this past week:
- She eats every 3-3.5 hours! We have strictly kept this schedule during the day and now she is starting to go with it. Although I feel like I am always feeding and pumping, it helps me stay on track.
- At night, she still eats every 3.5 hours, which I wish would be a little longer. Last night, she went for almost 5 hours!! I was scared to even look in her bassinet! However, that was a one time thing.... When do babies start sleeping through the night or at least going through longer stretches? Any advice would be great!
- She sleeps about 18 hours a day. She stays awake about 30-45 minutes during/after she eats, then sleeps until her next feeding. I hope I am not jinxing anything, but she has been an incredible baby!

- She really doesn't cry all that much (once again, hope I'm not jinxing her!) She has a fussy time around 7:30ish at night and will cry for about 15 minutes at the MOST. Other than that, she will fuss when we give her a sponge bath and occasionally when we change her diaper.... although that is getting better!
- She LOVES music!! If someone is singing to her or she hears music from her mobile, it will stop her in her tracks. She will just stare VERY intently at you, almost trying to figure out how you are making that noise!
- She is definitely a passy baby! Most of the time, she will take one and go to town on it. When she doesn't want it, she will let you know by shaking her head no at you!! It is actually hilarious! Nonnie (my mom) says it looks like she is a dog shaking a toy, haha!
- She has attempted to suck her thumb on multiple occasions! This would not surprise me if she was a thumb sucker because both Clayton and I sucked our thumbs until we were pretty old (no ages will be mentioned ;)
- She loves to be swaddled, especially before she goes to sleep. She will sleep SOO much better if she is swaddled.
- She loves to have her hands by her face. You would think being swaddled would make her mad, but it doesn't! We are constantly having to file down her nails because she keeps those hands by her face!

I think that is about it! I mean, she is only 2 weeks old so she doesn't do much, haha!

Today was Clayton's 29th birthday, so we had a small, family celebration after he got off of work. Campbell and I gave him a new pair of Clark shoes, new Clark flops/sandals, and a new wallet. Instead of going out (he didn't want to leave Campbell yet!) we ordered a pizza from Dave's (yum!) and I ordered 3 huge cupcakes for us to try. He said it was the perfect birthday, so I think we succeeded! We are going out to eat with my parents this weekend, which will probably be our first outing with Campbell!

**What you can't see is that she is wearing a "Daddy's Girl" onesie. I'm not a big fan of onesies, but she HAD to wear something with Daddy on it on her favorite guy's birthday! Happy birthday Daddy! Next year, I hope you will share your cake with me!

My first doctor visit!

2011-03-20T16:32:00.000-07:00

Before we were discharged on Friday, the pediatrician recommended that we come in the following day (Saturday, March 12th) to check her weight and bilirubin levels. On Friday, she was looking pretty good, but her levels were just at the amount where they might be worrisome. She had only dropped 2.5 lbs from her birth weight (which is GREAT for a newborn... most newborns lose up to 10% of their birth weight.) But with her being so little anyways, they wanted to make sure it didn't drop anymore. In addition, her bilirubin levels, which measure for jaundice, were at 9.8 on Friday. The doctor said that as long as her levels were under 10, then he wasn't worried. However, being that she was only 3 days post delivery they were nervous that her levels would keep rising. So...... we made an appointment for Saturday at 8:00 am to get everything checked out!

**I will say that this was a really hard morning for Clayton and I. Campbell did TERRIBLE that night and cried all night long. We held her in shifts all night long and had an average of about 3 hours of sleep each. An 8:00 doctor appointment was VERY hard to make, but we arrived 15 minutes early!

We go to Greenvale Pediatrics in Hoover. What's neat about this is that this is where I went growing up. Even more special is Campbell's pediatrician, Dr. John Cortopassi, was my pediatrician growing up! He isn't taking new patients unless you went to him as a child or are a family friend, so we feel very blessed to be one of his new patients!

Daddy consoling Campbell after she had her heel pricked for the second time in 2 days! She was such a big girl, though, and only cried for about 10 seconds!

Yay Campbell! You gained some of your weight back! The Dr. in the office that morning, Dr. Jolly, said that we were doing a great job keeping up her weight up. Another big praise was her bilirubin levels. She had gone down to 9.7... She only went down .1, but any decrease is great! No jaundice!! YAY!

Overall, Campbell did great for her first doctor appointment! We love Greenvale and felt so comfortable there. Hopefully, we won't have to see the office too much over the next few years ;)

Going Home

2011-03-20T16:07:00.000-07:00

We got discharged from the hospital on Friday, March 11th around lunchtime. We had the option to stay an extra day since I had a c-section, but we were about hospitaled out!! We were so anxious to be at home! Looking back on it now, we probably should have enjoyed the hospital and stayed one more night. We took advantage of how much the nurses and hospital staff helped us. If we are blessed with another baby, I will remember to stay the entire time!!

Campbell in her going home outfit. Me and my mom spent so much time picking out this outfit, hat, and blanket before she was born. It's so funny that we spent days looking for this outfit when she only wore it for 2 hours, tops. She did look so beautiful in it though!

Sweet Campbell in her carseat! She seems to love being in her carseat!

Campbell and Daddy getting read to go home! Doesn't he look so proud?!?

Campbell and Mommy! I actually am not loving myself in these pictures. Because Campbell's birth was a little early, I didn't have time to get an outfit for me to wear home. My choices were slim pickens and were chosen by Clayton.

Campbell and Mommy waiting on our wheelchair to get to the car!

Family picture on our way out of the hospital! I love our little family! I think Campbell looks so tiny in her carseat in this picture.

We didn't get to take our pictures by our bow on the mailbox until later on. However, better late than never!!

Time in the hospital

2011-03-20T15:56:00.000-07:00

Campbell did GREAT while in the hospital! She had such a good sleeping schedule and rarely cried. She is such a lucky baby and had so many people visit and love on her!! Here are a few of her many visitors!

This was definitely a crazy night having so many visitors at once, but we felt so loved! Thanks Chelsea, Anne, Brey, Maribeth, Manny, Melissa, Audra, and Dana!

This was the night I had Campbell. Dana, Rob, Audra, Melissa, and Hunter came by to see us.... Unfortunately, I remember nothing of this night due to the morphine pump, haha. I'm sure I really enjoyed everyone being there!

Campbell and Aunt Dana!

Campbell and Aunt Audra

Campbell and Aunt Melissa!

Thanks to everyone who came to visit me!
Love, Campbell

Campbell is here!

2011-03-20T09:23:00.000-07:00

I have been terrible about blogging throughout this pregnancy, but I am definitely spending time to document this!!

Campbell is here!!! I want to spend some time writing her birth story, so bear with me. I am writing every detail I can think of so I won’t forget anything.

My last pictures I have pregnant! This was taken March 5th after Clayton and I celebrated my 27th birthday at Leonardos.

Starting at 35 weeks, I started having some high blood pressure issues when coming into the office. I didn't have any symptoms, but it was slowly creeping up every office visit. Instead of having weekly appointments, I was having appointments every 3 days followed by ALWAYS being sent to labor and delivery to be monitored for the day. Needless to say, it was VERY exhausting and frustrating. At my last doctor appointment, Dr. P. said she just wanted me to make it to 37 weeks gestation so Campbell would be full term (babies are considered full-term at 37 weeks.)

So on March 7th (my 27th birthday!!) I had an appointment at 8:45 am. I signed it, did the normal peeing in the cup, and had my blood pressure checked. Not surprisingly, it was high at 176/98 and my urine had trace amounts of protein in it. After meeting with Dr. P., she was still unsure if she wanted to induce me that day, but wanted me to go labor and delivery..... again. I'll be honest, at this point, I had tears in my eyes because this was my 7th visit to L&D in 2 1/2 weeks. It was getting really frustrating and annoying at that point and all Clayton and I wanted was to just be induced.
So, I went to labor and delivery where I sat in triage for 10 hours..... Around the 5 hour mark, Dr. P. came down from the offices and said, "You are done. Let's have this baby!!!" YAY!! The only negative to this was that she was on call that night, meaning that she only worked to 12:00 pm the next day.... Probably not enough time to induce me and have Campbell. However, I was okay with it at that point because I just wanted to see Campbell's face!!

**Just after the Pitocin was started at 10:00 pm with my best friends, Audra and Dana!**
So the plan was, I was to be induced at 10:00 pm that night (3/7/2011), my water would be broken at 5:00 am the next morning, and hopefully I would have her by lunchtime.... Definitely didn't happen that way! I started 2 mL of pitocin at 10:00 and at that time, I was 2cm dilated and thick.... When I first started the pitocin, I had some intermittent contractions, but they really felt like menstrual cramps.

At 5:15 am, my water was broken and I definitely started to feel an increase in pain with the contractions. This was one of the worst parts of being in labor. The actual process of breaking my water was painless, but the after effects were not great! I always imagined that when your water breaks, that it would be like a huge gush and that would be the end of it. Not so much.... I felt water pour out of me for hours requiring me to have my linens changed constantly and having to wear a huge diaper... YUCK!!!

I received the epidural around 9:30 am, which helped so much!!! My contractions were very intense because pitocin increases the severity of the contractions. I was having no relief between contractions and they thought that my body was tensing up so much that I would not progress anymore. I also started receiving oxygen at this point because Campbell's heart rate was dropping a good bit. After I had on the oxygen mask, her heart rate picked right back up.

By lunchtime, I was 2 1/2 cm dilated and 80% effaced. TERRIBLE progress. Either way, it looks like I wasn't going to progress to 3 cm, haha!
The doctor on call at this point was Dr. Damarich (spelling??). He came in about 1:00 pm and explained that he was not pleased with my progress and we needed to start making some plans to have Campbell by c-section. He also explained that she was doing okay, but she was having some d-cells (I have no idea if this is how you spell this), showing that she was having some trouble breathing when I was having a contraction. He kind of related it to swimming and not having the opportunity to catch your breath after being dunked repeatedly.

From here on out, everything happened really fast! My dad was not at the hospital yet and my mom had to call and explain that he needed to hurry if he wanted to see me before surgery. He literally arrived 5 minutes before I was wheeled back to the OR. After Clayton got all suited up in his scrubs, they wheeled me back to the OR. Clayton had to stay in the hallway while they were prepping me, but came in shortly after they transferred me to the operating table. I will admit that I was very anxious at this point and didn’t love the feeling of being in an operating room. I had my mind set that I was going deliver her naturally and it would be this incredible and relaxing experience. Unfortunately, my body didn’t want to cooperate and it was anything but that. The OR was freezing cold and covered in all types of medical equipment. After they transferred me to the operating table, I had to be butt-naked, which was very cold and a little embarrassing. I guess they saw me profusely shivering, so they gave me some warm towels… for my arms, haha.

At this point, Clayton was allowed back in. The anesthesiologist began checking to see if my epidural had taken correctly. Unfortunately, it had only taken on the right side of my body and I could feel everything on the left. As a result, she had to keep pumping in the anesthesia so I wouldn’t feel them cutting into my belly! Well….. this whole situation led to an even worse one. The anesthesia ended up hitting my diaphragm causing me to not be able to breathe very well, which caused me to have my first ever panic attack…. And let me tell you, it was a good one! I started explaining that I was very nauseous and then I set into an all out panic attack. Thank goodness I have such an incredible husband who could help calm me down, somewhat. Our conversation was hilarious to all who heard it, I’m sure. It sounded a little like this: “So Elise, the dog sitters are coming today, Wednesday, and Thursday and will be coming twice a day. They are going to feed, walk, and play with the dogs…..” It was the only thing that would calm me down!!!

So, in the midst of all my anxiety they began cutting away to free little Campbell from my belly!! It really happened so fast that I can’t remember much about it. I do remember that there was a lot of pulling and tugging going on in my belly, but it really wasn’t uncomfortable at all. The next thing I knew, I heard the sweetest sound in the world, Campbell crying!!

She started crying immediately, which was music to my ears. I was so excited to see her face that I kept asking Clayton to bring her to me even though he had no control over that, haha. When I finally did get to see her, I was just struck by amazement! She had dark, brown hair and was itty-bitty. To be real here, I will also say she was very cheesy (covered in vernix) and bloody. The nurse explained that she looked great, but needed to take her to the warmer.

Clayton and I are sure we heard them say she weighted 6 lbs 2 oz, but they came back and told us that she weighed 5 lbs 11 oz and was 17.5 inches long. Her Apgar scores were 8 and 9!! Even though she was little, she was very well developed!!

After being in the warmer about 20 minutes while they were stapling me up, I was finally able to hold her. Clayton didn’t get to hold her until about an hour after she was born. I think a lot of that was that her temperature was down and they needed to keep her warm. It was so great to finally feel my angel in my arms. She cried the whole time I was wheeled back to my room.

Once we got back to our room, they let Clayton hold her a little bit, then had to put her back in her warmer for a little bit. After this, I don’t remember a whole lot for the next 45 minutes because I had another panic attack. A lot of it had to do with me not being able to feel or move my body. The only thing that finally stopped the attack was for them to remove the epidural and all pain medicines. I know, it sounds crazy!! I needed to feel the pain, I guess.

She had her first bath by the nurse during this time and screamed the entire time!!! She has continued to keep this up! Our girl does NOT like bath time!

Overall, the birthing process was an incredible event that I will never forget. No, it did not happen the way I wanted it, but it did bring our little girl into the world the best and safest way possible. I truly cannot put into words what that day felt like. I feel like this birth story is so much based on the facts and not my true feelings. I know it sounds so cliché, but I do feel like my heart is out of my body and rests with this little angel. Every time I look at her, I fall more and more in love. Clayton and I feel like the luckiest people in the entire world to be her parents. God has truly given us the greatest gift possible.

Campbell, we are so glad you are finally here. Mommy and Daddy felt like we had to wait forever to meet you, but we wouldn’t trade it for the world. In 2 short weeks, you have changed our world for the better. We love you more than we ever knew we could. We can’t wait to see what kind of girl and woman you will become one day, but will surely not rush any day by!!! We love you Cam-Cam!!
Love, Mommy and Daddy

Baby Shower 2, 1/9/2011

2011-01-09T16:09:00.001-08:00

Unfortunately, I do not have pictures from my first baby shower! I am trying to get a certain friend (DANA) to send me some from that shower. Until then, I will wait to write about it!

Today was my 2nd baby shower! I have been so excited about this shower for so long! It was thrown baby a few of my great friends: Maribeth Andino, Jean Marie Geohagan, Chelsea Woods, Anne Walker, Lauren Tirgrath, and Melissa Echols. It was held from 3:00-5:00 pm at Chace Lake Club House in Hoover, AL. Chelsea lives in this neighborhood and it was the perfect setup for a small shower! Unfortunately, the weather resulted in not as many guests and we were hoping for, but we still had such a great turnout! These girls thought of every detail down to onesie decorations, cute shower games (guessing my belly circumference with yarn and unscrambling baby words), and WONDERFUL food! I am so blessed to have such great friends that want to celebrate our sweet Campbell's upcoming birth! I will let the pictures do the explaining on how beautiful everything turned out.

The BEAUTIFUL (and yummy!) food table!

Cute onesies that were used as decorations... and will be worn by Campbell!

My friends know me so well! My cake was a strawberry cake from Ashley Mac, my FAVORITE cake in the world... No one makes a cake better than Ashley Mac. NO ONE!

All of the generous gifts from friends and family!

Wonderful Swaddle blankets from my coworker, Kinnery. Kinnery is due less than a week after me, so we are experiencing all things pregnancy and working as a therapist together! We are also taking all of our childbirth classes together right now! These are supposed to be the best swaddle blankets ever!

A beautiful Feltman Brothers outfit from Melissa Day, who is having her first baby (a girl, Ella Grace) in less than a month! Campbell will look so pretty in this at church and other special occasions!

Great bath stuff from Lindsey Ford!

How cute is this monogrammed dress from Aunt Melissa? Campbell will be styling with so many great clothes that she has received!

A gift for Clayton! His diaper bag! Thanks Margiean, who is another one of my great coworkers!

An adorable hooded, lamb towel from Aunt Dana!

Our playmat from a great high school friend, Tracey! Campbell will definitely get much needed tummy time on this mat to help build her neck and upper body strength (do I sound like an OT or what?!? ;)

The incredibly thoughtful hostess gift, our car seat! Campbell can finally ride in the car with Clayton and me!

Our BOB stroller from Mom, Dad, and Galen! They have already done so much for us and Campbell, so this was a huge blessing from them!

Mom, aka. Nonnie, and me!

Me and the wonderful hostesses! Thank you all so much! I am very blessed for y'alls friendship!

Me and some of the guests! We are missing a few due to the weather (and needing to get home asap!)

We are so blessed to have received so many incredible gifts! Our BOB stroller, Peg Perego carseat, so many cute outfits, bath sponge mat, 3 hooded towels, bath toys, washclothes, a rubber duckie water temperature gauge, Clay's diaper bag, two travel changing mats, engraved bottle identifiers, name labels, swaddle blankets, play-yard mat, bibs, first year momento calendar, baby toys, and lamb sound machine!

THANKS EVERYONE!!!

Update on Baby Cam Cam!

2010-12-22T18:43:00.000-08:00

I went to the doctor this week for my 26 week checkup and received TONS of great news!!

Everything is still looking great with Campbell. Her heart rate was 150 and she was moving and kicking like crazy throughout the whole appointment. Dr. P thinks she is breech right now, but not too worried about it. **I am not either! I think she is constantly flipping into different positions because I feel her kick in completely different places throughout the day!**

My cervix is still long and closed. To be specific, my length is 5 cm, which has increased from when I was admitted (it was at 4 cm) YAY!!! This is a huge praise because she said I am as long as I can possibly be. And get this GREAT news.... In her professional opinion, she doesn't think I will deliver early at all!!! What an incredible Christmas gift to our family knowing that our baby most likely will not be a premie!! I am still having frequent contractions, but the Terbutaline stops them very quickly. Dr. P thinks I might just be a "contractor" that isn't making any progress. Hopefully she is right! (And hopefully this will not be the trend for when it's time for her to be born!)

Another big praise was......... I passed the 1 hour glucose test... Meaning I do NOT have Gestational Diabetes!!! YAY!! I can eat what I want for Christmas, haha! I was for sure that I had GD because I consistently have sugar in my urine and my blood sugar has been a little high; however, I'm in the clear.

The only not so good news was my blood pressure was very high for me at 130/80 (normally, I'm in the very low 100's/60ish....) I explained that I was very anxious
for this appointment, so that could be the cause of the high BP.

Overall, everything was great! We are so ready to meet our baby girl, but want to meet her when she is a little fatter and more developed. Hopefully this will be what happens.

I'm going to update soon with pictures of Campbell's nursery, which is still a work in progress, my 27 week belly, and other things! I hope everyone is having and will have a blessed and enjoyable Christmas! I know we will!! We are leaving on Sunday for Gatlinburg and Boone, NC for a week with my family. We can't wait!!

Much prayers needed....

2010-12-09T18:02:00.000-08:00

I know it's been so long since a good update, but the past few months have been so chaotic and crazy that I haven't even had a chance to sit down at the computer... However, this past week resulted in some scary and eye-opening changes for us and Baby H, who is a GIRL by the way!!! Her name will be Campbell Addilyn Hollinhead and she will go by Campbell!!

On Tuesday, I called my doc with concerns about a lot of what I thought were Braxton Hicks contractions that weren't hurting, but consistently resulted in my stomach getting hard as a rock a lot. I truly wasn't worried about it, but one of my friends who is also pregnant seemed a little concerned... I have thanked God everyday for her because without her worry, things might be very different right now!

So anyways, I went in to the OB during my lunch break hoping they would just tell me everything was fine and to take it easy a little more. Not exactly what happened!! Following a vaginal exam and ultrasound, both of which came back fine, I was scheduled for a Non-stress test in the office. Right before they strapped me into the monitors, another nurse rushed into the room and informed me that I needed to go straight to Labor and Delivery.... At this point, I was a LITTLE scared, confused, anxious, etc. etc. They were not giving me any information on what was going on, which made it even more scary. I finally broke down and called Clayton to meet me at the hospital, which he was there in less than 5 minutes.

As soon as I got to Labor and Delivery, they hooked me and Campbell up to the non-stress test and said they wanted to monitor me for 2 hours to check for contractions. After about 45 minutes, the OB on call (who I had been seeing in the office before I went to L&D) came in the room and informed me that I was having consistent REAL contractions and that I was going to be admitted.

**Here's a little back story to this... At this point, Clayton had already left the hospital because we thought everything was looking good. The minute I heard I was going to be admitted, he turned right around (hadn't even made it back to work again!) and came to be with me!

At this point, she told me that although I had no cervical changes (my cervix remains closed and long, which is GREAT), she felt Campbell's head pushing a little bit, meaning that she has already dropped. The plan, at this point, was to go ahead and give me some Terbutaline to stop the contractions and go ahead and give Campbell her first dose of steroids to help develop her lungs IF she had to be delivered. At that point, I loudly exclaimed that there would be no delivering any baby any time soon (I am only 24 weeks.... WAAAAY to early for Campbell to make her appearence into this world!!)

It became very evident that the lowest dose of Terbutaline was working right away because my contractions all but stopped.. I still had some signs of an irritable uterus, but no more contractions. Through the rest of my stay (until Wednesday at 1:30ish pm) I rarely had any more contractions, which is a HUGE blessing.

SO OVERALL, here is where we are right now:
-Campbell is VERY healthy!! She is growing right on track, is moving like a wiggle worm all of the time, and had a steady, high heart rate the entire stay in the hospital!
-My cervix remains closed and long.
-Throughout the night, Campbell changed her position and she is no longer putting pressure on my cervix.. HUGE BLESSING!
-I have plenty of amniotic fluid!
-Contractions has mostly stabilized. I will be on Terbutaline probably for the rest of the pregnancy and will take it on an as needed basis for when I feel the contractions come back. Hopefully, this will hold everything off for as long as possible!
-I am on modified bed rest for the rest of the week, but can go back to my job on Monday. However, things have to change for me drastically including no lifting, constantly drinking tons of water, never letting my bladder get too full, never laying on my back, and coming home straight from work and laying around all night.

So what does this mean for me and Campbell??? We don't really know. Everyone said this happens to a lot of women and they end up having no other problems. Then there are the group that delivers early and the contractions just can't be stopped. We are VERY optimistic right now that I have no cervical changes and that the medicine is doing it's job. We are very nervous and in constant prayer that our sweet girl will stay in for a lot longer because she is just not ready to be independent quite yet!!!

We just ask, if you feel led, for prayers for our family, especially for Campbell to stay put for a lot longer. The best odds are for her to make it until 32-34 weeks; however, we want her to stay in all 40!!!! I know God has his plans and we will be taken care of with whatever he chooses; however, I really am hoping that his plans involve a fat and full-term baby that is delivered in March!!!

Sorry so long and I will be better about posting from now on!!! ;)

16 week post!

2010-10-15T18:19:00.000-07:00

****WARNING LONG POST!****
Unfortunately (due to some crazy life situations), we didn't get around to taking 15 week pictures. So... here are the most recent, 16 week pictures! Of course, I am late, but only by 4 days this time!

How far along? 16 Weeks (16 weeks and 3 days)
Size of baby: a Turnip! (a little more than 5 inches long and weighs about 5 ounces)
Total weight gain/loss: Finally gained 3 lbs! I have been really nervous about the lack of weight gain, so this was a big deal!
Maternity clothes? Consistently wearing either the belly band or maternity pants. None of my pants fit anymore. We finally splurged on a nice pair of maternity jeans and I LOVE them... I really don't want to go back to regular clothes.
Stretch marks? Nope
Sleep: Only waking up about once a night to go to the bathroom right now, but I wake up a lot to change positions.
Best moment this week: Hearing the heart beat at the doctor on Wednesday! (It was 150 beats per minute! Very strong and healthy!!)
Food cravings: ANYTHING and EVERYTHING! I can't get enough to eat.
Gender: Still thinking pink... AND SOME BIG NEWS! We will find out the sex on October 25th (if the stinker will cooperate!)
Labor Signs: none
Belly Button in or out? In
What I miss: Nothing! Loving pregnancy!
What I am looking forward to: Finding out if this little one is healthy and finally knowing what he or she is!! This baby needs a name other than baby H
Milestones: Hmmm.... Maybe having my first doppler this week?! I can't think of anything other than making this far through pregnancy!

This was a memorable week for a few reasons.
1. I had my 16 week appointment this week. Everything went great and it was a super short appoinment. Some of my concerns were addressed this week including times of high blood pressure that I have been worried about. Dr thinks everything is okay though. The doppler went great! The second she placed the probe on my belly, the heartbeat was loud and clear!! We didn't even have to search for it! I also got a flu shot, so I am prepared for flu season! The other big blessing is they are letting me come in the day I turn 18 week pregnant for our BIG ultrasound!! I have been so nervous that they would make me wait the full 4 weeks, but they didn't even seem fazed that I asked to come early! So far, everything is right on track!
2. We are closing on our new house on Monday, October 18th... However, we received some bad new that the appraisal on our current house came out lower than the sales price.... a good bit lower.... so we are out a bunch of money that we were not planning on... This has been a huge stressor for us this week and continues to be one. I know things will work out, but we were just planning on having a little more cushion....
3. The worst thing that happened this week involved Clayton. Clay stayed home yesterday to do some more work on the house before the closing. Long story short.... He hurt his back pretty bad and ended up in the ER yesterday afternoon. I left work around lunch time to meet him there and ended up getting discharged around 7:00. We really don't know what's going on (because the stupid ER refused to do an MRI or CT scan because he didn't have a spinal cord injury.... Don't even get me started). We are setting up an appointment with an orthopedic for next week so we can get to the bottom of things... We are hoping it's all muscle strain, but are afraid it may be a herniated disc... PLEASE pray that we get this figured out and Clay some relief. This has come at such a bad time because we are moving next week and he was planning on doing most of the moving. I, unfortunately, cannot help move because I am not allowed to lift more than 10 pounds, so we are completely relying on family and friends.

Hopefully, next week will be less eventful and stressful on our bodies and bank account!!

Quick 14 weeks!

2010-10-15T18:12:00.000-07:00

13 Weeks!

2010-09-27T18:15:00.000-07:00

Once again, I am late on my weekly belly pics! Sorry!!

How far along? 13 Weeks
Size of baby: a Lemon! (a little more than 3 inches long)
Total weight gain/loss: No gain or loss still!
Maternity clothes? Switching between belly band and maternity pants. I wore a maternity shirt today and it was still a little big.
Stretch marks? Nope
Sleep: So much for sleeping better! I am having some significant back pain causing me to wake up a lot throughout the night (sorry Clay!!) Not sure if its sciatic nerve pain or just intense lower back pain...
Best moment this week: Hmmm... maybe deciding on some baby bedding? Haha, I can't think of anything important!
Food cravings: anything to drink! I am so thirsty this week.
Gender: Really thinking girl more and more.. So much that I already have this little stinker's bedding designed, haha.
Labor Signs: none
Belly Button in or out? In
What I miss: Sleep and a comfortable bed
What I am looking forward to: Finding out if my OB will let me come back to find out the gender in 2 weeks instead of 4 weeks!
Milestones: First week of my second trimester and loving life!

12 Weeks (a little late!)

2010-09-23T16:17:00.000-07:00

How far along? 12 Weeks
Size of baby: a Peach! (about 3 inches long)
Total weight gain/loss: No gain or loss still!
Maternity clothes? Still just wearing my belly band, but breaking out the maternity pants soon!
Stretch marks? None yet... knock on wood!
Sleep: I am sleeping a little better this week because I am not getting up to go to the bathroom as much!
Best moment this week: NO MORE MORNING SICKNESS!!!!!
Food cravings: Fruit and chips!!
Gender: Still thinking pink!
Labor Signs: none
Belly Button in or out? In
What I miss: nothing this week. I am LOVING pregnancy!
What I am looking forward to: Finding out if Baby H is a boy or girl!
Milestones: Last week of my first trimester!

**13 week post to come later tonight!!**

Let's start from the very beginning......

2010-09-13T18:24:00.000-07:00

Since we were keeping it on the downlow, I'm going to go back in time for a few posts. Let's start with one of the most exciting days of our lives.... Go back, if you will, to Sunday, July 18th..........

Obviously, we were very observant as to when we should be taking a pregnancy tests seeing as everything with this cycle was observed under a microscope, haha! At this time, Clayton was in Washington DC for his last and final Air Force drill of his life (definitely news for another post, but yes, Clayton is officially done with the Air Force! YAY!!!) I honestly was not feeling really hopeful at this point because my day 21 progesterone count wasn't really that high (13.67). At this point, I knew that I had ovulated, but Dr. P didn't feel confident that the number was high enough to signify a pregnancy. I was so pessimistic at this point that I had already refilled my next dose of Clomid to begin taking.

I had taken a pregnancy test the day before (day 28) and it was negative, so I wasn't feeling really optimistic. By this point, you will usually have a positive test. The next morning, I took another test JUST to make sure, and this is what I saw.

I'm sure you can't see the second line, but in person it was very, very pale.

I still wasn't convinced, so I took another test later that afternoon and I saw this exciting line!!!

Fast forward to everyday for the rest of the week.... These are a handful of the tests that told me the best news I have ever received!! If I would have taken a picture of all of the tests I took before I went to the doctor, you would see a pile of over 15 (I sorta got obsessive about making sure the baby was "still there", haha.

The unfortunate thing about this whole situation was Clayton was here for none of it, including my first doctor appointment to confirm the pregancy (he didn't make it home for another week and a half.) We were both so upset, but were still estatic that we were pregnant. I wanted to tell Clayton in a unique and cute way; however, I was just so excited that I couldn't contain myself!!!! I just busted the news over the phone!! I truly think that he didn't believe me at first!!! However, he was so over the moon once it finally sunk in.

I loved every second of this day and can't wait to replay this moment again one day with another baby!!!

11-12 Week Prenatal Doctor Appointment!

2010-09-13T17:55:00.001-07:00

**Baby's arm!!

**Side shot of Baby H!! Doesn't it look like he/she is sucking her thumb?!?!

Today we had our 11-12 week doctor appointment to check on Baby H! I will admit that I was very anxious about this appointment because everything has been feeling very different this week. Prior to this week, I have been feeling pretty cruddy all of the time (nauseous, tired, tons of cramping). However, all of my symptoms have, for the most part, decreased.... This should have been exciting, but it really just made me nervous!

Fortunately, everything is looking great!!!! Check him or her out! He/She finally is looking like a real baby!

Some general updates from today:
*Heart rate- 158 (very strong heart beat!)
*Size- Baby is the size of a large plum!
*Movement- Baby was moving like crazy! He/she was bouncing all around and moving her/his arms. Baby kept his/her legs crossed the whole time.... Must be very shy or not confident with their goods, haha!! As we were watching the baby move, it just stopped moving! The tech said it must have just fell asleep, haha!
*All of my bloodwork and urine tests looked great. They were a little worried from my last urine sample because sugar was found, but everything looked great today!
*I found out (to no surpise) that I am Rh negative and Clayton is Rh positive... Not a huge deal, but this means I have to get the Rhogam shot at 28-30 weeks to prevent my body from attacking the baby's blood. It wouldn't affect this pregnancy, but could affect the next pregnancy if this baby's blood passes through my blood. No big deal at all though and just a little hiccup!
*One HUGE praise from today is that I can stop taking the progesterone suppliments starting on Thursday. Yay!!! When I found out I was pregnant, my progesterone level was low, so my doc recommended that I take suppliments until 12 weeks to maintain the pregnancy. This is definitely a bitter-sweet moment! On one hand, I am so thankful that this progesterone has done it's job to maintain the pregnancy, which scares me to stop taking it. However, I know that it's contributing to me feeling sick a lot (remember, I had to take it when I was trying to get preggo and always felt sick taking it!)I'm just glad this is one pill less that I have to take!

Everything else looks great! I will go back at around 16 weeks for a quick check up. THEN, it's the big ultrasound to find out if we are having a boy or girl!!!!!!! This will be done between weeks 18-20!!! I am so anxious to finally know what our angel is going to be!!!

11 weeks

2010-09-13T17:39:00.000-07:00

I've decided, now that the word is out, that I will do weekly belly shots and updates on information! Hopefully, this will keep out of town family and friends happy (and I can have it for my memories!!)

So as of last Thursday, September 9th, we are 11 weeks pregnant! What's going on in my belly this week?!?

How far along? 11 Weeks
Total weight gain/loss: No gain or loss.... Doc says she is okay with that right now, but wants to see some new pounds at my 15 week appointment!
Maternity clothes? I am rarely wearing maternity pants, but consistently wear my belly band with all pants! Too tight to button!!
Stretch marks? None!!
Sleep: I am easily woken up and frequently toss and turn throughout the night. Plus, I am having the craziest, most intense dreams!
Best moment this week: Seeing our Baby H on the ultrasound, dancing away for us!
Movement: Baby is definitely moving around like crazy, but can't feel it yet!
Food cravings: Fruit!!
Gender: I'm leaning towards girl, but Clay says boy!
Labor Signs: Definitely not! Stay away!
Belly Button in or out? In
What I miss: Deli meat and good sleep!
What I am looking forward to: My belly growing enough where people know I am pregnant, not eating too much dessert at night!
Milestones: I get to stop taking progesterone suppliments on Thursday!

**Look out for our 11/12 week doctor visit!

=)

2010-09-09T15:38:00.000-07:00

We are so excited to annouce that................

We are expecting a baby!!!!!!! The baby is due around March 27, 2011. We are so excited and feel so blessed to finally be pregnant! I will post soon with much more exciting pictures, details, etc.

Thanks so much for all of your prayers because without them, we aren't sure we would be here!

Doing it.... Texas style!

2010-07-04T18:11:00.000-07:00

Hi Friends!

Hope everyone is doing great and have had a great 4th of July! We spent ours in an airport, haha!! We went to Ft. Hood, Texas to visit Clayton's sister, our brother in law, and our nieces. We flew out Thursday morning at 6:00 AM!! Yes, in the morning! I don't remember being that tired in a long, long time! However, the trip was so much fun! We spent the majority of our time just hanging out at the Kraus's house and playing with our nieces, who have both gotten so big. Cecilia, who will be 8 in a few weeks, has matured so much since we have seen her last. Caroline, who turned 2 in May, is like a whole different child!!! She now is talking up a storm and copying everything that Cecilia does. Uncle "Pay" and Aunt "Weis" had so much fun playing and dancing with her all weekend! I also accomplished a first while I was in Texas..... Went to my first Rodeo!!!!! It was so much fun and hilarious. I will say that I got upset multiple times because I was afraid of animal abuse, but Clayton assured me that the animals enjoy what they are doing.... I am just going to believe him so I can sleep at night =) My sweet Caroline did agree with me throughout the rodeo and would exclaim repeatedly when a calf would be tackled to the floor, "NO, NO, NO BE NICE!" I can't wait to see the Kraus's again soon.... Hopefully, it will be before February when Baby #3 is due.. Yes, we are going to have another niece or nephew!! We are all so very excited and I can't wait to spoil this new little munchkin soon!

Onto other news.... I know everyone is curious how the baby front is with Clayton and I. So here is my update!
I began taking the 100 mg of Clomid a couple of weeks ago and finished it last week. It was, by far, the worst side effects I have experienced, which was to be expected since I doubled the dose. Hot flashes, among other symptoms, were terrible causing me to leave work on a frequent basis with soaking wet clothes. I felt a lot different taking the Clomid this cycle as compared to last cycle. I felt like last time, I felt some side effects but I never felt any different where I should (i.e. cramps, etc.) This time, I feel very different and feel like things are definitely moving and grooving.... I guess we will see in a week or so. So now, we are in the two week "wait." Right now, I am just hoping that the Clomid will help me ovulate and that we have timed the baby dancing right with ovulation! I will go back to the Dr. next Monday, the 12th to get blood work run. Until then!!

Our New Home!

2010-06-13T14:11:00.001-07:00

Don't get too excited... We didn't sell our house. The new home I am speaking of is our new.........CHURCH HOME! Today (6/13/10) we joined our new church home, Trinity United Methodist in Homewood, AL. We have spent A LOT of time visiting new churches and praying over this decision. It was really important for us for a few reasons:
1. Whatever church we chose would be the church that we raise our (future) children in. I grew up very active at my church and spent so much time there. We want the same thing for our children, so choosing a church that has great programs for children was a big priority for us.
2. We really wanted to join a church that has a lot of choices for Sunday school classes and small groups so we can bond with a smaller group of people on a spiritual level. It's important to us to have friends that can help us learn and grow in our relationship with God. We figured the best way to do this is by joining a small group of some sort. Trinity has over 25 Sunday school classes to choose from and they are divided by where you are in your life (i.e. newly married, couples who are pregnant or plan to be soon, singles and career oriented people, etc.) I can't wait to start visiting a few classes to find the perfect one for us!
3. We needed a church that Clayton really felt comfortable in since he was transitioning from Catholicism to a Protestant church. After trying many, many churches, Clay found Trinity to really feel comfortable for him and would be a place where he could feel right about this transition.

So today, we went to a Membership 101 class at 10:00 with the pastors followed up by joining the church at the 11:00 service! Everyone made us feel so much at home and really expressed how happy that we were there! We definitely feel like we made the right choice in choosing a new church home and can't wait until we find our place within the church!

It's time

2010-06-12T10:32:00.000-07:00

Doesn't it seem like whenever someone has taken a blogging hiatus for an extended period of time that something big is going on in their life? I guess it's true to say that I have taken a "leave of absence" from the blogging world for quite awhile. I guess you can also assume that we have been going through some events that have consumed our life. I have been very hesitant to write about this on my blog; however, I have recently taken strength through other's experiences by reading their blogs. Maybe my words can be a source of comfort, friendship, or camaraderie for those going through similar situations. So here it goes..... The beginning of our journey into infertility.

About 7 months ago, Clayton and I decided we were finally ready to start adding to our little family. I had finally graduated from grad school, got a great job, Clayton was making a name for himself at his newish job, we were finacially ready, etc. etc. If you ask any of my good friends, I had it all mapped out. I start my job in January, we put our house on the market, it takes maybe 1 month to sell, we move to Homewood right about the time I get pregnant, and we live happily ever after. It's so funny to look back on it now because I thought I had figured it all out. I had made our plans, when in fact, God had different ideas. Instead, our house has been on the market for 5 months with no buyers in sight and I am sitting on my couch lethargic from fertility medications..... So much for planning, huh? =) I'm not quite sure why I thought it would be that easy. I guess it was just wishful thinking. I have always had a nagging fear that I would have trouble getting pregnant, but I was just hoping that it was my glass half empty mentality to everything. Unfortunately, my feelings were right and we have to put a little more effort than some into having a child.
Around April, I decided to contact my OBGYN (who has been incredible through all of this!) because I had not yet started my period after getting off of BC in December. I had been scouring the internet on whether or not this was normal and found that it was, in fact, NOT normal and should be of concern. However, the overwhelming majority of people explained that OBGYNs won't take you seriously until you have been trying for at least a year.
**At this point, I want to praise God for laying it on my heart that things were not okay. I can't imagine the frustration level, anxiety, and heartbreak I would be feeling at a year from now if I would have waited. He knew to let this weigh on my heart early on. Thank you Lord!**

So, I contacted my Dr., who immediately explained that this was not okay and I was probably not ovulating on my own. (For those of you who are not in the infertility know, you have to ovulate, or release an egg, in order to get pregnant. If you don't ovulate, then there is no signal for you to have your period. Your body continues to build up the lining in preparation for a fetus...) While I was waiting to come in and get a full fertility workup, she prescribed me Prometrium, a progesterone supplement, to see if it would induce a period. I would take a pill one time a day for 10 days. The goal was for my body to start a period either while I was on it or by at least 14 days after ending it. Thankfully, I started Aunt Flo on Day 8 of taking of the meds, which I was overjoyed with!! This indicated that I, indeed, was not ovulating and this could all be a hormonal problem.

So next step: Fertility workup! I will admit, I was very anxious during this appointment. I had no idea of what I would be going through. Thankfully, Clayton went with me to help ease my nerves.
**I also need to take a time out to acknowledge how incredible Clayton has been through this. I could never go through the hardships of this process without him. He has been my rock through this, has taken my mind off of things when I have been deep in sorrow... I love you!!

Okay, back to the fertility workup. So after ultrasounds, blood tests, and pap smears (SORRY TMI) everything looked great except for my progesterone levels, which indicates that I am anovulatory (not able to ovulate.) As depressing as this may sound, Dr. P explained that this is the best fertility problem to have because we just have to figure out the amount of hormones it will take to help me ovulate! YAY!! I am just so thankful that there are no cysts, endometriosis, or anything big that has lead to this. In addition to getting my workup, Clayton also got to participate by means of a semen analysis, haha! He was such a good sport about it, even though he has expressed how uncomfortable and embarrassing the experience was. Thankfully, everything on his side looks great!

So, the plan was.... Begin taking Clomid. Probably anyone who has gone through infertility has been prescribed Clomid. Basically, Clomid stimulates FSH hormone production, which stimulates LH production, which stimulates the ovaries to produce eggs and a ovulate. It is usually the first step taken with infertility treatment. Along with the Clomid, I had strict instructions on how this cycle would play out:
-Take Prometrium until a period occurs (which would be Day 1 of my cycle)
-On Day 3 of the cycle, begin taking 50 mg of Clomid
-Continue taking Clomid until day 7.
-Baby Dance starting on day 8 and do it every other day until day 21
-Day 21, go back to Doc to get bloodwork to check progesterone levels to see if I ovulated.

Well, I'm sure you know the outcome to this story.... I did not ovulate. Just to show you how much it DIDNT work....... My progesterone level before clomid was 0.9 and after clomid it was 0.73. It actually DECREASED! How does my progesterone DECREASE after all of the drugs I took!! Dr. P. explained that the decrease wasn't actually a big deal. All it meant was that the 50 mg wasn't enough to make me ovulate. So... here we are now....

The plan for this cycle is to take the Prometrium again to induce Aunt Flo and then start taking 100 mg of Clomid on Day 3. Hopefully, the higher dose will do it's job and help me ovulate!

To say this process has been hard is putting it lightly. Not only is it hard emotionally, but also physically. I am one of the lucky few that experiences side effects with both of the meds I am taking... extreme tiredness, cramping, mood swings, depression, nausea, etc. However, I don't mind the side effects in the least if it will lead to our ultimate goal, an amazing baby.

So, welcome to our journey into infertility!

Pictures from New Years

2010-02-28T09:20:00.001-08:00

As I was going through my pictures so I could post some shots from my surprise birthday party (see post below) I found some pictures from New Years that I never posted. Quick recap, we went to Destin, FL with a bunch of our best friends for New Years this year. It was one of the most fun times in my life. I love these people like they are my family because really, we are kind of like a funny, dysfunctional family, haha. Here are some pictures, mainly of just Clay and I.
Clay and I on the beach after we ate lunch on the day we left. So beautiful, but so cold. (Pictures taken by Courtney and Ben Henson!)

Me and sweet Riley Andino, my niece dog. I was a little sick after dinner and she was making me feel better!

Me and Clay at Louisiana Lagniappe for dinner.... Not so good.....

Rock Band.... The theme for the weekend!

Clay and I on New Years Eve (we didn't get to the beach until 11:00 pm on New Years.)

Okay, okay.... Here is my updates!

2010-02-28T08:51:00.000-08:00

I am VERY sorry about the lack of posts, especially after that teaser. Things didn't go the way we planned and I just really didn't feel like posting about it for awhile. BUTTT.... here is what was going on. As many of you know, our house in on the market and we are in the process of looking for another house that is bigger and closer to friends and family. After a week and a half on the market, someone put an offer on our house and after some negotiations, we accepted their offer. In a race for time, we went ahead and made an offer on another house that we thought we loved. Wellllllll.... everyone said that this was too good to be true, and they were right. The people who had put an offer on our house had TERRIBLE credit and were not able to obtain financing (yes, they told us they were pre-qualified... liars.) Once that feel through, our offer basically fell through (it was actually a lot more complicated than that, but I don't want to get into that, haha.) So, we were back to square one. At this moment, we have had some more interest in our house and are having an open house today (Sunday.) We actually fell in love with another house, but found out last night that someone else put an offer on it. UHHH the joys of buying/selling a home. This truly is one of the most stressful things we have gone through, and I can't wait for it to be over. Just to throw this out there, we have officially looked at over 60 homes so far. It is NOT as fun as you may think it is.

In the midst of all of this stress, my sweet husband has shined through and won the best husband in the world award!!!! My birthday is next Sunday, March 7th, and he really wanted to make it special this year. Boy, did he make it so special!! On Friday night, we had dinner plans at 7:30 to go to dinner with some of our good friends, Maribeth and Manny, at Dave's Pizza in Homewood. In reality, Clayton had planned a SURPRISE PARTY for me!! I had absolutely no idea what was going on. When we walked into the restaurant and I saw everyone, I stood dumbfounded, looked at Clay, and asked "what is going on???" Obviously, I was shocked!

20 of my best friends were there to make my night incredible. We ate dinner, then went to a good friend's, Blake Hensons, house. Finally, we ended the night at Rogue Tavern. It was one of the best nights of my life!!! Clayton is the best husband in the world and was definitely rewarded for his hard efforts, haha!! Here are some pictures of the night. None are really that great, but thought I would show everyone that was there!

Holding my breath...

2010-02-07T08:04:00.000-08:00

I'm not able to post any details yet, but I might have some exciting news to post in the next few days!! Stand by tomorrow for some exciting news from the Hollinheads!

Betcha thought I wouldn't come back!

2010-01-30T10:15:00.000-08:00

I was kind of thinking the same way! I have just had an apathy for wanting to do a post on this blog. Everytime I signed on so I could catch up on everyone elses blogs, I would literally sigh out loud because the thought of actually writing a post of my own sounded downright miserable. However, I THINK I am coming out of this lull. THINK is the word though... Only time will tell....

So I guess I need to update everyone with the many happenings of the Hollinheads over the post month or so.

1. I started my new job!! YAY!! I started at Children's Hospital of Alabama as an occupational therapist on January 4th. To say I was nervous is an understatement. Thank goodness they have been so great to let me mentor with other therapists and gradually letting me transition into being a tried and true OT. I, now, have my own patients, but still don't have a full schedule. This has definitely helped get me back into things without making me have small anxiety attacks everyday, haha. I am going to be so happy at Children's and love everyone I am working with!! Plus, having an extra paycheck ain't that bad ;) My first paycheck came in the mail last weekend (the first paycheck always has to come in the mail before they do direct deposit), and I was tempted to just hang it on the wall and never cash it... Yeah, that thought went out the window in about 5 seconds.

2. One of my best friends, Meredith Boggs (now Cleveland) got married to the love of her life, Brad!! It has been so special getting to play a part in my friends weddings. I especially feel honored with my high school best friends, who truly are the sisters I never had! We are all so close, although not in distance (2 in Bham, 2 in different parts of North Carolina, 2 in Atlanta, and 1 in New York.)I love these girls more than they will ever know and am so happy for their friendship. Here are some stolen shots (thanks Lelia!) from that weekend.

3. Our house is on the market! I'm not sure if this will stay excitement forever, but right now we are so pumped up! We have been in talks of putting our house on the market for awhile, but really thought it would be smart to wait until I started my job and got my first paycheck (to make sure it was really real, haha.) We have loved our little home for over two years, but are ready to MOVE ON UP! One of the big reasons we are moving is to be closer to family and friends. We currently live in Mount Olive, which is a little north of Birmingham. It really isn't that far from everyone, but it just sucks to make the 30 minute drive all of the time, especially when we eat and hang out with friends (which we do at least 2-3 times a week.) Another reason we are moving is to get some more house! This house has been great for the two of us, but we are looking for more space for the near future. So, just in case some blog reader is looking to buy a home in the Gardendale/Mount Olive area, here is our MLS listing on Realty South!
Our Home for Sale!

We would love it if you would pass our home onto friends who may be interested in buying a great starter home! We are also currently looking for a new house for us! We are primarily narrowing our search to Homewood and Vestavia. So, if you have a home you are selling in these areas, we would love to look as well!

Last Day at Disney!! :(

2009-12-29T12:27:00.000-08:00

Our last day at Disney, we went to Magic Kingdom during the day and then went back to Epcot that night after dinner! We weren't able to do everything we wanted to at Magic Kingdom on our first day, so it was vital that we went back. It was so much better our second time around because we weren't as stressed trying to go to every ride! Here are some pictures of our last day!
Welcome to Mickey's Toontown!

Minnie's House!!

Oh.... Just doing a little pottery at Minnie's.....

Oh the weather outside is frightful!! Thank goodness for Minnie's fire!

Pete's Garage... Don't know who Pete is, but here's his garage.

I'm so obsessed with sewing that I borrowed Minnie's sewing machine to make her some clothes!

Mosing over to Mickey's house..

Here is his shopping list... Isn't that funny... A mouse like cheese? haha....

Even Mickey decorated for Christmas!

Mickey's wardrobe! He has plenty extra gloves!

Mickey's bedroom!

A Mickey-style pumpkin!

Can't go to Disney World and not get a picture with Mickey and Minnie!!

It's a Small World!!!

Clayton loved Briar Rabbit and Briar Bear growing up, so this picture is for him!

Country Bear Jamborbee!

The Tiki Room show of birds!

We had dinner reservations at Yachtman's Steakhouse, which was SOOO GOOD. Both of us love a good steak (I would say so, since I had 4 during that week!) Here are some pictures of us from the restaurant!

**After dinner, we went back to Epcot to grab a few bottles of wine for ourselves and for gifts, as well as space food for my younger cousins. Unfortunately, we didn't take any pictures while at Epcot because the weather was bad, my knee was hurting, and it was so crowded!!

We had such a great time at Disney World, and it was definitely a great decision to go there. We went back and forth on whether we should go to a more "grown-up" location for my graduation trip or to go to Disney World. I am so glad we stuck with our instincts and went to Disney. You can definitely make it a "grown-up" trip by doing nice dinners, staying up late, trying different wines and beers, and just having a great time. I am so glad we did this BEFORE we had children so we could really experience Disney World on our own. For anyone who is looking for a fun trip, THIS IS THE PLACE!!!

The Osborne Light Show at Hollywood Studios!

2009-12-29T12:09:00.000-08:00

After we ate dinner at Brown Derby, we headed over to the section of Hollywood Studios that featured the Osborne Light Show. This light show was created by a family who used to make these incredible light shows at their own home! When they got too big for the towns liking, Disney contacted them and asked them to decorate Hollywood Studios every year! Check out some of the incredible lights!

Wasn't that beautiful!!! Last up, our last day where we went back to Magic Kingdom during the day and Epcot at night. Finally, my last Disney post!! ;)