Dr. knows best!!!

Ok, so I have to proclaim my love for my dr. right now! And I may be jumping the gun on this, but so far so good... Ok, a little background, before Lauren arrived on the scene, I swore I was not going to have a 'binkie' baby, or a 'paci', 'sassy' whatever you may call it. I just shudder at the sight of a toddler with a pacifier stuck in their mouth. But I sheepishly admit now why parents love them so. They soothe a baby, point blank, thats what they do. And after all my swearing, guess who couldn't get her baby to take a pacifier when she needed it most?!?! Yes, I stuck my foot in my mouth and went for the dreaded 'binkie'. So, even before we left the hospital, my dr. recommended the 'NUK' brand by gerber. He claimed that both of his kids did well with them... But did I listen? Noooooooooooo! We have tried three brands, and have sucessfully failed at all three. And just when I was about to give up, I was in Wal-mart today and bought a package of two NUK pacifiers.

And guess who just happily took it, like a pro, and is now comforted in her bouncy seat. Ten minutes before this, she was screaming, and absolutely did not want to be put down in the swing or the bouncy seat. I am just elated, but again, I could be sticking my foot in my mouth... Oh, and in the second picture, I know it looks like she's trying to pull it out, but it actually was falling out and she either put her hand up there to stop it, or it was just coincidence... but it's cute, because she's almost asleep, ahhhhhh, maybe this will help at night as well.

On another dr. note, we went today for our two week checkup... the last couple of days or shall I say nights, have been somewhat hellish... We were up from 2:30-6 am again. After telling the dr. all about her issues, he has resolved that it is indeed acid reflux, and we are starting her on the lesser of all evil medicine's 'Axid'. If this doesn't help, then we will move up from there. After visiting with the lactation consultant, which is an Angel by the way, alot of Lauren's issues make much more sense now. The constant sneezing, nasal congestion, excessive spitting up, and hiccups for one are a sure sign of the reflux. Then the eating smaller and more often was Lauren's way of keeping from getting too full, thus causing more reflux... she did that one on her own... And the lactation consultant also assured me as long as I am watching her, or right there beside her at night, it is ok to let her sleep on her belly. We were able to get a restful nap yesterday with her on her stomach in my bed.

The nurse at the dr. office made the comment how the first child is always the guinea pig, I can believe it. And I have to admit, although at their expense, as I would not wish this reflux on anyone, I would not have been so worried about all the 'signs' if it had not been for my good friend and her going through the same thing with her nine week old baby boy.

I can't believe that Lauren is two weeks old today! She's definitely getting a personality, and some of her facial expressions crack me up! I finally got bold and gave her her first real bath yesterday. And she really seems to like it. She doesn't scream like when I gave her the sponge baths. She likes the water to be poured on her belly and head. And if you are wondering about the wash cloth, I put it there to keep her warmer and pour water on it. So today I invested in an infant bath tub as well...



Boy, I'm full of investments today! hahaha!

Well I guess that's it for now... sorry about the novel, and bless those that actually read every word. I'm off to clean a little house while I can. I have the exterminator coming tomorrow morning to spray for spiders, for some reason since bringing her home, I have noticed way more than I care to see...

As always, we send our love!

Shannon, Levi, Hunter and Lauren