December 10, 2011

Sienna has (we think) poison oak ON HER FACE!  Poor baby!  And of course the rash decided to make its debut the day we had professional pictures taken.  We have poison oak all over our property, and Sean gets it several times a year so we are very familiar with what it looks like.  He had it just recently so we are assuming she got from him.  Ugghh!!  It usually takes a week or two to disappear completely so I don't know how many pics we'll be taking.  Just in time for the holidays. :(


Sean and I had our first night out last night and it was a success!  We went out to dinner with our good friends Rob and Jen to celebrate my birthday (the 16th) and Jen's birthday (the 2nd).  It was a fabulous time.  Rob and Jen are our very, very good friends and we went to my favorite place to eat--Anselmo Vineyards.  I even had one glass of wine!  It was great to be able to sit down and enjoy a meal at a leisurely pace, actually getting to chew and savor my food.  Most of my meals these days are scarfed down while standing up in the kitchen.  Sean's dad Bill and stepmom Julie baby-sat and the evening was enjoyed by all. 

December 8, 2011

So, I'm a horrible blogger.  Thought I would be updating this site regularly, but there are a lot of things I don't get done these days.  My main focus and priority is Sienna and everything else takes a backseat.  We are settling into a routine, and the past few weeks Sienna has been sleeping through the night which is HUGE!!!  Sleep deprivation is a horrible thing.  Sienna is gaining weight and is now unable to fit in some of her newborn sized clothes (now that she's 3 months old, lol).  She weighs 9 pounds and is 21 inches long, so she has doubled her weight and grown 4 inches since birth.  We had a follow-up appointment at Stanford a couple of weeks ago and the pediatric surgeon we met with said she is doing so well we don't have to bring her back unless there is a problem and we can just treat her like a regular baby!!  She is cooing and smiling and doing all the things she should be doing at this point.  She is really a great baby and I am so thankful for her every day.

November 8, 2011

Happy Tuesday everyone!  I thought I would be updating my blog more frequently than I have been, but I guess that's how it goes with a two month old.  I'm lucky if I'm showered most days!  Sienna is doing pretty well these days.  About 5 days ago I began fortifying my breast milk twice a day with formula to give her more calories.  My intuition was telling me that she wasn't getting enough to eat.  While I was nursing her all throughout the day,  she would get so relaxed and sleepy that she would always fall asleep after five or ten minutes.  Based on the amount she was consuming at the hospital and how long it took her to eat I just knew she wasn't eating as much.  She also had lost a little bit of weight since coming home, which I know can happen, especially with gastro babies.  Since I am already giving her two bottles a day for her meds I figured I would try supplementing those bottles with formula as well.  Almost immediately Sienna seemed to be sleeping more and a much happier baby in general so I think I'm on to something.  With fortifying those two bottles it adds about 30 calories a day , and she only needs to eat about 300-350 a day at her current weight so it does account for a tenth of her total calories.  She is starting to fill out and put a little bit of weight on. She is having only mild reflux at this point (and it's just like normal baby spit-up) and is rarely throwing up.  So her digestive system seems to be maturing.  When I read some other accounts of other gastro babies who aren't doing as well I feel so fortunate.  She really is a little miracle.

I will try to add some pictures on here as well, unfortunately that involves digging out my camera, uploading pics, and transferring them on.  It doesn't sound like much to do but it is a miracle I even have five minutes to update this blog right now!  Does anyone know if I can upload pics from my phone onto this site?  That would be much easier.  Those of you who are on facebook have seen my (and my mom's) many daily pictures so they are being taken, it's just so much easier to put them on facebook from my phone than to take pics on my camera and put them on my computer.

Sean and I are having Thanksgiving and Christmas at our house this year.  For us it will be much easier to have everyone come to us then to pack up the dogs, Sienna, and all of our stuff (in our Mini Cooper!) and travel.  It should be pretty low key with Sean's mom Lindy, his dad Bill and step-mom Julie, his sister Jazzie and step brother Mike, my parents Bob and Ann, and us.  It's hard to believe it's that time of year already--this year has flown by with my being pregnant, working up to the week before I delivered, the six weeks at Stanford, and the month we've been home with our new baby.  Holy cow, no wonder I'm so tired.

October 27, 2011

So I guess I'm officially a blogger now!  This blog will be mainly about my daughter Sienna, who was born with a birth defect called gastroschisis.  To look at her now you would never even know it.  If you are interested in reading about her birth and 6-week stay in the NICU, click here:
http://www.carepages.com/carepages/Gastroschisisbaby
Now we are home and adjusting to life and what the new "normal" is for us.  For those of you who already have children, you are probably aware of the fact that living with an 8 week old there is no normal established.  Every day can be different than the one before and you just have to roll with the punches.  But it's all good...my husband Sean and I have waited a long time to start a family and have been through quite a bit to get to this point so we are just very grateful that we are able to have a baby at all.  And while Sienna isn't the easiest baby, she certainly is the cutest!

I am enjoying being a stay-at-home mom, that's for sure.  I have worked as an esthetician for the last 5 1/2 years. and we have made the decision that I will not be returning to work anytime in the foreseeable future.  My job now of taking care of Sienna is definitely much harder, with long hours and a very demanding client, but infinitely more rewarding.  Since Sean works from home as well it has been a bit of a challenge trying not to disrupt his day.  His "office" is set up in our family room in the main part of the house.  So when Sienna is having one of her legendary temper tantrums, it makes it difficult for him to concentrate, needless to say.  We're still adjusting and working on that...my suggestion that he move his office out to the garage didn't go over very well.

Okay, that's all for now.  Sienna is sleeping so I need to take advantage of this time and get some things done.  Like maybe a shower for starters.


Oh, one last thing...Happy Birthday to my wonderful brother Bobby and my amazing Grandma Erhardt!  I love you both and hope you have a fantastic day and year ahead.