5 Months New [ February 25, 2013 ]

Health: Liv came down with her first cold this month. It wasn't even a bad one and didn't last more than 4 days, but I still hated it, everything about it. I felt so helpless and wished there was SOMETHING i could do to make her feel better. We took her to the doctor within 24 hrs of her coming down with it to ensure it didn't get out of hand since we've chosen to push back her vaccines. Luckily the doc said it was just a little cold, not in her ears or throat - thank gosh. They told us we could give her Tylenol to keep her fever down and some pedialyte as needed. Thank goodness her fever was low and i managed to keep it low by giving her the Tylenol. But that created a whole new problem...something even more scary than her being sick. When i talked to the doc over the phone she told me to get Tylenol and pedialyte so i grabbed some quick on my way home. Well I'm a dope and didn't even think about the COLOR they were! Well after some erratic, hyper, crazy behavior I called the doc and talked to the nurse. When I told her how Liv was acting she said what color is the medicine? I told her purple and pink. She then told me that could be the reason for those behaviors as some kids have reactions for Red40. Well I immediately felt terrible and like a horrible mother. How didn't I think about that? I'd heard that Red40 isn't good for anyone, let alone babies! So i immediately threw the medicine away and got dye free Motrin. Either the Tylenol or the dye was making poor Livvy nutty...she wouldn't sleep for 24hrs and still managed to have massive amounts of energy. It was like she was on a crazy high of some sort, bouncing all around, shaking her head from side to side. SCARY STUFF. I still feel awful about this...it makes me cry when i think about it. I was so stupid to give her any dye and wish I could undo it. And going forward I just really hope she doesn't have issue with Red40 as it's in everything fun {but bad for you} to eat - Cheetos, Popsicles, m&m's {gasp}, pop tarts, yadda yadda. Here's an article about it if you haven't heard about this dye and it's affects. It's just so unfair that this stuff is allowed in foods and medicines because moms like me trust that it's ok if it's on the shelf. BIG A-HA moment for me. Now I'm giving everything over-the-top thought. Another side note about Red40 - it's made from bugs!!! ewww


http://www.livestrong.com/article/445428-is-red-40-food-coloring-dangerous-to-your-health/ 

Eating: we started giving her oatmeal cereal and then rice after a couple weeks. she wasn't too sure about it in the beginning and needed to figure out the swallowing thing. But she definitely has figured it out and is loving her morning cereal. I was a little leery about giving her rice with all the arsenic talk but talked to the doc and she said rice hasn't been pulled off the shelves yet... and the research a did on this said arsenic isn't completely bad for you, they just aren't sure the amount of it that takes it to the 'bad' level. UGH. Too many decisions to make as a momma!!

Next big decision - Purees vs. Baby Led Weening. If anyone has any advice or best bets about this I'm all ears!

Sleeping: She is sleeping about 7-9hrs a night, in her crib! woo! this has made my life so much easier as i transitioned back to work. she has been napping sporadically tho, not as well as when i was home during the day. she must love to be with her daddy too much! she still loves her morning nap though. After we get up around 6:15am, she nurses and has a bottle {i don't produce enough} she will usually go back to sleep for another 2-3hrs. Then she will most likely take a long 2-3hr afternoon nap too so she's bright-eyed-and-bushy-tailed when i get home. :) all and all she is a great sleeper. we still haven't established any sort of 'bed time routine' but I'm ok with that since what we're doing is working! I'm not gonna try to fix something that isn't broken!

I found her rolling around in her crib one day when she was down for a nap...every time I'd flip her over shed roll back! so we officially have a rolly polly! AND shes sleeping on her tummy!!!! scared the crap out of me the first couple nights but she LOVES it. As soon as i put her down in the crib she either rolls on to her side or all the way over to he tummy and passes out. It's so cute. 

Likes: Eating :), showee time, pippy, talking, giggling {sometimes for no reason at all!}, standing, dolly, bouncing in her jumper, auggie her doggie

Dislikes: there really isn't anything she doesn't like anymore! i can't think of one things right now. weird.

New things and firsts: pulls bottle up to her mouth and pulls it out when it's empty, this funny cough/laugh thing...so cute, really sucking her thumb now {just occasionally tho}, rolling over lots!, tummy sleeping, peek-a-boo!! :D

Best Moment: I was leaving for work one morning and like usual, it takes me forever to say goodbye and peel myself away from her, and I got real close to her and said I love you, she gave me a big smile, grabbed both my cheeks and gave me a slobbery face rub kiss. My heart was SO FULL and I get all teary thinking about it. It was by far one of the best moments yet. It was like she was reassuring me that everything is gonna be ok while I'm away at work. Gosh I just love that little girl. <3

Back to work has been alot easier than i thought {thank gosh}. It helps that I have a great hubs who is willing to stay home with lil miss - makes going to work so much easier and having Fridays off is the best. I'm so grateful for that. Luckily i get three pump breaks that really breaks up my day...my boss said that was 'mommy time' so she didn't expect me to work. So that's when i catch up on the blogs, instagram and facebook - it helps pass the time. I have such a great company - they have two special 'mother's rooms' in my building. It's all set up with two stalls, a sink, pumps, supplies, etc. and it's on my floor! I couldn't be more lucky. I hear of some moms having to pump in closets and bathrooms - that's hard. Life is beautiful. :)

My supply is REALLY low lately so it's been frustrating...i started taking Goat's Rue {used for adoptive moms who want to nurse}, well see how that works - says it takes about two weeks to kick in.