Reagan's Five Month Birthday (and First Christmas!)

Well, hey again!

I sure have missed you guys!

I hope you all had a fabulous Christmas 

with your families 

celebrating the birth of our Savior---

I know I did!

I feel like it's been for-ev-er since I've posted, 

so let's catch up on what's new with

myself and Baby Girl!

Let's see, where to begin...

We managed to survive our first "family virus" 

that made it's way through our home...

Blah.

At first, it was a head cold that started
with a sore throat,

fever, congestion, etc. and lasted

a good two weeks.

My hubby got it first, then two weeks

later I was lucky enough

to experience it. 

(Joy...lol.)

Two weeks after THAT,

Miss Priss caught a little different

strain of it (it only lasted a few days), 

so of course, the hubs and I caught that 

one from her, too.

Just when we thought we were all

in the clear, here comes the flu.

No lie.

So now Reagan has a fever, aches, and is just 

generally whimpy.

Poor kid!

And a month from being able to get the 

flu shot, too! 

Anyway, I'm hoping this is the last

of the sickness for this family for a while!

---

Christmas this year was 

definitely "different" 

(babies have a way of changing things---

but for the better, of course!).

But it was also, hands down,

the best Christmas ever since we 

finally got to enjoy it

with our sweet little blessing!

Reagan got to meet Santa (pics below),

who she wasn't too sure about.

She didn't cry (PTL), but

she sure didn't smile either! lol

Christmas morning,

we "helped" her open her gifts,

which she had little interest in.

She was much more into watching

Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 

and taking a nice long nap, lol.

But she really did an awesome job of 

going with the flow as we went from one 

festivity to another!

As long as she had her bottle and a place 

to take a siesta,

she was good to go! ;)

Now I can't wait to experience Christmas with 

Baby Girl 

as she gets older!

---

My parents, younger brother, sister-in-law,

 and niece all made the trip up 

here to see us over the weekend, 

which was such a treat!

I always love seeing their faces, 

and being able to finally spend some quality time

with my sweet little niece was

just icing on the cake!

---

After my last round of mastitis, 

my husband and I made the decision to

wean Reagan to formula so that 

I wouldn't get that sick again.

Trust me, 

that was one of the toughest decisions 

I've had to make as a

Mommy so far!

Luckily, I had PLENTY of breastmilk 

stored in the freezer for such an occasion,

so we were able to able to transition her

slowly over a 6-week period.

Christmas Day was her last day of 

"Mommy milk",

but she seems to be doing just fine

on the formula!  

PTL the kid just loves food, 

so she made it easy for us! lol

---

Unfortunately, though, we've been battling

with the dreaded "R" word...

Reflux.

Ugh.

We started to notice it more

around her 2-month checkup.

She would almost always spit up after

her bottle;

sometimes it was only 

a little bit, but most of the time

it was like a volcano.

It got progressively worse 

over the next two months, but her 

weight was steadily 

increasing, so we figured it wasn't 

something we needed to rush to the pediatrician 

for.

At her 4-month check up, however, 

I couldn't take it any longer.

We were going through as many as 28

burp cloths in 4 days,

and I felt like I couldn't 

take her anywhere because I wasn't 

sure if she was going to puke all over the place.

Sad, I know! lol

The doc recommended we try a tsp or two of

rice cereal in each bottle to thicken it.

We tried that for about two weeks and it didn't

really seem to help.

To make a long story short, 

we have been through every trick in the book

to help this kid keep her food down.

We've finally ended up with this concoction, which seems

to be helping over the last few days:

-Formula + 2 tsp of rice cereal to each bottle

-Zantac (to reduce the acid in her belly) twice a day

-Reglan (to help her stomach empty better) three times a day

-Burp about every ounce during her feeding

-Up after meals for at least 15 minutes

It seems like a lot of work just to keep

the amount of spit up down, 

but when it's your child throwing up all over 

herself, you, the floor, her toys, 

and your loved ones, 

you'll do just about anything to make it stop! lol

Please pray this continues to help until

Lil Bit grows out of this reflux stage!

---

Now for Miss Thing's monthly "update":

-Temperament-

She has her moments, but she is mostly a happy little camper!

She loves to smile and gives 

us a good belly laugh every now and then

that just melts our hearts!

She loves to do the Hokey Pokey and play

Peekaboo.

She also loves to be put up on her Daddy's shoulders

so she can see everything.  She grabs 

his hair to hold on. 

Cutest. Thing. Ever.

-Weight-

Chunky McChunkster is weighing in 

at a hefty 15 lbs now.

Yikes!

That may sound like a lot, and those cheeks

do have their own zip code, 

but it's really only in the 50th percentile, so

she's perfectly "average" for her age!

She's 24 inches long (as of her last appointment), 

which is also in the 50th percentile.

So Baby Girl is average all around!

-Clothes-

She's what I'd call "in between sizes" 

again.

3-months seems a little tight in some

brands, 

but 6-month is too big.

But I love that we've gotten into 

some of the winter attire (even though we haven't

 really had a true "winter" here yet),

so I can layer stuff and not

be as worried about her overheating.

The only problem is that she takes 

after her Mommy...she hates to

have anything on her feet.

I put the cutest little boots on her and she kicks

them off before we even leave the house! 

Bummer, lol.

-Milestones-

Reagan isn't much for rolling over these days.
She still can go from
tummy to back when she wants to,
but she's usually perfectly content to just
prop up on her wrists and take in
the view from her belly.

I keep trying to work with her on
rolling more often and going
from back to tummy,
but she's just not diggin' it.
Oh well.
I'm sure she'll learn when she's good
and ready! ;)

Something she does enjoy is sitting up, though!
She can balance herself
by leaning forward just a little or putting
her hands on her feet.
I'm so proud of her!
Her GG bought her an adorable pink
stuffed chair with her name on it
for Christmas,
which she likes to prop up in and watch
her toons.
(Crazy kid, lol.)

-Pictures-

She doesn't look so sure about this bearded man...lol.

My lil' cutie patootie.
:)

VERY into her toys.

Reading a story to Sophie the giraffe,
her new BFF.

First outfit of the holiday season!

Happy, Happy, Happy!

My silly monkey in her Christmas PJ's (this is going
to be my yearly Christmas Eve gift to her).
This was before the marathon of gift-opening began!

This is what she gave me when I said, "Say 'Yay, Aunt Jenn!'"
LOL!

This girl loves her rice cereal!
It's finger-lickin' good.

Trying out her new chair!

"Whatchu lookin' at?"

Giggles for Mickey!

"Look, Mom!
I feel better!
No more fever!"

Penny for your thoughts, Baby Girl.
:)

Alrighty,
I think we're all caught up now!

I'll be back next month for another update,
and possibly a little post here and
there (if I can find the time
in between bottles, naps, and chores! lol).

I hope you all have a safe and blessed New Year!
I have a feeling 2014
 is going to
be even better than 2013!
That God of ours is always up to something! ;)

Till we meet again...

Verse/Thought of the Day (or Month, I suppose):

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ,
he is a new creation.
The old has passed away;
behold,
the new has come."

2 Corinthians 5:17

We don't have to wait till the New Year 
rolls around
to make changes in our lives.

God honors "resolutions"
(spiritually speaking)
all year round!

And the greatest resolution we can
make it to invite Jesus into
our hearts and give our lives over to
Him.

When we do,
(just like the above verse says)
the old passes away
and you become a new creation
in Christ!

To learn more about how you
can make this ultimate, 
life changing decision, click here.

Happy New Year, y'all!