Congratulations, it's Reflux!

Well, I broke down and took Taylor to her doctor today to try and get to the bottom of the night crying. Last night's symphony was also accompanied by a chorus of vomiting, so after that I was fairly certain she is suffering from reflux. Our pediatrician agrees that it's pretty likely, so tonight she starts Zantac, and if that doesn't work in a week or so we try something else. He also hinted that it may just be colic since it's occurring mainly at night. I'm praying he's wrong, because at least reflux is treatable - colic, not so much. Anyway, please pray that the Zantac works for her, otherwise they may have to prescribe some Valium for Jody and I!

This may look cruel, but it actually made her feel better for a while. Later in the evening it just caused her to barf all over Jody's arm.......

First Tub Bath, and Sleep Deprivation

This week I took Taylor back to the pediatrician. She is gaining weight steadily, and has already grown a quarter of an inch in length! Her umbilical stump also finally fell off, which meant that I could stop doing the sponge baths and actually give her a proper bath. I just don't feel like a spit bath really does as good of a job as a soaking does. I was pleased to see as I was taking her diaper off before sticking her in the tub that she had already left me a full diaper. I erroneously thought that this would mean a poo-free bath. Apparently warm water is an immediate laxative though, and she promptly pooed again as soon as her bum hit the water. Other than that, she did great, and I really believe she enjoyed her bathtime experience. And of course, once I got her out and in a fresh diaper she made sure to fill it up yet again, sort of negating the whole thorough bum washing that had just ensued. Oh well, at least she was totally clean for a minute or two! Forgive me for not taking any pictures, but since it was our first time with a soapy and slippery baby Jody and I decided that both of us needed to be on full alert.

In other news, Taylor has also decided in the last few days that sleep is only for the daytime. Every night she fights going to bed tooth and nail by crying nonstop for 2-3 hours. This has lead to a VERY tired mommy, and a baby that is lethargic the majority of the day. So, in attempt to restore some order to our lives we started the Baby Wise routine today. In a nutshell, it's just a way to give your infant a little structure during the day in hopes of establishing a good sleep structure at night. So far, it appears that we are right on track but I'm not getting too pumped just yet. I'll wait until we've passed 1 am and she's actually not screaming before I do my victory dance. And since no post is complete without photos (admit it, that's the only reason you really stop by here!), here are some that we took the other day while she was making funny faces and whatnot.

BIG yawn!

And this would be why Jody calls her Monkey.....

When she actually does sleep, she is so sweet!

Date Night!

Tonight Jody and I got to go on our first post-baby date. My friend Jessica came over to watch Taylor, and we ran out the door to Sushi Zushi. Given the fact that I hadn't eaten sushi in almost a year and that I was craving it like mad the ENTIRE time I was pregnant, this was quite a treat for me (I even splurged on some wine and saki!). I did wind up eating to a point of near illness (why, yes, I'll have the left side of the menu please!), and I'm pretty sure my cravings have been satisfied for a good amount of time now. Plus, it was nice to be able to spend some quality time with my husband without an angry screaming midget in the background!

I have to admit, our first two weeks as a family have been an adventure. Between getting to know each other, poopy diapers (And one SEVERE blowout, if you're changing this kid, you'd better be fast! She has one hell of a range!), and trying to get a sleep schedule down, Jody and I have been kept on our toes. So far, the biggest obstacle is still getting Taylor to sleep at night. She does great until 3:00 a.m. and then for some reason she decides it's party time. Most nights she only stays awake and fussy for about an hour, but then there are the nights like last night where she adamantly refuses to go back to sleep until 6:00 or 7:00. I have to admit, these are the nights I usually cave (exhaustion is a powerful weapon for a baby......) and just stick her in bed with me just to get a little peace. Yes, I realize that I am fostering a TERRIBLE habit that I swore I would never do, but in my defense she only sleeps with us on the nights that she will not stop crying no matter what I try. It is always a last resort, and most other nights she does great in her cradle.

Other than the sleep thing, it's been pretty easy going around here. Jody went back to work on Monday, which was hard because it seemed like his time at home with us was so short. Yesterday I also took Taylor to have her first photos made, they will be in a week from Monday, so be on the lookout for them in the mail! I was so proud of her, she did a great job (slept the whole time, it seems like that's ALL she really does - except at night that is.....) and they even asked if they could use some of her shots to hang around the studio! I will try to keep everyone posted as best as I can, but please bear with me, I've learned it's difficult to try to hold a baby and type at the same time!

Sacked out, as usual.

Zonked out baby = failed eating attempt

Jody seems to be the only person that she'll stay awake for. Too bad he can't breast feed her!

Already starting to hold her head up fairly well.

HERE SHE IS!!!!!!!

At 7:05 pm on July 7, 2009, Ms. Taylor Nicole Robinson finally made her world premiere! She weighed in at 7 lb. 10 oz. and was 20.25" long. Needless to say, Jody and I could not be more proud of our beautiful little girl. I must add, I lucked out, and didn't really have a bad labor experience (except for the awful nurse from last week's castor oil adventure making an appearance, but we survived her yet again). And thank god for epidurals! Seriously, my hat goes off to any woman who can survive contractions without pharmaceutical intervention! I didn't make it for more than an hour once the first few "real" ones hit. But once we got to go-time, it went very quickly (I only had to push for 30 min, again, a good thing since I'm such a weenie). I will try and get some pictures posted in the coming days, but for now I've turned my phone off and am just taking time to get to know our daughter. So, please forgive me if I'm not returning calls/texts in a timely fashion, I promise, I will catch back up! Thank you again to everyone for all your thoughts and prayers.

Yep, I think Jody was in love immediately.

Checking out her hair, the color has been the topic of many a debate for months now.

Yeah, he doesn't stand a chance.

Finally out of the ugly hospital clothes (except for the hat, I kinda liked it after they added the bow).

39 Weeks, The Final Countdown!!!!

Well, we have survived another week of pregnancy, and this week at the doctor we got some good news. We're FINALLY inducing labor this Sunday at 10:00. Jody and I couldn't be more excited, and we are just trying to take these last couple of days as a child free couple to relax and really enjoy the quiet. Of course, it wouldn't surprise me one bit if my water didn't break tomorrow (Murphy tends to follow us around....). In the meantime, happy 4th of July to everyone, and next post will be of our beautiful new daughter!

*that's right, we have reached maximum capacity

False Alarm

Yesterday Jody and I made our first "trial run" to the hospital. I have to give a little back story to explain the WHOLE fiasco. As many of you know I've tried all kinds of home remedies to get this baby out sooner - I've walked, swam, eaten greasy/spicy food, tried accupressure, pumping my breasts - the whole gamut. That is, except for cator oil. I swore I would never in my life try and choke that nasty stuff down, until this past weekend. I got desperate. Plus, my friend Hayli has three beautiful boys that were all delivered after she took that nasty stuff, so I figured it was worth a go. So, on her suggestion I mixed some into a couple of scrambled eggs yesterday morning before I went to work. During any down time I had, I also walked the halls to get things moving along (by god, i didn't choke down greasy eggs just to sit around! This baby was coming out by god!). Sure enough, around 8:30 (I went in at 5:00), I started having consistent, mild contractions that were about 5 minutes apart. WOOHOO!!!! So I was so happy I walked some more. By 11:30, they were 1-3 minutes apart. Now mind you, they were stronger than Braxton Hicks contractions, but they weren't unbearable like the stuff you see on TV. I wasn't sure if I should call my doctor or not, and finally my supervisor talked me into calling at around noon, I think she was afraid I was going to go into labor right there in the department. So, I called, explained everything to the nurse on call, and at her urging we went up to the hospital. Let the games begin.

Now, Jody and I both were pretty sure this wasn't it for us. Both of us were fairly sure I was going to get sent right back home, but also I didn't want to be one of those ignorant women who went into labor unknowingly and gave birth in the toilet. So we get to the hospital, and they take me back to triage (which, I've decided, is where they take you if they think you're faking it. This was where we spent 8 hours after my car wreck in April) where I get strapped to a monitor and get asked a whole bunch of ridiculous questions. And a funny side bar about San Antonio, they will make your husband wait outside while they interview you just to be sure you're not there as a result of being beaten. I guess I've just been so sheltered my whole life that is just appalling to me that wife beating is apparently such a problem here. Anyway, so after all that the nurse finally checks my cervix. I'm holding my breath, here's the moment of truth, and........... NOTHING. The nurse just looked at me and goes, "Well, you're not in labor, otherwise you'd be dilated." AAAAAAARRRRRGH!!!!!!!!!! I swear I feel like Charlie Brown trying to kick that damn football. And then to top it off, the nurse had the audacity to tell me, "Sweetie, even if you were in labor, this is the part you do at home. You don't come to the hospital for this part." Really?!?!? The only reason I was there was because I was told to go in!

Since I wasn't in labor, they held me hostage in the crappy triage area for a couple of hours while they continued to monitor me, check some labs, and keep an eye on my blood pressure (it was a bit elevated, imagine that). Everything came back ok, and they finally released me on bed rest until I go back to see the doctor on Wednesday. Fortunately, I don't have to work between now and then, so I guess it'll just be me, the cats, and my sofa for the next few days. As far as trying to induce labor on my own, I am officially giving up. I can safely say that we tried EVERYTHING and nothing really worked. And to be quite honest, at this point I don't really think I'm going to go into labor on my own. I think I'm going to have to be induced by the doctor in order to get any sort of progress. But thanks to everyone for keeping your fingers crossed on our behalf yesterday! Sorry for such a letdown, hopefully next time we'll have better luck!