On the move!

Just in time for Allison's 9 month birthday, she's finally making some forward progress.  It's really amazing how quickly she went from rocking on her hands and knees to being able to tackle long distances!  She's still moving kinda slow (which is fine by me), but is loving her new ability to explore her surroundings at her own pace.  I do have a video of her efforts but it's on the old camera, so you'll have to wait until I get the motivation to upload it to the pc...

But here is her 9 month pic next to her china doll.  It's hard to believe that she was once the same size as it!  She's also acquired another skill in the last couple days--biting.  She is finally cutting her first tooth.  She's been handling it pretty well, however, there have been a few whiny nights this week. 

Allison's stats:

17lbs 1oz (25th percentile)

27.5in (50th percentile)

Tall and skinny!  Maybe she'll be a supermodel and we will never have to worry about money again...  Either way, we are very blessed to have this amazing little girl in our lives!

Race Day

4:15am

Alarm goes off.  Why did we need to get down to the start line so early?  Fortunately, I had the foresight to go to bed early the night before.  I guess it wasn't as much foresight as I was about to collapse from a long day of flying, walking, and pre-race events.

4:45am

Meet Team Challenge in the lobby for team picture.  It's funny to see people just heading up to their rooms as we are heading out.  Definitely not looking forward to the 1/2 mile walk to Mandalay Bay in 33 degree weather.  We attempt to walk to the start line together but get separated when a few of us get the fantastic idea to travel through the casinos.  It has become clear why we left so early.  26,000+ people all walking towards the same place. 

5:15am

Gather courage to brave the cold and leave Mandalay Bay to find our corral.  We walk outside to find ourselves by corral 7.  We are in corral 26.  Stuck in the worst pedestrian traffic jam known to man.  Finally decide that corral 19 is close enough. 

6:15am

Gun fires!  (Fireworks actually.)  And we stand there.  Then we walk 10 steps.  And we wait.  10 more steps.  See where this is going? 

6:50am

Finally reach the start line.  Amidst a sea of corral 19 runners, we start to jog to avoid being run over.  Still getting passed by everyone.  Figure we might as well just start walking.

Mile 1

Music is pumping.  The crowd is contaigous.  Keeping a good speed.  Turn the corner on Las Vegas Blvd.  We can see the strip ahead!

Mile 2

Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas!  We cross our starting point on the eastbound lanes and see people running on the westbound side.  Seriously?  People are done?  This must be a joke...  But no, the winner has just crossed the finish line in 1 hour 5 minutes.

Mile 3

My hands are numb.  Snot is frozen to my face.  But I push on.  I still have 10 miles to go.  We're finally not getting constantly passed by runners. However, we've been passed by a few walkers. Better pick up the pace...

Mile 4

I knew I shouldn't have drank that much water. Port-o-potty lines are long. My legs are sore. Much better with an empty bladder and stretched limbs.

Mile 5

I can see the Stratosphere!  The turn-around must be close!  Good thing because our pace is beginning to slow.  We were just passed by a little old lady in a blue nylon jogging suit.

Mile 6

Wait...  We aren't turning around...  And our cheerleading crowd is thinning...  Are we going the right way?  They wouldn't really set the track next to strip clubs and sex shops...  would they?

Mile 7

Thanks, Dude!  Our one lonely cheerleader is giving us hope that the turn around is only a 1/4 mile away!

Mile 8

No December marathon would be complete without strolling around downtown Las Vegas looking at Christmas decorations, right?  Hey, Mr. Police Officer, wanna give me a lift back to civilization?

Mile 9

Finally.  Back on the strip.  I feel a little energy flowing back into my frozen hands with the beat of the music.  More angels in orange cheering us forward.  What a wonderful sight!

Mile 10

Secretly I think of stopping.  But just then our coach shows up pushing us on.  Her tips help with some of the pain in my legs and her motivation renews my commitment.

Mile 11

It's really a shame that the fountains don't start until 11am.  A distraction would be nice.  The street has been scarred with millions of GU packets.  My shoes stick to the pavement.

Mile 12

Our hotel is right there...  I dream of a comfy bed and room service.  But the finish line is just up ahead...  Or so they say.

Mile 13

How cruel!  They moved the finish line off the road into the parking lot.  As we turn the corner, we find another turn, and then finally, like a beacon of hope, the finish line.  We stop to take pictures of our accomplishment.  A bunch of people pass us.  Then we step over the white line.  4 hours 14 seconds.  We should've waited to take pictures after.  Oh well.  It's over.  We made it.  Now to collapse.

I lied.

I made an emphatic promise that I would blog more and I dropped the ball.  Since I've been working full time, I've managed to accomplish very little in my personal life...  My house is a wreck, the finances have been neglected, and all my pictures are in camera purgatory.  The latter is probably the source of my poor blogging habits.  And if I think about it, we aren't much better off financially considering the cost of gas and vending machines...  Hmmm.  So why don't I hate my job??  Why am I applying for a permanent position here??  First of all, it's nice to get out of the house.  While I miss my days with Allison terribly, I think it has been very beneficial to have a part of my life that is just mine...  with adults.  And even if it is only temporary, I have stopped singing the Wheels on the Bus 14 hours a day.  It's also been a great opportunity for Matt to spend more time with Allison.  I think we both have a greater appreciation for each other and our responsibilities.  And I'm sure that the extra money will eventually makes its presence known.  So, I'm leaving the future of my career with AEIS up to fate, trusting that everything will work out as it's meant to be.  In the meantime, I won't make any additional promises, however, I will at least attempt to save my pictures from an empty life on my camera's memory card and post some for your viewing pleasure.  (Allison looked so cute on Thanksgiving and it would be waste not to share them!)

Bad blogger! Bad, bad blogger!

Ahhh.... I remember the days before Facebook when I used to check the blogs everyday... Now I'm lucky if I remember to check them every other week! But I'm making a promise that I will be better about updating, especially since I have quite a bit of free time at my temp job. After a month of being employed at AEIS (American Express Incentive Services) I feel comfortable taking orders, but am still learning all the specifics on routing different client inquiries. Being a temp, training is based on a need to know basis so I get quite frustrated when I encounter a question I can't answer. I am used to assisting customers with all their inquiries, so this is very different for me to be so limited in my capabilities. Not to say that I don't like it here, because I do. But I'm hesitant to put down any roots since I will only be here for another 7ish weeks. It does make me miss my old job. But I know that my goal is to ultimately stay home with Allison, so that keeps me looking forward!

Allison is doing great... She is sitting up completely unassisted with only the occaisional fall and is trying to crawl. Just in the last few days she has gotten on her knees and began to rock. I'd be willing to bet that she is crawling by 8 months! Sometimes I think she struggles with me leaving her, especially at the beginning of the week, but I'm very glad that Grandma can make the drive to our house so that she can maintain some kind of stability. And I know that the extra daddy-daughter time has been good for both her and Matt.

Other than that, we've been staying busy the last month with Katie and Ian's wedding festivities, our Halloween party, and Team Challenge events. Training was tough last month since the last thing I wanted to do on my time off was leave Allison to go walk, but November is a little quieter, so it shouldn't be so hard. And if the beautiful weather continues, she can keep me company! We were able to complete 6 miles on Sunday and my speed was better than what I need to finish the 13.1 miles in Vegas within 4 hours. The other exciting news is that I have almost hit my $2600 fundraising goal!!! I'd like to reach the $3600 mark, so please consider contributing. Even $5 or $10 would be greatly appreciated!

I think that's all for now, but I'll try to post some pics of Allison when I get home, but since most of you are on FB, you can also see them there...

Ba

Allie's first word?? She said it very clearly this morning while eating her oatmeal, so I'm wondering if she was trying to tell me she was ready for her ba-ba (bottle)?? Matt doesn't think it counts but I bet if it had been Da, he would've been all over it!!

I ♥ Wags

After finding out that the main source of my Walgreens frustration was the store I was shopping at, I decided to give Wags another chance. Well, this week was some fantastic deals! I got $38.39 worth of merchandise for $4.36 plus $7.50 in RR!!

Aussie shampoo and conditioner
$2.99/ea
-$2/2 mfg coupon
-$2 RR

Crest toothpaste x2
2/$4
-$.50/1 mfg coupon x2
-$2 RR

Oral B toothbrushes x2
2/$4
-B1G1 mfg coupon
-$2 RR (I just realized that I should've purchased this separately to get this RR-whoops)

Skippy PB x2
$1.59
-$.40/1 mfg coupon x2

Electrosol gel packs
$3.99
-$.50/1
-$1 RR

Thermocare Heat Wrap
$2.49
-$2.50 RR

Reese's Pumpkins x2
2/$1 Wags coupon
-$.55 mfg coupon

Wonka Chewy Nerds
$.49 Wags coupon (filler item)

Then I had $14 in RR from previous week's purchases!

Preemie? Not me!

Allison had her 6 month appointment on Thursday and she weighed in at 14lbs 10oz!! She is in the 25th percentile for weight and the 50th for length at 25"!! It's so crazy because I remember when she was just 5 lbs at her first doctors appointment. I'm so proud of my growing girl! Developmentally, she is hanging in with her peers and is almost able to sit up unassisted. I'm sure she'll have it down in another week. We also started solid food yesterday, so I threw some green beans in the blender and voila! Baby food! I don't think she really liked it because she kept "kack-ing" but maybe we'll have better luck with something a little sweeter.

In other news, we had some new additions to our house with a new dining table and matching chairs... It was such a deal at $40 (delivered same day) that I couldn't pass it up. It needs a little work, but mostly just aesthetics. I've been busier than ever trying to get caught up on housework, marathon fundraising/training, and reluctantly job searching. I do currently have a couple leads- one of which is a temp job, so we'll see how things play out. While we were able to lower our monthly bills by refinancing the Mazda and mortgage, I will still need to work at least part-time once unemployment runs out. It's certainly going to be tough leaving Allison...

Busy, busy, busy!!!

I've been managing to keep up on Facebook most days, but we've been running around like maniacs the last month! At the end of August, we joined the CCFA's Team Challenge to run a 1/2 marathon to raise funds for patient services and research. I was a little nervous about committing to such a large obligation, but I am so excited! It's been tough to participate in all the events and activities hosted by the CCFA and still try to keep Allison on schedule, but we're gaining momentum with training and fundraising on our own! It's definitely keeping me busy in between all the other appointments, errands, housework, projects and activities...

We've also traveled to Sedalia a couple times in the last month to visit with friends that recently moved back to Missouri from Virginia. Being 8 months pregnant hasn't slowed Kim down much, but we've been trying to help where we can and force them to take some breaks in between projects. In between them and AnneMarie and Morgan's new home renovations, we've been inspired to do some work on our own place. We replaced the pedestal sink in the upstairs bath with a more functional cabinet, fixed some random things around the house, and we are gearing up to replace some lighting and finish painting some odds and ends that we've been putting off for awhile.

Allison has her 6 month appointment on Thursday, so I promise I will blog again soon!

Allison's on the move!

Summer fun

In between work (for Matt), job hunting (for me), and household chores we have been able to have a lot of fun this summer.

Allie playing in the water for the first time at Tower Grove Park. We also went swimming in the "big pool" later that same day, but didn't get any pics... :(Swinging in Uncle Morgan's hammock... Ain't this the life??Playing in the fountain at the City Garden downtown.
Goofing around at the Jennings BBQ.

Watch her grow!

I know I'm way behind in blogging, so here is what Allie's been up to this summer...

3 months

4 months

5 months

At her 4 month doctor's appointment, she weighed a whopping 11lbs 7oz and was 23" long. We need to go shopping since she hardly fits in any of her sleepers anymore! She also started rolling over at just under 5 months old, but she's still figuring out the coordination needed to do it again. And then yesterday, we started cereal. She didn't really know what to think of it and didn't like the lack of immediate gratification received with drinking her bottle, but did better with it today.

Back to Blogging?

You are all going to laugh at me, but of all the things that have happened in the last month and a half, my first blog is going to be about an awesome grocery deal!!

In the newspaper coupons this week there was a kelloggs insert with pages of great coupons plus a rebate for $10 on the purchase of 10 items (as well as a coupon code good for $70 off Dell). Ok, good deal I thought... Then I saw the Schnucks ad had a deal for many of the same items- purchase 10 items get a catalina coupon for $5. So here's the math:

3 boxes Kelloggs cereal @ $2
2 boxes Kelloggs cereal @ $2.50
2 boxes Rice Krispie Treats @ $2
2 pkgs Keebler cookies @ $2
1 box Whole Wheat Wheat Thins @2.52
= $21.52
- $1/2 for 4 cereals, rice krispie treats, and cookies
- $.75/1 Wheat Thins
= $16.77
- $5 catalina coupon
- $10 mail in rebate
= $1.77!!!!

Plus there was a display near the front of the store with additional coupons for basics such as fruit, milk, and bread with the purchase of these same Kelloggs, Keebler, and Sunshine items. So, I also got free bread!!

Ok, now that I've opened Pandora's Box, I guess I've got a lot of posting to do. So check back soon for pics of our summer vacations and Allison just being adorable...

Waiting

It's been awhile since my last update, so I thought I'd check in.... I'm still at MOBAP. After two weeks, I'm done with this place and ready to be home with my family. The good news is that I should be getting my walking papers soon. Most of my meds have been transitioned from IV to oral and I should be taken off the IV nutrition today, hopefully. The way I look at it, I can dispense pills at home, so why shouldn't they let me go? They keep telling me that I need to get up and walk around more, so being at home would be a beneficial thing for my recovery, right? I'm practicing my arguments for when a doctor finally visits. Which is always a crap shoot on the weekend. Well, I wish I had something else to blog about, but that's it for now... Thanks for all the support and I hope to see you all soon!

What a mess!

I just met with my surgeon and he informed me that my guts were a big mess... Apparently, I had an absyss in my small bowel as well as a fistula connecting my small bowel to the colon. So he removed about 12" of small bowel and 3" of colon total. With this information, I know that there wasn't enough medication in the world to make me better. The absyss would have needed surgical intervention regardless.

Last night was really rough with the pain as well as the incoherance from the anethesia, but once my PCA (pain pump) caught up with me, I've been feeling moderately better. It's been difficult to sleep since I can't really move around, but that should be improving throughout the day. They already want me to get out of bed today and I know that it gets a little easier each time. Still no predictions on when I will be released, but hopefully I will be able to progress my diet tomorrow.

Thank you everyone for all the thoughts and prayers. I am really lucky to have so much support among family and friends.

Love,
Jen

New project

While I've been couped up in this hospital bed, I have had lots of free time to plan various projects and activities for when I get released, but that wasn't giving me much immediate gratification. So, I decided to pursue an idea I've had for some time... Another blog focused on household tips and activities designed to enhance our daily lives. I know that's pretty broad, but I'm still exploring the direction it will take (especially once I return to other life obligations). I would love for you guys to check it out and feel free to offer any suggestions that you would like to see appear on the site in the future!

http://the-frugal-family.blogspot.com/

(FYI- I did change the URL on the new blog which you can locate through the above link or on my side bar... "The finer things in life"

'Roid Rage

As I'm sitting here in my hospital bed reeling from the exorbitant amount of steroids coursing through my body, I figured perhaps it would be cathartic to get some of my swirling thoughts down on "paper." For those of you unfamiliar with cortosteroid therapy, it's very similar to what I believe menopause would be like... Aside from the physical symptoms of hot flashes, night sweats, and bloating, there are also lots of mental and emotional side effects to contend with. Anxiety, aggression, and depression are the most common, however, right now I'm really struggling to calm my mind. I've tried distraction with various forms of media, sleep, meditation, and even pain killers to shut off the overwhelming thoughts, but nothing is working. The interesting aspect is that it is almost a state of mania... I keep thinking about the wonderful impact that this surgery will have on my quality of life and can't stop myself from making ambitious plans for post-op. I just can't help myself from continually sitting up to jot down ideas of projects that I hope to accomplish. I'm wondering if it manifests from my concern about being the best mother and wife possible. Most of my ideas center around providing for Allison through craft projects, games, and other household tasks. I've always recognized my tendency to over commit to lofty ideas, but with my unpredictable health, it's not easy to follow through. And as I step back and look at my life, I want more than that for Allie. I'm sure much of this isn't unfamiliar for new moms, and I know how lucky I am to have such wonderful role models in my friends and family. So, thank you for taking time to read my out of the ordinary post, and thank you all for the abundance of support you have provided me and my family.

Love,
Jen

I think I can, I think I can...

Muster up the energy for a blog, that is... I wanted to update in order, but I do have a bit of an important announcement to make. After a lot of fighting for the last 5 weeks, my body finally threw in the towel and I knew that it was time to go back to the ER for some more serious medical attention. So, on Saturday, Matt and I headed to MOBAP. Due to all the red tape and insurance bull, I had to go through the entire process in the ER to get admitted into the hospital for IV meds and observation. All of this took about 6 hours before I was even able to see the ER doctor. Needless to say, I was not doing well by the time the wee hours had approached. But finally after much crying and hysteria, they finally understood that I needed some serious help. I was brought up to my room at 4am and began IV steroids and antibiotics as I had done the previous two visits. Only with the baby living in the real world, they didn't hold anything back. In order to get things cleared up (I practically had a full on bowel obstruction Saturday) I am on very high doses of steroids (yeah, 'roid rage) and multiple antibiotics to calm the inflammation. And after much consultation with various physicians, Matt and I came to the difficult decision that the best treatment for me is to have another bowel resection and try to start another treatment regiment with a clean gut. The hope is to have the surgery done laproscopically so that my healing time is minimized. In conjunction with the meds and bowel rest, I should be in a pretty good place for the surgery on Tuesday. I am unfortunately very hungry (intravenous nutrition isn't very gratifying), but feeling about how I did when I was home so it's managable.

I had really forgotten how it felt to be healthy, so I am looking forward to post op and being able to enjoy life pain free. But it's not just for me... I am really looking forward to being the mom that Allison deserves. She's already developing so fast and I want to be able to keep up with her and provide her with every opportunity to explore life to the fullest. It is truly amazing how much a baby can change your... well, everything! So, here's to hoping that I will have made a full recovery by June 28th and you'll see me in the mountains!

Urgh

I know that I've been a terrible blogger lately (among other things) so here's a quick update on the last week. Let's see... I'll start with last Tuesday when Allie and I went to the Botannical Gardens with Aunt Re for the first time. I forgot the camera, so unfortunately I didn't get any pictures of the blooming irises or roses. I guess that's an excuse to go back! It's actually pretty affordable, too. Only $4 per ticket, but I've batted around the idea of getting a membership for $65. It includes two adult admissions per visit, so it would pay for itself in 9 visits. We'll see... Afterwards, we did a little shopping and ended up in Brentwood. Since we were right there, I decided to pop into my old place of employment, Archetypes. I hadn't been to their new location and was quite surprised to see the owner working! At first he didn't recognize me after 4 years, but after jogging his memory a bit, we chatted for a few minutes. It was a little awkward, but I guess that was to be expected. I had a lot of good times while working there with Sarah, but that was a lifetime ago!

I have to say I honestly cannot remember what we did on Wednesday, but on Thursday Matt had the day off so we finished the veggie garden. We bought seedlings at the Sappington Farmer's Market and were able to pick up a larger variety of plants than last year. If everything turns out, we'll have two varieties of tomatoes, red and green bell peppers, jalapeno peppers, yellow and zucchini squash, bush beans, and cantelope (I think our lettuce is already scorched from the heat).

Then on Friday, my mom came over and we took Allison to our favorite Greek restaurant for lunch. Afterwards, she came back to the house and we played with the baby and discussed plans for my cousin's baby shower in a couple weeks. I'm very excited to have my family over to see our home (many for the first time) and also for everyone to meet Allison! I have ambitious ideas of projects I want to complete before then, but am having a very difficult time getting motivated. So if anyone wants to get together and go fabric shopping or have a sewing play date, I'm all for it!!

Saturday we had plans to go to the Greek festival in Des Peres with Anne Marie, Morgan, and Julie, but it turned into a not so good day. I've been having more and more problems with the Crohn's lately and Saturday I had to make the difficult decision to give up breastfeeding and switch to stronger meds. I know that I'm no good to her sick, but it was still really hard to finally throw in the towel. I know that I did the best I could and the breast milk she received for the first 9 weeks was certainly beneficial even if it did come in the form of a bottle. So, I've been weaning my pumping for the last few days and my milk seems to be stopping pretty quickly. (Granted my production wasn't great to start with...) But I do have to say that I'm much more content feeding her without the stress of trying to get her to latch or the constant thought of needing to pump again.

This blog turned into a longer entry than I anticipated, so I'll end with Memorial Day! Lynn and Mike had invited a few people over for a BBQ, so Allison and I headed over to see everyone while Matt was still at work. He did join us after he got off and we ended up staying til 10pm! I was exhausted by the long day, (I had attempted to go the Gypsy Caravan that morning but cancelled due to the rain and ended up damaging two tires on my way home... whoops.) but was very excited to see everyone. Alright, I'm stopping now.

2 months!

I really can't believe it's only been 2 months, but our little baby is growing big! We went to the doctor on Monday for a check up and shots (yuk), but Allison was a champ despite already having a rough day throwing up a couple bottles. I figured she had put on at least 1 1/2lbs in the previous 3 weeks, but I was a little off. She is up to 7lbs 14oz, which is the 3rd percentile for her cronilogical age and the 30th for her adjusted gestational age. The doctor is very pleased with her development and said that she is following the growth curve very well. She has developed a flat spot on the right side of her head, so I'm trying to position her more on the left, but it's more something that she'll just grow out of.

Developmentally, she has started giving me what I think are "real" smiles although they are still hard to distinguish from gas smiles. Her visual skills are also improving as she tries to find us when she hears our voices and is also able to focus a little better. Her head control is getting really good as she can hold it up 45 degrees during tummy time and support it briefly when we are holding her on our shoulder. And I know this is a little silly, but I think it's neat that she's trying to roll over... I know that's months away, but she tries so hard to kick that little leg over! I know this is all normal for most babies, but it's really reassuring that her prematurity isn't holding her back at this point. Yeah, Allie!!


We are also still trying to breastfeed despite my frequent discouragement. On Mother's Day, Allison latched on really well, however, it was incredibly uncomfortable for me. We attended a La Leche League meeting on Wednesday and the lactation consultant was very helpful. Since then, Allison has successfully nursed about 1/3 of her feedings. It's still rather tough on me, but I don't think I'm ready to quit yet.

Monkeying Around

Wow, am I behind in blogging... So, I'll start on a last Friday with our first trip to the Zoo! I met Joe and Jenn with the kids and we had a great time seeing all the animals, riding the train, and spinning around on the carousel! Of course, Allie slept through most of it, but she definitely gets a lot of benefit from being out and about. She sleeps much better at night after a busy day and it helps her keep her days and nights straight. The exercise is good for me too. Just in the last week I went from not being able to pull up my pre-preggers khakis past my thighs, to fitting them up to my waist. (not buttoned, mind you, but still progress!)















Then on Saturday, we put on our best dresses and attended the wedding of Matt's old LSI boss, Justin to his lady, Cynthia. It was a beautiful ceremony at the Japanese Garden at the Botannical Gardens and the reception was out at the Links at Dardienne in St. Charles. We had a great time showing Allie off at the wedding and then we dropped her off at Grandma and Grandpa's for an adult's night out. It was a great reception and it was wonderful to catch up with people that Matt hadn't seen since last July.
Since some of the people in attendance were in town from KC, we made plans with one of Matt's old co-workers to head to the zoo (again). We got a lot of pleasure out of our family outing, eventhough Allison slept through the entire excursion again! We made a point to visit the giraffes and take our picture since Allison was in the giraffe pod at the NICU. I enjoyed being able to see the habitats that I missed on Friday since the boys began to melt halfway through. Afterwards, we met up with AnneMarie and Morgan for dinner at my favorite Mexican restaurant, Pueblo Solis. It was a very busy weekend, but we had a great time!

Mother's Day

After much debate, Matt and I decided that we were going to spend my first mother's day at home. (Much of that was due to my mom being sick and Barb entertaining the Justingers that were still in town.) Originally, I had planned on staying in bed most of the day with Allison, however, we got a bit of an ambitious streak and decided to work in the yard. I mowed the lawn while Matt cleared and tilled the garden, then we headed up to Lowe's to buy the plants. Well, it turns out they didn't have any veggie seedlings, so we purchased new plants for the front yard to replace those demolished by the back hoe last October. I did get a couple of good deals on the $0.25 cart... two honeysuckle bushes and a rhubarb plant for less than a $1! Hopefully they aren't duds, but I figured if they don't make it, it's not like we're out a lot of moolah. We've still got mulching to do out front and the vegetable garden to plant, but we made a good start!

Visitors

After a few days off, we jumped right back into our busy schedule with lots of visitors this past weekend! After lunch with Susan, Sean, Tracy, and Shelby on Thursday, Allie and I rushed home to tidy up for Joe and Jenn to come over with the kids. Joe hadn't seen Allison since the hospital and was finally able to hold her for the first time. I had to laugh because he couldn't believe how tiny she was compared to big 'old Emily! They were kind enough to bring dinner out, then afterwards we played in the backyard with the kids.









On Friday, we entertained Matt's Wisconsin family. Grandma Justinger was so excited to meet Allie and was reluctant to pass her off to Barb's sisters Fran and Chris! However, the baby made the rounds and slept most of the time! (Funny, since she doesn't like to sleep when it's just the two of us at home!) It was great to spend some time getting to know Matt's family a little better since we don't get the opportunity to see them much.Saturday was also a very busy day beginning bright and early with Allison's first trip to the farmer's market in Tower Grove Park. This is a bit of a tradition for Julie and I and I was very excited to introduce Allison to the routine, not to mention to do something that I had done "pre-baby." Afterwards we broke tradition a bit and had lunch at Schlafly Bottleworks. Unfortunately I had to rush home, however, I was greeted by an excited group ready to go see the Star Trek movie. I had offered to stay behind and watch Allison and Shelby. The kiddos napped for most of the time, but we did get in a little play time. Without any other plans for the evening, people stuck around for a bit to hang out in the city.After such a busy few days, I was definitely looking forward to a lazy Sunday! (*again, I have some pics, but I'm lazy and don't want to go upstairs to get the camera... check back soon!)

So much to blog, so little time...

I know I haven't been the best at updating lately, so here's a little catch up from the past week! Our busy week started on Monday with a trip out to St. Charles to see Matt's Grandma Binning. Steve and Barb had picked her up on their way home from West Bend to visit for the week. She was extremely excited to meet Allison and had come bearing lots of gifts for her as well. One of my favorites is a Porcelain doll that was Matt's great grandmother's. She also got lots of clothes and baby necessities from his Aunt Karen, Aunt Fran, and a baby blanket that was handmade by Grandma Justinger.

Great great grandma Eleanor's doll is as big as Allison!

4 generations of Binnings

Tuesday was spent running around doing errands and then Lynn, Mike, Katie, and Ian brought over dinner. It was nice to relax and catch up, since it feels like we haven't hardly seen anyone since Allie was born. (Although I know that's far from true!) I see a need for a game night in the near future!!

Then Wednesday brought more visitors as Matt's family came out to visit with Grandma. We picked up take out from Pueblo Solis (yummy!) and played with the baby for a bit before getting a game of Mario Cart going!

Thursday was the busiest day of the week by far because both Allison and I had appointments at St. John's. She had a hip ultrasound in the morning (standard for breech babies) and I had my post-partum check up in the afternoon. In between appointments, we went up to Kangaroo Kids for a little lactation assistance (unfortunately, Allie wouldn't really wake up to participate) and then out to my sister-in-law's house to visit with my mom and the kids while she babysat. By the time we got home, we were pooped. It's funny how worn out Allie gets from just being out. I guess it's hard to sleep well when you are being pulled in and out of the car repeatedly.

Allie and big cuz, Emily

Friday AnneMarie came over to help with the baby and to make dinner for us. Then dinner turned into dinner and lunch, then dinner, lunch, and dessert! We are grateful for a fridge and freezer stocked with yummy food! While AnneMarie was cooking up a storm, Matt took Allison up to the Art Museum to visit with Grandma Binning one more time before she returned home. (FYI- exhibits are free on Fridays) It was strange to be at home without the baby for the first time. I didn't know what to do with myself, so I think I spent most of the time wandering around aimlessly.

Then to wrap up the week, we went back out to Joe and Jenn's house on Saturday to "help" with their garage sale, but we didn't end up arriving until after noon when she was about to shut down. Regardless, we stayed and played with the kids for awhile before getting a text from Tracy regarding a BBQ that night. We felt up to it, so headed back to the house to regroup and head out to Wentzville. We had a great time and it was nice to get back into our old social routine a bit, however, Allison was exhausted and was very lethargic on Sunday. I think we just pushed it a bit too far. So hopefully after a couple days rest, she'll be raring to go for another busy few days!

All the cousins!

Unbelievable

Allison had her final home health nurse visit yesterday and her current weight is 6lbs!! That's a 30% increase from her birth weight. We are almost out of preemie diapers as well. I can't believe how big she is getting... Rather, how small she was. I was looking at some of the pics from the hospital today and she was so tiny her binky took up her entire face and now it fits her almost perfectly. It's amazing that's she's only been home with us for not quite a month because I feel like she's been with us forever.

Story Time with Aunt Re

Mmmm... TastyDaaaad, I wanna hold it!

Procrastination

Honestly, there isn't much going on in the Binning house... Matt is at the hockey game with Dan and his mom, so I'm left to my own devices with Allison. I should be pumping, but I'm procrastinating... I'm not very good at doing things a couple times a day, let alone 8-12 times. But since she still won't latch, this is what needs to be done to keep up my meager milk supply. I figured that I spend about 8 hours a day between bottle feeding, pumping, and attempting to nurse. It doesn't leave much time or energy for anything else. The hardest part is not being able to keep up with my other household tasks, but I know it's worth it for her to be getting at least some of my milk with her formula. The whole thing is just so frustrating... Ok, now I've guilted myself into doing it... Sorry to bore you guys with my new mom rants.

So Big!

Allison is definitely growing like a weed!! In the last week, she has grown out of two sleepers so I knew she was getting bigger but had no idea how much. When we went to the doctor yesterday she had gained 11oz in one week! That's almost double the expected 1oz per day growth!! She has also spent the last few nights in her "big girl bed." Not that sleep is something that comes easily around a newborn, but her constant preemie grunts were keeping us from catching any shut eye. She has done pretty well (some of which I can attribute to the vibrating bouncer I put on the other end of the crib!) and it allows me to actually sleep in bed rather than the recliner.

Happy Belated Easter

Well, as you may have noticed, blogging hasn't made it to the top of my To Do list, so here's a little catch up. Matt and I enjoyed an adults night out on Saturday with Julie at the Adult Easter Egg Hunt at Queeny Park. We found our allotted 10 "regular" eggs right away and then spent the rest of the time searching for a golden egg. Unfortunately we were unsuccessful, however, I did have 2 winning eggs. Out of all the cool prizes, I won coffee. Ha. I also won a free car wash, so I guess we still broke even since one of our admission tickets was free. It was definitely fun and would love to do it again with a big group of people. Just need to remember to dress really warm and bring a big flashlight!

Easter Sunday was a very busy day for Allison, but she was great! We began our long day at Steve and Barb's for lunch and then headed over to my folks house for dinner. Of course, she slept most of the day, but everyone had a great time seeing her. Next year will be even better when all the kids can hunt for eggs together.

Doctor's Visit

Just a quick post about Miss Allison's progress... She is nearly 5lbs!!! The doctor also said that we can progress her feedings as she tolerates. She is currently taking 2oz, but if we can get her to 3oz then she'll be able to sleep for 5 straight hours at night. Which would be a blessing! The broken sleep is not doing much for my performance. (I was applying for jobs last night and forgot to attach the resume at least once and left my blog signature at least twice... ergh) Not much else is going on, so I'm off to take a nap while Matt is in charge of the baby. zzzzzzzzzzzzz

Bath Time

The other night, we gave Allie her first tub bath... We had been hoping that she would enjoy the experience a bit more that her usual sponge bath, but not so much luck! Hopefully she will grow to love the water, as she is a Pisces.

Rain

We have decided that very good things happen for us when it rains... The wedding, bridal and baby showers, and Allison's continual progress have all been accompanied by some sort of rainy weather. So, it only seems fitting that we finally got to bring our baby girl home on Monday after nearly a week of precipitation! Everyone at the NICU said that preemie girls are especially tough and generally make it home quickly, but we were still surprised to hear over the weekend that Monday marked Allie's 5th day without any apnea spells and her 2nd day nippling all of her feedings. Overcoming these obstacles meant that she could be discharged! As difficult as it was to leave her in the NICU every day, we know that she is as healthy as possible and that we are more prepared to care for her than if she had been full term. Now she just has to grow!! She's already put on 6oz in the last 2 days!! Soon she should actually meet the minimum requirements of her car seat... Here are some pics of her first days at home.

Getting ready to come home.

What a big bed!!Bath time isn't my favorite...Finally, someone that's smaller than me!Daddy's girl...

New Digs

Yesterday I received a wonderful phone call from the nurse taking care of Allison... She was going to be a giraffe!! A vacancy became available in NICU south and she was moved yesterday afternoon!! Her new room has a convertible couch, a recliner, personal sink, breast pump, and lots more space... Most importantly, there is more privacy. It was really hard to stay with her in north since it was pretty tight quarters. I'm looking forward to spending more quality time with her now. In addition to her new accommodations, she was also moved from the isolette to an open crib and had nippled all of her feedings that day!! She is now up to 4lbs! Of course, she would only take half of her dinner by bottle for me, but it's tough work sucking down 32ml of milk, so I'm sure she was just pooped from all the changes yesterday.

Playing Dress-up

Here are some cute pics of Allie being dressed up by the NICU nurses...
And, Man, do I hate bath time!!!