Tummy Time

This is a rant, but a rant of opinion. Feel free to comment with your opinions - but no bashing!

Tummy time? Is it REALLY necessary? My opinion, after my experiment, no. And here is why:

When I had Amélie, nearly seven years ago, it was ingrained into my brain that "tummy time" is a must! Now, for those of you without kids, here is what tummy time is -

"Tummy time is an American colloquial term used to encourage parents to ensure their babies spend time on their stomachs. Babies may benefit from spending time on their stomachs. It may help strengthen their posterior neck muscles and reach milestones like crawling faster. Though babies who do not spend time on their stomachs eventually catch up physically, physical therapists say the first few months of life are an important time for babies to start to become aware of their bodies and begin to learn movement and balance.

In 1992, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommended babies sleep on their backs to prevent Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). Although the rate of SIDS decreased by 50% since the Back to Sleep campaign started in 1994, an unintended consequence was that babies missed out on the twelve or so hours they used to spend in the prone position which helps strengthen neck and back muscles. As a result of the Back to Sleep Campaign there was a significant rise in cases of plagiocephaly in infants; particularly positional plagiocephaly. Parents are now being encouraged to ensure their babies receive tummy time while they are awake in order to counter this." - wikipedia

So, wanting to be the best mom in the world, I forced my baby, from about a month old, to lie on her stomach several times a day every day. Amélie, as most babies do, hated it. She would scream and cry, but the doctor told me to let her cry it out. Well, by two months, she was hold up her head, and by month three, she was rolling off my bed - oops.

Now, several years later, I have another little one. Mckenna absolutely despises tummy time and screams until she is no longer on her tummy. Not only does she scream, but since she has GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease), she throws up EVERY TIME she is put on her tummy. I pulled through for several months and at about 3.5 months, she rolled onto her back all by herself - took longer than her sister, but all babies develop differently. Now, fast forward to 5 months...still not rolling from tummy to back and back to tummy - a complete roll. She now gets placed on her tummy and almost immediately rolls onto her back and stays. This happens every time. Research time - I love you Google.com

I found several articles talking about how tummy time can actually do more harm than good. Some babies had spinal problems, others had neck problems. Of course the articles spoke about how to gain neck and spinal strength and it made sense. Put your baby on their tummies on you! They will lift their heads! Thinking back, the first time either one of my girls lifted their heads, they were ON ME, not on a mat on the floor. Granted, there were more articles that promoted tummy time, but was there even a chance I could be potentially harming my child? Yes.

Then, I saw this video and I thought, "let's try this for just a week. No tummy time."

Watch it. It is amazing how the baby figures out rolling all by herself - NO TUMMY TIME!

I started by thinking, "How could I encourage Mckenna to roll from her back to her tummy? A toy? No. She isn't interested that much in toys. What encourages her most? Me." It was me! I would be the motivation. So, I put Mckenna on her back on our hard floor, no blankets under her, nothing, and sat about a foot away. I encouraged her to come to me. Smiling, laughing, talking to her, I even cheered to make her motivated. I would leave her there until she got bored. Sometimes it was only a couple of minutes. But I did this for several days, 3 or four times a day. Guess what? Four days. It took Mckenna four days to do a complete roll. 

Now people will argue that tummy time gives a baby stronger stomach muscles. But think about it. When you want to strengthen your abs, do you lie on your stomach and flop around with your face in the floor or do you lie on your back and do crunches?

Exactly.

So, at my next well baby appointment when the doctor asks if I am doing tummy time with Mckenna, I am going to proudly say, "NO.

Diapers, Diapers, Diapers!

I finally got my cloth diapers in! Woot! Woot! Here is my order:

There is a total of 24 diapers and 48 inserts in this order. Enough to get away with washing every other day. I am going to order another 12 diapers tomorrow. This way, I can keep some in my diaper bag. I'd like to go completely off of disposables unless we are on long trips (and living in Europe, that is going to happen), but only because there is never a guarantee of having a washing machine close by. We have been successfully cloth diapering for a week now, by the way, and I love it.

Here is my darling Mckenna modeling one of the diapers:

My favorite print! I love the butterflies!

Anyway, Memorial weekend was nice. Bo got back from training on Thursday and then he got a four day weekend. We grilled out on Monday and I am just now finishing the last burger.

Amélie is learning how to ride her bike with no training wheels. She is doing so good! I am proud of her! She is almost finished with kindergarten (only two weeks left), and she only has one game of soccer left. 

My little soccer star!

For now, I am off to bed. I have boot camp at the gym in the morning followed by Sushi at lunchtime with the ladies.

Nighty night!

Mail, Permanent Marker, and Shots

Still waiting on those cloth diapers to come in. Ugh. Seems like when you order something online, it takes forever to get to you (especially here). I love instant gratification, but I have learned two things since moving here:
1. You aren't going to find everything you can get in America in a foreign country.
2. Mail delivery isn't all bad...makes those days when you get packages feel like Christmas.

Here are a few more pictures from the photoshoot:

I know...I make beautiful babies!

Anyhow, nothing out of the ordinary happening. Mckenna got her 4 months shots last week and had a fever for 48 hours afterwards and was SUPER cranky. It was pretty rough, but we both made it through and we are fine.

Amélie decided to color in RED PERMANENT MARKER on several items in her room which included her white bedskirt, her Rapunzel tower, her wooden doll house, the toy box, her calm down bottle, my 22 year old doll, and the carpet. Yes, she is grounded from markers and crayons until further notice.

...I love my kids.

School is almost over. Only 3 more weeks. 

And today is my seventh wedding anniversary...just wish my hubby was here to celebrate it with me. Stupid training.

Now I am off to bed. I have boot camp in the morning after I get the oldest kiddo to school.

Nighty!

I Told You, Germany is Trying to Kill Us

So it has been quite awhile since I have updated and the layout of blogger has changed, so if I screw something up, I apologize in advance.

First off, Mckenna's lump on her heads turned out to be 1mm bump filled with fluid. The doctor said it is from trauma to the head, most likely from the position in utero since she was a c-section. He says that a lot of babies get it from being born through the birth canal. But, it is nothing to worry about and it should be disappear by her first birthday.

In other news, Amélie had Fifth Disease. Thankfully, by the time she went back to school (she caught it over spring break) she was no longer contagious. In case you have never heard of Fifth Disease, like me, here is a run down on what it is:

"Fifth disease (also called erythema infectiosum) is caused by parvovirus B19. A human virus, parvovirus B19 is not the same parvovirus that veterinarians may be concerned about in pets, especially dogs, and it cannot be passed from humans to animals or vice versa.

Studies show that although 40% to 60% of adults worldwide have laboratory evidence of a past parvovirus B19 infection, most can't remember having had symptoms of fifth disease. This leads medical experts to believe that most people with a B19 infection have either very mild symptoms or no symptoms at all.

Fifth disease occurs everywhere in the world. Outbreaks tend to happen in the late winter and early spring, but there can be sporadic cases of the disease throughout the year.


Fifth disease begins with a low-grade fever, headache, and mild cold-like symptoms (a stuffy or runny nose). These symptoms pass, and the illness seems to be gone until a rash appears a few days later.

The bright red rash usually begins on the face. Several days later, the rash spreads and red blotches (usually lighter in color) extend down to the trunk, arms, and legs. The rash usually spares the palms of the hands and soles of the feet. As the centers of the blotches begin to clear, the rash takes on a lacy net-like appearance. Kids younger than 10 years old are most likely to get the rash.

Older kids and adults sometimes complain that the rash itches, but most kids with a rash do not look sick and no longer have fever. Certain stimuli (including sunlight, heat, exercise, and stress) may reactivate the rash until it completely fades. It may take 1 to 3 weeks for the rash to completely clear, and during that time it may seem to worsen until it finally fades away entirely.

Other symptoms that sometimes occur with fifth disease include swollen glands, red eyes, sore throat, diarrhea, and rarely, rashes that look like blisters or bruises." - kidshealth.org

There have been a total of four kids (including Amélie) in her kindergarten class alone that have had Fifth Disease so far in the past two months. Two of the kids were hospitalized.

Next up on the list of things, I have decided to start cloth diapering Mckenna. I ordered these diapers and I can't wait for them to come in. I am also planning to start cloth wipes when I start using these diapers. I even bought stuff to make my own laundry detergent for the diapers and wipes (most of the stuff...they were out of some at the commissary)! I think as soon as we are out of the laundry soap we are currently using, I am also going to start making our own laundry soap for our clothes.

Amélie had her photo shoot last Saturday. Here are some of the pictures that were taken:

My girls and I.

My beautiful Amélie.

Schloss Solitude and "Princess Amélie".

My gorgeous girls.

Sisterly love.

I am suppose to pick up the disc with all the photos on it this weekend (the ones from both photo shoots). So I will hopefully get to post those soon.

Well, for now, it's off to bed for me. I'm exhausted since Mckenna has decided that 4AM is the time she is ready to get up and play. Ugh.

I Know the Layout of the Hospital Better Than My Own Neighborhood

My life has been one big blur lately. I have to sit and think about where the time has gone!

Let's start off by saying that I spent two lovely days last week in the hospital. I went in last Monday originally to get my cholesterol checked (I was on meds before I got pregnant), but I was feeling horrible so I went ahead to get checked out. It started, I guess, Friday night, when I went to bed with chills. I didn't think really anything about it. The windows had been open all day, I am tend to get cold easily anyhow. But, I woke up about 4AM to feed Mckenna and when I went into the nursery, I could barely stand because my back hurt so bad, I couldn't see, and I couldn't hear. I felt super dizzy. I was lucky I made it holding Mckenna from the crib to the changing table without dropping her. When I gained some sort of sight back, I took her into the bedroom to my husband where I was convinced I was dying. I checked my blood pressure...slightly high, but nothing to really worry about. Checked my blood sugar...it was normal. Took my temperature...99.8, a little high, but again, nothing I was going to rush myself to the emergency room about. I took some Tylenol and Ibprofen and was able to feed the baby and we both fell back asleep on the couch. I woke up later in a puddle of sweat. I was feeling better except for the horrible pain in my back. I was still running a low grade fever as well.

I went through the weekend with the horrible back pain and chills and low grade fever. I felt like death. It was pretty bad. I made it to the doctor Monday where I sat in the waiting room crying because my back hurt so bad. They did blood and urine tests and decided that my white blood cell count was extremely low, but there really was no other indication that there was anything wrong, though it was obvious that I was in pain and my temperature was 100.8. The doctor thought that I might have a ruptured cyst on my ovary, so he sent me over to the ER where they did an ultrasound on my ovaries and my kidneys only to find that they were in perfect working order. I really had the doctors stumped. They had no clue what was wrong. All they could tell me was that I had an infection and they didn't know where. They said that because my white blood cell count was so low (1.4 and it should have been around 10.7) that I wasn't going to get better without medication. After two days I told the doctor I had to go home to take care of my baby. Today, I am feeling a bit better, my back is still hurting some, but not like it was and I don't have a fever.

In other news, Mckenna got some pictures taken last week. Here are a few:

I know...I make beautiful babies! 

Tomorrow, Mckenna goes in to have the ultrasound done on her head so we can find out the severity of this lipoma. I am really hoping that I am just overreacting and that everything is fine. I am a worry-wart though.

Tonight, I am very proud of myself...I made my first turkey! It turned out really good. I thought it would be horrible, but I am glad it turned out good.

Anyhow, I will update on the lipoma as soon as I can. 

The Chaotic Adventures Me

Wow, seems like my chaotic adventure never ends!!

I know I haven't posted recently...again, but geeze, life is hard lately! Even now, I am rushing to write this, hoping the baby will sleep in her crib long enough for me to get a word or two in!!

Ok, so Mckenna will be 11 weeks old this Wednesday! Its crazy how time flies. We are slowly trying to get her to sleep in her crib. So far, with little success. I would like her in there...all night...by herself...by 3 months, and that gives me about 20 days left! Eep! LoL

Anyway, so she's been pretty healthy so far. A bit behind on her age, but the doctor assures me she is fine for her "gestational" age. He said for about the first year she would be behind about a month since she was a preemie and I shouldn't worry, she was developing and growing just fine.

At her last appointment she weighed in at just over 10lbs and over 21 inches long. At birth she was just at 5lbs and 17inches long. So I would say she is doing great!

She is more alert these days and beginning to reach out to things. She smiles and laughs when you do something funny (permitting she is in a good mood).

But, last week, I discovered a lump about the size of a quarter on the top of her head. I took her to the doctor on Monday where he assured me that there was 100% nothing to worry about. My gut kept telling me otherwise. Thursday I took her in for a second opinion. The doctor there told me there was something definitely not normal and it should be looked into. He says she has a lipoma. A lipoma is a benign tumor composed of adipose tissue. It is very rare in children and usually happens in adults between the ages of 40 and 60. He has scheduled an ultrasound to make sure it isn't growing and to make sure it isn't a liposarcoma which is what he is worried about. Liposarcomas are cancerous tumors in fatty tissues. He says 9 times out of 10, it isn't cancer and usually, unless it is growing or becomes painful, the lipoma doesn't need anything done to it and won't harm her in any way. We just want to take precaution.

So this week, I have to go in and make an appointment to get ANOTHER ultrasound done on my baby. This will be her fourth one. She had to have one on her hips because at birth she had hip displaysia, which is now gone...and she has acid reflux, but the wanted to make sure it wasn't polystenosis so she had to have an ultrasound done on her bowels. She went into the ER for severe constipation where she had one done to see how bad it was...she ended up having an enema after that one. It just seems to be one thing after another. Hopefully, she will be in the clear and we can have no more ultrasounds!!

By the way, she is now on Enfamil AR formula for the reflux and it seems to be working really well. The cereal was constipating her...so we got switched and it is working great!

Anyway, I took the girls to the zoo on Friday with some of my friends from MOPS. Amélie had a blast. Mckenna, of course, slept 90% of the time in her stroller.

Amélie at the zoo.

I also took some pictures of Mckenna last week. As you can tell, she wasn't impressed....

Yea...she was mad.

They would have been awesome pictures if she wasn't screaming the entire time. Oh well. She has a photoshoot next week. Maybe they can get better pictures than I can.

That's it for now. Looks like Mckenna may be stirring in her crib. 

Couch Sleeping

Last night, I was convinced that Amélie would be able to return to school today. That all changed when she came into my room about 2AM and told me her stomach was hurting. I helped her back in bed (just as Mckenna was awakening for her breakfast) and turned to leave...she started vomiting again. So, like a good mommy, I held her hair back for her as she threw up in the bucket we had set beside her bed and I could hear Mckenna screaming from my bedroom (she is still in the bassinet next to our bed), my husband sleeping through the entire thing. Amélie finishes and I get her tucked back in, the bucket cleaned out, and her a fresh glass of water to sip on and put Mckenna's bottle in the warmer, returning to my bedroom to retrieve Mckenna, change her diaper and feed her.

This has been my life for the past three days...

Did I mention that Mckenna never goes back to sleep in her bassinet after her 2AM feeding? No. Why? I am not sure, but the only way I can get her to sleep is to lie on the couch with her tummy down on my chest. I was asked, "Why don't you try lying her down on her tummy in her bassinet?" Um, no. I am one of those moms who worry about SIDS. I make sure is on her back with a pacifier in her mouth. The only way she is sleeping on her tummy, is if she is on top of me so I can feel her every move. Because of this, I spend most nights...early mornings on the couch.

So, this morning, Amélie was very upset that she would be missing another day of school and Girl Scouts this afternoon. Thankfully, she has been feeling better and has kept down what she has eaten (so far *fingers crossed*). I made her drink Pedialyte in order to keep her hydrated, that which she didn't like, but I don't want her to end up in the hospital.

Anyway, Mckenna is crying. Past time for her to head to bed and Bo seems to be getting a little frustrated. If I want to get sleep tonight, I should get her down. I am starting my diet and exercise plan on Monday, I will be getting up earlier anyhow. Woot.

I Am Glad for Poopie Diapers...Not for Vomit.

Ahhh....temporary freedom (the hubby is holding the baby).

 I haven't updated in so long and I don't even know where to begin! So, I am just going to skip it all and start from today because that is all I can really do!

Amélie is sick. She isn't running a fever or have diarrhea, but vomits up everything she eats or drinks except water and saltine crackers. She has the doctor stumped. If she isn't better in two days, they want me to bring her back in. Poor kid is dying to go to school (it's Dr. Suess week), but I told her if she can't keep down her breakfast then she can't go to school.

Mckenna has pooped twice in two days after having to been taken to the ER on Thursday for severe constipation. They had to give her an enema, and I know she hated it, but I could tell she was relieved afterwards. Thankfully, she seems to be going number 2 just fine now. Guess maybe that switch to formula and cereal from straight breastmilk did a number on her...she just needed a little shove.

I had my postpartum check-up today. All seems well in that department. The doctor gave me the "okay" to start exercising again. Honestly, I am excited. I was an avid runner before I got pregnant and about six weeks into my pregnancy, the running motion just made me nauseated, so I stopped. I am pretty happy to get back into it again...I just have to pace myself because I know I can't just start in a full run...plus, now I have to do it in the time my hubby comes in from PT and work or figure out a way to make my jogging stroller work for Mckenna, who is honestly a little too small for it. I don't want to really put her in it until she is able to sit up on her own...maybe I should just settle for walking with her regular stroller until I can either A) come up with a better plan - like a sitter - or B) she gets big enough to sit in the jogger. Do they make infant adapters for those things???

At least I can get back into yoga...

Well, if I don't get the baby to sleep...I might not get any myself, so off I go. Good night!!

Jessi

It's Been Awhile

I want to apologize to my readers for being MIA for so long!! Lots of stuff went down. To sum it up:

January 11, 2012 I went into the hospital having a lot of pains and ended up delivering my daughter, Mckenna Isabella via c-section that evening because the doctor thought I had a silent placenta rupture. She was born 5 weeks early.

Mckenna - 3 days old

She spent one week in the NICU and another week in the children's ward of the hospital. Thankfully, she came home two weeks after birth and was healthy.

This is her today:

Mckenna - 6 weeks old

Right now, I have a sick six year old, so I just wanted to run in a quick update. Hopefully, I will be back posting this week regularly.

Jessi

Baby Update

My doctor's appointment yesterday went really well. In fact, there will be no baby this week delivered because of size reasons, which is a good thing. Today I am only 34 weeks along and it is still too early to have her if there is a way we can hold out. She needs to cook a little longer.

The doctor gave me peace of mind. She checked all the vitals and she is getting plenty of oxygen and blood flow. So a lot of my worries have been subsided. She thinks the main growth problem in the placenta is the lack of nutrients. I asked if it could be because of my gastric bypass and she said no, it was HIGHLY unlikely, but it was something that shouldn't be ruled out completely. She and my main OB think it is because of my blood pressure, which is probably what it is. My body doesn't like being pregnant and due to rising blood pressure with my first daughter, I developed pre-eclampsia.

Anyhow, the doctor estimated she gained about 5 ounces in a week, which was really good. Her growth is still behind, but instead of being behind 4 weeks, she is only behind 2 weeks in size...well, her body anyhow. Her head is the size it should be. But, they are going to keep a close watch on me anyhow. I go back on Monday and if she has continued to grow and they decide not to deliver then, they are going to schedule me for a c-section sometime the first week of February. They think that since I had a c-section with my daughter and because most gastric bypass patients end up having to have a c-section anyway, that I should probably not try for a VBAC. Plus, with the issues, it just might be the safer route. If I have a planned c-section, my husband can be in there with me...if I had to have an emergency one, he wouldn't be allowed, so maybe it is the right choice.

Last night I actually got a good night's sleep. Something I haven't had in awhile. I think a combination of peace of mind about the baby's situation and that she removed her feet from my lungs, I was able to actually get some rest. I even napped after my daughter went to school this morning for several more hours. It was really nice to be able to SLEEP. I feel that I have been lacking a lot in that department.

One problem I have been having lately is stomach cramps...not uterus, but actual stomach. I have found that if I have some No Sugar Added Carnation Instant Breakfast that my stomach seems to stop hurting almost instantly...and this seems the be the ONLY thing that calms the cramping. I don't know what it is, but I really have to stay stocked up in that stuff!!

Mixed Feelings

So Bo had CQ again today. It seems like he just had it. I really hate it that the MPs are so immature that they basically have to have a babysitter every night. What happened to demoting for poor behavior? Or even, now that they have "too many people in the military" just fire them! If they think going out and getting drunk and then sneaking women in their trunks onto post is a good idea, then they need a good reality check! Not making my husband stay 24 hours to babysit some morons who are old enough to know better!

Though...I suppose it is better than deployment.

Anyway, tomorrow is the day we find out if we are going to have a baby this week. I have total mixed feelings about the situation. I think it is a good idea for them to deliver her because the longer she stays in the more likely she is to develop cerebral palsy, but then on the other hand, the longer she stays in the more likely she is to develop her insides.

And just in case you didn't know (I didn't until I did research recently) what cerebral palsy is, here is the run down:

"Cerebral palsy (CP) is a disorder that affects muscle tone, movement, and motor skills (the ability to move in a coordinated and purposeful way). Cerebral palsy can also lead to other health issues, including vision, hearing, and speech problems, and learning disabilities. CP is usually caused by brain damage that occurs before or during a child's birth, or during the first 3 to 5 years of a child's life. There is no cure for CP, but treatment, therapy, special equipment, and, in some cases, surgery can help a child who is living with the condition." - www.kidshealth.org

Cerebral palsy is a life long condition, and the developments can occur outside the womb in the NICU, but who knows how long that will be and if that is even the healthier choice. Unfortunately, we won't know either way until it happens. It is so stressful.

Ugh.

My New Year's Resolutions 2012

1. Get back to the size I was before I became pregnant.
2. Be a better person than I was in 2011.
3. Love myself more.
4. Put my family first.
5. Raise two healthy, happy daughters.
6. To go running at least 5 days a week (post pregnancy of course).
7. Read at least 12 books (children's books don't count).
8. Keep up with my blogger.
9. Learn 12 new family recipes.
10. Polish up on my German (after all, I will be living here for awhile).
11. Get back into yoga.
12. Go back to school.
13. Take more pictures.
14. Write my great grandmother a hand-written letter every month.
15. To be more understanding of my husband's strange obsession with working on the car.
16. Breastfeed...for an entire year.

"Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any other." - Abraham Lincoln