baby

Cora's smile is often elusive, but when we get a glimpse, it is irresistible!

It has been such a tough few weeks at our house. Our baby girl has been diagnosed with reflux and colic, and we are just beat, physically and emotionally.  It took a while for me to figure out what was wrong with Cora, but once I started reading about reflux, there was no doubt in my mind that she had it.  We took her to the doctor and, instead of waiting for a diagnosis, I basically said, "Our daughter has reflux.  How can we fix it?"

I have always thought of reflux being just a spit-up problem.  It sounded mostly like an inconvenience.  I had no idea how much pain and discomfort was involved for both babies and parents.  Here are the symptoms we have been dealing with for about a month now:

Gagging: Cora often gags when we give her a pacifier or when my milk lets down forcefully.  She also sometimes gags or coughs / chokes while lying flat on her back.

"Bobble head eating":  This is the best way I can think to describe some of her feedings.  When her stomach is upset or she is really uncomfortable with severe gas and indigestion, she arches her back, bobs on and off my breast, and does everything except actively suck.  I remember Brennan doing this a few times, especially when he was distracted by life around four months, but it wasn't as painful as this.

Eating frequently:  Since birth Cora has wanted to eat every two hours.  Three hours is unusual, and every few days we go for four hours, but that is very rare.  This, of course, means I am awake constantly.  If Cora eats at 1 AM, she finishes eating and gets a diaper change, sometimes cries from discomfort, and finally gets back to sleep at 2:00 (or later), only to want to eat again at 3:00.

Small feedings:  Cora rarely "finishes" a feeding.  She will eat on just one side and then reject eating any more when I know there is still milk to offer her on that side.  This is likely because it hurts to suck or because eating less food causes less pain.  (This explains why she is usually hungry again 1.5 - 2 hours later.)

Crying suddenly and constantly:  This one is one of the hardest symptoms for us to deal with, and this one is attributed as much to her colic as to the reflux.  Most of the time, if Cora is awake, she is unhappy.  We rarely see her content for more than ten minutes at a time, unless she is sleeping.  When she cries it is often an ear-piercing scream, and she is inconsolable.  It is incredibly difficult to see our child be so miserable.

Hiccups:  Cora has been a chronic hiccuper since day one.  It isn't uncommon for her to have hiccups half a dozen times in a day.

Horrible sleep habits: It is hard for her to sleep on her back because it makes the reflux worse.  Her favorite sleep position is on her stomach, propped up on our chest at a slight angle.  She will also sleep in her swing if it is in motion, and she sometimes likes the car seat, especially if we are on the go. 

Holding her breath:  Sometimes when Cora gags she takes a few seconds to catch her breath and breathe normally again.  This scares the daylights out of me every time, even though it is short-lived.

Congestion:  For a while we noticed that Cora always seemed to have a phlegmy, congested throat at night which would improve during the day. This is because she was trying to sleep on her back at night and the reflux was causing stuff to come up into her throat.

There are only a few signs of reflux that Cora doesn't have, but they are the most common and the very reason I didn't figure out her problem sooner.  Babies with reflux often spit up constantly, and because of this they have slow weight loss.  Cora weighed in last week at 10 pounds, 13 ounces!  She is growing just beautifully!  She does spit up occasionally (and a few times it has been abnormal, projectile-style), but for the most part she isn't a horrible spitter-upper. 

Cora is now on Prevacid once a day, and although we have seen improvement, many of her symptoms persist.  We may have to look at altering the dosage, and after that we may have to test her for allergies / intolerances to my diet and milk.  It is exhausting and taxing in every way.  She is constantly uncomfortable, and we are constantly sleep-deprived and frustrated.  Brennan gets pushed aside a lot as we deal with a screaming baby, and we are more than annoyed with the sleep situation.  At this point with Brennan he was about ready to move to his crib and start sleeping through the night.  Cora may be in our room for several more months so that I can feed her often enough, monitor the gagging, and soothe her through bouts of severe stomach pain.  Although it won't last forever, several months sounds like an eternity.

One small, bright light in the midst of all of this is that Jim and I have been rewarded with Cora's first smiles.  They are infrequent and often illusive, but they are beautiful and worth all the work.  Someday we will have a happy daughter who will laugh and smile on a whim, making all of this a distant memory.  I look forward to that day.

Head to my friend Christy's blog to see a sneak peek of Cora's portraits. When the pictures are edited and available online, I will share more!

I can finally post a picture of Cora's room with her name on the walls!  A few weeks ago I went looking for wooden letters to paint, but instead I found great black metal letters at Hobby Lobby.  I had thought about framing the letters themselves with fabric behind the letters, but I really want to have a place to display Christy's beautiful photos.  (Speaking of photos, we had Cora's newborn portraits taken yesterday, and I cannot wait to see them!  I will post a link to the sneak peek later today!)

Another project I worked on was this set of plates for Cora's room.  I painted them at a nearby pottery painting place so they could be hung on her walls, and I thought they would be a great keepsake later in life.  I believe they are dishwasher safe, so she could even use the platter some day if she wants to.  

Several people have asked how we picked Cora's name.  Her first name was chosen before she was conceived.  Jim was working on his family tree (he loves researching his ancestry) and was reading some of the names to me because there were a lot of repeats.  When he read the name Cora, I said, "I love that name!  That would be a great name to use if we ever have a baby girl."  Jim said, "I was thinking the same thing."  And that was it.  When I got pregnant this time, we knew exactly what her name would be without even discussing it. Cora's middle name took a lot longer to decide.  In fact, it wasn't officially settled until right before she was born.  After my grandpa died this past spring, I was heartbroken that he would never meet his great-granddaughter or even know she was a girl (I found out shortly after he died).  I wanted very much to honor him, but with the name Bernard Edwin, I couldn't come up with much.  I have always loved the name Katherine, and Grandpa had an infant sister named Katherine who died when he was a boy, so we decided to use that name as a way of remembering him.

Isn't it amazing how people start to look like their names?

I wrote in a recent blog post about how Brennan saved money to buy a present for his baby sister.  Well, Brennan's baby sister also bought a gift for him: A new toddler camera.  Brennan couldn't have been more excited!  He loves that camera and was positively delighted that Cora gave him just what he wanted!  

When Brennan and his grandma came to the hospital to meet Cora for the first time, we had a miniature "birth day" celebration.  Sharon and Brennan baked birthday cupcakes, and I boxed them and put flags in them with Cora's name (I made the flags and assembled the boxes before she was born).  We gave a cupcake to each person who came to visit us in the hospital.  We also gave some to the nurses, along with a few dozen cookies I baked just for them.  Those cookies were so appreciated, and the nurse I gave them to ended up being our favorite nurse while we were there.  The cookies were gone before her shift was over (she supposedly shared them at the nurse's station!).

On our second day at the hospital, we received a big, fancy box from FTD.  I've always wanted to receive one of those expensive boxes like the kind that holds a dozen long-stem roses! Even better than typical roses, our box held a dozen beautiful tulips sent by Jim's work.  It was a thoughtful, beautiful surprise.

We had a great view of downtown Nashville from our hospital room, and it was fun to have something fun to look at for three days.

Of course, I didn't look at it too much, because I was too busy looking at this:

On Thursday, October 1st, we welcomed Cora Katherine Riggs to our family! She came a little early at 38 weeks, but it was not a day too soon! She weighed nearly eight and a half pounds and is a miniature Mary Poppins: "Practically perfect in every way!"

I went into labor spontaneously on Thursday morning, and by the time we got to the hospital at dinnertime, things were moving very fast. Cora was born via c-section at 7:43 PM.

Our little girl has beautiful black hair, very long, slender fingers (piano? violin?), and a good set of lungs when she is hungry! She is a pretty easy baby, and we are treasuring every moment with her.

Here are a few pictures from the first three days:

This picture above was taken less than two hours before Cora arrived!  She is definitely "fully baked!"

As I mentioned in my last post, Jim worked hard to hang things in the nursery last night.  I'm so grateful!  The room isn't done (you know how I am about calling a room "done"), but I'm excited to share what it looks like right now!

Here is the crib with the picture frames on the wall.  Those frames will eventually hold beautiful black and white photos of the baby taken by our talented friend and family photographer, Christy Johnson.

Here you can see the crib with the finished curtains, lined in blackout fabric.  That room will be plenty dark for baby girl when we need it to be!

One of the projects I still want to tackle is a custom lamp shade for that tall lamp.  We really can't afford a new lamp, but it really isn't quite right for the room.  I'm going to see what I can do about that.

I also have plans to hang something on the blank wood above the changing table.  After all, the baby will need something interesting to look at while she is getting her diaper changed!

This corner might be my favorite part of the room.  I'm crazy about the window, the chair, the table...

I bought the window for $5 at an antique store down the street from our house, and I loved that the paint was chipping and imperfect.  I just cleaned up the glass, inserted some black and white scrapbook papers, and, voila!  Beautiful art for just a few dollars!  And of course, the picture frame on the table is a Lissalaneous original! 

It would be fun if the walls didn't have to be white, and I still have a few details up my sleeve for this room, but now you've seen the starting point!  I hope you like it!

Today was my baby shower, and I don't even know how to begin writing about it! I didn't have any expectations for this shower, but even if I had, this amazing day would have exceeded them all.

Do you want to know what made this shower so great?

We haven't lived in Tennessee that long, so I was truly surprised by all of the people who showed up to celebrate this baby with us. There were friends from our church, friends from MOPS, and friends I have made through Jim's work. It was so fun and so special to see all of the support we have, and my heart was so touched by the outpouring of love.

I tell ya, my friend Christy is such a master cook. She made everything from scratch including a tomato pie that was divine. (I know, I know, tomato pie doesn't sound that terrific. Trust me. Everyone left wanting the recipe.) She also made homemade truffles that were in these cute little black boxes with pink bows.  And her cupcakes?  Mmmm....

Everything for the shower was done in black and white damask with pink, to go with the baby's nursery.   It was truly beautiful.  It was elegant and fun and oh-so-girly. 

We got so many terrific things for the baby, and it was all stuff we need and can use.  Each gift was one-of-a-kind and so much fun to open, even for this girl who hates to open presents with everyone watching. 

There were five babies at the shower today ranging in age from 10 days to eleven months old (four of the five were under four months, I think).  The amazing thing is that I didn't hear more than a peep out of these sweet babies all morning.  They were a total joy and in no way a disruption.   They reminded us all of the gift that a new baby really is to a family.

There was a candy bar for people to fill candy bags, and the candy included some of my favorites.  I love black licorice, jelly beans, and chocolate, and these were all included!  (How lucky that they all came in black, white, and pink!) 

We also played a few tasteful games (I hate shower games, but these were actually no-pressure, no-awkwardness kinds of games), and one of the games encouraged people to figure out my answers to some questions.  Fun.

One of the best, most thoughtful details is that I was provided with lovely, homemade thank you notes and pre-addressed envelopes.  Seriously? Coordinating, handmade thank you notes?  Do these ladies know me, or what???

It was truly a memorable morning, and I was so touched.  I got home and told Jim it was the prettiest shower I had ever been to, and I started to cry.  He said, "Wow... You are so pregnant."  I know he's right, but I would have been moved even without the help of my hormones.  Thank you, thank you to everyone who came today and made me feel so loved and special.

Things have been super busy around here. I have worked my fingers to the bone on the nursery bedding, and I just have a few things left to do. I think I may be days away from a completed nursery! Here is a little sneak peek to whet your appetite!

You'll have to come back to see pictures of the completed room and bed, but I'm not quite ready to reveal it all yet.

While I've been working on sewing, my saintly mother-in-law has been working to clean and organize our loft and upstairs.  The transition from guest room to baby nursery was not an easy one, and without her help, I would have been completely bogged down and overwhelmed. (I already felt that way anyway, just sewing the crib bumper!)   Now I can walk through my upstairs and focus on getting ready for our little angel!

I had a doctor's appointment this morning, and everything is going perfectly!  The baby has a terrific heart rate, my actual belly measurements are on the money, and everything is on track.  I have another doctor's appointment and ultrasound in twelve days, and after that I'll start the weekly appointments in September.  All in all, I have five more doctor's appointments, and then we will meet our little girl!  (Of course, she could come early, but let's hope not because that would seriously mess up our schedule!)

I know someone who answers some update questions every month on her blog, and they're always fun to read, so I thought I'd give it a try.

How far along? 31 1/2 Weeks.  Our c-section is scheduled for first thing in the morning on Tuesday, October 6th at either at 7 AM or 8 AM.  The paperwork from the hospital had conflicting times and the doctor is calling to check on it.  [I'm hoping for 8:00, because we have to arrive two hours early, and arriving at 5 AM (leaving my house at 4:30 AM) does not sound too fun.]

Total weight gain/loss: 40 pounds!!!  (Eek!)

Maternity clothes? They are all getting too small.  I still have several shirts that still fit along with two pairs of jeans, one pair of black pants, a few dresses, and a skirt.  Honestly, for right now, I'm okay with that because they should last me a few more weeks and then I just have to survive September.  (Who wants to spend money on clothes that will only be worn for a few weeks?)

Stretch marks? Yeah, I already had them left from Brennan, and I haven't studied them to see if they're any worse.  I don't need to know that right now.

Sleep: Ugh.  This is the worst.  As a whole I'm doing well during the daytime, but I absolutely cannot get comfortable at night, and even when I do, I wake up with achy muscles everywhere.

Best moment this week: Jim's mom is here, and she has been keeping Brennan occupied while I have visited with and ministered to different friends.  It has been energizing and refreshing.

Movement:  She moves so much that sometimes I don't even notice it, and then I wonder, "When was the last time she moved?"  Of course, she does it again quickly and then I realize she's been doing it all along.  She also has a lot of hiccups now.  

Food cravings: Chocolate, Starbucks Mochas (hot or iced... doesn't matter, but decaf, of course), Chinese food, & Pancake Pantry sweet potato pancakes

Labor Signs:
I have had a few Braxton Hicks, and last week I had one real contraction.  It was just one, so it didn't worry me, but it lasted for about thirty seconds and took my breath away.  It was pretty bizarre.

Belly button in or out? Mostly it's flat, but sometimes half of it sticks out.

What I miss: Hot baths, Diet Coke, Splenda, caffeine, and an occasional glass of wine.

What I am looking forward to: Finishing the nursery, organizing my house, and feeling more "ready."  I'm also looking forward to my shower next Saturday, the 22nd.

What I am NOT looking forward to: A c-section recovery.

Weekly Wisdom: Spending just 24 hours away from your toddler can make you a better mom!

Milestones: Clearing junk out of the nursery, emptying boxes from storage, and getting the nursery bedding underway.