For the love of Bob: March 2011

I think of March as a transition toward easier times until I stumble across an email in my drafts box like this one:

"Harper is getting worse again. We are wondering if this liquid prevacid is not working as well as the solutabs. She has had screaming fits the past couple of nights... also tougher to get her to sleep. Thurs night she screamed at 8:45 and last night it was all of the sudden at 11:45 then all throughout the night - like she couldn't get settled. We unswaddled her so she didn't sleep as well and I've been up since 6 with her. I just want her to feel better. I feel like if this isn't working, then what?! I can't imagine if we have to switch to that expensive formula :("

My heart aches as I remember that again. It was a special kind of hell. 3 months of trying to soothe Harper as she screamed. By March she had stopped screaming every night. She was still fussy, cried a lot, and had some screaming fits but she didn't seem to be in as much pain as previous months. The dairy and soy should have been FULLY out of her system, her digestive tract was likely continuing to heal, and she was on consistent reflux meds.

In March we took Harper to Johns Hopkins. The doctor switched her to a liquid Prevacid and at first it didn't seem like it was working. The doctor also prescribed Zantac for use before bedtime because some studies show Prevacid doesn't work in the middle of the night. We didn't notice a difference in Harper's (lack of) sleep if she had the Zantac or not so we stopped giving it to her. We tried it out of desperation during screaming fits some nights but still, there was no difference. The doctor also prescribed Erythromycin to see if helped to have Harper's stomach emptied faster. We discussed this medication with her doctor. Matt and I never felt comfortable giving it to her. It is an old antibiotic that is no longer used as an antibiotic but used for the side effects it caused - emptying the stomach. The doctor said that it wasn't necessary to use so we didn't.

Mornings continued to be Harper's happiest time. Throughout the day she napped in her swing, swaddled, with her pacifier, and hairdryer running or in the car or while I wore her. We continued to try putting her down while asleep in an elevated bassinet, bouncer seat, or cosleeper but she woke after only a few minutes. At night she slept next to me and nursed usually every hour. If we tried to give her the pacifier at night she screeched and cried. And she's a princess so I gave her what she wanted.

Harper's first tiara, 3 months old.

Kidding (well, sort of. I didn't let her continue to screech so I nursed her). Her grandmother gave her this little tiara.

During March Harper's cry turned from sounding like a newborn to an infant. She weighed over 14 pounds. She giggled for the first time, started chewing on her hands a lot, and started blowing raspberries/spitting. We took her to the chiropractor that I saw during my pregnancy. He was incredibly helpful to me. Unfortunately, we didn't see similar results with Harper. Actually, Harper seemed to be even more upset in the days following the appointments so we stopped taking her.

Some photos from March.

Harper enjoyed bath time. She relaxed until you tried to wash under her neck rolls, then she cried.

Ethan loves bath time too. He requests bubble bath and blowing bubbles.

Relaxing, watching Mickey after nap.

Grabbing and batting at toys for the first time.

3 Month photo with cute shoes.

"I thought things were supposed to get better after 3 months/the fourth trimester?!".

Still doing newborn-like leg lifts and keeping her hands and feet clenched closed most of the time. A quick stretch here to reveal she's still storing lint in between her toes.

Fussy or not, Ethan adored his sister. He was trying to help her put her sock back on here.

Do you see that SUPER long single eyelash? It nearly touched her eyebrow when she had her eyes wide open. Crazy long and Matt probably thinks it's crazy that I took a picture of it. I used to show it to him all the time.