A Reward Money Can't Buy

So, what was my reward for Lily Anne's less than stellar behavior for the past 2 nights?


She slept through the night last night...hence, I slept through the night last night! (of course, it was Justin's night to be "on duty")


Ok, so I know it was due to her pure exhaustion and it very likely not going to happen again for a few months, but I will take it!

Don't let this sweet face fool you

Like I said, do not let this sweet, innocent looking face fool you.

Sure, she looks peaceful now. You should have seen her five mintues earlier!

Can I tell you that Lily Anne HATES baths right now!!! When I say hates, I mean she becomes a screaming, wailing, red faced mess! And, as if that is not bad enough, Baxter hates it when Lily cries, so...the entire bath time, she screams, he barks and wails...one day the neighbors are going to call DFCS thinking I am abusing the whole lot! I can only imagine what it must sound like! Eventually I'll capture the entire circus on video and post it for your entertainment. Heck, someone needs a good laugh from it! I just need a nap after it all.

Lily Anne has been a bit fussy lately and just wants to be held all day (lucky me), but thank goodness for one of the greatest inventions of all time--the sling. Justin's colleague Sam recommended one that he and his wife used with their infant. Sometimes Lily Anne does not like it, but it seems when she is super tired and really fussy, it works like a charm and allows me to have two free hands. THANK YOU SAM!

Can you tell we are having a fun day in the Bannister house today?

Babies Don't Keep

4 Days Old

There are a million things I "could" or "should" be doing right now...cleaning the house, doing the dishes, laundry...but instead I have been sitting on the couch for the past 3 hours with Lily Anne peacefully sleeping on my chest. I think that is a much better use of my time!

Babies Don't Keep

Mother, O Mother, come shake out your cloth,
Empty the dustpan, poison the moth,
Hang out the washing, make up the bed,
Sew on a button and butter the bread.
Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?
She's up in the nursery, blissfully rocking.

Oh, I've grown as shiftless as Little Boy Blue,
Lullabye, rockabye, lullabye loo.
Dishes are waiting and bills are past due
Pat-a-cake, darling, and peek, peekaboo
The shopping's not done and there's nothing for stew
And out in the yard there's a hullabaloo
But I'm playing Kanga and this is my RooLook!
Aren't his eyes the most wonderful hue?
Lullabye, rockaby lullabye loo.

The cleaning and scrubbing can wait till tomorrow
But children grow up as I've learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down cobwebs; Dust go to sleep!
I'm rocking my baby and babies don't keep.

- Ruth Hulbert Hamilton

So apparently Lily Anne is not a fan...

of the cardiologist! Since it was Lily Anne's first official visit, we had to do several baseline tests. To be honest, I am not even sure what this one was, but they stuck 10, yes 10 probes on her and recorded various "heart" things. We had to take a picture!

After this test, she was weighed and she is up to 8 lbs. 4 oz. Then, the fun began. Oh, you think that putting 10 probes on her was the worst of it...you would be WRONG! What could be worse? Well, apparently in Lily Anne's mind...the dreaded ultrasound.

Seriously...it took both Justin and I to hold this child down so the tech could do the ultrasound of her heart. Lily Anne was not happy and she let us all know! Now, as you know, an ultrasound is not painful or even uncomfortable, but none the less, Lily Anne was having nothing to do with it. Finally, the tech was able to get enough images so the torture could end. I promise you, I have not been so exhausted in a long time!

The doctor confirmed, and we were able to see, that Lily Anne does have a small hole in her heart. He feels that this hole has a very good chance of closing on its own and we will go back in two months to do it all again...oh joy. Luckily, the tech did tell us that it would not take as long next time.

Now we are suffering the repercussions of upsetting her this morning. Lily Anne's "ugly hour" has been monumental. We are playing "pass the baby" as we attempt to settle her down for the night. Any bets on who will wear out first? Lily Anne or her parents?

Please pray that the hole does close on its own (and that she goes to sleep soon)!!

P.S. Happy Spring! A new season calls for a new look on the blog :)

Where we are with appointments

Several of you have emailed asking how Lily Anne's appointments have gone. We are actually in a little bit of a hiatus. We have a cardiologist appointment on Friday and then we do not go to another doctor until April when she has her 2 month appointment. We have another specialist appointment scheduled for early May (that was the earliest we could get) and then we will go back to the neurologist. It has been nice to slow down the appointments for now!

We had an evaluation with Babies Can't Wait (BCW) on Monday. Lily Anne automatically qualifies for their services based on her diagnosis. An Occupational Therapist (OT) played with her for a bit and she was also observed by another diagnostician. Right now, Lily Anne is right on track (which we already knew from her pediatrician). Because of that, someone from BCW will visit our home monthly to observe, check in, etc. and if at any time we find an area in which Lily Anne would benefit from their services, they will begin the early intervention therapy. The earlier we intervene with any problems, the better! Just pray that Lily Anne continues to make her milestones!

Don't worry, we will keep you updated~look for one on Friday after the cardiologist!

Just for you MK!

Introducing

Lily the Leopard!

She's so ferocious!

I mean, who wouldn't be intimidated by those piercing eyes?

Be afraid...be very afraid!

Thanks Auntie MK for the outfit!

More One Month Pictures

You really shouldn't continue to encourage me to post more pictures on the blog...because you know I will! So...since you requested them...here are more pictures of our big one month old!

One Month!

Today Lily Anne is one month old! In some ways it feels like she has always been with us...in other ways, we cannot believe one month has already flown by! We "celebrated" her one month birthday by doing ABSOLUTELY NOTHING (and it was wonderful)! We did attempt to take pictures of Lily Anne to commemorate her big day, but she was not very interested in cooperating.
So, of the zillion pictures I took, here are the few that make the cut!

My grandma, Lily Anne's Great Grandma knit this sweater and bonnet for me when I was little. Believe it or not, Lily Anne is almost too big for it!

And finally, this is SOOOOOO wrong, but SOOOOOO funny!

Weekly Update

This week we had two doctor's appointments...one with the pediatrician and one with the neurologist.

We were back at the pedi to once again check Lily Anne's bilirubin levels. She is up to 7 lbs 15.6 ounces (the .6 is very important to Justin as he wants her to hit that 8 lb mark soon). Her bilirubin level is 11.something, so it has dropped since last week :) The even better news-we don't have to go back for a month!!!

The neurologist appointment was pretty uneventful. We have been referred to another specialist and hopefully we will have a "complete picture" of what we are looking at soon. As it is now, we know there is an issue, but don't know exactly what it will mean for Lily Anne. We have also decided not to share at this time the name since we know you will go google the darn thing and there is a lot of varied information out there about it. Trust me, I know...I have googled it myself!! Please just pray for Lily Anne.

Quiet Weekend

It was a pretty quiet weekend in the Bannister house. We did take Lily Anne out on her first "non-doctor" excursions...to Babies R Us and the mall. She did pretty well, sleeping for most of it. Other than that, there is not much to update...but there are always pictures!


Lily Anne playing in her activity gym.And just so you don't think she is ALWAYS happy...
But luckily, the fits don't usually last very long!

Finally, this is what happens when you try to take a picture of a three week old and her two year old cousin. Notice how the two of them start slumping to the right and Lily Anne's face tells you how much she enjoyed the photo shoot!

First Day Without Daddy

Today Justin went into the office, so Lily Anne and I were on our own (oops, don't forget Baxter...although he is proving useless when it comes to changing diapers). It was strange being here by ourselves, but we handled it ok!


Lily tried out her activity gym and seemed to like it, as much as a two week old can "show" enjoyment (in other words...she didn't cry!). We flipped over to do some tummy time and wouldn't you know it, she promptly fell asleep. Oh well...we'll give it another go later!
We have a few appointments coming up. Some of these might be difficult for us, so if you don't mind, please continue to pray for Lily Anne.

Two Week Appointment

Today Lily Anne had her two week old appointment. First, her stats:

Weight: 7 lbs. 12 oz. (back to her birth weight) 25th-50th percentile

Length: 21.75 inches 75th-90th percentile (as if the two of us would have a short child)

Overall, she is right on track for a two week old. Her bilirubin levels are still up, but not in any kind of dangerous range. Apparently breastfed babies have a harder time getting rid of their jaundice. We go back in one week for another blood test.

Other than that, I have no real updates...but I do have more pictures (what did parents ever do before digital cameras?)

Can you tell she is sooooo excited about going back to the doctor's office? She finally got to wear the adorable hat that Debbie B. made for her. The blanket is courtesy of Grandpa Rex's friend Barbara J. Lily Anne is so spoiled with all these beautiful handmade gifts!

After the doctor's visit, Lily Anne crashed out in her bassinet. This pose cracks us up!

Wow...three days in a row with no appointments!

So, this is what it feels like not to visit a doctor's office every day. Lily Anne had an appointment on Thursday to check her bilirubin levels after being off the phototherapy. They went up slightly, but the doctor was not concerned. We have our two week old appointment on Monday where they will once again check her levels. She still looks a little yellow to me, but we will see.

The three of us spent the weekend at home adjusting to life with a newborn. Overall, she is pretty mellow...until 6 pm. Then she is wide awake and a bit fussy until she finally crashes around 8 or so. Justin reminded me that she was always most active during the pregnancy during this time period also. When she is in this mood, nothing seems to make her content except being held and walking around the house. No sitting, no rocking, you better be moving for this girl!

Now, other than the 6-8 time slot, all I can say is whoever invented the baby swing should be put on a pedestal for all to honor for eternity! She loves her swing and so do we! That, and the vibration mechanism on her bassinet. Another life savor! My only gripe is...why do all baby gadgets run on batteries? I think it is a conspiracy developed by Energizer.

Expect the updates to slow down a little bit as we are getting back to a "normal" life with a newborn (we will update on Monday for sure). I can only show off so many pictures of our little cupcake before you get bored with us! We have some more appointments coming up (neurologist, cardiologist), but they aren't for a little while. Thanks for your continued prayers and support!