Silas is smiling!

Yes! Silas is smiling! We've been trying, desperately, to catch his smile on camera. But babies seem to have that 6th sense of knowing exactly when the camera is out...and thus, he stops smiling. But, you can see we've caught a few halfway smiles :)

He is also cooing more for us. We've found that he is most alert and active at night....right before he does to bed...of course. Nonetheless, it is adorable. He loves to watch the fan whirl, stares at lights, and just coos and coos with us. Here are some pictures of smiles we've caught, so far. Enjoy!

Reflux Update #2

This past week has been a particularly rough week for our family. First, we received back-to-back negative financial news that has had us quite concerned. But yesterday was the worst when we had to take Silas back to the pediatrician about his reflux.

His reflux has not gotten any better since the last update. In fact, it has gotten progressively worse. The medicine he was on was not working and his spitting up had turned into vomiting. When we fed him, we had to start using a bath towel instead of burp cloths because it was so extreme. He would choke on it, it hurt him before and after feedings, and he was constantly hungry. I made an appointment yesterday morning with Dr. Rule again to see what the next step should be.

Again, Dr. Rule is amazing. She not only interacts well with Silas, but also with parents. Being somewhat familiar with doctors and bedside manner, it's a relief to speak with a doctor who is not patronizing, willing to answer questions, and understands the concerns of new parents.

That being said, she talked through his symptoms with me and decided that he needed a change in medicine. But, because he had started vomiting more, she told me she was concerned he may have a condition known as pyloric stenosis. She said that if this new medicine (Prevacid) did not help him, or we at least didn't see a bit of change in 24 hours, she was going to send us to the hospital to get him an ultrasound to see if he has the condition (which would require surgery if he did have it). Needless to say, my heart plummeted as worry, fear, and sadness set in. Dr. Rule was very encouraging though, ensuring me that it might not be the case and she truly felt it was severe reflux--especially considering that in a week in a half, Silas gained a whole pound. At 8 weeks old, he weighs 12lbs 3oz. Wow!

After the appointment, I got the medicine filled (and I thought the last stuff was expensive!). We started it when we got home and saw immediate improvement. While he is still spitting up 3 or 4 times at each feeding, the quantity is not nearly what it was. Also, he has not vomited once since taking the medicine. He still seems to be in pain after feedings, but this is only 2 doses in. The hardest part about this medicine is that we have to give it to him once a day, a half hour before feeding--which is hard because he then cries for a solid half hour because he is hungry :(

We called Dr. Rule back this morning and gave her the update. We do not have to have an ultrasound today, and she said that we just needed to keep an eye on him over the weekend. This is such a positive thing to see improvement in only 2 doses of Prevacid. Please continue to pray with us that he improves and this is the answer to his pain!

We are truly grateful for all of the prayers and messages we've received from you, thus far. Please keep them coming! Through all of this, we are continually reminded of God's grace for us and of our need for His strength during times like these. We will continue to keep you updated!

The picture below is one I've just taken. Silas is sleeping in our bed in what we call his "milk drunk" pose. This demonstrates how much better he already is because usually the reflux hurts too much after a feeding for him to fall asleep.

Sleep-full Nights

Silas is sleeping though the night! We didn't want to post or say anything too soon, but he has slept 8+ hours every single night this week. He's had random other times he has slept through the night--as early as a week or two old, but this is the first consistent week. Needless to say, we are quite thrilled with this.

How did we do it? Well, we think there are a couple of factors helping (although it could just be coincidental). For one, we have been swaddling him at night since Day 1. We try not to swaddle him during the day so that way he knows that being swaddled is a nighttime thing. We have special swaddlers we use to make sure he is snug as a bug. Alan does the swaddling because when he wraps Silas in, Silas cannot move. Apparently, one of many reasons babies wake up at night is because their hands get near their face, they start scratching, and thus wake themselves up. You can see the picture above of swaddled Silas.

Another factor is probably the rice cereal. We always feed him right before we put him to bed so we think that adding rice cereal to his bottles is helping him to have a fuller tummy. We started the rice cereal this week, which is the main reason why we think this is helping.

Finally, Silas is just a wonderful little boy. When his reflux isn't bothering him, he really is quite laid-back. We couldn't have asked for a better baby! Hopefully, this sleeping through the night will continue, especially considering I have to go back to work in a week!

Our little Piglet

This is a picture of Silas in one of his newborn onsies, given to him by (Great) Grandmother Donna. It was taken the first night we got home from the hospital.

Now, the picture below is one taken of Silas tonight, in the same onesie. Do you see how it is stretched on him? That's not him stretching...the onesie is almost too small! Our Piglet is growing!



The pictures were taken with camera phones, so apologies for the lack of clarity.

He's growing by leaps and bounds and eating quite a bit to get there! Today, he ate 6 oz and even 7 oz at separate feedings. We've already pulled out and washed the bigger bottles for tomorrow.

As I write this, Silas is sleeping peacefully after a warm bath, snuggled in his Daddy's lap. It is just precious and I just can't believe it--our 7-week old baby is fitting into 3-6 month clothes, already! I dread the thought, but I am soon going to begin putting those precious newborn clothes away. Time really does fly...

I hope Cliff and Samantha have some of Dylan's clothes to pass on when we visit in June. Silas is going to need them!

Random Videos of Silas

We've started taking a few videos of Silas and all of his cuteness! The video below is one of him making puppy noises while he sleeps. It's really funny, adorable, and lets us know when he is truly asleep. Take a look!






This next video is one of him sticking his tongue out at us...I know it is just a newborn reflex, but it is still cute!

Reflux Update #1

Day One update:

It has only been about 24 hours since we started with the changes Dr. Rule recommended, but we have already seen a little difference!

We started putting rice cereal in his bottles, but have come across a little problem. When we have the slow flow nipple on the bottle, it clogs easily and is hard for him to get anything out of it. When we switch to the medium flow, it is too much for him at once and he still ends up spitting up a lot. We tried putting a needle into the slow flow and expanding it a bit (I know, not the best option), but that didn't make a difference. Now, we are using the medium flow, but stopping every few sips to let him breathe and get that bit down. This seems to be working!

He apparently loves the rice cereal, too. In fact, we are mixing 1.5 tsp of rice cereal with 4oz of milk, and Piglet chugs it down! Then, he cries for more. To appease him, were giving him another ounce of plain breast milk (no rice) but, he immediately spit that up. So it looks like adding the rice really is helping! If he keeps this eating up, we are going to have to switch from the 4oz. bottles to the 8oz.! He is still just a little fussy after he eats, but he's only had 3 doses of the medicine, so we will see how a few more doses affect him.

On a positive note, Silas is gaining plenty of weight (which the doctor was very happy about). At his appointment yesterday, he weighed 11 pounds, 3 oz. He gained a whole pound in 2 weeks!

Silas and reflux

We are enjoying every moment with our little man...he has been such a good baby! Needless to say, it was pretty difficult when we realized that he's been having some severe reflux issues. Let me back up and start from the beginning.

When I was pregnant with Silas, he ALWAYS had the hiccups. It was adorable. And once he was born, he continued to get the hiccups and it was even more adorable to watch him with them! When he eats, he tends to arch his back and stretch his neck--another adorable quirk we thought he had. Silas was also spitting up quite a bit, which we didn't think was too alarming, so we didn't think much of it.

Unfortunately, the spitting up started getting worse. He was spitting up anywhere from 6-8 times after he ate. The spit up wasn't just a little, either. It would soak his clothes, blankets, or whatever was close to him. We even got a picture (unintentionally) of him mid spit up. Then, his feedings started digressing--instead of eating 3-4 oz every 3 hours, he started needing to be fed every hour to hour and half, and it would take 45 minutes for him to eat 3 oz. FInally, he would get really fussy during and after his feedings. Now, we were starting to be concerned.

As it turns out, all of his cute quirky traits we loved so much, combined with the change in feedings, translated into severe reflux. We did a little internet research on it (I know, Dad, you hate it when patients do that!) and emailed a friend whose children also have this and scheduled an appointment with our pediatrician.

We saw Dr. Rule (who is amazing), and she confirmed that it does sound like Silas has reflux. She told us to start adding a little rice cereal to the breastmilk and also prescribed Axid, twice a day. She told us we should see an immediate difference within 24-48 hours, and by his two-month appointment (June 9) the difference should be substantial. If there is no difference, then he may have a milk protein allergy and that's not a route we want to venture down...

Hopefully, this will work...we will let you know!

Oh, and the picture above? That is him spitting up (too gross?...maybe), and he is wearing a Jeep sleeper with a Harley cap. Daddy dressed him :)

Yes...We are blogging!

Never did I imagine that we would enter the world of family blogging. I always thought it was a little cheesy and possibly a little pretentious, as well (why would people want to read about me?). Now that Silas has entered the world and we live over 750 miles away from our closest family, I understand the need for a blog--and am eating my words as you read :)

The point of this blog is to keep our dear family and friends updated with what is going on in our world. No, we don't feel we are so important that everyone must be informed; but, we do know that there are plenty of people who love us and want to be updated on what is going on in our lives. This is an alternative to making a dozen phone calls each time something happens!

Don't worry, our phone calls won't stop...unless you want them to!

Happy reading!