Birthday for hubby/Prepping for a vacation/lots of other things

The past week has been eventful.
Even though the days feel long, the weeks go by fast it seems.

So, we switched Dove's milk again, to just the regular Sim.
She's eating better, but not perfect.
The doctor suggested that the soy backed her up (which I believe, since she's had 209340 blowouts since we switched milk) and that she is probably/possibly teething.

So we'll try this. I'm praying it works, because even though "she doesn't look like she's not eating" (comments I'm getting from people) she's not. And it's not ok.

//
Tomorrow we leave for Austin.
Hubby walks the stage and we visit our old stomping grounds.
Fun, yeah!?

Too bad I'm too anxious too see the good that'll come.
Not only do you have to pack the ENTIRE NURSERY when packing for an (almost) 5 month old, Lillian isn't great in the car, and a car trip that is 6-7 hours, isn't what I've wanted to do. Not only will I have to sit in the backseat with her, it's 2094850349 degrees and I'll melt and die. Argh.
There will be two babies on this trip crying, I can assure you that.
BUT. I WILL MAKE IT A GOOD TRIP. I HOPE.

Today is also my wonderful hubs birthday! He's the big 27 and has had to work all day (and still isn't home.) :'(
Dovie and I made him a present and baked him some homemade lemon squares.
Hoping he's not dead tired tonight when he drags in, he'll be happy with his gifts from us girls.
(It's the thought, really.)



I'm so happy that I re-discovered my baby sling.
When we first bought it, Lillian HATED it. (she hated most things)
and now that she can sit up and actually enjoy her surroundings, she loves it!
This will relieve my arm bulk while walking around Austin. YAY YAY.
:) :) :)

And that's really the only things that I can think of as of late. Our life is really sitting at home, not venturing out much due to the insane hot weather, walking around barely clothed, sweating and laying on the floor playing.
Hope you enjoyed this. Until we get back from vacation,
XO.

The Sickly's/ Chef BABE

Hi.
I just wanted to post that we changed our last name to the Sickly's.
Brandon has been sick.
Then Lillian.
And now me.

If cats and dogs could get sick, I'm sure they would be too.
Merrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

Hopefully we'll all be better for our trip to Austin.
Brando and I are so excited about visiting!
We're going to eat at all the yummy places, walk around the Domain.
And do all the old things we used to do.
Lillian should like it there, she was in my tummy while we lived there.
And now, it has finally come that my wonderful husband is walking the stage as a Chef.
The entire year of waking at 5 a.m., going to school, going to work and being away from each other for 6 months has finally paid off! And I am so proud of him!




Not only do I benefit from eating amazing food all the time, I'm blessed to have someone that has finished something and I'm so very, very proud of him!
So, if you see my hubs, tell him congrats! and pat him on the back! He totally deserves it!






To my wonderful Husband:
i will love you forever and always. I'm so happy that I married my best friend.
Even though the struggles of marriage, life and money have hit us hard, know that I will always love you.
Best friends forever, through thick and thin I love you to the moon and through the cosmos.
I'm so proud of you, and at times when I am nagging about leaving your shoes laying around, just know that is my wife-way of telling you I love you, and I'm glad I'm with you.
XOXO.




And that is all for this post folks!
Give me some suggestions to talk about, (I have many, but I'd like to know what others want to read!)
And if you could please do this for me, it would be amazing.
VOTE FOR US! XO
Thanks so much!
XO,

The pouting post.

I'm feeling really down on myself today.
Since I've switched Dove to soy, she's been a way better baby. (yay!)
We're still having some trouble sleeping, but during the day she's amazing.
I really think I made a good mama move by doing this, but the only thing that's worrying me is her appetite.
It's decreased a lot in the past couple of weeks, so I took her to the doctor today to rule out an ear infection/sickness.
She's fine.
She'd rather be playing and looking around than eating, - so I'm hoping this passes.
She's gaining weight still and wetting diapers normally.
So, all in all. Yay. Good news, right!?


It all goes back to if I were breastfeeding none of these things would ever happen.
I wouldn't stress about if I were feeding her the right formula. If I was giving her enough. Blah, blah blah.
For instance, when she was 2 weeks old and got RSV and pnemonia, she wouldn't have gotten it if I were breastfeeding.
All of her colic problems and fussiness, are they all due to formula? Is it all my fault because my hormones suck ass?

I wanted so badly to breastfeed.
It's always been planned out in my head that I'd breastfeed my children.
I want the best for them.
And to this day I still crave it.
Sometimes I cry reading all of the other mom's posts about breastfeeding their babies. And I get down on myself and literally cry. When I was breastfeeding Dove, she wouldn't latch right but I still kept at it, and used a shield. I loved the feeling of our skin on skin contact and the way I would wake up in the middle of the night to find her asleep on my chest. We were one, and so close.

I really wish I hadn't have gotten Post Partum Depression.
I wish I didn't have to be on anti-depressants so I could breastfeed.
I wish, I wish, I wish.
I haven't written about it on here because I haven't found the time to write something that serious, and, well, it brings up really bad memories for me. Making me feel real shitty about myself.
I miss breastfeeding, even though I did it only a week and a half.

And that's my pouty post.
Has anyone else ever felt this way, or am I a freak of nature for craving the closeness of my child and missing it?

I promise my next post won't be so down.
Pinkey Promise.
Xo.

Ah!

So damn adorable!

So high it can reach the sky...

Dove's little antenna that is.
:)

Soy milk & big girl beds.

Lots of changes have been happening around my house lately.
Dovie moved into her crib (aka, big girl bed) and she is doing pretty decent.
The only problem I have with it is that I can't reach to lay her down well; I'm too short.
So once I finally rock her to sleep, I go in to lay her down, and PLOP. She just sorta rolls out of my arms and of course wakes up.
I need to find a step stool of some sort to make it easier, because this is clearly not working out.


As for the milk...
Lillian is a fussy baby. It's simple. She won't let others hold her.
She hates being away from the house.
She hates the carseat.
She hates different bottle nippes that aren't the kind she takes.
She hates laying on her tummy.
She hates her toys when she gets frustrated with them.
She hates her swing. (waste of money)
And she cries. A lot. During the day. At night. Whenever. She's crying.

I kept telling her pediatrician that I would like to switch formula. She's been on the Simliac Sensitive (orange one) since she was 2 weeks old.... She has tummy issues, acid relux (is on baby zantac for that) and bad gas.
I get her gas drops.
We tried Gripe Water (which she hated and it made the milk in her tummy curdle and she would spit up a lot more) making her cry more. and I have also tried a hint of chamomille tea..nope.

So I finally decided to try to switch her formala myself, just to try it.
I'm trying Similac Insomil Soy (sensitive) it's the pink one.
I'm really really really hoping it works out.
She slept a little better last night, and I'm hoping that it was the milk. (not her recharging her batteries to be up the rest of the week) So, in a about a week I'll post back on the results.
Or you'll see my updates on facebook / twitter about it, i'm sure, way sooner.
(Hoping and Praying)
I really love my sweet dove, and I just want her at peace.



I'd really love to hear people's opinions and advice on both of these issues, as well as dealing with a super fussy baby.
I'm working on leaving her with grandparents and other people so she'll get over screaming, but it's just so hard on me.
I feel like my baby will never be happy, and that i'll never catch a break!
(I know, this too shall pass)
Please leave feedback! Anything will help!
I'm a learning mama with an unhappy baby.

XO.

The 4 month regression/I'm a mombie post.

Has anyone else's kid been a decent sleeper, and then all of a sudden turned into a waking, every hour/two hours newborn?
Lillian is apparently going through a complex to where she thinks she's a newborn.
She wants to cat nap all throughout the day, and then at night, the longest she sleeps is like 3 hours and then she's up.
Wanting her thumb/sassy (pacifier) or just to be held. Half the time she wants her bottle, so I thought that this was just a growth spurt, but apparently there is such a thing as a "Four Month Old Sleep Regression."
Saying it makes my tummy hurt.

So, the past week I have been a zombie mom.
A mombie.


I have ruled out ear infection/teething/sickness and just about everything else.
Lillian thinks she's a newborn.
And my hubby and I miss our sleep.

Has anyone else's kid gone through this? Was there hope? Light at the end of the tunnel?
I know, 'this too shall pass' , but my goodness, I am craving my pillow.
Too bad there isn't a cure for this....


Oh, and I started doing this again.

:) Fun times!

Xo.

Aw memories..

I found this photo on my phone! Sometimes i miss monitoring and listening to my sweets little heartbeat.

Even though im sleep deprived and Lilly screams 23 out of the 24 hour day, im so happy to have my darling.

Oh hey..

... just reading some online comics with daddy.
(i love her little mohawk!)

Today will be good. I'm making it that way!
Xo.

I miss smiling.

Of course I smile every morning when I get that gummy smile from my lovey dove.
And I smile at my cats when they hop around like rabbits, and my dog when rolls around on the carpet.
I smile when something is funny, and when me and Brando goof around tickling each other, but


...I just really really miss smiling all the time.

Lately, the stress of money, exhaustion and pretty much LIFE has taken a toll on me.

And I guess that's it.
XO.

OMGZ! The post with lots of ( )'s.

I'm so happy!!!!!! (it's sad, really) that I'm on here. I know I won't get many more readers or anything, but I love the fact that I'm on here now.




If you'd like to get my blog to move on up, please do this for me; Pretty Pretty Please!
http://www.topbabyblogs.com/cgi-bin/topblogs/in.cgi?id=pegapalo


Anyway, onto better things.
Today has been BUSY, and I completely RULE.

(and I don't know why I look so sleepy/drunk, because I'm not. Hehe)
//
Dove and hubs and I went walking this morning! It was so refreshing and beautiful out. The mornings are beautiful, but probably just because they aren't 209840239842 degrees. It is now, 30948539048 degrees, so you get what I'm saying.
Anywho, we found this little guy on the sidewalk, and we rushed him back to the park lake, (or whats left of it.)




After that, we went and shopped for some things for lunch.
We got a yummy little chicken dish and made a salad with super yum balsamic vinigerette.
(Yum, Yum, Yum)
We came home, I went on a run (and probably looked completely retarded.) and popped a chicken in the oven to bake.
(i munch on that throughout the week!)

Afterwards, daddy and dove took and nap. (which they are still doing btw) and I cleaned the entire house.
I RULE.
Now i'm sitting here, blogging and enjoying this:
SUPER YUM.




This week has been super exhausting. Upon everything that I deal with, my pup woke up the other morning, throwing up, panting and falling over! Crying and freaked out, we took him to the vet. They said he was nauseated and his joints were hurting, gave us meds and sent us on our way..... A couple of hours later, he was still panting, so we took him again. This time they did an x-ray, and found out he's got congestive heart failure. (POUT POUT) and that this has been happening for a while now. He's got fluid on his lungs and his heart is super overlarged. So basically, he's slowly having a heart attack and will live at the longest another year. (with medicine 3 times a day, oh joy)
So, now I'm completely paranoid that I'm going to wake up and find my main man asleep asleep. Ugh. My anxiety is all up in knots! ....Now, I still didn't believe that this is what caused him to go have all of these random things all at once. Because he's had this for a while (apparently) and has never acted like that before. I searched up dog strokes and I am convinced he had one. Today he is back to his old self completely. (AMAZING) And I'm so happy that I still have my pup to love on.
God is so good!

Now, I think i'll pet my kitter kats and pup and wait for my loves to wake up.
Or, instead, I think I might just take a nap myself since that's what everyone is doing.

Please vote!
XO!

Told you!

SO ADORABLE.



// Also, I took Dove to get her 4 month shots yesterday, and I told the doctor about how she's been extra fussy lately.
She checked her ears, nose, throat, everything. Nothing.
So she took some blood and also cathed her. :'( My poor sweet baby girl, we got some of the results back and her white blood cell count is a little high, meaning she is fighting off some type of virus...And her urine came back odd, so we're waiting for the next two days to see the results of the culture.
Makes me so, so so sad. My poor baby is always so sick, and I do everything I can to prevent it!

Let's pray these antibiotics work and she'll get better soon.
Xo.


(on an even sadder note, my parents baby calf that was born a few days ago ended up not making it for those who have kept up with that story on facebook.....she was born prematurely and couldn't figure out how to suck. We tried bottle feeding and injecting pedia-light and everything and anything we could. Poor sweet angel is in heaven now.)
Ugh, depressing.

A short, "my daughter is so cute" post:

My daughter is completely adorable!
I'm pretty sure we're hitting the whole, "4 month sleep regression" stage, and we've had difficulty with her napping and sleeping through the night. (which she was doing amazing, 10:30-7:30, completely awesome)
And now it's bed at late late late whenever, and waking up throughout the night.
Unfair. (to mommy that is)


So tonight, bath and bottle and we rocked. And rocked and rocked and rocked.
She refused to go to sleep but is so sleepy.
So I sat her alone in her bed and cracked the door.
I heard a couple of noises, coos, fusses, but all in all, a weird smacking noise.
I went in to peek, and found that little Dove is sucking her thumb and putting herself to sleep.
COMPLETELY DAMN ADORABLE.

Her sucking her thumb takes me back to the pictures of her I saw in the womb with her sucking her thumb.
Omg. I want to squeal with cuteness....
But I won't. Because I'm super tired.

So, hope you enjoyed my adorable post; goodnight!
Xo!

So many pictures, so little time...

Lillian is weirdly still asleep this morning. (She did wake up at 5 to have a bottle, but then straight back to bed with her and she hasn't budge sense.) Of course she is breathing because I'm a hovering parent and check a zillion times.

Anyway, I figured I'd at least try to update while I can.
The past couple of days have been filled with craft night at Eleni's house, where I made a little "L" for Dove's room, and yesterday we cooked out at Brandon's parents house.. Dove loves the water, but this was just a little too cold for her toes.



She did however enjoy "shading" (not sunbathing) in the grass and talking to the trees.



After all of that nonesense, we put her to sleep and she enjoyed her cousins crib.
So much room to move around, she slept a full 3 hours and it freaked me out a little.

But she's fine, and we're going to be moving her into her crib this week.
This completely breaks my heart, I love her little bassinet and having it next to my bed, being able to listen to her every little breath and hearing her squirm. She's growing up way too fast, but I guess when her feet start hanging out over the sides of her bassinet, it's time for a change. :/

As for today, we've got a lot going on. We're going to run lots of errands to pick of formula and medicines for us, and then head over to baby Stella's "Stellabration" . Let's just hope Lillian can put her big girl diapers and not scream the entire time we're doing all of these wonderful things.. *sign* I can already feel the anxiety casting over me...

Daddy starts his new and second job next week. We're filled with sadness, relief and worry. We don't want him to be gone so much but we really need the extra money. I'm so proud of my husband and how hard he works. One day he's going to be the great chef he already is, and he'll have everything his dreams desire. But until then, I know that he works hard and we're so very grateful for our strong and hardworking daddy. So here's to you babe, we love you!


"Cast all your anxiety on him because HE cares for you. " Peter 5:7


XOXO!