Fourteen Weeks Old

Weight: 9 lbs. 13 oz.
Length: 21.75"
Head Circumference: 39.4 cm

Wowsers...it's been almost the entire month of July since I last blogged. I know, I know and I'm sorry!!! So the short of it is that DJ, April, and the twins came to visit for ten days. And Alysia came home during that time too! We had a FABULOUS time!!!

In these past few weeks, Ella has become that much more smiley and talkative. She is certainly capable of babbling up a storm at times!! She has also packed on the pounds - gaining almost 2.5 pounds over the last month. She was 9 pounds 13 ounces as of last Wednesday!!!

The California crew came in late on July 8th so we had to wait to see them until the 9th. It was hard waiting but was well worth it!!! DJ, April, and I spent many of their days here together feeding, changing, and rocking the babies. In fact, many of the times, all three of the babies were on the same schedule. So we would all sit down and feed together - which was fun to have company. Now I sometimes get lonely feeding all on my own!!

Then we would get to trade off babies depending on who was being the quietest and which one of us needed to do something or get some sleep. One of the nights I left Todd and Ella home and traveled with DJ, April, and the twins to a picnic in Lewiston. Even though I missed my crew, I enjoyed being able to give my time to holding and taking care of my niece and nephew!!

On Thursday, July 10th, Alysia came with me to Children's for a Hematology appointment. Boy was I glad she came. The first 40 minutes I spent checking in at 4 different windows (check in for the general clinic, check in for the specific Hematology clinic, check in for the blood labs registration, and check in to get her blood drawn). After another hour's wait Ella got 5 tubes of blood drawn (poor baby). We were then able to be seen by the hematologist which always includes a resident coming in first and then we see Dr. Ambrusko. And after all of this her labs were not ready to be read...argh!

But that same night, my friend from school, Megan, had her baby - Emily Marie. She sure is a cutey!! We're hoping to get over to see Emily soon.

Mom and John then hosted a big ol' family picnic on Sunday, July 13th. It was so great to hang out with a bunch of our cousins, aunts, and uncles. I do have to say that it was such a relief that just about everyone 'volunteered' to wash their hands before holding Ella or the twins. It's so helpful to not have to ask people to wash their hands. It's such a simple task that can save any baby from picking up germs that can lead to illness - some that are harmless to us but will knock out a little bambino!!

The next day, on Monday, we had a Radder breakfast at CJ's on Sheridan. We basically took over their back room! It was great because Grumpa was able to join us and meet the twins too! And the food was quite yummy in our tummies!!! And...there were plenty of arms ready and willing to hold the babies so us new parents could eat using BOTH hands!!

On Tuesday, Todd, Ella, DJ, April, Maya, Zachary, and I ventured up to Lewiston again, this time to Tom, Kate, and Anna's house. Tom is DJ's bestest friend - the one who has been my medical dictionary and medical terminology translator as well. My cousin Kevin and Gen and their two girls, Mason and Isabella were there too. It was funny to step back and look at how our get togethers have changed from late night beer drinking to mid afternoon cookouts. The neat part is that we are all going through this 'stage' at the same time.

Wednesday was another Radder meal with Dad, Heather, Grumpa, and Cathy (Grumpa's lady friend), Alysia, DJ, April, Zachary, and Maya. We have definitely found that entertaining is not as easy anymore especially because we tend to be down a person especially when I'm feeding Ella. But tonight was at least a little easier since Dad brought over, prepared, and cooked the meat. Every little bit of help we can get these days helps. Besides Todd has certainly been a trooper picking up a lot of the slack too!

Thursday morning, mom's neighbor and a mother of two students I have taught, came over and taught DJ, April, and I infant massage. It was really neat to learn. Cheri was kind enough to compact three sessions into one so that DJ and April could participate before they leave. I will probably do it again with Megan (my friend from above who just had a baby). I have since tried to do some of the 'moves' at least once a day with Ella. She seems to enjoy it!

And then the dreaded day came on Friday - when DJ, April, Zachary, and Maya had to leave. I don't think I've ever cried before when DJ has left but it really hit me this time. I just so enjoyed spending time with DJ and April as well as cuddling, kissing, hugging, holding, and taking care of Maya and Zachary. It was really had to see them leave. It would be a wish come true for us to be together all the time!

So that next Monday, July 21st, we had a GI appointment (liver specialist) only to arrive to locked doors. After calling the main office (I was at a satellite location) they told me my appointment wasn't until August 21st. That may have been how the receptionist put it in the computer but I know for a fact that the appointment was for July only because Dr. Baker did not even want to wait six weeks to see Ella again. So after pulling the "just three months ago my daughter was in liver failure" the office was able to find me an appointment for later in the week with Dr. Putnam. He was very pleased with Ella's progress and went over each one of the labs that were done on Ella. The most impressive is that her bilirubin levels are almost ZERO!!!!

Previous to that appointment we had Ella's three month check up. I can't tell you how much I LOVE our pediatrician's office. First there's Dr. Cavalieri (a friend of my mom's side of the family) who came to the hospital every Sunday to check in on Ella's progress. Then there's Dr. Trask who is so good at listening and letting me know that everything is okay and that we're doing the best we can. And finally, Dr. Watson, who set aside an hour for this month's visit and called me back when I was having a paranoid mom moment. The scary part of the appointment was beginning Ella's immunizations. We had put off the shots until now to allow Ella as much time as possible to get better before putting foreign bodies into her body. Even though Ella is behind on her shots, we agreed to only give her two at a time. One reason is so that if she has a reaction we would know exactly which one since she received one shot in each leg. The other reason is that I just didn't want her body to have to deal with too much. After a slight scare that she was having a reaction (she could not stop crying for over 15 minutes - which is absolutely unlike Ella), everything turned out to be just fine. She will go back for two more shots either next week or at her four month visit.

On Saturday, Alysia left to visit Ithaca, then make her way to NYC where she will get a plane to Gainsville, FL. She is moving down there to teach some classes as well as audit some classes. There is then a possibility that she will apply to the Religion and Nature program at the University of Florida. Sounds like it's all right up her ally! I definitely miss having Alysia around too. She has become one great cook, aunt, and babysitter!!!

And finally, the whole sleep issue. Which tends to be the number one questions when I see people, "How is she sleeping?" I'm not sure if it would be considered a regression, but Ella still has one good chunk of sleep, but is now getting up every two to three hours like clockwork and not napping very well. I'm sure most if it is our fault because we either have a doctor's appointment or just not home to give her consistency. So I reviewed Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child and started keeping a chart to see if I can find a pattern to her day. I am also following the author's advice to not allow her to stay awake for more than 2 hours no matter what it takes to get her to sleep. And as of today, it's really working!!! She has so far taken 3 one hour or more naps. Apparently, when we get her naps in order it will really help her night sleeping as well. I'll keep you posted.

Okay, I think I've given you enough to read for now. I will attempt to get back on track updating each Tuesday. Stay posted...