Changes

This weekend was a big weekend (in our little world) on several fronts.

1) Moving into our new house
2) Chappell switched formula (yet again… I think this is the 8th or 9th time?)
3) Chappell moved out of our bedroom Sunday night – actually turned out to be really sad…

The move went rather smoothly. I guess as smoothly as one would expect. Mom and Dad came over, which was a great help. Dad didn’t really do much… he warned me before, “I will not be doing any heavy lifting.” Thanks, Dad. Like I really figured you would? However, he was good at entertaining Chappell while we were busy doing other things. We had a few challenges… our movers were thugs (I think most are), it was pouring down rain the whole time they packed up our storage unit, and poor Chaps wasn’t feeling so hot. BUT, I will go into that in my next paragraph. By the way, in regards to my “thug” comment… I wouldn’t have said that, but they were so rude and ruined a lot of my things. They tracked dirt all through my new house and insisted on dragging their big wheel dollies inside instead of carrying the boxes to their specific destinations. They stepped on linen bags with muddy feet. They turned my white couch brown. Scratched my walls and tons of my furniture. On top of that… they had a really bad attitude. Nufff said.
All in all, I think it looks pretty good! I’m currently waiting on the cable guy to install the cable and internet. I’ll post pics later today or tomorrow.

So, about the formula. Chappell loved the taste of the soy, but it was giving her serious fits of constipation. It was the saddest thing I’ve ever seen/been through. Over the past week I’ve gotten to be best friends with the nurse at my pediatrician’s office. We tried all of the natural remedies… apple juice (3.5 ounces twice a day – that’s a lot), warm baths, tummy rubs, exercising her legs. Nothing seemed to work long term. Just a heads up to any of you that are moms (I think there are umm… 2), glycerin pediatric suppositories (I think made by Fleet) are amazing. They are made for 2 to 5 year olds but the pharmacist (and another mom friend) told me to just break it in half. They aren’t harmful to the baby in any way… no stimulants. Awesome. She was having the worst time and lemme tell you- those things clear a baby out in about 5 minutes. For all of my college friends without kids, I’m sorry. You’ll probably never read this blog again. Just remember for the future I guess!? We’re trying Enfamil lactose-free, milk based formula. How they make a milk based formula that is lactose free is beyond me. Thought the two went hand in hand.

Finally, on to the last major milestone of the weekend: Last night was the first night Chappell slept away from us… in her own room – in her crib! After I put her to bed… I came to the sad realization that this is all going by way too fast. You wait an eternity (9 months) for this little person to get here… and once the baby’s born time just flies. I almost started to cry when I looked over the side of the bed and she wasn’t there. I think I went upstairs to check on her 3 times. Heck, it would’ve been many more if I didn’t have that TV monitor!
Even though I’ve never been more tired (and sometimes frustrated) in my entire life… I can’t believe she is almost 4 months old. It’s all happening way too quickly! I just want her to stay this way forever.

Here is a picture of Chappell sitting with a picture of me at 6 months old. Dad got some of her smiling and it was kind of creepy. I'll get his pictures later... I only got a frown!

Read with caution

I should go ahead and warn you that this blog post contains a lot of talk about a pretty popular subject around our house… poop.
This weekend I went to Mary Carolyn’s bachelorette party at the Sandestin Hilton. We had so much fun! I think I had a little too much fun since this was my first weekend away - all by myself. Let’s just say I was probably the only mom in Rum Runners. I don’t think I’ll be returning there anytime soon.
Here comes the poop. As you already know (if you read my blog), I changed Chaps back to a soy formula on Thursday. Her doctor said she was old enough to give it a shot, and that she should be fine. For the most part, she is… except when it comes to the lovely BM. Yesterday Reed and I went shopping for a few big ticket items: TV, king size bed and a washer/dryer. We close on our new house Wednesday! After shopping we decided to eat at the one and only Olive Garden, which R affectionately refers to as the O.G. Lounge. Shortly after we sat down, poor Chaps attempts to poo. Her face turned bright red and was accompanied by loud grunting (kind of embarrassing). Not to mention the smell! It was the saddest thing I’ve ever seen. Once she finally finished, I was forced to tackle the one thing I’ve avoided her entire life: THE BATHROOM CHANGING TABLE.
I think everyone knows that I hate germs and public restrooms. I avoid them at all costs. I could barely stand to change poor baby Chappell in/on one. Ugh. She started screaming, and poop went everywhere. There was no trashcan for the changing table (what the hell?), so I had to throw the poopy wipes 10 feet across the stall to the toilet. I missed half (I’m not an athlete), and the other half covered all parts of the potty. We’re talking approximately 10 poop covered wipes. Oh heavens…
Just wanted to give everyone a little honest insight as to what motherhood entails. Hope you enjoyed!
Happy Monday… :)

Soy Soy Soy

We're giving it a try today. So far, two bottles down the hatch and things seem OK. If this works, it would be much more economical than spending $10 a day on hypoallergenic formula! Cross your fingers for us...
Currently we're sitting on the side porch of the beach house... Chappell sleeping across my lap... watching the Spring Breakers walk/ride by. Pretty relaxing. If I wasn't so disgusting and needing a shower, this would be a lovely way to spend the afternoon!

On request

Allison, this is for you!

The only baby picture of me here (at the beach) was taken at one year of age. Here it is! So now, who do you think Chappell looks like?

Bumbo Photo Shoot at Ally's

Trip to P-Cola

The self inflicted changes in Chap's feeding schedule have caused her some trouble sleeping through the night for the past few days.  After a busy weekend w/ guests, I was looking forward to sleeping until at least 6am on Monday... and Tuesday!  This did not seem to be Chappell's plan, as we were up doing feedings twice a nice to catch up on her caloric intake.  Flashback to about 1-2 months ago.  After two nights of this I just had to get to Pcola so mom could take her one night.  Reed's sad that we left, but he can't stay up with her with work the next morning.  It's nice enough of him to go downstairs and heat up the bottles for her late night feedings.  I am very thankful that he does all baby-nighttime work on the weekends to let me sleep.  I've always been the kind of person who REQUIRES sleep.  If I get too rundown and tired, I always get sick... not to mention really cranky!

Anyways, so I drove over to the Golden Pear where I was immediately greeted with a glass of wine, facial and a pedicure.  Much better..... much better!  Now I'm refreshed enough to go back tonight.  Reed's taking Chaps to Baypoint w/ his family for the weekend since I have MC's bachelorette weekend.  New house in 7 days!

Here is a pic of Chappell staring at her beloved Baby Einstein DVD:

All Smiles

Thankfully the Strike seems to have ended!

We shall see...

I'm not a mind reader

Once I finally think I’ve figured this child out, she throws me right off. After all of our past formula drama, Chaps seemed to be happy on Nutramigen. Well, for the past couple of days, our big eater has been on strike. I haven’t been able to get her to take even half of a bottle. And it’s been a struggle to get half down the hatch. For moms who know what I’m talking about… I can’t get her to eat more than 3 ounces?? So, I called the pediatrician and they had us come in this morning. Nothing is wrong with her. They examined another dirty diaper (gross), and weighed her. She weighs 13 pounds! When I say that I’ve had to fight for 3 ounces, I mean baby arms flailing with all of her 13 pound might. Then she spits formula in my face. My once laid back baby has developed some major stubbornness. Hmmmm, wonder where that came from?
I wouldn’t care, but I can literally hear her stomach growling and I know she’s hungry because she’ll start eating and then suddenly stop. Very strange.
Anyways, the doctor said that she might just be going through some sort of a phase and it shouldn’t last long. She also said it’s possible for her to be teething. Another suggestion was to limit all stimulation during feedings. No TV, and not too much noise. Chappell has definitely discovered TV so I’ve been avoiding that anyways. It freaks me out when she stares so intently at Reed’s beloved ESPN. Who knows. Sometimes I wish this little girl could talk. It would make life a lot easier!

A few more from the Christening

Schuyler sent me these from her camera. Such good pics, I had to add them!

Chappell's Christening

Today, Chappell was Baptised in Pensacola at First United Methodist Church at the 11 o'clock service.  I was really nervous going into the church because Chappell was a little cranky after being off schedule all weekend... but she was incredible!  She was so well behaved during the ceremony.  Chaps was a little puzzled when all of a sudden cold water was poured over her head, but quickly recovered.  I think Wesley (the preacher/minister) knew it was best to make sure that paci stayed in as much as possible.  All the kids in the church were up at the alter with us, and had a "parade" behind Wesley to show the baby to the congregation.  After she was baptised, she just went right to sleep in her daddy's arms.  Good stuff!

Wesley performed our marriage ceremony in May 2007, so this was really special for all of us.

Chappell wore the same gown Smith, ML & I wore.  She looked beautiful. 

I hope no one gets their feelings hurt-- we decided to do it about 3 weeks ago and didn't send invitations.  It was a very small affair!

We had a little luncheon afterwards at the house and here are some pics.

Auntie Smith's Birthday

This is a little late, but February 6th was Smitty's birthday.  We went to Global Grill in Pensacola to celebrate.  Here are a few pics from the event... even though it was about a month ago.  Better late than never!

Couldn't Live Without

I am obsessed with this Safety 1st rear view mirror. I heard about it from a few mom friends - and it really is awesome. I bought an Eddie Bauer mirror from Target, but it was terrible. This one isn't warped.. it reflects like a real mirror even though it's not made of glass (obviously). It makes car trips with crying much less stressful! The only place I've seen it is Babies R Us.

The Summer video monitor is the bomb. Enough said.

Nuk pacifiers are pretty awesome. They buy me a lot of free time... a content baby means I can go to the bathroom, get a snack, or just leave her alone for a little while. Pathetic I know, but life changes a lot when you have a baby. For some reason, she will only use the ones with clear nipples. I don't know how she knows the difference, but she certainly does! She refuses to use the tan ones... maybe way too different from her pale mom? Who knows.

Nutramigen formula by Enfamil. I've told a lot of you about our formula escapades, but Miss Chappell will only drink the most expensive formula they make. Awesome. Runs us $9-$10 a can. We use one can a day. Again, Awesome. It smells like dog food.

Footie pajamas are great. They used to make late night diaper changes so much easier. I still love them, and since she doesn't sleep with blankets, they keep her warm.

Reed... AKA Dad.

Sonny! With Lyle's baby, Iain.

Playing on the bed