6 months!

Well, we had our 6 month f/u appt yesterday. Baby Jordyn is doing great. Well, mostly. Her growth is right on track--16 lbs, 10 oz (70th percentile) and 26 inches long (60th percentile). However, she is still not sleeping for me. And she seems to have times when she just can't be consoled. Almost colic-like. So, we've tried EVERYTHING we could think of. Seriously. Nothing seems to matter. Our last-ditch effort was a trial of 2 days of just formula (thinking it was maybe something I was eating that was bothering her). One full bottle of formula = vomit 5 min later. Fluke?? Nursed her during the night = fine. 2nd full bottle of formula = vomit 5 min later. *Light bulb moment*....hmmmm, could this be a milk intolerance?? Discussed this with the pedi. After hearing our struggles, and finding a rash on Jordyn's back that she said looked like a food allergy rash, she suggested that I try a strict non-dairy diet. And she gave us a sample of non-dairy formula. We'll see. It can take up to 2 weeks to determine if this is helping. I'm definitely not looking forward to this (have you ever noticed that EVERYTHING has milk in it?!?!), but if it helps, I'm game!

Jordyn won't touch the formula. Can't say that I blame her. It smells absolutely awful! So yesterday, we mixed it with breast milk. I'm hoping to add more and more formula each time to get her used to it. However, my goal is to continue breast feeding through the winter months (cold/flu season).

I'm also worried that she is just using me as a pacifier during the night. I'm trying not to nurse her every time she wakes up, but sometimes that is all that works. I need to just let her cry, but 1) that breaks my heart and 2) her room is right next to Jacob's and I prefer to not wake him up and have to deal w/ 2 cranky kids at 3 in the morning. However, I do realize that if I don't nip this in the bud NOW, it's only gonna get worse. And no offense to any die-hard breastfeeding advocates out there, but I don't plan to be nursing if my daughter can come up and start unbuttoning my shirt. ....just a bit too creepy for my taste.

Anyway, despite the nighttime sleep struggles (oh wait, she won't nap much either, so that'd be nighttime AND daytime sleep struggles), she is perfect. I'm a walking zombie these days, but still awake enough to notice how stinkin' cute she is.......

Our first family hike....

I'm sooooo proud of our lil' man. He is such a big boy. At 3...almost 4 years old, he held his own on our weekend hike. We hiked a little over 3 miles of wooded, grassy, hilly trails and he kept up like a champ (and only complained a little....maybe even less than we did...of course, we were carrying 16 lbs of baby and a back pack w/ water, etc....LOL).

It was a GORGEOUS day and we couldn't stand being inside, so off we went. This trail is a conservation area about 18 miles from our home in Hartsburg. Once you get to the "top" of the trail, there is an overlook deck and the view is just amazing.

I'm so happy that Jacob enjoys being outside. I hope to enstill a love of nature and the outdoors over sitting in front of the idiot box all day. Seems like he's on the right track so far. Hopefully, he'll learn some good habits to teach his sister.