Glimmer of hope

Well things have been kindof touch and go at the Graham household lately. Poor Miss Riley had a few good days mixed in with many bad, bad days over the past two weeks. While the Prevacid (reflux medicine she's on) helped take the edge off of her pain and discomfort, she still was incredibly uncomfortable and at times unable to sleep more than about 30-45 minutes in a day.

It is sooo hard to see your baby in such pain and not be able to immediately fix her or help her. So back to the doctor we went. We went ahead and had her two month appointment a little early (fun insurance issues) and so that we could take the next step with her reflux issues.

In the past, each time we ventured out to see Dr. Shuman no matter how fussy she had been at home, as soon as we got to the doctors office she calmed down and seemed like the worlds easiest baby. This time I was almost glad she was fussy, just so the doctor could see exactly how she squirmed and how she became inconsolably uncomfortable. Our doctor recommended we give Riley another medicine, bethanycol (not sure if spelled correctly). So far this has really, really seemed to help. In fact she is back to taking naps, granted they are still not in her crib on her back, but horray for small victories. I have no doubt that once she gets comfortable and healed, she will sleep really good on her own. In the meantime I will just enjoy and cherish the time she is spent permanently attached and asleep on me.

One month checkup

Riley had her one month checkup on Tuesday (yes we were a week late, read why below.) She is growing, growing! Our sweet girl weighed in at 8 pounds exactly (25%), 21 inches long (50%) and her head was 14 (10%). She is really starting to fill out and I actually had to put away all of her preemie clothes!

We seemed to have run into a rough patch lately, Riley has been well, she's been miserable. She is constantly uncomfortable, grimacing, and squirming and very gassy. (She has always been slightly squirmy and grunted alot, but just in the last week or so she has gotten miserable.) She is so uncomfortable she will not lay on her back whatsoever. And she has begun to not like the reclining position as well (so no more swing/bouncer, etc.) She is not sleeping well at all because she is so uncomfy and will cry/shriek in pain. This is very hard to Clay and I to watch and nothing much we do seems to help.

I was extremely upset last Wednesday, so I talked to the nurses at the Dr's office and took her to see Dr. Shuman on Thursday. We decided it was probably reflux but changing my diet might fix the problem. So I learned that I should cut out all dairy, citrus, tomatos, broccoli, and...(this is terrible)...chocolate. (Yikes, dieting again??) But I will do anything to make this little lady feel better. So we decided to postpone her 1 month checkup for a week to see if this diet change made any difference. Well, in some ways it seemed to help but others got worse. So on Tuesday, Dr. Shuman prescribed some medicine for Riley and so far things are looking better. She doesn't seem to be nearly as comfortable. And she actually laid down on her back two days in a row!!! Granted it was only like 30-40 minutes...but we will celebrate the small things! :) The pictures below are of our napping victory (notice Riley with celebratory hands raised.)

One month old!

Wow, I was talking with Clay this morning about our precious baby girl and neither of us can believe that a whole month has gone by since we were sitting in the hospital waiting to meet her. The days have zoomed by so speedy and we have loved and cherised each day with this precious little girl.

We love watching the funny faces she makes when stretching, hearing the funny noises she makes when nursing, and seeing her beautiful eyes take in the world on our walks. Everyone tried to tell me that the love for your daughter/son is different, but nothing prepared me for this. I am 100% in love with Riley and did not know that I could love someone so much. I melt everytime I see her, especially when she's in her daddy's arms.

Riley, you are an amazing blessing from God, one that we prayed for years before your arrival. We cannot wait to see you grow and change for months and years to come!

Riley did not want to make her one month pictures easy!

Brief moment of calmn...then

out! But as soon as I get her in her crib...

wide awake!

G is for

G is for great, gracious, good, Godly (and sometimes) goofy Grandparents.

Riley is extremely blessed to have two loving set of Grandparents and a great Grandmother.

And while Clay's parents have been wonderful too, we quite possibly could not have survived the first couple of weeks without my parents!! My Mom and Dad were here for us the week after Riley's birth, and Mom stayed an additional week. During those two weeks, Mom did everything from buying groceries, cooking and cleaning, to buying and changing diapers. And both Mom and Dad stayed awake with Riley all through many nights (waking me only when Riley was ready to nurse) just so Clay and I could get some much needed rest.

Thanks so much Mom and Dad, we are so grateful and thankful for the love and support you've shown our family!!

Below is Riley with her great-Grannie! :) Grannie traveled all the way from Mississippi and we are so glad she did! We loved seeing her with Riley!