Sweet Relief

Honestly...I had never imagined having a baby with colic. I had heard about it, even talked to people who had "colicky" babies, felt bad for them, and NEVER gave it a second thought. Until Cooper. This experience has definitely been an eye-opener for me. Perhaps the hardest thing I've dealt with thus far in my life...When the bouts of crying and projectile vomiting (from the reflux) started I would guess she was about 1-2 weeks old. I felt helpless and so sorry for this little child who had no idea what was going on and couldn't tell us what to do to make it better. As they continued I didn't necessarily notice the change in myself, but things were definitely getting bad. I felt like I was fighting a battle that had no end, no hope, and honestly, I just started to shut down. Each day I went through the motions, tried to schedule someone to be here from the time Axl woke from his nap to when he went to bed (and Tyler was at work) at which times she usually slept soundly until they walked out the door. and then the screaming resumed for me. One specific day I remember thinking that I was definitely going crazy. That if someone came to my house and spoke with me, they would admit me into an insane asylum; I prayed that things would get better. It was the next day that Cooper did something Axl used to do when he nursed, stop for a while, look up, and give me a big, huge smile. It was at that moment that I realized that I wasn't even really looking at her as a person anymore. Just something that I was trying to SURVIVE. Heavenly Father and Cooper both knew that I needed something to wake me up, remind me that I have a daughter...and it worked. I had resisted calling the doctor as so many people kept suggesting to say, "my baby cries all the time" for fear that the response would be, "that's what babies do". and then I'm not sure what I would do to the person on the other end of the line. But I believe it was that next day that I made the call. After explaining everything the nurse called back, gave me some coping strategies (all of which we had tried) and said that the doctor did want to see her again. So we went back, which I already wrote about, and she has been on the Donnatol since. The first few days were TERRIBLE. She vomited probably 3-4 times as much and began puking up both the donnatol and the zantac. I remember telling Tyler that I was about to quit both the medicines, because it seemed they were making her vomit even more, when Bonnie came over one Thursday evening to help out. We trouble shot some of the dosing things...(the script was written for .5 every 4 hours, but she eats about every 3 hours and she should have the medicine on her stomach for it to work), so anyway, long story short, we came up with something that is working BEAUTIFULLY, a pretty rigid schedule, but it is definitely working and totally worth it. It is seriously like we have a different child. Sure, we have some colic episodes breaking through on occassion, but I am so rested that I can totally handle it without feeling at all like I did before. She is doing fabulously. It is so wonderful to see her be happy and content. I definitely hope we can keep this up and that she outgrows the medicine soon so we can just be! :)

Getting a little daring...

I've never had to worry about being one of those moms who says, "oh, he can't have that", "I don't like him to have too much sugar!", or "no ice cream!", because frankly, I knew that by whomever, however, and whenever it was offered to him, he would just snarl up his nose and walk away. Secretly, I was actually wishing he could enjoy things like ice cream as much as I do! Well, I still offer him creamy sweets every once in a while (side note: he has never refused a cookie or a popsicle, though, ha) and just the other night, he finally decided to discover chocolate and pudding all in the same sitting!

The Many Faces of Medicated Cooper

Who knew this little girl could make a face other than the gaping-mouth scream we've all gotten accustomed to... :)

4th of July Weekend

We returned to fabulous Karen's house this year for the 4th of July. Just like last year, we had a blast! I was very worried that it would be a miserable trip considering our fussy infant and ON-THE-GO toddler. However, the life jacket we bought last year proved to be a real "lifesaver"...Axl just ran around the pool all day (and by all day I mean it...he wore all the skin off the bottoms of his feet on the first day so he could stand on them without sandals on the rest of the trip!) and something about Tennessee brought the absolute best out of baby Coop.

Cooper had her first swim...at first she didn't like it much, but very quickly decided she could relax!

Axl being his goofy self...eating a hamburger.

getting his flirt on, he really LOVED Sonia

trying to get a picture of them together...nearly impossible

Karen bought the little kids bubble wands...Axl tried his heart out but mostly just licked it.

Dad tried to convince Axl that he liked the sparklers, but it didn't work.And ALL the kiddo cousins together!

Thank you, Karen and Dave, for a GREAT weekend!

Jaxon's Birthday

One of my best friend's from high school, Julie, now has a son named Jaxon who turned a year old this month. Axl was invited to his birthday party, so while Granny kept the little girl, Tyler and I used it as an opportunity to get out with the little man. :) It was great to see some old high school friends, Axl wore himself out chasing around their children, and we loved watching little Jaxon tear into his cake! They pretty much could care less about each other at this point, but I hope in the future they become great friends, just like their mothers! I sure do miss those old marching band, young womens, and seminary days! :)

Big Mistake

Today, after deciding that Axl needed a trim,I took him to Kiddie Kutters. Upon entering the door Axl decided to completely lose it. I had to hold him with all my strength, maneuvering his flailing, screaming, absolutely ridiculously acting self for the hairstylist...eventually forcing her to take off MUCH more than I wanted all the while getting slathered in spit, tears, sucker, and finally, hair. I will never do it again. I hate it. Please grow back.

Wait a second...I DIDN'T forget Father's Day!

In typical fashion for our marriage, (neither of us have an ounce of patience when it comes to gift giving), I had given Tyler his Father's Day present a little early...Catherine took these photos while we were visiting in Iowa. We really LOVE them!

And Tyler...shame on you for not reminding me you'd already received your present! haha :)

During the same photo shoot, Catherine also captured the most hilarious picture of all time.
Love you and miss you Aunt Catherine! Thanks again!