Roya - Four months

Well, we've had another interesting and adventuresome month with Roya, otherwaise known by some as Baby Rae :) (RAE - her anitials). She is captivating and beautiful and terribly smart. Poeple are always commenting on her intensity as she stares them down and studies their every move. Inwardly she's deciding whether or not she'll reward their silly banters with her glorious smile, or blow them off 'till she's more in the modd :) Her playful times are amazingly fun as she flirts and giggles, and makes the most hysterical faces. She's getting good at imitating our expressions and we have a blast just sitting there making faces at one another :)

Her routine at this point goes something like this... Wake sometime around 6:00 AM, nurse with Mama in bed. Finish nursing and snuggle with Daddy for a few minutes until she gets wrestless and Dad gives Mama a beautiful gift by taking Roya dowstairs so Mama can keep sleeping, or at least laying :) Sometimes, during this waketime, she gets to shower with Daddy. It isn't long, though, before Roya is sleepy again and ready to go back to bed. Well... and that is about the only somewhat consistent part of our day!!! :) She nurses ~ every three hours and usually gets fussy/tired after two hours of being awake. Whether or not she'll sleep, however, is what determines the rest of the day...

At our four month doctor's apt, we discovered a few very important factors to Roya's fussiness...

1) She has acid reflux, which I also had as a baby and young adult. Apparently, this is the cause of many babies' colick. It was discovered by her random "fake" coughs, almost like clearing one's throat.

2) She has not gained any weight since her 3 month apt. This is obviously a concern, but not a surprise. With the reflux, she was refusing to sleep. Because she was so tired, she wasn't nursing efecively and always falling asleep. She still had wet and dirty diapers, because she was eating; but the problem is that she was not eating long enough and strong enough to draw out the "hind milk" which is the rich, fatty part of the milk that puts the weight on. Nursing also disturbed the reflux, which caused a lessened appetite.

3) In the midst of it all, she has cut her two bottom teeth and still has at least two (the "fangs") moving through the upper gums.

So the poor thing has been quite disturbed. Not to mention, Mama has been "under the weather" herself which may have affected her milk supply. My blood pressure has not yet risen above 90/40, which poses some challenges, but isn't overall very serious. Thankfully, Lynn has taken over supper duty, which allows Mama to focus on other things.

So right now, the primary focus is helping Roya gain some weight!! She is taking some Nexium for the reflux, which will hopefully help her sleep better, then hopefully she'll nurse better. Life continues to revolve around long nursing periods, pumping, etc. :)

Well, be blessed friends and family!!!

Roya - 3 months

Well, as one can imagine, my life has been immersed in motherhood since Roya was born. She is soooo beauitful to me and I cherish this time at home with her. She is quite the little character and has had a strong personality and will since day 1 :). Here is a little update on her...

Since Roya's first days, poeple have comented on how alert she is. Lynn and I tease that by three weeks, she thought she was all grown :) She loves to be a part of whatever is going on and even then (three weeks) was trying desperately to hold her head up on her own :). When you tell her she's beautiful, you will undoubtedly be rewarded with the most beautiful, girly smile :) Her smiles light up a room and her gigles and gurgles make my heart swoon! She is very playful during her good wake-times, plays shy and "flirts" with whoever is giving her special attention at the time, plays "tongue games" by sticking out her tongue and making funny faces, and loves to laugh with and talk to her friends the flowers that hang over her crib and change table :). She is now holding her head up quite well, sitting up on her own (with a little help:)), and grasping objects when I put them where she can get them. She loves her dolls and stuffed animal and is snuggly, though she prefers to be up and maving around at the same time. She just can't miss anything!

She LOVES to nurse and wants to almost all of the time!!! When her tummy is upset, her digestion difficult, or her body sleepy, she wants to nurse. I'm convinced she would stay there all day long if she could, napping throughout her light snacks :) Unfortunately... though Mama loves her snuggles and nursing times... Mama does have other things to do besides nursing and this does not always go over so well with the melancholy little one :). There are a few things that bring out Roya's temper: 1) Being cold. She loves showers with Daddy and baths with Mama, but hates when they're over and she's wet and cold!! 2) Getting dressed and getting her diaper changed. Both call for loud, torturous screams :) (though there was a period of time where she seemed to love getting her diaper changed and will still be mild-tempered when in the right mood). 3)Being put in her car-seat. She HATES getting strapped in seat because it means she's not going to be held, nor can she see anyone when driving in the backseat of the car. She used to always fall alseep to the movement once we got going, but that leads me to... 4) Falling asleep. Roya HATES falling asleep! The older she gets, the more alert and active she gets, the more she fights falling asleep. I can maybe count on one hand the number of times she has fallen asleep without crying, even when being rocked and snuggled! Sometimes she will refuse to sleep all day long, but she's so exhausted she won't play or sit or anything... She's desperate for sleep but hates it all at the same time... the result is alot of screaming :)

Even though Roya has a temper, and is quite particular about what she wants and when she wants it, and rather stubborn as all Erskines are, I cannot imagine life without her! I love that she is full of personality and strong willed. I love that she is dramatic and very much a princess :) She is our daughter, no question :)

I hope you all are well!!!
Natasha