Breast really is best!

I haven't been able to bring myself to post about this because it was pretty heartbreaking. I had to stop breastfeeding at the end of April because Grace decided that she wanted nothing to do with it. I would try to feed her and she was just sit and scream on my lap. She would literally just start arching her back and and pull away from me. It was pretty stressful for both of us. When she first started to do this I thought maybe she was teething or I just wasn't making enough milk. I tried everything I could think of to increase my supply with no progress. I researched it and still nothing helped. Finally after about a week or two of this Jason and I talking about it and decided to stop nursing Grace. I tried to continue pumping, but I was only able to make about 3 ounces a day.
We continued to feed Grace soy formula which we were already supplemented with. She was doing really well at first and then on May 5th she started to get a really bad diaper rash. We went and bought special (expensive! $29.99 for 16 oz.) cream called Triple Paste. It cleared it up for a day and then it came back. We tried taking out some different foods from her diet and nothing helped. We also noticed that her sleeping schedule was a bit off. She's been walking up at about 5:45 am everyday (she usually sleeps until 7). She naps for about 3 hours straight some days and then other days 45 min. Then she started pooping more frequently. We noticed that the rash was always worse after she pooped.
I finally took her to the doctors on Monday and really didn't find out much. They said to increase bananas in her diet and decrease other fruits such as peaches/pears. They also wanted us to give her rice cereal, but our poor baby girl's belly can't really handle it. If this didn't work then they said she most likely has a soy protein allergy (apparently if babies have a milk protein allergy then they most likely have a soy protein allergy).
She seemed to heal well on Monday and Tuesday with this new approach and then Thursday she pooped 8 times. Yes 8 times! Needless to say her poor bum was raw! Well I called the doctor's office back yesterday and they called in a prescription of Nystop powder for her bum and they put Grace on Alimentum formula (hypoallergenic - $25.96 per 16oz can). Well I tried to give Grace this new formula this afternoon and she seems to hate it. She just kept spitting it out.
I have never been the type of person to push my beliefs on others, but now I am going to encourage every person I know to breastfeed at all costs. I can't tell you how many people thought I was crazy for breastfeeding even with the thrush and stuff, but I personally think people who formula feed are crazy. At least we only have 4 more months of this. Please pray that our baby girl gets better and takes this formula and her bum heals.

Lilac Festival

Here are just a few of the pictures from our wonderful morning!

Above is a picture of Grace in the tulip garden. She's so small so you can't really see the tulips behind her.

Mommy and Grace next to the lilacs.

Grace chilling by the white lilacs.

I love the lilac bush above and these tulips. This lilac had a mixture of blue and purple in it. I thought they were beautiful. I lso love the orange and pink tulips above. They were awesome.

I think they are fantastic! Jason did an awesome job!

This morning Jason, Grace and I woke up bright and early so we could venture on down to the Lilac Festival. Some of you might be wondering how I was able to get Jason to go to the festival with us. I'm not really sure how I did it this year, but I was really excited when he decided to go with us. When I was younger I used to dance at the festival every year. I think that's why I love to go there so much.It was absolutely beautiful this morning! The sun was shining and it was about 76 degrees out. One of Jason's coworkers was gracious enough to let us park in her driveway. This allowed us to park for free and enjoy a short walk to the festival.
By the time we arrived at the festival the parade had already started so we decided to walk through the gardens and view the lilacs. Grace seemed like she had a great time listening to the marching bands and looking at the beautiful flowers. We wanted to venture over to see the different craft booths, but we couldn't get across the street. We only stayed for an hour, but Jason took many beautiful pictures. Unfortunately, he didn't get in any of the pictures with us. :( We were going to go back to the lilacs to get a picture of Jason and Grace together, but we ended up forgetting about it until we got home. Thankfully we got home just in time because he started to pour out and it when down into the 60's.

And Grace's First Word is...

DADA! Jason and I both missed it unfortunately. While we were at work today she said "Dada". Grandma Peej (Stacey's mom) thought it was just a fluke, but she kept repeating it throughout the day. I can't believe how big she is getting. I never would have thought she would be talking already.

And here's the video! Jason was able to capture her on camera last night as she was playing in her crib, whispering "Dada" over and over to herself. There are 6 different videos in the "Grace's First Word" Series on YouTube you can check out, but you can hear the "Dada" the best in this one (you'll have to turn up the volume on your computer pretty loud to hear, sorry!).



To check out the rest of the Grace's videos, visit Grace's YouTube Channel! You'll find some videos from Easter, her in the bath, and more - all available in HD!

Spring Break and a Sick Baby

I was able to enjoy a great week off with Grace last week due to Spring Break. We were so busy that I didn't get a chance to write. Daddy finally found some time to download some of our pictures. The rest are posted in the gallery. On Friday we took some lunch to Uncle Brian's work for him and his coworkers. This was Grace's first trip to the ice rink and I think she really enjoyed it.


The weather was kind of all over the place last week. On Saturday it was 85 degrees out. Poor Grace was sweating away so we let her just wear her diaper for a while and she was loving life. Here is a picture of "Super Grace".

We tried to take some pictures of Grace's new teeth on Saturday. It was a tad difficult to do. This picture is not the best, but you get the idea. I think she has a new one working its way up on her bottom gum.
Grace was definitely tired out by our busy week. Here's a picture of her taking a nap.

Apparently we did a little too much last week and now more Grace is sick. We think it's a combination of a cold and teething. Hopefully she will feel better soon! I will keep you updated.

7 Months Old

Grace is 7 months old today! We cannot believe how fast each month goes by. It seems like it goes by faster with each month. It also seems like each month gets better and better as Grace learns new things.
She has started to sit up on her own. We still need to sit next to her so we can catch her if she begins to tip which happens sometimes. Last week she still needed a lot of help with this, but today she was able to sit for a few minutes without tipping. It's amazing how fast she learns new things. As I reported earlier this week, Grace's first tooth arrived. You can see it a lot better now. We think that another tooth is poking through now too, but Grace won't let us get a clear shot of it.
She is eating lots of different foods now. We introduced butternut squash, acorn squash, avocados, peaches and pears this month.

Grace is also becoming quite the noise maker. She loves to hear herself cough so she will usually spend a lot of time doing this during the day. Apparently when Jason and I leave for work, Grace likes to screech. We are started to notice that she really seems to enjoy music. We have always played music every night while sleeps. Every time she hears music she turns her head towards it and listens intently. She also likes to play the keyboard on her "Around We Go" toy. Another new thing that we have noticed is that Grace is starting to developing seperation anxiety. If I leave the room while she is playing she will usually start to cry until I return. I have also noticed that if I start walking towards her she will smile, but as soon as I turn away she starts to cry. She has also started crying when different family members try to hold her.
Last week, Grace had her first "photoshoot". She was quite the little ham. The photographer asked us if we take a lot of pictures of Grace and we said "Oh yeah!". She said that she could tell since Grace was so comfortable in front of the camera. We are supposed to pick up the pictures on Friday so we will try to post them when we get them.

Grace's First Easter

Here are some pictures for Grace's First Easter. She was true champ considering the fact that she was teeth combined with all of the running around we did over the weekend.

Grace with her new ducky from Great-Grandma and Great-Grandpa Pizzoli.


Grace showing off one of her Easter dresses.

Grace and Mommy at Great-Aunt Andi's house.

Here's our little bunny!

This was actually a Halloween costume that my mom bought for Grace, but she couldn't wear it because it was way too big for her. We saved it in her closet because we thought maybe we could use it for something else in the future. A few weeks ago my mom was going through Grace's closet and she stumbled upon it. We finally thought of a purpose for it. A photoshoot! She just woke up right before we took this picture so she was in a bit of a daze.

We have a tooth!

I believe that I mentioned a bump on Grace's gums during the 6 month update post. Well, that bump just turned into a tooth today. All weekend she was chewing on this like a little crazy woman and the drool was just pouring out of her mouth. We also noticed that she was acting a little cranky which is unusual for her. We figured her tooth would pop out of her gums any day now and sure enough it did. There was nothing there this morning and when I got home from work today my mom mentioned that she got really cranky around 2pm and she had to give her some Tylenol because nothing seemed to cheer her up. I put my finger in her mouth and sure enough I felt a tooth. I mader her laugh and there it was. I don't have a picture yet because there really isn't a whole lot to see yet. I will make sure I post a picture when you can see the tooth a little better.

Grace Diggin' "Big Whiskey"

~ 6 MONTHS, 18 DAYS ~

OK, so I've had this posted on YouTube for a few days [with already 180+ views!] and figured I'd throw it up here as well...

Story behind this video... Grace was on my lap, I had my laptop out and was letting Stace hear the newly released "Big Whiskey & The GrooGrux King" (upcoming DMB album) clip. The music starts to play and Grace turns her head towards the screen and just stares, listening to the music. I must have played the clip 15 times, every time it stopped she would hit the computer like she wanted it again, and I'd play it again and she was still mesmerized each time. Finally I had Stace grab the camera to film her - of course she got a bit camera shy, and then the dogs flustered her concentration, but you get the idea...

Back end to the story is before she was born, she attended 3 DMB concerts in the womb - she was a fan before she even knew it and this was just music to her little ears!



Some other exciting news to report (technology related of course), we're getting a new HD video camera - (should be arriving tomorrow, thanks fantasy football!!) - so we will no longer be posting grainy video from one of our digital cameras... can't wait! The other video camera we had was lost somewhere in the transition from Vegas to NY. We have a couple other videos that need to be posted as well - Grace's new favorite thing, splashing in the bathtub, and a couple others - Stacey will get them up when she gets time. Until then, hope you enjoyed!

Happy 6 Months!

On Thursday, March 19th Grace turned 6 months old. It is amazing how fast she is growing and changing. On February 16th, she rolled over from her tummy to her back for the first time. She is able to grab toys and put them in her mouth on her own. She can sit up with a little help from Mom and Dad. She is babbling and giggling up a storm. She just started to show some signs of separation anxiety last night. She absolutely loves her jumpy chair. She will bounce in that thing forever. She loves to eat sweet potatoes and bananas (separately). She does not seem very interested in apples. Grace also loves to watch the dogs. Most of the time you can find Grace laughing and smiling at the dogs. For some reason the dogs love to run around when she is eating which makes it very difficult to get her to eat because her head is constantly turning from side to side. Grace is also sleeping through the night, which is awesome. Last night she slept from about 9:30 pm to 8:45 am! :) Grace also has a tooth that is about to pop through. She has a little red bump on the bottom right side of her mouth. Dr. Wells said that you can also see a little white slit so it is about to pop through. Maybe it will be in by the end of the week? We shall see.

Below are her stats from her 6 month check-up today:
Height 25.25 inches 31st percentile
Weight 14 lbs. 11 oz. 24th percentile
Head Circumference 16.75 inches 52nd percentile

Dr. Wells said she is developing very well. So far she is just like any other 6 month old. She did have to get two more shots and I must say that it was even harder this time than it was last time. It really broke my heart today. At least she won't have to get any shots at her next visit (9 months).

Liberated

Things have been so crazy here with work that I haven't been able to even post Grace's 5 month update. I was going to do it last weekend and Jason said "Just wait for 6 months now". Maybe I'll just do a mixed post for Thursday (Grace's 6 month B-day). Well a few weeks ago I was trying to nurse Grace and she just kept screaming and pulling away from me. I thought that maybe her mouth was sore from teething, but it just kept happening at every feeding. She was also waking up at least two times a night and then I ended up getting sick yet again. Jason and I talked it over and we decided to start supplementing with formula :( She has actually been doing really well on the formula. Well lately I have had to bring home work every night and on the weekends. I feel so guilty because at night I get home from work between 5:45 and 6 then I change, eat and feed Grace and then it's time to do work. Meanwhile, Jason holds Grace and most of the time she just sits and looks at me and cries. Needless to say this was causing a lot of heartbreak for me. I have also felt really bad because my mom has been helping out so much with all of the housework, cooking, and cleaning. I can't even tell you when the last time I cooked or cleaned. Jason and I talked it over and we realized that it really wasn't that important for me to work at this job. We figured out our finances and decided that it will be better for me to just go back to substituting and possible get another summer job. So yesterday I put in my two weeks notice and it feels like a huge weight has been lifted off of my shoulders. I cannot even explain this feeling to you. I really don't know how working moms do it. I will still be working obviously, but it will really be like working part time I think because I will have half of the work. So with this new venture I am hoping to be able to go back to breastfeeding exclusively with solid foods obviously.