9 Weeks and 10 Months

I got this picture of Canaan smiling yesterday while Matthew was playing with her. Isn't her smile just beautiful?



Yesterday Andy, Amy, and Katie stopped by for a quick visit on their way to a vacation destination. Andy is one of my oldest friends (not by age but by length of time). We have known each other since we were 3 or 4. It was the first time we were able to meet 10 month old Katie and they were able to meet 9 week old Canaan. We had a really great time visiting and eating out with them. Katie is just precious. She is really cute in pictures but even cuter when you can see her little personality. We are excited about Canaan at this stage but also excited to see more of her personality as she grows. It looks like Katie has a good time no matter what is going on.

We forgot to take pictures before leaving the house. Then Canaan slept from the time we got out of the car at the restaurant until after we got back home. Maybe we'll have another chance for some fun pictures of the two of them.

Two Months

Canaan had her two month appointment on Thursday. She weighed 10 pounds 3 1/2 ounces, was 21 3/4 inches long, and her head measured 14 1/2 inches. She is growing by the day. She was not too happy about the two shots she received, but she didn't scream/cry for long. I thought we would have a quiet day at home because I've heard a lot of babies sleep all day after receiving their shots. That didn't happen at our house. I can't complain, she did sleep 7 hours that night.

Canaan is kicking and moving around a lot more these days. So much that she doesn't stay swaddled like she used to. I bought a "Swaddle Me" which is working nicely. It velcros and keeps her swaddled all night.

Friday night she again slept 7 hours and Saturday night slept 9 hours. I'm afraid to think this will be a regular occurrence, but it has been a pleasant surprise.

When we got back from Grandma and Grandpa's house, Canaan finally started sleeping in her own room. That has been nice as well. She has adjusted just fine to not being in our room and we have adjusted just fine as well.

I took her to Target to have her two month photos done on Friday. We had a similar experience to the first time we had her picture taken. I think I have figured out what I need to do next time. You can see the photos from June 23rd here and from July 24th here. You just have to type in my first and last name to see the pictures. Grandparents, aunts, and uncles will be getting pictures in the mail in a couple of weeks.

Canaan is a much happier girl now that we have figured out what was causing her tummy issues. I hope to go back to nursing her next weekend. We should find out pretty quickly if that is going to work for her.

This is what happens when I try to take a picture of Canaan sitting up in a chair. It looks like she doesn't have a chin.

God bless Grandparents

Canaan and I spent a week at Grandma and Grandpa's house. It was wonderful! It was a refreshing little vacation for me and a week of getting lots of kisses and being held for Canaan. I wish I could tell you more, but you know what they say, "What happens at Grandma's, stays at Grandma's."

Last Tuesday, Matthew took Canaan and me to meet my folks about halfway between our two houses. I forgot to take a picture of our car loaded with everything, but Matthew asked if I was coming back home because (in his words) I had packed everything but the kitchen sink. It was our first trip, and I had no idea what all I would need. It turns out the only thing I forgot to pack was burp cloths.

Grandma and Grandpa enjoyed feeding Canaan...and she enjoyed eating! She slept and ate well on our vacation. And there were plenty of smiles. She is a different baby now that she's feeling well. The first morning we were there, she slept until 5 am. She had slept at least 4 hours in the car on the way and then went to bed sometime before 10 pm. She hasn't done that since, but it was nice to get so much sleep our first night.


Matthew then joined us Sunday afternoon. Monday we got to go on a date to a movie and dinner. It was wonderful to get away for a bit and enjoy each other's company.


God bless Grandparents!

Hypoallergenic Diet

I am going to try the hypoallergenic diet. Canaan has responded very well to the hypoallergenic formula so the gastroenterologist thinks I can try the diet and try nursing her again. I have to be on the diet for 7 days before I try nursing. If she responds well to the nursing, then I can SLOWLY add foods back to my diet. I should be able to tell quickly if something is causing her allergic reaction.

This means I have to stay away from dairy, egg, soy, wheat, peanut, tree nut, AND shellfish.

Do you have any good recipes that avoid all these things? I feel that breakfast is going to be the hardest meal for me. Staying away from dairy at breakfast will be especially hard.

7 Weeks

I think we are beginning to find the happier Canaan. Last Thursday, the gastroenterologist had us start Canaan on a hypoallergenic formula because she thought Canaan may have an allergy to what I had been feeding her. I had to decide between the formula and going on a really strict diet (meaning dairy free, egg free, soy free, wheat free, peanut free, tree nut free, AND shellfish free). I was told the success rate of the diet was only 30%. This was a really tough decision for me. I REALLY wanted to breastfeed for at least 6 months; however, I had no idea how I would do cutting out all those foods. Matthew and I agreed the quickest fix to even see if that was the case for Canaan was to start her on formula. She seems to be doing well. She no longer has 10 to 12 dirty diapers each day, she is not spitting up as much, she is napping better and sleeping longer at night, and she seems happier and more alert when she is awake. We have a follow-up appointment with the doctor tomorrow afternoon.

I am not sure that we are seeing Canaan's personality yet, but she already seems like more of a little person than a baby (though she definitely is very much a baby).

• In the first month, we went through at least 280 diapers and hundreds of wipes as well. It is amazing how quickly a package of diapers will empty.


• Canaan is enjoying bath time. She is very calm during a bath and is upset when it is over (which could have something to do with being cold and wet).


• She is starting to make noises though I wouldn't call it cooing yet. I am looking forward to that.


• She has started to smile at us. The smiles have been few and far between, but I hope they will increase as she is feeling better.


• We put Canaan in the church nursery the last two Sundays. The first Sunday she slept the whole time. Apparently the nursery workers were upset because they didn't get to love on her. Last Sunday she was somewhat fussy, but they never paged us. It was really nice to have those couple of hours at church knowing that she was being well taken care of. It was much easier to pay attention to what was going on without her there. She is quite distracting because she is just so cute!


• One can of formula lasted us less than 3 days! This is going to be an expensive venture. I hope at some point I can go back to nursing her. We'll ask the doctor about that tomorrow.


• We learned that Canaan has an umbilical hernia. At this point, nothing has to be done about it. It should heal on its own by the time she is 3. To us, it looks horribly painful.


• Canaan weighed 9 pounds at the pediatrician's office last Monday. When we went to the gastroenterologist on Wednesday, she weighed 9 pounds 5 1/2 ounces. She's packing on the weight. It is now almost impossible to get a picture of her without a double chin.

Sunday afternoon I went to the wedding celebration of the daughter of the family that adopted me during college (sort of my home away from home). I hadn't seen the father or the son in 10 years! Man that made me feel old. It was so great to see their family and show off my precious bundle. Canaan slept almost the whole time I was there - in the midst of talking, laughing, and a thunderstorm (we were outside under a tent).

6 weeks

Canaan is now 6 weeks old. We were able to get in to see a gastroenterologist last Tuesday. If you are thinking about going into medicine, I think that would be a good choice of specialties. I had to call 4 different doctors to get in last week. The first doctor could get Canaan in July 23rd, the second doctor could get her in August 27th, and the third doctor could get her in sometime in September. Thankfully, we were able to get in last week. He changed the medication she is taking a smidge and gave her a new medication. She has an appointment to have an upper GI done Tuesday morning, and then we will see the doctor again on Wednesday. We hope he will have some answers about what is going on with her digestive system so we will know for sure. I believe the medication is helping, but she still doesn't seem to be feeling well. The good news is that she is eating well and growing. She weighed 8 pounds 12 ounces on Tuesday. So she's gained a total of 3 pounds 4 ounces in the past 6 weeks. She has also grown 2 3/4 inches.


She has grown out of the newborn size of onesies with feet in them. She is too long for them now. All her newborn clothes seem to be gender neutral so I put her in something girly this week. That sure was fun! I am looking forward to letting her wear all her pink clothes as people continue to ask us if the baby is a boy. We have gotten a couple of bows from a good friend, but they are still too big as evidenced in the picture above. She is becoming more alert and has been sleeping better this week which I think is due to the new medication she is taking. This has been nice for all of us. She is also losing her hair. The hair on the back of her head has always been longer than the rest and she looks like she is sporting a mullet. We are looking forward to the hair growing back soon. Matthew was able to give Canaan her first bottle this week. Yeah! She has taken 4 or 5 now and seems to do ok with that. Matthew's Aunt L came down to visit this week. We took Max to the pond and she took pictures of us in the beautiful wild flowers.


Happy 4th of July!