Finally have a moment to spare...

Both kids are napping and I am taking a break from cleaning to write a quick update.

Emily had her 4 month appointment last week. She is our little string bean, weighing in at 13lb 11.5 oz (39%) and 25.5 in (81%). She is a healthy little girl, but our weight concerns are back. We bought a baby scale about a month and a half ago and at first, it was great. She was doing really well and gaining appropriately. In the past few weeks, though, her spitting up has been out of control. In the week and a half surrounding her appointment she actually lost a few ounces, so we have some things that we are going to try to get her to eat more and keep it down.

1. Zantac - This will not help her spit up, but will make the burning stop if the acid is bothering her. Since she doesn't cry or arch her back when she spits up and she sleeps well, we're really not sure if this will help and have been really hesitant to try her on it. She eats so little, though, we are wondering if it is because of the burning caused by the reflux. So, we have decided to give it a go for a few weeks. If it helps, great. If not, we will stop.

2. Rice cereal - Again, not sure about this. I wanted to wait until she was 6 months, or at least, very close to 6 months, but if that is what she needs to keep her food down and gain weight, we will try it. She is a very gassy and constipated little girl, though, so we're hoping it doesn't make it worse.

3. Supplementing - This is what I wanted to do the very least, but I'm getting concerned that her lack of weight gain is my fault. Her not wanting to eat very much at a time or very often has caused my supply to take a nose-dive. I have tried everything I can think of to produce more and I'm not seeing a lot of results. Starting today, I am going to supplement her early afternoon feeding with a few ounces of hypoallergenic formula (Yikes! This stuff is EXPENSIVE!). She needs the hypoallergenic kind, though, since she is sensitive to cow's milk protein. I'm hoping the supplementing is short-lived and I can get my supply back up with extra pumping sessions.

So, that's the plan. Please pray that our little girl remains healthy and starts putting on some weight. I should add that she is such a happy girl. She smiles, laughs, and coos all.day.long. We often go days without hearing a cry from her.

Kason continues to love on his little Emmy everyday. He is so protective of her, not wanting strangers to hold, or even talk to her. He loves to share his toys with her and for her to "play trucks" with him. It is amazing to watch them light up when they see the other. Emmy beams at her big brother when he walks into a room and Kason lights up when his little sister flashes that grin in his direction. We are in awe of their capacity to love at such a young age. We hope they are always best buddies and can only imagine the kinds of trouble they will get into together as Emily becomes more mobile.

Aside from that, we are looking forward to a fun-filled summer, to be kicked off with a fun-filled Memorial Day weekend with my brother and his family. I will update again soon with pics and videos...hopefully, tonight, if I can catch a break.