Santa lost one of his reindeers

Christmas came early to the Andrews house today. David bought this cute (and warm) outfit for Luke last week, and because we wanted to take Little Man out for a walk in the cold today, we decided to try it out. It's way too big on him (making him look much bigger than he actually is). We figure by Christmas it will be perfect. Of course, at the rate Luke is growing he may outgrow it by Christmas. I say this because on Friday Luke was weighed again (explanation of the doctor's visit soon to follow), and he was up to 8 pounds and 11 ounces!!

Ok, the doctor's visit. Let me preface this by saying that I completely recognize that I fall into the category of overprotective first time mother because I took Luke to the doctor, but I don't care. When it comes to my own health, I'm the type to obsess over something and spend a lot of energy speculating over what my ailment may be, but to never actually go to the doctor. So, when it came to Luke's health I decided to be different. The issue was that I thought (and still think) that Luke has issues with acid reflux. Last week he started throwing up large quantities, and his wimpering that followed broke my heart enough that I decided a doctor's visit would be worth it. I really underestimated how hard it is to see your child hurt. And this was just over vomit!! Anyway, the doctor told me to give him Mylanta after each feeding for 7-10 days to see if it helps. There are three big difficulties with this seemingly easy order. First, the Mylanta is to be administered 30 minutes after feeding, which really stinks if Luke has already fallen asleep. Who wakes a sleeping baby?! Second we are supposed to keep Luke upright for the 30 minutes after a feeding, which is harder than it sounds. Third and lastly, Luke is not on board with the doctor's orders, refusing to completely swallow the icky Mylanta. So, we do the best we can. So far I do think it has helped... Luke has not thrown up or even spit up in 36 hours, sleeps more soundly, and seems less fussy. Mostly, I don't smell the acidic vomit smell on his breath as much now, which I did after every feeding before the Mylanta. I doubt we'll want to put him on long-term medication. Reflux is such a common problem, and I'm not sure we should medicate him for it. Holding upright for 30 minutes after a feeding is probably most of what he really needs. As the doctor said, reflux is really just a laundry issue unless the baby isn't putting on enough weight, which Luke clearly is!

Sadly, the weekend is about to come to an end. Parenting is so much easier when 2 parents are home! When I was working, I used to look forward to the weekends and thought that weekends would mean less while on maternity leave. Turns out, they mean even more!! Thank goodness Thanksgiving is coming up soon. David has the whole week off and we will be with family for almost all of the week. Extra help! Yippee!!