A very busy day for Claire... she went to her weigh in this morning and was 7lbs and 11oz. Then she had her early intervention appt, followed by a music therapy appt in her home set up by Hospice. Mom was able to get plenty of work done and Claire ate like a champ. She, as usual, was up most of the night and spent much of that time eating, tho very slowly, as Claire likes to take her time.

At 1am, Claire was up again and very hungry. Dad was just going to bed, so mom gave her 2oz of cereal/formula and then pedialyte and kept her in her carseat -- she seemed a little congested so mom wanted her head up high. After about an hour or two, Claire was finally exhausted and her congestion was gone, so mom put her back in her bassinet and Claire immediately fell asleep... around 3:30. She wasn't her typical snoring self, so mom went in to check on her a few times until 4am.
Dad woke her early to get her off to daycare and mom went off to work soon afterwards.
The drs office called this morning to schedule flu shots for Claire's brother and sister. The family never had flu shots before... dad acknowledged that the children will not be too excited about shots... nor will he about them getting shots.

At 1am, Claire was up and very fussy. She was just realllly hungry. Mom got up with her and sent dad to bed. She drank for about 30 minutes and drifted off to sleep. She had a 1/2 jar of applesauce at daycare and another 1/2 of bananas in the evening at home. In between her spoon feedings, she had pedialyte and formula. After her bath, mom made her some cereal/formula and she drank a little less than an oz before going to sleep... or so mom thought, she was up again in about 15 minutes and dad fed her for about 5 minutes before she went to sleep again. Can you say, 'using bottle for pacifier'?
Her stomach seems to be back to normal size and she is very comfortable.

Claire had her bath, bottle and a little advil and slept through the night.

Dad woke up at 2am to help mom out. Dad went to bed around 10pm so had a little rest. Both trying to catch a few minutes here and there of sleep. Neither got more than about an hour after 2am - Claire was just too unhappy, and her parents tried everything they could think of to comfort her.
On her stomach, Claire only cried and in her boppy seemed fairly content with the bottle in her mouth, so mom tried to keep her happy until she could get her to the dr in the morning.
By morning, Claire was still fussing and went to daycare. Mom had been giving her only formula -- no cereal, the entire night, so that may have helped things along... she had 3 bowel movements at daycare before her dad picked her up for an 11:30am dr appt.Mom had some meetings at work and dad kindly took over the dr appt.
At the dr office, he had to change the diapers twice, and at home, she had another 3 large bms in a row, just within the time mom was getting her ready for bath and getting her out.
Claire's pediatrician said she was just constipated and needed more liquids. Dad kept her home after her dr appt in the morning, and gave her only Pedialyte all day to help soften things up. He sweetly splashed in a little bit of fruit juice.
In the evening, mom gave her a couple oz of formula so she would have something that 'stuck' with her through the night. She also gave Claire some Motrin, as Claire had shots today at the dr office and her little hands were in her mouth as she turned fussy again in the evening.
During Claire's dr appt, she was weighed.... 8 POUNDS even! A good deal of that may be the future bowl movements waiting their turn, but mom is still happy about the benchmark! Mom figured after going through so many diapers, Claire may have lost about 6oz... hehehe!
Mom came home after work and took a 2 hour nap, while dad picked up some groceries with Claire, then got the kids from school. Last night was really rough, but Claire was so unhappy and it looks like she could be much better tonight. She fell asleep during, 'Its a Wonderful Life' as did her big sister, and they were both in bed by 10pm. Fingers crossed mom and dad can catch up on sleep a bit!

At 3am, Claire was up again, just wanted an ounce of formula and back to bed, but mom was WAY too tired, so Dad took care of her. He went to bed fairly early in the evening.
Claire was not a happy camper during the day. In the evening, her tummy was very bloated, like nothing her mom had seen, so she gave her a suppository and stayed up with Claire all night. Mom gave her some Advil to help ease any pain and help her sleep and Mylacon for gas, which often comes with bloating.

Claire had another restful night. They seem to come every third night or so. She has been eating lots of food, including bananas and pears and doing really well. Her congestion is cleared up, but her runny nose comes back each evening... again, must be those elusive teeth.
She was visited by Early Intervention and the nurse was truly amazed at how good Claire looked.... a little chubbier (well, that's a relative term) and her eyes were bright and aware and she was moving her arms around.
Hospice came to visit afterwards and said she looked great too. Perhaps after her one year birthday (a really BIG party will be planned) she may be 'released' from their care.
Guess everyone is getting hopeful. It was a neat day! Mom just dreams of having Baby Claire around for the Christmas holidays.
Claire was up until midnight and mom was so happy when she finally went to sleep.

Claire was up at 9am and drank about 3oz of formula/cereal. Rested and chatted for about 30 minutes and drank another 1 1/2oz. She fell asleep in her carseat and left for daycare. It is a very rainy day, so mom decided to answer email and work from home for a bit until the weather cleared, she didn't want to take Claire out in that nasty weather. It is beautiful out now, overcast and turning colder (low around 37 tonight) and the rain stopped. Well, beautiful when you are used to high 80's and humidity. Claire has her pink blanket and a nice warm outfit on for the day.
Claire came home this evening and ate a whole jar of Bananas baby food. (2 1/2 oz) with very little left on her face and bib (and mom). She fussed most of the night. Her dad asked her mom what she thought the problem might be. Mom said she thought it was teeth. Dad said, 'is that your answer for everything? (heheheh)' and mom said, well, it is nighttime and she just started. Her nose just started running hand her hand is in her mouth... isn't it obvious? :o) Dad, as usual, left speechless.
Claire didn't want to eat her cereal... perhaps she is just spoiled from the yummy bananas, and she's holding out until she gets more. After her bath, mom layed her in her bassinet around 10pm and Claire quieted down in the darkened room and 5 minutes later she was asleep. It is time for her evening nap anyway. She will be up in an hour or so until 2am... that has been her routine anyway... so mom must go get a little nap in.

Claire had a nice day. She got up and went to church with her family. Afterwards, mom decided Claire's hair was getting unruly... there were so many different lengths, and it pretty much all stood on end.
Today, Claire got her first haircut. Mom started by making a ponytail in the back of her hair, and cut it off. Some of it was so baby fine, and getting thinner by the day. Mom trimmed the rest of her hair to be about 3/4 inches long... now it is all evened out all over her head. It looks GOOD! (Yes, the ponytail, 3 inches long, will be kept with Claire's keepsakes.)
Claire was a new girl with new hair... she decided to take it easy all day.
She had about 4oz of formula/cereal before bath, then after bath, as mom was putting on her clothes and trying to get her to laugh, Claire couldn't keep her eyes open. At 9pm, she went to sleep, and up again at 11pm for dad to play with. Mom has told him that Claire's bedtime seems to be 2am. That is the time she will go to sleep and sleep for more than just 2 hours. Sure enough, at 2am, dad put her down and went to sleep himself.
Claire's sister seems to have a hard time with the sound of the oxygen concentrator that Claire uses, and so after about 15 minutes, she is down stairs, trying to wake up mom or dad because she hears the machine... but her story of what she hears is much better... always just shortly after the machine goes on. Eventually, within the hour, she is convinced to stay in her bed, that mom is 'on guard' and will listen out for all noises throughout the night. (Here's Claire after her haircut.)

Claire and family celebrated mom's birthday with fun. They decorated the house with streamers, and took mom out to dinner. Claire's sister spilled the beans about the birthday cake that Dad and the kids picked up for mom earlier that day. Mom mentioned to dad that everything couldn't be a surprise (esp with a 4 year old :o).

Claire was up until 2am. Mom put her in her bassinet then, and she fussed for about a minute before drifting off to sleep. The bed was nicely warmed for her with the heating pad (taken out before she layed down), so she was quite content after she gave in. Mom got another 4 1/2 hours of sleep.
Mom is going to try to get her to bed a 1/2 hour earlier each night, starting at 2am, and see if she will be able to adjust to her days and nights a little better that way.
Claire was taken to her dr appt, barely awake, and weighed. She is now 7lbs and 9oz (a gain of 6oz in 3 weeks). Mom was very pleased as she had guessed Claire would be 7 1/2 lbs by now, and she's even an oz over that! Her length is also up to 22 1/4 (it was 21 1/2 last month).... the little peanut is growing! (Here's a pix of Claire with her 'mullet' pre-haircut.)

Claire was pretty content to sleep next to mom the whole night, with bottle in mouth, until she would run out, and mom would make her s'more, then she was fine with that. Around 2:30am, mom put her back in her bassinet and she slept peacefully until 5:30am, when dad got up with her.
He took her to daycare, as mom had an early meeting at work.
The day went well until the evening, Claire threw up twice when mom was feeding her... perhaps just flem, and again around midnight when her daddy was feeding her. She kept some food down, and mom took over around midnight. Mom went to bed around 10pm so she got 2 hours of sleep before her Claire shift.

Mondays are always a bit difficult around the household. Claire slept from 2am to 5:30am, a real record for her. Mom put a heating pad (set on low) in her bed a while before she went to bed, and when dad put her to bed, he took out the heating pad and turned it off, then put her down. She was nice and snuggly.
She saw Grandma and Grandpa and her Aunt off to a luncheon, after which they would be driving home. She had a nice day at daycare, then an Early Intervention appointment.
In the evening, the usual bath and bedtime... mom nearly had her smiling as she was swinging her around gently and laughing to her.
She didn't want to sleep. Just wanted to eat and eat and eat. Mom told dad that it was worth staying awake all night, if it meant Claire was gaining weight and getting more strength! Not too sure dad was fond of the idea of her gaining weight in the middle of the night tho... and certainly, something needs to be done about her days and nights getting mixed up.

A really fun day. Woke up early and went to mass. Claire was well behaved, spending the whole time in Grandma's arms, sleeping most of mass.
Afterwards, dad made everyone a big breakfast back at the house and eventually mom and Claire's big sister layed down for a nap, only to be awakened for dinner at Claire's uncle's home. It turned out to be a surprise birthday party for mom... and boy was she surprised! It was big fun as Claire was passed around and enjoyed. She is still such a little peanut!

Claire had a pretty typical day. Her grandparents and aunts were coming to visit for the weekend... so she was very excited about that... she loves when they come to visit... new faces to explore.
In the evening her daddy was singing downtown for a street party, so she got to go listen to him. It was chilly, but she didn't mind bundled up in her sling with her mom.

Claire was up at 2:30am, and she drank about 4oz of cereal/formula with mom, and then back to sleep in her bassinet, only to wake up about 10 minutes later with a loud cry. Mom checked her and she was fine... must have been a bad dream, her oxygen was right next to her, so she was getting some good O2. She was back to sleep again in minutes.
Up again at 5:45am, and dad fed her a bottle and they layed in bed until the alarm went off in the morning for work.
She got ready for daycare and off she went with her dad and brother. Mom took her sister to a dr appt, and then went to work.
The rice cereal seems to be doing it's job. Claire seems quite regular. Mom just has to find the right 'mix' of the rice and barley. Not one of her bigger concerns.

Claire and dad were up until 2:30am. She fussed the whole time. Dad said she was trying to get those hands in her mouth. When she got up in the morning, she drank 5oz, and later mom gave her a couple spoons of applesauce and barley cereal mixed... she was just too unhappy to eat it. She had her bath afterwards and her Physical Therapist(PT) appointment. Her PT announced that she would be dissolving her practice for personal reasons, Claire was very sad, but she will have a few more appointments before she says goodbye. :o\ After the appointment, Claire calmed down and took her nap, where her PT left her... she was exhausted after the busy morning. Mom got back to work.
Later in the day, Hospice came to visit Claire and see how she was doing. In the evening, Claire had another bath (hopefully it will help her diaper rash) and about 8 oz of cereal/formula before bed. She went right to sleep around 11pm, and mom followed behind her, exhausted.
Claire has developed a diaper rash. It is likely from the barley cereal. It has loosened her up really well, to the point that her diapers are always soiled, and that isn't good for her bottom, so mom is now adding back some rice cereal to her diet.
Claire had about 18oz of barley/rice cereal mix, a couple spoonfulls of applesauce and cereal mix... and went through a ton of diapers as mom tried to keep her bottom dry all day.