i give up ...

Bella has had her last taste of breastmilk ... because I've done all that I can, and I'm throwing in the towel. After many lactation consultations, countless of hours trying to breastfeed, more hours of pumping, taking herbs & vitamins, eating protein, gulping water & eliminating milk & soy from my diet, I've come to realize this just isn't working for us.
Do I feel like a bad mom? Sure.
Do I think maybe I could have tried harder? Sure.
But Bella is doing very well on her formula and she's gaining weight & that's all that matters!

Now I can spend the hours I was pumping and washing the parts with my sweet daughter & that makes me very happy! :)

Tomorrow Grams & I are taking Bella to Cooks for her ultrasound and hopefully we'll determine that she has no abnormalities & we can diagnose her reflux. I'll update later once we get results back.

Today we spent some time on the floor playing and doing tummy time. We used the blanket Aunt Jen made and we loved it! Here are a few photos from today ...

And one more of our silly little girl ... :)

wedding bells ...

Our good friends Christy & Mike got married this weekend & we enjoyed celebrating the big day with them. I was an honorary bridesmaid since Miss Bella was expected to arrive so close to the wedding date. We saw a lot of friends from Tech that we hadn't seen in a while and many of them met Bella for the first time.
Here are a few photos ....

... the beautiful bride!

Bella is ready for the rehearsal dinner! The pretty dress was borrowed from my mom's sweet friend Machele. She had preemie clothes from her daughter and let us use them and we really appreciate her generosity!

Bella's pink dress for the wedding was also borrowed from Machele - isn't it adorable?

Sarah is ready to walk down the aisle!

Such a good baby! She slept in Grandma's arms during the whole ceremony.

We went to the art festival on Sunday morning with Grandma & Grandpa, Auntie Em & Uncle Jer and Aunt Jen, Uncle Brad and John. It was pretty gloomy out but we had fun looking at art and listening to music! That afternoon Tyler & I enjoyed some time with Bella at home during the rainy afternoon.

Look at those cheeks!

Our happy baby ...

Early in the week I was talking to Bella and she gave a little smile. I figured it was gas (what a suprise) but suspected that it MAY have been me. The next day she did it again so I immediately called Tyler at work to tell him our baby girl is smiling! I couldn't catch the act on camera until I read Alana's latest photo tip. She said to set your camera to the continuous shot and it worked! Tyler and I talked to Bella last night and took a zillion photos, capturing numerous smiles. It was perfect and you would have thought we won the lottery! Tyler had the camera and I was holding Bella and we were laughing and smiling and would go nuts over each smile she gave us. :) What a wonderful memory that we'll forever carry with us ... Enjoy!!!

back from the doctor ...

We just got back from the GI specialist and we learned a lot about the allergy Bella has. They confirmed she has a Milk/Soy Protein Intollerance (MSPI) which is where the proteins are too big & she isn't able to break them down. Once they pass through the intestine it irratates/scratches the intestine which causes the bleeding. We have another trial week to see how she does on her formula, along with breastmilk. I have a very strict diet to follow and hopefully it helps!

We went to the lab to have blood work done we will soon do an ultrasound of her stomach to rule out any abnormalities. They also think she will eventually be treated for reflux, but want to get the MSPI under control first.

She's gained a little weight and is now 7 lbs 6 oz and is 21-3/4" long!! She's in the 50th percentile for height and 5th percentile for weight. When you look at the height/weight ratio, she's less than the 5th percentile. Boo. They think that once her intestines heal she will be able to better absorb her food and properly gain weight. Keep your fingers crossed!

Our little Bella is pooped because it was a long morning and she did not like getting her blood taken! Like mother like daughter. :)

We'll end with a sweet picture ... here is Bella wearing a dress for the first time. Isn't it cute? Auntie Em & Uncle Jer bought this for her.

Entering the world of blogging ....

The time has finally come for me to start a blog. Now that we have so many exciting stories, adventures and photos to share I thought this would be a good idea. Hopefully I can stay on top of it and keep it updated. :)

So let's talk about the current "hot topic" in our lives ... Bella's belly. As most of you know, she's been a little "pokey" (as the doctor called it today) with her weight gain. She was up to 7 lbs 4 oz today, but the doctor still wasn't thrilled with that. And to top it off, the new hypoallergenic formula she's been on for the last week doesn't seem to be doing the trick. Bella is still super fussy due to her belly hurting. :( And she still has some blood in her dirty diapers (sorry TMI!) so they're sending us to a specialist. We're going to see them tomorrow and hopefully that will help. I'll keep you posted. In the meantime ... here are pictures of us feeding B along with our many methods of trying to soothe our little lady. Isn't she a doll?

This is our latest way to hold Bella to help her belly from hurting and keeping her quiet!! It doesn't always work, but for the moments of silence when she really gets upset, it's wonderful. :)

Tyler read that using an exercise ball like this would help her also ... it actually works!

And here she is with her death grip on me while she's eating ...

Well that's all for now!