Cutie Patootie

Getting out there

A little less apartment time...

 and a little more fresh air...

This past week with Cali has had it's ups and downs, but the ups are getting more frequent, so we're thankful for that.  

Highlights:

--I (Chey) got out with Cali one day during the week for a stroller ride to visit work friends, grab lunch at Jamba Juice and then eat it in the park 

--John coming home early from work on Friday with flowers

--A night out for me with Celia and Sean to see the musical "The King and I" while John had a friend over and watched the baby (who slept the entire time--no fair!)

--Strollering around San Mateo's street fair 

--Visiting a co-worker at the hospital who just had a baby...6 lbs felt like a feather (compared to Cali's 12 pounds)!  

--2 evenings in a row without any inconsolable screaming attacks

--Passing my National Massage Exam

Cali update:

We saw the GI (gastrointestinal) specialist a week or so ago, but unfortunately, didn't come away with many answers.  Because Cali still had blood in her stool despite my diet, he wasn't convinced that it was due to allergies.  And because it was a small amount, and she was gaining weight and meeting her developmental goals, he assured us that basically, she would just grow out of it.  His advice was to continue to avoid dairy and soy because those are the most common allergens, in case it was due to allergies, but to return to eating the rest of the things I had cut out, mostly for MY sanity.  He didn't think the blood in the stool necessarily caused any pain (not sure how he came up with that conclusion...did he poll 1000 babies and ask them?!) and thought her screaming attacks were just "colic" which she would also grow out of (between 3 and 9 months--please pray for 3!)  The whole colic diagnosis doesn't make sense to me--my only conclusion about it is that the medical world doesn't really understand it either...but anyway...

What Cali's been up to:

--Smiling and "talking" with us lots

--Sitting up (while supported) and holding her head up on her own

--Rolling from her tummy to her side...once.

--Almost consistently sleeping one 6 hour stretch/night followed by one or two 2-3 hour stretches

--TRYING, relentlessly, to figure out her hand in her mouth

--Beginning to enjoy baths 

California BFF's

Here are some random photos I took this week of Mommy and Cali...keep reading!

This past Monday we went and visited my old cube mate, Marinell, her husband George, and their daughter Elleia. Elleia and Cali were due the same day, but born 2 weeks apart. 

A little backstory on the subject: Marinell and I both told each other on the same day that we were having a baby (okay, not so much me having a baby, but my wife). We were cube mates at the time and I basically had two pregnant spouses: my real spouse at home and then my work spouse. I bet not many people have had to deal with a pregnant spouse from 7 am to 6pm (at work) and then the other from 6pm till 12am (at home). Whew!!

Here are a few photos and video of Cali and Elleia, California Best-friends-forever!

That's the: "deer in the headlights" look

Okay...time to stop the photography when the crabbiness begins.

The mommies and the babies.

Oh come on...

Well, my suspicions have been confirmed...there is blood in Cali's stool again now that I'm exclusively breastfeeding again.  A month of this awful diet, no Culvers or fish fry in WI, and all for nothing.  And perfect timing too...Cali's pediatrician is on vacation for 2 weeks and we don't see the GI specialist until Tuesday.  What to do until then?  Any other breastfeeding moms wanna feed my baby?  lol  I think she's just allergic to ME.  

Oh, and if you're wondering...the 8 hour night of sleep is now a distant memory...we're back to 3 or 4 at a time.  The nights on either end of that glorious night required constant soothing attempts from 5pm-midnight before she fell asleep.  The only thing we seem to be able to count on is her inconsistency!  We think we'll be taking turns going to the spa for a massage this weekend for our aching backs!  :)  Kind of ironic, because I also need to study for my National Massage Exam this weekend that i'm taking on Monday.  Wish me luck, because i haven't done any studying yet!  

Again, good thing they make babies so cute!

Life is good.

Life is good this morning.  Cali slept 8 hours last night.  Wait...what??!  Um, yeah.  She has never slept more than 4 hours...never...and then she slept from 9pm to 5am last night.  I'm almost worried about her, but she seems ok.  I however, feel like a new person today :)

Here are some pics from the last week:

Cali's first fireworks from our rooftop

Check out this belly and her chubby cheeks!

Our peanut

Awww...love the smiles

Cali's first Canasta game with Celia and Sean.  She was the girls' good luck charm because we won after a long streak of losing!

The Cali update:  The day we left for WI we had a pediatrician appointment.  When the doctor came in the room, both Cali and I were crying.  She had been screaming for the past 48 hours and still had blood in her stool despite my allergen free diet, and I didn't know what to do, and I was scared to death to take her on a plane that evening!  The doctor said it was time to try hypoallergenic formula for a week to give my body adequate time to get rid of all the allergens in my system before returning to breastfeeding, and to get some blood/stool work done and see a GI specialist to see if we were missing anything.  I also had a doctor appointment that day, where they confirmed that I had thrush and we decided to refill my prescriptions and add one for the baby too.  Needless to say, it was a hectic day before we left for WI that night.  John had to come home from work to help me.  Cali was such a trooper though, she took the formula no problem, and then slept the entire flight.  For the first few days in WI, we thought she was a new baby and that we had found our cure--she was an angel!, but unfortunately, it didn't last.  Overall though, her screaming was less intense and frequent, and there was no blood in her stool.  When we saw the pediatrician again, she said we had likely fixed the allergy issue, but we still just had a "collicky" baby.  Since then, I have returned to breastfeeding, and her stool does look better than when I was breastfeeding before, but still a little suspicious, so we're keeping an eye on that.

Back from Wisconsin

We were recently in Wisconsin to, among other things, introduce Cali to some new faces. This was, of course, Cali's first major travel experience. She was a doll on the plane ride to Wisconsin (drugged by tylenol), which was great, because it was a red-eye flight. 

First morning in Wisconsin we had a delicious breakfast at Pat Strube's (great-grandmother of Cali) apartment where we enjoyed the company of Chey's aunt/uncle, Den and Jan. 

Den & Jan Strube

Great-grandma Strube

That night we had a great dinner at my parent's house and invited Dallas and Kathy over. The following day was Brooke's bachelorette party in Madison, so Cheyenne and I conned my parents into watching Cali for about 8 hours. It was our first time away from Cali. To be honest, it was glorious! I bummed around Milwaukee with Dylan. On Sunday, Cheyenne and Cali headed to Brooke's bridal shower where Cali met great-grandma Kinsey and Chey's aunts/cousin (Chey forgot to take pics there) while I headed with the boys to a Brewer game.

Throughout the week, we spent plenty of time with friends/family: the Lunds, the Zieglers, Eric & Kristen (recently engaged!), and Cali's aunts/uncles-- Nick & Katie and Dylan & Brooke. Cali had some interesting encounters with other babies during this trip. Her cousin, Parker Heltemes, was just infatuated with her--mostly because he wanted to play with (and eat) her toys. Cali also met Aveya Ziegler. This was an adventure, to say the least--reference the evidence below (set of photos and a video).

Nick & Parker Heltemes

Andrew Ziegler and Hayley Lund

Nick, Katie, and Parker Heltemes

Hat made by John's old cubemate

Grandpa Heltemes and Cali napping together

Grandpa Strube

Brooke & Dylan Strube on their new hammock

Aveya Ziegler and Cali

Other interesting events to note while we were home:  A trip to urgent care with Cali for bad diaper rash that had become infected, and visiting Chey's childhood home mid-remodel (basically gutted!)