Photo Update

January has been a busy month. We are settling into a new "normal", figuring out this new diet, had Augustine's baptism, 3 more snow days, and just enjoying life with little Augustine. Here are some favorites from the last few weeks.

Augustine ready for a car ride.

Cousin Alyssa came for a visit.


Daddy and Augustine talking.

Augustine sleeping on mommy.

Cloth Diapers

Wednesday, not only was a snow day for Andy... but Augustine wore his cloth diapers all day for the first time. He finally has some chunk on his legs and looks great in his diapers.

FLIP diaper by Cotton Babies

Moonbean

BumGenius by Cotton Babies
Grasshopper

The diapers did really well with Augustine. He only pooped 5 times and I did 2 loads of diapers during the day. By the end of the day I made a purchase from Cotton Babies for more BumGenius. I was waiting to fill my stash until I was able to have Augustine use the diapers. Good thing Cotton Babies was having a sale for a free diaper. :)

Bright Eyes

I really do have a cute kid.

What you do for your child?

It's hard to say what you would do for your child until you are faced with the option. Then it's really not question. You do what you have to do.

Breastfeeding is very important to me. It was the number 1 thing (after labor) that I worried about. I really want to breastfeed as long as possible. I read books, talked to experienced mothers, and took a class to prepare for breastfeeding before while pregnant. After Augustine's tongue was clipped our breastfeeding relationship started out great. We had it down. Thank goodness.

We soon found out that Augustine was a very gassy baby. Andy and I thought that this was normal for a while. He had good sleeping habits and was a happy baby. No worries. However, his gassiness and spit up increased and Augustine was no longer a happy baby until he burped or pooped. Some nights, Andy and I would be up for 3 hours in the middle of night trying to get him back to sleep.

Then comes Wednesday... we went to the doctor's office for his weight check appointment. He is passed his birth weight at 7 lbs, 13 oz. He gained almost an oz a day since our last check up. So we know he is eating. However, he is not a happy baby after he feeds. Our pediatrician asked if I'm a big dairy person. I would say yes. I try to eat a well-balanced diet as best as possible. She suggested that I give up dairy for a few days to see if there are any changes in his feedings. So I agreed.

On the surface, you think it's not that big of deal. Until you really think about it... dairy is in almost everything! This means that I've not only giving up milk, yogurt, cheese... but ice cream and most chocolate. Plus all prepared meals have some sort of dairy in them. This diet is more than someone that is lactose. All things that are made from milk are out.

I was very depressed for the remainder of Wednesday, until I spoke to a friend. She was able to settle me down because her boys were Milk Soy Protein Intolerant. (MSPI) Some babies can't handle cow's milk and/or soy products for the first year of life. If a baby is MSPI there are 2 options: switch to a very expensive formula OR change a mother's diet. We still don't know for sure if Augustine is MSPI. The only way to test if he does have it is to test his stool for blood. Changes might not happen for up to 4 weeks on the new diet. It takes between 2 to 4 weeks to remove dairy from my system.

I'm committed to changing my diet to help my son. I know there have been other mothers that have done the same thing. Maybe this is the answer to his fussiness. If not, at least we'd tried.

Happy 1 month birthday!

Augustine's 1st month birthday was Wednesday. He got to celebrate by watching the Husker bowl game. Of course he would have his Husker t-shirt on.

The bear is from our friend Stefanie. Mr. Bear did have a Cardinals shirt on it. However, Andy's cousin made sure the bear was dressed for both sports sessions.