Black-eye Friday & Thanksgiving

Oh Brian. He always manages to make things interesting (2 broken feet, anyone remember that?). Well, luckily this wasn't as tragic as the fire pole episode, but it easily could have been!

For Thanksgiving we got to go to Queen Creek to have Thanksgiving with Brian's side of the family. There were tons of people there (as is usually the case with their family) and tons of cousins. Brian was playing night games and I was inside taking care of sweet Myla. Well, Brian comes rushing into the house with his hand over his eye and heads straight to the bathroom to assess the damage. Apparently he was running in the dark and got clotheslined. Literally. He ran into a clothesline. With his eye.

Someone was watching out for him and luckily there was no damage to his actual eyeball. He did get a impressively deep slice in the skin right next to his eye on the outside corner. 

His sweet (and talented) cousin, Natalie, stitched him up at her PA office and we were good to go. Thank heavens he didn't damage his eyeball - he needs both of them to be a dentist!!

With his stitch!

And our cute little muffin's first Thanksgiving :)

Christmas came early this year...

Brian got the Navy scholarship!!

They are going to pay for 3.75 years (we paid for the first quarter - they might pay us back for that), all of his books & supplies, his health insurance, and we get a living stipend! It is such a huge weight off of our shoulders. Midwestern is one of the most expensive dental schools and we figured that if we took out a 15 year loan for all of the expenses, we would end up paying around $700,000 in the end. CRAZY. But, not anymore!!

Our commitment to the navy is that Brian will serve as a Navy dentist for four years following dental school and will be in the reserves for an additional 4 years (we are told it is very, very rare for dentists to get called back in). He will probably be working on a naval base serving the soldiers and their families, but will likely have a tour on a submarine at some point. Good news is that the majority of the bases are by the ocean, so we will get to live close to the beach! Hawaii... California... Italy...? Wouldn't that be nice...

He worked very hard to get this scholarship and I couldn't be prouder - Good job, babe! Never thought I'd be a military wife!

And some pictures that I never posted from Brian's graduation from BYU and his white coat ceremony at midwestern (happened in October) --->

BYU graduation and white coat ceremony at Midwestern (I was 38 wks pregnant)

Brian and some friends from school after the white coat ceremony

Holidays with the babe...

Christmas time feels so different this year! Not only are we enjoying the amazing Arizona winter (it hung around 70 degrees all week), but we have a new member in our family to enjoy it with! She looked so darling in her little "Christmas dress" yesterday, that I couldn't help but take some pictures. We love you Myla bean!

Notice the smiles... they are getting more and more frequent!

I also finally got some pictures of her amazing stretching yesterday! She loves to stretch... and stretch... and stretch...

Last night we got to go look at the lights at the Mesa temple with some friends! Their baby is just 2 months older than Myla and he is seriously a handsome little man. I love the picture of Chris & Brian - just daddies hanging out with their babies (and it's pretty funny that Cohen looks absolutely terrified while looking at Brian - ha!)!

Myla at 2 months

weight: 10lbs 3.5oz

length: 22.5in

Sweet baby girl,

This has been a very fun month! You are learning and growing so much every day and we are loving seeing your personality come out and develop. Your favorite times of the day are in the morning when you first get up (so many stretches & smiles!) and in the evening after your bath when you have mealtime, singing time, story time, and cuddles until you fall asleep. I think those are my favorite times of the day too. I love it when you are happy!

I would say your biggest "milestone" this month is smiling on cue. You'll smile and coo when we talk to you. You've even attempted giggling! It is fun to see how much your vision has developed, too - We can tell that you see much farther than before and you always follow us around the room with your eyes. You love faces and prefer to look at our faces more than any book or toy.

Our typical day consists of getting out of bed around 8ish, eating, getting you dressed, going on a looong walk (it helps you stay calm through your refluxing - as long as I can keep a binky in!), maybe a little nap for you while I try and get ready for the day, awake again for some more food and playtime/tummy time/dance party/maybe run some errands if you are feeling up to it, repeat, etc etc. If we're lucky, daddy comes home from school for lunch and he is usually home for dinner and/or bedtime. Usually, though, it's just you and me. We make quite the duo, I think :)

Your favorite things to do right now are eat, look at the Christmas tree, swing in your swing (near the Christmas tree, of course), sit in your bouncer chair while I bounce it with my foot, daddy's singing, the "elevator", and walks! You have a love/hate relationship with baby carriers but we're hoping to make it more of a "love" relationship before we head to Oklahoma at the end of the month!

Your reflux has it's good and bad days. I cherish the good ones and we get through the bad ones together. Your new medicine seems to be working better. We also took you to the chiropractor yesterday and she said your spine was a little out of alignment and she put it where it should be... sometimes that helps babies with reflux. You also had to have shots this week and that was NOT fun. You were a champ though and only cried for a little bit and then you slept for a lot of the day. I was grateful for the extra cuddles but sad to see you feeling sick.

You are getting so big! Our neighbor had a baby about 2 weeks ago and we couldn't believe how small she was compared to you (even though she is over a pound bigger than you were when you were born!). You have the CUTEST chunky thighs. I'm loving all your rolls! I counted them this morning - 3 on each thigh! Your hair just keeps growing - doesn't look like you're going to lose it like a lot of other babies. We are convinced that you are going to have auburn hair, like me. It looks brown indoors, but when you get in the sun, you can really see the red! Everyone says you are my little "mini me." - I hope your dimple sticks around! Your eyes are still a grayish blue and they seem to be getting lighter, not darker. I still think they'll end up hazel.

You're sleeping better and better! This week you slept 7+ hours in a row 3 times! That makes one happy momma... and baby :)

Current nicknames: Myla bean, Myla Roo, munchkin, sweet potato, pumpkin, puddin' pants (got that one from grammie & jen), pumpkin britches (from your dad), sweet girl

We spent your first Thanksgiving in Queen Creek, AZ with your daddy's side of the family. You were very social and loved cuddling with everyone... especially aunt Annette and her cousins - they just thought you were the cutest thing! We are looking forward to your very first Christmas in Oklahoma! Just crossing our fingers that you sleep on the plane...

We love you, Myla girl!

Care for some more photos? Don't mind if I do!

look at those tasty thigh rolls!!

And we've been having some fun with the whiteboard... Celebrating accomplishments, birthdays, and... poop.

And the progression... They grow too fast!

Yes, that is a spit up mark on her white onesie...  

oh how i hate thee, acid reflux

I guess some people would call it "colic." I call it "hell." Poor sweet Myla has acid reflux and it is bad. We've done so much research trying to find out how to best help her, but she is still in a lot of pain and it just breaks my heart to see her so unhappy. For those who don't know, infant acid reflux is when a baby can't keep her stomach contents down and so it comes up her esophagus and she either spits up or swallows it back down. Myla swallows hers and so it is referred to as "silent reflux." It is worse when babies swallow it because then they have to feel the burning on the way up and on the way back down. So, on a bad day Myla refluxes after every feeding and screams and screams for 30 minutes to sometimes 4 hours after she eats. Nothing soothes her for long. We do the "elevator" as much as our arms can take it because that seems to work the best, but even that doesn't work all the time. Eventually she realizes that she is not refluxing anymore and relaxes or she just gets so exhausted that she falls asleep. It is heart breaking and sometimes we just cry together... definitely not something I envisioned with my newborn! But, I guess that's how life is - I am learning a ton of patience, that is for sure. Not every day is like that - I'd say an average day has her doing that after about half of her feedings. She is pretty good in the middle of the night and usually goes back to sleep right after eating (and sleeps through the reflux!)... so that is definitely a blessing!

It feels like we've tried everything! We hold her upright after feedings, have the head of her crib elevated, I eliminated a bunch of things from my diet (didn't seem to help), burp her like crazy, etc etc...

The doctor started her off on Zantac and it seemed to help a little at first, but not drastically and Myla was still so uncomfortable. We took her back in the Friday before Thanksgiving and got a new prescription for Prevacid. It seems to be working better and she has had some really good days. Some days, however, (like today) she is extremely fussy and inconsolable. She finally went to sleep about 30 minutes ago and I am so, so glad. Happy for her and happy for me! They say to give it 2 weeks to see if it is helping or not, so I'm still crossing my fingers that it will be a miracle medication for her! If not, there is one more med to try. We've had a few people suggest going to an infant chiropractor. I am going to do more research on that.

Anyway, just felt like I needed to vent. I am so grateful for our good days (like yesterday!) and the times that she is happy during the day. I love it when I can successfully calm her down. I know that she will eventually grow out of this problem, so for now I am going to take it one day at a time. Brian went back to dental school today, so now I'm on my own. Egads!

Hoping to see more and more of these smiles :)

Myla at 1 month

So I'm a little late getting this posted - but better late than never!

How has my sweet girl gone from this...

to THIS in less than a month?! 

Sweet Myla,

I can't believe how fast the time has flown - you are already one month old! We have had quite the month with all sorts of new experiences... ranging from your first breath, to your first blow-out, to your first time sleeping 5 hours in a row, etc etc. We are falling more in love with you every single day and can't believe how much you have already changed! You last weighed in at 8lbs 14 oz and measured 21 inches long. I think those extra pounds went straight to your thighs and double chin!

The first few weeks were a blur of learning how to take care of you, catering to your every need ;), and soaking you in! You bring so many smiles to our faces!

You make the cutest faces we've ever seen. When you're waking up after a good snooze you stretch and stretch and stretch and stretch some more! All the while grunting and... passing gas. It makes us laugh every time. You are a very strong little girl and can already lift your head up really well and even turn it from side to side during tummy time. You don't mind tummy time and love to look at black and white pictures while you're on your belly.

You are a great sleeper! You usually do one 5-6 hour stretch between feedings at night and dad and I are so grateful for that! During the day you are eating every 2.5-4 hours and napping for about an hour between feedings. You make the cutest cooing and snoring sounds when you're sleeping - we love to listen to you! You love being swaddled and I am so grateful for some sleep sacks auntie Jen lent to us - they are your favorite!

The doctor prescribed us some medicine for your awful acid reflux, and we are hoping that it starts working soon! You are such a sweet, sweet baby when you are feeling well - but when that acid starts coming up your throat, you sure let us know! The best way we have found to comfort you is to do the "elevator" move... we hold you in front of us and lift you up and down until you calm down. Let's just say our arms are getting much stronger! You're worth it :)

You got blessed the day after you turned 1 month old! You go to wear the same dress I wore when I was blessed - made by your Grammie Layne when she was just 19 years old. You looked absolutely beautiful and were such a good baby - wide awake and listening to every word.

We are loving watching you grow!

Love, mom (and dad)

blessing day - 11/10/2013