Update

HEATHER: Not much to report on me. I have to hold Annaliese for about 80% of my waking hours. I pretty much only put her down when Kalia needs to eat or be changed. She always wakes up when I put her down. More on her later. I am still breastfeeding her and since I'm not eating anything with milk, eggs, soy, corn, tomatoes, onions or broccoli, I have finally started losing weight again (I plateaued for awhile.) I lost 11 lbs last month and have 10 more to go, so hopefully it will keep coming off. Samuel has been patient with me, as I have not cooked or cleaned since the baby was born. Probably because he is distracted by his new toys. And because he is holding Annaliese for the other 20% of the time, and he knows why I don't get anything done. Oh yeah, I did get some new contacts. Somebody accidentally washed mine down the drain. No naming names (but it was not anyone female.) They are hard contacts (not disposable) so I hope this pair lasts me another three years. I am seeing better than ever though!0

ANNALIESE: Her pictures loaded first, so she can be first. Things are still pretty rough with her. There was improvement, but we still have a ways to go. On a positive note, she has been smiling at us for awhile. It's my favorite thing-- waking up in the mornings. She rewards me with the hugest smiles ever. Unfortunately, the SECOND the camera comes out, she looks like she's seen a ghost. Just like this picture:

Her eyes are surprisingly quite blue. We never expected that...my eyes are brown and Samuel's are green. We'll see if they stay this way.
This is Kenya (Tara's 6 month old). We've been to St. George a few times lately, my mom had surgery on her shoulder for a torn-rotator cuff.) She's such a cute chunk, and the best baby I've ever seen.

And here's the girls in matching jammies. Oh, let the matching begin. It's so cheesy and so fun.

So, here's what's going on with her health: Her reflux really got bad, so we gave in and took her to the doctor. She's now on liquid Zantac and doing much better. I guess it was $130 well spent. The doctor found that she had an EAR INFECTION from all that congestion, but that it was resolving itself. Poor little thing, no WONDER she screamed so much. Allergies, reflux, AND an ear infection? Anyway, the allergies are really giving us a hard time still. Milk, soy, and corn are the worst...we've learned through trial and error. The good news is that she doesn't seem to be allergic to wheat. The bad news is the corn-- She is just miserable. So I quit eating it---but it's in SO many things--including baby formula. Even the non-milk and non-soy and the "hypoallergenic formulas" --one of the main ingredients is corn. (I didn't know that. It's like, corn syrup solids and stuff like that.) So it's like...which is the lesser of the two evils...formula with a little corn, or breastmilk with traces of other things? I am trying really hard to not eat anything that bothers her. We also started taking her to a chiropractor. He was referred to us by a friend (he cleared up her boys' allergies in just 5 visits) so we are hopeful that he can help Annaliese too.

I had to take her to the pediatrician again on Monday because she screamed so bad on Sunday night, we almost took her to the emergency room. I was in St. George and my mom and Tara and everybody heard the cries, and they all think something is really wrong with her. The doctor found that it's not her ears (finally better) or throat, but a possible urinary tract infection. They found a little bit of infection in a urine sample, and they've sent it away to do a culture. I don't know what to think, because sometimes she's pretty good during the day (when she's held) but is really fussy at night. So it's almost like we've come full circle. Back to COLIC. Anyway, I am just doing my best to make her comfortable, but it kills me that I can't always ease her discomfort. I think I am tense all the time (and I'm sure she picks up on it and it makes her even more nervous.) Anyway, she really has a sweet little spirit, and I love her to bits, but the Lord is testing me in so many ways with this, and I just keep hoping that I'm learning whatever it is He wants me to learn. Here's a happy moment.

KALIA: Thank goodness, she has FINALLY adjusted to having a sibling. She is not clingy anymore and she's doing so much better with Nursery (she's barely 17 months but they're letting her go anyway) and with babysitters.

My favorite thing that she does is when Barney is on (the same episode, about 6 times a day) she hears the "I love you" song and she comes running to me, wherever I am, and gives me kisses and hugs. She's really become affectionate and I love it. She's talking a lot too, and likes to repeat the last word of sentences. She's really loving spaghetti noodles ("noo-nos") and slurps them up like a pro.

It was pretty funny, over the weekend in St. George we heard her crying a lot, but we just ignored her. Finally someone went and found her on the stairs, stuck. Somehow she'd gotten both legs into her pajamas. Yes, she still has her binkies. I'm not going to try to wean her yet, because Annaliese is taking a binky and so they're all over the house. We'll figure that one out later.

She's getting a lot of teeth, and I don't do her hair unless we go out (basically that's only for church.) So she does run around looking like a little rag-a-muffin (sp?), but I'm okay with it. It's really the least of my worries.

She got this little playhouse for Christmas, it's called the Rose Petal cottage, and it is so adorable. She's a little young to play pretend; I'm sure she'll like the cottage even more as she gets older. But she sure loves it when I crawl in there and read her stories. I miss all the time I used to have with her, but we'll all just have to get over it.

She is so funny and constantly makes me laugh (much needed laughter!!) Whenever we go outside, she either hops or jogs everywhere. I need to get a video of that. She brings me so much joy and I really do love this age.

Just two little clips of the girls. I was trying to get Kalia to talk about her "boyfriend" but she was a little too involved in her book. And this is just a short clip of Annaliese so you can see how she looks. She's almost 3 months old. Well, both babies are screaming now, so....I am done blogging for the day. Goodbye.

Improvements!!!

Wow, you guys, SERIOUSLY, THANK YOU SO MUCH. Your advice and suggestions and love and support were SOOOOOOOO HELPFUL in so many different ways. We've seen some major improvements in the last week, and here's what's helping:

1. We put her on an expensive fomula for a few days (specifically for allergies and colic) but it HELPED! She immediately stopped with the rashes and the crying and reflux improved too.

2. I went on a completely dairy-free, egg-free diet. I won't lie. IT HAS BEEN HARD. I feel hungry for a lot of the day. I am basically only eating fruits, veggies, and some meat here and there. I am having major carbohydrate and junk food withdrawls (since sooo much of that crap has milk and eggs in it) but it is getting easier, and the best parts are:
*A* Annaliese is nursing again and doing much better. She still breaks out in a little rash every now and then, but then I can trace it back to something I ate with TRACES of milk or egg in it, and so I'm getting better at not eating things that she reacts too.
*B* I'm eating much healthier. I never would have had the willpower to do it for my own good.
*C* I've lost a few pounds already since starting it.

3. My friend Emily knows sooo much about herbal remedies and what is helpful for what, etc. She gave me some Coral Calcium powder, some Slippery Elm Powder, some Aloe Vera Juice, and some peppermint. She really urged me to do what felt right to me, and since Annaliese kind of refused the "master mix" I made her of ALL that stuff, I really felt strongest to give her lots of Coral Calcium. (Then later I started with more Slippery Elm, to help coat her stomach and intestines and help the reflux.) I'm not sure WHAT is doing WHAT but she started pooping at least once a day, sleeping more both day and night, she only cries for little bits here and there after eating, and her nightly "screaming episodes" are down to about 10-15 minutes, IF AT ALL!! CAN YOU BELIEVE THIS???

4. We give her tiny doses of Mylanta for instant relief when she's hurting. Don't worry, I read online that it's okay, the infant does is 1/8 of tsp (althought I confess we give her more sometimes). If she doesn't continue to improve, I will go ahead and take her to the doctor.

5. I do squats and lunges with her to get her to stop crying, and that works too. And my legs are toning right up. Thanks Mel, for telling me about that trick!

6. Today after she ate she really started crying in pain, and so I tried a new trick-- I turned on a blowdryer and just held it by her ear (pointed away of course) and she stopped crying immediately. 5 minutes later I was able to rock her to sleep. GOOD TO KNOW!

Soo...it appears the worst is over. I am feeling so much better. I got a good chunk of sleep the other night (thanks to Samuel and also some Melatonin) and it's just so true, everything is easier when you're not so tired!! Also, Emily gave me an herbal mix called "Happy Juice" and that stuff makes me feel good--the emotional equivalent of a good workout, I'd say! If anybody wants to know more about that awesome stuff, please ask!!

Annaliese is just a different baby. She is smiling so much more and her eyes are brighter and she's more alert. As soon as our insurance comes through (any day now) I am going to take her to the doctor anyway just to have a chat with him, and also find out when I can get her tested for allergies and maybe asthma. She's still wheezing and stuff, but not as bad. I'd also like to know if I should eliminate (or add back) anything into my diet.

I'm just so grateful that things are finally turning. The last month has been miserable. Finally things seem to be making sense, and I can look back and see that I WAS learning from it all, and hopefully progessing in the eternal scheme of things. I hope I can add "improved patience" as a benefit from all this too. It's felt like quite the refiners fire, but I was told in a blessing that things were "working together for my good" and of course I need to trust that, even when I can't see it when things get too hot in that fire.

Thank you again for your loving support and for all the great ideas. I'll (of course) keep you updated on things.