... and look what she does!

I only went to use the bathroom. Two minutes at the most. And she did THIS!
This child needs to be watched like a hawk...

You Like Names That Are Classic and Timeless

You prefer quality names that have stood the test of time. You don't like anything that's trendy today and outdated next year. Names are important to you, and naming someone should not be an social experiment. You are the type most likely to name someone after a family member. Some female names you might like: Andrea, Elizabeth, Hannah, Julia, Marie, Nicole, and Victoria Some male names you might like: Aaron, Benjamin, Christopher, Jonathan, Matthew, Thomas, and Zachary

I took this quiz and it's definitely true for me. I love classic & timeless names. Anything that is in the top 10 on current baby name lists is not something I would ever choose. For example, I love the names Isabella or Emma for a girl but nowadays they're both extremely popular and it seems like everywhere I turn there is a little Bella or Em running around... I guess it traces back to my own name and how I had 3-5 Julia's, Julie's or Julianna's in every class I ever took. It's a good name, but it was always overused and I have always been Julia V. in every class because there was also a Julie C. and a Julia K. and the teachers never knew which one is which. It was annoying. That's why I was determined to name my children less common names. Natasha is in the 300's and Veronika in the 200's on baby name lists which is great.

If you read my previous posts regarding Veronika's Reflux issue then you would know how desperate we were... How she screamed through every single feeding, screamed in between feedings as well, and was one miserable little baby. Well, at almost two months of age, we're happy to report that Nika is doing much better! And I mean, much much better!

Screaming through almost every feeding has changed into screaming through only half her feedings... and then it changed almost no screaming at all. A few weeks ago she would finish half her bottle, scream to be burped, sleep for 30-60 minutes, and then finish the other half... well, the last few days she's been finishing 4 ounces at one sitting! Hooray! She burps halfway through and then at the end, and that's it. Huge improvement!

She's also been a much happier baby too. She can spend 30 minutes in her bouncy chair just sitting, smiling, and cooing. She can also lay on a blanket on the floor and just relax. She's not a 24/7 'tense baby' anymore. I think all-in-all she's outgrowing her Reflux & Colic issues. And speaking of Colic - what used to be 5-6 hours of screaming each evening has turned into no screaming or a maximum of 1 hour. Amazing! She does have a fussy period from 4:30-6pm each day, but the key word here is fussy, not hysterical. Fussy is normal.

... my sister!!!

When Natasha approaches the baby's bouncy chair, the baby happily coo's. When Natasha plays around the baby with her toys, the baby follows her with her eyes. When the baby suddenly cries out, Natasha quickly grabs the nearest bottle.

I stumbled upon this video today and thought it was beautiful. Very emotional, might make you bawl... depends.
 

Veronika's been what we refer to as "self destructive". She has this annoying tendency to stick her left fist inside her mouth and start chewing and sucking on it. Well, normally it wouldn't bother me too much, but she does it most inside her bassinet, when she's very sleepy... and it prevents her from falling asleep! She would lay there and chew and bite her fist (and no, she's not hungry) over and over, whining and fussying as she's doing it.

Babies her age still don't have much control over their hand & leg movements, so she can't just "chill" or "relax" like an older child would. She pretty much has no idea what to do with her hands. And she hates swaddling! We've swaddled her the first two weeks of her life, but then she started refusing it and would fight it until she got both her hands outside the swaddle. So much for that...

But a couple days ago, I finally came up with something to help her self-soothe... the "ONE HAND SWADDLE!" haha. I take her blanket and tightly tuck it under her left side, making sure her left hand is right against her side. The right hand, I let be. And for some reason it's been working really great... she calms down way faster, and has no way of kicking the pacifier out of her mouth with the annoying left hand! It's like she's swaddled, but she's not...

So I've spent all weekend waiting for the season premiere of The Bachelorette on ABC, Monday May 19, 9:00-11:00 P.M (yesterday night). And I was so relieved when Veronika fell asleep prior to the start of the show so I could watch in peace & quiet. So come 10:45 I was anxiously waiting for the last fifteen minutes when she would choose who stays and who goes home.... and then, the next thing I know it's 11:15 and the show is over fifteen minutes ago! UGH. I fell asleep and missed the entire ending!

Talk about underslept... Matthew was making fun of me this morning. I have to admit, it's much nicer staring at 25 hot guys than 25 catty girls on the Bachelor.

Like it, like it??

Matthew spent his entire day off today redesigning my website.
It now has a new look and a bunch of cool features I never had before!

Needless to say, I am impressed. Matthew rocks!

A little update on Veronika's Reflux issue, as per my previous post.

On Thursday, May 8, Veronika was weighed by her Pediatrician and was a whopping 10 lbs. However, at her next appointment on Thursday, May 15, she was only 10 lbs 2 ounces, which was a rather low weight gain. I told her Ped that she still continues spitting up a lot, and although we've been thickening up her formula and adding rice cereal, it does not seem to be helping much at all. The Ped said she's growing fine, just gaining weight rather slowly. But knowing Natasha's history of slow weight gain as well, he's not as concerned this time, and thinks she might be following in her sister's footsteps. The only difference was that Natasha did not have Reflux and did not therefore scream through practically every feeding.

The Ped then gave us a free container of Enfamil's Nutramigen Hypoallergenic formula; this formula is made for babies who might have a milk allergy and/or are lactose intolerant. Now this does not mean Veronika is, but he said if drinking this formula will stop her fussiness and spit-up, then maybe there is our answer. So I brought the can home, and when I opened it, this absolutely horrible smell came out. It was disgusting, but when I made the bottle and tasted it, it was even worse. Think rotten pickle juice. Yuck. I just couldn't believe my baby will have to drink bottles after bottles of this disgusting liquid. I even called the Ped to confirm whether this was normal, and unfortunately it was.

Well, Veronika might be small, but she's not stupid. She refused to drink this formula altogether and screamed even harder for the next 3 feedings. And honestly speaking, I don't blame her one bit. I don't know what the makers of this formula had in mind, really. I gave in and made her a bottle of the regular Enfamil she was previously on. I would rather she eat and spit up, then not eat anything at all or have to endure this horrible tasting formula. Yuck.

So we're back to square one now, but we're taking it easy and hoping she outgrows this problem come three months. It seems like her Ped is very much against prescribing her meds, which realistically is the easy way out. He wants to get to the core of this problem, but at what cost is he looking for the answer? At the cost of my baby suffering every feeding? I don't know, but I hope some solution comes up really soon.