My Strong-Willed Child

We had another rough night last night.  So, I took Morgan to a new pediatrician today to hopefully get some answers as to why she is getting up every couple hours at night.  Also, whenever she strains she seems to be in pain but she isn't constipated.  We went to see a doctor who is in the same practice as our previous pediatrician. 

I told her all about Morgan's background with food allergies.  Morgan also has a cold so she checked her ears and eyes.  Fortunately, she said they looked fine.  However, our little angel wasn't quite in the mood to be examined by the nice doctor lady.  She started screaming and flailing her hands in the air.  Before I know it she was in a full-blown tantrum all because it was not her prerogative to have her ears checked.  When the doctor was done, I scooped her up only to have her spit up all over me.  The pediatrician was so nice about it and said "Wow, she really lets you know what she is thinking, doesn't she?"

Basically, Dr. Tomlin told us that Morgan has reflux.  That would explain the pain when straining, the night wakings and why she can't sleep on her back flat. So, she gave us some Zantac and we are supposed to see if things improve.  I'm also supposed to stop nursing her to sleep (easier said than done) and put her on a sleep wedge instead of in her carrier.  Apparently  the carrier can cause her to slump making reflux worse.  So, hopefully these changes will help her to feel better and get this tired Mama some sleep.

She definitely wasn't phased too much by the "spit-up incident".  She was smiling and joining in on the conversation in a matter of minutes.  Dr. Tomlin even commented on how vocal she is for her age.  Then, on the way out my little strong-willed extrovert had to smile at all the nurses as we passed by.

Morgan is feeling better this evening.  This picture was taken right after she managed to somehow poop on the carpet.  She seems to think its pretty funny.

5 Months

Morgan Likes:

Giggling at Daddy and Mommy, watching her puppies, going on walks and sitting up!

Morgan Dislikes:

Laying down, Bottles, pacifiers, boredom, and the Roomba.

What’s New:  Morgan just started sitting up.  She is not much for rolling over still although she can do it.  She enjoys sitting up so much that when you lay her on her back, she tries to curl up in a crunch position until you aquiesce and sit her up.  Her hair is growing quite a bit and it is long enough to be able to mess up.  She has graduated from headbands with bows to bows with clips.  Her eyes are STILL blue to my amazement.  If they stay blue then I think that trait is from Jeremy's mom and my dad since Jeremy and I both have hazel eyes.   We went to Sunday School for the first time on Sunday and I just went and fed her in between class and the service since she is more hungry in the mornings.   Morgan has developed a liking for prune juice since we had some constipation issues when we started solids.  Now we are taking a break from solids and hoping to get back on the right track.  I miss the days where she slept 7 hours straight.  Last night she got up twice (12:30 and 4:30) and that is considered a good night.  She is teethign so I'm sure that is not helping.

What Morgan Plays With:

She enjoys her little stuffed monkey that wiggles.  She also likes to play with Mommy's hair and Daddy's glasses.  She still enjoys the jumparoo and is getting better at actually bouncing.  Morgan laughs and grins every time one of the the dogs approaches her.  She also likes to laugh when someone else starts laughing.  She and I could giggle back and forth for hours.  She is really something else!

What Morgan Eats:

Milk, milk and more milk since we are taking a break from the solids.  She took my milk from a spoon for the first time last week!  (She is definitely stubborn but she gets it honest.)

What Morgan Says:

Morgan likes to "sing along" and is starting to imitate noises I make.  

How Morgan Spends Her Time:

Every morning Morgan usually wakes up at about 7:00.  She likes to be fed first thing and then is in a good mood afterwards.  Then we spend some time talking and singing songs.   We take a walk around the neighborhood before it gets too hot.  She also does a weekly playdate with her BFF Adalyn and we have our SS class playdate on Fridays.  Last time, we got to feed ducks at a pond.    She will usually take a short nap at about 3:00.  When Daddy comes home she sits at the table and watches us eat.  I do our bedtime routine starting at 7:40.  Apparently, 8:40 is the magic time for her to be able to go to sleep for the night.  We had her sleeping in the crib on a sleepwedge but since she was getting up so much, I went back to the carrier in the crib.  I almost wonder if she has had some reflux since she does so much better sleeping at a pretty steep angle.  For now, I am getting her out of the habit of nursing her to sleep and then we will work on sleeping on the wedge again.  I am learning to prioritize and take one thing at a time.  

It is hard to believe that our sweet girl is already 5 months old! Sunday is Baby Dedication and we'll have lots of pictures to post.

A cool front came in a couple weeks ago and Pop Pop got some good pics.

"Laying down is for babies!"