Because I'm a Peditric Nurse. . .

My daughter has experienced several symptoms that parents of my patients frequently call about. Dr. Roy said the same thing happened to him when he had his twins. According to him, we need to deal with them ourselves to better understand and sympathize with our patients and their families. Here is a list of what we've seen so far:

1. Weight loss due to lack of breast milk. (details in previous posts) Solution-supplement with formula.

2. Constipation due to formula. Solution-tummy massage, bicycle legs, rectal temp (to stimulate the muscles and promote BM), Karo syrup.
3. Extreme fussiness and gas. Solution-Change to Gentlease formula, give simethicone (mylicon) after each bottle.

4. Colicy. Solution-purchase a swing and ear plugs (we only bought the swing but ear plugs would be nice too!) Patience, lots of swaddling, walking, bouncing, singing.
5. "Newborn acne" followed by a "newborn rash" that covers her face, head, chest, shoulders, and back. It looks a lot like an allergic reaction. Solution-wash twice a day and apply Aquaphor (this stuff is GREAT!) Give it time. Brayli's is starting to clear up but it can lead to her next condition. . .
6. Cradle cap. Solution-apply small drop of baby oil or olive oil to the scalp and let it soak in for a couple minutes to soften scales. Then brush out with soft baby brush. This can and is contributing to her next condition of
7. Hair loss. Solution-deal with it!!! She looks like a balding male. She is only losing it on the top of her head right now so she has an extreme receding hair line. You can't even see her cowlicks anymore. Hopefully her new hair will grow in quick. I wonder what it will look like???? Maybe blonde and curly? Both traits run in both sides of the family.

I think that is all for now. We'll see what diagnosis manifests itself next. Hopefully nothing too serious. I guess we have been pretty blessed if these are the most serious things that we have had to go through so far. I've seen a lot worse diagnosis in patients at our clinic. All of the above are very common and I'm grateful for my job that has provided me with the knowledge I've needed to deal with them.

Now for the fun part--PICTURES!

Brayli's new, amazing swing that she LOVES which means we LOVE it too! It can swing from side to side of front to back.
Side note: Matthew's work had a baby shower for us a couple weeks ago. We got a humidifier, booster/highchair, books, and an Avent baby monitor! The IT department bought the monitor after some research. It's AWESOME--no static at all. Definitely worth the money. We also got a lot of gift cards and were able to get this baby swing and still have gift cards for future purchases.

This is how Brayli fell asleep one day at my parents' house. Very unusual. She usually likes/needs to be swaddled or at least wrapped in a blanket to fall asleep.

This is the face Brayli always makes when we take her bottle out of her mouth. I LOVE it! Her chubby cheeks are soooo cute! I also love how she holds her burp rag when we are feeding her. The hand that is covered is also holding on.

This is just a silly picture that I thought was cute. This was actually her first day wearing a size 0-3 month outfit. The pants are rolled at the waist and the sleeves are rolled at the wrist. She's 6 weeks old! Her weight on Thursday was 9-6. Matthew weighed 9-3 when he was born! At least she's growing though.

Time is flying by. I can't believe it's been 6 weeks and 2 days since she was born.

I took this picture on Saturday. She is wearing the same jammies she wore home from the hospital 6 weeks ago. They're size newborn and she still fits in them even when she stretches! I didn't think she would be able to wear her newborn clothes for so long. It's great to get such good use out of them. I borrowed some from my cousin though because Brayli was wearing the same 6 outfits over and over again. It was nice to get a few more to choose from. Thanks Deidra and Sophia!!