I am sure you all have missed hearing from me :) I am sorry for the absence from my blog, but we have been busy around the Braem house.
I have been adjusting well to my new diet, learning what I can and can not eat. It has taken some time to figure out some of the foods that you would not think to be an issue that were bothering Emily. We had got to the point where Emily had been happy and having normal stools for a little over a week when her symptoms returned full force, after about a weeks time, many calls to our pediatrician and an ER visit I figured out it was the orange juice I was drinking every morning that she was reacting to. Who would have though someone would be allergic to orange juice. Since then she had a reaction to citrus flavored antibiotic, so I am staying away from citrus in general now :) For now her allergy list includes: Dairy, Soy, Almonds, and Orange/Citrus. We expect her to grow out of all of theses at some point (usually shortly after a year old). I am a pro at reading food labels and looking for hidden sources of dairy mainly. I have found many many foods that I love are still safe to eat and I really just eat about the same thing every day. I am very happy though that we have got to the root of all her health problems and that I am still able to breastfeed her.
Emily sure has changed since the diet change! She is like a new baby now that all her tummy pains are gone. Emily is just over seven months now and is making up for some lost time. She was at the doctor last week for an ear infection and she was almost 14 lbs (13lbs 12oz)! She rolls both ways very well, talks up a storm, sits without support and recently has started to get up on her hands and knees - she has no clue what to do next but you can tell she really wants to move! Once she gets crawling figured out I really don't think we will be able to stop her you can just see it in her eyes how much she wants to be on the go :) Her little personality has really started to come out as well, and she is one spunky gal! I say that what she lacks in size she makes up for in personality :) She still likes to be the center of attention (that has never changed) and will fake cough to get all eyes on her (still). She also thinks she is funny, she will make a face or sound and then laugh at her self. She looks at us with this look of "I'm so funny, right?". When I am driving, she is in the back just talking away and laughing at herself! She has started to imitate us with little things like sounds, faces, and simple motions (like patting an object). She LOVES for you to clap at her after she has accomplished something! She is also getting her two bottom teeth in.
She has started eating solids once a day, she is doing fruits and veggies and LOVES her food :) She is learning to use a sippy cup and has started some little baby puffs (finger food) also. She is very interested in what Paul and I are eating and tries to steer our food to her mouth!
She will now sleep for 6 hrs at night! This is AMAZING!!!!! She has also graduated to her crib! She has her last feeding around 8-9pm and then goes down to bed after nursing and reading a book (between 9-10) she will wake between 12-2am sometimes she nurses again but has recently been able to fall back asleep on her own without eating. She finally wakes up for the day around 6-8am. Now that we are on some kind of routine for the night, I am working on naps! It has been totally hit or miss so far but most days she takes a short am nap (usually while nursing) and then an afternoon nap around noon for about an hour.
I am finally able to get some things done around the house now that she will actually play on the floor, and takes some kind of nap. Our life before was her screaming inconsolably almost every day from 11am-5pm and waking up every 1-2 hrs at night and having to hold my hand to fall asleep for the short time that she did. She had to be held all day everyday and only wanted her mom. And when she was not screaming she was still fussy. I am so so so very grateful that we have figured out what was wrong and she is a happy healthy baby now. It makes me cry just thinking about it, I love her so much.
Well I will end this post now, if you are still reading thanks :) I will try to post more often now :)
