It's All Good.

Well Elle is continuing to do great. Last weeks doctor's appointment was very good. She gained another 4 ounces, so she was just shy of 9 pounds. I talked with Elle's doctor about nursing and she was really helpful with making my decision. I began to realize that I actually am bonding better with Elle now, bottle feeding, than I ever did nursing her. She recommended that I try nursing again and make my choice. She said there was a possibility that Elle could get a hold on how to suck, but there was a chance she could revert to old behaviors. So last Thursday night I sat down with a box of tissues and Ryan for support and tried nursing Elle. She immediately went back to angry, crying, hungry Elle. I of course began to cry knowing that was the last time I would nurse Elle. I definitely morned for the rest of the evening, but feel confident I made the right choice. I was glad to cry it out, because now I am so happy. Just making a choice was such a relief! I am unfortunately feeling a good amount a pain (I haven't pumped since Saturday morning) but look forward to just being done with it all. I have been taking sudaphed in hopes to speed up the process. In conclusion the Johnson Family is doing great, all of us are happy and healthy. Woo hoo!!!!!

Good News!

Sorry I am still figuring out how to do this. These pictures are supposed to be on the bottom of the page but oh well. This is my happy baby on Valentine's Day. My Mom (her Marmee) bought this outfit for her.

She is doing really well on her tummy.

Emily, doesn't this picture look a little like Addie?

Well we have great news. Elle is SO much better. We did what the doctors said and stopped nursing and gave her purely formula. She became a different baby. I thought she hated bottles she has never really taken one very well. Well I came home from the doctor and gave her a bottle and she literally scarfed it down. I couldn't believe it. I noticed a difference almost immediately. She began sleeping better, and eating a lot more. The part that makes me most excited is that she is a happy baby. She eats (cries a little while being burped) and then is HAPPY! She will just hang out happy as can be. So just two days later we went to the doctor to check her weight and (drum roll please...............) she gained 7.9 ounces!!!! Can you believe that! I don't think I realized the severity of the situation til I saw the relief on the Doctor's face. She said she had been praying for Elle. She also said that Elle gained one of the most significant amounts she has ever seen in just 2 days. I could tell Elle had been weighing on her mind because when she walked out of the room she began to tell all the nurses how happy she was and how relieved she was. I can't tell you how nice life has been.

Now here is a little honesty. I am so glad we have found something that is working, please do not dis-count that, but I am a little sad at the thought of never nursing Elle again. We aren't sure what went wrong. We think maybe Elle did have reflux and that it started a downward spiral. She began having difficulty eating, then my supply went down, when the medication started working I didn't have enough milk to satisfy Elle. Also she never really got a hold on how to properly suck, so she would start nursing and would never get to the hind milk because it was too hard, and that would cause her to cry. So basically, Elle has been starving for 3 months and I didn't know. So I have been pumping (which is one of my least favorite things EVER) until tomorrow. Elle has another weight check tomorrow and if she is doing well we can try giving her breast milk from a bottle while supplementing with formula. Then later we can try nursing again. Here is my concern, the fact is she may never be able to nurse properly. We may go through this whole process then realize that she is losing weight again. I just don't know if I can emotionally handle going through all of that for nothing. I must admit bottle feeding Elle is very convenient. I went and finally saw Twilight and was able to leave her at home with Ryan. I just feel like I have missed out on this amazing nursing experience, because trust me nursing has not been a very good experience. I just kept waiting for everything to finally click. I guess I will just make a decision after we find out how she is doing tomorrow.

This is Elle before :( And this is after she ate!



This is Elle after. She's not crying :)

Ah Man!

For those of you who don't know, Elle has had some troubles since her arrival in this world. One of them being her acid reflux. She has tried multiple medications with no relief. Because of this she has had a really hard time gaining weight because eating is painful. She was 6 lbs 8 oz when she was born and is only 8 lbs 4 oz as of today (Elle is 3 months old today!). Well obviously the doctors and Ryan and I are concerned so she did a barium swallow study this morning. Basically she drinks barium and we are able to watch her digestion process through an x-ray. It was very cool, but not a lot of help. We learned that Elle shows no signs of reflux, and they are not sure why she is in pain. The doctor asked me to stop nursing Elle, pump, and feed her soy formula for a couple days to see if her problem is an allergy, not ingesting enough calories, my milk or what! The doctor doesn't honestly think this will help but it is worth a try. Unfortunately the next step would be a fairly invasive set of tests. She will be getting a weight check on Thursday so I will be sure to let you know if there is an improvement. To add to it all Elle has her first cold and is struggling with a cough and runny nose. Hopefully she will get a break soon and be able to be a healthy happy baby.

I'll Catch You Up....

Ok I give in! Although I am not cool enough for a blog, Elle sure is. I realized that every time Elle does something new I'm so excited to show people so I will catch you up to this point.

On November 10, 2008 at 8:09PM Elle Maci Johnson was born 6 lbs. 8.8 Oz.

We were very happy!





These are from her first bath. A little Jaundice but still cute.

She was a very sleepy girl for the first couple months.

These are a few of my favorites from Christmas time.

This was Elle a couple weeks ago. Pretty Cute!

Elle has acid reflux and has had a hard time sleeping during the day. As you can tell it has made her very squirmy. This time she nearly wiggled out of her bouncer!

Elle was blessed on Sunday. Not only was she well behaved, she was beautiful as well. This dress has been worn by myself, my sisters, and my nieces has well. Pretty Cool!

Just this Monday she rolled over for the first time!!! So now you are up to speed. I'll keep you posted on the life of Elle.