No more hospitals!!

The last 2-3 weeks have been really tough for us because Rey has been really sick. After about a week of having a fever and feeling more and more fatigued, he ended up being admitted to the hospital and they kept him for a week! This has been such a scary time and I haven't wanted to make a new blog posting until we actually got a diagnosis. When Rey went into the hospital he was very anemic - his blood level was only 7.4. Normal blood levels are between 13 and 14. So they gave him a blood transfusion and spent a week of running every test imaginable to find out what was causing this anemia and let me tell you....our minds were really going wild imagining the worst. It could have been cancer, a blood disorder, lupus and a number of other serious problems. Even after numerous blood tests, EKGs, a chest x-ray, stomach ultrasound, a bone marrow biopsy and a CT scan, they still didn't have an answer for us. Thankfully, everything was coming up normal, but they could not explain the anemia.

The day before Rey was released from the hospital, he met with the infectious disease doctor. She felt that he probably had a viral infection that was causing the fever and anemia so she had some more blood sent off for testing. He followed up with her yesterday, and FINALLY we got a diagnosis - a severe case of Mono. The doctor said that in rare cases mono has been known to cause anemia. Out of everything this could have been, to find out it was mono was honestly a blessing. The last couple weeks have brought a lot of stress and a lot of tears, but to know this is something that will clear up on its own and go away has been a huge relief. We had a lot of friends and family praying for us and we were so thankful for that...I'm sure it was a big help. We were also so glad my parents could help us by staying with Hadley during the day so that I could be with Rey in the hospital. It definitely gave me peace of mind to know that she was with someone who would take good care of her while I couldn't be home.

Rey is slowly beginning to get more energy and be able to get back to doing his usual things around the house. Still no heavy lifting or working out for awhile, but other than that, the doc said he could get back to doing his normal activities. After this, I am just praying that we have no more family members in the hospital for a long time. We've had THREE major health issues with my dad and Rey just in the last 6 months! I think we could all use a break!

Spoons are weird

We have started trying to get Hadley to eat with a spoon and it has been quite the experience! She didn't take right to it, but today was my 3rd attempt and she's making progress. At least she's started to open her mouth when I bring the spoon toward it. Here are some photos from today...I was trying to feed her some rice cereal mixed with formula.

Naptime woes

My little baby who is normally such a good sleeper has started fighting naps lately. Not fun. Particularly when I can TELL she's tired and needs to take a nap only to have her fuss and cry when I try to get her to sleep. I'm not sure what it is. Sometimes she will go down without a peep (I LOVE those times) but then other times, she will cry for over 1/2 an hour before she finally sleeps. We're still working on getting her used to the crib but when she's good and tired, she sleeps in it really well.

Yesterday, it got to be her usual naptime and she was acting sleepy so I put her in her crib but she just cried and spit out her paci. After going in there 3 times and attempting to rock her for awhile, I tried moving her to her sleeper but again, more crying. Rey gave it a shot, too but he couldn't calm her down, either. I was ready to pull my hair out! Finally, I decided I would just take her back downstairs and give her a bath. She needed one anyway and I figured it couldn't make her MORE upset...maybe it would even get her to calm down. As soon as I picked her up and took her downstairs she got quiet. She was an angel during bathtime and afterwards I fed her a big bottle, let her play for 30 minutes and tried to put her down for the night. Success!!!

I am trying to remind myself that most things with babies/children is a "phase" and that it hopefully will not last long. Her nap schedule might need some tweaking but we'll get it figured out.

5 month pics

Little miss Hadley turned 5 months old on Friday and man, it seems like she's figuring out how to do new things almost everyday! Earlier this week, she rolled over from her back to her front and she's done it several times since then. She's also started using consonants in her babbling...often saying baba, dada, bada....I'm still waiting to hear "mama"!

Snow day? More like Snow WEEK!

This whole week we've been covered in snow and ice...pretty unusual for Georgia! So of course the state was totally unprepared and had to close down everything all week. We've been stuck in the house unable to go anywhere and after about the 3rd day, I was DYING to be able to go somewhere. Today is the first day we're supposed to have temps above freezing, so maybe later this afternoon I will venture out.

These icicles are hanging right outside our front door. Not very inviting, are they?!

Rey stood Hadley up in the snow and her little feet fell right through! We couldn't help but laugh!

Big Week

This has been an exciting week for us! Hadley slept in her crib for the first time on Tuesday and she's been taking her naps in there everyday since then. I'm trying to get her used to sleeping in there so that when we eventually decide to have her spending her nights in her crib, it won't be such a foreign place. Also, Hadley rolled over for the first time yesterday! She went from her tummy to her back but she hasn't gone from her back to her stomach yet. I think she probably would have done it sooner, but I will admit that I'm not real good about putting her on her stomach very often. She's always hated it so much and usually starts screaming within about 2 minutes. I've been trying to give her more tummy time lately and now that she's stronger and can hold her head up 90 degrees, she seems to put up with it a little better. Now, when I put her down on her tummy, she lifts her head up high, pushes up with her arms, and starts to try and push off with her legs. Looks like crawling won't be too far in the future!

This week is also Rey's birthday (tomorrow, in fact)! My mom has offered to come babysit Hadley while Rey and I go out to dinner to celebrate and I'm really looking forward to it. Rey is taking his birthday money and buying an iphone4. Assuming it's as awesome as I hear it is, I will probably do the same thing when my birthday rolls around next month!

More milestones

My little girl is growing up! She is always learning to do new things and the latest ones are:

-She can hold her head up quite well by herself now.
-She's a pro at spitting and blowing raspberries and she enjoys doing it often!

-She knows to ham it up for the camera.

-She figured out how to shake her head but she doesn't know what it means yet...so it looks like she says "no" all the time!

-She gives Mommy open-mouthed "kisses" when I bring my face close to hers. It's the cutest thing ever!

-She grabs at everything now...whether that is my hair, my clothes, or even my face!