5 Month Mommy and Baby Update!

Happy 5 Months little man!

I can not believe my baby boy is 5 months old already! Time is going by so fast, and I just want to relish every single moment with him. I know it won't be long before he is running around... and away from me :(

Weight - This little guy is a chunky monkey! He went from the bottom 3rd percentile to the 69th percentile and weighs 13 pounds! He is currently transitioning from size 3 to 3-6 months. Am I the only mom that gets sad when folding up the clothes he has outgrown???

Aaron's Schedule-

6:00 am - Wake, Books, Bath, G-Tube Care 

8:30 am - Solids/Feeding & Morning Nap

11:00 am - Wake & Play/Tummy time

11:30 am - Feeding & Play or run errands with Mommy

1:30 pm - Goes down for nap

2:30 pm - Wake, Feed & Play (Possibly another 20 minute nap sometime in the late afternoon)

5:30 pm - Feeding, Dinner with Mommy and Daddy, Playtime with Daddy

8:00 pm - Bedtime Routine (Jammies, books, breathing treatment, music/blankie/binkie)

8:30 pm - Bedtime :)

* Due to having a g-tube Aaron is hooked to a pump overnight that provides him a continuous feed (8:30 pm - 6:30 am) so he does not wake up to eat at night. Even before having a g-tube, Aaron has been sleeping through the night since he was one month old.  I  wake up at 1:00 am and 5:00 am to pump and change his feeding bag.

New Foods/Solids - In order to get his g-tube/Mic-key button removed, the doctors have said he needs to eat all of his meals by mouth. In the beginning Aaron was drinking no more than half an ounce at a time. Feedings were a real struggle, he would cry through out the entire feeding, which lasted about an hour, and ended with me having to hook him up to a pump to finish the rest... UNTIL THIS MONTH!!!!!! AAAAAH! If you can't tell I am typing this with a huge proud mama grin on my face :D He is currently eating the entire amount by mouth in less than 15 minutes - without choking or crying! In fact if he does cry it is to get more! He also is trying to hold his own bottle, and did through out an entire feeding once last week. THIS IS HUGE!!!!! Oral Aversions are very common in children with his laryngomalacia and acid re-flux diagnosis, and he has been working very hard to get to this point (knock on wood, and thank GOD)! Also his occupational therapist gave us the green light on introducing solids at the beginning of the month. I was so excited, I bought organic bananas and pureed them... Aaron was not into it at all (hence the banana bread recipe), scaring us that he would need therapy for a longer period of time. He would gag and cry. Finally I decided to give him sweet potatoes nonchalantly, and he did cry... because he could not get enough in his mouth!!! We are currently on day 3 of trying the sweet potatoes, he is loving them, and so far no allergic reactions - yay!!!! We still have to work on increasing his amount, and getting rid of the nighttime continuous feeding but this is all a step in the right direction - I am beyond ecstatic!!!

Showing off his food mustache!

New Discoveries- Ladies and gentlemen, he has found his feet and his tongue, and they are among his favorite things to play with! He looks at his feet in the mirror, and plays with them. My personal favorite is watching him concentrate because he will stick his tongue out and focus really hard! He has also started laughing out loud in response to peek-a-boo games, and tickles! He also discovered the power of tantrums - my lord! 

                                           

Accomplishments- Um EATING!!!! He is also sitting without support (other than his little chubby arms) for a few seconds at a time!

Places he went- He was quite the adventurous little man this month ... he went to his first play date, first birthday party, first family gathering, dipped his little toes in grandpa's pool, went to the lake, the pond, to eat sushi with his auntie, and we try to go out somewhere every afternoon. He loves being out and about just like his mama!

At his first birthday party... not to fond of the hat!

I love these little bibs and that cute face!

He has really loved sitting in this chair... and eating in it too!

Mommy Update -
I am not nearly as exciting as Aaron, but thought I would update anyways :)

• This month brought on postpartum hair loss. IT. IS . EVERYWHERE ... but my head of course! I started taking biotin and I am still taking prenatal gummy vitamins. Fingers crossed it stops falling out soon!
• I am back down to my pre-pregnancy weight and have been waking up early to work out 5-6 days a week. Nothing too crazy, just 30 minutes of cardio and some strength training exercises with a weight rope. Mostly to counteract all the ice-cream I have been eating hehe.
• I have been pumping every 3-4 hours since Aaron was born. As of last week I noticed a decrease in my supply :( I have increased my water intake, been drinking mothers milk tea 3-4 times a day, and eat oatmeal for breakfast everyday. Hopefully it is just temporary and I see my milk supply go back up... any tips?
• This month my fiance and I finally went on a date. Well first we went on faux sushi/ ice-cream date. I say faux because Aaron came along with us lol. We actually had a lot of fun as a family though! This past weekend Mama Zoila (my mom) offered to babysit so we could get out and spend time together alone. We ended up going to watch a baseball game and went to eat at Joe's Crab Shack - delicious! It was a blast, but I felt as if I was missing something the entire time. I kept checking my phone... turns out Aaron was having a blast as well with grandma!

All in All... it was an amazing month! I can't wait to see what the next few months have in store for us!

  

Outtakes haha!

90's Inspired #FOTD

I rocked the brown lips in middle-school (or so I thought) and tried to erase those images from my memory.... until now because the 90s are back baby!!! The hair, the "cholaesque" vibe, the grunge fashion, matte skin, and yes the BROWN lips! I started wearing makeup in the 90s, so this is right up my ally - I feel old now. Now I don't claim to be a makeup artist, but here is my spin on an updated 90s makeup inspired FOTD, and I personally love it! Matte skin, unkempt brows, thick winged liner, and imperfect application of warm toned shadows... it's super easy!

FACE- Primer - Smashbox Photo Finish Oil Free Primer, Neutrogena nourishing Long Wear makeup (MAC PRO Longwear dupe!) and MAC PRO Longwear Concealer (under-eyes) ...all applied with the Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge

CHEEKS - NARS Madly Blush (I applied it as I would a bronzer- on the cheeks, cheekbones, and temples)

EYES- MAC Blanc Type on lid, and Soft Brown on crease with a smidge of Espresso ... all applied with a fluffy blending brush. L'oreal Paris Lineur Intense in Carbon Black, CoverGirl LashBlast Mascara

LIPS- NYX lip liner in Coffee, and MAC lipstick in Velvet Teddy (a must-have for this trend!)

EYEBROWS - Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz in Soft Brown

Thank you for reading!

XOXO

Cinnamon Sugar Banana Nut Bread

THIS. BANANA.BREAD. I mean coffee cake. I mean Banana Bread Cinnamon Coffee Cake. It is moist, cinnamon swirled, sinful tasting (but really not too bad - I promise) and super easy to make!

I bought extra bananas last grocery trip expecting to make loads of banana puree for Aaron. BUT it turns out he just isn't into it yet. A good friend told me "want to make God laugh? Tell him your plans!" And she couldn't be more right. Aaron has really taught me that! So I tried to give my fiance banana protein shakes every morning to get rid of them, but I still had a few very ripe bananas in my fruit basket. Naturally, I decided to make banana bread with them (mind you this was before a crazy heat wave hit us!) and added a twist! Ok, ok enough blabbering here is the recipe - enjoy!

Ingredients

4 Ripe Bananas  (the browner the better)

1/3 cup Butter

1 Egg

1 tsp Baking Soda

1 tbsp Cinnamon

1 1/3 cup Sugar/Raw Sugar

1/8 cup Brown Sugar

1small pinch Salt

1 1/2 cup Flour

1 tsp Vanilla

1/2 cup  Chopped Walnuts or Pecans

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and spray a 9x5 loaf pan with cooking spray.

2. Mix the wet ingredients (mashed bananas, butter, egg and vanilla), and add one cup of raw sugar and 1/8 of a cup of brown sugar. Next gently mix in baking soda and salt.

3. Mix in flour a 1/2 cup at a time- do not over-mix, it will be lumpy!

4. Mix cinnamon and remaining sugar together - you won't use all of it but no harm in having cinnamon-sugar around!

5. Pour half of the batter into your prepared loaf pan, sprinkle with cinnamon sugar, pour in remaining batter and cover with decent layer of cinnamon-sugar. Sprinkle nuts over the top of the cinnamon-sugar layer.

6. Bake for 55 minutes, let cool for 3-5 minutes and remove from pan... enjoy!!!

My Skin Care Routine

These days sleeping is a luxury I just can't afford. It's funny I spent my entire undergrad career sleeping 7- 10 hours per night, and STILL complained about how I couldn't wait for a break once I graduated. Well here I am graduated and sleeping 5 hours a night - if I am lucky! Now, caring for my son is well worth it, BUT it can take a pretty huge toll on my skin. I have never truly stuck to a skin regimen before, and have always struggled with dark puffy circles.  I have to give credit to the fact that my skin has been holding up pretty well, to the products below. I have been using them religiously for the past 4 months, and give them my mommy approval (of-course anyone can use them!)

Cleansers

No matter what I always start by removing my makeup with a towlette. Scratch that - I use JUST a makeup removing wipe way more than I would like to admit.  Neutrogena's Makeup Remover Cleansing Towelettes are by far my favorite. They don't have a strong fragrance, are gentle, and remove even my waterproof mascara! They are TOO easy, and I am never without them.

 Clarisonics are a bit pricey, however I purchased mine 4 years ago and it is still working well! My face always feels squeaky clean and super soft after I use it. Now that I am a mom it helps me obtain a glow to my skin. I own the Clarisonic Mia but the newer Clarisonic Mia 2 is pretty much the same.

 Cetaphil Daily Facial Cleanser is a mild cleanser that never dries out my skin and pairs well with the Clarisonic.

I have never been a believer of purchasing expensive facial cleansers, especially when lines like ST. Ives are gentle, natural, effective and easily accessible. I LOVE their Green Tea Scrub, and use it every morning to exfoliate my face. It smells fruity and fresh, is not to harsh, prevents redness and breakouts, and leaves my skin feeling new.

Serums

Both in the morning and at night, prior to putting on a moisturizer, I use the First Aid Beauty Dual Repair Serum. This serum glides on like a dream and feels very lightweight. I like the feel of this so much more than wet serums that dry on your skin. It has anti aging properties, and well I am not getting any younger!

Moisturizers

Face oils are all the hype in skincare right now. I was skeptical at first but when  I received a deluxe sample in one of my Sephora orders of the Tarte Pure Maracuja Oil, I decided to give it a go... and fell in love with it! My face is bright and glowy in the mornings now! It has evened out my skin a noticeable amount, and I plan to purchase a full size - if I ever finish my sample. A little goes a looooong way! I recommend you ask for a sample at Sephora, or purchase the roller ball first ($20) so you can try it out!

There isn't much to say here other than Clinique's Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion Plus is an oldie but a goodie! They did reformulate it a bit, and it is even better! I love how lightweight it is yet keeps my skin moisturized all day long without breaking me out. I even got Robert to start using this!

If you can't already tell I am obsessed with having glowy, youthful-looking skin. I use the  ORIGINS GinZing Refreshing Eye Cream every morning because not only does it help depuff (depuff... is that a word?), but its pink tinted formula has a slight sheen that brightens under my eyes as well! I also use it as a highlighter under a full coverage foundation to maintain a healthy (you got it) glow. AMAZING STUFF!

The Bobbi Brown Extra Eye Repair Cream is the newest addition ( and splurge) to my skincare collection. I sort of gave myself my own push present if you will. I knew my eyes would really suffer with the lack of sleep, and wanted something luxurious and effective. This product is well worth it. It is SUPER moisturizing and I can really see a difference when I use it.

I hope you found this useful, and I am interested in knowing what are your favorite skincare products? Let me know!

Laryngo-ma-what?

I had the perfect pregnancy. 

No nausea. No fatigue. No Pain. No waddling.

I enjoyed every minute of it. I had it ALL planned out.

Well at least I thought so.

Even when my ob-gyn suggested I get a c-section, because she thought my son would be too big for me, I wasn't phased. On April 23, 2014 I gave birth to my long awaited baby boy Aaron. He was red, puffy and wrinkly, and I loved every bit of him. He turned out to be normal sized but he did have the cord wrapped around his neck. Again, no biggie in my eyes... I was born the same way and I am just fine hehe. Before  I was even stitched up the child development nerd in me yelled out "what are his APGAR scores?" Everyone laughed, he had great scores and I spent the rest of the day bonding with my son, and trying to learn how to breastfeed as I planned to do so for the next 12 months.

Just a few hours old ❤

He wasn't even 10 hours old when I noticed something was "off" ... I didn't know what it was. I was still under the effects of Benadryl, given to me for the itching after a c-section, but even through the foggy daze he sort of looked like a fish out of water. I yelled out to my mom "get him, get him... and take him to the nurse something is WRONG!!!!" The nurse waived it off as liquid in his lungs from the c-section and returned him promptly. It took 3 days before anyone in the hospital would acknowledge that his chest and belly sunk in (retractions) every time he took a breath. Even then, they would not take him into into intensive care as "he is eating and babies that are sick don't eat" and he had good oxygen levels. Finally one nurse took him seriously and sent him to the NICU. I was discharged and had to leave my baby in a hospital over an hour away from my home. I felt as if one of my limbs was missing.

First Hospital Stay 

The small hospital did every general test (heart ultrasound, lung x-ray, blood work) they could do but found nothing other than that his difficulty breathing was positional (got worse when he laid on his left). They couldn't justify sending him off to the nearest Children's hospital as again he was eating well. After a week they told us "don't worry he might just have laryngomalacia". Hmmmm ok .... wait what? Laryngo-ma what?... "Oh just a common condition in which children have a floppy airway that collapses on itself and blocks air from coming in or out. Don't worry it is outgrown by 2 years of age. Best case scenario that is all he has"...

They said to take him home, and to follow up with an ENT. We gladly did. We were naive. We focused on the fact that laryngomalacia was common and eventually outgrown. We fell for the textbook definition that would be fed to us for the next three months. Oh how laryngomalacia is SO much more than that. BUT we wanted our little boy to go home with us more than anything. The next day the ENT reinforced what the small hospital told us after scoping him for 2 seconds. We were given no further instructions, from anyone, other than to take him to the hospital if he turned blue. And one week later, blue he turned. During. A. Feeding. In. My. Arms.
The first of many times after that actually.

Long story short we spent the next two weeks in the NICU. He had suffered an Apparent Life Threatening Event, had bacteria in his blood, a meningitis scare, test after test, poke after poke. The scope revealed he in fact had laryngomalacia, the sleep study and PH probe showed he had severely abnormal central and obstructive sleep apnea, as well as acid reflux. They decided to treat his acid reflux and see if it improved his laryngomalacia. The theory is that the acid reflux irritated his airway, swelling it closed, and causing respiratory distress. During all of this time in the hospital, my little man never once acted sick, never desaturated, never stopped eating. He was happy. And that alone held me together. He is truly a perseverant little champion. I know many adults that could not endure being in the hospital for more than an hour, cough dad cough. So... they sent us home with an apnea monitor, a nebulizer, and oxygen to be worn 24 hours a day. "Bring him back if he stops breathing or turns blue".... Oh and those damn instructions.

A week later ...
He was turning blue again. He would pause breathing even when awake. And the retractions were deeper than before. We could hear his squeaky, grunty breathing from across the apartment. So we took him back to the hospital. It was decided that after so many life threatening events he did indeed need a surgery to remove the floppy parts in his airway. A procedure that most children go home the next day. It was supposed to fix him, and not have us wait until he was 2 years old to hear him breathe regularly. I was all for it. It sounded great. I was ignorant. To be honest, yes he did come out of surgery a new baby. He was breathing extremely well. We jumped of joy! It was the miracle cure! The surgeon was a "miracle worker" - her words.

After his first surgery

Being silly - making the best of our situation!

Excited Dad brought him a mobile!

4 hours later I was getting ready to go to bed in the ever so comfortable couch that had been my bed for 1 week too many, when I looked up at his bed and noticed that the blankets were moving up and down rapidly. I uncovered him, only to see the horrible sight of your child's body sinking into the bed as he works so hard to breathe. Aaron of course was as calm as ever. He never showed distress. The nurse brought the life saving device and put it next to him, and called the PICU doctors. Within minutes we had 10 doctors in the room trying to decide if we should intubate him. I was told he probably (probably really?) had inflammation in his airway. NO. DUH. Anyways, they took him back to PICU and he was put on heliox  and high flow. He spent the next month fighting for his life between the step-down unit and the PICU. He was put on heliox, taken off heliox. Again he was poked and prodded over and over and over again. I slept like 5 hours a week max. I began to get anxiety as soon as it started to get dark, as he always had episodes at night. Rapid responses were called on him. We had 30 Doctors in the room with us once. It was horrifying. And yet we had no answers. Nobody knew why he was having so much trouble. I pushed and pushed for more tests, but they wouldn't do them and chalked it all up to laryngomalacia and inflammation. Eventually the doctors decided that he had baseline retractions and he would continue to have episodes, and that I could just bring him back if it got too bad. We packed up our things and went home.

He did well for about three days. And then we met monster number 2... Acid re-flux. Aaron had been drinking 4 ounces every 2-3 hours, and suddenly he started avoiding feeds. He would either laugh his way out of them, or he would kick his feet out, arch his back, and scream. I could not get more than one ounce down. OH and I tried, I squeezed the bottle, I tipped the bottle, I put the milk in a syringe... nothing. We decided to take him back to the hospital but this time we would take him to another Children's hospital for a second opinion. I didn't even pack much as I thought we would come home the next day. We ended up staying two more months. Aaron had stopped eating because he re-fluxed and aspirated (the food went into his lungs)every time he did eat, causing him a lot of pain. We thickened his liquids, we fed him through a tube in his nose to his stomach. Nothing helped, he was not gaining enough weight, and could not take in enough by mouth. Finally we were told our only option would be to wrap his stomach with a procedure called fundoplication so that the reflux would not reach his airway, and insert a tube/ mic-key button into his stomach so he could take in enough calories safely. This was by far one of the hardest decisions of my life, however we knew it would be the best for him and we agreed.

Before his fundoplication/g-tube surgery :(

At just 3 months old, Aaron had surgery number 3 done. We do get to feed him by mouth at times, but most of his caloric intake is through his Mic-Key button. This can be a huge pain, but to be honest it has been a blessing in disguise. The laryngomalacia has improved vastly. He has some noisy breathing, mostly when excited, but other than that his breathing is AMAZING! He has gained weight and is no longer failure to thrive. He still uses an apnea monitor at night, and has a nebulizer, but he no longer needs oxygen! All that is left now is his feeding issues. He has passed his swallow study and can take in about 2 ounces by mouth. It still isn't enough but there has been improvement. I am scared to death of the upcoming winter. I wish I could put a glass case around him and make sure he doesn't get sick - totally kidding... kinda. I just don't want to see him in the hospital EVER AGAIN.

It is amazing how much this little man has taught me in such a short period of time. He never stops smiling. He overcomes every obstacle thrown at him with a smile. He inspires me, and keeps me going. Everything else is meaningless when I look at him and how far he has come. I hope that anyone reading this (if anyone is reading still) will find hope, support, and the information they need during their own difficult times. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions. For now my biggest advice is DO NOT STAY QUIET. You are your child's voice, and your instincts are right. Request swallow studies, chest x-rays, scopes, sleep studies etc. Get to the bottom of it. I don't want to think what would have happened if I took the doctors' words for it.

All in all things have gotten better. As I have typed this blog I have relived the pain, but I have also began to appreciate where we are now. SO WHAT Aaron has a button in his belly? He doesn't mind it! Aaron is much more than a child with laryngomalacia and a feeding tube.I am so much more than a mother to a child with laryngomalacia. And so that is where this blog comes into our lives. LIFE with Mic-Key will be about LIFE and not just Mic-Key. It will discuss laryngomalacia and feeding stories but it will also discuss his growth and accomplishments, his favorite things, my obsession with all things beauty, home and cooking topics, life as a graduate student and as a homemaker. ALL that makes us US! Stay tuned :)

Related Blogs:

Laryngomalacia - 

                         Not Just About Wee

                         Malacia Mum

                         allisonreneemom

Motherhood/Lifestyle-  

                           Check in the Mirror

                            

                           michele1218

                           thejazzybee.com