the time is ticking away

Lydia Violet is sleeping in today so I'm taking this rare chance to catch up on the blog.

She had her one month birthday 3 days ago. I can't believe it's been a month already. Seriously. It feels like just last week we were checking into the hospital. (Though Dima says that, for him, the birth seems like years ago.)

Yesterday we were able to get a last minute doctor's appointment to check in on a few things: 1) Lydia has not had an "unassisted" poop in a week. 2) We've been discussing with the doctor whether or not she has reflux, and 3) her baby acne, to me, was starting to look more like hives than baby pimples.

So, you say, what do I mean my "unassisted" poop? Well last Thursday she stopped dirtying her diaper. Cold turkey. We missed the call in time at the pediatrician on Saturday, so by Sunday morning when we still hadn't had to change a poopy diaper we called and asked what was up. The doctor said it was normal but we could "help" her out if we wanted with a little rectal stimulation.

Now, let me take a time out here and say, here's an example of something you never envisioned talking about, let alone doing. Rectal stimulation on your infant child so they can have a bowel movement. Dima and I have become intimately attuned to Lydia's gastrointestinal tract in the last 34 days. Dealing with, I'm sure he would agree, things that we hadn't ever imagined until now. And this is not to say I haven't changed a messy diaper in my time (though Dima had not), but somehow when it's your own kid and you're getting into things like "rectal stimulation," it's totally different.

So back to the story. Essentially we needed to give her poor little butt a jump start, which in the medical sense means a q-tip to the rectum. Poor girl. But it worked and surprisingly, she didn't seem to bothered by it. Since then and after a few more "assists" she's been able to clear her system, which is good, since she was looking a little distended.

The reflux is another matter and according to the doctor totally unrelated. Just imagine a tiny baby, unable to speak, experiencing heartburn every time she eats. It's horrible. And Lydia let's us know exactly how horrible she feels. Wailing, arching and puking. Poor, poor girl. Well yesterday she got her very first prescription: baby Zantac. She has to take it 3 times a day and it seems to be working thus far, but man does it taste nasty. At least that's what the look on her face tells me when I squirt it in her little mouth. Bleck!

The baby acne? Normal. But I wasn't REALLY concerned about that as much as I was taking an opportunity to ask a professional while I was paying my co-pay.

Anyway, I hear her now. "I'm hungry!" her screams are telling me. Gotta run...