A Day at the Zoo

We went to the zoo today. Jeff's mom is watching three of her grand kids from Lexington, and we decided to go together to the zoo.


Our main desire was to go to the water park, but we stopped first to see the snakes, lizards, turtles, bats, and birds. We finally got to the water park, but about 10 minutes later (or so) there was thunder, so they closed it down. We went to the nearby playground to pass the time until it reopened. Then it started to rain. It rained, and rained, harder and harder, for around 30 or 45 minutes. Rachel loved it. She kept wanting to play on the playground. I didn't really trust her to be safe without my supervision, so I followed her around. Rachel was wearing her bathing suit still from the water park. I was not. I got completely drenched. I looked like a drowned rat. Jeff's mom told me that even though she stayed under the roof, she got completely drenched too, so I guess I was doomed to be wet, no matter what. We were able to keep Gabi dry. She slept peacefully in the stroller, and the stroller was covered by towels. I was a little disappointed that our time at the water park was so short, but I guess that just means we have to go back again. No problem.

Here are a few of the animals we saw.


During our brief time at the water park, I happened to sit next to a lady, with whom I struck up a conversation. Turns out she is a lactation consultant. She gave me some good advice, and more importantly some encouragement. Actually I have an appointment with a lactation consultant ( different one) who is coming over to the house tomorrow morning. I hope she can help me help Gabi get enough milk from nursing alone so that I can eventually stop supplementing. We'll see.

Gabi Weighs In

We went to the doctor this morning to weigh Gabi after not giving her any supplement since Monday. Unfortunately it did not go so well. She weighed 7 lbs. 14 oz. That means she lost an ounce and a half. That's the opposite of what I wanted to happen. I wanted her to gain 3 or 4 ounces. So we are back to supplementing. I have to admit it is a little discouraging, but we will just keep pressing forward. Hopefully Gabi will eventually be able to get enough milk from nursing, because I don't think I can keep this schedule up long-term.

In other areas, Rachel is always interesting and fun. Today, in honor of Pioneer Day, we walked and walked and walked and walked. She had her baby doll stroller. For some reason she thought it was better to walk in the grass. It made pushing her stroller more difficult, but she didn't seem to mind. After we were a ways down the road I thought it would be best to go back home. She agreed when I told her she could have a freezer pop at home. Pretty soon she was tired of pushing the stroller, so I carried it, and about 10 seconds later she decided she was too tired to walk too. So I had Gabi in a baby carrier on my front, Rachel on my shoulders, and the baby doll stroller hooked over my arm. Fortunately I hadn't brought Scout along. Don't worry about him, though. After dinner, when Jeff was home, we all went for a walk again, this time with both girls in strollers, and with Scout too.

This picture is a couple of weeks old, but I thought I would share it anyway. Rachel uses the doggy door regularly to go both outside, and to come back inside.

Gabi's 2 month old check-up

This morning Gabi had her 2 month old check-up. It was definitely a good visit. Gabi is thriving and doing well. She weighs 7 lbs. 15.5 oz. That's just half an ounce below 8 lbs. Not bad. She weighed 5 lbs. 11 oz. at one month, so that means she gained over 2 lbs this past month. The doctor told me that for a full term baby, they want weight gain to be around 1 or 2 lbs. For a preemie baby, they want at least 2 lbs of weight gain so they can catch up. Gabi did just that. What can I say, she's a good baby. Gabi's weight is still below the chart, but she's getting closer.

Gabi's height is 21 inches tall. That is in the 5 - 10%. Her head is 14¼ inches, also off the charts on the low side.

Gabi's good weight gain is due to my rather vigorous feeding schedule. She nurses for 30 minutes, then gets a 2 oz. supplement bottle, then I pump. It is getting pretty exhausting to keep that schedule going, so I am going to try a little experiment (with the doctor's blessing). I am going to stop giving Gabi her supplement until Friday, then take her back to the doctor to weigh her to see if she is gaining adequate weight with nursing alone. If so, yay, that will make feeding better. Of course I will probably have to feed Gabi more frequently, but I think I can handle that. If she does not gain enough weight, then I guess I'm back to supplementing. The desired weight gain is a minimum of ½ oz. per day, but preferable 1 oz. per day.

Gabi is 2 months old

Today Gabi is two months old. She doesn't have her two-month-old check-up until Monday, so check in then to see her vital statistics (height, weight, general health). To celebrate Jeff and I took her to see Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. I smuggled food in for her under my shirt, but other than eating, she just slept through the whole thing. Jeff and I enjoyed it, though. Rachel stayed home with a babysitter.


Speaking of Rachel, I bought her a baby doll stroller. An excellent purchase, and worth every penny as she loves it. I also bought her some dress up shoes. These pictures are so cute and so funny.


In the potty news, Rachel has pee-peed in the potty two times.

Gabi is eight weeks old

Today Gabi is eight weeks old (not to be confused with two months old - that is still several days away).

I can't remember exactly what Rachel was doing at this age. I do remember that it was at about six weeks old that she got her days and nights straightened out, but Gabi didn't really have that. Once she was eating well, she started sleeping at night better.


I do remember that at 1 month old, Rachel was ready to wear 3-6 month clothes. Gabi is still wearing the same stuff she was wearing when we brought her home from the hospital. Not much longer, though. She'll be ready for 0-3 month clothes pretty soon.


And here's Rachel, enjoying her spaghetti dinner.

I'm really proud of Rachel. She is a great big sister. When Gabi cries she says "shhh" and puts her finger to her lips. She gives kisses, and enjoys bouncing her in the bouncy seat.

Funny quote I read

There are three things that we as members of the (LDS) Church aren’t ready for yet in this life. First, we’re not ready to receive the sealed portion of the Book of Mormon. Second, we’re not ready to live the Law of Consecration in its fullness. Third, we’re not ready to have the heating and air conditioning in any of our chapels work properly. I hope that by the Millennium the Lord sees fit to grant us proper temperature controls in our buildings . . . otherwise, it’s going to be a long thousand years.

I found it here.

A Potty Story

Yesterday we bought Rachel a potty chair. I'm not really thinking of potty training her right now, but I figured we would need it eventually, and maybe its presence would spark an interest for Rachel.

We brought it home, and I set it up. Just for the fun of it I took off Rachel's shorts and diaper, and let her sit on it, not really expecting anything. She liked sitting on it. It has a little handle that when she moves it down it says something like "nice job" then makes a flushing sound. She really liked that. After a while she moved it somewhere else (out of my line of sight). I went in to where it was, and there she was, sitting on the potty chair happy as can be, with a poopie sitting on the floor right in front of it. Oh well, it was close.

Don't worry, no pictures.

Fourth of July Weekend

The 4th of July started on the 3rd of July for us. Jeff had Friday (the 3rd) off from work, so we went swimming together in the morning. It was a really nice day. Not very hot at all. Of course the water was a bit chilly, and it wasn't really hot enough for us to appreciate it, but the most important thing is we (especially Rachel) had fun. Rachel is unfortunately growing up and getting more independent. The place where we went swimming has a slide. The big kind. Rachel climbed up the (tall) ladder all by herself. Of course either Jeff or I were right behind her, but she didn't need any help. I still don't trust her to go completely on her own. The more successful she is, the less likely she is to be careful, so she can expect one of us to be trailing her every time.

In the evening we went to a baseball game to see the Louisville Bats play the Indianapolis Indians. We won (1-0). Rachel really had a good time.


Gabi was really into it too.


She woke up after a while, and wowed the crowd with her incredible cuteness.

Today unfortunately it rained pretty much all day. It was too bad, though, just light sprinkles. We went to the zoo this morning. By far the best exhibit today was the penguins. They were so playful - swimming back and forth, jumping into the water. Rachel absolutely loved them. She screamed with delight - right into Jeff's ear (which he did not love as much). But there was no denying that Rachel was having a good time. She also really liked the fish and the big cats we saw.

Jeff cooked hot dogs on the grill (in spite of the rain), and at night we lit fireworks (the legal kind). All in all, it was a great holiday.