Well, I believe it is safe to say that the root of all of Olivia's gas problem is DAIRY! I have been without any sort of dairy for 2 weeks now, and she is doing so well. We have no inconsolable crying before tooting off her little toosh. Now, she just farts away without a care in the world. It is actually quite a pleasant sound when it is not prefaced with ear piercing cries. Her only crying is heard while she is fighting off the sandman! I will tell you, she does not like to go to sleep. She cries for 15-20 minutes before making it to dream land. It is only interrupted 5 minutes later when she abruptly awakens and realizes (after a few minutes) that she was just asleep. Then the tears come again, accompanied with heavy eye lids that just do not last too long in the open position.

RETURN OF THE LIVING CRAP:
AAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHH! The thrush came back. This time it surely is not as bad. We noticed it around Wednesday of last week, and his has not gotten any worse. It has not gotten any better either. We called-in the Nystatin refill we had remaining, Sunday morning, only to get it without a dropper. How in the world are you going to have directions that say "Give 2 dropperfuls 4 times a day" and not give a dropper? Things that make you go HMMMMM! I went back to CVS yesterday and got a dropper. The fight is on now!! We will definitely be far more diligent, this go-round, about cleaning and sterilizing.

TO COLIC OR NOT TO COLIC? THAT IS THE QUESTION:
Ah, the dreaded "C" word. We have come to the decision that she is probably not colicky. We do, however, think that she may have a cow's milk allergy. I have eliminated all dairy from my diet in hopes of solving the gas/digestion problem. Believe me when I say that you do not realize how much dairy you ingest on a daily basis until you have to eliminate it!! Not to mention, I am quite the milk drinker. I, alone, can kill a gallon in 2 days, but no more than 3. I drank it with all of my meals the entire time I was pregnant, unless I was out. But back to Olivia though, so it is not the actual farting that she has the problem with, it is the process beforehand that is the problem. So far everything seems to be going well. It has only been about a week of me and no dairy, and she has been a lot easier to deal with. She had her first inconsolable episode last night, since eliminating the dairy. I have read that it could take up to 2 weeks for your body to process out all of the dairy in your system. FINGERS CROSSED!! Bright side... we have noticed that she seems to have your typical baby fussiness now. She fights sleep almost every time. We have somewhat established a routine every (roughly) 3 hours. She has feeding time (approx. 30 min), wake time (approx. 1-1 1/2 hours), and then sleep time (approx. 1-1 1/2 hours). It is the 15-20 minutes before sleep time that she gets fussy now.

TIME FLIES:
Olivia had one month check-up yesterday. It is so hard to believe that it has been one month already. In some ways it seems longer, but overall it really does not seem that long at all. You people were not lying when you said time would fly. Back to the pediatrician visit... she weighed in at 7lb 8oz, and measured 20 1/2in!! YAY!!! My little preshy is growing well now!! That is so exciting to me mainly because I was worried I was doing something wrong with the breastfeeding since she had only gained 1 oz and grown 1/2 inch from her discharge weight/height at her 2 week check-up. From day one she hasn't done the preferred 15 minutes of feeding on each side. She always stops between 10 and 12 minutes. You might get lucky and she'll go 13 minutes. Every once in a blue moon she will do 20, but that takes some manipulating. Good to know she is doing just fine... and so am I!

MOMMY'S DAY OUT:
So, on Saturday, which was Olivia's one month mark, Carl gave me a day out. My first time, in a month, going out without Olivia (for more than a quick grocery store trip). I ran a few errands, got a manicure and pedicure, as well as a shotty hair cut. No need for explanation there. I just solidified why you DO NOT go to Hair Cuttery, SuperCuts, or any of those other cheap-o, craptastic places, no matter how desperate and time crunched you are, for a hair cut. I am so tempted to go back and ask for my $15 back, but it is just really not worth the hassle. Instead, I will schedule the time at a salon, and get a real cut, courtesy of my mom!! Thank goodness I only asked for a trim, and not some sort of style!! Anyhow, back to my day... it was definitely nice to be out, but I felt so guilty. All I could think about was whether she was crying the whole time, and if Carl was surviving. She is not easily consoled by Carl yet. Consoling comes from her mommy!! In due time though. It was not until the next day that I learned the trick about going out without the baby... YOU TAKE A FRIEND! DUH! How did I not know that? Next time, for sure!

PICTURES:
So, I am definitely not good about pictures. I keep meaning to schedule a photo session, somewhere, for Olivia to have her pictures taken, as well as our first family picture. The thing is that I have so many other things to do, scheduling pictures has made it way to the bottom of the list. I promise you, it seems like every day something else pops up that has to get done, or she has some sort of ailment. What about our camera, you say? Well, there are only so many pictures of a sleeping baby that people can look at. Besides, she has been into screaming her head of here lately when she is not sleeping. On top of that, I find myself sleeping when she is. The screaming/crying is another reason for the procrastination of a family picture. We will get it done, I can assure you of that. It has to be done soon!! Until then, I will leave you all with a picture. We found it to be funny!

He has been shoo'd away many times when he tries to get ON the mat and play with the toys. Now, he just gets under it when she cries and thinks he is hiding! What a silly cat!

Well, after being home with Olivia for a week, I ended up with Strep throat. HOW? You may ask. That's a very good question. We are still scratching our heads trying to figure that one out. No worries though. It is gone now after a quick Monday morning trip to the doctor, throat swab with instant (3min later) results, and the assistance of some antibiotics. Luckily that pesky ailment was only limited to me!! I took my last pill last Friday, but it was just in time to have dealt with Olivia's first bouts of spit up. Still, no worries. We were told that the antibiotics may upset her tummy, and babies spit up. It started Wednesday, and I thought that after I finished the antibiotics the spitting up, for the most part, would be done. At least the spitting up after EVERY feeding. By Sunday it had. But, in exchange for fewer spitting up bouts, we now have a raging case of THRUSH!! AAAAAAGGGGGGHHHHH! Called the pediatrician yesterday morning to tell her what was going on. Luckily she just called in the prescription and we did not have to make a trip. I say that like it is a hassle to go down the street. HA!! We are so lucky to have her doctor less than 5 minutes away. Back to the topic at hand. I noticed Sunday that her tongue was now sporting a nice, white, fuzzy coating, all over except the tip. Basically where my nipples rub every every 2 1/2 to 3 hours for 15 minutes each. LOL!! Just a little BF humor. I also noticed that I am starting to get it too. Chalky looking nipples and areolas are so HOT!! Thank goodness we got some Nystatin to nip this in the bud. Meanwhile, all things plastic that enter her mouth (droppers, pacifier, and bottle nipples...explaining later) will receive a vinegar bath after each entry. As well as my boobies and her mouth. We are going to get rid of this without passing it back and forth. OK! So at least that's the intention.

I feel so bad for my poor baby. I have realized that this must be painful for her because as the course of the day progresses, she nurses with a weaker and weaker suck. By 7, it is almost impossible to feed her. She will not even take a pacifier. All she does is cry. It is a combined cry of pain and hunger. So, as today goes by, I'll be pumping between feedings so that we will be able to give her a bottle that she can take at her own pace, rather than using me at her own pace. Ah, the joys of motherhood!!