Happy New Year

Quick update for New Year's! My mom is coming down in the morning, and Rob is taking me into Mercy to have my gall bladder removed tomorrow morning.

It's been rush of doctor's appointments the last couple of weeks! I was in to a doctor in Elk River for my gall bladder attacks and I was sent for an ultrasound. I was the grandprize winner of my very own gallstones! The Elk River doctor then requested I come back for updated lab work after a couple of weeks based on those results. I scheduled that appointment a couple of weeks out. In the mean time, I went in for my postpartum check and when I told this information to my OB, she said "Let's get you in to a general surgeon, so they can just take it out. We don't want to start having attacks" HA! I showed her! I already have had attacks! So I canceled the appointment in Elk River for the new lab work and sat down with the scheduler at Maple Grove (LOVE her!) who said, 'you're going to need surgery after your consultation - do you want it done by the end of the year since you've already met your deductible?'

'Yes, thank you!' I responded.

So, she picked up her phone and worked her magic. She even pulled the "one of our Allina co-workers" card to who ever she talked to on the phone so they would get me in. I guess working in health care had to work to my advantage sometime!

I went in for my postpartum glucose check at Maple Grove on Thursday morning (everything is fine) and then I had my surgery consultation on Thursday afternoon - Yeah Micki at Allina Medical Clinic Maple Grove! Funny thing - while I was at my consultation, the hospital called to get me registered for surgery...so the consultation really was just formality in the form of a $20 copay.

At that consultation, I was informed that I needed a pre-op physical prior to Monday or they could not go forward with the surgery. Pam at Maple Grove then worked her magic and got me in on Friday for a physical (just have to mention that this "exam" is a joke...but whatever...another $20 formality)

Long story short - I'm really liking the wonderful employees at AMC Maple Grove and I'm having surgery in the morning!

One more thing great about Maple Grove - Elk River said we couldn't get Chloe in for her two month check up until Jan. 7th. When I tried to move it up they said they could get her in on Jan. 9th (I'm not great with dates, but I did let them know that would not actually be moving up the appointment). When I asked to be transfered to nurse triage to see if they could get me in because it would mess up her vacination schedule, they transferred me to a busy line. I hung up with them and called Maple Grove. They got Chloe in on Wednesday without issue! Way to go Pat! :D

Merry Christmas

Christmas pictures by Chloe

Before we left

I couldn't hold still for this picture!

Are we ready to go yet?!

Do you like my shoes? How about my tights?! My skinny little legs didn't fill out the size 0 to 12 month tights my mom and dad found me...

My cousin Hailey is very good at holding me and gives me nice kisses on my head.

At Hope and Chad's house on Christmas everyone saw a guy walking in the back yard with this cool red tailed hawk on his arm. I hid in the living room while she came to the back door to give us a close up. I didn't want him to think I was a snack! Luckily we had ham for Christmas, or he would have seen we were eating his cousin for dinner.

Smilin' and Stylin'

As expected, Chloe has started giving us some "real" smiles. The closest we've come to capturing a photo of the event is when Grandma Jan stopped by to visit us - as you can see below. She is really good at giving smiles as she drifts off to sleep - but those don't count! :-) I wish they did! Also, 3 or 4 times now she has giggled very clearly in her sleep. It's so darn cute! They must be good dreams.

We went to Underwater Adventures at the Mall of America this week. Rob was there with the Bollas last week, said that it was pretty cool. I realized that I have never been there so we took the leap and took a family trip down to Bloomington. (Really, it's a trip from Elk River, don't you think?) This is Chloe evaluating the situation. She was very alert the whole time and really liked looking at the water (probably the lights and the water).

And now we find Miss Chloe sporting the newest in newborn fashion - a beautiful long sleeved onsie homemade by Sharon. I can't believe that it fits - it looked so long in the drawer! See how much Chloe likes it? She smiling and everything! Thanks Sharon!

Showing how advanced and ahead of the times she already is, Chloe is being sought out by college recruiters. The admissions office at the University of Minnesota, Morris is sending her gear, though it may be a bit early for her to commit to their campus she certainly appreciates the gift! (I'm sure the gift has nothing to do with my friend Andy working in the admissions office. Go UMM!)

Seeing her in this hat, it really struck me about how things have changed. I met Andy early in college (freshman year I think) and really got to know Shannon a lot junior year when Emily and I would load up our blender in a backpack to go to Shannon's house (to study, of course). Now our kids will only be about 3 months apart in age! Crazy!

Busy week

Chloe had a weight check on Wednesday, she was 8 pounds 6.4 ounces. We didn't talk to the doctor so I'm not sure if it's what he was expecting, but I'm feeling pretty good about the gain.


The Bollas were able to come out to visit the newest member of the family. They stayed from Monday to Friday. We visited Cabellas and the Mall of America and they were able to get a little time in at the water park of the hotel where they stayed. I think the Chloe was still the biggest hit! :-) They were able to leave before the storm hit - I'm glad they had good weather for the ride home.

Chloe and her cousin Tyler




Chloe and Grandma Bolla


And for fun - What you lookin' at?! :-)

I also was into the doctor. I have had a few attacks of pain in my abdomen and back (with a side of vomiting) which couldn't be ignored. All signs are pointing to gall bladder issues. I had blood work done and the doctor sent me for an ultrasound of my gall bladder and liver on Thursday. It was odd to have an ultrasound and not see something really cool - like a baby! I was in the same room with the same ultrasound tech that I had for two of my ultrasounds for Chloe. It was a little odd.


The ultrasound showed that I have gallstones and I got a message from the doctor that a couple of my liver enzyme levels were elevated, so he was going to request a couple more tests. We should hear more early next week.

Chloe had decided she can sleep now - so I'm off to bed too!

Guess who's tired?!

Okay, that's a trick question because we all are tired - but today Chloe was up for a long time and slept hard when she fell asleep.

Exhibit A

Exhibit B

Exhibit C

We were able to dust vacuum and put out our Christmas stuff downstairs today. It was an all day project - but it was good to get done and it looks so pretty!!!

Thanksgiving was very nice. It was Chloe's first trip up to Grandma and Grandpa's house and she had a great time and loved getting so much attention from her grandparents. When we were about to leave I realized that I hadn't taken any pictures... next trip up there I'll have to make up for that!

Happy Thanksgiving

Things are going well. We haven't been back in for a weight check, but Chloe's eating like crazy and doing great. We are getting used to our new "schedule" (really it's not a schedule but more of a ready for anything status) and for the most part getting enough sleep and getting stuff done that needs to be done.

Tuesday we drove down to Slayton to join the rest of my family to say goodbye to my Grandma Mangledorf. Her funeral was very nice and it felt good to see all of the people who came to offer their support. All of her great grandchildren did well during the service and the trip down. We were relieved that she did so good in the trip down and back. She slept all of the way home and was only upset when we walked in the door. A diaper change and a bottle and she was content again.

We are headed up to my Mom and Dad's for Thanksgiving. I'm really looking forward to it.

Guess what we're thankful for...

(Didn't want the dogs to feel left out!)

Timing

Chloe had another weight check on Monday. She was up 3 ounces over the weekend. So, she's not quite back up to her birth weight, but headed in the right direction. She was 7 pounds 9 ounces. So, now I'm pumping to figure out how much milk I'm producing and still supplementing with formula, as needed. She seems to really like the bottle, but I guess it is to be expected as most babies do - it's easier to eat. I think even though I'm making enough milk, she isn't getting all if it when she breast feeds. We go back tomorrow for another check and to see if she still is packing on the lbs (okay, ounces). I guess it would be good and she would be back on track if she would gain about an ounce a day.

Rob and I wanted to get out of the house - and we were doing really well. We had Chloe fed and changed, I was able to shower and everything. We went out to eat made a Target run. Things were going fine, but I guess I miss judged when she would be hungry again, because she starting crying very hard at Target. Good thing I brought a bottle with us - I was able to feed her in her car seat on the way home and all was right with the world! I'm sure the diaper blow out also helped her feel better. Here is the cute outfit we put her in post-Target blowout.

And an adorable onsie that her dad really appreciates! (Doesn't she look long and skinny?!)

Chloe was holding Rob's finger and had a really good grip on it... well he had to go make us something to eat - so he called in a sub. She held this bottle for quite sometime. How cute!

I should have checked my email!

Bekah sent some of the pictures she took when she visited the other day. Oh my goodness - great pictures of a cute subject. Thanks Bekah!

Working our way into the 8 lb weight class

Chloe had her weigh in on Friday. While she did move from 7.6 to 7.64 pounds, it really wasn't the weight gain that we were looking for. We were sent home with premixed formula samples, so after I feed her I can "top her off" with some formula. So far she generally just has an ounce of formula, but a couple times, she has taken a full two ounces on top of whatever she's getting from me. It certainly puts her to sleep with a full belly. One thing I've learned is that formula spit up is not as harmless as the other variety. I hope that we don't have to continue too long with the formula, but if it's going to work - we'll roll with it. We are going in on Monday for another weight check - cross your fingers.

Yesterday I ventured out on my own with Chloe for a treck down to Shakopee for Chloe to meet a couple of older boys - Emily and Sarah's boys. The trip went well - she slept all of the way down and back. It was nice to see the girls - and it was a very nice lunch!

Between outfits

We had her two week check with her doctor today, everything is going well. She has not made it back up to her birth weight yet, so we are going back on Friday for a weight check. She was very sleeping during the whole visit and didn't wake up for the doctor at all. They did check her bilirubin again - we should have results in the morning. The doctor said that she is looking fine, but it could be one of the reasons why she isn't packing on the pounds, so he just wanted to confirm the numbers. So now she has another mark on her cute little feet.

One potential contributing factor to her weight could be that Chloe has decided to start spitting up. She isn't fussy or uncomfortable, and she still has wet and dirty diapers so the doctor said he wasn't too worried about it right now. Cross your fingers for her to put on some weight so I don't have to worry about everything!

Here are a couple of pictures of Chloe between outfits - she missed the cloth and got her outfit super wet... made for cute pictures at least! :-)

And all fancied up...

Pictures

The Chloe Show

Today we had a couple of visitors. My friends Bekah and Kat (with her son) made the cross country trip to come visit Chloe. It was nice to have them here - and of course I appreciate the breakfast/lunch snacks from Panera. When you eat bagels in the morning, but you haven't really gone to sleep at night, does it still count as breakfast?! :-)

I know that I lacked in the entertainment department, but Chloe's "hypercolor" display made up where I was lacking. She was asleep for the whole visit, but was "working on something" which made her face change all sorts of colors. She has a patch in the middle of her forehead that turns bright red and then purple when she is stretching out and grunting.

I took a couple of pictures, but Bekah put her photography skills to use and took a ton of pictures on her camera. I am really looking forward to seeing them- the previews were SO cute. :-)


And from later in the evening...

She might be a little upset in the this one!