Anslie at 7 months

Yes, I know I have been slacking and this is a few days late....but this last month has been one for the record books and I am barely starting to catch up on life again.

May's highs were very high, and it's lows were even lower! In the beginning of the month, Anslie was starting to get a little fussy while nursing and was starting to fight her naps and sleeping at night. She had really taken to eating solids, but had gotten a little consitpated because of it. I figured that she had a tummy ache from not being able to go to the bathroom easily. I also noticed that because she had been so excited about eating solids and was not nursing as well, that my milk supply had diminished. I was really worried about that, so I cut back on feeding Anslie solids so that her stools would soften a bit, and I also started pumping to stimulate my supply. It took a few days to get everything in order, but by the second week in May, things seemed to be getting back to normal and Anslie seemed to feel a little better.

Our 5th wedding anniversary was on May 10th and Kevin and I celebrated by taking a long weekend trip to San Francisco. We took a tour of the city and the Golden Gate Bridge on an open-top double decker bus, enjoyed San Franciscan clam chowder and sourdough bred, dungeness crab, and took a cruise to Alcatraz. It was wonderful! Anslie was a perfect angel during the days, but was still having a hard time sleeping at night, usually waking about every 2 hours -- it was like having a newborn all over again! I figured that she was just having a hard time adjusting to being away from home and would be better once we got her back into a routine.

That certainly didn't happen! For the next week, Anslie went on a complete nursing strike. She wouldn't eat anything at all, unless it was spoon fed to her. The only way I could get milk into her was by mixing it into solid food, or by syringe feeding her. Uuughh! She would not nap AT ALL during the day, just sat there and moaned, and the longest stretch of sleep that she would get during the night was about an hour. It was horrible!!! I had no idea what was going on! After talking to my mom, she suggested that Anslie might have an ear infection, which can happen after a plane ride. So, I took Anslie to the doctor (that's a story for another time). They determined that Anslie had a little congestion in her ears but that there was no infection. I was given a decongestant and told that if that was causing Anslie's problems that we should see results within 24 hours. Unfortunately, this was on a Friday so I had to wait until Monday to take Ans back to the doctor because nothing had gotten better. After taking her back to the doc's, with a little more poking and prodding and more questions, it dawned on them that she actually had G.E.R.D (gastroesophogeal reflux disease) aka acid reflux. They gave us a prescription medication to try -- and Anslie was a new baby! She has since been put on a new medication that works like a charm! Anslie is feeling so much better! She is so giggly and has a sense of humor that she has never felt good enough to express before. She sleeps beautifully at night, usually only waking up about once. That makes me feel a whole lot better too!

Anslie is sooo much more fun now that she feels good! It's fun to be able to just look at her and have her start cracking up. She has become very proficient at grabbing anything within reach - and if it's not within reach, she stretches until she can get to it with her sticky fingers. Anslie has also learned object permanence. This means that she is also starting to experience separation anxiety. It makes it challenging to get things done when she cries every time I leave the room, but I guess it's nice to know that I'm missed :)
> Anslie loves to watch me get ready in the morning and has a favorite makeup brush that she sucks on. She likes to hold my hair brush and the blow dryer is fascinating to her. She is also starting to scoot on her bottom. She sort of stretches out her legs and then drags her bottom forward with her heals while she is sitting up to get closer to whatever has caught her eye. Anslie likes to talk to her toys, her stuffed doggy in particular that sings songs and talks. And her hands are the best things in the world to suck on! She is starting to suck her thumb, a habit that I am trying to squash, but I do have to admit that it's a little endearing. My favorite developments are that she has started to wrap her arms around my neck when I pick her up, if she is feeling silly she will lean forward to "kiss" my face with her little mouth open and then shake her head back an forth for good measure, and she is also starting to lean toward us when she wants to be held. Anslie just keeps getting cuter every day, and I think that after 7 months of hard work, we are finally bonding. I love my little sidekick so much and she is truly a joy to be around.

We are really excited about summer and all of the fun outdoor stuff to do. Anslie and I love to hang out at the pool and I am looking forward to our first beach trip. We also have friends an family that will be coming to visit too and I can't wait to show our little baby off to them! We hope you are all enjoying life and hope that we can see you soon!