Keeping Up With The Wimberlys: Plagiocephaly and lots of visitors!

I promise one time you read this blog it will NOT be about another trip to the doctor's office! But not this time. We had our follow-up appointment with the plastic surgeon about the birthmark.

Waiting to see the nurse

They were very pleased with the progress thus far and decided to cut back on her medicine a little since she is so small and it has been so effective. While we were there, the nurse practitioner who works with the craniofacial doctors came in to look at Ashlyn's head because we were a little concerned about her skull protruding on the right side of her forehead. Sure enough, she has positional plagiocephaly most likely from being positioned on her right side so often in the NICU. The back of the right side of her skull is flat and the front of the right side sticks out a little. The nurse said the deformation is moderate but felt very confident with conservative treatment it would realign itself. If it doesn't get back in shape within a couple of months, we may have to consider a helmet to help it along. Conservative treatment is mostly stretching, positioning and tummy time! Just another thing to add to her daily to do list! This chick is high maintenance! But she is worth every second of it!

We had lots of visitors over the weekend and this week. We celebrated father's day with Mimi and PaJ and Grandma Sally on Saturday and with Gpa and Gma and Auntie Sarah on Sunday.We would love to see Nenna and Papa, but don't think we are quite ready for the 3 hour car ride. Ashlyn didn't do too well shopping for her dad for father's day. The shirt she picked out didn't fit and the DVD she got was the wrong one. We will have to work on her shopping skills ;) Sarah surprised us on Monday when she stopped by after an interview in the neighborhood. Ashlyn briefly got to meet her cousin Crew and uncle Scott when they dropped a few things off at our house. On Tuesday, Abby and Walker stopped by to say hi. Give them a few months and Ashlyn and Walker will have a ball! We were supposed to see Emily on Wednsday morning, but we had to reschedule due to a ROUGH night! We hope to get to see her this coming week. John and Kourtny came by Wednesday night and brought dinner over. It was nice to see them and the food was delish! Jessi and Chris brought lunch over on Thursday after her doctor's appointment. Ashlyn will have a new friend in February. We are very excited for the Ivie's. On Friday, her aunt Kristin and her cousin Jules kept us company. It was fun to see them and Kristin and I both noticed that Ashlyn and Jules look a little bit a like! How fun! They are going to have a blast when they both get a little older. Kally stopped by on Saturday after work to say hi, but Ashlyn was napping the whole time. He and his wife are expecting a son in December and I am certain he will be Ashlyn's first boyfriend. Cash and Ash...isn't that cute :)

Walker (4 mos) and Ashlyn (6 wks)

Ashlyn with Jessi and Chris Ivie

Ashlyn with her Great Grandma Sally

Ashlyn and Gpa

Chance and Jules

Ashlyn, Sarah and Gma

We have been having a little trouble with regurgitation! And by a little trouble I mean, EVERY MEAL! It is a little stressful to me, because I am not sure what is causing it. The nurse at the pediatrician's office thinks I am over feeding her and I think she may be right. I was told by several doctor's that "babies won't overeat" so I have been letting her eat until she stops. I think she hasn't learned when her tummy is full, because I see most of that milk again...and it is usually all over both of us by the time she is finished! It is hard to get her on a schedule because she spits up/throws up so much of her meal, she gets hungry sooner than she should. I am not sure if she is having reflux or not, but she doesn't seem to be bothered by the spitting up so it probably is not too acidic.

It is hard to know what she should be doing for her age. I wonder if she should be acting like a 7 week old baby or a 7 day old baby due to her prematurity. It is a little frustrating so I have decided to split the difference! Another thing on my list of questions for the pediatrician.

The other problem I am having is that I am still waking her up at night to eat every 3 hours, when she actually would probably sleep longer. One of the side effects of the medication she is on for her birthmark is potential low blood sugar, so I am afraid to let her go longer than 3 hours between meals. I would LOVE to sleep a little more between feedings so I am going to talk to our doctor at our next appointment.

Her nursery is almost finished! These awesome pictures are antique Christening gowns that her Nenna and Aunt Kristin got for her. We love them and think they add the perfect touch to her vintage nursery. Chance found her changing table on Craig's List the day before I went into labor. It is an antique dresser that we are using as a changing table. This picture doesn't really do it justice...the changing table is kind of hard to see.

Other than our couple of little issues, everything is going very well! She is the sweetest little angel and she is growing up so fast. It is amazing how much she has changed already. I can't believe she will be seven weeks old tomorrow. Here are a few more pictures from this week!