Another birthday!

Piper turned two months old yesterday! We celebrated the day with a doctor's visit that included four of her first vaccines :-(. She was a trooper. Her mother and grandmother, not so much.

Piper continues to be small and mighty, although she is growing!
Weight: 8lbs 14 oz (up almost two full pounds since last month), 8th percentile
Length: 21.75 inches (almost two inches since last month), 27th percentile
Head circumference: 14.76 inches, 19th percentile

The doctor was very pleased with her growth given the issues we had earlier in her life. However, we discovered why she is still so small: she is allergic to a protein found in cow's milk. This allergy is to blame for her excessive fussiness, spitups and gassiness, and her inability to sleep well during the day. It showed itself objectively in her poop; it's green which means she has blood in it. Poor baby!

In order to keep breastfeeding, which is very important to me, I must eliminate all dairy from my diet. That means no milk, cheese, butter, yogurt, cream, chocolate, etc. I had a little pity party for myself yesterday (I mean, what is a life without chocolate???), but I think I'm over that today. It will take about 3 days for my body to metabolize any dairy that had been in my system, but Piper might not react favorably for three weeks after I have stopped dairy. A positive change in her will help me stick to the diet, so let's all be praying that it's quick, for both of our sakes. Most babies with dairy allergies grow out of them, some in as little as three to five months. On a different note, hopefully this diet will help me shed the last of my baby weight and more :-).

birthday kisses from McKenna

Look how high I can hold up my head!

Mom, do I really have to sit here while you take my picture? Well, I'm not gonna smile.