Regatta

We travelled to Oak Ridge this weekend for the Dogwood Regatta. Josh
rowed in three races, and Piper and I cheered him on. Nana and Gramps
(my parents) met us for some quality time with Piper. They pretended
to be interested in the regatta, but we all knew the real reason they
were there :-).

This trip marked Piper's first stay in a hotel. She was perfect!
Getting there was not so perfect, however. We were travelling in
horrible storms the entire time, and Piper had her first diaper
blowout about halfway there. Between the storms, the cleanup, and
feeding her, this normally two and a half hour trip turned into over a
five hour marathon. We were actually thankful for the pounding rain
toward the end of the trip when they drowned out Piper's screams. It
was rough.

In other news, I figured out how to blog directly from my phone.
Hopefully that will translate into more frequent updates. Right now
we're in the car on the way home from the Ridge.

Too cute!

Much to her daddy's dismay, my newest obsession involves bows for
Piper. Don't expect to see her without one from here on out!

A few more pictures from Easter

How cool is this? Four generations!

Piper's great Mamaw made her this beautiful quilt. Every stitch was put there by hand!

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.

More Easter/Springtime pictures

I had promised more pictures from our Easter visit back home. Here they are, finally!

Nona and Papaw meeting Piper for the first time

Three generations of Herrings (Josh's dad is missing or it would be four)

Piper's Easter basket


Easter basket contents

Mom came back to Nashville for a week-long visit. This is the first picture of the three of us!

Piper is finally big enough to wear some of her pants. I love this diaper cover!

Our happy little family

Piper's first Easter

Here are just a few pictures from one of Piper's first Easter celebrations.

All dressed up and with a screaming baby

the babies weren't cooperating
(can you tell Piper's hungry?)

the proud grandfather and all his grandchildren

Lyndie wanted to eat Piper's outfit instead of Easter dinner. Silly girl!

post-meal nap

cousins

More to come later!

Rollin' rollin' rollin'

This is why tummy time doesn't work very well for us.