Grace is 3 weeks old today. Today we brought her to Dr. Jensen for a check-up. Today we learned that she has colic. Dr. Jensen is so amazing. He took time to explain everything. He said that they are learning a lot from research. He stated that the studies are finding that colic has more to do with neurological development than intestinal development. Dr. Jensen said that reason that they are finding it is more neurological is because throughout the day babies are exposed to so many new things. Each thing that they are exposed to, their brain has to process it until it becomes familiar. An example would be wind against their skin, a blanket touching their arm, etc… He stated that colic usually starts at about 3 weeks and ends at about 3 months. He also said that it usually gets worse before it gets better and that there isn’t really any medicine that cures it. I just hope that my baby doesn’t have to suffer with this for too long. It breaks my heart to hear it cry and not being able to do anything to help her. Luckily it only gets bad at night. Tyler seems to be able to calm her down the best. Grace is already starting to be a daddy’s girl. I have to admit that it makes mommy a little jealous at times. We also learned that Grace has a herniated belly button. Dr. Jensen said that it isn’t anything that hurts her…thank goodness. Grace also has a large birth mark on the right side of her belly that we are monitoring. The birth mark can get bigger and there is a risk that the right side of her body might start growing faster because of it. Besides looking a little off having one side of your body grow faster than the other, it can lead to heart conditions. Fingers crossed that the birth mark will not grow or even better go away on it’s own. If the birth mark doesn’t go away, Grace can get it removed when she gets older.
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| Grace's birth mark. Back view. |
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| Birth mark view from her stomach. |
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| Grace had to get her heel pricked at the doctor's visit. She didn't like that one bit. |
Grace is growing quite big. (Too fast for her mom!) When we brought Grace home from the hospital she weighed 6 pounds 3 ounces. Grace is now weighing in at a healthy 7 pounds 8 ounces. The only “chunk” that she has is in her cheeks (which is good because they are always getting kissed.) and her neck rolls. Dr. Jensen pointed how impressed he was at how strong Grace is. There really isn’t any moving her arms unless she wants to. I won’t say what side of the family she is getting this stubborn streak from. I know that mommy is not owning up to anything.
Grace has acquired the nickname Squeaky. From the day that she was born she was always making some noise. She will grunt, grown, or a little coo. We all have so much fun just watching her and listening to all the sweet little noises that she makes. I do think that once she starts talking that there won’t be anyone that will be able to stop her from being Miss Chatty Kathy. Grace almost always can be found with her hands on her face, fists closed tightly, and her feet crossed Indian style. It makes her seem so much smaller than what she actually is. In my ultra sounds she was almost always that way as well. We just all love Grace so very much and as you can tell the whole family is in awe of all the little things she does. Grace is such a sweet blessing in our life. Even though she is only 3 weeks old, it’s seems like she has always been a part of our family and I can’t imagine life without her sweet spirit.
