So things here have been pretty busy. With Marcus working long hours and both of our long commutes it seems like time just slips away. Brie has been keeping us all on our toes. She is still refusing her bottles and only eats well when she is sleepy. It is very frustrating to feed her. We even took her to the GI doctor for a medication change. She has been on Prevacid for almost 2 weeks with no change. The doctor doesn't think it is a problem because she is still gaining weight, but I don't think they realize how difficult it is to get 3 oz in her at a time. She is up to 11 lbs 7.5 oz. so at least she is steadily gaining. We are now adding extra calories to her breast milk to make up for the small amount she is taking. Developmentally she is doing well. A few weeks ago, Brie started rolling from her back to her belly. She now loves to roll over. Also she is starting to take an interest in toys. Of course her hands are her favorite toy. Hopefully the feeding issues will resolve soon and we will all be a little less stressed.

Gabrielle weighs 10 lb 8 oz tonight; she weighed 10 lb 6 oz on Aug 10, when she turned 5 mo old. On Aug 9 her head circumference measured 15 1/2 in. (It was 14 7/8 in on July 9.) On Aug 9 she was 21 3/4 in in length. (19 3/4in on July 9.) Lately she's been talking much more. She makes lots of new noises, and we regularly hold conversations. Recently we've been concerned that she doesn't eat as much as a baby of her weight is supposed to eat. We think the acid reflux is the main problem. Thankfully, she's been eating better yesterday and today after a significant increase in her Zantac dosage and the addition of rice cereal to her milk. Feeding her is still a challenge, however. She usually eats only when she's sleepy enough to quit fussing about it. Last week there was one occasion on which she lost an ounce between bathes--undoubtedly from dehydration. Before our modifications, she regularly took 18-20 oz daily, with a low of 15 oz. We're pleased that she ate over 22 oz both yesterday and today. On another note, her naval hernia is much smaller now, no longer containing bowel.

Gabrielle was so cute in her little white dress this weekend. She even smiled for pastor Hess after he baptised her. She was a very good girl in church and afterwards at brunch. Brie met many new people and was very well behaved. It was a great day!

She also hit another new milestone --- she rolled over on Thursday. At first I thought it was just an accident, but she did it again- twice with an audience on Sunday. We now have to be careful when she is on the changing table.

Sorry we have not written an update in a while, life has been crazy. Brie took her first trip last weekend to Wellsboro. She did really well. She was a little fussy around all of the new people, but overall I think she had a good time. Grammie Smithgall got to spend a few hours alone with Brie while Daddy and I went to the reception.
This weekend we are having Gabrielle baptised. She looks so cute in her little dress. Hopefully she enjoys her first church experience.
We broke 9 lbs since we last updated and in fact Brie is 9lbs 7.5 oz. She is finally in mostly 0-3 month clothing! She still has some problems eating for other people, but she continues to gain weight. We have a second opinion for her umbilical hernia next week. Hopefully this surgeon will just want to watch it. I do think it has been getting smaller.

Gabrielle saw the pediatrician three days ago. As we anticipated, we got prescriptions for a blood test for anemia, a hip ultrasound, and a renal unltrasound. Gabrielle takes iron supplements, like nearly all preemies, since iron stores form in the last trimester. A small ear pit prompted the renal ultrasound, since the ears and kidneys develop roughly simultaneously. We were less prepared for the recommendation for a surgical consultation for Gabrielle's naval hernia, mostly because we were previously told that it would almost certainly resolve on its own. With Jen's connections at Dupont, we had Gabrielle seen by a surgeon and had the two ultrasounds completed today. While both ulrasounds were normal, the surgeon did recommend surgery. The hernia has become more difficult to reduce, having a small opening. It is likely that part of the intestine frequently enters the herniation, where blood flow could become compromised. This would be an emergency, of course. The current situation is not urgent, however, allowing adequate time for consideration and scheduling. After seeking a second opinion, we'll probably have the procedure done at Dupont fairly soon. On another note, Gabrielle weighed 8 lbs 12 oz at last measurement. The pediatrician's growth curve places her between the fifth and tenth percentile by weight for a two month old (her adjusted age.) She is gaining weight rapidly, however, and her head is growing particularly fast. With these findings, the pediatrician predicts that she will soon achieve normal size for her adjusted age. She is now 19 3/4in long, and her head is 14 7/8in in circumference. Although Gabrielle has continued to gain weight steadily, we are concerned that she has not eaten well for Nanna and Mike over the past two days. Hopefully, she will eat well for Pop tomorrow. She can be very fussy about feeding. Thankfully, she ate well for us this evening.

Gabrielle has settled into her new apartment, and so have we. Moving was a blast, as it always is. Help from family and friends helped immeasurably, though. I've commuted to midtown Manhattan for a week without difficulty. Jen also returned to work this week--four days per week. Pop watched the peanut today, and Nanna watched her yesterday. I take a 6:34 train from Trenton tomorrow morning, since I work Saturdays. I'll spend Monday at the Johnson's house watching Christina and Gabrielle as part of our child care sharing arrangement.
Brie's last weight check was 8 lbs 8oz 2 days ago. She goes to the pediatrician on Monday for her four month check up. She will get another set of shots. She did fine with the first set, just a little cranky for the rest of the day. It will be nice to see how much she has grown. Her newborn clothes are getting small. Nanna washed all of Brie's 0-3 month clothes so they are all ready for her.

We stopped using the heart and lung monitor on Friday. No more wires! We'd been using it only at night for the past couple of weeks, without incident, of course. The pediatrician told us Friday that we could send the monitor back as soon as we were comfortable doing so. The other big news is that Gabrielle weighs 8 lbs today!