7 Months

Sierra's first wedding experience.... 

 She usually makes quite a rucous before she falls asleep.  All the fit throwing makes for one tired baby! 

Grandpa Lee bought her a Sierra Beauty Apple Tree

She helped plant it

Our big girl stands up on absolutely everything!

No clothes=happy baby

Nap time!

Sierra's best bud

What a month it has been!  Sierra can now crawl like a big girl instead of creeping, she can pull herself up on anything and everything and let go for a few seconds without falling over.  She is learning more and more sounds.  She can say a few words: (well mommy and daddy understand them) kitty, baby, mama, and dada.  She has learned to point to things in real life and on the pages of her books.  She plays peek-a-boo and is sleeping through the night (PTL)!!!  She tends to wake up very early (usually 4am) but at least she is not waking every hour all night long.  She is a very good baby and it is a joy to see her personality emerge.  A few things she does not like: riding in the car, having her face washed off after dinner, and having her diaper changed.  She has learned what no means but still likes to see how much she can get away with.  She absolutely loves to be outside and squeals with delight at the neighbors horses.  She loves our cats and dog as well  They don't have quite the same undying devotion for her but I'm sure that will change as she gets older.  Well maybe:) 

Sierra had her upper GI and Stomach UltraSound this month.  She did extremely well for both tests.  She took the barium like it was no big deal.  In fact the Dr that did the test decided to taste the barium herself because Sierra took it so well.  She figured it must taste great for a baby to take it without a fuss.  She tasted it and said it was terrible and she just could not believe that Sierra handled it so well.  We were quite proud of our little trooper.  Even better yet the tests came back showing that there were no abnormalities in her upper system (they wanted to make sure there were no kinks, tumors, or narrowings).  She still struggles with the reflux and muscle control, but we are learning how to make her as comfortable as possible.  She's growing and changing so fast.  It's hard to believe that just 7 months ago we were welcoming her into the world, and already she has become such a mobile little girl!

Six Months Old

Sierra started sitting unsupported about a week before she was six months old

She loves being read to, she really has a fascination with books

She does a lot of creeping, and gets into the crawling stance, but mostly just does a lot of rocking

Uncle Kevin and Aunt Helen came to visit

Sierra had her first trip to the swimming pool.  She handled it so well!  She loves new experiences.

Her first time in her high chair

She started eating solids this month.  One of her favorites: sweet potato

Sitting up like such a big girl!  Sitting also comes hand in hand with squealing:)

She has become quite a little "helper"

After a very good fifth month, Sierra started having really bad bouts of tummy aches again.  We took her to the Dr and they did an X-ray of her stomach/intestines.  They found an irregular gas pattern and scheduled us for an appointment with a pediatric gastorenterologist at Doernbecher Children's Hospital in Portland.  After looking at her tests he determined that she has Acid Reflux, Infantile Dyskesia (early colon muscle control), and possibly a lactose intolerance.  He prescribed a medication to protect her esophogus from being damaged, a stool softener to keep her from holding her bm's, and also gave us a lot of other information on how to help with the reflux.  We are also scheduled to have some more testing done (upper GI and stomach ultrasound) just to make sure that there is not something more severe going on.   She's doing better already and we are praying that the test results show a completely normal upper GI system. 

Sierra's First Month

Sierra's first bath at home.

Her first trip outside...

Her very first walk (only to the end of the driveway)

Some precious moments with Daddy...

We had lots of special visitors...

A sleeping angel

We made it through the first month! We've realized that nothing can prepare you for parenthood. You can read every book, watch every video, take a lamaze class, and listen to the advice of every parent you know, but you still will not be completely prepared for parenthood. It's a beautiful but terrifying experience! Just when we think that we have started to get this parent thing down - 20 seconds later we feel like we have absolutely no idea what we are doing! She is a beautiful little creation though - and we are getting more and more in tune to her needs. She has suffered from colic from the beginning. Those of you parents that have had a child with colic can understand the pain and helplessness that we feel on a daily basis. She is a wonderful baby, but she hurts and the only way that she can express her pain is to cry. Well scream actually. I'm finally getting to the point that I don't cry every time she has a colic episode. For the first several weeks, I cried when she cried because she still hurt despite both of our efforts to comfort her. Her screaming spells are shorter than they were at first, so her little digestive system is making progress. She is also a very strong baby and can hold her little head up. She loves to stretch and grunt and can pass gas loud enough to put any grown man to shame:) This is definitely a learning process not only for our baby girl, but for mommy and daddy as well. We sure love our little angel and can't wait to continue to grow with her.

Sierra's Birth

After 34 hours of labor Sierra May Skaggs arrives! The Dr's worked on her for about 40 minutes before I got to hold her due to her ingesting meconium in the womb. We got to hold her long enough for two pictures, and then they had Jesse take her to the nursery because she wasn't breathing well.

Daddy got to stay with her the whole time that she was monitored. After about 2 hours, she started to breathe well on her own, and he got to bring her back to me. It seemed like an eternity!

Finally I got to snuggle and kiss my baby girl.

Jess got to help with her first bath

All bundled up.

Getting ready to go home

First car ride!