while daddy's away...

this past week was rough... to say the least. opie left us sunday night for the week and while he was gone i thought we were falling a part. well, i almost did. if it weren't for my mom and some good good friends, i probably would have had a nervous breakdown. i don't think you realize how much you lean on your better half until they are gone. i've had to do a couple days here adn there and a short week or two without him before, but this was harder and much more drawn out. annabelle is at an age now where she needs constant attention and i need more help.

my mom came up and played with us monday and tuesday and we had a blast! all week annabelle was ill again due to her teeth. she's still teething pretty seriously. it's sad. i took her for her 4 month check up on tuesday morning. dr. stewart says he can see several tooth buds and they are all just waiting to pop through! he said she was growing just great and he was very impressed that i was still breastfeeding and was happy that she has done so well with it. her weight and height were great and her head is growing just as it is supposed to. i have been SUPER hesitant about vaccinations. it's been so tough for me to want to poison her little body with all of the additives in the vaccines, but when it came down to it, i just decided to put her on an alternate shot schedule and the pediatrician has agreed to work with us on that. so, tuesday we only got one of her shots and the rotavirus oral vaccine. i will take her back in a few weeks to get the other shots.

on wednesday annabelle started acting weird. arching her back and neck a lot and then she would spit up violently. she's always been a spitter, but now it seemed to be causing her pain. after two days of this i finally took her into the doctor on friday. dr. stewart feels she has a severe case of acid reflux, so we have now started her on baby prevacid solutabs. poor baby. it breaks my heart. she will probably have to do this for about 4 months or so. he feels that the older she gets and the more she sits up on her own and the more solids we start to feed her that it will clear up; however, if we don't start treating the problem now, the acid could ruin her esophagus. i was warned early on that babies with spit up problems usually hit their peaks at 3 to 4 months and it's at its worst at that point. oh boy, they weren't lying!

recently annabelle has started to do a lot of fun things! she LOVES her new exersaucer!!!!!!!!! absolutely LOVES IT! she's hilarious when she's in it. looks like such a big girl! she's always been a smiley baby and a giggler, but lately all she does is laugh. it's so funny! you can't help but have a smile on your face when you look at her and she's smiling from ear to ear just because you look at her. and then she'll just laugh for no reason. and talking... man, she's a talker. but, i guess she is learning from "THE TALKER"! haha. poor child never stood a chance with me as her mother. i talk to her all day long... i'd love to be a fly on the wall in my house just to see our interactions all day long. haha. if someone were to see us talking all day long, they would think i'm a NUT! annabelle has also started to turn herself around a lot while she's laying down and if you walk behind her she turns around to follow you. I LOVE IT! she's finally learning about everything. it's so cute! while laying on her back she will turn herself all over the floor reaching for toys and she is babbling now more than she ever has!

so, this last week was rough. i don't see how single mom's do it! my hats are off to them. it's tough enough just being a stay-at-home mom, but when you're doing it all day and all night by yourself, you pretty much become a single mom. not having opie here at night when i need a break really did test my patience. but, i've realized how valuable he is as a father. he really is such a big help when he's here. it's sad when he's gone. i wouldn't trade him for the world. he is an amazing dad and a wonderful husband! just since he came back on friday night, annabelle has been a different baby. so happy and so funny! she loves her daddy. hopefully all this traveling ridiculousness will end one day soon. we're praying for a change.