Two month appointment

Today Alex had her two month appointment with the pediatrician. She is feeling better this week and barely has any coughing or stuffiness left from her cold. All was going well in our preparations for the trip until we put her in her car carrier. In her defense, she was tired. That said, she had a screaming, spitting, purple faced fit the likes of which we have never seen. Picture Nancy Kerrigan meets the "leave Britney alone" guy. That was fun.

Once we got her in the car and started moving, she was fine. The appointment went well... she is now 23" & 12 lbs (both in the 75th percentile). She was happy and alert the entire time the doctor was checking her out and got high marks on all developmental milestones. I believe the doctor called her perfect. Yes, that was the word- Perfect.

Then the doctor left and in came two nurse, each with two shot in their hands!! We held Alexandra's hands while each nurse took a leg and started to count - One... Two... Three... a shot in each leg at the same time! Alex looked shocked for a split second, and then "AAAHHHHH!!". Another shot in each leg and she was frantic. It took us a good few minutes to calm her down, but then she seemed fine. We have to watch her for a fever for a couple days but she is happy and tired from such a screamy day.

FYI... if you are wondering how she has managed to gain so much weight (2 lbs in the last month), here is a brand new, updated daily feeding trend chart. No appetite issues here.

Let me know when you start getting sick of the cute...

Alexandra has been really good about playing in her little gym thingy all by herself, especially in the morning (post feeding or course).



She will sit there and yell at that darn giraffe for 10-15 minutes some mornings. Other mornings she's less animated...

Feeling normal...

This week has been great. Michele is feeling good. We are taking turns dealing with Alex at night and in the morning. Michele hangs out with her most of the day while I try to balance work and baby and household. This is what it was supposed to be like before the BC. It's fun.

Then Friday Michele goes for chemo again (last round of AC, yeah!), and we start the whole roller coaster over again. Michele's friend Michelle is coming this weekend to hang out, and we have lots of friends and family scheduled to help next week so it should be easy peasy.

It's just nice to feel like ourselves again for a couple days. Rock 'n Roll.

Alexandra is 8 weeks old

It seems amazing to Wes and I that she is 8 weeks old today. We look back at the early entries in the blog and she seems like a totally different baby. Today she was sitting up on the couch (ok we had her wedged in there) laughing and playing...it seems like yesterday that she was just a cute lump. We are putting away her 0-3 month clothes as she has now moved up to the 3-6 month sizes. She seems to be getting over her cold- still has a cough but a good appetite and attitude. Days like today, when we all feel a little better and have the opportunity to just hang out, make Wes and I feel like things are relatively normal.

Everyone is under the weather...

Michele has a fever, Alexandra is coughing and stuffy, and I'm just plain tired. Here are some grandma pics to fill the time while we recoup...

Wide awake...

Today has been the most wide awake, interactive day that Alex has ever had. She has been focusing, smiling, and cooing more and more lately, but today has been pretty cool. This morning she was awake for like four hours straight (quite an accomplishment when you are constantly stuffing your face like it's Thanksgiving) and has been super curious and loving her surroundings. She has been full of smiles and gurgly-cooy-baby noises. Here is quick vid of her following her mobile around and around. She's the cutest.

Chemo Round #3

Friday was my third round of AC. That makes me 75% done with the first round of treatment. In the picture you can see that I have an assortment of cold items on my tray. During the treatment, I need to have cold items in my mouth for about an hour during which the Adriamycin is administered. The cold items in the mouth is to help prevent mouth sores because of the reduced blood flow. The first two treatments, I was happy with ice chips. For some reason, ice chips really did not sound good anymore. They were out of Popsicles so we did a combo of ice cream and ice chips with ginger ale. Jen came up and went with me to the treatment. She had to endure more cold Michigan weather but it was great to have her for support.

They say that the chemo is cumulative. I will get more tired with the treatments and have a tougher time bouncing back. I thought that they were crazy but I am definitely having a more difficult time after the last round. I am more tired and nauseous. It is really frustrating because I just don't feel like myself. I am still having trouble sleeping but that tends to improve as the days pass. I am still focusing on the good news regarding the shrinking of the tumor and that this is the most difficult part- if I am to believe the doctors. I have already lost my hair- which now that it is gone, I am getting used to the cool breeze and quick showers.

Wes continues to take on more than he should- work, school, fatherhood and worried husband. We have called in support this week to help watch Alexandra during the day so that Wes can work and I can try to get some sleep. With her cute face- who wouldn't want to come and spend some time with her?

Like sand through the hourglass...

I have been getting a ton of requests for a more comprehensive look at Alexandra's feeding and diaper trends... OK, I haven't.

Regardless, here is some info dating back all the way to 1/5 when we first started to track her. Diapers have become very consistent and feedings seem to be rockin' along too. January ounces per day average was just shy of 21 ounces, but influenced by a mix of breastfeeding at the beginning. The average for the first two weeks of February is 24.25, including two recent days over 30 ounces!

I will be getting a second job at Target to help pay for all of the diapers and formula. Rock 'n Roll.

Top 5 %

Yesterday, I had my third checkup with the oncologist. We took Alexandra and the whole office really seemed happy to see such a cute baby- they kept calling her cute. When Dr. Chottiner examined the tumor, she said that she could not feel it. She was extremely pleased that the tumor has shrunk after 2 chemo treatments to a size that she couldn't feel. We were all smiling. Then she asked how I was feeling after the last treatment. I told her that I felt another migraine coming on but took the migraine medicine which stopped it. Other than that, I did not have too much nausea but just a general tiredness and feeling of not being myself. And that is when she said that I am in the top 5% in terms of dealing with the treatment. She said that AC treatment is very difficult and I am dealing with it really well. Who knew I was a rock star at chemo? Well to tell you the truth, I really don't feel like a rock star the week afterwards but apparently that is the norm. So I continue with the chemo tomorrow and feel motivated to finish the AC treatment (last one is Feb 29) and start the Taxol/Herceptin combo. The Taxol/Herceptin is going to be weekly but we have an end date booked- MAY 30th will be my last chemo treatment. All in all, another really good visit to the doctor.

Close down Guantanamo Bay...

Who needs water boarding? Apparently the simple act of trying to get a burp is the worst torture imaginable.

Alexandra has taken to giving us this --> reaction every time we dare to slow her manic gulping to burp her. Every.... time.

It might be irritating if she wasn't so darn cute that it just makes me giggle when she freaks out.

Fashion show

My hair is really falling out now. I went out on Friday with a hat and when I took it off, some of the hair came off with it. Of course it doesn't fall out all at once, so in the meantime I look like I have mange. The hair that is left- think of a bald guy with a toupee- is sensitive and so it hurts having things rub on my head. I have found some hats that work and thought I would share some of the fashions. The first just shows the status of the hair. The second is a hat that was made by our family friend Praba- very cute. Then the last is another hat received from one of my mom's co-workers. My newly exposed head will have many options to stay warm this winter!

Feed Me!!

So Alexandra has always been a good eater and is turning into a great little sleeper (6-7 hours a night). But lately she has been rather insistent about her feedings. She has gotten into a groove of sleeping and then waking up in a pure panic... like if she doesn't get a bottle now, she may expire. After some running around, rocking, shushing, and bottle warming she is ecstatic to get the food. At this point she gulps, wheezes, and essentially shotguns the bottle as fast as possible, presumably because she fears that we will steal it.

We are going to give her a steak and a baked potato tonight. Rock 'n roll.















Update: Oops... skip the steak and potato. Thanks Jana.

With a little help from our friends

It dawns on us that it has been almost 6 weeks since we found out about the breast cancer and became parents. The combination of these two significants events have truly been overwhelming at times. We realize that we couldn't do this without all the support that we have received from family, old friends and new friends. We could spend most of our day working on thank you cards- and we are working on that- we wanted to just acknowledge our gratitude to those that have overwhelmed us with their love. I have heard from long lost college friends that were way too generous with baby necessities and cancer research. All our work colleges continue to send support and understanding during this crazy time. Our local friends show up with words of encouragement, food, baby gifts and sometimes even freezers!! And of course our families are there to put up with our sadness, anger and exhaustion....as well as providing support that we didn't even know we needed. We will try to follow up with our cards and return some of our phone calls but wanted to let everyone know how much your generosity and love have really meant to us.
Thank you.

Everything must go!!

When it came to the point that I could grab hand fulls of hair from my scalp with little effort (not to mention the hair covering my pillow, clogging the shower... you get the picture), it was clear that something had to be done. So we decided to beat the drugs to the punch and have some fun at the same time!

We bought some new clippers and went about figuring out what hairstyle I should end up with. We settled on a rockin' mohawk, and gave alexandra one to match! We had a good time with it and played around a bunch.

Eventually we settled on your classic GI Jane look. Luckily I have a pretty decent head... it must run in the family.

Chemo: Day Two

Today we spent our fifth wedding anniversary braving the slick roads to go to Michele's second chemo session.

We started our visit to St. Joe's at the lab getting some blood drawn to check Michele's white blood cell count, etc. We had a good time in the lobby waiting for the phlebotomist... I think we were talking about what we were doing five years ago on this day, but we were cracking up. A good way to start a chemo day.

Our next stop was the doctor's office. We will meet with Dr. Chottiner before each chemo treatment to make sure that everything is progressing and that Michele is well enough (sufficient white blood cell count, no fever, etc.) to be treated. When the doctor began to examine Michele's lump she actually asked if she was on the correct side!! She said that the lump had already shrunk significantly and that it was a great sign that the treatment was working and would continue to work well. She said, "It just doesn't get any better than this!". Great news...

Then it was on to the treatment area. With all the bad weather and many cancellations the clinic was pretty empty. We lucked out and got a private room again so that we could joke and laugh and not have an audience. Sadly, there was no sign of Viking Mike today, but he was there with us in spirit. The process was the same as last time (the pic is of the adriomyacin... it looks like Kool-Aid!). Everything went smoothly and we were out of there in under three hours. We went to lunch at Zingerman's to celebrate our anniversary and another successful treatment and then it was nap time.

As was predicted by the doctors and the former patients that we have talked to, Michele's hair started to make a run for it the last couple days. We have decided to take action tonight... more on that tomorrow... Rock 'n roll.