Road trip recap...

Overall our 1st road trip with Eddie was a success. The car rides were truly painless. We only had to make one stop both on the way to Cedar Rapids and on our way home from Moline. Rowan was content watching movies or playing with whatever she had in her backpack. She napped both ways as well.

Sleeping wasn't too bad for both kids either. Saturday, Rowan didn't take a nap, and went to bed fairly easily. And for the most part wasn't phased by her brother waking in the middle of the night. And despite the lack of napping and late bedtimes, she was pleasant to be around.

We were thrilled to be able to see as much family that were willing to either make the trip to visit (Graham/Kim, Tara) or just take time out of their weekend to stop by and visit (the rest of the Moline family). We were happy to share Eddie and Rowan with them. Eddie hasn't been and will never be held so much again in his life probably, or at least until the next Smith Family function.

Smith Family Fun...

I really didn't do a good job of capturing all the Smith Family in photos that we got to visit with on this wonderful sunny day. But here are a few of some of the kids and family.

We were definitely overdressed for the temperature both inside and out! The house got very warm with the abundance of family that were there, and it was warm outside in the sun too. But we all survived. The kids played some wiffle ball, bubbles, catch, ran around, you name it they did it. It was nice to have them outside playing instead of inside all the time.

I loved the action shots of Kieran swinging the bat. Rowan thought she should use the wiffle bat as a pool stick or golf club instead of a bat.

Tara's 4th boy, Griffin, was born March 4th, so 10 days older than Eddie. They were both not really in the picture taking mood as you can see. So that is all we got out of them. Eddie is the 20th Great Grandchild for Ed and Jan. And Brooke (another one of Ed's cousins) had her daughter the day after Eddie was born (March 15th), so they have 21 total great grandchildren as of today. And so far no more on the way, that I know of!

Ed I, II, III, IV

The first 4 generation Edward William Donnell Smith pictures...

Sunny Saturday in Moline...

In an attempt to get a photo of the Wisconsin/Michigan Smith Great Grandchildren with Great Papa and Great Grandma Jan...it was a struggle. But here are a few keepers!

What do you expect out of an 4 week old, 1, 2 (almost 3), and 3 (almost 4) year old on a warm sunny day?

Road trip continues...

We made it to Moline IL by about 545pm. Just in time for dinner. Papa Ed was there waiting for us, with Great Papa and Great Grandma Jan. The first thing we needed to accomplish was dinner, so we put together an order, and the men set out to get dinner. Of course we had enough for an army, but that is what you get when you don't know the places you are ordering from!

After dinner, Nana and Papa handed out their Easter goodies for the kids! Nana has been busy making baskets for each of the kids. And Papa was stuck helping her come up with things to fill all the nooks and crannies of each basket. A bunch of spoiled kiddies I must say! So creative and thoughtful!

Here is Rowan and Eddie's baskets...

And Kieran and Gradys goodies too...

1st Road Trip

We started out by leaving the house before 9am and heading to Cedar Rapids IA to visit Great Grandma and Great Grandpa Farley. The car ride there was very good. We made one stop in Dodgeville which is about when Eddie needed to eat, which was just over half way there. We got some food for all of us and then got back on the road about 30 minutes later. Despite a few cry outs, the trip was uneventful.

We all (Blayne, Molly, Kieran, Grady, and Nana) met in Hiawatha at Great Grandma Carol's nursing home. We had a nice big room all to ourselves, where we had some pizza and visited and the kids ran around, literally. They played a few games of hide and seek, played with a beach ball (courtesy of the physical therapy department), and of course some train playing too. And Eddie got to meet them all and get loved by them as well.

After visiting for a couple hours, we were back on the road on our way to Moline to see the Smith Great Grandparents and family.

MD update

We were at the doctor again today because I called yesterday requesting to start Eddie on Zantac (reflux medication) and the doctor wanted us to come in and get a current weight and discuss what was going on.

Eddie weighed in at 9 pounds!

After discussion of his reflux symptoms (which I feel is his underlying issue at this point), the doctor offered for us to try Similac AR formula (AR=acid reflux aka formula with rice cereal in it) which would hopefully help keep the food down in his stomach and decrease his amount of reflux. Or we could start Zantac and continue on the current formula, or use the AR formula and use the Zantac.

So we left the office planning to try the Similac AR (though I am hesitant because it is a standard formula) and we have been using the Sensitive with less lactose. But it is an easier option than medication. The doctor did send in a prescription for the Zantac for us to pick up if we needed, especially since we are going to be out of town this weekend, we didn't want to not have the option available. And it was the whole reason I made this extra trip to the doctor.

Our goal is to help Eddie sleep more comfortably, and I feel the reflux is inhibiting that. And of course if he doesn't sleep, I don't sleep!