Six Weeks Old!

People have been telling me lately to write everything down because it's amazing how quickly you forget how amazing a newborn baby is. With that, I decided to make a list of things I NEVER want to forget about Brittney:

1. How much she loves her hairdryer,
2. The way she shakes her fists when she's mad,
3. Her "crazy face" (Elvis lip, eyes crossed),
4. When she's hungry and tries to eat her clothes,
5. When she's mad and her chin quivers,
6. Holding my fingers when she eats,
7. Singing herself to sleep,
8. Talking to her bird,
9. How much she hates to poop,
10. Her "are you really my mom" look,
11. The way she waits until I lie down to scream,
12. When she throws her hands and feet in the air when she startles,
13. When she snuggles and 'kisses' my neck,
14. The way she chomps on her passy,
15. Spitting her passy into the air when she sneezes,
16. The confused face she makes when a sneeze doesn't come,
17. Her toothless grin,
18. When she wants her bottle (or passy) but can't figure out how to get her hands out of the way,
19. Squealing when she wants attention, and
20. The way she sleeps intermittently among babbles.

Number 20 is what she is doing right now... and number 8.

Good News!

Vanderbilt called with Brittney's most recent test results, and her levels have dropped to a 4.4! I wasn't sure what to expect because when we got there, they informed us that the information regarding the phe content of our current formula (Member's Mark brand) was outdated and there was actually a lot more phe in it that we had originally thought. That messed up the calculations they had done to determine the ratio of special PKU formula to regular formula, which could have affected the results. It was sort of a good mistake, though, because it means that Brittney's body can tolerate a lot more phe that we thought in the beginning. On the other hand, it may have kept her levels from dropping adequately with the added PKU formula. Luckily, we dropped below a 6 (the known "safe-zone" for phe levels), although our dietitian will likely adjust our formula to bring her levels down a little lower. Thank you all for following our journey!!

Photo Shoot

Brittney had her first photo shoot this past Tuesday, and it went great! Well... it went as great as anything does with a hungry newborn who hates having her outfits changed 12 times... She slept through the first few shoots and we wanted her to wake up, but when she finally woke up she fussed and made goofy faces for the camera. Figures... We got a good laugh, though! The photographer, Christy Nolin, was incredibly patient with us as we stopped to feed Brittney and change a few diapers. We had a wonderful time! For a preview of the shoot, visit http://christysstudio.blogspot.com.

In other news, school starts later this week, and even though I'll be on maternity leave, I am so not ready! I'll be teaching 8th grade math this year, which will be a challenge. I thrive on challenge, so I really think I'll do well. Planning for a new age and subject while taking care of a newborn has mentally taxing, so maybe getting into some sort of groove with school will be a good thing.