Emma: 8 Months

 Squishy,

We had a very rough month!  I'm exhausted just thinking about it.  Your first year of life has been filled with sickness and this month was no exception.  :-(  You spent the entire month sick and nearly all of it on antibiotics.  YUCK!  As a self-proclaimed 'natural momma', I absolutely hate that you spent so many days this month on antibiotics (you are still taking them!).  Your latest runny nose started the day you turned 7 months old and turned into a very persistent double ear infection that has still not gone away.  All the congestion and pain has made for some very long days and nights.  You had one of your very worst nights this month - awake and fussy from 1:30pm-2:30am and then up for the day at 5am, followed by only 3 hours of sleep the day after.  I honestly don't know how you stayed awake that long.  I was EXHAUSTED!  Even a steady dose of Tylenol and Motrin didn't knock you out!  We suspect that it was the tiny dose of albuterol we gave you that afternoon to help with your wheezing, so you can guarantee that we will not be giving you that again anytime soon. 

You tried several new foods this month - mango (hated at first, but now you love it), carrots (not a fan of pureed, but loved when I gave you some diced ones), apple, and cheerios (loved).  You love feeding yourself!

Despite being so sick this month, you managed to accomplish lots of new feats - your first tooth popped through (bottom right), you started pulling yourself up in your crib (we had to move the crib mattress all the way down) and on your leapfrog table and on the couch, you officially dropped your third nap (now you nap 2 times per day for about 1.5-2 hours each), you continue to army crawl everywhere, you started doing what we call the machine gun laugh, and best of all you said your first word - MAMA!!!!!!  You have no idea how excited I am that this was your first word. :-)  Since Hannah's first word was "dada" I thought it was only fair that you say "mama" first.  :-)  You also started saying "ehmuh" over and over, which we translate to mean Emma...so smart!

8 Month Stats
- Diapers: Size 3
- Clothes: 9 months
- Shoes: 2 or 3, but not sure since you never wear them
- Weight: 19 lbs
- Height: not sure

Your 8th month was really hard sweet girl, and I'm sorry for that!  It breaks my heart to see you in pain and so sick. :-(  I pray that the remaining months of your first year of life are full of healthy days!  And for everyone's sake, I pray that sleep finds its way back to our house very soon. We love you squishy, snot and all!

Hannah: 35 Months

Hannah,

Sickness, oh sickness. I am SO sick of sickness! You had yet another cold at the beginning of this month. I started something new this time - elderberry syrup and echinacea drops. I'm not sure if it worked or not, but it did seem to speed up the sickness, which is huge! I will definitely try it again next time you are sick, which I'm sure will be very soon!  This sickness was the final straw and the catalyst for a big decision....homeschooling!  We pulled the trigger and decided to take your out of preschool.  Homeschooling was something we had seriously considered but when enrollment began (January 2012) we decided to sign up at the very last minute.  With your little sister coming, I knew it was going to be a crazy time and I thought it would be a good break for both of us.  You loved school, but unfortunately your immune system did not!  You spent the entire time sick, from one cold to another.  Every time you got sick, your sister did to and it was just too much.  Since I had always been on the fence about preschool (especially two year old preschool) I knew it was time to pull you out.  It took you a few weeks to realize you weren't going back because you kept saying, "When I'm better I will go back to school."  But now when I ask you about school you say, "Mommy is my teacher" and you tell me that you would rather be home with me and Emmie.  Love that!  Here's to hoping the sicknesses will subside now that you are away from all the germs!

Our first 3 weeks of homeschooling were great.  I found a "curriculum" online that is bible based and I love it.  You have been excited about "doing school" every day and I have loved watching your eyes light up with excitement when you learn something new!  I think I am really going to love homeschooling!

Another big transition this month was to a full size bed.  You were getting way too big for your toddler bed, so we knew it was time.  We had recently purchased a new bedroom set for the guest room (finally upgrading from a full size bed to a queen) so we moved the old mattress into your room and converted your toddler bed into a full size.  We pushed one side up to the wall and have a guard rail on the other side, in hopes of encouraging you to stay in the bed.  So far you have done great with that.  You have gotten out a few times, but never left your room.  Let's hope that continues!  You look so big in a full size bed and definitely more comfortable!

The age of fears is upon us! You have suddenly started being afraid of everything - the potty, the stairs, sitting on something high (like the counter), anything or anyone touching one of your "boo-boos", pulling a shirt over your head, and more.  The potty fear is still very much an issue and you continue refusing to pee or poo on the potty.  The other day you did trick us into giving you a lollipop by saying you would poop on the potty while you ate it.  I'm willing to try anything to get you potty trained, so why not!?  5 minutes later and you came walking out to give me the stick and said, "I don't want to go potty."  Oy vey!  You kill me child!  You may very well end up being the oldest child in diapers.  However, we did tell you that when you turn 3, the potty fairy will be coming to take away all the diapers.  Can you tell we are getting desperate!?

We started using a chore chart this month.  You have two chores - feeding Bubbles and helping with laundry (pulling clothes out of the dryer, matching socks, putting clothes in the dryer, and "folding" washcloths).  You have really enjoyed helping out around the house and I have enjoyed the help!  Overtime we will add more chores to the chart.  Right now you are perfectly happy with a reward of putting another magnet sticker on the chart, but eventually I think we will have to figure out another incentive to keep you motivated.

Your sisterly love continued this month.  A few days ago Emma was playing with your baby doll stroller and pulled it down on top of herself, falling backwards onto the wood floor.  She was crying and upset when you ran over and grabbed the stroller and said, "Let's get this out of here so Emma doesn't get hurt.  I'm so sorry Emma."  Oh my big girl, you are just so sweet!  Emma is blessed to have such a great big sister!

Your favorite foods this month were pancakes with syrup, "kashi" bars (any cereal bar), apricots, sweet potatoes, cottage cheese, and shredded cheese.  Your favorite snack continued to be the Clif Bars and fruit snacks.

Silly, silly girl.  Your latest favorite saying is "Aka Whack".  Huh?!  I pray that you never lose your silliness!

Other 35 Months Stats:
-You wear 3T and 4T clothes (size 4-6 leotard and size small tights)
-You wear size 8.5 shoes (size 9 ballet shoes)

-You wear size 6 diapers

I am so excited to begin this homeschooling journey with you and be able to watch you learn every single day.  I know just how fleeting these young years are and I will never be able to get these years back.  We may not decide to homeschool forever, but I know that I will absolutely never regret keeping you home this year!  We will just take it one year at a time.  I love you precious girl....oh, and can we stop this whole "mom" and "dad" business!  You are way too young to be using those names!  Let's stick with "Mommy" and "Daddy", okay?!

 

Emma: 7 Months

Emmie,

I absolutely love the first year of a baby's life...so many firsts!  This month was no exception - first Christmas, first time eating finger foods, first allergy, first time trying banana and green beans and apricots and peaches and beans and chicken, first New Years, first time sitting in a highchair at a restaurant, and first time going from laying to sitting and back.  Yikes!  We had a big month!

We started off this month with a bang - CHRISTMAS!  This was your very first Christmas and unfortunately you were sick. :-(  You spent a large part of the day sleeping, with a fever.  Poor baby.  We went back to the walk-in clinic on the day after Christmas and found out your ear infection is now in the other ear.  They upped your dose of amoxicillin (apparently it was too low before) and we were hopeful that that would finally get you feeling better.  To our surprise you broke out in a rash all over your body just two days later.  Back to the doctor we went - thank God for Saturday sick appointments.  They told us that you have an amoxicillin allergy and switched you to azythromicin to clear up the remaining ear infection.  :-(  So many medicines for such a little girl!  Thankfully after a few days of the new antibiotic you were feeling much better.  The bad news now is that you woke up today with ANOTHER runny nose!  I seriously don't know if we will make it through this winter. :-(

Eating continues to be a struggle.  You are just not a big eater - nursing or solids.  You nurse for a maximum of 5 minutes (one side only per feeding) and fuss every time we put you in the highchair to eat solids.  We did have a tiny break through this month when we introduced a few finger foods.  You really love feeding yourself!  I'm definitely looking forward to being able to give you all finger foods so you can be in control.  Come on little teeth! :-)  We are still not very consistent with feeding you solids, mainly because you just don't enjoy them.  So we typically only feed you 1-2 solid "meals" per day.  You are nursing every 3-4 hours during the day and 1 time in the night (sometimes 2).  We did have a couple (very rare) nights this month where you slept 11-11.5 hours straight!  AMAZING!  You nap 2 times per day now, officially dropping the third nap in the beginning of the month.  With only two naps now, we end up putting you to bed fairly early some nights because you just can't make it all the way to bedtime.  My favorite time of day with you is nap time because every time I put you down, I sing your song ("You are my Sunshine") and you put your little head on my shoulder.  Absolutely precious!  I hope you continue that for a long time.

I just can't believe how fast time is flying!  Just the other day we found you sitting up in your crib after nap time.  We had to move your mattress down to the middle height and we decided to take the bumper out of your crib.  You also started army crawling this month, making you officially mobile at not even 7 months old.  I think we will have our hands full with you. 

Your favorite sound right now is "bah, bah, bah".  You say it all the time.  I'm really hoping "mama" will be your first word (unlike your sister who said, "dada" first).  :-)  You do really well playing by yourself (or with Hannah nearby) and rarely fuss when I leave the room.  I'm so thankful that the separation anxiety phase has not hit yet.

7 Month Stats
- Diapers: Size 3
- Clothes: 6 & 9 months (mostly 9)
- Shoes: 1 or 2
- Weight: 17 lbs. 10 oz.
- Height: 27.5"

You are at such a fun age right now.  7 months=perfection.  But I know that I will say that again and again and every age.  The truth is squishy, we just love YOU!  No matter how big you get, we love you!  Do me a favor though...slow down just a little bit. :-)

Hannah: 34 Months

Hannie,

Another month, come and gone.  Just 2 more months and you will be 3!!  Yikes!  This past month was a busy one - Christmas, PT & OT evaluations, and more sickness. 

Leading up to Christmas we were very busy with preparations.  Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Julie, and Uncle Chris all came for Christmas, so we had a lot to do to prepare.  In the midst of preparing, we were dealing with even more sickness (you and Emma).  We went back to the doctor on Dec. 22 and you were diagnosed with a sinus and eye infection.  You were put on amoxicillin for 10 days and a round of eye drops.  It was a nightmare trying to do the eye drops with you.  I don't blame you...they are definitely no fun.  We ended up only do two days of those before we just gave up.  Thankfully the amoxicillin cleared up both infections.  Just three days ago we went back to the doctor for a suspected yeast infection.  You kept complaining about your "girly parts" hurting.  They needed a urine sample, but since you are not potty trained, trying to attain one was impossible.  They stuck a bag on you in hopes of catching some, but you are WAY to smart for that.  There was no way you were going to pee into that.  You were hysterical about having it on you and wanted it off right away.  Amazingly I convinced you to keep it on for about an hour, but after that it was a wasted cause.  I started putting anti-fungal cream on you and thankfully that seemed to clear it up.  Who knows?!?!  In addition to your two doctor visits, we took you for two different evaluations as well.  On Dec. 19 we went for a physical therapy evaluation.  Our biggest concerns were your toe walking and severe resistance to potty training.  They gave us a few stretches to do with you and a plastic brush to use on your arms, legs and back to work on desensitizing your heightened senses.  Overall, they suggested an occupational therapy evaluation for slight sensory issues.  We did the occupational therapy evaluation on January 3.  It was essentially a complete waste of time.  You scored very well in every area, with just a few quirks that stood out.  But honestly, you are just a typical toddler...certain things scare you and you are more sensitive to certain things, but nothing concerning.  They did recommend a few months of therapy, but unfortunately it is not covered by our insurance, so we most likely will not do it.  Of course if we were really concerned we would do the therapy in a heart beat.  Our plan for now is to just keep an eye on things.

Christmas was wonderful.  This was your first Christmas at home and it was so memorable!  We went to the Christmas Eve service at church and it was your first time sitting in the "big" church during a service.  You did great!  You loved all the singing and sat quietly during the sermon, thanks to lots of snacks. :-)  My favorite part of Christmas Eve was at our house when you sang "Happy Birthday" to Jesus.  I even got it on video. :-)  We tried our best to emphasize the true meaning of Christmas.  Seeing the look on your face when you came down and saw all the presents on Christmas morning was priceless!  Thanks to Grandma and Grandpa, our tree was overflowing!  Your favorite presents were the Bitty Baby crib, the mobi-go game system, and the Playmobile schoolhouse.  But truly I think you were just overwhelmed with all the people and presents. 

One of your newest fears is "the man".  Every night after we put you to bed, you scream until we come back in and then you smirk and say, "the man" as you point to your curtain rod.  We've started praying with you for Jesus to help you to not be afraid.  You also have a new fear of getting "stuck" in a shirt.  You only want mommy to dress and undress you because of this, but thankfully you are getting pretty good at doing it yourself, which helps ease your fear.  You can nearly undress yourself completely unassisted - socks, shoes, diaper, pants, and shirts.

Your favorite game right now is hide-and-seek.  You love playing with daddy, but you don't quite get the rules and concept of the game.  You are always the "seeker", even when you are supposed to be hiding. :-)  You are still in love with all your baby dolls.  You love to push them around in the stroller, "feed" them in Emma's highchair and change their diapers.  Such a good mommy!

Thanks to preschool, you can now put your jacket on all by yourself.  They taught you a cute rhyme to remember how to do it - "Tag at toes, arms in holes, flip it up and over your nose."  You are just getting so big!

You continue to amaze me with how great you are with Emma.  I overheard you talking to Emma just yesterday when she was fussing during lunchtime.  You said, "What's the matter sweet girl?  It's okay.  One day you will be big like me, Emmie."  So cute!  You just love Emma.  You love to make her laugh and smile.  You are even doing better with sharing with her, but this is definitely still that hardest part of being a big sister.  Sharing is hardest if Emma is playing with something pink.  You always take away all the pink toys because that is your favorite color.

Your favorite foods this month were yogurt in a tube ("Panera yogurt") but only the pink ones, grilled chicken, bread, plain pasta, frozen peas, broccoli (cooked or raw), oatmeal ("oakie milk"), mommy's baked chicken nuggets, shredded cheese, strawberry poky sticks, bean & cheese quesadilla, and candy canes.  Every day you want the same "snackie" after nap time - Welch's fruit snacks and a Clif Bar (chewy granola bars).  You are definitely a creature of habit....typical 2 year old!  Foods that you didn't like this month were (yes, shockingly there are a few things you won't eat) - blueberries, tomatoes, sauce, grapes, anything green (except you do like broccoli and peas), or skin on apples or potatoes. 

Other 34 Months Stats:
-You wear 3T and 4T clothes (size 4-6 leotard and size small tights)

-You wear size 8.5 shoes (size 9 ballet shoes)

-You wear size 6 diapers

 

Welcome to 2013 sweet Hannah Grace.  I can't wait to see what this new year holds for you.  One thing I know for certain - our love for you will grow even deeper (how is that even possible!?)  We love you little peanut!!

Amoxicillin Allergy

 

Our sweet baby is covered in red spots, from head to toe! Emma has an apparent allergy to amoxicillin that was discovered after being on a round of antibiotics for an ear infection. A few days before Christmas we had to take her to urgent care when she was screaming hysterically at bedtime. Emma very rarely cries at all, so when she was inconsolable, we knew something was wrong! They immediately discovered an ear infection in her right ear and prescribed a dose of amoxicillin which we began that night. After being on the antibiotics for 5 days, she was hysterical again and had a fever, so we took her back to the walk in clinic. This time her left ear was infected, so they upped her dose of amoxicillin and off we went. After being on the higher dose for 2 days I noticed a red bumpy rash on her stomach and chin. The pediatrician advised us to stop giving it to her immediately and bring her in as soon as possible. So this morning we headed in for a Saturday sick appointment at the pediatrician's office. Low and behold, they have to assume that she has an allergy to amoxicillin. It isn't definite as it could also be a rash that has developed as a result of a viral infection, but to be safe, we have to assume it is an allergy. Unfortunately her left ear is still infected so they had to give her a new antibiotic (azythromicin) for the next 5 days. Yippee! Thankfully the rash doesn't appear to be bothering her at all and she is still our sweet, happy girl! Unfortunately the rash has gotten worse today and covers her entire body, from her scalp to the palms of her hands and soles of her feet. We are just praying now that the new medicine clears up the ear infection and doesn't have any negative side effects! We are beyond ready for everyone to be healthy around here again!

Emma: 6 Months

Emma,

We had another crazy month, but thankfully no ER trips were involved. :-)  You are half a year old!  How is that even possible.  Seriously?? 

At the beginning of this month, we started back with solids after taking a break due to constipation issues.  You tried many new foods this month: oatmeal cereal, sweet potatoes, pears, peas, and prunes.  You liked all of the new foods okay, but prunes are definitely your favorite!  However, eating is just not your favorite thing to do.

You had some good and some bad nights this month.  Some nights you went a full 12 hours without any feedings (rare) but we still had to replace your paci multiple times in the night.  But other nights you nursed 1-2 times in the night.  Nothing consistent still.  Your inconsistency is surely related to your many illnesses this month.  You were sick at the beginning of the month and the end.  Lots of congestion and a runny nose.  One night you had to sleep in the rock and play in our room because you were too congested for the paci...a requirement for sleep. Just yesterday we had to take you to the walk-in clinic because you were hysterical at bedtime.  You have your first ear infection and are now taking amoxicillin for the next 10 days.  :-(  Naps have also been hit or miss as a result.  You still eat every 3-3.5 hours during the day, with 5-6 feedings per day.  You continue to be a very fast (efficient) nurser with 5 minutes on one side being a typical feeding.

You can now sit up all by yourself and are starting to rock on all fours...yikes!  When did that happen?  I literally sat you down on the floor one day and realized you could sit on your own.  Oops, guess I should have tried that sooner. ;-)  You can also hold the bottle all by yourself now.  No signs of teeth yet, which for some reason makes me happy.  No teeth means you are still a little baby. :-)

We celebrated your half birthday today with a cake (for the adults), but are truly just in shock that you are already 6 months old.  Slow down, okay squishy?

6 Month Stats
- Diapers: Size 3
- Clothes: 6 & 9 Months
- Shoes: Size 1 or 2
- Weight: 17 lbs. 8 oz.
- Height: 26"

You are so precious Emmie!  If we could freeze time, we would, so we could soak up more time with you being so little.  Yes, we would like more sleep, but you are worth it!  Someday you will sleep through the night and so will we.  Until then.....

Hannah: 33 Months

Hannah,

My beautiful girl!  Your 33rd month of life has been full of ballet, traveling, Thanksgiving, sickness (again), Christmas countdown, and another potty training attempt.

One of my favorite conversations with you happened this month.  It went like this:
You: "Mommy, I like you."
Me: "Hannie, I love you!"
You: "No Mommy, I like you!"
Me: "Well, I like you and love you Hannie."
You: "I love you too Mommy!"
Sometimes, you just make my heart melt!  I will never stop loving you precious girl! 

For Thanksgiving we went to MeMaw and PaPaw's house in Florida.  You did such a great job on the ride down and back!  You even did great when we drove home through the night and had to transfer you into your bed at midnight.  It was so fun to see family!  When we returned from Florida, we wasted no time to start decorating for Christmas.  We started two Christmas traditions this year.  First is our advent calendar with a winter playmobile scene and bible verses that tell the story of Jesus' birth.  You love pulling a new piece out of the calendar to add to the scene every night.  Our other tradition is our Christmas countdown books.  We have 24 Christmas books in a basket under the tree and each night you pick one for us to read at bedtime.  Our first book (on Dec. 1) was "The Bearenstein Bear's Christmas Tree"...a family favorite from when I was little!  We all love spending time snuggling under the tree. :-)

This month you napped more often than not, which was a nice change!  Unfortunately your naps are still very short (never longer than 45 minutes) and you wake up screaming, crying after your cat nap...still tired and yawning. :-(. You are also taking a long time to fall asleep every night (1-2 hours some nights) and waking during the night and early in the morning.  You are just so overtired!  The great news though is that you are still sleeping in your big girl bed like a champ! You have still never attempted to get out of bed on your own...amazing!

Ballet lessons continued this month and you still like them very much.

You truly are the best big sister!  It is very rare that you are mean to Emma and are always wanting to hug her and play with her.  Every time I put Emma down for a nap you say, "Make good choices Emma.  Have sweet dreams.  Wait until your light is green.  Night Emma."  Just so sweet.

You spent most of this month sick with two more colds.  Yikes!  Will we ever build up immunity to all these germs?  Unfortunately all this sickness has been the hardest on Emma and this month things got pretty bad for her.  At the beginning of the month, Daddy went to Vegas for a work trip and we were on our own for the first time.  Scary!  Things got very bad on the second night that daddy was away when Emma took a turn for the worse and I ended up having to take her to the ER in the middle of the night.  I had to call my friend to come over and stay with you (since you were already asleep) and you did such an amazing job!  I ended up having to stay at the hospital with Emma for almost 24 hours (she was fine, but it was just precautionary) and since Daddy was away, you were shuffled around to several different people.  You woke up to Mrs. Asheley and you didn't bat an eye.  You did try to get her to give you candy for breakfast, but who can blame you.  ;-). When Mrs. Asheley had to leave, our neighbors came over to watch you (an older couple that you have met just a couple times).  Again, you didn't have any issue with that.  You just went about as if everything was normal.  So amazing!  When I realized Emma wasn't getting discharged anytime soon, I called another friend/neighbor to come get you.  You went over to their house with no fuss.  Thankfully I was able to get out by about 5pm and come get you at their house.  You were completely fine and didn't want to leave.  I was shocked by how adaptable you were throughout the whole ordeal!  I am forever grateful to our amazing friends and neighbors for being so incredible that day!  And I'm so proud of you for being so big!

Yet another attempt and failure with potty training happened at the end of this month.  Same results...holding your pee all day long.  Back to diapers.  Some day.  We scheduled a physical therapy evaluation to discuss your toe walking and potty training issues at the end of the month.  My guess is that you are dealing with some sensory processing issues, but we will see how it goes.  No matter what the outcome, we know that you are PERFECT!  There is nothing major that we are worried about, but just want to do everything we can to help you overcome these little struggles.

Other 33 month stats:

-You wear 3T and 4T clothes (size 4-6 leotard and size small tights)

-You wear size 8.5 shoes (size 9 ballet shoes)

-You wear size 6 diapers 

You are such a joy and we are blessed to call you daughter!