Just the Facts

The girls had doctors appointments this week.  Bridget's was her four month well child check, and Claire's was an ear check and to get orders for her six month thyroid check.  We knew Claire's tubes were out, but while they aren't in her eardrums, they are still sitting in her ears, blocking the view.  I was hoping to know if there was fluid building again, and whether or not we needed to have the tubes replaced.  Unfortunately, we just couldn't tell.

Claire is doing fabulously.  We are still having some behavior issues, both at school and with her sister, but they are  greatly improved.  We've been working HARD on potty training and she is doing great.  If I'm with her constantly, and can be attentive, she can stay dry all day.  It takes a combination of her asking to go, and just taking her frequently, but she is totally getting it.  I am hopeful that she will be out of diapers with a few months.

The Facts:
Claire weighs 26 lbs, which was exactly my guess.
Bridget is 14 lbs, 7 oz (I guessed 15 lbs), and 26 in.  She grew 2 1/2 inches in 2 months, and is 93% for length!

Bridget is fabulous, sleeping and eating well.  She's a happy, smiley baby.  She's rolling, playing with toys, and gnawing on any finger left too close to her mouth.  In fact, I was holding her on my hip the other day and had Claire's cup of rice milk in my hand.  All of a sudden I look down and she's slurping milk up out of the straw!

Since Bridget is so tall, we are having to make changes much faster than we did with Claire.  She only has 3 more inches before she outgrows her infant seat.  I knew this was coming soon, but I really want her to be sitting independently before moving to a convertible car seat, as I wouldn't have her bucket for shopping trips.

We are also going to have to make a change in her sleeping arrangement.  Right now, she is in a bassinet next to the bed.  The weight limit is 15 lbs, and stretched out she is almost touching both ends.  The problem is our room is small.  And our bed is big.  (We bought a king size bed while I was pregnant, and there is no way I'm giving it up).  A pack and play won't fit, and she's not ready to move down stairs as she still gets up once a night to eat.  I don't want her sleeping with us (she does on occasion while nursing, and I can't sleep), but I'm not sure what other options there are.

Summer is always busy.  We try to take advantage of the longer days and are outside as much as possible. Which leaves little time for computer time or reading time for me.  So, while I haven't been commenting as much as I'd like I'm trying hard to keep up with reading about all our friends!

My Little Weed

This morning Bridget had her two month well baby check and she is not hurting in the grocery department.  We are officially going to be one of those families that refers to Claire as the older sister, not the bigger sister!

In two months Bridget has gained 5 lbs (from her home from the hospital weight) and 3 inches.  11 lbs 15 oz and 23 1/2 inches puts her at the 75th percentile for weight and the 80th for height.

I finally understand when people talk about babies outgrowing clothes so fast.  We will have to pack up her 0-3 month clothes soon and she hasn't had the chance to even wear half of them.

New Signs

I'm typing one handed this morning because there is an exhausted little girl sleeping in my lap.  This morning was her annual-ish blood draw.  It went ok, but not quite as good as last time.

This time Claire started crying the moment we got near the table. I'm sure it didn't help that she had to get some immunizations last week.  It took three of us to keep her still enough, but we got the blood we needed.

*****

Claire continues to learn new signs, with two more picked up over the last few days.  Instead of just asking for crackers hundreds of times a day, she now asks for 'book' (combined with a very good approximation of the word!) and her signing time videos.  She will get settled into her watching spot and sign 'signing' along with a few yells and some pointing at the TV if don't get the video started soon enough for her.

I never figured I'd be one of those parents to let their kids watch TV at such an early age....but it's educational, right?

*****

Claire got another slide for the back yard this weekend.   While I like the other one, it wasn't something that she would be able to do on her own for quite some time.  This past weekend I found exactly what I was looking for.  The steps are more like steps, instead of a ladder, and there is a platform that she can position herself on to go down the slide.  Once she gets to the platform Claire is on her own.  She scoots herself forward until the slides down.  The only thing she really needs help with is getting to the steps (only because she keeps trying to climb UP the slide....) and just a bit of spotting as she gets on the platform.  She can do it just fine on her own, but she seems to feel a little more comfortable with a hand on her behind as she climbs up.

*****

And 10 hours after I started this post, I'm finally ready to hit publish....sometimes I wonder where my days go!

31 for 21: 9 Month Stats

Last Wednesday Claire had her 9 month well baby appointment.  She is still growing very well and weighed in at 15 lbs 10oz.  That is a 4 lb gain in the 4 months since her OHS.  She is 26 inches, and her measurements put her at 5-12% on the typical chart, and 35-50% on the Ds chart.

In the last month she has learned to sit unsupported, and 2 weeks ago she learned how to get from her belly into sit by herself. Right now she gets there by way of the splits, but I think she'll be able to get there from her side before too long.  Next up, bearing weight on her legs, which she isn't a fan of so far....

6 Month Stats

Claire had her six month well baby appointment last Wednesday, and she is a growing machine since her OHS!

She weighs 13 lb, 12 oz.  (50% on Ds chart, 10% typical) and is 24.5 inches long (35% Ds, 18% typical).  She weighed 11 lb, 8 oz before her surgery just 6 weeks ago. While I am absolutely thrilled with all this weight gain (she didn't gain anything in the 2 weeks prior to OHS), it means that I bought WAY too many size 1/2 diapers!  I knew she would take off after surgery, but I didn't expect an almost 2.5 lb gain in 6 weeks. 

Claire got two shots at the appointment and did as well as can be expected with them.  There were the usual tears, but I was able to get her calmed down pretty quickly.  One of her poor little legs still has a knot in it from the shot, but it doesn't seem to be bothering her.  The appointment wore her out and she crashed on the floor after just a couple of minutes.

Other six month stuff:

• We tried cereal for the first time last week after her well baby appt.  It went ok and I have lots of cute pictures to share.
• Claire's favorite toy is her Octoplush.  She clutches him to her chest causing him to cycle endlessly through his songs.  Some other favorite toys include her Oball Rattle and Crinkle Book.  Links and her mirror are still hits as well.
• I'm going to have to move Claire out of our room soon.  The weight limit on her bassinet is 15 lbs, so I probably only have about a month left before she's at that weight.  Our house is a bi-level, so she'll be on a different floor, and I think she's going to sleep on her stomach in her crib, neither of which I'm crazy about.
• Claire is eating about 20-24 oz a day. She still sleeps through the night (9-5:30), but isn't on a good nap schedule.  Some days have one nap, some days four naps.
• We had a follow up appt with an eye Dr a couple of weeks ago to talk about her nystagmus.  The Dr did a VERY quick exam, said everything looked perfect with no peripheral vision loss like we were concerned about, and sent us on our way.  Yes, I'm thrilled her eyes look great (back in a year for a check up), but I wasn't excited about a 4 hour round trip drive for a 15 minute appt...We still need to do a swallow study and hearing test to finish up her 6 month appts.
• Gravity has finally worked its magic on her hair and it no longer stands straight up.  I'm going to have to get used to putting barrettes in her hair though because it's long enough that it's ALWAYS in her eyes.

Whew, I think that catches me up for now!

Overwhelmed, Well Baby and Vision

This has been one of those weeks where I can't seem to get anything done.  I have so many things going at once (work, home, Claire) that I don't seem to be taking care of any of them well.  Claire's upcoming open heart surgery (OHS) doesn't help either.  I've been calling the hospital and the surgeon's office with tons of questions I as try to work out the logistics of being away from home for a couple of weeks.  The stress of the surgery itself isn't helping either.

Claire's 4 month well baby appointment today was great.  I just LOVE her doctor. He is close to our age with young kids of his own, and I love that he doesn't make me feel rushed at our appointments.  He is also open to learning more about the best way to treat anything that may come up with Claire, and even thanked me today for allowing him to take care of her!  I passed on the info for an online class on Down Syndrome: Healthcare Updates for the Primary Care Pediatrician and he was excited for the opportunity to learn more.

Claire's growth is wonderful.  She is 11 lb 8 oz and 23 inches.  She got one shot and one oral vaccine today and did worse with the oral med.  She was asleep when the nurse came in and startled her and it put her in a grouchy mood!


This afternoon Claire had a play based vision screening.  She really favors her right side, and we wanted to have her eyes checked out to see if that was the cause.  Her eyes show a nystagmus, which is a jerky movement in her eye when she focuses to the left, which is her weak side.  While it explains why she almost always looks to the right, we'll have to wait until after the OHS to have her eyes tested by a doctor.
 
I was hoping to have some pictures to add to this post, but I haven't cleaned my camera out in so long that my memory card is full.  It's just one more thing I haven't gotten to lately...

2 Month Appt and Back to Work

Clarie had her 2 month well baby appt yesterday. I was a little concerned about how much she's been eating lately (not too much), but her weight gain proved I shouldn't worry so much. She is up to 9 lbs, 2 oz and gained 6 oz in a week, which is right on track. She had her first set of vaccines yesterday, and seemed to tolerate them well. I did decide to go with a delayed schedule, so she only got 2 yesterday instead of the standard 4.

I think Claire is officially over the RSV. She is back to her smiling, feisty self and off the oxygen! It's so nice not to have to work around tubes anymore. We've still had her on the monitor for the past few nights, but I think we can probably stop doing that too.

I'm at work today and kind of consider this my first day back. I worked a full day last Friday, but Darren kept Claire. Today is the first day that I've ever left her with anyone besides him. Mimi (my mom) is on spring break and is hanging out with baby girl today and tomorrow. I know they will have a great time together, but I am already watching the clock trying to decide if enough time has passed that I can call and check on them...

Dr appts and daycare

I look pretty tired in this picture of us from Valentine's Day, but I don't have very many of Claire and I. I always seem to be behind the camera, so this one will have to do for now.

Claire had her one month well baby check up and her one month cardiology appointment last week. Both appointments went very well. She weighs 7 lb 1 oz and both doctors were very happy with her weight gain. The cardiologist echo'ed her heart and said it looks great. There isn't any enlargement at all. He said he won't echo her next month, but will do a chest x-ray instead to make sure her lungs still look good. They will continue to monitor her growth, but at this point the Dr is optimistic that we can push her surgery back to 4-5 months of age if her weight gain continues at this same rate.

On the daycare front we found a great situation for Claire. The gal we found recently left her job and has been staying home. Her kids are older (middle school and high school) and she wanted to have a baby around again. She was initially looking for a couple of kids, but when we explained Claire's heart condition she was fine with just taking her. We spent 2 hours at Carmen's house getting to know her and she was great with Claire. She has a beautiful and spotlessly clean house and is reasonably priced. We feel *very* blessed to have found her!