Friday, October 15, 2010
Photo Session with Jackie Willome Photography!
I'm over the moon about the promotional pictures taken by Jackie Willome Photography, yesterday! Click the photo below, to see a slideshow!
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
SEVEN MONTHS BEHIND!
Wow, time really does fly. It has been 7 months since my last post! Wow, I guess I'll have to go over the highlights month by month.
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April 2010 - Let's see...Morgan turned 17 months in April. She was identifying the letters in her name, saying several words like "Mommy", "Daddy", "baby", and all kinds of other words. She could identify the letters in her name and "read" it, although she'd say (and still says), "Morney", instead of "Morgan". :)
May 2010 - This month was actually pretty eventful. She had her 18-month check-up and these were her stats: Height 33 1/2" (90th percentile), Weight 25 lbs., 10 oz. (70th), and her Head Circumference was in the 90th percentile.
Her eczema still wasn't completely cleared up, so despite being told several times that a blood test for allergies might be pointless, I requested that one be done. The process of drawing Morgan's blood was temporarily traumatic, but the results were worth knowing.
Morgan has the following allergies: (Allergies are rated in Classes 1 to 6, with 6 being the most severe...)
Class 5 - Milk, Egg Whites, Peanuts
Class 4 - Cat Dander
Class 3 - Dog Dander
Class 2 - Soy, Wheat and Walnut
THAT WAS A SURPRISE! I did not expect that many allergies. I was particularly taken aback by the soy allergy, given that we had been giving her soy formula and then soy milk. It certainly explained why her eczema hadn't cleared up all the way. We got a referral to an allergist and she told us to take Morgan off all the allergenic items and keep her away from cat and dog dander for 2 full months. The improvement was marked, albeit slow.
June 2010 to present - I've made a zillion trips to Whole Foods since there and should have a parking spot with my name on it. :) We tried rice milk, at first, but then I found HEMP MILK! Before you start to giggle, please note that there is 0.00% THC in hemp milk. I am NOT getting my baby high! It has Omega 3 and Omega 6 and all kinds of wonderful vitamins and minerals and Morgan loooooooves it. It's a little on the pricey side, because hemp cannot be grown in the U.S. and it has to be imported from Canada. It's the stupidest thing I've ever heard. Basically, they can't tell the difference between hemp and cannabis (which would be used to make marijuana), so they've made it illegal to grow either one. I think it's awful, given all the many benefits of hemp, but that'd be a story for another blog post.
As part of her diagnosis with a severe peanut allergy, I was given 2 Epi-Pens. Epi-Pens are used to deliver an emergency dose of epinephrine, in the case a severe allergic reaction, with the risk of anaphylactic shock. It was a little nerve-wracking to know that we now had a need for such a thing, but as far as we know, Morgan has never been exposed to peanuts, so hopefully, we won't ever have to use it.
We had some minor setbacks in the quest for safe foods. I once tried goat's milk yogurt, because the label stated that it "may be tolerated by many with milk allergies". Hmm, well NOT MORGAN! :( My poor baby projectile-vomited all over the place and that was the last time I tried anything even remotely suspicious.
I know that all sounds bad, but Morgan is actually doing very well. Her skin has pretty much cleared up and her only problem areas are her hands. She's still so very happy and smiley.
She's almost 23 months old now and will be turning two mid-November! She talks SO much now and she completely amazes me with all that she learns. She can almost count to 20, she knows all her letters, she can identifies dozens of animals. She's even speaking in 5-word sentences, lately. She has been watching a lot of Dora the Explorer. I never thought I'd watch that show, but she learns SO much from it! She can count to 3 in Spanish and knows a few other words, like "cuidado" and "hola". She talks along with the show, sometimes, and she even forms her own sentences. She came in the other day and said "my stroller is in there". She said all 5 words, not just "stroller there", but a complete sentence! She even sings, which is the most beautiful sound I've ever heard. I don't mean that she'll be doing opera soon, but I mean that her little voice is so sweet to my ears. :) I'm hoping to get a little video of it, soon. I do have one of her saying her "ABCs", that I will post.
I'm going to bed, but hopefully it won't be another 7 months before I post, again. Good night!
Oh, and here is an updated picture of Morgan!
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Doctors, doctors, and more doctors!
As usual, I am behind in my blogging. My friend started her own blog today, and that reminded me that I haven't updated mine.
A couple of weeks after my last blog update, a member of our playgroup, Kymberli Johnson, passed away from complications of a sudden illness. She was a wonderful mother to her 2-year-old daughter, Skylar, and was a vivacious person, full of laughter. Her unexpected passing was so sad and tragic. As a fellow mother, my heart broke for her sweet little girl and all those who were close to her. I really don't know what to say about it, as even now, it seems surreal.
On a day in late January, something seemed a little off with Morgan. She didn't have a fever, but she was coughing a bit and just didn't seem to be herself. I made an appointment and when I took her in, she was all smiles. I felt silly taking in a healthy-looking baby, but I already had the appointment made. Well, it turned out that she had tonsillitis. The doctor said we were lucky that I brought her in early, as it could have turned into an ear infection, too. He put her on antibiotics. We were also lucky that we got the antibiotics started and she never spiked a fever. The doctor said a fever of 103 is standard with tonsillitis, but she never registered one.
In mid-February, Morgan had her 15-month appointment. These were her stats:
--Weight: 24 lbs., 6 oz. (75th percentile)
--Height: 31 1/4 inches (75th percentile)
--Head circumference: didn't get the exact measurement (90th percentile)
At that appointment, I asked about the little cough she had and the doctor said she had a minor upper-respiratory infection, and all we could do was provide "symptomatic care", which would mean using a humidifier (which we already do, nightly) and run a steamy hot shower, when needed. About a week after that appointment, she seemed to have some trouble breathing before bedtime. I was getting nervous, because her chest was sinking in, instead of expanding, when she inhaled. She was taking rather shallow breaths and it seemed to be difficult for her to get air. I held her upright in the glider for a while, and we did the hot shower treatment. She seemed OK, after a while, and we put her to bed. During the night, she'd wake up, cry, stand up, then lay back down and go to sleep. She did this several times and I finally went to pick her up at 5:30 and she was sweating profusely and sounded like she was having trouble breathing, again. I felt like the worst mother in the world for not going to her, sooner, but I was exhausted. I held her most of the morning, and my husband held her for a while, too, because we didn't want to lay her back down. I kept debating whether or not to take her to the ER. She wasn't turning blue or anything, but I just didn't like the sound of her breathing. We got her an appointment at the pediatrician's office. The doctor said he could hear a little wheezing and gave her a breathing treatment. It was this oxygen-mask-looking contraption and Morgan hated it. I am not surprised, as it made this horrible noise and spewed vapors in her face. They gave us an at-home version to use, with an inhaler. They also gave us a prescription for a 5-day course of oral steroids, to help with her cough/breathing.
The oral steroids worked beautifully! Her breathing went back to normal and her cough subsided. We didn't end up needing to do the breathing treatment. As an added bonus, her eczema went into complete remission. Her dermatologist had wanted to put her on a short round of oral steroids once before, but we were hesitant. This time, it was for her breathing, and worth the potential risk. Well, I say "risk", but it was just a perceived risk. The oral steroids, for short periods, are very safe. Her skin looked great and I almost wanted to cry with happiness. She wasn't scratching and she seemed even happier than her normal happy self. However, the day after going off the meds, her rash came back full-force and the reprieve was short-lived. I do see, though, that we can turn to the oral steroids when her eczema is out of control.
On the second day of March, I went with my mom to see her Primary Care Physician (PCP). She just got on Medicare and hasn't had a regular check-up in 20 years! To make a long story short(er), we were at the doctor's office for about 2 1/2 hours and after I took her home, I had to take myself to the walk-in clinic, because I had lost my voice the night before. After another 2 hours of doctor's office time, I found out that I had laryngitis. Yippy Skippy. They gave me a steroid shot in the tush (dexamethasone) and a prescription for Lodrane D. The Lodrane D had pseudoephedrine, which I've always hated. I hadn't taken it in years, and I took it against my better judgment. Well, that was a big mistake, as it triggered a muscle weakness attack, due to my HKPP, and I was pretty much paralyzed. I couldn't get out of bed without help and I could barely walk for most of the next day. My husband had to take the day off from work to help me, as I could not hold Morgan. Both my parents came over the following day, so my husband could go back to work, and to help me with Morgan. I missed holding her in my arms, but knew I was lucky that I'd be able to hold her soon enough. I felt bad for needing so much help, but so grateful that I have a support base of loving family. After a couple days, I was pretty much recovered. I was happy because, sometimes, the weakness episodes can drag on and on. On Friday, I returned to the walk-in clinic to see about getting an alternative to the Lodrane D. My dear friend offered to watch Morgan for a while, so Morgan could play with her twins. I thought I was going to cry, because my sweet baby hadn't had a playdate in so long. It was wonderful to see her playing with her friends, again. While she was having her playdate, I went to the clinic, but found out that there was a 2-hour wait. The receptionist gave me a card and told me I could call back later to see if they were less busy later. I walked out, but then turned around and decided that I could just ask for the same prescription I had the last time I was there with a sinus infection. As luck would have it, my original doctor was getting something from the front office! She saw me and asked how I was doing and I explained. She gave me a username and password to a website where I could see my prescriptions. She told me I had refills of the nasal spray that would help keep an infection at bay. Hooray! I didn't have to wait to be seen or anything. Thank heaven for small miracles. :) I refilled the prescription and so far, do not have a sinus infection.
This was all a couple of days ago, and Morgan's pretty much doing fine. She's still itchy and coughs here and there, but she's in good spirits and learning and growing before my eyes. Oh, that reminds me, at the last doctor visit, the ped. asked how many words she was saying. I told him that I had counted about 15-20 words and he said she was way ahead of the curve. He said at her age they expect about 6 words, aside from "mama" and "dada". She was slow to start walking, but I'm not surprised that she'd be ahead of the game where talking was concerned. Her mom's quite the chatterbox! OK, I need to post this and resume writing later, sorry...
A couple of weeks after my last blog update, a member of our playgroup, Kymberli Johnson, passed away from complications of a sudden illness. She was a wonderful mother to her 2-year-old daughter, Skylar, and was a vivacious person, full of laughter. Her unexpected passing was so sad and tragic. As a fellow mother, my heart broke for her sweet little girl and all those who were close to her. I really don't know what to say about it, as even now, it seems surreal.
On a day in late January, something seemed a little off with Morgan. She didn't have a fever, but she was coughing a bit and just didn't seem to be herself. I made an appointment and when I took her in, she was all smiles. I felt silly taking in a healthy-looking baby, but I already had the appointment made. Well, it turned out that she had tonsillitis. The doctor said we were lucky that I brought her in early, as it could have turned into an ear infection, too. He put her on antibiotics. We were also lucky that we got the antibiotics started and she never spiked a fever. The doctor said a fever of 103 is standard with tonsillitis, but she never registered one.
In mid-February, Morgan had her 15-month appointment. These were her stats:
--Weight: 24 lbs., 6 oz. (75th percentile)
--Height: 31 1/4 inches (75th percentile)
--Head circumference: didn't get the exact measurement (90th percentile)
At that appointment, I asked about the little cough she had and the doctor said she had a minor upper-respiratory infection, and all we could do was provide "symptomatic care", which would mean using a humidifier (which we already do, nightly) and run a steamy hot shower, when needed. About a week after that appointment, she seemed to have some trouble breathing before bedtime. I was getting nervous, because her chest was sinking in, instead of expanding, when she inhaled. She was taking rather shallow breaths and it seemed to be difficult for her to get air. I held her upright in the glider for a while, and we did the hot shower treatment. She seemed OK, after a while, and we put her to bed. During the night, she'd wake up, cry, stand up, then lay back down and go to sleep. She did this several times and I finally went to pick her up at 5:30 and she was sweating profusely and sounded like she was having trouble breathing, again. I felt like the worst mother in the world for not going to her, sooner, but I was exhausted. I held her most of the morning, and my husband held her for a while, too, because we didn't want to lay her back down. I kept debating whether or not to take her to the ER. She wasn't turning blue or anything, but I just didn't like the sound of her breathing. We got her an appointment at the pediatrician's office. The doctor said he could hear a little wheezing and gave her a breathing treatment. It was this oxygen-mask-looking contraption and Morgan hated it. I am not surprised, as it made this horrible noise and spewed vapors in her face. They gave us an at-home version to use, with an inhaler. They also gave us a prescription for a 5-day course of oral steroids, to help with her cough/breathing.
The oral steroids worked beautifully! Her breathing went back to normal and her cough subsided. We didn't end up needing to do the breathing treatment. As an added bonus, her eczema went into complete remission. Her dermatologist had wanted to put her on a short round of oral steroids once before, but we were hesitant. This time, it was for her breathing, and worth the potential risk. Well, I say "risk", but it was just a perceived risk. The oral steroids, for short periods, are very safe. Her skin looked great and I almost wanted to cry with happiness. She wasn't scratching and she seemed even happier than her normal happy self. However, the day after going off the meds, her rash came back full-force and the reprieve was short-lived. I do see, though, that we can turn to the oral steroids when her eczema is out of control.
On the second day of March, I went with my mom to see her Primary Care Physician (PCP). She just got on Medicare and hasn't had a regular check-up in 20 years! To make a long story short(er), we were at the doctor's office for about 2 1/2 hours and after I took her home, I had to take myself to the walk-in clinic, because I had lost my voice the night before. After another 2 hours of doctor's office time, I found out that I had laryngitis. Yippy Skippy. They gave me a steroid shot in the tush (dexamethasone) and a prescription for Lodrane D. The Lodrane D had pseudoephedrine, which I've always hated. I hadn't taken it in years, and I took it against my better judgment. Well, that was a big mistake, as it triggered a muscle weakness attack, due to my HKPP, and I was pretty much paralyzed. I couldn't get out of bed without help and I could barely walk for most of the next day. My husband had to take the day off from work to help me, as I could not hold Morgan. Both my parents came over the following day, so my husband could go back to work, and to help me with Morgan. I missed holding her in my arms, but knew I was lucky that I'd be able to hold her soon enough. I felt bad for needing so much help, but so grateful that I have a support base of loving family. After a couple days, I was pretty much recovered. I was happy because, sometimes, the weakness episodes can drag on and on. On Friday, I returned to the walk-in clinic to see about getting an alternative to the Lodrane D. My dear friend offered to watch Morgan for a while, so Morgan could play with her twins. I thought I was going to cry, because my sweet baby hadn't had a playdate in so long. It was wonderful to see her playing with her friends, again. While she was having her playdate, I went to the clinic, but found out that there was a 2-hour wait. The receptionist gave me a card and told me I could call back later to see if they were less busy later. I walked out, but then turned around and decided that I could just ask for the same prescription I had the last time I was there with a sinus infection. As luck would have it, my original doctor was getting something from the front office! She saw me and asked how I was doing and I explained. She gave me a username and password to a website where I could see my prescriptions. She told me I had refills of the nasal spray that would help keep an infection at bay. Hooray! I didn't have to wait to be seen or anything. Thank heaven for small miracles. :) I refilled the prescription and so far, do not have a sinus infection.
This was all a couple of days ago, and Morgan's pretty much doing fine. She's still itchy and coughs here and there, but she's in good spirits and learning and growing before my eyes. Oh, that reminds me, at the last doctor visit, the ped. asked how many words she was saying. I told him that I had counted about 15-20 words and he said she was way ahead of the curve. He said at her age they expect about 6 words, aside from "mama" and "dada". She was slow to start walking, but I'm not surprised that she'd be ahead of the game where talking was concerned. Her mom's quite the chatterbox! OK, I need to post this and resume writing later, sorry...
Monday, January 11, 2010
Woefully Behind on Blogging!
Yikes! Seeing my friend's blog post reminded me that I am so very behind on my own!
Morgan is almost 14 months old and, as usual, I cannot believe it. Let's see...where did I leave off in my last post? Ah, yes, Morgan was still on soy formula, after a losing battle with whole milk. Well, we switched her over to soy milk without a problem. She didn't even notice or protest the switch in bottle contents. The problem for us is not switching from soy formula to soy milk, but from bottle to sippy cup. Morgan will drink water or juice from a sippy cup just fine. If I put milk in one, she looks at me like I have a frog on my head (obscure Joaquin Phoenix reference). She'll throw the cup on the ground and point to her bottles. Put the bottles away, you say? Well, then she points to where the bottles used to be. She knows what she wants and she wants it NOW! It's funny how indignant she can get, at such a young age. She just has a sweet, sweet love affair going on with her bottles. I must admit, that I am not too eager to pitch them in the trash. I love snuggling her when she drinks (I don't snuggle her for all her bottles.) She has about 3-4 bottles a day and I'm back to giving her milk before her naps. I know, I know...it just works so well for us, right now. I give her a bottle, maybe read her a book or two, and then I rock her to sleep.
I swear, lately, it's like I'm doing everything "wrong," but she is sleeping so much better. I think it's because we went through sleep training at 8 months and she learned how to self-soothe, so now me giving her a bottle and rocking her doesn't mess up her sleep. Somewhere along the way, I got back to doing the things that used to have her waking up every 1-2 hours, but now she sleeps through the night. I enjoy my time rocking her...holding onto my "little baby" as long as I can.
This is a recent phenomenon, though. For a while, she was waking up once a night, "needing" milk. It was right after the beginning of the year, that she stopped needing a bottle during the night. She would just cry once or twice in her sleep (when turning over, getting comfortable again) and then continue sleeping. Now, she pretty much sleeps soundly all night. She is an early riser, though. She's up by 6:00/6:30, most mornings. Some mornings, it's more like 5:30, but we let her fuss on and off until 6:00. She doesn't cry, she just sort of "calls us" in her sleep. I check the monitor and she's not really awake, but saying, "hey, I'm waking up here...is it time to get up?" We don't answer that question until at least 6:00 a.m.
She started taking her first steps a couple of weeks after her first birthday. She's nearing 14 months and can now walk all around the house, but she still needs to pull up on something, even if it's just the wall, to get to a standing position. She hasn't quite figured out how to get up off the floor. That's fine by me...take it easy, baby!
She's growing up so much, lately, seeming like quite the little person. She makes funny facial expressions and she laughs more, spontaneously. My picture taking has dropped, as I'm so busy chasing her around and don't seem to be able to snap as many shots. I do still take videos, when I have the chance.
Here's one picture I managed to take, while she was playing under the kitchen table:
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