10 years ago
January 14, 2010
5 Months
Avery,
I can't believe you are 5 months old! It just doesn't seem possible--you are growing way too fast! Here's a few stats on you at 5 months:
- Weighing in at 17.5lbs and about 28 inches long
- Wearing 6-9 month size clothing and a size 2-3 shoe
- Sleeping between 10-11 hours straight at night
- Started eating "solid" foods and have so far had rice cereal; sweet potatoes; and squash--we are having to be very careful with the foods we give you due to your allergies. You can only try one new food at a time and have to wait 3 days between trying new foods to make sure you don't have any bad reactions. Mommy has carrots; apples; pears; bananas; and green beans in the line up for you. So far you LOVE eating "real food" and you cry when you are finished with it each time.
- Still taking EleCare formula and we are still having to use the SimplyThick in each bottle, but you have gotten so much better with your swallowing issues...we are not having to use as much thickener as we originally were having to use.
- Still love spending time on your playmat--that singing, blinking star mesmorizes you. I think your Daddy and I can sing that music in our sleep! :)
- Spending time in your exersaucer...it has lots of toys to entertain you, but Gretta is scared of the ones that make noise and so she runs to hide everytime we put you in it.
- You LOVE Gretta...you are so intrigued by her. You are always watching her and you will just laugh and smile at her. You have figured out what her toenails sound like on the tile and if you are in the kitchen and hear that sound, you immediately start looking around for her. She chooses to ignore you most of the time, but has been a little more interested in you since you started smelling like "food"! :)
- You are a drooling machine and constantly have one hand, if not two, in your mouth nearly 24/7. You want to chew on ANYTHING you can get your hands on...if you can get your hands wrapped around it, straight into your mouth it goes.
- Rolling over is an obsession for you these days, but only from your back to your tummy, you still haven't mastered going from your tummy to your back. You look like you are body surfing when you get onto your belly. :)
- Sleeping on your tummy is your preferred position these days. We put you on your back, but it does no good...you are on your tummy in about 10 seconds. You sleep so soundly on your tummy!
- You really like to practice sitting up and can do pretty well if you are assisted, but are still pretty unsteady on your own.
- Love to go shopping with Mommy. Target and Hobby Lobby seem to be your stores of choice. :) Just last week, you got to ride in the cart like a big girl and you LOVED it. I strapped you in and up and down the aisles we went. You liked having a different view of the world, I think.
- You still LOVE your bath time. I think it's your favorite part of the day...you just splash and play with your toys.
- Rocking with Mommy is your favorite when you are tired
- Playing with Daddy on the floor is your favorite when you are awake
You have quite the little personality that is starting to shine through...your smile and laugh just melt this momma's heart every day. What joy and love you have brought to your Daddy and me in the last 5 months....We love you baby girl!
4 Months
Hanging with Nana & Papa B during Thanksgiving
Nana telling me a funny story 
Sitting with Greatgrandmother during my first (of MANY!) trips to Mama Z's
Sitting with Greatgrandmother during my first (of MANY!) trips to Mama Z's
Having a good time on my playmat
All dressed up for church
Me & Mommy
Headed to my first day of Mother's Day Out
November 10, 2009
Way Too Long....
Well, it's been WAY TOO LONG since I did a post...life at the Clinton house has been anything but normal over the past 2 months.
In late August/early September, Avery started having some issues with her formula...her tummy seemed to hurt constantly as she would scream and cry after every single bottle. So, we worked with our pediatrician in trying to figure out which formula was going to work for her....we went from regular Enfamil to Gentlease to Alimentum (which is an expensive hypoallergenic formual) to Nutramigen (another hypoallergenic formula). During this time, the pediatrician also put her on Zantac because she felt that with Avery's symptoms, there was some reflux issues involved. Things progressively got worse for Avery and she was screaming not only after each bottle but also during the bottles...she was also gagging and choking on the liquid. The pediatrician decided to refer us to a pediatric gastroenterologist to make sure there were no other major issues going on with Avery. So, in mid to late September, we went to see the gastro. She spent a lot of time with us and with Avery and decided to switch her off the Zantac and onto Prevacid, which is a more powerful reflux mediciation. She also heard a swallowing issue while observing Avery and decided that we needed to thicken her formula in order for her to be able to swallow it correctly. So, that week we began using rice cereal to thicken the formula. Turns out she is allergic to the rice cereal so we had major tummy issues and the screaming/crying continued for the poor baby.
On September 29th about 10pm, she was having a particularly bad night and was screaming in pain when she suddenly couldn't breathe....she was trying to take breaths, but was just gasping and couldn't get any air in or out. It was the most terrifying moment of my life. John was holding her and we tried blowing in her face to try to get her to catch her breath, we tried putting cold water on her...we tried it all...I got on the phone and called 911 while John put her over his shoulder and started patting her back forcefully...FINALLY she took a breath. This was only a matter of less than a minute, but it felt like about 10 minutes. She was very lethargic at this point....the EMTs got to our house very quickly and they looked her over and gave her some oxygen...they then wanted to take her into Childrens Hospital to be checked out. So off we went....I rode in the ambulance with Avery while John followed us in the car. We ended up being in the ER at Childrens until sometime between 2-2:30am. The ER doctor did some bloodwork on her and after checking her out, he decided that her episode was caused by the reflux. Basically, all the screaming she was doing caused the reflux to flair up and she tried to force it back down and when she did, her throat basically shut down. The next morning, I called the gastro doctor's office and left a message telling them what had transpired the night before...once the gastro doctor heard this, she called us and was very concerned about what was going on with Avery. This lead to her wanting to admit us to Childrens Hospital in order to have some testing done. She also wanted us to see a pediatric ENT at the same time. So, on Friday, Oct. 2nd, we went to see the ENT and then went inpatient until Monday afternoon. The ENT did a scope of nasal passage and whole throat area. He diagnosed her as having laryngomalasia, which basically means the little "flap" at the top of her voice box is "floppy" or not completely matured...meaning that it was allowing small amounts of liquid to go down the wrong direction. Also, when she cries hard, it wanted to "collapse" on her...which is what happened on the 29th. He ordered a swallow study to be done while we were in patient and also wanted us to meet with the speech path team to see about using a thickener with her formula. After this appointment, we went inpatient...the gastro doctor switched her to a prescription only amino acids based formula called EleCare...basically it is impossible for babies to be allergic to this type of formula. We also have quite a bit of testing done...EEG, EKG, Apnea monitoring, etc. There was no evidence of seizure activity (a slight worry after the episode on the 29th) and no signs of apnea. We were so grateful! We met with speech path and did the swallow study...the ENT's observations were right on...she was having limited penetration by the liquid, but no full aspiration...but it could possibly happen. So, she was put on SimplyThick, Nectar consistency, which is a no calorie, no taste gel thickener that we have to add to each bottle.
Now, here we are several weeks later and she is doing well...she is doing great on the EleCare formula and with the SimplyThick. She also is still on the Prevacid for the reflux, which is helping tremendously. We had a follow up appointment last week with the ENT and he said that she is looking great. He REALLY feels that she will outgrow all her issues by the time she's 1, if not sooner. He could already see some improvement in her just since the first visit. HOPEFULLY, we are finally on the right track with our sweet baby...she has had a rough time of it over the last 2 months and so have mom & dad! :)
In late August/early September, Avery started having some issues with her formula...her tummy seemed to hurt constantly as she would scream and cry after every single bottle. So, we worked with our pediatrician in trying to figure out which formula was going to work for her....we went from regular Enfamil to Gentlease to Alimentum (which is an expensive hypoallergenic formual) to Nutramigen (another hypoallergenic formula). During this time, the pediatrician also put her on Zantac because she felt that with Avery's symptoms, there was some reflux issues involved. Things progressively got worse for Avery and she was screaming not only after each bottle but also during the bottles...she was also gagging and choking on the liquid. The pediatrician decided to refer us to a pediatric gastroenterologist to make sure there were no other major issues going on with Avery. So, in mid to late September, we went to see the gastro. She spent a lot of time with us and with Avery and decided to switch her off the Zantac and onto Prevacid, which is a more powerful reflux mediciation. She also heard a swallowing issue while observing Avery and decided that we needed to thicken her formula in order for her to be able to swallow it correctly. So, that week we began using rice cereal to thicken the formula. Turns out she is allergic to the rice cereal so we had major tummy issues and the screaming/crying continued for the poor baby.
On September 29th about 10pm, she was having a particularly bad night and was screaming in pain when she suddenly couldn't breathe....she was trying to take breaths, but was just gasping and couldn't get any air in or out. It was the most terrifying moment of my life. John was holding her and we tried blowing in her face to try to get her to catch her breath, we tried putting cold water on her...we tried it all...I got on the phone and called 911 while John put her over his shoulder and started patting her back forcefully...FINALLY she took a breath. This was only a matter of less than a minute, but it felt like about 10 minutes. She was very lethargic at this point....the EMTs got to our house very quickly and they looked her over and gave her some oxygen...they then wanted to take her into Childrens Hospital to be checked out. So off we went....I rode in the ambulance with Avery while John followed us in the car. We ended up being in the ER at Childrens until sometime between 2-2:30am. The ER doctor did some bloodwork on her and after checking her out, he decided that her episode was caused by the reflux. Basically, all the screaming she was doing caused the reflux to flair up and she tried to force it back down and when she did, her throat basically shut down. The next morning, I called the gastro doctor's office and left a message telling them what had transpired the night before...once the gastro doctor heard this, she called us and was very concerned about what was going on with Avery. This lead to her wanting to admit us to Childrens Hospital in order to have some testing done. She also wanted us to see a pediatric ENT at the same time. So, on Friday, Oct. 2nd, we went to see the ENT and then went inpatient until Monday afternoon. The ENT did a scope of nasal passage and whole throat area. He diagnosed her as having laryngomalasia, which basically means the little "flap" at the top of her voice box is "floppy" or not completely matured...meaning that it was allowing small amounts of liquid to go down the wrong direction. Also, when she cries hard, it wanted to "collapse" on her...which is what happened on the 29th. He ordered a swallow study to be done while we were in patient and also wanted us to meet with the speech path team to see about using a thickener with her formula. After this appointment, we went inpatient...the gastro doctor switched her to a prescription only amino acids based formula called EleCare...basically it is impossible for babies to be allergic to this type of formula. We also have quite a bit of testing done...EEG, EKG, Apnea monitoring, etc. There was no evidence of seizure activity (a slight worry after the episode on the 29th) and no signs of apnea. We were so grateful! We met with speech path and did the swallow study...the ENT's observations were right on...she was having limited penetration by the liquid, but no full aspiration...but it could possibly happen. So, she was put on SimplyThick, Nectar consistency, which is a no calorie, no taste gel thickener that we have to add to each bottle.
Now, here we are several weeks later and she is doing well...she is doing great on the EleCare formula and with the SimplyThick. She also is still on the Prevacid for the reflux, which is helping tremendously. We had a follow up appointment last week with the ENT and he said that she is looking great. He REALLY feels that she will outgrow all her issues by the time she's 1, if not sooner. He could already see some improvement in her just since the first visit. HOPEFULLY, we are finally on the right track with our sweet baby...she has had a rough time of it over the last 2 months and so have mom & dad! :)
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