Happy Holidays, from my family to you and yours!
Sunday, December 25, 2011
Saturday, December 24, 2011
'tis the season!
I don't know about anyone else, but our holiday season starts pretty much right after Thanksgiving, and it doesn't stop until New Year's Day. And with Samma around, it's just makes it all the more enjoyable! And I don't know why, but I've been in the spirit for much longer -- hell, this is the first year I actually started my holiday shopping prior to Thanksgiving, and my sister and I were at Kohls at 1am Black Friday! Yup. Crazy.
So what have we been up to this Holiday season?
First, we have our annual Holiday Brunch with our friends out in Worcester. It's Yankee Swap-style, and for the first year, since there were so many kids, we organized a Secret Santa for the little ones. Samma received fingerpaints from Lexi-- yay!
The following weekend we had our nearby friends and families visit our home for our annual Baby Holiday Festivities. There are only three babies in this group, all within months of each other age-wise, so it's fun watching them interact with each other and open their gifts and whatnot because really, this is what the holiday season is all about! :) This time around we received a Little People amusement park from Auntie Bob, Weebles from Gabe and a Leapfrog magnetic Farmhouse for the fridge from Cole... or maybe it was Weebles from Cole and the Farmhouse from Gabe... it was pretty chaotic! Regardless, everything was much appreciated and all the babies had fun!
Then we had my uncle's annual holiday party. That was fun. And by "fun" I mean absolutely exhausting. Sam definitely seemed to enjoy herself, though. Of course, she's really easy to please so long as she can run around and get to places she shouldn't be with her partner-in-crime, Papa.
This past Thursday was my dad's office party for the kids, and Sam's first time visiting with Santa. As you can see, she was not amused, and for that I am grateful because I didn't have to spend money on Santa picture this year just to have her freaked out. She did enjoy the blow-up Fisher Price wobble penguin Santa "gave" her though (read: I wrapped it up, gave it to my dad, he put her name on it and Santa gave it to her when we visited). It was fun though!
And now, here we are. Tonight was our annual Christmas Eve gathering with Chris' extended family, tomorrow morning brings presents from Santa as well as our immediate families coming to our house for more presents, heading up to my aunt's house tomorrow afternoon for my family gathering, heading back down to southern MA for our annual Yankee and Regifting swaps with our group of friends, and then Monday is our annual gathering with my dad's side of the family.
Sadly, Samma fell asleep in the car on our way home tonight, so we weren't able to leave out cookies and milk for Santa. =( But something tells me Santa won't be missing us this year.... gonna have to make it up to him next year!
Friday, December 23, 2011
15 months!
I feel like it's been forever since I actually did a well-baby check-in, but with everything else that's been going on in the last few months, I can see how that can happen. Anyway, as I mentioned before I had almost forgot about this appointment, but luckily they were able to fit us in before the new year, and even though it wasn't with either of my top two choices for doctors, it turned out to be a good yet long well-baby appointment.
So let's start with Samma's stats:
Weight: 23lbs 9oz (72nd percentile)
Length: 30.5 inches (43rd percentile)
Head Circumference: 17.75 inches (23rd percentile)
Growing girl! We had a little bit of a freakout because of her length, because when we first took it she registered in the 15th percentile, but that just wasn't right because I know in the last couple of week she's been growing out of her 12mos pants, but I think when the nurse initially took her height her head was tilted to the side or something, because when I was able to hold her head straight the second time, she shot right up the charts, which is where she should have been. Also, looking at her weight chart, it was kinda scary to see the dip in weight when she was in for 2 weeks straight because of her bronchiolitis... poor sick girl.
But anyway, those times are behind us because she did very well, and the doctor checked her chest and there was no sign of wheezing or anything connected to the bronchiolitis, so we were given the green light to just finish up with the Albuterol we have and then she is off the nebulizer! At this point we're down to just morning treatment and I think we have a week's worth of medicine left, so we are almost there!
Everything else looked perfect - the doctor was really impressed with her ability to run across the exam room, and was happy to hear we had an easy transition to adult food, no bottles, sleeping through the night in her crib. We were "easy" she said -- thanks, I think? One thing she did say that made me go "Hmm..." was no peanuts until 3 - I was always under the impression it was 2, but I guess we'll see. I really can't wait to give her peanut butter and jelly sammiches, not gonna lie....
And then we had to get not one, not two, not even three, but FOUR shots, two in each leg. Shots + tired baby because she missed her nap at daycare for her appt = miserable baby girl after shots. :( But we got a flu booster, another HepB, and FINALLY her chicken pox and MMR vaccines. Chicken pox is crazy though because not I guess it's requirement for schools, so she has to get it every 10 years.... back in MY day we were just told to go play with our friends! Crazy how times change...
So that's about it. Next up - 18month appt, where we will discuss getting off the binkie and our first visit to the dentist. Of course, they didn't have the schedule for March yet, so I wasn't able to make the appt, so PLEASE don't let me forget this one like I almost did the 15mos appt...
So let's start with Samma's stats:
Weight: 23lbs 9oz (72nd percentile)
Length: 30.5 inches (43rd percentile)
Head Circumference: 17.75 inches (23rd percentile)
Growing girl! We had a little bit of a freakout because of her length, because when we first took it she registered in the 15th percentile, but that just wasn't right because I know in the last couple of week she's been growing out of her 12mos pants, but I think when the nurse initially took her height her head was tilted to the side or something, because when I was able to hold her head straight the second time, she shot right up the charts, which is where she should have been. Also, looking at her weight chart, it was kinda scary to see the dip in weight when she was in for 2 weeks straight because of her bronchiolitis... poor sick girl.
But anyway, those times are behind us because she did very well, and the doctor checked her chest and there was no sign of wheezing or anything connected to the bronchiolitis, so we were given the green light to just finish up with the Albuterol we have and then she is off the nebulizer! At this point we're down to just morning treatment and I think we have a week's worth of medicine left, so we are almost there!
Everything else looked perfect - the doctor was really impressed with her ability to run across the exam room, and was happy to hear we had an easy transition to adult food, no bottles, sleeping through the night in her crib. We were "easy" she said -- thanks, I think? One thing she did say that made me go "Hmm..." was no peanuts until 3 - I was always under the impression it was 2, but I guess we'll see. I really can't wait to give her peanut butter and jelly sammiches, not gonna lie....
And then we had to get not one, not two, not even three, but FOUR shots, two in each leg. Shots + tired baby because she missed her nap at daycare for her appt = miserable baby girl after shots. :( But we got a flu booster, another HepB, and FINALLY her chicken pox and MMR vaccines. Chicken pox is crazy though because not I guess it's requirement for schools, so she has to get it every 10 years.... back in MY day we were just told to go play with our friends! Crazy how times change...
So that's about it. Next up - 18month appt, where we will discuss getting off the binkie and our first visit to the dentist. Of course, they didn't have the schedule for March yet, so I wasn't able to make the appt, so PLEASE don't let me forget this one like I almost did the 15mos appt...
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
sick babies are sad babies, part 2
Remember that time I said we would need to go back to the pediatrician's office if Sam came down with a fever and a cough because of all the bronchiolitis going around?
Guess what!
She got bronchiolitis! Hooray!!!
.... ¬_¬
So needless to say it's been a long couple of weeks. In fact, I have tried writing this post 3 times and I keep having to update the timestamp because it's become a week old. *sigh*
Anyway, yeah, a few weeks ago - December 4th, Facebook Timeline tells me - we had decided to bring Sam back to the doctor's. She had been coughing for almost a week before, and the night before she came down with a fever. Heeding the pediatrician's words about the signs of cough and fever, I called first thing that morning (I love that they're open 7 days a week) and sure enough, it was all in her chest. We were sent home with a nebulizer and a prescription for Albuterol and the instructions to have a treatment every 4-6 hours, and a follow-up appointment scheduled for Wednesday 12/7.
I guess it needs to go unsaid that Sam was not a fan of sitting still for 10-15 minutes while we alternates between a mask on her face and just holding the mist under her chin. Initially, it was a two person process because when she wants to move, she is superhuman in her strength, I swear. Eventually we learned that our iPhones, and even the iPad, were semi-distractions, so it got easier as we went along.
We went back for our recheck on Wednesday 12/7, and after her afternoon nebulizer treatment in the office, the doctor wasn't happy with what she was hearing, and to make sure things weren't getting worse, she sent us to get X-Rays to rule out pneumonia. I was freaking out.
I must say I love where I live -- not only are we next door to the best hospital on the South Shore, but my own doctor's office is now home to an extension site of Children's in Boston. We were given the choice as to where we wanted to go for the X-rays, either my office associated with South Shore Hospital, or to Children's, and as much as I adore South Shore, for Sam she deserved Children's. Plus, we were already in their system for her heart murmur, so that was where we decided to go. And after a little delayed registration because the receptionist at the desk was new, we were brought right in to get the x-rays done, and for that I was thankful.
The X-rays weren't fun for anyone I think... poor Sam had to strip down to just her pants, and we had to hold her arms up over her head so they could get a clear shot of her chest, and stay that way so they could take the picture... not fun. We had to do two different ones, one where I would be able to stand in front of her and distract her while they shot from behind, but the other one where they had to shoot from the side was not so easy. At first they wanted me to hold her from behind, but she was too busy freaking out about where I was that she just wasn't going to sit still. The tech then had to call another down, and while she took the pic, the first tech and I double-teamed Samma. It seemed like forever, but luckily it worked because we didn't have to retake either of them. Way to go Sam!
The wait to get the results back from the pediatrician's office sucked, so I finally called a few hours later when I hadn't heard anything... NO PNEUMONIA!! W00000t!!! Such a relief, I must say. We were then instructed to keep up with the treatments as we were, and then go back Monday 12/12 for one more follow-up.
I will plug again right here how awesome my daycare provider can be. She knew all about this, and I had given her the heads up about the neb treatments, and told her I would be coming over around noontime to give Sam hers -- she told me not to worry about it, just bring the machine and she'll do it for us! I guess she was familiar with them because her son needed it when he was younger, plus (and this was a good point) if I came Sam would think it's time to go and just cause more stress. So for that whole week she was helping us out with the treatments, and it was just awesome. I love her.
So come Monday, everything is sounding great, and the pediatrician told us we can start weaning her off the Albuterol, going to every 6-8 hours, then every 8-12... currently we're down to once a day, so we're almost done! Yay!
We were also given the green-light to schedule her 15-month appointment... did I mention I almost dropped the ball on this? Yeah... I thought we were just going from 1-year to 18-months, but nope... oops. Luckily we were able to get one in before the end of the year, so we're going this Friday before the holiday weekend, which kinda works because then I have an excuse to leave early!
So that's Samma's saga in a nutshell... it's been a rough, tiring, busy December, but I'm glad she's getting better, and just in time for the holidays to boot!
Guess what!
She got bronchiolitis! Hooray!!!
So needless to say it's been a long couple of weeks. In fact, I have tried writing this post 3 times and I keep having to update the timestamp because it's become a week old. *sigh*
Anyway, yeah, a few weeks ago - December 4th, Facebook Timeline tells me - we had decided to bring Sam back to the doctor's. She had been coughing for almost a week before, and the night before she came down with a fever. Heeding the pediatrician's words about the signs of cough and fever, I called first thing that morning (I love that they're open 7 days a week) and sure enough, it was all in her chest. We were sent home with a nebulizer and a prescription for Albuterol and the instructions to have a treatment every 4-6 hours, and a follow-up appointment scheduled for Wednesday 12/7.
I guess it needs to go unsaid that Sam was not a fan of sitting still for 10-15 minutes while we alternates between a mask on her face and just holding the mist under her chin. Initially, it was a two person process because when she wants to move, she is superhuman in her strength, I swear. Eventually we learned that our iPhones, and even the iPad, were semi-distractions, so it got easier as we went along.
We went back for our recheck on Wednesday 12/7, and after her afternoon nebulizer treatment in the office, the doctor wasn't happy with what she was hearing, and to make sure things weren't getting worse, she sent us to get X-Rays to rule out pneumonia. I was freaking out.
I must say I love where I live -- not only are we next door to the best hospital on the South Shore, but my own doctor's office is now home to an extension site of Children's in Boston. We were given the choice as to where we wanted to go for the X-rays, either my office associated with South Shore Hospital, or to Children's, and as much as I adore South Shore, for Sam she deserved Children's. Plus, we were already in their system for her heart murmur, so that was where we decided to go. And after a little delayed registration because the receptionist at the desk was new, we were brought right in to get the x-rays done, and for that I was thankful.
The X-rays weren't fun for anyone I think... poor Sam had to strip down to just her pants, and we had to hold her arms up over her head so they could get a clear shot of her chest, and stay that way so they could take the picture... not fun. We had to do two different ones, one where I would be able to stand in front of her and distract her while they shot from behind, but the other one where they had to shoot from the side was not so easy. At first they wanted me to hold her from behind, but she was too busy freaking out about where I was that she just wasn't going to sit still. The tech then had to call another down, and while she took the pic, the first tech and I double-teamed Samma. It seemed like forever, but luckily it worked because we didn't have to retake either of them. Way to go Sam!
The wait to get the results back from the pediatrician's office sucked, so I finally called a few hours later when I hadn't heard anything... NO PNEUMONIA!! W00000t!!! Such a relief, I must say. We were then instructed to keep up with the treatments as we were, and then go back Monday 12/12 for one more follow-up.
I will plug again right here how awesome my daycare provider can be. She knew all about this, and I had given her the heads up about the neb treatments, and told her I would be coming over around noontime to give Sam hers -- she told me not to worry about it, just bring the machine and she'll do it for us! I guess she was familiar with them because her son needed it when he was younger, plus (and this was a good point) if I came Sam would think it's time to go and just cause more stress. So for that whole week she was helping us out with the treatments, and it was just awesome. I love her.
So come Monday, everything is sounding great, and the pediatrician told us we can start weaning her off the Albuterol, going to every 6-8 hours, then every 8-12... currently we're down to once a day, so we're almost done! Yay!
We were also given the green-light to schedule her 15-month appointment... did I mention I almost dropped the ball on this? Yeah... I thought we were just going from 1-year to 18-months, but nope... oops. Luckily we were able to get one in before the end of the year, so we're going this Friday before the holiday weekend, which kinda works because then I have an excuse to leave early!
So that's Samma's saga in a nutshell... it's been a rough, tiring, busy December, but I'm glad she's getting better, and just in time for the holidays to boot!
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