Eight Months!

And what a month it was! We had two visits from grandparents, two separate hospital stays, Spring Break, and Elodie's first Easter! I'm exhausted! The month started off with Elodie's g-tube surgery which I've already talked about. I truly love the g-tube (as much as I can love any tube-feeding device). It is so much better than the NG tube, and despite a few episodes of feeding her rock and play or the couch (by accidentally leaving one port open), it has gone very smoothly. 

Right after her surgery, Brian's Spring Break started. The weather was gorgeous all week, and we were able to take the kids on a couple of hikes. Elodie loves her Ergo and falls asleep within the first 10 minutes of being in there. It is SO MUCH BETTER than the Baby Bjorn we had for Noah! Live and learn.

This "rescue station" cracked me up!

My mom and step-dad then visited the following week for my mom's Spring Break. The weather was gorgeous again, and we spent some time getting ready for Easter! Grandma also brought the kids some great thrift store finds, so Elodie now has some very cute new items in her wardrobe. I can't wait for some warmer weather so she can wear them!

Dying eggs with Grandma

My parents left in the middle of the week, and then suddenly it was Easter! Noah and I tried dying more eggs using food coloring and the color on them was beautiful! However, when it came time to peel the eggs, the dye rubbed off all over my hands. But I would say it was worth the mess and more fun than a traditional coloring kit. We'll definitely skip the kit next year. The Easter Bunny really came through this year and both kids loved everything he brought them. Living away from family can sometimes make holidays feel like less of a to-do, but a good friend invited us over for dinner and an egg hunt so the day did feel special.

 

Easter outfits (This was the best picture I could get. Worse than wrangling cats, I tell ya!)

The week after Easter I was feeling pretty blue. It's always hard after a family visit, but especially after I had two weeks with Brian and Noah and my parents around to give me some company! Elodie also was a little fussier than normal. By Friday (4/10), she was totally not herself. That day she slept through every feeding and was fussy whenever she was awake. That night around 8:30 she completely lost it. Brian and I had never seen her like that, and my first concern was a possible shunt malfunction. By 9:00 I was packed up and headed to Children's with her, about an hour away. By the time we got there she was running a low grade fever, but not nearly as upset. She was evaluated, blood was drawn, x-rays were taken, and 7 long hours later we were sent home with what was probably "just a virus." I was so relieved that it didn't appear related to her shunt at all. However, about 10 hours after getting home, we got a call that her blood cultures tested positive for some sort of bacterial infection and to get her back as soon as possible. I called my brother, dropped Noah off with him, and back to Children's we went. They drew more blood, started antibiotics, and admitted us for the night. The next morning we learned that her second set of blood cultures was looking clear; however the original bacteria they thought they found in her blood was quite rare and quite dangerous. Long story short, this led us to a 6 day stay where we met with people from infectious diseases, immunology, genetics, neurosurgery, and general surgery. The lab was not able to positively identify the bacteria she had (it has now been sent off to some other lab), but they are pretty sure it is something called Burkholderia. It rarely infects people, and when it does, those people almost always have a genetic disease called Chronic Granulomatous Disease. So Elodie had genetic testing done to look for that and we should find out for sure in about 6 weeks. It's probably not a big deal considering that she fought the bacteria off very quickly, but they wanted to be safe over sorry. The entire time we were in the hospital I felt like I was on an episode of House. Even the doctors we saw said it was one of the most unusual and complicated admits they had ever seen. That's my girl, keeping us all on our toes!!

Hanging out at Children's

Elodie was discharged on her 8 month birthday, during one heck of a snowstorm! (Over the last 4 days, we got over 2 feet of snow!) Despite all of the craziness of the month, Elodie actually has made absolutely amazing developmental progress!! At her 6 month appointment, she was considered "at-risk" or "delayed" in all areas of the Ages and Stages Questionnaire-3. Today I filled out the 8 month ASQ-3 in anticipation of her upcoming well-child visit. This was scheduled solely to follow-up on this questionnaire. And guess what? Elodie is only showing delays in gross motor!! She has caught up completely in the areas of communication, fine motor, problem-solving, and personal-social. I honestly got teary over this! So what is she doing you ask?

• Elodie weighs about 15.5 pounds. She is wearing 6-9 month clothing and size 2 diapers.
• All of her feeds are still via the tube. She gets about 20 ounces of fortified breastmilk a day and I am still overproducing like crazy. Also, she has been approved to start feeding therapy! She was supposed to start on the 13th, but her unexpected hospital stay forced us to postpone. I am so excited to see her try some purees. She is definitely interested in food, and tries to pull my hand to her mouth when I'm eating. I am very grateful that she hasn't formed an oral aversion during her time of being NPO. Everything goes in that mouth of hers!
• She is still a fabulous sleeper. Most nights she sleeps from 10:00pm-7:30am, and she takes 2-3 naps a day. The morning nap has decreased to about 1.5 hours, the afternoon nap has increased to about 1.5-2 hours, and the evening nap remains hit and miss.
• Elodie still babbles with da-da-das, and now loves to squeal and shriek. I honestly think there is some sort of female genetic component to the screaming and squealing. Noah was not a shrieker, but this girl has some pipes! She "talks" to us with lots of "huh"s and "yah"s. It's very cute!
• In order to get the approval for feeding therapy, she needed to show improved postural control and readiness for sitting. By the start of April, Elodie was able to sit independently for about 30 seconds to a minute at a time. She has worked so hard on this skill with her occupational therapist, and now just days after turning 8 months, she is sitting all by herself with pretty good control for up to 40 minutes at a time! GO ELODIE!!!

Always practicing!

• Elodie also figured out how to roll from back to belly. She has done it exactly 3 times, twice to get to a toy she wanted, and let me tell you. SHE HATES IT. So although we know she can do it, it's not something we've seen much.
• She loves to stand when being held, and has started bouncing up and down using her legs while in my lap. She's a strong little thing!
• This month Elodie started to display some serious mommy attachment. Sometimes I can't even walk a foot away from her without her turning into a puddle of tears. It is incredibly endearing, but also completely frustrating sometimes! However, I have to say that I do believe that we had some bonding issues early on because of everything we went through in the beginning, so it makes me feel all warm inside that she is definitely attached to me. And also, it's so developmentally appropriate!
• She continues to love chewing on her feet. Noah was never a big toe sucker, and I find it adorable! She also is a big thumb sucker. She will only suck her left thumb, and she usually holds her right sleeve as she does so. Pacifiers do not do it for this child!

• At 8 months, Elodie's eyes remain a vivid blue and I don't expect them to change. They are beautiful! Brian's entire side of the family has brown and hazel eyes, so I never expected to have a blue-eyed baby. And because Noah was such a daddy clone, I never expected to have a baby who resembles me. I really do enjoy getting to see some of my features in her!

Eight months was my favorite "baby age" with Noah, and I think that's going to hold true for Elodie as well. Now that she can sit, I see a lot of exciting things in her future including swings, restaurant high chairs, and shopping carts! A whole new world has opened up to us! Bring it on!