Small accomplishments

How fun it is to celebrate small accomplishments! I have been so proud of my baby girl the past couple of days. She has been holding on to her pacifier better and better...she's even learning to push it back into her mouth with her hand when it starts to fall. I've been putting her in the Bumbo seat for the past couple of days....what a big girl she is! She loves it! She is able to hold her head up for 5-10 minutes before it starts to lag back. While holding her on her back or while lying on her back on the boppy pillow, she is starting to try to pull her head up a little. The last couple of days she is starting to stay awake a little longer. I think she is trying to stay awake between her 10:00 feeding and 1:00 feeding. All of these things are good news!!

She is loving her massages!! Susan says that before the massage you should ask your baby if they are ready for a massage...she is always ready...too bad we can't record voices on this blog...I wish I could record her excited squeal! So much fun! Then, she smiles and coos the whole time! It is such a great bonding experience for us.

We started the Prevacid tonight...hoped to start it this morning, but there was a mix-up at the pharmacy...they gave us the capsules instead of the solutabs, so I wasn't able to pick up the corrected prescription until this evening.

Please think of me tomorrow...I am going to try to give Lydia her shot for the first time. I have been drawing it up into the needle for about a week now, but so far the nurses have actually given the shot when they were here. My grandfather's wife, Ms Pat and Nannie J's mom, Celine, have helped to give it to her when the nurse didn't come. I've just decided that if Lydia is tough enough to receive the shot...I need to be just as tough as she is. Ms Pat suggested that I practice on an orange...the nurse left a message today saying, "I hope you've been practicing on your orange," so I guess I'd better get ready. I'll try it tonight and in the morning to be ready when she comes. I think I can do it.

A couple of things I forgot to mention from yesterday's GI visit:
-Though most babies outgrow reflux at around 4-6 months, Dr Alberty predicts that Lydia may struggle with this indefinitely...well into adulthood. He also said that, with her medical history, he wouldn't be surprised if she develops even more GI problems....not good news.
-He wants us to monitor how she does on the twice-a-day Prevacid...if she seems to do well for about two weeks, she can start eating baby food...fun! Though, I predict that texture will be an issue for her...her gag reflux is very strong. I hope she surprises me.

I was reading a journal on the Caring Bridge site tonight of a little boy that goes to Elise's Mother's Day Out. He is seventeen months old and was in a car accident on Christmas Day. He has been in the PICU since then. We've all been saying that God doesn't give us any more than what we can handle. I was deeply moved and amazed at the words that his mother wrote...so faith-filled and positive...and even a sense of humor...amazing! I know that our family is going through a lot, but I could not imagine what that must be like....a child who is perfectly healthy one minute, then fighting for his life the next. I think God hand-picked her and her husband to be an inspiration to others through this crisis.

Elise's celebration:
Elise's teacher told me today that she is starting to interact more with the other kids. Up until this point, she has always been an observer...standing back watching everyone else. Now she is actually starting to try to play with them. That is great news!! I think it means that she feels more confident...her new language skills are no doubt playing a part in that. Her teacher says that she is able to communicate with her more and more...though sometimes she has trouble deciphering her words (so do I!).

Audrey's celebration:
She had her second dentist appointment today, and she did absolutely fantastic again!! She was a little stand-offish at first...she kept saying, "I want Lisee to go first." (As it turns out, Lisee didn't go at all...chickened out :) But, the dental hygenist was wonderful...she was from Brusly actually...Brandi Andreas. She asked Audrey to come sit in the chair and she'd show her all her "toys," which were actually her tools. Audrey was very intrigued, so she did. Then, Brandi told her she was going to give her pretty princess teeth...enough said...Audrey was hooked! She sat so still and let her do everything...she even had x-rays done...she is still talking about her pretty princess teeth!