Sick Baby Sophie

Sophie was admitted to the hospital Tuesday evening for dehydration. She got an IV for fluids and the diarrhea seemed to clear up quickly. However on her first night there, she began to have cold/cough symptoms and she tested positive for RSV Thursday.



We're home now trying to observe her closely for any trouble breathing or wheezing. She coughs a lot, is really congested, and is pretty miserable. I can't wait to have my healthy, happy baby back. Please send lots of well wishes and prayers her way.

Grandma, what big ears you have . . .

Madeline and I had a good laugh at Leroy's expense this morning.

What do ya mean I'm sick?

Me, sick? You must be kidding. I am way too happy . . .



Sophie seems on the road to recovery. Although she still has too many yucky diapers, her appetite is increasing.



Her mood, on the other hand, was never under the weather.

Sophie Update

Well, yesterday evening, Sophie's diarrhea took a turn for the worst. After her 9th dirty diaper, I decided to take her to the urgent care where she blew out 2 more additional diapers while we talked to the doctor there. I was told to take her to the ER for fear of dehydration. The doctor said they would likely run some labs and possibly an IV. She called the hospital ahead for us, and we were on our way. I got to the ER at 7:40 pm. At about 9:00, we were sent to "Express Care" to wait some more. At, 10:30, they finally called Sophie's name only to say that since the Express Care would be closing, and we would be needing some lab work, we were being sent back to the ER to wait some more. At about 11:00 pm, we were sent to one of the rooms in the ER, where we waited until 2:00 am to finally be seen by a doctor. By this time, Sophie had gone through all of the additional diapers I'd packed, and I was sqeezing her into the hospital's swaddlers, which she continued to tear through. I think she had a total of 15 diarrhea episodes in all. The doctor, the first to see her since 7:00, looked at her smiling face, her eyes and mouth and sent us home, no labs, no IV. He said," she doesn't appear dehydrated yet, just keep doing what you're doing." What a waste of time. I finally got home at 2:30 am after exposing her to 8 hours of germs for nothing. We're continueing to give her fluids, but other than that, I guess we'll just let this virus run its course and try to stop worrying so much. Yeah, right.

Poor Sick Sophie!

Poor sick Sophie! I noticed she seemed to be eating less and less over the last few days. Then she began having diarrhea, exploding on to me and wrecking several of her outfits. Last night she projectile vomited all over her crib and woke this morning with a completely dry diaper. So, it was back to the doctor today where we discovered she had lost 9 ounces in the past 48 hours. It seems she has contracted a stomach virus. We've been instructed to give her pedialyte and watch her for signs of dehydration. If she goes more than 6 hours without a wet diaper (she went almost 10 last night), we'll need to take to the ER for some IV fluids. I doubt it will come to that as she just downed 2 ounces of pedialyte and has gone several hours without any diarrea episodes. Bless her heart, she hasn't been complaining much at all!

Solids

We gave Sophie some rice cereal the other night and let Madeline do the honors. The cereal came right back out, and the same thing happened when we tried today. She's not like Maddie was as a baby. Madeline gobbled the cereal up like we'd been starving her for her first four months.



Sophie woke up with a fever today; from the shots I'm sure. She's not too hungry and only drinks about 3 ounces at each feeding. She is still sleeping beautifully through the night, which is a good thing since I have one last week of leave. The transition will be difficult, but at least I won't be getting up in the night in addition to rising at 5:00 am! Way too early!!!!!!

Sophie's Check-Up

Sophie had her 4 month well baby exam today, and as usual, is doing great. She weighs 14 pounds, 9 ounces (50-75th percentile), and is 24 3/4 inches long (75-90th percentile). She got four shots, but she really didn't cry that much. She smiled and laughed at the doctor and had a grand time making the exam table's paper crinkle. We're going to feed her some rice cereal tonight, so I'll post some pictures of that tomorrow.

Sophie is such a happy and easy baby; I feel so lucky. When I check on her in the morning or after naps, I usually find her with eyes open and a smile on her face. She falls asleep before 8 now, usually while I am reading to Maddie in the same room with the light on. Two nights ago, Maddie was sent to her room before bedtime, and Sophie slept right through her sister's 15 minute tantrum. So now I worry a whole lot less about them waking eachother up at night!

Superbowl Sunday

We spent Sunday in Riverside with Jessie and Adam. The boys went golfing in the morning, then spent the afternoon glued to the game. What did Madeline do? She went swimming. Since it was 82 degrees outside, we pulled out the pool and filled it up.Yep, that's Aunt Jessie in the background. Looking quite svelt exactly one month from her due date.

February

As Sophie approaches her 4 month birthday, she is spending a lot of time on her back and tummy while we try to coax her to roll over. She can get up on her side, but is not rolling over yet. She has a well baby check-up Wednesday, so we'll see what her weight and length are up to . . .




It is a beautiful day in LA today. Madeline and I went to the library, then to Home Depot for paint swatches. I am going to attempt to repaint the living room before returning to work. We love our gold walls, but after 5 years, we are ready for a change.

In other news, we are anxiously awaiting the birth of Emmet. Jessie, at 35 weeks, has already begun the process of effacing and dialating. We're all hoping for a February birthday!

Jessie, Adam, and Emmet's Shower

I helped host a shower for my little sister today. Grandma Mel, Grandma Elaine, and Jessie's best friend Kim flew in for the event. They joined about 35 other guests for a fun filled afternoon.

Here's Jessie at 35 weeks, and Kim at 24 weeks. Their boys will be the best of friends!

Hmmm, How Big are We?

Really Cute Stuff

The onsie activity turned out to be a hit. Look how creative and artistic some of Jessie's friends are!



Rebecca, who hosted the shower, made the adorable fruit salad carriage.

Things Are Changing Around Here . . .

With only three weeks of leave left, things are beginning to change in our house. It is hard to believe that I have not worked since September and have been off for 17 weeks now. I have really enjoyed the time with my girls, but I am surprised to find myself looking forward to returning to work. It helps to know that summer vacation is only a few months away.



Sophie is changing so quickly. She and Maddie share a room now, and both sleep peacefully through the night without waking the other. Sophie is working really hard at trying to roll from her back to her tummy. In fact, she is so wiggly and active that we took our saucer out of storage, and she is not even 4 months old yet! She actually protests when I try to plunk her into her papasan chair.



Madeline is growing way too fast. I can't believe she'll be in kindergarten in 18 months. My return to work will likely be most difficult for her as she is quite happy about leaving preschool at nap time. She also gave herself her first haircut this week; she chopped a good chunk off the front creating some bangs. Luckily, I caught her after the first snip. Pretty funny, in hindsight of course.

Another Day at the Zoo

We spent another morning at the zoo today. This is where Maddie threw pennies into the fountain and enjoyed climbing on the rocks. It's funny because I think Maddie's favorite parts of the zoo are the fountain, the playground, and the snacks rather than the animals. We did a lot more walking than site seeing due to the zoo's construction detours. Besides, my goal was to push the heavy stroller with 50 pounds of kids up the steepest hills we could find.Madeline scored a drink in a seal container. Just a little splurge while Sophie dined on formula.

Monday Morning

Ahhhh, aren't they cute!
Look what I made at preschool, Sophie!
Even more ways for Sophie to enjoy her papasan chair and get some tummy time, too!

Carrie's Baby Shower

Carrie is just about the happiest, most beautiful, well educated Mom-to-be I've ever seen. What a lucky baby she and Lyman will bring into the world. It was an honor to help host a shower for such a wonderful friend yesterday.

Bedtime Stories

Story time with both of my babies.

Mommy Maddie

This motherhood stuff is a lot harder than I thought! Will I ever get any work done around here?????????

M-A-D-E-L-I-N-E

Madeline used some special crayons (a gift from Aunt Dawn) to write her name on our wall during bath time last night. Can you find all 8 letters?

Mmmmm, Plastic

My toys taste yummy!

Friday Night

Friday night with the fam.

Sophie

Sweet baby has a cold. She can grasp toys and get them into her mouth now. Yippee!

I'm Three Months Old!

Look at me! I am 3 months old now! Mommy is so proud of me because l slept from 8:00 last night until 8:00 this morning and I only woke up once at 5:30 to eat! Then I spent a couple hours with Betty and got an excellent report. Betty thinks I am "so cute" and "such a good baby."

Tummy Time

Friends

Maddie had her two best friends, Andrew and Ethan, over to play on Saturday. They had lots of fun playing outside and hiding in her closet.

Matching Jammies

I have enjoyed buying the girls some matching outfits. Here they are wearing matching jammies. Now that Sophie is sleeping in the crib, she has totally regressed in her night sleeping. She has been waking up twice instead of once, so I think she'll be returning to our room. As Kent puts it, "We're getting the band back together."

Camping with Gramps

Madeline spent the night with Grandpa and Grandma in their camper Wednesday night. She had a great time with their undivided attention and even went out for pancakes the next morning.

L.A. Zoo

Some pictures of Madeline playing at the zoo yesterday.