Emily Update

Miss Emily is getting sooooo big! Can you believe she is 3mos today?!?! We certainly cannot!!!! At her 2mo appt she was 13lbs 15oz (99%) and 23.5” (76%)…a week later when she was checked in Iowa City she was 13lbs 10oz (1st time her weight has gone down since birth!) and 24”. Basically, that all means she’s a big girl!

Overall, she’s doing well, but we have had a few bumps in the road. On May 8th she ran a random fever—101.7—and slept a ton. My first thought was UTI, but the next day her temp was gone and she was back to normal, so I figured it was just some random thing. Then we went to Iowa City on the 10th, and as part of her appt they did a urinalysis, and guess what? Yup—her 2nd UTI in 2mos. So they started her on Bactrim while the sample was being cultured. The following Saturday, I got a call that the bacteria causing her infection was very resistant and she needed to be switched to Cipro. I didn’t think it was a big deal, as I’ve been on it before, and it wasn’t expensive. Well, it WAS a big deal. For starters, apparently, it’s a $4 prescription in pill form. In liquid form they wanted $116!!!!!! And that was AFTER a $30-40 discount from the insurance company! On top of that it comes in a huge bottle and the pharmacist said we’d only be using 1/10 of the bottle. Talk about a major rip off. Long story short we ended up getting it in pill form, cutting it into quarters and crushing it so we could give it to her.

The second reason it was a much bigger deal than I thought is that this drug is hardly ever used in kids—especially babies. The pharmacist told me he was reluctant to fill it, but the dr that called in the prescription was insistent that this was the med she needed. I read all of the warnings in the pamphlet and in big letters it said to use w/extreme caution in kids under 18yrs of age!!! Uh, she’s not even close to that old! And the list of side effects went on and on. On top of that, it said that symptoms can occur months after stopping the meds. Great!

Fortunately, Em seemed to do OK w/the meds, overall. The first dose I mixed w/water and gave to her through a medicine dropper like the pharmacist said to do. Saying it didn’t go well is a HUGE understatement. Immediately, I could hear her stomach working, she started crying and gagging. It was just awful! She cried for a good 45mins until she cried herself to sleep. After that we mixed it w/her formula and thankfully had no problems! So, now we’re done w/that and back to her daily meds—which was switched from Amoxicillin to Bactrim. Hopefully, we’ve seen the last of these darn UTI’s.

Unfortunately, the UTI wasn’t the only bad news we received at her appt in Iowa City. The tests showed that Emily now has reflux…which could explain her UTI’s. Dr. C said that it’s possible that it’ll go away on its own, but that when it’s caused by a ureterocele puncture it rarely does. Not the news we wanted to hear. So, Em goes back next May. At that time, if she still has reflux he wants to do a reconstructive surgery on her urinary tract to fix the problem. All 3 of our kiddos have had surgery once. I have no desire for any of them to go through it again…or for Josh and I to go through it either! At the same time, if he can do something that will prevent her from dealing w/the issues I’ve dealt with all my life…sounds like a good thing. So, I have a year to think and worry about all that.

On the positive side--Emily is an AWESOME sleeper! The night before I went back to work she started sleeping through the night! That girl sure has timing! :) She goes down for the night at about 7:30pm and is usually up around 5:45/6:00ish. Maybe she'll start sleeping in now that we're on summer break? A mommy can only hope!

May 4th was Emily’s first day at daycare.

Snoozing when we arrived...

Starting to wake up...

Cuddling w/Lisa

Naked Baby! She spit up all over herself...shocker. LOL

She has definitely kept Lisa on her toes, between spitting up all over the place, pooping all over the place, and only taking random naps. Thank goodness Lisa loves her! And it helps that the spitting up has lessened quite a bit these last few weeks. She loves Lisa’s swing and looking out her windows at the trees. Heck she just loves the outdoors period! I also hear that she’s enjoying the little play gym Lisa got for her pack ‘n’ play.

I had a really hard time leaving Miss Emily at daycare the first day…well, every day. Fortunately, Lisa has been great. She’s texted me pics, emailed me updates, and keeps track of Em’s day for me…all of which makes me feel better. I’m just looking forward to summer break so that I can spend more cuddle time w/her!

Some of Em’s milestones:

*smiles a lot...especially during naked-girl time!

*coos and "talks" to us

*grabbing at clothes, blankets, and toys

*drooling

*enjoying her paci, but still working on her fist/thumb

*giving thumbs up

*VERY aware of everything that’s going on

*lifting and holding head steady and some of her chest

*LOVES to nap w/Daddy!

She’s still sleeping in our room, which I like and Josh is ready to be done with. LOL Her crib was recalled, and I’ve finally ordered a new one. So, I’m sure that soon enough Josh will get his way, and Miss Emily will finally move into her own room. She’s going to be too big for the bassinette soon, so I suppose it’s a good thing. Does it sound weird to say I’ll miss her, though? But maybe once she's in her crib she'll start napping normally...i.e. taking long naps somewhere other than in her swing!