5 Months Old

Sometimes I look back and think it seems like so long ago when we first met Anna and all of the emotions and pain we experienced with her birth. It is hard to remember a time when she was not part of our family. On the other hand it is hard to believe that our little miracle is 5 months old.

Anna has had a good couple of weeks. We have had a few bumps in the road but we have had some progress. A few weeks ago she had a barium swallow. This test confirmed what we already knew. Anna has severe reflux. Everything else looked fine. I was concerned while the test was being performed because from start to finish the test took about 3 ½ hours. I was in the room for part of the procedure and was able to see the live x-ray that should the barium being brought back up into her esophagus. We also had an incident where another Pediatrician changed the dosage on some of the medications when we went to have them refilled. The Pharmacist called the doctors office because he felt the dose was too high for a 10 pound baby. They cut the dose in half not knowing her history. It was a long weekend until we were able to get in contact with our Pediatrician and get the dose straightened out. The evenings are still the worst time. We have become so accustomed to her “fussy” time. Anna has started eating cereal and seems to enjoy it. Late last week she weighed in at around 11 pounds.

Anna has become very interested in her surroundings. She is so observant and is taking in everything that happens. She also loves her sisters. She gets so excited when she sees either of them. Lissie loves to talk to her and she keeps a count of how many smiles she has gotten (I think she is somewhere around 200 smiles at this point). Jill on the other hand loves to harass her little sister but Anna still get so excited when Jill plays with her.
We are still trying to figure our Anna’s nickname. Jill quickly got the nickname Jilly Bean which has been shortened to Bean. Lissie which is already short for Elisabeth has the nicknames Lou and Lisser. Baba (my Mom) likes to call her Anna Banana and sometimes David calls her Belle. I am sure over time something will stick

Anna had a good day at home today. The Pediatrician recommended that we stay home today with her to make sure that she ate well and did not get sick. She spent a quiet morning home with me. I was able to catch up on a little housework while trying to do some of my job form home. She spent the afternoon with David. It was not so quiet. Anna is not the Daddy’s girls that Jill is. After about 3 ½ hours together, David called for assistance and I could hear the screaming in the background. I returned home to a smiling baby. I think that she already likes to test her Dad.

Anna returns to daycare tomorrow. The newest challenge is how to get Anna her mid day dose of her medication. The staff at the daycare cannot administer the medication so this means that we will have to go everyday to give it to her. Since I work within a couple of miles from the day care and David works 30 miles away, I will have to take my lunch everyday and go to the daycare. I will have to sneak in past the toddler room where Jill is to avoid a “Mommy sighting” and hopefully Anna will not get too mad when I come to give her the medication and do not take her home. Not an ideal situation but it is what needs to be done.

Home, again

This afternoon we made it home, again. Anna was released from the hospital. She had lost a little more weight this morning but the Pediatrician new of my desire to get home with the entire family. We have to watch her very carefully and make sure that she eats enough. She got her new medications. One to decrease the acid production (a different one) and one to coat the esophagus so it does not make her so uncomfortable. Also her feedings have to be thickened. They are so thick that it almost looks like actual cereal that you would feed a baby. We have to cut all of the nipples on her bottles. She seems happy and content.

We were so excited to have everyone home but we quickly realized that our little adventure had worn on everyone. Lissie was tired and wanted a corn dog. Jill was in desperate need of a nap. Anna wanted it to be like in the hospital, held all the time. David and I looked at each other and smiled. We knew that this was home and this is where we wanted to be.