Doctor

I took Grace to the Pediatrician yesterday. She is finally feeling better, so it was time for her first "well baby" visit. These appointments aren't ever my favorite thing, but the intensity went up a notch this time.

Grace is right in the middle of the "stranger anxiety" phase. Developmentally, this is right on, but all of the new circumstances in her life intensify the effects. For one thing, other than her Daddy, she wants nothing to do with men. This makes sense when you consider the fact that all of her care givers at the orphanage were women. It does make it tougher when the doctor needs to check her out though. He hadn't even touched her with the stethoscope yet when she started screaming. Fortunately, the check-up part of the visit doesn't take very long. Once she had a couple minutes of Mommy cuddle time, she was back to her regular cheery self. She played happily on the table, tearing the heck out of the paper, while I talked with the doctor.

The things we needed to talk about at this visit went way beyond the typical well-baby check-up. We needed to discuss all of the medical history that we were aware of, and of course, what we weren't aware of. That is one of the hardest parts for me. I don't like not knowing. That is such a foreign feeling for this very involved, hands on Mom. We discussed the need to run all kinds of tests. There are some that really need to be done right away, and some that can wait. So, in the interest of not draining her dry, we will do some of the blood tests now, and some at her 1 year check-up. The part that is my least favorite, is the stool testing. Gross!! It is very common for kids that come from Ethiopia to have parasites though, so I'll get over it. I want my girl to grow and be healthy.

Grace's least favorite part of the visit was the shots. She had some in Ethiopia, but the quality is questionable, and the shot record was very vague. The doctor felt it was best to just start over. That meant four shots yesterday, as well as a TB test. She is not likely to decide she likes going to the doctor anytime soon. She has to get shots every two months, get more blood drawn & have at least one more TB test in the next few months. Poor thing!!

On a more positive note, in spite of the obvious discomfort from shots and the total melt down that followed, Grace was really happy to be in my arms. She quieted down almost immediately, and drifted off to sleep as we waited for the nurse to get the lab slips for us. It was hard to watch her scream, but it felt really good to know that she is comforted by me. How I love this baby girl!!!

Kenny

Here is the little cutie with his eyes wide open. He is beautiful Scot and Julie!!

Cousins

My parents were divorced when I was very small, so I have had two families as long as I can remember. I spent most of my time with one family and I visited the other one every Summer and sometimes at Christmas. One of the things I loved about going to see my family was the chance to play with my cousins. Officially, they were my "step" cousins, but it never felt that way. I had other cousins, even the biological kind, but I never saw them. This made the opportunity to hang out together extra special to me. My oldest cousin, and the one closest to me in age, was Julie. She was a little bit younger than me, but that never seemed to matter. We always had a lot of fun together.


As we both grew up, our families ended up moving to different states, and as it tends to do, life happened. We both got married and worked at setting up our homes. I had children and have stayed busy raising them. We had the chance to see each other a few years ago when we all got together to celebrate our grandparents' 50th Anniversary, but we haven't visited since. A few months ago I heard through the family grapevine that Julie was expecting her first baby. I was so excited!


Last Wednesday, Julie gave birth to a son. He is a gorgeous little boy, and has completely enchanted his Mom and Dad. Congratulations Scot and Julie!!


Welcome to the world little one!!!

OUCH!!

Justin had a run in with a pair of swimming goggles. He found out that when he pulls them far out from his face and then lets go, they snap back just like a rubber band. Owee! He had to have special "butterfly" band-aids for the first time. He even helped trim them to just the right size. Unfortunately, his cut was still pretty sore.









Good thing we had a "Dora" band-aid to make it all better!!

New Patio Chairs

What do you do on a rainy evening to pass the time?

Plan for a sunny day of course!

All By Herself

Grace has been sitting up all by herself for the last few days. This is a far cry from the baby that flopped over, even when she was supported, when we picked her up three weeks ago.

Go Grace!!










PS She seems to be feeling much better today. Lots of smiles and no puke!

Vomit Free Zone (VFZ)

You are now entering the Vomit Free Zone! At least I hope it stays that way. I waited to post this until we had lunch and Grace was down for her nap. I wanted to be able to say that we made through a morning without the daily puke bath, and not jinx myself. We Really Made It!!! Grace has had no fever for the past day and a half. She still has the cough, but it seems to be calming down as well. It looks like the Zithromax is doing the trick. We're still keeping our fingers crossed just for good measure though.

Now I'm heading back to the laundry room to try to find my way to the bottom of the piles!

Update: Dang it! I just tried to give Grace her last dose of Zithromax. She gagged on it and puked all over herself, the couch and me. We're off to the bathtub. GRRRRRR!