Christmas Eve
Christmas Morning
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Little Rosie
So, Hollyn had an interesting Christmas holiday. The day before, Saturday, she developed a rash that quickly spread over her entire body, from head to toe. Christmas day it was even worse and Brian and I were wracking our brains trying to figure out what she could be allergic to. Would the somewhat new detergent get her entire face like that? Was it the soy formula, which I've already been suspicious of because Hollyn has been sick more than well since early October when the formula usage increased, or maybe the milk formula which I hadn't used since she was a month old because it seemed to correlate with some eczema. Ugh! I tried removing the milk one day, the soy and next, and for the life of me I couldn't figure out what could be getting her reacting this way.
Well, the Dr. was finally back in today, and along with everyone else in the entire county, we managed to get an appointment. Turns out it's not an allergic reaction at all. Little Hollyn is a victim of the apparently very common Roseola virus. Sheesh. So many hours of sleep wasted in needless worrying.
Well, the Dr. was finally back in today, and along with everyone else in the entire county, we managed to get an appointment. Turns out it's not an allergic reaction at all. Little Hollyn is a victim of the apparently very common Roseola virus. Sheesh. So many hours of sleep wasted in needless worrying.
Monday, December 12, 2011
8 months next week & more
Hollyn had a pediatric assessment today. She was pretty tired because she'd already been up 2 hours before the session started (and an hour and a half is usually about how long she tolerates being awake,) but she managed to show a pretty typical version of herself to the nice specialist. In the end she's about right on for her age, with some areas to work with. One was the demonstration of understanding "object permanence", meaning if you cover a toy, for example, they'll go for it because they understand that the object still exists. In Hollyn's case, it's not a concept I've tested her for myself, but she didn't really do it at the office today. Of course in her defense, the specialist was hiding toys with a paper towel, and since Hollyn loves paper, she was just taking that part and ignoring the toy. It's like covering broccoli with ice cream and expecting the veggie to be sought after. ;-) Anyway, it's something to work on at home.
Another aspect to keep a watch on is her complacency. She so mellow, which is good, but we don't want it to an extreme. We're supposed to play and be silly with her and help her flex those emotions.
Finally, the area to be most mindful of right now is regarding eating. Hollyn does not like baby food (homemade or store bought) and she'll only eat things like cheerios/baby puffs if I place them in her mouth as she doesn't really try to eat them when they're placed in front of her. At the end of the evaluation I mentioned her gagging reflex being so strong, and also the fact that she's never seemed to swallow correctly. On a few occasions she has swallowed differently, and when she has the bottles have suddenly worked as advertised (venting), and she didn't leak milk all over herself. Similarly, she never sucked on a pacifier. She would chew on it for a few seconds, but that's as good as it got. So, the plan is to give it some more time, but if I can't get her to eat enough, she may be seen for occupational therapy for eating.
We had a great time visiting the Stevenson relatives in Idaho over Thanksgiving. As usual, the camera stayed hidden except for one photo-shoot. Below, the boys built some things with the K'Nex at grana's.
Last Friday Brennan, along with the other 1st graders and kinders, put on a music concert at school. It was cute. I caught 2 songs before rushing out to take Asher to his first day of preschool, and when I got back 15 min later it was over. Mom was standing in the gym holding Hollyn while some workers put chairs away around her. I wish that they had mentioned that the concert was only half an hour long. I'd assumed it was an hour. If I'd known, I could have stayed for the whole thing and just taken Asher to preschool 10 min late. Ugh. Mom says the other songs were really cute though. Also, I ran out of memory on my camera after 1 picture and 6 seconds of video. :-(
Another aspect to keep a watch on is her complacency. She so mellow, which is good, but we don't want it to an extreme. We're supposed to play and be silly with her and help her flex those emotions.
Finally, the area to be most mindful of right now is regarding eating. Hollyn does not like baby food (homemade or store bought) and she'll only eat things like cheerios/baby puffs if I place them in her mouth as she doesn't really try to eat them when they're placed in front of her. At the end of the evaluation I mentioned her gagging reflex being so strong, and also the fact that she's never seemed to swallow correctly. On a few occasions she has swallowed differently, and when she has the bottles have suddenly worked as advertised (venting), and she didn't leak milk all over herself. Similarly, she never sucked on a pacifier. She would chew on it for a few seconds, but that's as good as it got. So, the plan is to give it some more time, but if I can't get her to eat enough, she may be seen for occupational therapy for eating.
We had a great time visiting the Stevenson relatives in Idaho over Thanksgiving. As usual, the camera stayed hidden except for one photo-shoot. Below, the boys built some things with the K'Nex at grana's.
Last Friday Brennan, along with the other 1st graders and kinders, put on a music concert at school. It was cute. I caught 2 songs before rushing out to take Asher to his first day of preschool, and when I got back 15 min later it was over. Mom was standing in the gym holding Hollyn while some workers put chairs away around her. I wish that they had mentioned that the concert was only half an hour long. I'd assumed it was an hour. If I'd known, I could have stayed for the whole thing and just taken Asher to preschool 10 min late. Ugh. Mom says the other songs were really cute though. Also, I ran out of memory on my camera after 1 picture and 6 seconds of video. :-(
Sunday, November 13, 2011
7 months next week
Hollyn has been funny when it's some to the milestone of sitting. Just last week I was still saying that she was nowhere close to sitting by herself. She has for a while now though gotten herself into a sudo sitting position by leaning on one hand while she chewed on things with the other. Well, once yesterday and many times today I found her sitting the official way, all by herself. What's funny to me is that she completely skipped that part where we practice and, without the dutiful attention of an adult, the constant tipping over. She doesn't tip, but she also doesn't stay sitting for very long. She'll sit for a couple seconds, then take off again. She does it like a pro though. From "nowhere close" to sitting like she's always done it - literally overnight. What a silly girl!
She's starting to enjoy "solids" now, although it can take several tries before she'll tolerate a new flavor.
Over the last month I started getting really worried about Hollyn. It started with her spending time with her tongue hanging out and a sort of blank/uninterested look on her face. Because it looked a little odd, I started realizing that her behavior was different. She was often fussy (very unusual for her, as you know) and also stopped interacting with us as much as she had been. I brought it up with her Dr. at her 6 month check and even at the appointment, she would look at me, but not smile back despite my efforts. My Dr., who is great about following mothers' instincts, told me that we have several really good early-intervention facilities in our area and he would refer Hollyn for an assessment. During that time, I was sick, but Hollyn didn't seem to have my symptoms, so I wasn't sure. Well, not long after her appointment, she got those symptoms, and now seems totally back to normal. All I can figure is that she spent like 3 weeks just not feeling terribly well. I am SO relieved. She is back to being happy, interactive, and her old self.
Hollyn is SO exploratory. She makes her way to every corner, and even now into shelves where she's started pulling things out. This girl won't allow herself to be held the typical way. She doesn't necessarily fuss if you're carrying her, but she definitely won't let you hold her any usual or comfortable way. She pushes herself away and twists her body to face the way she wants to face. If you're sitting, good luck. She will not snuggle, or even sit still unless she's tired enough to enter the zombie state. Otherwise, she kicks, squirms, tries to grab your face, or pushes herself away. She can't be bothered to just chill with a loved one. She's got places to go, people to see. It's so funny. I love this busy girl.
She's starting to enjoy "solids" now, although it can take several tries before she'll tolerate a new flavor.
Over the last month I started getting really worried about Hollyn. It started with her spending time with her tongue hanging out and a sort of blank/uninterested look on her face. Because it looked a little odd, I started realizing that her behavior was different. She was often fussy (very unusual for her, as you know) and also stopped interacting with us as much as she had been. I brought it up with her Dr. at her 6 month check and even at the appointment, she would look at me, but not smile back despite my efforts. My Dr., who is great about following mothers' instincts, told me that we have several really good early-intervention facilities in our area and he would refer Hollyn for an assessment. During that time, I was sick, but Hollyn didn't seem to have my symptoms, so I wasn't sure. Well, not long after her appointment, she got those symptoms, and now seems totally back to normal. All I can figure is that she spent like 3 weeks just not feeling terribly well. I am SO relieved. She is back to being happy, interactive, and her old self.
Hollyn is SO exploratory. She makes her way to every corner, and even now into shelves where she's started pulling things out. This girl won't allow herself to be held the typical way. She doesn't necessarily fuss if you're carrying her, but she definitely won't let you hold her any usual or comfortable way. She pushes herself away and twists her body to face the way she wants to face. If you're sitting, good luck. She will not snuggle, or even sit still unless she's tired enough to enter the zombie state. Otherwise, she kicks, squirms, tries to grab your face, or pushes herself away. She can't be bothered to just chill with a loved one. She's got places to go, people to see. It's so funny. I love this busy girl.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)