NEVER go upstairs to put Lily's clothes away while she plays in the living room. It doesn't matter that she knows better than to touch the fireplace.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Lily's Medical News
Well, this cold has been hanging on for quite awhile now, but I think Lily's on the mend. The cough is intermittent, not continuous, but it continued to get worse instead of better. We got a prescription cough/cold medicine last Friday, which helped to loosen up some of the congestion, but the cough still got worse over the weekend. She was having a really hard time with solid foods, and of course formula made the yucky stuff in her throat even worse. Sunday night was the worst - Lily's breathing was labored while she slept, her oxygen saturation was in the 80s instead of 90s (good thing we bought the pulse ox, huh?), and she kept waking herself up with her coughing. Mommy didn't get much sleep at all, and even Daddy was awake periodically throughout the night. Lily slept through the desats, but she was really upset each time she woke up coughing.
So Dr. Dickerson ordered a chest x-ray Monday morning, along with a CBC and a blood culture. The tech printed the x-ray film for me, so I was able to see for myself and take the image to Dr. Dickerson instead of just the radiologist's report. Lily's lungs definitely have fluid in them, but the x-ray looks about the same as the last one that was taken. Granted, she was still on oxygen then, but we've certainly seen worse x-rays. The radiologist's report indicated bronchopneumonia, but Dr. Dickerson says it's hard to say how much of that was already there because of Lily's chronic lung disease and how much is new, from her current cold.
Because of the way the cough and congestion gets a little better and then gets worse again, Dr. Dickerson suspects allergies may be at least part of the cause. But on the other hand, this could really be pneumonia, and her lungs are suffering from this illness, not just the preexisting lung disease. So she covered both bases by prescribing a five-day course of Zythromax, along with over the counter children's Claritin. Lily was a LOT better the very next day after starting the new meds, and has improved each day since then. No more waking up during the night, and the cough is seldom. Still sounds bad when she coughs, but now it's only once or twice every few hours.
Due to the difficulty with the solid foods, though, Dr. Dickerson also ordered another swallow study. So we're going to do that tomorrow. Next week, we have Lily's Tiny Tots follow-up with Dr. Evans, a visit with Dr. Jon in pulmonology, and we're also going to see the neurologist next week. Busy week.
The neurology appointment had me a little worked up at first, but my friend Kristina, who is a pediatric nurse, assured me there's no cause for alarm. See, we were initially told that we couldn't get in to see the neurologist until mid-June. Even Dr. Dickerson couldn't get us into their schedule earlier - the neurology nurse told her to fax Lily's medical records to them, and the neurologist would review them and decide if Lily needed to get in sooner. So she did, and then yesterday they called to say that Lily has an appointment next week. So my first thought was that the neurologist saw something bad and wanted to get Lily in right away... But Kristina said that's not necessarily the case, so I guess I'll wait until they actually have bad news before I get too excited.
So that's the news with Lily's health... Just a lot of doctor visits coming up, and she seems to be getting over her "bronchopneumonia."
So Dr. Dickerson ordered a chest x-ray Monday morning, along with a CBC and a blood culture. The tech printed the x-ray film for me, so I was able to see for myself and take the image to Dr. Dickerson instead of just the radiologist's report. Lily's lungs definitely have fluid in them, but the x-ray looks about the same as the last one that was taken. Granted, she was still on oxygen then, but we've certainly seen worse x-rays. The radiologist's report indicated bronchopneumonia, but Dr. Dickerson says it's hard to say how much of that was already there because of Lily's chronic lung disease and how much is new, from her current cold.
Because of the way the cough and congestion gets a little better and then gets worse again, Dr. Dickerson suspects allergies may be at least part of the cause. But on the other hand, this could really be pneumonia, and her lungs are suffering from this illness, not just the preexisting lung disease. So she covered both bases by prescribing a five-day course of Zythromax, along with over the counter children's Claritin. Lily was a LOT better the very next day after starting the new meds, and has improved each day since then. No more waking up during the night, and the cough is seldom. Still sounds bad when she coughs, but now it's only once or twice every few hours.
Due to the difficulty with the solid foods, though, Dr. Dickerson also ordered another swallow study. So we're going to do that tomorrow. Next week, we have Lily's Tiny Tots follow-up with Dr. Evans, a visit with Dr. Jon in pulmonology, and we're also going to see the neurologist next week. Busy week.
The neurology appointment had me a little worked up at first, but my friend Kristina, who is a pediatric nurse, assured me there's no cause for alarm. See, we were initially told that we couldn't get in to see the neurologist until mid-June. Even Dr. Dickerson couldn't get us into their schedule earlier - the neurology nurse told her to fax Lily's medical records to them, and the neurologist would review them and decide if Lily needed to get in sooner. So she did, and then yesterday they called to say that Lily has an appointment next week. So my first thought was that the neurologist saw something bad and wanted to get Lily in right away... But Kristina said that's not necessarily the case, so I guess I'll wait until they actually have bad news before I get too excited.
So that's the news with Lily's health... Just a lot of doctor visits coming up, and she seems to be getting over her "bronchopneumonia."
Pictures at the Duck Pond
We went back to feed the ducks again over the weekend. Enjoy the pictures! This time the ducks were more spread out, so Lily was able to get down on the ground. She really wanted to get the little ducklings. Oh, if you look closely, you can see the goose taking the bread right out of Dusty's hand.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Happy Baby
I love this picture of Lily and I playing together this afternoon. I can almost hear her shrieking laughter when I look at the picture.
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Feeding the Ducks
Lily and I have been going for a lot of walks lately, usually first thing in the morning. As soon as she wakes up, I get her bottle ready before I even get her out of bed. She goes straight into the jogger, I hand her the bottle, and we're off. We'll see how long I can keep this early-morning activity stuff going. If you don't know me very well, you may be surprised to learn that I am absolutely NOT a morning person, and early-morning workouts are not my cup of tea. Those of you who do know me well have probably fainted at the shock of me going for a walk before I've even checked my email or had a chance to drink a Diet Pepsi. It's just that this is the easiest time to go for a walk because it's still cool outside. We can't really go in the evenings when it cools off because of Lily's dinner and bedtime.
So anyway, today our walk was in the afternoon because we were busy this morning. I decided to take some bread along with us, and we went up to the front of our subdivision, where the ducks are. I thought we would sit in the shade and toss the bread to the ducks. Well I was in for a surprise!
Apparently the ducks around here are very accustomed to being fed. They saw us coming from a block away and started heading toward us. We arrived at the first cluster of ducks, and I parked the stroller in the grass and sat Lily down on the ground. As soon as we had stopped, the ducks were swarming. Once they saw the plastic bag with food inside, they came in closer and started chomping their little duck bills in eager anticipation. It was hilarious! I was afraid they might think Lily was a piece of food (they were all clustered around my feet), so I held her while we tossed the bread to the ducks. Lily didn't really know what to think of them at first.
Then we headed further toward the front of the subdivision, where we found a lot more ducks, and that's where the babies were. There must have been at least 20 tiny little yellow ducklings, and there were about 4 that were a little older. I'm telling you, I've never seen such greedy ducks in my whole life, and the babies were just as bad as the adults! There were also a few big geese honking loudly and following us around, begging for food. A couple of the ducks even flew up over the others to get closer to the food.
Once Lily realized that the ducks were following us because of the bread, she thought it was really funny! She kept looking back and forth between me and the ducks, laughing her head off. She especially liked when the ducks flew toward us, and she liked watching the tiny ducklings scurry toward the food that I would throw toward the middle of their group.
I have fed ducks many times before, but this was a whole new experience. I wish I had taken the camera with us this afternoon! Maybe we'll go back in a few days.
So anyway, today our walk was in the afternoon because we were busy this morning. I decided to take some bread along with us, and we went up to the front of our subdivision, where the ducks are. I thought we would sit in the shade and toss the bread to the ducks. Well I was in for a surprise!
Apparently the ducks around here are very accustomed to being fed. They saw us coming from a block away and started heading toward us. We arrived at the first cluster of ducks, and I parked the stroller in the grass and sat Lily down on the ground. As soon as we had stopped, the ducks were swarming. Once they saw the plastic bag with food inside, they came in closer and started chomping their little duck bills in eager anticipation. It was hilarious! I was afraid they might think Lily was a piece of food (they were all clustered around my feet), so I held her while we tossed the bread to the ducks. Lily didn't really know what to think of them at first.
Then we headed further toward the front of the subdivision, where we found a lot more ducks, and that's where the babies were. There must have been at least 20 tiny little yellow ducklings, and there were about 4 that were a little older. I'm telling you, I've never seen such greedy ducks in my whole life, and the babies were just as bad as the adults! There were also a few big geese honking loudly and following us around, begging for food. A couple of the ducks even flew up over the others to get closer to the food.
Once Lily realized that the ducks were following us because of the bread, she thought it was really funny! She kept looking back and forth between me and the ducks, laughing her head off. She especially liked when the ducks flew toward us, and she liked watching the tiny ducklings scurry toward the food that I would throw toward the middle of their group.
I have fed ducks many times before, but this was a whole new experience. I wish I had taken the camera with us this afternoon! Maybe we'll go back in a few days.
15-Month Well-Check
Lily had her 15-month well-check with Dr. Dickerson today. Great news! Lily's weight is in the 50th percentile, and her length is in the 60th! For corrected age, of course, but that's still awesome. We were beginning to wonder if she would ever hit the chart for length, and now she's jumped into the 60th percentile. So she really did exactly what the nutritionist suspected - she stretched instead of gaining much weight these past couple of months. Today's weight was 17 lbs 9 oz, and length was 27 1/2 inches. I don't remember the head circumference measurement, but it was big. So she's average height and weight, and she has a big head. haha... So now the goal is to hit the charts for her actual age by the time she turns 2.
Lily's right ear is still a little red, with some fluid, but it doesn't seem to be bothering her at all. The runny nose has turned into more of a stuffy nose; the cough is not as frequent, although it still sounds terrible when she coughs. Dr. Dickerson said her lungs still sound great, and since the ear infection is not bothering Lily we're not going to treat it with antibiotics right now. Lily's handling her first cold like a little trooper - for the most part, she's playing, eating, and sleeping just like usual.
We're still working on getting the speech therapy and neurology appointments lined up. We're also waiting to see Dr. Jon before we wean the chronic diuretics, although Dr. Dickerson said it's probably time to discontinue those. We'll be transitioning away from the bottle when we make the switch to whole milk, which will probably happen within a month. The nutritionist gave the ok for transitioning to whole milk with Carnation Instant Breakfast added to it, so we're just waiting on some guidance from speech therapy regarding the thickener.
Lily gets to keep her Froggy pacifier for a little while longer, but it's time to start preparing myself for having to take Froggy out of the crib. I can already tell that I'm going to be a lot more upset about it than Lily will be. For me it will be yet another sign that Lily's growing up, she's not a baby anymore. For Lily it will probably just be a couple nights of crying for a few minutes at bedtime. She goes to sleep so easily - we're very spoiled.
Overall, Dr. Dickerson was very pleased with Lily's progress at this well-check. She's perfectly on-target developmentally, and she's eating and growing well. What more can you hope for?
Lily's right ear is still a little red, with some fluid, but it doesn't seem to be bothering her at all. The runny nose has turned into more of a stuffy nose; the cough is not as frequent, although it still sounds terrible when she coughs. Dr. Dickerson said her lungs still sound great, and since the ear infection is not bothering Lily we're not going to treat it with antibiotics right now. Lily's handling her first cold like a little trooper - for the most part, she's playing, eating, and sleeping just like usual.
We're still working on getting the speech therapy and neurology appointments lined up. We're also waiting to see Dr. Jon before we wean the chronic diuretics, although Dr. Dickerson said it's probably time to discontinue those. We'll be transitioning away from the bottle when we make the switch to whole milk, which will probably happen within a month. The nutritionist gave the ok for transitioning to whole milk with Carnation Instant Breakfast added to it, so we're just waiting on some guidance from speech therapy regarding the thickener.
Lily gets to keep her Froggy pacifier for a little while longer, but it's time to start preparing myself for having to take Froggy out of the crib. I can already tell that I'm going to be a lot more upset about it than Lily will be. For me it will be yet another sign that Lily's growing up, she's not a baby anymore. For Lily it will probably just be a couple nights of crying for a few minutes at bedtime. She goes to sleep so easily - we're very spoiled.
Overall, Dr. Dickerson was very pleased with Lily's progress at this well-check. She's perfectly on-target developmentally, and she's eating and growing well. What more can you hope for?
My Own Spoon
We went to Babies R Us today, and Mommy bought me some new spoons. They have short handles, so Mommy thought I would be able to use them by myself. At dinner time, Mommy put some yummy pink strawberry salad on the spoon for me, and I took a big bite right away. Mommy was really excited because I'm such a big girl!
And then I figured out that I can take the food off the spoon with my other hand. That is even better than eating with a spoon. I really like to use my fingers to feed myself. Mommy said we'll keep practicing with the spoon, but I don't see why. Finger foods are the best!
And then I figured out that I can take the food off the spoon with my other hand. That is even better than eating with a spoon. I really like to use my fingers to feed myself. Mommy said we'll keep practicing with the spoon, but I don't see why. Finger foods are the best!
Oh, and these carrots and peaches and pears look really big in the pictures, but they're really small. Mommy started cutting up the carrot slices when I put the whole pieces in my mouth instead of taking bites. Sometimes I do a good job taking bites, but sometimes I get in a hurry and shove lots of food in my mouth at once. Mommy says that's not polite.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
