Updates on 9 month Dr. Appt.

I got a call from Elizabeth's doctor's office last night in regards to the appointment we had the night before. The appt on Monday night was just a well-child visit...no shots...just an exam, and iron/lead testing. They had to prick her little baby finger, and take some sample blood to test. Well, like I've previously stated, the nurse seemed to be having a hard time getting what she needed, and poor Miss E was cooperating so well. She was getting antsy, but, thats because she doesnt like it when you restrict her, and when we had to hold her and her finger/hand still, she was the least bit happy. The type of blood draw that was done on Monday evening was called a capilary draw...beings they just pricked her finger. So, anyways, the nurse said she had enough blood, and we got E all band-aided up and we were on our way. Ok...so, then I got a call last night saying that we need to come back in for another blood draw. This time, a venus draw, which, is when you draw the blood directly from the vein, b/c the lead levels in Elizabeth's blood was higher than normal. Average lead levels in a baby are between 0-9. E's levels are at 14. This could mean a few things. One being the obvious, she has lead in her blood. The second being that they just didn't get enough blood the first time around, so that threw the testing off. I am hoping for the second. So, tonight, I will take Elizabeth in once again (her doctor's office is 45 minutes away). And I am not looking forward to it, as drawing blood from a baby's vein just doesn't sound like it will be a good experience. It doesn't appear that E has any symptoms of lead poisoning, which, is a good sign. So, we'll keep our fingers crossed and hope to live to talk about tonights appointment in a blog later this week!

Then & Now...Before & After

May 2008


February 2009

9 Months of Doctor's Visits

We just had Elizabeth's 9 month doctor's appointment. It went excellent, mainly because we didnt have to get any shots this time! Elizabeth had to get her finger pricked for a blood sample so they could test for lead/iron, but other than that, NO SHOTS! And even when they pricked her finger, she didnt' flinch! Good girl! There was alot of blood though. I was suprised by the amount of blood they had to collect for the little girl to do these tests. I talked with a nurse friend of mine afterwards and she made it sound like they took too much. Ahhh, oh well. We all live to talk about it, I guess, so it wasn't too bad! The only issue I had with afterwards was that the nurse put a "big people/adult" bandaid on Elizabeth's tiny little finger. It took 3 bandaids to get it on right. Then, once it was on, (and the finger wasnt even really bleeding), alls Elizabeth wanted to do was bite it off. I should have taken it off RIGHT away, myself. But I left it on. I made a pit stop before we left Sauk, and good thing I did b/c by the time we got 4 blocks away, Elizabeth had the bandaid off her finger and in her mouth. Talk about choking hazard. My nurse friend also told me that they do not put bandaids on babies for that very reason. They have the parent hold a piece of gauze on the finger until the bleeding is done. Which, would have taken, maybe 2 extra minutes. Anyways, once again, we live to talk about it, so it wasnt too big of a deal!
Anyways, at last nights appointment i had the nurse write down the past 9 months worth of chart info (height & weight) so I could take it home with me and get it in Elizabeth's babybook. I've been keeping up (for the most part) with blogging, but, not with the babybook itself! So, in this blog I will share the progress, from Day 1, of Elizabeth's growth.

BORN: May 12, 2008- 6lb 13oz, 21 in
1 week appt (May 21, 2008)- 6lb, 14oz, 21 in
1 month appt (June 4, 2008)- 8lb, 5oz, 21 in
2 month appt (July 14, 2008)- 12lb, 10oz, 23 1/2 in
3 month appt (August 19, 2008)- 17lb, 3oz, 25 1/2 in
6 month appt (November 21, 2008)- 21lb 3oz, 27 in
9 month appt (February 23, 2009)- 23lb 9oz, 28 1/2 in

9 months old

On February 12, 2009, Elizabeth was 9 months old. Where did the time go? I have no idea, but, we've made LOTS of memories in the past 9 months, and I only anitpate w/ excitement the MANY more memories we will enjoy throughout our wonderful life with our wonderful daughter!

With less than 3 months to spare, I have already begun planning for Elizabeth's 1st birthday party. We plan to have it on Mother's Day, so we can kill two birds with one stone. I look forward to celebrating Elizabeth's birth, with the company of our mother's, as well as, hopefully, our grandmothers, and the other mothers (sisters) in our family! We are trying to figure out what to do for a gift for Miss E. I am pretty sure, a big chunck of her gift will be given as a CD through the bank. Something that she can use YEARS from now. She really doesnt need any toys. Or clothes. I am attempting to refurbish a rocking chair that I bought last summer at a garage sale. Maybe I can get that finished w/in the next few months. We've also pondered on the thought of a book case as well, beings, when she was born, she recieved SO MANY nice books as gifts, that are sitting on the sheft in her closet in the meantime. It would be nice to give them a home! And it will be a piece of furniture that she can grow with, and take with her when/if she ever decides to move out! I also started the tradition of getting Elizabeth a willow tree angel for special occasions. (I started this at Christmas time). So, I will probably get her one of those as well...maybe she could showcase her collection of these on her book case as well...Hmmm...Good idea! So, if anyone has any thoughts of what we could do for our SOON TO BE one year old's birthday, email me! I am eager for ideas!

An early HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!

So many changes...

Things are happening so fast now-a-days. I don't think I am ready for this! EVERY DAY there is something new & amazing that Elizabeth learns. She stands on her own...but falls down when she tries to make a move! She can walk if she is pushing a toy around. She is very cautious when she does this, but seems to book it around the house!

Just over the weekend...she started making a clucking noise with her tongue. Amazing! I think Grandma taught her that last week. So, all weekend while crawling around the house, she'd cluck. Elizabeth waves good bye now...and still gives to sweetest kisses! And when I think E is leaning in to give me a kiss good bye, or good night, or just whenever, she ends up going for my nose! She has a fetish of sucking on noses! Who does this! LOL! I am pretty sure her 4th tooth is ready to break through. Her gums look pretty white where it will come through.

I've beeen experimenting with formula the past few days...I am just not producing enough milk to keep her on breastmilk alone. I made it close to 9 months with strictly breastfeeding...even though I wanted to make it a year, I am proud of myself that I made it this long. She will still get BM, but it will be supplemented w/ formula. Maybe. She hasnt taken to the taste of formula yet...its smells nasty, and isnt the best tasting, so I don't blame her for not wanting anything to do with it! The first bottle I made for her was with Similac formula...I ended up throwing that out. The whole can of formula. (It was just a little can. Not even sure who gave it to me. I think we got it from the hospital). It smelled and tasted AWFUL! I've smelt rotten dish rags that smell better than that. E didnt want anything to do with it. She would spit it out as soon as she got it in her mouth. So then I tried Parents Choice formula. She took this better than Similac but still, wouldnt drink it like she would drink a bottle of BM. It still smells bad, but NOT as bad as the Similac. Hopefully, we can introduce this little by little, so she can make the adjustment to formula. At least it will only be for a couple months beings she can drink regular cows milk at 1 year...but, I wonder how she will like the taste of that. That tastes alot different than BM as well. I'll mix BM and formula for the time being, until Elizabeth can stand the full taste of formula. We'll see how that goes! I am pretty sure she would skip a feeding if it meant she didnt have to drink straight up formula! Actually, she did that over the weekend, but, of course, woke in the middle of the night because she was hungry! The good thing I guess, is that she isnt drinking as much milk as she used too beings she is eating baby food now. That seems to fill her up.
Elizabeth has been babbling up a storm. She still hasnt said any "real" words yet, but I am IMpatiently waiting for her to say MOMMA! (or dadda!) It will happen soon enough I'm sure! Oh, how fast things change! I just want to keep her little forever!! w