All's Well

I took Abby to the hospital yesterday to get her lab work done. She did amazingly well. I, on the other hand, came this close to passing out. Sadly, it wouldn't have been the first time I've passed out in a doctor's office. I went crashing down when I went with my sister to get her stitches removed a few years back. I hadn't been feeling all that great yesterday morning (allergies), and I realized on the way there that I hadn't eaten anything all day and it was almost noon. When we got in to the phlebotomist's office, she told me that they'd be drawing Abby's blood from her arm. I was expecting another toe poke like her doctor had done the day before. For some reason, it made me really queazy to know that Abby would have this done like an adult. While the phlebotomist was getting things ready, she said that every once in a while she gets a baby who doesn't cry at all.

Sure enough, Abby laid there perfectly still while they dug around looking for her vein. I've never seen her lay that still before. I could feel myself getting hot and nauseous while they were looking for a vein, and it only got worse when they decided to switch arms. When I got to the other side, I knew I was about to pass out, so I asked her for a drink of water. She directed me to a water fountain just outside her door. My vision was so blurry by then that I almost didn't make it all the way there. When I got back in, Abby was crying which helped wake me back up. Thankfully, they were finishing up by then. The phlebotomist said she didn't start crying until the very end. She was fine once I was able to pick her up.

We got the results back today, and we're happy to report that everything came back normal.

9-Month Checkup

Today was Abby's 9-month well baby visit. She is officially 20lbs. 4.5 oz. and 30.5 inches long. She is literally OFF THE CHART in height!


Her doctor was impressed by how much she is growing and developing. Abby did really well with the two shots. The first, she barely flinched, but she did cry for the second one until I picked her up. They also poked her toe to draw blood to test her iron level. Apparently, she's a little low, but her doctor said they've had 3 patients recently that have shown up low on their screen, only to have normal results from a CBC test. She was pretty surprised by the results because Abby is a terrific eater and is on iron-rich formula now. I have to take her to the hospital tomorrow to have the lab work done. If she is iron-deficient, we'll have to give her an iron pill, which her doctor said was a real pain. She went through it with her daughter, and she said administering it was a 2-parent job.

Last week, I noticed a weird spot on Abby's upper gums. It was swollen and white with a little piece of gum hanging from the center of the white spot. This was on her right side about where the tooth next to the front one would be. She had another, much smaller spot on the left side at about the same place. I thought maybe it was a tooth coming through, but I didn't feel anything. Abby didn't seem to be in any discomfort because of it and she had no other symptoms, so I didn't worry about it since she was going to the doctor today anyway. They both healed within a few days too. Sure enough, her doctor felt a tooth coming through where each spot had been. Abby's going to be a redneck baby! She'll have the 2 teeth on top next to her front teeth, but no front teeth. We're going to have to change her name to Rodney. He was a truck driver at my grandfather's moving company who was missing his 2 front teeth.

Why We No Longer Keep the TP on the Dispenser

Abby LOVES to go in the basement bathroom. I think part of the fascination is that we keep the door closed unless we have to go in there. It's a whole other room for her to play in! At first, she loved the echo in there, so she'd sit, happily shrieking away, while I did what I had to do. She soon found that my legs were just sitting there, begging for her to pull herself up. From that vantage point, she spotted the toilet paper dispenser and it was all over from there. I'm just happy she hasn't found the trash can yet.






Also known as: What Happens Every Time Abby Spots the Camera. It turns out that's the best way to get her out of the bathroom.

Peek-A-Boo!

Abby loves to play peek-a-boo. Her favorite is playing with my knees. I'll lay on my back with my knees up, and she'll use them to pull herself up to standing. She'll squat down so I can only see the top of her head and get super quiet. Then, she'll pop up and get so excited. She'll do this over and over again. Once she tires of that, she'll crawl under my knees as if they're a tunnel. That works better with Damon, though, because she doesn't quite fit under my short legs. I have to lift my legs up so she can get through.

It's been a busy week, so I haven't had time to post. Abby and I had a great time in California. Abby loved all the attention, and there was definitely no shortage of attention paid to her! She was an amazing flyer too. With the exception of the very first leg of our trip, from here to Seattle, she fell asleep right at takeoff every other time. On the way home, she slept from takeoff until after they'd made the announcement that we were starting our descent and would be landing soon. One thing I was most worried about was that she wouldn't be able to nap while we flew and she'd be super cranky. I never imagined she'd sleep so well! The trip was much too short, but we enjoyed every minute of it.

My grandparents, Abby, and me.


The women. From left to right: Jessica, me with Abby, Jennifer, my mom, and my aunt.


My sisters with Abby.


Jessica and Abby


Abby got to try chocolate for the first time. It was so funny because she didn't want anything to do with the spoon at first, but my Gumma managed to get a little on her lip. After that, she attacked that spoon!


She got to try ice cream for the first time too.


My Gumpa with Abby.


She loved to play guitar with Jessica's boyfriend, Michael.


My mom, Abby and me, and my grandparents.


In other news, ABBY TOOK HER FIRST STEP ON THURSDAY! She's been getting better and better at standing unsupported. She'll only stand for about 5-10 seconds at a time, but she'll do it more often now. On Thursday after dinner, we were playing with her in the basement, Damon was laying on the floor in front of her and I was sitting behind her. She was holding onto my knee with one hand, and I could feel that she was pretty stable, so I lowered my knee and she stood there all by herself. After about 10 seconds, she took one small step toward Damon, and managed to remain standing for another few seconds after! It was the longest she's stood, and her first step. Since then, she's tried to do it again but she loses her balance and falls right after she takes a step. She'll be walking very soon!

We're leaving tomorrow, so this will be my last post until we come home on Monday. Abby developed a small rash around her mouth a couple of days ago, so I called her pediatrician's office today just to be on the safe side. She's had a pimpley rash on her chin and jaw for a while now, but that's just from drooling so much so I haven't been concerned about it. This was different. It looked similar to the eczema spot she had for a long time where her neck meets her shoulder, but worse. It was white and crusty-looking. When I described it to the nurse on the phone, he said it sounded like it might be impetigo, so he thought I should bring her in. Thankfully, it was just more eczema, so we're to put some mild hydrocortisone cream twice a day like we did on the other spot. Once it goes away, I'm to put vaseline on her face after she gets cleaned up after meals to keep it from coming back.

The exciting part of going was that they weighed her. She is now 20lbs. 15oz. fully clothed, including diaper. We'll get the official naked weigh-in in a couple of weeks when she goes for her 9-month well-baby visit. Her doctor was pretty surprised to hear how much she's grown. She's gained about 3lbs. since her 6-month visit. I thought babies weren't supposed to gain that much the second half. No wonder she's quickly outgrowing most of her clothes. She's still in a few of her bigger 6-9 month stuff, but even some of her 9-12 month stuff has already been put away. She easily fits into her 12-18 month clothes from Old Navy.

Shhhhh

Thank Goodness for the Baby Gate

Loving the Meat Sticks

Now that Abby is feeding herself all the time, we bought her some of those baby meat sticks. Damon loved them when he was a baby, and I know my sisters couldn't get enough of them. They still buy them on occasion, and they're about to turn 18. Me? I can't get past the smell to even try one. I couldn't when I was a kid, and I can't now. Abby had a great time digging the inside meat part out from the outer skin-type layer. Eventually she ate the pile of shredded meat on her tray.

Next week, Abby and I will be flying to California to visit some of my family. I'm pretty nervous because not only will it be Abby's first flight, but I'll be flying alone with her. We didn't buy her a ticket because it would've been too expensive. Plus, we'll only have a 40-minute layover on the way there, so I'll have to hurry up to get to the next plane. I think that's what I'm most nervous about. I'd love to hear any and all suggestions about how to make this go as smoothly as possible. This is what I've learned from reading other parent blogs with traveling kids:

*Pack a couple new toys that she's never seen before to keep her entertained.

*Pack an extra set of clothes for both of us because Murphy's Law dictates that if I don't, Abby will have the mother of all accidents.

*Abby's never cared for the Bjorn, so I'll be using the umbrella stroller because it's lighter and easier to maneuver. I can check that at the gate.

*Feed her or give her a pacifier to suck during take-off and landing to relieve the pressure in her ears.

*Bring baby Benadryl in case of a total metldown, but test it beforehand because it makes some babies hyper instead of sleepy.

Anything else?

Abby's babbling all the time now. She started a few weeks ago with mostly vowel sounds, and has started consistently adding in "d" "th" "l" sounds the last couple of days. It's so funny because she mostly does it when she's frustrated, so it sounds like she's really letting us have it.

Abby's Walking...

...sort of. We went to Toys'R'Us today, and found this walker deal that she pushes. She LOVES it! She flies until she hits a wall or furntiture, then she can't figure out what to do next. Eventually, Damon and I got smart and each of us sat on opposite walls, so we could turn her around when she gets to us. It literally takes her seconds to get from one to the other!

Abby Hates Grass

It doesn't matter if she's sitting on a blanket or on my lap, and no blade is actually touching her, Abby HATES grass!





She stopped crying for a second as if thinking that it's not so bad.


"Yes, it is that bad. GET ME OFF OF HERE!"