Phew...

Just returned from the doctor's office. Aaron had said those dreaded words this morning - Emily sounds wheezy. Luckily there was an appointment available this afternoon and Emily's wheeziness turned out to be only nasal congestion. Over the counter nasal drops, fingers crossed that it doesn't get worse, and follow up with the pediatrician next week who we were scheduled to see anyway for the well check and syniges shot. Thankfully the clinic in town takes us seriously when we bring Emily in with concerns even though they aren't her primary doctors.

The other good part to this, other than it's nothing serious, is that it's December 31 and we've met our out of pocket expenses for the year. Bad news is that we start over tomorrow. And her weight today was 12 pounds, 13 ounces. I overheard someone at the clinic call her a chunky monkey. Funny to me that the outside world sees her as chunky knowing six months ago she was well under 2 pounds.

Play time

The physical therapist came today. We're still discussing what new goals to add to Emily's plan. The things that she mentioned are things that Emily is already starting to do, such as grabbing things with both hands, pushing up on her arms to lift her chest off the floor, and mimicking facial expressions and sounds.

She's more consistent at grabbing things and swinging them around her. And she is laughing now along with her smiles.

Then and now.

Saturday we took Aaron's grandma to the airport in Boise. Now that Emily is interested in toys, the trip is a little different than the ones we've taken in the past.

Sunday was spent putting Christmas decor away and finding a place for all the new toys and gear. While I was at it, I took the newborn napper and changing station off the pack n play downstairs. Emily really likes her new space. She happily played and eventually fell asleep.

Christmas Pictures

The special ornaments added to the tree - Baby's First Christmas and an angel for Nadia

Opening all the presents was just down right exhausting!

Opening the wall hangings that will match Emily's room. FYI, we're making progress toward getting Emily's crib done. The wood has been ordered, but it won't be delivered until after the new year...

The new activity center from Uncle Pat, Aunt Cheri, Sam and Becca. She was thrilled with it. She can watch TV while bouncing (no dad required!)

Merry Christmas!

Here's a fun way to spend Christmas - a night without power! It went out on Christmas Eve ( good thing the baking was done) and didn't come back on until after noon. So much for a nice breakfast and coffee while opening presents, and lunch was a little late. But it was a fabulous day nonetheless. Emily had more outfit changes than a beauty contestant, and Aaron now knows what some assembly required really means. I hope everyone had a lovely day with family and/or friends and Santa treated everyone well.

The blanket from Great Aunt Marcia came in handy while we waited for the heat to come back on. Thank goodness for a fireplace! The Leap Frog Musical Table is nice and loud (but no assembly required).

Don't know what the big toy is yet, but the bow sure was fun!

Christmas Eve dress, on loan from Grace...

Our friend Casey has good taste. Thanks for the Santa dress and Christmas pajamas!

Just to prove a point, Aaron and Emily both staring at the television. She was totally enchanted by A Nightmare Before Christmas.

With a little help, Emily now prefers to sit up and is reaching for and playing with toys more and more. But the real attention grabber is the TV. She'll stare in its direction for several minutes.

Dad's idea of fashion...

Christmas round 1

Tomorrow we take my Mom to the airport so that she can go home for two weeks while I'm on break from school, so we did a small first Christmas with the four of us. Turkey dinner, the opening of one gift, followed by The Polar Express and hot chocolate. There was even a gift for Nadia.

TOYS!

Emily is starting to get the idea...

New goals

Yesterday our PT lady came after a two week break. Our goals for Emily were pretty simple in the beginning (visual tracking & head control). Yesterday Gloria mentioned that she thinks Emily is ready for more. So add to the list pushing up on her arms and reaching for toys. As for the therapist in Twin, that's something we will put off until summer. Too risky to take Emily now. The pneumonia was enough.

I got a reminder that it's time to schedule our NICU follow up appointment. It's shocking to think that she's approaching the six month mark already. I just scheduled her six month well baby check with the pediatrician along with the second syniges shot just after the new year. An eye appointment is at the beginning of February. Just when you think it's slowing down...

Good Morning

On the move...

or at least, she wants to be...

Excited for Christmas

Always so happy

For Nadia

As a memorial for Nadia, my parents had a piece of stain glass designed and made that features a purple and yellow butterfly fluttering about a bunch of Forget Me Not flowers. Mom brought it out with her. Across the top it has Forget Me Not etched in the glass, along the bottom is her full name. Beautiful piece of art for a beautiful little girl.

In order to avoid other things I should be doing, I put away the last of the newborn and most of the 0-3 month clothes, then washed up the 3 month stuff. I wish I could change wardrobes every couple months...

Well, everyone survived the week - me back to work, Grandma & Emily at home. And I am happy to say that twice this week Emily slept through the night. Yesterday we traveled to Twin Falls to get the syniges shot to prevent RSV. We'll head back at the end of the month for a second one as well as the 6 month well baby check. The NICU follow up clinic just sent notice that it's time to schedule with them, which is more of a developmental clinic than health. I had cancelled the physical therapy session this week due to Emily's pneumonia, but she seems to be over that now.

On the mend

I took Emily to the doctor today for a follow up visit. Good news all around. Her lungs sound pretty clear, so now we only have to use the nebulizer when she gets wheezy. Hallelujah, maybe I'll get some sleep tonight. Between getting up every 4 hours to give her a treatment and being back to work, I'm exhausted. Everything else looked good, including her weight. She weighed an even 11 pounds tonight. She has more than doubled her weight since we saw this doctor in September.

Quick update...

Emily had a fairly good day at home with Grandma while I was at work... still a little wheezy, but it doesn't seem to be getting any worse. We made a doctor's appointment for tomorrow afternoon as a follow up. She's a trooper during the breathing treatments, it seems almost soothing to her. I'll post tomorrow after her doctor's appointment.

Pneumonia

Yeah, I wish I was kidding, but yesterday's excitement was more than just picking up Grandma at the airport. Aaron noticed Emily seemed wheezy and on our way to the airport we noticed it seemed to be getting worse. I called the NICU looking for some rescue advice and was told to go directly to the ER. So, two chest Xrays and two breathing treatments later, the doctor told us that Emily has pneumonia. The choice to admit her to the hospital was ours. We could take her home and do the suctioning and breathing treatments ourselves or check her into the hospital for an overnight (or more) stay. The doctor thought it could be more dangerous to expose her to the flu, etc. by admitting her, so we did bring her home. So long to my 5-7 hours of sleep at night, she has to get breathing treatments every 4 hours and suction her out as needed. She isn't running a temperature yet, still has her appetite, and seems to be in a fairly good mood. Great timing, I'm supposed to return to work tomorrow.

Saturday

I thought I'd share Aaron's snapshot of Emily and I enjoying our Thanksgiving nap, politely sharing the couch with Faryn. I was supposed to be watching a movie, but I can't quite tell you what happened after the first 30 minutes.

My last day of family leave was Friday. I'm back to work on Monday. Grandma Harms flies in this evening, she'll be taking care of Emily until school is out for summer.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Torticolis

That's the "condition" that causes Emily to look to the left, according to the therapist we worked with today. But all that means is that she has tight muscles on the right side and back of her neck.

The initial evaluation lasted an hour and a half. Emily failed the five month old test (no surprise), but did fairly well on the expectations for a two month old. She does have range of motion to the left and right, so this therapist believes that the torticolis will resolve itself within three months if we do the recommended exercises and stretches twice a day. Another good sign is that her head is still shaped well, so it shows that we caught this early. He also wants us to encourage more use and awareness of the right hand by massaging it and have her sit up more with just supporting her trunk.

Overall, I'm pleased with what happened. We'll take Emily to see this therapist once a month when we go to Twin for our pediatric appointments just so they can monitor her progress.

Photos by Aaron

I had to go to work the past two days because of parent teacher conferences, so Aaron was on duty. His comment after it was all over was that he's thankful Grandma will be here to do this next week...

Here is his contribution to the blog. Gerda made a good baby prop and he read a new book to her that uses Emily's name in a story about fairies.

Therapy

The therapist came this afternoon, and Emily performed fabulously. She tracked the stuffed bee (one of the few toys that grab her interest) and followed it back and forth, not only while she was on her back but she lifted her head and did it while she was on her stomach. Gloria also had me move side to side while she held Emily, and she was able to follow me around. Emily also showed off her smile and her finger discovery. Our appointment with the therapist in Twin Falls is next Monday. I hope they agree that Emily is doing as well as Gloria and I believe she is.

New discovery

Emily (who is "two months" as of yesterday) has discovered her fingers and is completely fascinated by them. Who needs the paci anymore when there are these yummy treats that are always handy?

Off to the vet's office to buy dog food. This big outing was our excitement for the day.

Big Girl

Emily weighed 9 pounds, 9 ounces yesterday at her appointment. I'm a little shocked, I was hoping she was going to make the 8 pound mark. No wonder the newborn clothing isn't fitting anymore!

The doctor's only concern was the fact that Emily still prefers to look left and put her head way back, almost resting the back of her head on her shoulder. She has always done this , one NICU theory was that since Emily was the donor in the twin to twin syndrome and didn't have much room in the womb, this may have been the way she was "stuck" in there. The OT and nurses always battled this, and no matter what pillow or blanket combination they used, Emily always managed to weasel her head into this position. Cattywompus was the term the doctor used yesterday... So, something to work on in physical therapy.

Otherwise, the doctor was pleased with Emily's growth. Our next appointment will be sometime in early December when the office gets the syniges medication, a preventive for RSV. It's a monthly shot Emily will get through the winter. It's an expensive one, being quoted between $1,000-$3,000 a shot, but luckily insurance will cover it.

Emily hit 20 weeks on Saturday, making her adjusted age almost 8 weeks. This whole preemie age thing can be so confusing! She seems to be doing great, let's hope the pediatrician agrees tomorrow. I'm hoping to adjust the prilosec dose, she has been spitting up a lot lately, once having it come out her nose and mouth all at once.

Emily has to share her blog with our good boy Mig today. We have an appointment with our vet this morning, after being diagnosed with bone cancer this summer, it is time to say our goodbyes. He has had a good six years - swimming, hiking, protecting...

A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than you love yourself. ~Josh Billings