First Antibiotics for both Maddie and Sebastian

We have all been struggling with sickness since the middle of January. Finally, Maddie, Sebastian, and myself were put on antibiotics. In addition, Maddie and Sebastian both had RSV and had to have nebulizer treatments. Sebastian had ear infections in both ears! Poor little guy. What was worse was that Sebastian had a reaction to the antibiotics which cause him to have bloody stools. Our doctor immediately took him off the antibiotics and I just went back for a check-up and all is fine.

All this makes you think, I nurse him and make/give him all organic food so he can have the best diet then I feed him this nasty pink medicine that makes him bleed. I guess you can't always protect your kids.

Maddie is doing fine now, she really liked her bubblegum flavored medicine even asked for more when it was all gone! :) It was pretty amazing that she went more than 3 years without any antibiotics, wish I could say the same for Sebastian. :(

4 month and 3 year Check-up

Both Maddie and Sebastian had check ups today. Dr. Allison was pleased to see that Maddie was 63% in weight and 64% in height. Maddie was happy that the doctor didn't feel the need to take the pacifier away from her. Dr. A said that as long as she was just using it for sleeping she could have it until she was 4, unless the dentist said otherwise. She also said that Maddie is ahead of the curve for potty training.

Sebastian was 26% in height, 18% in weight and 19% for his head. She was a little concerned that he had dropped down in % in weight, so she encouraged us to feed him more solids. She said that Sebastian has conquered 6 month milestones and that sleeping through the night will come once his growth slows down. Since he was healthy for the moment we continued with his shot schedule. Next appointment is for the 6 month check-up.

18 Month Check Up

Maddie had her 18 month check up today and the doctor told us that we have a perfect little girl! Awwww..makes her parents heart melt!

She was 24% in weight!! YAY, moving up in the charts! AND she was 92% in height. Tall and thin, what most women want to be!

Her doc was very pleased with everything about Maddie. She sd Maddie's ability to string words together is more of a 2 year old milestone. We always knew she is above the curve.
Also, Maddie got her first potty! We are just introducing her to it now. She asked to sit on it a couple of times yesterday. Mostly she likes to carry it around the house! hehehe

Home :)

We were discharged this morning from the hospital and Maddie is doing great! She was running around the unit this morning, flashing her smiles and being cute as ever.

Last night was rough in the hospital, they had attached a heartrate monitor onto her toe and she did not like it at all! She woke up at 12:40 and chased the cord around her crib until the nurse came in after 3 and offered to take it off. They were monitoring her heartrate, because an elevated heartrate means an elevated fever. She did have to come in a few more times to take Maddie's temperature, but I didn't care as long as she was sleeping. Two nights in a row for me is dreadful!! (Brad was sleeping peacefully at home in our bed!) Maddie finally fell asleep around 3 and didn't wake up until 6 to which she fell back asleep on me for 30 mins or so.

The doctor gave us the same diagnosis and told us that there really isn't anything we can do. She did give me a prescription for Diazepam (SP?) just in case she has a seizure again lasting more than 3 minutes. (I was told by the doctor that her seizure only lasted 2 minutes, but felt like a lot longer to me!!) We are just going to have to be more aggressive when treating her fevers and hope that nothing like this happens again!

Maddie has been sleeping ever since we got home, going on 4 hours! Thanks for all of the people that have been keeping us in your thoughts and prayers. We really appreaciate the support!

Worst Day Ever

Well I am writing this from Maddie's hospital room, listening to her cry because she wants to be home without IVs and cords attached to her. Hopefully we can go home in the morning.

So, what happened was that Maddie started running a fever last night and was up every two hours all night long. This morning she woke up with no fever, to which Brad and I were very happy that she was feeling better. However, that didn't last long and it started to climb. I decided to take her to the doctor since I just didn't know what was going on with her and better safe than sorry, right? Once we got to the doctor, Maddie's fever was already 102. The doctor examed her and decided that it was just a viral infection, but wanted to test for strep, just in case. While I was sitting in the room waiting for the results, Maddie started to seize. I ran out of the room with a seizing baby, yelling for help. Both the doctor and nurse came to my aid. It was just awful, watching my sweet little baby convulse and turn blue. It was probably the scariest thing that I have been thru since becoming a mom. I have been traumatized by seeing her in that condition, my little baby so full of life lying on the table listless and foaming at the mouth. I just couldn't do anything to help her, just rub her legs telling her that she was going to be okay. It makes you feel like a failure as a mom when you can't help your little one.

Nobody knows how high her fever got, but after tylenol suppositories and an hour later her fever was 102, again. Her fever never came back today, but you never know when it will rise again. They call these seizures, febrile seizures and only can occur when there is a sudden spike or fall of a fever. We have to just try to keep her medicated when she has a fever. It will probably happen again, there just isn't a way to tell when it is about to happen. There also isn't anything we can do, just try to keep her safe so she doesn't hit her head or fall.

I really thought that I was going to lose my baby today, so those who have kids please please please hold them close because you will never know when they will slip thru your fingers. Brad and I are so grateful that we still have Maddie to hold, she is such a source of joy for us!

9 Month Dr. Appointment

Maddie had her 9 month checkup and the pediatrician was very happy with how she's doing! Her illness seems to have passed as quickly as it arrived and she never broke out into a rash. She weighed in at 15 pounds 1 ounce, which puts her at the bottom of the weight chart, but she had a growth spurt and is perfectly average in height at 27 1/2". Her head size is 30%.

The doctor was very impressed how Maddie is walking around . On her standard form, there isn't even a checkbox for walking like that at her age, just crawling and cruising. She also wrote that Maddie is an excellent eater after we described the amount of food she eats every day and she witnessed Maddie down 2/3 of a banana while we were in the exam room. She thinks Maddie has a fast metabolism.

She also instructed Jessica to try reintroducing dairy into her diet to see if Maddie is able to digest it! Jessica was nervous, but we went to celebrate that night by stuffing ourselves with sicilian pizza!

Maddie's top teeth seem to be coming in, albeit very slowly. They've been keeping her up at night several times this week.

Sick Baby

Maddie got her first illness yesterday

After she woke up from her nap, she was lethargic and running a fever of 101.5+. Jessica gave her Tylenol and rushed her to the pediatrician. The Tylenol did a good job at bringing the fever down and her white blood cell count was good so there's no infection. Dr. Allison says there is a virus going around and if that's what it is, Maddie may break into a non-itching full body rash in a day or two. She could have been exposed anytime in the past two weeks.

We kept her on Tylenol last night and she slept well. This morning she woke up without a fever so we hope it was a 12 hour thing.

Good News

Maddie and I went to the dr this morning to check on her status and I am happy to report that Maddie has gained 1lb 3oz in the last month! YAY!! She is doing great! The doctor actually expected a little decline since she has been so active, but Maddie showed her! hehehe

I can now start her on soy yogurt and should be okay to give her soy formula in her cereal or for an extra snack if need be.

Growing Up Quick

Maddie weighed in today at 12 pounds, 4 ounces. She gained a pound in 2 weeks! Must be the solid food . The pediatrician was thrilled. She also had a clean stool sample so we're going to reintroduce soy and see what happens.

Speaking of solid food, Maddie has now experienced carrots and peas. She loves both and when she's being fed screams for more and screams for more quicker!

Maddie also experienced her first day at the beach as we went to Marco Island for Father's Day. She got to have her toes dipped in the gulf and the pool, but that's as far in as she got. It was a great time, though Daddy lost his voice completely due to a cold.

We think she'll be crawling soon. She can roll over both directions now with ease and can move around by wiggling. Her knees and arms are all making the right movements so as soon as she can lift her belly off the ground, off she'll go!

9 Pounds 2 Ounces

Madeline is up to 9 pounds 2 ounces and the doctor says she is "growing like a weed". She put on 24 ounces in 20 days. Maddie also measured 22 inches long now!

She got her first vaccination yesterday, the first of three Hepatitis B shots. It was a very large needle and after a slightly delayed reaction, she let out a very big cry! She quickly calmed though and was happy after she got a band-aid.

Yesterday we said goodbye to the last of the N size diapers. They claim to be up to 10 pounds, but she'd leak through the Huggies N size 50% of the time or better. She's now strictly wearing size 1. We've discovered through trial and error that Pampers are the best (and most expensive!).

Back up to 7 pounds

Yesterday, Maddie had another weigh-in and we and the pediatrician were thrilled that she is back up to 7 pounds. She gained 8 ounces in just 5 days!

Things are going well in general. Jessica is spending her days taking care of the baby, which is proving to be a time consuming task! Nights are still rough, but Madeline seems to be moving toward a regular schedule... even if that means waking up every 3 hours!

Pediatrician Appointment

Madeline had her 2nd pediatrician appointment today and while she is very healthy, we're told her weight gain needs to increase.

So to further that, we've rented a heavy duty pump that will let us supplement what Madeline is taking out. Jessica is also taking fenugreek, an herb that is supposed to promote lactation.

Maddie's next weigh-in will be Tuesday morning.