March 29, 2011

Happy Birthday to Patrick! Sorry, I didn't take any photos today, but I have things to write...

Charlotte gave Patrick the best present ever and nearly slept through the night last night for the first time in over 2 months. She woke only twice and just needed some pats on the back to fall back to sleep. It was fabulous.

We had a fun and delicious evening - Pat's sister Kelly made a cheesecake that we got to enjoy with her and Tim. Charlotte also learned about Cookie Monster and had fun saying "num num" along with a recording.

In other exciting news, we may have found a way to curb Charlotte's vomiting. I got to speak with a GI nurse on Monday who suggested we change up our feeding plan to dilute her formula throughout the day with water, rather than giving her all 300 mls/day of water straight overnight. This would reduce her feeds from 30 cals/oz to 25 cals/oz, making them slightly less dense.

Then this morning when I explained the new plan to her daycare I learned they were already doing this. They had mistaken Patrick's directions on how to start her feed and rather than using the water to clean out the bag, they were just mixing the water and formula. This was very exciting because we've been puzzled as to why she throws up less at daycare than at home. So far so good, and I'm hopeful we can once again feel comfortable without a burp rag in arm's reach.

March 27, 2011

We've had a great couple of weeks and weekends since the last post!

Charlotte got her first pony tail. It didn't stay in long, but it sure was adorable.

Patrick and I both had the Friday after St. Patrick's Day off of work, and with 40-50 degree weather we acted like it was summer! We found the pictured bike trailer at Capital Deals in St. Paul. We got the trailer and a bike helmet for Charlotte at less than half the cost of a new trailer (I love a good deal!). While Patrick ran I biked and pulled Charlotte along. It was fun to do something together as a family, and Charlotte did great for her first trip out! Hopefully we'll take lots of trips this summer.

Last weekend was a big race weekend. Patrick ran the Lake Johanna 4 miler on Saturday and the Human Race 8k on Sunday. He did great, and I only wish the weather had been better. Charlotte was snuggled in tight, but it was rainy and cold. She didn't quite get to see Grandpa Russell finish because she got too cold and we had to go home early. Maybe next time!

Today was very relaxing. Pat's parents came over to watch Charlotte, so we could go out for dinner to celebrate his upcoming birthday. It was pretty awesome to be able to enjoy a meal at a real restaurant and not have to worry about keeping Charlotte entertained and happy. We even took in a movie, Paul, and enjoyed it very much. Charlotte had a great time too playing with Grandma and Grandpa.

Charlotte received her last Synagis shot for the season and was evaluated by Minnesota's birth to three program. We're very happy with the results. She was average on all scales for her corrected age and not too far behind for actual age. She's a bit behind (12 months) for gross motor skills but way ahead (21 months) for fine motor skills. A surgeon perhaps? Concert pianist? No pressure, baby girl. :)

Her weight has been fluctuating. Last weekend she weighed 20 lbs 2 oz but then today she was back down to 19 lbs 13 oz. Her vomiting has decreased in frequency but increased in volume. She now vomits about 2-3 times/day, but it's unbelievable sometimes how much comes out of her little body. We have calls into her GI Doctor hoping for some guidance. She was on vacation last week, so hopefully we'll connect with her early this week. Luckily the ear infection seems to be gone. Charlotte's sleeping a bit better, and that's great for all of us!

Hard to believe April is just around the corner! April showers bring May flowers. Please.

March 16, 2011

We had the best weekend we've had since moving back to MN! It was so fun. Saturday we rested since I still had a cold, which is now almost gone (yay!). Sunday my parents visited and we all went to the Como Park Conservatory for a little break from winter. Charlotte loved it - I'm not sure she can even remember summer, so she thought the leaves hitting her face were pretty funny.

Here she is with Grandpa and Grandma Distad.

Fun with Dad! It looks as though she wet her pants here, but unfortunately that's not it. She had a pretty big throw up, but luckily she was wearing a cute vest that was hit the worst and we were able to remove it.
I love this picture! Charlotte did a lot of walking at the conservatory and we've noticed a huge increase in the amount she walks since. We think her confidence level went way up because she had so much space to move around.

And, Charlotte loves to splash so this rain/evaporation exhibit was right up her alley!

We've had our fair share of visits to her clinic lately. She just can't shake her ear infection, so when round 2 of antibiotics wasn't working the doctors prescribed her with antibiotic shots. Tonight she received her second shot, so hopefully her infection clears up. Charlotte generally doesn't let us look in her mouth, but all the screaming she did post-shot allowed me to see that she's getting her molars! Now we're not sure if she's crying because she's teething or because she has an ear infection. I hold out hope every night that she's going to sleep through the night. It's gotta happen!

Tonight was an exciting visit to the clinic because there was a set of preemie twins in the waiting room and the little boy had an NG Tube. His parents were both nurses and said that putting an NG tube in a baby is much easier than in an adult (yeah, if you're heartless...just kidding). We didn't get to chat long, but their little guy has oral aversion similar to Charlotte. I felt bad telling them that she has a G-tube, but I hope he starts eating sooner rather than later. One thing I miss about Houghton is that here we don't know any other parents who've had a micro preemie. It was nice to have a little community of families who'd had similar experiences.

Charlotte's weight is up! This past Sunday she weighed in at 19 lbs 13 oz.

The U is closed on Friday, so Patrick and I both have a 3 day weekend! Friday is a big day for Charlotte. Minnesota's birth to three program is coming over to evaluate her for services and she's getting another synagis shot. Sunday is a big day for Patrick - his first race since our move back to MN. The weather sounds fabulous, and I'm excited to get outside and cheer with Charlotte.

March 6, 2011

It's been a while since our last post, but we've been busy fighting germs. Charlotte was hit hard in mid February and had to stay home from daycare for two days due to a fever and vomiting. It was pretty stressful, not only because Charlotte was sick, but because Pat and I are both new to our jobs and hated missing days already. On the plus side, I got to stay home and snuggle with Charlotte for two days and Pat for an afternoon after daycare sent her home.

Charlotte shared her germs with me and Patrick, but as of this weekend we all feel pretty good! I'm just happy to be able to swallow and stay awake past 8 p.m. Woo hoo! :)

Charlotte loves to climb! Here she is scaling the nordic track.

Here's Charlotte on the day daycare sent her home. When I walked up the stairs she was sitting in the chair reading her books. So sweet, but strange to see her happy just sitting.

We've been doing lots of this. At all hours of the day.

Go Gophers!
Patrick has been letting Charlotte play with his keys. They've ended up in the toilet once, and I'm just waiting for them to disappear altogether. :)

Charlotte's eating is back to water only. We've slowed her pump rate significantly hoping that she'll stop throwing up again, but so far no luck. She did much better today, though, so maybe we're getting back on track. Time will tell.

As per GI instructions, we've been tracking her weight. It's going in the wrong direction, but with the sickness hopefully behind us she should start gaining weight.
2/12: 20 lbs 0 oz
2/20: 19 lbs 12 0z
2/28: 19 lbs 12 oz
3/6: 19 lbs 8.5 oz

February 14, 2011

Happy Valentine's Day! Hope everyone was able to do something sweet for another person (or the reverse) today. Patrick started his new job today and now we're having a quiet evening of laundry and Harry Potter. Charlotte and Patrick are both sick, and I'm crossing my fingers that I won't catch their cold (although Charlotte's tendency to cough in my face makes this unlikely). I was a bit relieved this weekend when Patrick developed a sore throat because it answered the question we've had for the past week and a half as to why Charlotte wasn't sleeping. Perhaps it's partially the transition, but we're sure it's mostly because she's got a bug.

I took a few pictures of Charlotte as we played on Sunday. Saturday we took a trip to the MOA, and it wore Charlotte out. Sunday we decided to keep her home and let her get some rest and start recovering.
And she walks!!! She took her first steps last Thursday, February 10 (her 18 month birthday) for Patrick. So far she's probably taken 5-6 steps in a row, and she has started standing without support much more frequently. I'm trying to get video of her walking, so hopefully soon.

She knows where her socks go! When she tries to put them on it reminds me of Peter Pan trying to stick his shadow onto his feet.

And here she is telling me our photo shoot is over by giving me the camera lens.

Last week Charlotte had her first appointments with her new GI Doc and Pediatrician. We think we're going to be happy with both. Her GI Doctor is very proactive, or a J on the Meyers-Briggs for those of you familiar, as opposed to the laid back "art of medicine" approach we were used to with her last doctor. For example, this new doctor told us with an air of certainty that Charlotte was allergic to dairy products and that's why she threw up so frequently. How incredibly frustrating because we asked our previous doctor about this and he said this wasn't the case and left her on the dairy-based formulas. Who knows if she's correct, because if Charlotte had an allergy, she has outgrown it.

Also, our past GI doctor told us to relax and stop weighing Charlotte and that it was ok she hadn't gained weight because she had gained weight faster than we wanted to. Well, new doctor, new philosophy: She wants us to weigh Charlotte weekly and she wants her to get 4 cans of pediasure per day instead of just 3.

Charlotte loves her scale and thinks it's a fun chair. On Sunday she weighed 20 lbs 0 oz.

Charlotte's pedatrician also seems very nice, and my favorite thing about her is that while she's only in clinic 2 days/week, she has some evening availability. Charlotte's next appointment is at 6:45 p.m.! So nice to miss a little less work for appointments. Oh, and we can e-mail her!

One frustration we've had with the new doctors is their insistence that we're being too tentative with Charlotte's feeds. We feed her at a rate of 125 mls per hour and have been slowly increasing. They think we should be able to bolus her feeds in just a few minutes. Well, we tried this weekend and she threw up everywhere. It was so sad, and just a reminder that doctors don't know everything (almost everything, though!). :)

To be fair, this weekend wasn't an entirely fair test. Apria had some issues verifying our insurance last week and didn't get us Charlotte's monthly refill order before the weekend, so we ran out of the Pediasure Enteral Formula on Saturday. Our GI Clinic told us that the flavored Pedisure in the store is the same stuff, so that's what she's been getting. Since we started the flavored formula she hasn't eaten anything by mouth, so I wonder if the "flavor" is upsetting her stomach. Our regular formula should arrive tomorrow or Wednesday.

February 6, 2011

Charlotte is ready to cheer on the Packers.

February 1, 2011

We are feeling very grateful because Patrick has a job! Back in December he interviewed for an Executive Accounts Specialist position at the U and on Friday they offered him the position. It's exactly what he wants to do, and he's excited to start on Monday already! With both of us working full time Charlotte will be in daycare all day (instead of half-days like before). She started today with a half day, and seems to have done ok. I think it'll be an adjustment for us all.

Charlotte has been picking up lots of new information lately! She now loves to push her push/walking toys up and down the hallway, crawls onto the seated position of her scooters (but doesn't yet know how to move herself), and understands more verbal information as well. She knows what "brush your teeth" means (and only recently really started letting us brush her teeth), and she now says "up" to be picked up. A couple weeks ago she learned "uh oh" and says it anytime she throws something onto the floor or if her pump alarm goes off.

Recently Charlotte's eating took a nose dive and she was barely taking water anymore. The past few days things have improved and over the last 24 hours she's eaten almost an entire container of stage 1 baby food and loves to eat water on her spoon. If only one could survive completely on water, she'd be all set.

We are happy to be completely unpacked and the owners of a new-to-us recliner. Because we lived on campus at Tech we had very little furniture of our own. Now we have two chairs in our living room, which will be good enough until we find something more permanent.

Oh apartment living. We like our new home, but our neighbors have made things more interesting than we'd like. They apparently view the police as a conflict-resolution resource and, in the two weeks we've lived here, have called them twice. The second time the police arrived was this past Saturday night. I was unpleasantly surprised by them as I exited our basement (external door) to a flashlight being shone in my face. They assumed I was the person who had called, but after figuring out I wasn't involved in a domestic dispute they told me to go upstairs and lock the door. Lovely. I would laugh, but today I read about a domestic disturbance in Zumbrota, MN that resulted in a shooting death. We're hoping they move or break up.

To emphasize the positive - yay Patrick! We can't believe how fortunate we've been. Life is good.