Monday, October 24, 2011

2 Months

LMI had her two month check up today. I was a mess in anticipation of the vaccine shots - you remember me and needles. Needless to say, I was up most of the night worrying about it.

She's now upto 8lbs1oz and is 20.5", so growing and gaining well. I don't think she's on the growth charts yet, but she's on a steady incline so I'm happy with that.

She's smiling and laughing all the time now and it is the most amazing thing in the world to see. She's also becoming quite strong. She lifts her head up and turns from side to side. She even rolled over 3 times today (but her pedi thinks it was by mistake).

I am starting to learn her signs more clearly now and identify her different cries. It took me a while to realize that crying didn't = feed me...NOW. It has definitely been a learning curve for me.

The one part of today's visit that was concerning was her hip. Apparently it clicks. The dr asked if she was a breech birth (no) so, we need to investigate further. We will get an ultrasound done and then see if and what should be done. If you have any advice on this I'm all ears please.

The vaccine was much harder on me than on her. Yes, she cried like I have never heard before with huge tears streaming down her face, but after a few minutes (which seemed like an eternity, probably only 2 or 3) she was calm again. She is feeling pretty tired and is a different fussy than usual, but thankfully no fever yet.

LMI and I are taking our first trip together next week. We are heading to Florida for a week with my parents, sister and niece. I am so excited to get away and this will be my first vacation in YEARS that didn't revolve around my cycle, IF treatment or medication times. I can't wait. I am nervous for the flight as I have no idea what to expect. She will be ten weeks so again, advice is welcome.

LMI - I can't believe you're already two months old. You have grown so much and are becoming your own person. I love waking up and seeing your smiling face and watching you learn new things everyday. I love being your mommy and I love you with all my heart.

-R.

10 comments:

  1. Happy 2 months, LMI!! Sounds like the appointment went well, and your Mommy weathered the shots as best she could :)

    My advice for travel is feed her on take-off and landing (to help with pressurization - if your ears are clicking, so are hers) and bring her favorite toys, as well as some new ones. Old are comforting, new are exciting and will hold her attention longer. And plan for everything to take twice as long - going through security, checking in luggage, etc.

    You'll have a great time, and be prepared for everyone you meet to want to stop and ooh and ahhh over your sweet little girl!

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  2. i don't have any advice on the hip ultrasound -- but olive had to have one (as she was breech) and it was funny to be in the room and have HER be the one to have the u/s! it used to be us looking at them... :D

    they stay in their nappies for the u/s, so dress her in pants and a top, so then she can keep her top on during the u/s and won't get cold. it doesn't take very long and it's not painful (but i expect the cold gel is a bit of a shock!) so it's a pleasant experience.

    olive just had her needles last week -- but DH and i were really good...and we knew that the little bit of pain she received from the needles were better than not having them and getting sick. so if we looked at it like that, we could handle the fact that they were shoving a pretty big needle into our baby!

    two months goes really fast, doesn't it?! good luck with the flight. a mum at my mother's group went on a plane last week and said baby was really good -- and that the sound of the plane soothed her son to sleep the whole time. so fingers crossed LMI is just as good for you. :)

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  3. My daughter was identified as having hip dysplasia at birth--my ped said she had the biggest 'clunk' she'd ever come across! She wasn't breech, but my husband had hip dysplasia and apparently it runs in families.

    She really didn't like the ultrasound, but she was a cranky infant and much younger than LMI. The technician did undo her diaper, but that might have been due to her small size at just four weeks old. They had trouble getting a good picture, but they did it in the end.

    Because my daughter obviously had dysplasia, they put her in a harness before we even had the results of the ultrasound. Below is a link to the harness we used--brace yourself before clicking, but I promise it's not as bad as it looks, and everything against the skin is lovely and soft.

    http://www.wheatonbrace.com/products/wpharness.html

    Anyway, the length of time the babies are in it varies. Our daughter was in it for ten weeks, 24/7. I think the fact that she started so early might have helped, because the younger they are, the faster they're growing, and the point of the harness is to encourage the hip socket to grow (as I recall it with my layman's memory). She had three ultrasounds in all, and we had an X-ray to confirm normalisation. We're supposed to go back again when she's walking.

    I don't know if there are any alternative first-stage treatments to that harness. I do know that if the harness doesn't work, you go to surgery, but that's very rare. My ped was rather impressed that my daughter didn't require that, her being as previously mentioned, the most obvious case of dysplasia she'd come across.

    In my husband's infancy, the recommended treatment was to wear two diapers to force the legs apart. He has had absolutely no issues with his hips since. As far as my daughter goes, at eight months old, she's just beginning to cruise and is an accomplished crawler, so I'm reasonably complacent about her hips too.

    Anyway, best of luck for the ultrasound and the diagnosis! I hope you can avoid the harness, but if it comes to that, it's more of a nuisance than anything else.

    So pleased to hear how LMI is coming along. Enjoy your vacation!

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  4. I can agree to what Anon said above. My daughter is now close to 4 and the time she was in the braces was stressful and not ideal, but it was over fairly quickly and she was all healed up. Truly, though, it was a blow when she was diagnosed, even though we looked at it as "it could be worse" and we saw a lot worse at appointments we had for her, looking back now, it was not that bad.

    I can't remember how long she was in the first brace (link above), then she went to a harder brace (http://www.rhinopod.com/kicker.htm) the cruiser for nights only. This all happened before she was walking, so while that kid looks like it is bad, she only laid there and fell asleep and slept through the night in it. And could even manage to turn herself over as well.

    My amazing conclusion is that she started walking at 10.5 months. Amazing.

    Oh, and I am pregnant again (from FET#2) with another girl and this post just brought back all those feelings and made me remember that since this one is a girl as well, she has a higher chance of having this (my first wasn't breech and we don't think it runs in the family since no one had really heard of it).

    Hang in there, because it is tough to see your child go through something like this, but they are tough little creatures, with an amazing ability to heal.

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  5. The shots are harder on the mommies than the babies. I always breast fed mine after they were done. Babies normally will not get fevers with shots until they hit the one year ones. The vacines they are getting now only contain the synthetic version of the virus vs. the live which is in the dreaded MMR and reactions to that one can take a week to rear it's ugly head.

    if you still breastfeeding, the boob is your best friend during take off and decent. if she is a soother baby that is helpful too. Most young babies travel fine. Mine was fine at 4.5 months and 8. Its when the are mobile and they can't move it gets stressful. Enjoy your vacation!

    And happy 2 months!

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  6. I remember reading your pregnancy announcement way back when I was still TTC. You were the first person who announced a pregnancy that I didn't cry about. You deserved LMI after so much trying, it was a happy moment for me and it gave me hope. Then 2.5 months later I got my own positive test! Thank you for giving me hope during those months!

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  7. I hope the click turns out to be nothing!

    Happy two month birthday little one!!

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  8. Awesome update R...and Florida! We'll be there in March as my parents bought a condo there recently. Well better run...LN10 is awake from his slumber!!

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  9. I know, the shots suck but they are over so quickly.

    Here is a great resource I found about flying with babies before I took the J-dog to Italy:
    http://flyingwithchildren.blogspot.com/

    Have a great vacation!!

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  10. Why are you so stingy w the photos?

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