This post was originally supposed to be in Dec. but my computer crashed, I have been without one for awhile, in the meantime I jotted down my entries the old fashion way, with a paper and a pen (gasp) so while this post will show todays date (feb 5) it was originally written sometime toward the end of December...
It's been hectic with the holidays, and I haven't had a reliable computer in months, so this post may be a bit long.
Lilah's first Halloween was so much fun, although a bit cold. Thankfully her costume was nice and warm. She was a pretty pink flower. We headed down to Mass because Halloween in Josh's family is kind of a big deal, and an excuse for everyone to get together with all the kids. We walked around Josh's aunts house as we do every year. She was her usual easy going self despite the long time outside in the cold.
We were in Mass again for Thanksgiving, which we were happy to be able to make another trip down to spend with Josh's family. I bought pureed turkey and sweet potatoes so Lilah would have her very own Thanksgiving dinner.
We headed down to Mass yet again for an early Christmas with the in-laws. Josh's mom and aunts put on an x-mas party every year, and this was Lilah's first. Chevelle and Lilah had matching Santa dresses and they looked adorable.Lilah seemed a little leery with all the strange faces, but she was well behaved the whole time, in fact she napped through most of it. Christmas day was spent back up in Maine at our house, and we sat Lilah in her Bumbo surrounded by all her presents. She seemed disinterested, but as most babies do, found stuffing wrapping paper in her mouth to be a good time.
In the past couple months, between all the holiday activities, Lilah has been making progress in every area. It can seem a little slow at times, but Karen her PT pointed out that as long as they see progress, even if it is a bit slow is a good sign. They grow concerned when babies plateau at an early age, and this hasn't been the case with Lilah. In therapy, there had been a four or five week period where she screamed through her entire OT and PT sessions. It was so sudden, she went from being comfortable with Karen and Amy to completely melting down, acting like they were complete strangers sent to torture her. It can be hard when your baby acts like she's in pain, not to rush right over, pick her up, and comfort her. Karen thought that wouldn't be productive, because then she would learn that when she cried, that meant her mommy would come "save her" from the mean old therapist. I knew she wasn't in pain because the exercises and activities they had been doing with her, are the same ones I do with her on a regular basis without incident. They just kept working through the screaming and getting in as much as they could. Amy said it was most likely a phase and she would get over it. Sure enough, as Amy predicted she did. One day Amy walked in and Lilah had that look on her face like she was going to lose it, whimpered a couple times, then eventually started smiling and playing with the toys Amy provided for her. Lilah's OT sessions have been moved to twice a week because she thought she could really benefit from it. Lilah has learned to roll from stomach to back, we are working on the other way around, but so far it hasn't happened. I am thinking that even if she was physically capable of it, she would probably avoid it like the plague, because she hates being on her tummy so much. She can now sit unsupported for a couple minutes here and there if she has her Boppy to support her back. Her balance is getting there, but she likes to fling herself back a lot which results in the loss of her balance. It is also hard for her to coordinate sitting with playing with toys, it's easier for her to sit if she isn't playing with anything.
A couple weeks ago she had her cardiologist appointment to see if the chamber to her heart had closed. She also had a tiny hole in her heart that they wanted to check out to see if it had closed. Thankfully her heart was perfect and healthy, and she never has to go back again, unless there is a specific problem.
Healthwise she has been doing so-so, no major issues. Just quite a few ear infections, fevers, and runny noses. It seems like she is constantly stuffed up. I hope her health improves when the winter months are over. Her Pulmonologist said this winter will be the test with her. If she can make it through this winter relatively unscathed, then the following winters should be a breeze. She also has started a monthly vaccine called synagis, which protects her from RSV, a deadly respitory virus that affects preemies. Jan is a busy month with a few appts., including her 9 month check-up and the preemie clinic. I will try my hardest to update as these appointments happen instead of waiting so long between posts.
As far as Lilah goes, she is certainly developing a little personality. She is constantly smiling, babbling, happy. She has such a sweet manner about her. Her gummy, goofy smile can't help but brighten your day. She is an absolute joy to be around, we all love her so much, and are thankful to have her in our lives. It's been a rough year but I would go through it again in a second, because she makes me so happy.
I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday, and below I included a couple Holiday photos. They're a little mixed up, but the first one is Lilah surrounded by her presents (spoiled baby). The second one is Daddy feeding Lilah her Thanksgiving dinner. The next one is Lilah in her Halloween costume, and the last one is Lilah eating some wrapping paper. Enjoy!
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