Annual Check-Up

For the second year in a row, we had to postphone Ella's annual check-up because she has been sick. Today we went in to make sure her infections had cleared up and for the check-up. Everything looks great -- she is now 33 3/4 inches tall and weighs 22 pounds. Yes, she is still on the light side but Dr. Howe assured me that she is well nourished and just has a slight build. Ella did a great job and let Dr. Howe check her out without any complaining. She didn't even cry when she got her shot! She is getting to be such a big girl now. We celebrated with a cookie and milk when we got home.

The Annual Illness

Some of you might have noticed that I haven't posted anything in quite some time. Well, tonight I'm trying to catch up -- you'll find posts about my trip to Kansas and Ella's birthday below. The reason I haven't written anything is because just as we were getting settled back at home after Kansas, Ella got sick.

Last year around her birthday, Ella came down with her first bad cold -- on the evening of her birthday party. She had a cough and fever so we tried giving her some Tylenol Cough & Cold -- she immediately gagged on it and threw it up all over her Auntie Aimee. My parents stayed over that night and boy was I thankful for Mom! Ella was literally up all night coughing & crying with a fever. Mom pitched in and rocked with Ella for a spell to give us a break. I seem to remember her being sick for a few more days after that.

So, I thought it was extremely odd that she came down with another bad cold again one year to the day exactly! She had a fever and a cough and was pretty clingy but would have moments where she would get up and play for awhile. One night Brett suggested giving her some medicine to help ease the cough so she would sleep better. Warily, I took out the Tylenol Cough & Cold and gave her a dose in the kitchen. At first she happily swallowed it because she likes regular Tylenol. However, once she swallowed it, we were reliving last year's experience. She threw it up immediately, this time all over my kitchen floor. Moreover, the experience scarred her for life (or at least the next few days) as she fought with me whenever I tried to give her regular Tylenol to help reduce the fever.

On Thursday things got worse and she cried & told me "Mommy, ear hurts." I was able to get into the doctor that day thankfully and get her checked out. It turns out that she did indeed have an ear infection and some infection in her chest. Dr. Howe was great with her...and she was great with him. He gave us some ear drops and antibiotics. We told him about the medicine episode and he promised us some good-tasting meds! Thankfully, he was right and Ella has been taking them without too much resistance. She's not 100% better but she's almost there. I, however, am a different story. Of course, after having her cough in my face night after night (since I spent good portions in her room), holding her all day, and wiping her nose countless times, I am now getting sick. But, I suppose that is to be expected. But, I'm thankful that she is on the mend.

12-Month Check-Up

I admit, I kind of obsess about Ella's weight. As my mom could tell you, this is nothing new...it's been that way since I brought her home. When she was a baby, I obsessed because I wanted to make sure she was getting enough milk -- something that is a little hard to judge when you breastfeed. Now that she eats solid food, it's hard for me to tell because she doesn't always eat all that I give her. I wonder, "Am I giving her too much and she can't finish it?" or "Does she just eat like a bird?" Of course, it doesn't help when everyone who holds her exclaims what a lightweight she is AND when the numbers on the scale fail to go up as much as I'd like.

So, I was a little fearful of Ella's 12-Month check-up. She was scheduled to go in right after her birthday but we had to postphone it because Dr. Howe had a family emergency and then Ella was sick. So, yesterday we finally made it to the doctor's office. Ella is now 29 inches long and weighs a "whopping" 16lbs, 14 ounces. Yeah, she gained a whole 6 ounces in three months! I was a little discouraged until Dr. Howe said that it fine -- it just rules out diabetes and obesity. In fact, he said she is well nourished and has great "morphplogy" -- his words, not mine. (In fact, I don't think I've ever heard anyone use that term before.) Anyway, I think I'm going to stop obsessing -- or at least try to.