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Elizabeth Grace - Since coming home to one year Elizabeth Grace - An Amazing Birth Story



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Subj: SHE IS COMING HOME TODAY!!!
Date: 4/30/99 8:08:55 AM Eastern Daylight Time


As soon as the computer said, "files done" with the last mailing the phone rang. It was the Dr telling me she was discharged the following day. She is coming home today, April 30, 1999.

She will have a monitor and O2 for feeds. A nurse will come over the weekend and another on Mon. She will meet her "everyday" Dr on Mon also.

We will have her sleep in our room until we feel confident that we can hear her tiny cry from her room.

The car seat will be adjusted to hold her with receiving blankets. We will use a stack for her to sit on and a roll or 2 or 3 or 4 to fill in around her head.

We bought a car seat that fits onto a stroller so the monitor and O2 can easily be transported with her. (This was bought while I was still PG and did not realize how great it would be for her.)

Tamie

Subj: Since coming home
Date: 5/5/99 8:17:53 AM Eastern Daylight Time

This baby is wonderful! We are enjoying her immensely.

We do not get to HOLD her freely as she will not eat. If she is cuddled she will not ask for food. If she is held too much she will be too tired to eat.

We have been working her into our life quite efficiently but I do not get much if any daycare done. I must figure out how to feed her OFTEN, from 1 1/2 hours to 5 hours and pump and do daycare.... I just cannot do so much. We still have the hired individual here so it is not bad but she will be leaving us by the end of the month.

The daycare understands that they cannot hold her. I drew pictures on the chalk board so that would understand how she would look with the O2 and monitor. Things are going well with them and her.

Nurses have come out daily since our arrival home. She has gained 1 1/2 ounces a day. She will not be under 4 pounds for a day or 2 more and then 5 pounds will just be around the corner.

A side note: My Mom and sister live in Moore, Oklahoma. Their home survived the tornadoes but their neighborhood and such did not. I think their places of work survived as well. When I telephoned all were in tears.

Tamie


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Subj: 4 POUNDS!!

Date: 5/11/99 12:43:07 PM Eastern Daylight Time

We weighed in at 4 pounds 1 ounce. That is 3 ounces shy of 2 kilo's.

We are doing great! Tired but great.

Elizabeth Grace has been sleeping about 3 hours spurts. Last night she slept 4 hours then up every hour PLUS the monitor called out 5 times in the night. All false alarms but startling anyway.

She seems to talk some and rolls from side to side but not all the way over.

I have taken her for walks in her stroller and even put her car seat on the back of my trike.

Her 40-week gestation day is MAY 19! I think I want to celebrate.

Tamie

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Subj: WE CELEBRATED 40 weeks!!

Date: 5/20/99 1:35:28 PM Eastern Daylight Time

I bought pink napkins, streamers, balloons, ribbons and some candy. I baked brownies and topped them with pastel candies.

I started saving all the different gifts that were coming my way for Wednesday.

Each daycare child had a gift to open for the baby. Parents and children each received a gift pack of candy wrapped in pink napkins and ribbons.

She laid in her portable bed Daddy had made for most of the party and singing. Then she ate and went to sleep.

I am not giving out her #'s until after her baby shower, which I believe, is going to be Memorial weekend on the 29th.

I hope truly she will start sleeping more. I think I will move her bed out of our room while the nurses are visiting 2ce a week. That way if she loses weight from crying too much I will know to move her back to my room.

Some days she eats more than hourly, other days she makes it to 3 hours. I am tired though very happy.

God is good and I am glad.

Tamie

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Subj: Elizabeth Grace's Dr appointment

Date: 5/29/99 8:50:48 AM Eastern Daylight Time

We had our first appointment at the Apnea clinic. They were very pleased with her weight gain and took her off oxygen. They do suspect to take the monitor in a couple of weeks.

I sort of doubt that she will have it taken since she has had 5 "spells" since the visit.

I think I might call the Dr and see if he thinks it could be low blood sugar. The spells seem to occur when she is hungry.

Baby shower today! :-)

Tamie

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Subj: The baby shower went great!

Date: 6/2/99 8:29:18 PM Eastern Daylight Time

Sorry that I have not done a recent update on stats. I was waiting for the baby shower to be over because I send the updates to everyone.

Elizabeth Grace topped 5#'s this week. The Drs are decreasing visits and are getting ready to decide she is a normal baby. She has been taken off the O2 and is expected to be removed from the monitor soon. Her next appointment will be the 8th.

The Drs and nurses make comments as to how her color is great and can cry w/o losing it.

Mark and I are ready to move her to her own room with a TV monitor system we already own and use for daycare.

We got much of what we needed for her care from the baby shower. I would have liked more baby clothes but I think people were afraid to get her clothes. "Do we get preemie or not?" type thing. To tell you the truth, I was not sure what I wanted more of either. But now I do, I would rather have newborn sizes and up. I am considering taking the preemie sizes back for something larger.

I hope I do not sound greedy or not thankful what we did get. I just figure if I tell you how I feel about things I will have my thoughts better worked out.

Living day by day with God's little bit of Grace.

Tamie

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Subj: Apnea Clinic Appointment/Elizabeth Grace

Date: 6/9/99 7:49:36 AM Eastern Daylight Time

We just had another Dr appointment. She had 23 apnea spells since last Friday when we got a new monitor due to equipment failure.

I am glad we got this new monitor. Perhaps she has been having the problem all along but the ancient, broken down monitor missed it until her heart rate dropped enough to make it alarm. The other machine never caught any apnea spells.

I wonder, though, if this machine is accurate too. If I ever need medical equipment again I will not use this company. EVERYTHING I have gotten from this place has been faulty or service has made it so... The breast pump, the Apnea monitor equipment has failed 4 times and the O2 came w/o stands or regulators. They must push their equipment to death! And even perhaps their workers since they could not understand why I was asking for equipment that I thought I needed but never got, then at pickup the man asked where the other equipment was, DUH!..

She seems to have most to all her spells when she is sleeping on my chest or on her belly in bed. (I know we are not supposed to lay her that way but I do take advantage of having the monitor and allow her to rest this way from time to time.) She also has spells when in her car seat... They do not seem to be related to hunger any longer.

All the Drs that have seen her in the past 2 weeks are very happy with her and do not wish to even see her again unless she gets ill.

She weighs 5 pounds 8.6 ounces and is 17+ inches long.

Living day by day with God's little bit of Grace.

Tamie

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Subj: NEWBORN CLOTHES!!!

Date: 6/25/99 1:21:10 PM Eastern Daylight Time

Elizabeth Grace has been wearing newborn clothes quite a bit now. She has outgrown most all her preemie sizes.

She is now 4 mo old and weighs about 6 - 6 1/2 pounds. I have not had a nurse come in since before she hit 5 pounds and have had only one Dr appointment since so I am guessing.

She still has her apnea monitor and sets it off mostly when she is resting on someone's chest. It was downloaded (it is a "memory" monitor with a 3 1/2 disk in it) the other day but I have not heard anything from the Dr about it.

The last few days she has had a strong gag and vomit reflex type thing going on when my milk comes down. She is fine after she "recovers" from it.

My mom is here to see her for the first time. She is getting in as many hugs as possible before returning to Moore, OK. BTW--She says the area is still very devastated from the tornadoes.

I want to continue to thank all my friends and family for remembering our family in prayer. We are doing so great that it is obvious that God's hand has moved on our behalf.

Tamie

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Subj: Latest scoop on Elizabeth Grace

Date: 7/9/99 11:25:47 AM Eastern Daylight Time

The Dr office called and told me we were to use the monitor for a while longer. We had 2 episodes, one of apnea and one of low heart. The Dr will not DC it until we have a clean download.

This ok with me as it is not THAT much of a hassle as long as the equipment is working. I certainly do not like the 1am waiting for the respiratory therapist to come to fix it.... It is also a little irritating dealing with wires at each change. OR if I have decided to give her a break from the band, we cannot turn our back on her.

I will enjoy being freed from the monitor but am not sad to have it.

BTW -- we are still not sure what we want to call her. Elizabeth -- Baby Grace -- Lizzy are all frequently used. But we usually just say Baby.

Tamie


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Subj: Sleeping through the night!

Date: 7/20/99 12:10:32 PM Eastern Daylight Time

The baby has stretched her schedule a bit everyday. Last night she slept from 9pm until 5:30 am.

I had to pump because she had skipped some feedings.

Her last weight was 7 pounds 3.5 ounces and 19 3/4 inches. Her appointment at family Dr went well.

Her monitor has been download twice. The last one has not yet been reported to me but the other requires us to use it a bit longer.

Because of the extended time on the monitor I asked Dr to order handicap parking sticker. This will help since the monitor weighs as much as she does IN THE CAR SEAT. Plus we have to carry the normal baby items.

God is great and YOU are Blessed. His Grace is growing everyday.

Tamie

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Subj: Here is how YOUR baby is doing
Date: 8/5/99 7:21:01 AM Eastern Daylight Time

Elizabeth Grace is doing beautifully. I have no good idea as to what her weight is. I think she weighs about 8 pounds. She has outgrown her newborn diapers and is wearing size 1. Most newborn clothes on the other hand are still quite large though she has outgrown some of those too.

I bought a container that I am going to put her preemie and tiniest newborn clothes in, separate from her other clothes, so that if they are needed I will be able to locate them somewhat easily. I do not intend to give away any of them until Mark and I decide to BREAK it so that we cannot have any more babies and I think I will keep her very tiniest preemie clothes.

Back to BABY!! She is talking more and more. She calls "Mama" when she is crying and hungry. She reaches for Daddy's beard and some toys. I know she is small but I want to find someway for her to sit and play. All the infant play setups are too big for her short arms... She cannot reach them though she sure looks like she wants to.

She continues to sleep through the nights and does so on her back or tummy.

We still have the monitor though I think it has been about one month since she has set it off. We had a recent download but have had no call from that.

Her hair is growing though it is still hard to see. The new hair does not look red but she has not lost her old red hair. She is losing that hair and has lost her side burns, which were also red.

Tamie

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Subj: We have gone WIRELESS! ! !
Date: 8/11/99 7:18:46 AM Eastern Daylight Time

The Dr's office called and informed us that the last download was clear. We are OFF the monitor. We are all done with PREEMIE equipment!

We have 2 preemie outfits that still fit but have even outgrown some newborn outfits. So to give you an idea of size she is able to wear most 0-3's, a few 6-9's and just a tiny bit of preemies.

I still do not know what her weight is but will inform you when I find out.

I go to bed almost every night AMAZED at how wonderful of a baby this girl is!! God is such a wonderful creator!

I can sleep with her now! It was against the rules with the monitor as the monitor could pick up anyone's heart rate and respirations.

I do like her sleeping in her own bed and all of us getting our rest but I am also glad that I have that freedom. I had been wanting to sleep with her all night at least once.

Living day by day with God's growing Grace.

Tamie

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Subj: Confussed feelings about the monitor
Date: 8/12/99 11:23:46 PM Eastern Daylight Time

I wrote in my WIRELESS post how I was not too sure of my feelings when the Dr told us we could turn the monitor in. I apologized for how I felt.

Well, my best friend has an 6 year old, 28 wker preemie with severe CP. I did not want to ask her the question as to a feeling of loss due to NOT having something that showed how we had gone through so much.

Oh what a blessing she was!!! She told me that she had the same feelings when her DD was removed from O2.

She helped me understand my feelings and such.

We talked as to how we had to "mourn" the loss of our "normal" PG/baby. Then we "mourned" our new baby and all the significance of it all. Then we are now having to deal with "normal".....

I guess I am not ready for that. I still want to be known as a MOM OF A PREEMIE. It is not a title I am ready to give up.

Thanks for listening. I still need some INPUT on this. I have such confused feelings of it all.

I DO NOT WANT MY BABY TO BE ILL but I do not want to give up the SOMETHING... I feel a loss now that she is off her monitor, her last PREEMIE thing.


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Subj: I found out her weight ....
Date: 8/21/99 1:19:38 PM Eastern Daylight Time

Drum role please .................... She is NOW a 9 pound baby.

Tamie

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Subj: Blue armed baby
Date: 9/11/99 12:15:44 AM Eastern Daylight Time

Have any of you experienced a baby's arms turning blue even when they are not cold or upset? This seems to be a new thing for Elizabeth Grace and am trying to find out some information.

I have called the Dr and have an appointment in the morning.

Tamie

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Subj: We are back from Dr's
Date: 9/11/99 3:08:48 PM Eastern Daylight Time

Baby was seen by nurse practitioner that talked things over with Dr. They decided to run a pulse-ox but did not have one in office. Sent us to ER for this. She was cyanotic almost the entire visit at ER. Her mouth was blue but her arms were not. The pulse-ox read low 90's as it was hand held into position. The respiratory therapist (I think) felt it was reading too high.

The Dr is stumped right now. A pediatric Echo-cardio-gram will be scheduled by phone on Monday.

I asked if we should have a monitor until we get things figured out. The answer was that it was not the same problem.

Right now I am uncomfortable turning my back on her.


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Subj: Test is scheduled for Friday morning
Date: 9/16/99 6:04:04 PM Eastern Daylight Time

We have been trying to find out all the information we can about the babies health. We asked the Dr if MY meds might be causing her problems. They and LaLeche said that the academy of pediatrics said it was safe.

The pharmacist said to call poison control. Poison control said STOP BREAST FEEDING. It is dangerous. A Dr that does not even know us said to STOP too.

The Neonatologist said we can try to stop breast feeding but thinks that the baby is just getting too cool and that the it is normal this time of year for babies to have blue hands and lips as long as the gums in her mouth do not turn blue and that she does not stay blue for an extended amount of time.

The cardiologist never called back about the meds but did speed up the date for the exam from the 27th to this Fri.

The baby has not been sleeping well at all. She has gone from sleeping all night to being up 3-6 times a night. (Could be teething pain but I do not know.) Saturday night (I think) I was ready to take her back to ER. Her abdomen was pulling in at the ribs. I called the ER and spoke to a nurse. She said that if she was not pulling in at the clavicle that it was probably NORMAL.

Tamie


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Subj: Results of echo cardiogram
Date: 9/17/99 2:21:34 PM Eastern Daylight Time

The cardiologist found a "small-large hole" between the Right atrium and the left ventricle.

He does believe it will heal on its own and will not require surgery and does not require any limitations. We will have to go back in 3 months.

He is going to speak to the Dr in the Apnea clinic about putting her back on a monitor.

The BP meds are NOT considered a problem. He looked them up and read it before deciding this.

Thanks for all the information, support and prayers.

Tamie - Mom to Elizabeth Grace 6.5 actual age...28wker

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Subj: This is how she is doing for 4 mo adjusted
Date: 9/30/99 6:44:57 AM Eastern Daylight Time

I went to a web page that gives ideas of what babies do at the age of 4 mo. I went in and saved it to this page. Then I took out what she did not do or was not what I wanted to share and changed the words HE to SHE. Also, I added things that I though of as I read it. I did this so that I could think of more of the wonderful things she is doing. I hope you do not mind this as it seemed to be a good way to not forget some of the things to share and remember.

When she is placed on her stomach, she lifts her head and shoulders high, using her arms for support. She does not role over yet but is soon expected.

Our baby is now able to reach out and grab an object, even though she often misses her mark on the first try. Once she wraps her hands around something, she'll study it for a moment and then try to put it in her mouth. I've also noticed more drooling now. She has been teething now for quite sometime but I do not think her teeth will erupt soon. I can see where they are though.

We encourage our baby to explore and play with a variety of objects. For instance, she has favorite stuffed animals to snuggle and bite. We watch her suck on it, hold it, and discover what happens when she scrunches it up. We give her a musical sounding rattle and watch her delight in the sound it makes when she shakes it.

We purchased an exersaucer for her. It is fun to watch her as she begins to discover the cause and effect of moving a lever and banging objects. A floor gym and "regular walker" would not work for her since she is so short for her abilities. Soon though...

Elizabeth Grace does play with her hands now. She can be awake in her bed w/o me even knowing as she entertains herself. I think she has noticed her feet as well just not yet played with them.

She has developed the ability to make some vocal sounds, such as "ma-ma" or "da-da." She doesn't yet connect that sound with us, though. She's also able to participate in back-and-forth imitation games — we say "boo," and she'll try to say it back. It is fun to "mirror" her. When she licks her lips we copy her and lick ours. She responds positively so we do it again.

We read the books that we purchased for "baby" last Christmas and another bought esp for her 40 week celebration. She goes from cranky to quiet when we read. She reaches for the pictures in the books.

By 4 months adjusted age, she responds to our presence, our voices, and even our facial expressions by kicking and waving her arms. She now has bestowed smiles on everyone she has met.

I forgot to say that the eye appointment scheduled for this past week did not work out. It is rescheduled for the 4th of Oct. I will update soon.

God is good and I am glad.
Tamie
So Tiny, so small, so loved by all


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Children are God's most awesome creation!


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Subj: PTL--Dirty Socks
Date: 10/28/99 1:10:55 PM Eastern Daylight Time

God is blessing us everyday! Elizabeth Grace got dirty socks jumping in her johnny-jump the other day (I do not think I will ever wash them!)

Of course the socks would have been clean if I realized the box I have to put under her for her to reach to bounce was clean we would not have had dirty socks.

She rolled over for the first time today!

She passes toys from one hand to the other!

I just cannot tell you of His blessin
gs we see everyday in this bundle of joy!

Tamie


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Subj: Update on Elizabeth Grace
Date: 11/9/99 9:28:56 AM Eastern Standard Time

Elizabeth Grace is getting so social these days. She will make sounds to get attention. She used to make fake sneezes now she is into a different type of raspberry. She used to do raspberries but this one includes the back of her hand so that she can feel it.

She would much rather get our attention in anyway other than crying. When she is hungry she boroughs her nose into my shirt. When she wants down she pulls away and toward the floor. I am sure she communicates in other ways that I am not thinking of.

On her tummy she can scoot in circles. She also has been turning over with more intent now. She could roll from her back if she would just decide to. She gets all the way there but does not let herself fall to her tummy.

Baby Grace sits momentarily without assistance but sits for an extended amount of time on the floor with assistance of her BOPPY pillow. Boppy is a crescent pillow made for just such a reason.

She bounces on our laps as well as in her exersaucer and door bouncer.

She brings things to her mouth easily. She also changes hands with her toys. We have been giving her pizza crust to chew on. She also has been munching fries. She sits in a high chair to do this. (Now try to picture this. She is the size of a 7-12 wk infant sitting in a highchair. People cannot help but come by and ask about her)

She is wearing size 3-6 mo and her 6-9 mo clothes are washed and ready.

Tamie


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Subj: Elizabeth Grace now 9.5 mo old/Cardiologist
Date: 12/9/99 6:19:17 AM Eastern Standard Time

Elizabeth Grace's hand control is developing rather quickly it seems. She scoops things up. She has passed toys from one hand to the other for a long while. It does seem funny that she has not started to watch things drop as of yet but she did very successfully follow the dropped toy at the Dr's office.

Though she was not rolling from back to front at the Dr's appointment on Nov 22 she is now. She seems to do it very intentionally but does not use her new found ability to get all over the house.

She is really funny now. She will play SHY and PEEK-A BOO without others initiating. Her Peek-a-boo is done by burying her head in my chest as if she is shy.

Elizabeth Grace is doing a great job at getting our attention. She usually still SNEEZES when she wants something. I acknowledge and give her what she wants because I want the behavior to continue a little while.

Her talking is so very cute. She tends to talk more if her fingers are in her mouth. She does not say the Ba, Ma, Da single syllables that most do at her age but the Dr was pleased with her abilities that he did not mark any of it as delays.

She is almost sitting up by herself. She tends to tip over after a few minutes. She lays on her belly and spins... But more often she finds herself flipped and out of reach of her toys. She does know how to turn back to reach them though.

Elizabeth Grace is a very happy baby. She sleeps through MOST nights and is a patient baby. I do not think I have had an easier baby to take care of in all my daycare yrs.

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Today was another Dr appointment with the pediatric cardiologist.

While we were getting the echo cardiogram done, the electricity shut down (THERE WERE PEOPLE HAVING SURGERY!) So the test lasted all of about 50 seconds. Last time it took almost 15 min.

They also do 2 different types of EKG's and neither of those were done.

Even the EXAM by the Dr was done by FLASHLIGHT!

Well, I guess he got enough of a picture because he said the hold was smaller. He was surprised it was not gone but expects to see it gone by May in which we will have another appointment.

She is doing very well and has not turned blue since before her first appointment. I think it was the virus she had at the time in combination with the then unknown murmur.

Tamie

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Subj: *GERMS :-)
Date: 12/9/99 10:12:35 PM Eastern Standard Time

OK ... is there a way to get around germs when they will NOT stay on their blanket on the floor?! (kidding!) Today is Elizabeth Grace's first day to intentionally roll off the blanket. She just keeps going and going.

She looked at her blanket as to say, SEE HOW FAR I HAVE GOTTEN!

It is wonderful, I am surprised how great this makes me feel!

Right now she is laughing so hard at her brother, Nate, laying on the floor with her.

Tamie


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Subj: 10 mo old!
Date: 12/29/99 11:05:52 PM Eastern Standard Time

Elizabeth Grace (I have decided I like her WHOLE name so that is what I will call her for now), likes to bounce but has for a very long time.

She is now sitting w/o falling back, she's discovered it hurts to fall back on her head. She does NOT spin but sits very cautiously. She cannot get to sitting by herself and has yet to discover that falling down changes her position for the opportunity of mobility.

She does roll all over the place. Her brother's cowboy comforter is not large enough to keep her off the floor. She does intentionally use rolling to get from point A to point B.

She has been moving toys from hand to hand for a long time. She has just started banging them together. Usually not within her own hands but banging a toy that is on the floor or in my hand. She loves her Stack of DONUTS. She removes them and then tries to put them back on, she is not successful with that.

She likes to rock back and forth on her hands and knees and may creep BACKWARDS as she is trying to go forward. This is quite a new talent for her. She can stand if supported by a couch or holding onto her new activity walker.

She has 2 lower teeth and 4 upper teeth are trying to cut. The new teeth are encouraging her new facial expressions. She tries to talk around those odd things... Of course she drools a bit on some days and LOVES to chew on things. She chews on her hair brush a lot and the new stuffed toys that have "chewy paws". When her lower teeth cut she pulled the ears of her stuffed animals through her tightly closed gums.

She has gotten a few "no's" now. She likes to pull on her curtains when I change her on her changing table in her room. She understands and TRIES to not do it again. I love to see her efforts to understand. Of course I offer distraction as I know she has to keep herself busy with testing her world.

She has had her days and nights mixed a little lately. She has been in her battery operated swing a bit a night and slept in my bed for a few hours the other day. I feel safe with this now because she is bigger but cannot crawl away.

She wants my attention more than ever now. The PROFESSIONALS say it is because "object permanence" and other maturity features are kicking in. One sign of this is that when she sees me in a mirror she's likely to turn and look for me instead of believing that I'm in the mirror itself.

While wrapping gifts this past week, I put her into a large Rubbermaid tub with a few toys. This kept her in view of me and within reach of toys. She enjoyed it quite a bit.

Hide and seek is a great game and she has added a new sound for getting attention. She clicks her tongue. She now says "Da-da" a lot. She still does not have other single syllable repeating sounds. She has found her "screamer" and is quick with the use of her voice when she is irritable.

She likes to hug dollies and stares at stuffed animals that sing. She allows for me-talk-you-talk activities.


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Jan. 20-22, 2000

Elizabeth Grace has had a fever since Wed morning. I took her to the Dr Thursday. She has an ear infection of the Left Ear.

She has had antibiotics since Thursday evening. Her fever continues and she is not feeling well yet. She sleeps continuously but to eat. She is eating well. Taking the breast only.

She is listless and now seems to have a sore throat to go with it all. I took her to Dr again today, Saturday. Dr thinks it is the flu. We are awaiting blood tests results.

She will not let me put her down or let others hold her.

Thanks for your prayers,
Tamie


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Her fever still had not broke this morning. She was MORE listless and cranky and whining as she ate, sore throat. They did a CBC and some other blood work and sent us home to continue with same meds, Tylenol and Advil.

We got home and she took a nap in her bed, nice break... but did this mean she was worse or better?

When she woke up she was really cranky and hot. I gave her some Advil and held her. Then Daddy held her.

When she woke up, she sat up, smiled and is feeling quite well!

I took her to the Dr about 3 hours too early! She got jabbed and poked and is not doing well, playing in her bed.

She defiantly still looks under the weather but she has a grin and is not crying!
Tamie

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WHAT A CRAZY WEEK/DAY...

BTW--This is VERY CLOSE to the first day I was hospitalized a yr ago. It was something like Jan 21 or 22, 1999!

As soon as I hit the SEND, of the LAST noteabove, I got a call from the Dr. She wanted the baby put in the hospital and have an IV. I told her how she was holding her head up, smiling and just looking better.

She could not believe that she would be acting that way with the blood work she was looking at so she asked if I would REDO the test and decide from THAT blood work as to whether she should be hospitalized.

Well, after 6 pokes, total today, we are home. She is asleep and I think all is going to be much better.
Tamie

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Elizabeth Grace is doing much better

If you have not read the last update on Elizabeth Grace 2-22-00, should have been 1-22-00, you might wish to. GOD INTERVENED at the perfect moment.

Now to bring you up to date from that point. She is still very tired and you can see in her eyes that she is not feeling PERFECT but she is playing, talking, standing...AND...crawling. Oh, she was so week when she first tried to crawl! But once she got going she was doing better than ever.
Tamie

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Elizabeth Grace is growing up rapidly. She will be one yr. old this month!

She can sit perfectly now, just since Christmas. We used a "Boppy" pillow for support for gift opening. It took a few head bangings to figure out that she would rather sit up than fall. She does not have to be careful and can reach around as she is sitting. She does not do circles as she is sitting but has started doing circles as she lay on her belly.

I still have her bed mattress in the highest position. She can pull herself to the edge of it if I SIT her in it. She is not able to put herself in a sit but as soon as she can, I will have to lower her bed. (Soon, I think)

She can stand at the furniture if someone puts her there. She did hold on for dear life as her fingers turned white. She is now getting daring and lets go and balances, sometimes... Perhaps the new head banging will encourage her to balance better, OUCH! She transfers her grasp from one item to another and has just started moving her feet a little as she stands, holding on.

She has stood w/o holding on for up to about 45 seconds. She seems to know that that means she is a BIG girl.

Her crawling is improving daily. I stack blocks a little bit away and watch her crawl in a very wobbly way to knock them over. I then treat her to a few stacks to knock down w/o crawling. I then start again away from her so she has to crawl again. Her primary mode of motility remains to be rolling.

She is getting more and more able to pick up little things up, like lint on the floor or cheerios. Today, she fed herself so much cereal I was amazed.

She is getting "better" at throwing fits. She arches her back and screams. This bothered me with the first two kids but I know now that if it does not bother me, it will be short lived.

She is clapping her hands together now and waves bye-bye, with BOTH hands at same time. She also likes to play with her plastic doughnuts removing them from the stacker and slapping them together. Another favored toy is a music maker. She likes to kick it or slap at it.

With her previous illness followed by heavy teething has caused her to be a major cling-on. I enjoy my quick breaks. She is sitting with Daddy now after a long standing at the table and some floor time.

She now has erupted two bottom, three top with one more very close.

We have to watch for allergy to Cefzil, cefprozil, antibiotic. It caused a rash. Then a few days later she got a rash from beef, tomatoes or mushrooms. We will try those again in a little while.

Her vocabulary is still just Da-da and humming with screaming, in play and not. She still "sneezes" when she wants something or someone. ;-)









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