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Elizabeth Grace - An Amazing Birth Story Elizabeth Grace - An Amazing Birth Story





13 months old!

I just want to let everyone know how great Elizabeth Grace is doing!

She is crawling like a super-pro. She pulls up at the furniture and gets back down without a hitch. She STANDS without holding on for long periods of time.

She does do the all important "pincer grasp" getting the tiniest things off the highchair or floor. Again, with her sweet little hands, it is fun to watch.

Elizabeth Grace is very social. I enjoy watching her "flirt" with others. She does wave bye-bye as others wave. She is figuring out that getting in the car seat means we are going somewhere. She enjoys it now. She used to fuss a lot as she did not like the snow suit, car seat combination. It was too restricting. We are happy to see warmer weather.

She gags on fluids taken from a cup. Sometimes it takes her a real long time to get control. It freaks people out but I have learned to soothe her as she works it out. I do not pat her back or put her arms up. I just quietly assure her that I am staying with her. It is difficult to watch her get bluish. I think it has to do with the whole in her heart. I will keep you up with that...

She likes to eat EVERYTHING set in front of her. Tonight for supper she had tuna/egg salad and some Life cereal and a cup of juice. OF course she is still on the breast.

The daycare thinks that she is the most special thing that has happened. (Of course kids mimic a lot of the adult attitudes they see!)

She wants to be on the "daycare" side of the gate when Marquita and Nate are doing school. It is fun to watch her but hard to have to trust God to protect her from RSV. BTW-- RSV season will be over April 30. It is still possible to catch it but less likely.

Oh, one more thing, Dr did not wish to talk much about a possible hearing problem. I am concerned but not worried as she really does do a wonderful job, she is not actually behind, she just is not as advanced as much in verbal skills as she is all her other skills. Early Intervention, EI, will re-evaluate in September. If she is still lagging they will pursue a speech evaluation for her.



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April 23, 2000 11/14mo

Elizabeth Grace is growing in independence. That helps a lot since we HAVE to start accepting infants for daycare. We have been cutting our own income by limiting our choices of kids but I wanted her to be the BABY. I am now willing to accept another infant in daycare since she IS able to entertain and be apart from me a little.

But-back to her growing independence — evident in her solo standing, stooping, and squatting — is becoming apparent. She may walk while gripping my hand or a walk-behind toy, and she'll hold out her arm or leg to help me dress her. At mealtimes, she hand-feeds herself an entire meal.

She loves it when Marquita, Nate, Daddy or I get on the floor with her. She squeals loudly, pats our faces and climbs over us.

She does babble but still has NO intelligible words. I know she is continuing having a speech delay but wonder how much of it is because of an ear infection we cannot get over. Another appointment coming up soon.

We had to fill out MORE developmental questionnaires. Just after I put the envelope in the mailbox she did one of the items marked as unsuccessful. I had tried and tried to get her to stack blocks, and maybe she CANNOT stack the ones we were playing with but we went to see her younger cousin that had a different style block, she stacked them within seconds! Oh well, the envelope is gone.

SHE COMPLETELY outgrew her size 0 shoes. I will attach a pic her of her last time wearing them. I let her play with one for the pic.



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May 29, 2000 One Year adjusted for preematurity

Well, it is now Elizabeth Grace's one year adjusted birthday! I am still amazed at her each and everyday. She is no where near the 3 pound 12 ounces baby girl I brought into my home last April 30. She now weighs 14.5 pounds and is about 25 inches tall. She has a budding personality with the most darling laugh and smile. She throws her head back and just laughs so hard with her mouth wide open. She crawls and waves backwards announcing her departure (good news for hearing and development but still delayed a little). Knocking blocks over is not as much fun as it used to be but building them is getting easier. BEFORE I FINSISHED THIS UPDATE SHE GOT TO STANDING W/O ANYTHING TO HOLD ONTO!!! Another FIRST for TODAY --- SHE WHISPERED!

She is eating completely from the table. I never used baby foods past the 3 days of this and 3 days of that to determine allergies. She uses a spoon in the most messy way and drinks from a sippy cup very efficiently. She is still on the breast but is weaning herself quite a bit. When she is hungry for food, she crawls into the kitchen and calls for someone to follow her.

She falls asleep on the breast and sleeps through about half the nights w/o getting up. I am tempted to have her cry a night or two to see if that will finish the getting up but I actually enjoy that quiet time together though it is hard to keep my eyes open wilts she nurses (TJP's KJV). Also, I want her to get all her milk from me (she gets cheeses and such too) for a little while longer and do not wish to supplement.

Elizabeth Grace truly wants to walk. She has taken 3 steps when urged to do so. Also, she has tried a step or two on her own. SOON I am sure! She has started to act like a "billy goat" and wishes to climb to the top of the person holding her or whatever she is standing on.

She is not happy in a walker. They are too restrictive. She prefers to crawl in the dirt in the yard.

Her talking is still delayed by many measures. We are waiting now for September when the Early Intervention teachers come out to do another evaluation. She has fixed her MOMMA to me but DADDA can be daddy or something else. She says something for "bye-bye" with a wave and may have tried to grab my ear when I was saying SSS EARS (sears really slow). I was setting her down so I am not sure if that is what she attempted. I pulled her back to my lap but then she wanted down... The stacking, plastic donuts and other small toys are her favorites. She will get up in the morning with one and keep it for hours then find another little toy to keep with her. She taps them together, against the seat belt of her high chair or car seat... Patty-cake and peek-a-boo are still favorite games and book reading is good as well.

When with the daycare, Elizabeth Grace will play very happily. Usually, she just sits and plays around them but she also will climb on and over them. We put her in a cart and they push her around the room. She gets upset if no one wishes to give her a ride.

She is very mild mannered but I have learned that that means NOTHING when they hit their teen yrs :-) Mark took me to Red Lobster for our 19th anniversary. I allowed her to color with crayons while there. She did get a few intentionally marks on the paper.

Her cardiac appointment was quite encouraging. The ultrasound and EKG's showed NO HOLE. The Dr. informed me that that does NOT mean it is gone but that it might be. He said the tests were difficult to follow since she screamed the entire time. BUT, he did look at her many times saying "she looks good, she is healthy..." He does not want to see her again for a year and half instead of every 3 months.



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Elizabeth Grace is WALKING!

June 1st is the day that goes into the history books.

She is taking about 5 steps at a time and KNOWS she is doing it. We made a video of her doing her thing, It is so very fun.

She is getting more and more verbal every day. She is now pointing as she babbles and is repeating what she hears though she would not remember how to say it next time. But she will ... As we clean her up at her high chair she says "thank you" when she hands the food over. (cannot understand her but she is saying what I say).

She is not feeling well today. Probably a cold but it is knocking her out. She has a low fever and has slept all day.

I decided to play with the "growth chart" that is found at this site http://www.babycenter.com/growthchart/ If you want to play with her numbers too you can punch in 15 pounds (she does not weigh more but might weigh less). 25 1/2 inches in length. And 15 1/2 inches head circumference.

Do just the head size, just the height, and then just the weight. It is interesting what comes up. Oh yea, do all three too.



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June 22, 2000 Elizabeth Grace is WALKING more than a step or two. Her bottom still hits the floor every so often but she IS getting the hang of it.

She so much wants to look BIG as she walks so she holds her hands in front or drops them to her side so that she IS NOT BALANCING WITH THEM. She does not get as far but it sure is cute!

She is still in size 1 shoe, perhaps she would walk better if she had more to stand on.



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July 18, '00 At our last Dr appointment, Elizabeth Grace weighed in at 16.7 pounds fully dressed. I stood her up and measured her at 26 1/4 inches tall. She has 8 front teeth and 4 molars are practically in.

She has been so fun. We took her to Peter Piper's Pizza for Marquita's 14th birthday. This was probably her first opportunity to roam around somewhat freely other than outside.

She would point and follow her finger. Sometimes she would get both hands with fingers pointing and have to decide which one to follow.

She is UNDERSTANDING a lot! Today I told her that I was going to change her diaper. She went to the changing table and waited for me. She goes to the high chair on command. She pulls my nose and ears on command. She knows what "num-nums" are or is (breastfeeding). She has also begun LOOKING for "num-nums". Good thing she THINKS it is up my sleeve. (I do not know how she got THAT idea) :-)

She grabs her socks or shoes and tries to put them on (or get them to go on). She brushes her hair, colors with crayons, taps on my knee for attention.

I keep her attention during church with drops of lotion on her arms or legs. If she wishes to have the lotion she points to it then stares at her arm. (SO CUTE!)

Her verbal words are not increasing. She says momma for most everything and everyone. She does do a lot of babbling with many inflections. She does not talk monotone.

Today she showed a behavior all too common for daycare kids... She got off a toy then showed emotional dissatisfaction when another child went to the toy.

I bathe her in a tub on the counter. I found a relatively large one. She can fit in it for a long while yet! I am so glad that I am not bending over a tub trying to find a place for my knees or standing on my knees wishing to be elsewhere. Maybe, when she is bigger and in the big tub she will be able to wash her own face, hair and what-all. :-)

She wakes less at night now. I let her fuss a little, about 2 min and she is out again. She is ready for bed at 9 pm and up from 5am-8am... She naps once to 3 times a day.

Her eating habits are quite interesting. She loves grapes, cut in half. Eating with a spoon is done better than one might expect for a 14 mo old (adj. age). She drinks from a sippy cup but gags most every meal at least once when she does. I think she sucks on it as if it were me.

OH, something else that is so cute. She opens her mouth really wide and wraps her lips around her teeth when she wants something to eat or to nurse. (I will try to get a picture).

She has learned how to make her talking books talk. She loves and pats her ELMO and other dolls. She has just started liking ride-on toys (hard to find one small enough). Today, in the play-yard, she got on a ride on toy and waved to each car that drove by.

She's discovered that there is a circle in my house.... One can go from the kitchen to the dining room, then to the living room and back to the kitchen. OH the SQUEAL when she figured it out! I have had to buy a new gate to slow her down a little.

She does NOT have a "LOVEY" as of yet. I will not mind if she chooses something so that if I cannot be with her she can have something... If she does not choose one, I will not be upset but it will be one less thing to go in her KEEP STUFF that would bring back wonderful memories in yrs to come.

Her next planned appointments are in September and November. In September she will be re-evaluated for speech delay and in November she will be re-evaluated by her NICU physicians.



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Sept. 2000

Elizabeth Grace's updates seem to be getting further and further apart but I guess it is 'cause she is getting older and changes slow down.

Elizabeth Grace likes to color pictures. She occasionally chews the crayons but not usually. She opts to use either hand and holds the crayon in the cutest manner. She holds her hand somewhat flat and the crayon between her thumb and side of her palm.

She sleeps most of her nights in a portable crib/playpen. The rest of the time she sleeps with her dad and me. She no longer sleeps through the night but is up just long enough to transfer from her bed to mine, usually. There are times that she is inconsolable in which I wish we were still breastfeeding so that THAT would not be an issue. Which reminds me, if she were still breastfeeding she would not give that occasional fight that goes with needing a nap. She would just nurse herself into sweet quiet bliss.

I have read that it is not uncommon for her adjusted age to take to falling often and so be it, she has 3 bruises on her face at this moment. 2 she got when she was hugged below the knees from a daycare child and the other from tripping onto a Leggo bucket.

She WANTS to throw fits but really does not know how. She carefully puts her head to the floor and gives a brief, quiet whine. I do not react to her "fit". She then comes to me and asks for what she wants.

She has demonstrated irritation with me with the CUTEST pursed lips and hand on hip thing. Oh to have shot a picture of that.

She is GREAT at cleaning up her toys. She has started the stage of wanting to help with the laundry too. Big sister does NOT appreciate the help.

We do a lot of spelling around here now-a-days. She UNDERSTANDS everything. I just love it! Her words continue to be MOM, and "eye". She says "eye" for hi, bye, and "I love you". She might sneak another word in once in a while but when I try to verify what I thought I had heard, she just does not repeat it. Perhaps she has words and I am just not able to tell.

Physical activities: One of her newest tricks is walking backwards. She can now do it on command.

You better not try to build a tower of blocks, knocking them down is still a favorite game of hers. She likes to play in the area of others but does not yet understand playing together, except wrestling. When another toddler takes her toy, she tries quietly to say it is hers. If this does not work she usually goes to a new game. She does not fuss about it. EG has learned to "wait her turn" so this helps some. She picks up mannerisms and copies them.

She loves to hold her dolly and pat it. She has started putting dolly into a stroller. She imitates eating a cookie or such.

EG disappears from the family area and explores the house more. She climbs to the top of the stairs before we know she is gone. For her, going up is easy but she does not understand that she MUST turn backwards to come down. She wants to walk front-wards. The step is longer than half her leg. It just cannot be done.

She insists on eating with a fork or spoon. The waitresses at restaurants do not offer her silverware. We have to ask or carry some in her diaper bag.

She kicks a ball w/o falling, most of the time. She does not NEED PRESCHOOL to learn how to sort shapes and colors; she does this w/o encouragement.

I am NOT looking forward to winter. This child NEEDS her outside time! Were my other 2 like this and I have forgotten?

Now that she weighs 16 and half pounds she is 10 times her birth weight. NOW tell me, how long did it take your kids to do THAT. 10 times her birth weight is 16.25 pounds. My son is 12 and has not done it yet.

Shopping with EG has become a new challenge. I do not know if it's a change in me or if she is feistier than her older siblings but keeping her in the shopping cart is nearly impossible. I never had quite the problem with the older 2 but I might not have been willing to allow an alternative. The alternative I offer is for her to be held or walk with handholding. This is also difficult. She just wants to run. What often works is to let her walk until she is tired. Then put her in the cart.

I do NOT get upset with EG as I did with the older 2. I do not know if is because I understand babies better, 10 yrs of daycare… or if I have a softer heart. Maybe it is her temperament. Maybe it is a combination of all these things. Not to worry, I appreciate her so very much.

Hhhmmmm, the sites I use to remind me of update ideas did not offer "if recently weaned"… Elizabeth Grace has weaned pretty well. She does ask for her "num-nums" but my medications do not allow for her to have any. It is only a difficult issue when she is very tired and needs a nap that she does not want or in the middle of the night and she is just not consolable. She can wake in the night and go right back to sleep once placed in her rightful place between Mommy and Daddy.



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October 30, 2000

Just a small update

She is running and playing... She has just started saying WORDS! Yesterday the new word was "NO". Last week, "EAR & HAIR" (they sound the same but she chooses the right one when asked) "DONE" and "ON". She has many ways to ask for things... she pulls up her sleeves when she wants to eat, has me follow her to the frig for a drink, acts like she is puttin' on a jacket for going outside, looks at her hand then rubs it if she wants lotion, on the way to her bath she starts humming "songs". I usually sing "Take a bath - Take a bath - everybody loves a bath. (To: BE A CLOWN, everybody loves a clown). And in her bath we sing Rubber Duckie. I am sure a few others creep into bath time but those are the most common. OH, OH.... today, she pulled a tissue from the box and WIPED HER BUTT! I smelled her diaper and .... then I changed her. LOL!



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December 4, 2000 (18 mo adj preemie checkup)

Elizabeth Grace FLEW threw the DDT, Denver Developmental Test, with exception to her verbal skills. She is still lagging there and is being referred for speach therapy.

They still do not want to do hearing exam. She passed the newborn hearing screen. I do not get it. THAT shows that she DOES hear but not if she is hearing normally.

She does not and never startles to loud noises that are not combined with a movement. If she sees the door slam or someone run into the room and making a startling sound, she will jump but she does not do so if the noise is out of her view.

Her head size is proportional to her body size. That is fine and good. It just means that she is not likely to reach her genetic potential growth. If her head was the size of her adjusted age, it would mean that she is more likely grow to her full genetic potential. (This is all information found online, not verified at appointment. Her head size and statements of proportions are from this recent appointment.)

Her heart murmur was not heard but seldom ever has been. She does not have another NICU appointment until 3 y/o.

Oh, her official size. She is 29 inches long, 17 pounds 14 ounces. I do not remember her head size (even though it's always my big concern.)



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Jan 20, 2001
"LIFE - with a not-so-well toddler"

I thought EG was feeling well enough to get out today after being diagnosed with double ear infection and sore throat last week.

Mark took me to a birthday lunch. While at Chili's, EG would not be satisfied with any toy from her bag or the crayons offered. They each in turn went flying across the restaurant and hitting the floor. Screams followed the toys.

I put all the toys away and let her sip water. Tylenol was squeezed into her cheeks as she continued to call attention to the table.

THEN, when the onion came, EG threw and broke her plate. Onions petals went everywhere as the plate broke on the floor and her screams continued to blast through the building.

She decided not to eat the dinner offered.

She screamed as I dressed her in her snow suit, hat and mittens. Daddy went to start the car.

She quietly went into the car seat so we decided the Tylenol must be starting to work. We drove to the grocery/department (combined) store. She was pleasant... Singing.

We decided to go in. As soon as we pulled out the shopping cart, she started again.

People went out of their way to see if this screaming tot was being handled in a proper manner (PTL).

We left 5 min after arriving ...

Back to the car. She would not even consider getting in the car seat. She was stiff as a board.

After Marquita and I convinced EG to bend in the middle and allow us to buckle her belt, Daddy started out of the parking lot. The screams were so loud. I know she could not hear me sing, "Hush Little Baby".

Marquita rubs EG's head. EG slaps Marquita with a louder scream. I continue to sing.

15 min after leaving the store EG is asleep, huffing and puffing with the biggest frown.

She slept through getting her snowsuit off. I went to potty. As soon as I made it back to the livingroom, the screams start again.

She settled right down and has been pleasant since.

~*~ God's GRACE is His most AWESOME gift ~*~
God is good and I am glad,
Tamie



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Feb 23, 2001 Language Skills

We never really got an actual diagnosis of a speech delay but she continues to border on delayed. She does add words daily and comes up with ONE big word every once-in-a-while. I wrote about her word JUICE. She has never said it again. AND, this week she is saying "MARQUITA" very clearly. She is just beginning to put two words together. TODAY she said "ducky go?" with her hands turned up as she could not find it behind her. She can walk around chattering to herself making others take notice. :-)

Of course she says 'no'. Since she does not say 'yes' it is difficult to tell when "no" means 'no' and when it means 'yes'.

We enjoy playing word games. She says something, I'll do my best to say it back to her. She says SPIDER when she wants me to sing "Itsy Bitsy Spider". Marquita and I like to play "1-2-3" games. After counting we do something, the same thing over and over THEN of course she giggles in anticipation as the game continues.

She has not found the "why" word yet. Also, I do not think she has the magic total of 50 words in her vocabulary yet.

I am looking for cassettes of songs that include the days of the week, months, numbers, seasons, shapes.... Whatever will increase her vocabulary in fun a way.

Social Skills
Elizabeth Grace's play often involves imitating adult actions such as feeding a doll, talking on the phone or shopping.

She grows more excited over the prospect of playing with the daycare children. She loves to help the babies. She is always putting paci's or bottles in their mouths, covering them with blankets, patting them or rubbing their heads. She tried to lift a fairly big 3y/o that was sleeping and not responding to the call to snack. :-) She thinks she is one of the older kids and wants to do what the big kids do. :-) It is difficult to draw a line between HOME and DAYCARE so her freedom is different then that of the daycare children. EG wants to sit at the big kid table and do crafts with them. The high chair kids do not usually do crafts but are offered table toys or paper and colored pencils.

When blocks are set up in the making of a fort, she feels compelled to knock them down. I have read that it won't be long before she thinks she should be building the fort. SHE DOES OFFER blocks as others are building but better watch out ...

Emotional
Separation anxiety has not been an issue with Elizabeth Grace. She pushed me out of the door at my friend's house. She has learned the routine that when we drop her off, I am leaving. It's only been TWICE. She learned from the FIRST stay. :-)

The terrible twos are here, sort of. She has begun pushing for independence but if someone does not understand her, she just might bury her head in her arms and put it on the floor in tears. When she comes up from that, I offer hugs and a hand to be guided to her 'want'.

Physical
Elizabeth Grace weighs in at 19 pounds even. She measures 29 1/2 inches tall. Her head circomferance is 17 1/4 inches. When I take her to play at the mall "playground" I am approached by mothers of children about 7-10 mo of age asking me how old my sweetie is. I WANT to say she is a genius but I tell the truth. :-)

She enjoys singing songs that have hand gestures. Her absolute favorite is "Itsy Bitsy Spider". EG has a WORD for 'spider'. If it weren't for her hand signs, I would not know what she's saying but I KNOW. She walks around singing the "I LOVE YOU" part of "Skinnamarinky Dinky Dink". I know it is 'I love you' but others would not know. These are the songs that we have song since our NICU days.

She takes time in her bath. Sometimes I just cannot rush her through it. She sings "Rubber Ducky" and our own "Take a Bath" song AND of course "This little pig". It is not unusual for her to dump the cup over her face then gag, spit and sputter a bit. I let her take her FIRST, and only so far, big tub bath about 2 wks ago. I have taken pics and will try to get them uploaded soon.

Her favorite books are made of a foam and have individual sections that come out. I'm surprised that she does not sit much to be read to... BUT I will continue reading to her.

Schedules are a good thing for her. She just flows with them. If we get of schedule she gets irritable. Cleaning up her toys before going to bed is simply expected. She understands and follows the direction to do so. She can keep on task pretty well.

Elizabeth Grace sleeps through the nights most often. My first sign that something is up is sleeplessness. She does seem to dream more now. She'll cry out at night. When I get to her, she is still sleeping under her covers, unmoved from how I placed her in the bed. She asks to go "potty" at about 1/3 of her diaper changes and then potties successfully at about 1/2 of those visits. She seldom has a BM on the potty.

Elizabeth Grace cannot walk up or down steps as of yet though she manages them in her own way. I do supervise her stair taking. She would like to just walk down them but is not able yet. If we had a hand rail at her height I'm sure she could but it's an expense that would not be needed one yr. from now.

She likes to "help" me put puzzles together but really does not have the concept. Even her foam books have single pieces that she has not yet been able to put back together but this is soon coming.

Elizabeth Grace loves to set things into piles. She might decide to put the red leggos in a pile then the yellow ones.... She also divides other toys into categories. Of course the leggos are a great "fill-n-spill" toy.

Here is a short list of a few more accomplishments:

· Eat with a fork and spoon
· Drink from a cup (without always spilling the contents)
· Kick a ball
· Build a tower of up to six blocks, and then smash them down
· Beginning to sort shapes in a shape sorter
· Scribble with a pen or crayon
· Turn pages


Challenges
Shopping has become a bit of a challenge. Elizabeth Grace is not always willing to ride in the shopping cart or stroller. I often use her clothes to keep her in the seat. If she is wearing bib overalls, I run the seat belt of the stroller, high chair or shopping cart through them.

At home, I have a head band secured to the high chairs that I put over the heads to help the children to stay sitting.

EG shows a little "stranger anxiety" in the way that she acts shy when others approach her to talk. She quietly puts her head into my shoulder or into her hands.

She has gotten her first time-out. She pouted her way through it but lived just the same. She has seen the daycare children get time-outs so she KNEW it meant that she had misbehaved.

MORE
A couple weeks ago we had warm 50 degree days in which it rained. She giggled so sweetly when the rain hit her face. Usually her face is hidden in a blanket when we go out as a way to protect her "potentially delicate" lungs.

She has a computer program called "Baby Type". The key strokes show up on the screen or they can be geometric shapes. She boots me from the computer so that she can play. (I just recently found some pre-school web sites that I am anxious to show her.)

She KNOWS which toy box each item belongs. If a kitchen toy is found out of place, she insists on getting it back to where it 'belongs'.

Chalk is one of her favorite toys. She'll grab one piece, make a mark on the board and want to trade for another color for another single mark on the board.



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Elizabeth Grace's left eardrum ruptured March 16. She cried all night after I had taken her to the Dr to check her ears. She had fluid but no infection.

I guess all the screaming caused an inguinal hernia to manifest because just a couple days after the ear ruptured she had a terrible day. During her bath she was very uncooperative though not naughty. She just wasn't willing to move in certain manners to get washed.

I rushed her through her bath just to hold her. As I was dressing her she let out the worst scream and grabbed at her groin. She had a swelling in the left inguinal area about the size of a jumbo egg.

I finished dressing her and rushed her to the ER. She is scheduled to see a pediatric surgeon on April 10 for repair of the hernia.




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April 5, 2000

We called the surgeon stating that we feel EG is VERY uncomfortable with her hernia so the appt was moved up. We saw him on the 3rd.

Her surgery is scheduled for the 27 of April at 11:45. Now my biggest concern is trying to keep her from being so hungry and miserable before surgery.

I plan on waking her for a 'midnight snack' of instant breakfast foods.

AND now today . . . Elizabeth Grace has her 100,000th ear infection.

The ear is on the verge of bursting (same one). The Dr gave her the Rocephin shot. I thought this would be great and she will be better shortly.

Since she had the shots, she has a few 'strange' effects. First of all, her legs hurt really bad at the injection sites. Second, she was acting as if she had 25 glasses of COKE! She has never acted so odd. She fell asleep at her usual bedtime.

Now that I have a few min for the computer, I am searching about Rocephin. It says that it is LESS effective than oral meds 80% cure in 3 days as to 82% oral meds. The ratio was the same at 5 days, 7 days, 10 days and weeks/months after the shot.

NOW, what is bothering me is that the REASON for THIS choice of medication. It has to do with parents or daycare providers NOT administering the oral meds correctly.

I have done a very good job with EG's meds. Since January started, about 6 infections ago, I have missed maybe 2 doses of antibiotics. I was not asked if I was successful with her meds or if she was difficult to give them to.

It was THE choice med!?

More about today's appt - We talked about EG's head size but it was pretty much just pushed under the rug. She finally reached 20 pounds and is 31 inches tall IN SHOES.

He mentioned, as if he was thinking to himself, tubes and that THIS infection needed to be cleared before her hernia surgery. I think that he might be attempting to line up a 'tube' surgery with the hernia surgery.

~*~God's GRACE is His most AWESOME gift ~*~



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April 20, 2001
STUCK!!!! EG's new word .. I took a picture so you might want to look. She pushed herself under the gate.


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April 27, 2001
We have been home for a couple of hours. The surgery went ALMOST perfect. The hernia was considered 'large'. The Dr did not see any problem on her other side when he used the scope over to the other side.

The worst news was that they tried to do a 'caudel' for pain but it didn't work. She was in much more pain than she would have been if it would have worked.

One of the nurses thought she KNEW my baby better than I did. She told me my child was not hurting as it seems but that she was afraid of the BLUE CLOTHES!! I let her know that my child does not say OW when she sees blue.

Then the nurse TOOK EG FROM ME to remove her IV. It was time to go home, I guess and I was giving in to her too much. (I am TRYING to give her the benefit of the doubt in that she did not know that the routine pain control did not work.)

She pulled the curtain around us and told me to get her ready to go. When she came back and I had made NO EFFORT toward heading home, she told me that her pain med was at it's 'best' and NOW was the best time to go.

I looked her in the eye and told her "I AM NOT READY TO GO". She backed off after that.

EG's 'primary' nurse knew she was in severe pain and brought pain med three times. She KNEW that 'ow' did not mean, "I do not like blue!"

Right now EG is needing pain med but has gotten up to move AND even asked me to take her to potty! She is feeling much better now than even when we left the hosp.



************************

April 28
EG required pain med in the night. I think the slowing down allowed for the soreness to set in. Today she has been a little slower than yesterday's 100 miles an hour but no one noticed a lower rate of speed of 99.5 miles an hour.



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April 29
Her scar is about 1/2in on her left upper groin with a poke to the right of that. I do not know if THAT poke is from the scope or the local pain med they decided to add since the spinal one did not work. There is a poke right at her tailbone from the failed attempt at a caudel.

She has been constantly rubbing her ears. I missed 3 of her prophelactic anitibiotics. I did not give it to her last night because I did not want to make things worse. She had always started the prophelactic meds AFTER a full force of meds. I was not sure what I should do. I did ask the pharmacist but was not comfortable with her answer. She told me to double her dose before bed to get her blood level up. When I told her she is a mere 20 pounder she changed her method to one before supper and then resume bedtime.

BUT - what if an infection has started ... My reason to wait.

She has an ear appt for tubes on May 7, 20001



*********************************

May 16, 2001

Elizabeth Grace has been up two nights now crying 'owie'. She seems fine during the day, eating and playing without much fussiness. Well, she was a bit of a hold-me-baby yesterday. I intend to call the Dr this morning when they open up.

Her ear surgery is scheduled for May 31. After praying about the decision to have another surgery this close to the previous, I prayed this way, "Lord, if her ears are in OBVIOUS need at her appt then I will agree. If they are healthy for the appt, I will wait until fall or when it becomes obvious that she needs the surgery."

Both her ears had flat tympanograms. The surgeon urged me to agree to surgery at the earliest date. This surgeon's schedule for tubes practically guarantees that EG will not have to be hungry past 9 am in the morning and that we will not be at the daycare watching the kids eat when she cannot.



***********************************

May 09, 2001

EG will have her ear surgery on the 30 of May.

Both ears had flat tympanograms BUT had NO infections! This is the longest time w/o infection since Jan.



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May 30, 2001

My biggest concern is her having to be ventilated. Elizabeth Grace is supposed to be 'under' about 10 min.

My second and third concerns has to do with pain, pain control and being returned to Mommie ASAP.

~*~God's GRACE is His most AWESOME gift ~*~
God is good and I am glad,

.· ´¨¨)) -:¦:-
¸.·´ .·´¨¨))
((¸¸.·´ .·´ -:¦:-
*********************

EG's ears were puss filled and will require drops for a few days.


She woke up MAD! She scratched me and bit me!
As soon as we pulled in the driveway, she decided life was OK. Since she was still rubbing her ears and such, I decided to give her a dose of her Tylenol/codeine from the hernia surgery.

20 min after that, she started eating and is now quietly playing with the daycare kids.



*****

May 31, 2001

EG played quite normally all day. She required a dose or 2 more of Motrin.

She enjoys her ear drops because we watch TIGGER. This was a routine started when her ear ruptured a few months ago and she required drops.

It was quite a surprise when I set her on my lap and grabbed her blankie with ear drops in hand. SHE SAID, "TIGGER"! She remembered. We were so blessed to see that Disney channel had Winnie the Pooh on at that very moment. The Tigger movie was borrowed and is not here now.

OH, I wanted to share another blessing too ! !

I got to KISS ELIZABETH GRACE TO SLEEP! I carried her to the OR and kissed her until she was out. :-) MMMmmmmm, maybe she was so mad since she figured I PUT HER IN THAT SITUATION! Well... What's a mother to do? %%%%%%% Swappie NOTE %%%%%%%% Many Swappies believe that the anger is a side effect of the anesthesia esp. for toddlers and teens.



****************************

July 3-9

Mamaw and Aunt Cheryl came to visit. Elizabeth Grace showed to be her most adorable self during their visit.



****************************

July 10, 2001

Elizabeth Grace has been on antibiotics twice since her ear surgery. When she had her surgery post-op check she had been having difficulty sleeping and experiencing sleep apnea. Mark explained that to ear surgeon. He checked her ears, which were in expected condition for tubes post-op. Her tympanagram was low but it was supposed to be and there was no infection. BUT, she did have a mild case of tonsillitis with swelling of the adenoids. The dr said that THAT was what was causing her sleep apnea and that we might have to have them removed! Oh, how I wanted to scream, NNNNNNNNOOOOooooooooo!!!!!!

She recovered quickly on the antibiotics but has been on antibiotics again since due to her left ear draining. I did not have to take her in to see the surgeon. He ordered the antibiotics from my phone discussion.

EG has had at least another episode of sleep apnea that I have detected. She did not seem to have any infections going on.



*******************

Elizabeth Grace had her tonsils and adenoids removed on March 6, 2002. She took nearly 2 weeks to begin to sleep through the night. The first day was her best. She did sleep though THAT night but not following ones. You could see the huge white scabs in the back of her throat and her breath was bad just as I was warned it would be.

I had to wrestle pain medicatations down her every three to four hours day and night. She did not want the medications or anything to eat or drink. She lost some weight as she recovered. Then 3 days less than 2 weeks after surgery, she slept through the night and woke up anouncing, "I feel better now." And, she did! I had to give her one or two more doses of ibuprophen over the next day or two but that was all.

Her snoring is almost completely stopped. I've not detected any sleep apnea but really have not had the opportunity.

Her post-op apt went well but the Dr told me that EG has small nasal passages. I'm praying that THAT does not lead to more surgery!



*******************

March 31, 2002

Elizabeth Grace had her 3 yr check up today. She weighed 24 pounds. I've already forgotten what her height was. We were able to get 3 immunizations since she's been doing so well since her Tonsil and Adenoid surgery.

The Dr checked her back as it was one of my concerns and told me "all the kids complain of knee pain" when I told him that she frequently complains of her right knee hurting. (I hope so.)





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