Finally...no infections & better sleep! :)

I think this is the first post we have had in a LONG time where we don't have any illnesses to report. Julia has recovered from her colds and ear infections. On Friday, she had another ear check and from the small amount of Julia's ear drums that the doctor could see, the infections have cleared. Julia has extremely narrow ear canals and her ear drums are set very far back. Because of this, the doctor wants to double-check her hearing just to be safe. We are pretty sure she can hear because she hears us all the time and resonds appropriately. She loves to hear Mike whistle (something I can't do) and playing peek-a-boo and laughing when we say "boo!". Because of her narrow canals, the ear wax builds up and doesn't clear as well, so she may have to get her ears cleaned out by a doctor every once in a while. We will see an audiologist (hearing doctor) in about 2 weeks to test her hearing. She was tested when she was born and also in the NICU and she passed both of those tests easily, so we are not really concerned, but appreciate the check.


Since Julia has recovered from her infections, we had to get her back on a better sleep schedule. She got very used to us comforting her all the time in the middle of the night when she would wake up rubbing her ears from ear pain and congestion. She was starting to wake up 2-4 times a night and it was getting very difficult. She was losing sleep and of course we were too. So, we had to do the "tough love" method (as my coworker nicely puts it). This is where you basically let them cry it out. We didn't let her cry it out by herself the whole time though. We did what is called graduated extintion (from a baby sleeping book we have). This is where you rock them into a sleepy state, put them in their crib and let them cry and check on them every 10 minutes or so. On Tuesday we started the process. We did our typical bedtime routine of her lullaby CD, rocking, bottle and short rocking after she finished the bottle. I put her in the crib and of course she was not happy with this. She cried and when I walked out of the room she cried harder. This of course is heartbreaking to hear, but we knew it was for her own good. After 10 minutes Mike checked on her and comforted her by rubbing her head and telling her it was time to sleep, but not actually picking her up. She was asleep within 30 minutes! She woke up twice that night (a good start). The next night she cried for about 2 minutes tops and only woke up once. The next nights were about 5-10 minutes of whimpering/crying and she woke up around 3:30am mostly because her diaper was soaked and we had to change sheets. So, we got some overnight diapers and the next night she slept until 4am (another triumph...almost through the night). We are so happy she is only waking up once in the middle of the night and she is actually taking really good naps at home too (she usually only naps well at daycare). Today she napped for about 2 1/2 hours in her crib! Amazing! We always had to hold her for her naps and she would usually only nap for 20 minutes. So we are making some great progress in the sleep department which has helped us function better at work too! Julia is also more mobile in her crib. She rolls all over the place in her sleep and we never know what position we will find her in. Now that she can roll from tummy to back and back to tummy we don't have to worry about her sleeping on her tummy. She seems to prefer sleeping on her tummy , but of course we put her on her back to start with, but she always ends up on her tummy. Because of her crazy rolling, we had to get some mesh, breathable (better for SIDS reduction) crib bumpers to protect her arms and legs from getting stuck in the crib bars.


This week, we finally had a deck installed on our house. This was the first of many house projects on our list. The company that installed it, All Ways Decks, did a fabulous job and we couldn't be happier. The deck is all composite material, so we never have to stain! On Saturday, we went to a local furniture store to get some nice deck furniture. It was delivered today, but unfortunately is is raining and we won't be able to enjoy it until the weather improves.

Our new deck!

Julia soothing herself during her nap by sucking on her sleeve!

Yes, she sleeps in all positions!

A nice, big crib to sleep in and she sleeps at the very head or very foot of the bed!

Julia's 6 month well baby check-up and first trip to the zoo

On Friday, we had a scheduled visit to the doctor (not for illness) for Julia's 6 month check-up. Julia is doing well and growing and developing right on target. She was 18 pounds, 15 ounces (89th percentile); 27 inches long (82nd percentile) and I think her head circumference was 17 inches (my memory is slowly fading!) which was the 84th percentile; so Julia is very well rounded and everything is growing evenly (if that makes sense!). Julia's doctor wanted to get a good luck in her ears to check the status of the infection. Unfortunately, Julia's right ear (the one with the infection) was all clogged up with wet, goopy, old drainage from when her ear drum had perforated and her left was blocked with dried ear wax. So, in order for the doctor to get a good look, they had to do an ear irrigation on her. This involved shooting a water and hydrogen peroxide mixture into each ear with a plastic syringe. Each ear took about 10 minutes with about 10-15 squirts per ear. Julia did fabulously and it certainly surprised the nurse how patient she was. The nurse said she has never done the irrigation on a child as young as Julia and the older kids will get mad and cry. Julia just sat there nicely, looking at the nurse like it was no big deal. Luckily, the irrigation worked just enough to get a small view of Julia's ear drums which both looked fine. The infection in the right was clearing and pretty much cleared up. In order to get a full view of the ear drums, the doctor asked that we put ear wax dissolving drops in her ears for about 3 days and then follow-up next Friday, just to be sure the infection is clear and she also wanted to get a better view of both drums and the perforation. Julia had to get two immunizations and again she did great. I played peak-a-boo with Julia while the nurse gave the 2 shots. Julia felt the pain, whimpered a little and I picked her up and danced her around and she was all smiles again. The nurse was again shocked at her calmness and toughness!


Julia has been getting a lot better. It does seem like her ear infection is clearing and her cold is getting better. We continue with the 3rd antibiotic and she will be done with that on Wednesday. Now we just have to get her back on the sleep schedule she was on before all this ear infection business started over a month ago (for her sake and ours!).


This Saturday was Julia's first trip to the zoo. We visited the Minnesota Zoo with our friend Jenny and her 4 1/2 month old son, Noah. I never realized that we only live about 6 miles from the zoo. I knew it was close, but not that close! We bought a year long membership because I am sure we will want to make more trips when the weather is warmer. Julia really enjoyed the walk through the zoo. We didn't get to everything because of diaper changes, feedings, and crankiness (typical infant stuff), but Noah and Julia seemed to enjoy the stuff we did see. Julia and Noah both liked the aquarium and looking at all the fish. Julia also enjoyed the dolphins. She loved looking at the grizzly bear and gave him a great big smile though she will learn someday they are not big, cuddley teddy bears! :)


Mike and I have started to find fun things for each of us to do seperately to get away for a while. Mike will be starting a golf league in the beginning of May and I have joined a local gym and have been doing a lot of lap swimming. I really enjoy swimming...it is very relaxing. I am hoping to partake in some of the gym's other ammenities like pilates and yoga classes too. I am also in a group through our church called MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers). We meet every other Friday until mid-May. It has been a wonderful group to spend time with and meet people in the neighborhood and connect with other mothers with kids under the age of 2. MOPS lasts from fall to spring, so it is almost over, but I will be on the steering committee for the 2009-2010 meeting year. I am going to be a discussion leader and am really looking foward to it.

Julia and me in front of the aquarium

Julia looking at the fishies

Julia looking at a big, fat fish (ok, she was actually more interested in the stroller wheel!)

Julia looking at the very big fish!

One of three dolphins at the zoo

Julia gazing intently at the dolphins

Another picture by the dolphin tank

Visit to the Park, continuing solids, 6 month photos....

This weekend our friends Jenny and Eric visited with their son Noah. Jenny is an aspiring, wonderful photographer and hopes to have her own children's photography business someday. We thought it would be great to have her take Julia's 6 month photos. The photos turned out great! Julia wasn't her usual smiley happy self for the first part of the photo shoot, but once fed, she was all smiles again. Julia is still recovering from her ear infection and developed a cold this past week (something Grandpa Stephany also developed this past week after visiting us...we aren't sure who gave who the cold). Below is a sneak preview of two 6 month photos; Jenny is going to crop and edit the ones we really like. Yes, we had Julia in a dress. It was very weird to see her in the frilly, puffy dress, but we thought we had to have some pictures where she looked a little girly. We are so gratful for Jenny's service because it was nice to do the shoot at home where we could feed Julia and rest for a while when she got sick of all the flashes, spot lights and poses.

After the photo shoot, we walked to a park very close to our house. We had fun playing on the swings and going down the slides. It is a nice little park with baby swings, a lot of playground equipment and picnic area.

Julia continues to advance on the solids. She loves pears and carrots and we tried some peas this past week. The first time she had them, she seemed to enjoy them, but the subsequent times, she didn't seem to want to eat them (we don't blame her...smashed peas don't smell great and they don't taste that great either...they need salt). She has eaten a little more peas, but they have to be served with pears to get her to really eat them. We are going to take a break from the peas and try a new veggie tomorrow; probably sweet potatoes or squash.

Julia has been drooling more and more lately, so we think her two top teeth are going to appear soon. We can see some small, white nubs on the top, but nothing is peaking through yet. Overall, she is doing well. Besides catching every cold out there, she is growing well and developing well. Julia has her 6 month doctor appointment this Friday. Mike keeps trying to get her to say "dada" as her first word; I of course am working on "mama". Sometimes her cries in the middle of the night sound like "mama", but she probably isn't really calling out for me (or is she!?)

From the photo shoot

I'm not so sure about this badger in the basket with me!

Down the slide with mommy



On the big swing

Now the little swing...having a good time.

Daddy just gave Julia a push

Weee...down the slide with daddy!

Down the little slide...

Mmmmm carrots! They are good for your eyes, right (why not right by your eye)? Food splatters everywhere during feedings!

More carrots ...

Julia is 6 months old!

It is so hard to believe that our little gal is 6 months old already! Ok, technically she will be six months on Monday, April 6th, but close enough. We can't believe a half a year has gone by. Her newborn troubles seem so far away to us. It seems like years, not months, ago that we were sitting at Children's Hospital watching the fluid increase and decrease around her left lung. I guess it is something we don't want to remember and we are putting it out of our minds. Of course we are always reminded of it when we change Julia's diaper or clothes because we always see the small scars on her chest from her surgery that ended the whole fluid dilemma.

Julia is still battling with her ear infection. She was on an antibiotic for 10 days (amoxicillin) and finished that last Saturday. After that Julia continued to not sleep well at night, cry when we put her down in her crib and I had to sleep with her in our spare bedroom on Monday and Tuesday night. On Wednesday, daycare called and said she had a fever of 101. I picked her up and took her home for some R & R with mommy. I took her temperature and I never got a febrile (fever) temperature, but she wasn't acting like herself. She napped with me on the couch for about 3 hours! She wasn't very playful and not kicking around on the floor or in her exersaucer like she usually did and the fact that she wouldn't sleep in her crib or lay down flat, also concerned us. So, on Thursday we went to the doctor (again, yes, we know she is there all the time, but with her lung history we and the doctors/nurses never take chances). Well, her ear infection never cleared and it doesn't seem like the amoxicillin ever touched it. Julia was prescribed a stronger antibiotic (augmentin) and some numbing ear drops to help her sleep at night and ease the pain. The doctor also said she could have motrin for pain instead of tylenol now that she was close to 6 months old. So, that night we gave her the antibiotic (which she has to take for 10 days also), the numbing ear drops and motrin. She slept in her crib the whole night which was a step in the right direction, but still woke up 3 times that night. Friday night she only woke up twice; same for Saturday night. Since starting the new antibiotic she is looking much better. She is back to her normal, giggly, smiley self.

Time for Solid Food!

On Sunday, March 29th Julia got her first taste of solid foods. The doctor really encouraged us to wait as close to 6 months as we could to reduce the risk of allergies and other problems. Julia was showing signs pretty early on, but we held off as long as we could since Mike has some mild food allergies. She has been able to sit up in the high chair since she was about 3 months old, hold her head up and steady for a long time now and she also contently watched us eat foods all the time (all signs of readiness for solids). She was certainly ready to eat solids and gobbled down about a tablespoon of rice cereal on Sunday. She loved it! We tried the following evening and she ate a very small amount but didn't seem interested in it at all. Tuesday night she ate a little again; Wednesday she didn't want anything to do with the rice cereal and wouldn't eat it. We figured it was because she didn't feel well from the ear infection. On Thursday night after having some motrin for pain, she gobbled down some mashed carrots (baby food) mixed with cereal. We continued to advance the solids over the weekend and she is now eating about 1-2 tablespoons of rice cereal three times a day with either mashed carrots or mashed pears. We introduce a new food and try it out for about 3 days before introducing another to make sure she isn't allergic or has a bad tummy reaction to the food. So far so good! So Julia's first food was rice cereal; first vegetable was carrots and first fruit was pears. We have a whole cupboard full of other veggies and fruits (sweet potatoes, peas, squash, applesauce, prunes, peaches) for her to try soon! A tasty buffet of mashed up goodness!

Julia is growing big and strong. She is a talkative little gal (not really talking, but blabbing a lot!). She loves to make noise with rattles, toys or any object she can get her hands on. She bangs toys against a table or her high chair tray to make loud noise for all to hear. She will get your attention when she wants it! She is also rolling all over the place. She has mastered the tummy to back roll (though she doesn't do it often because she loves being on her tummy and side). When on her back, she rolls from side to side, grabbing her toes and rocking side to side. She can't quite get her toes in her mouth yet, but she loves to pull off her socks. She is also starting to sit up on her own. She can sit up, unassisted, for about a minute but then topples over trying to move or grab a toy. She sometimes assumes a tripod sitting position with her hands together on the floor supporting her head and upper body. She can also imitate movements or noises that you make. Today we taught Julia how to smack her lips and she imitated us right back. It was hilarious. She can also make raspberries with her lips. Julia is also growing lots of hair on her head. She doesn't have the small layer of fuzz anymore; she has a good 1/2-1 inch of nice, soft hair. Julia is getting very tall too. It is getting more and more difficult to rock her to sleep at night or hold her over your shoulder while sitting because she is so long! At her doctor visit this past week she was 18 pounds; 9 ounces! (they didn't do a height check, but she will have that done in about 2 weeks at her 6 month checkup)

Last weekend Grandma and Grandpa Mock came to visit again. Grandpa Mock had a work meeting in Kimball, MN (west of the Twin Cities), so of course they took the opportunity to visit again. Of course we didn't mind and Julia didn't either. Though we felt bad because Julia wasn't feeling very well at all and was quite crabby most of the weekend. We went to the Mall of America with Grandma Mock to just get out for a while and see if we could see the Easter Bunny. The mall was extremely busy that day and the line for he Easter Bunny was quite packed with strollers, toddlers and other kids wanting to meet Mr. Bunny, so we skipped the visit with him. We did stroll the mall and I made some clothing purchases. We also cruised around the indoor Nickelodeon Amusement Park. Julia loved watching the roller coaster cars that raced above our heads ( the tracks hover above the walkways in the park). I wanted to find Sponge Bob to take a picture with him, but he was nowhere to be found.

This weekend, Grandma and Grandpa Stephany came to visit. This weekend was a planned weekend for Mike and I to clean out the garage and clean out our basement. When we moved into the house in September, we just threw and stacked stuff in the garage and basement thinking we would get to it a few weeks after moving in. Well, weeks turned into months and since I was so pregnant at the time we moved, there was no way I could rummage through boxes and all the piles of stuff. Then Julia came along and our time was dedicated to being with her at Children's Hospital. So, we set a date for Grandma and Grandpa Stephany could visit and watch Julia while we spring cleaned and went through our stuff. We tackled the garage on Friday afternoon and that only took about 1 1/2-2 hours. We cleaned and organized the basement on Saturday and that took a good 3 hours. It feels great to have it all done and throw away a bunch of junk and stuff we never knew we still had. We have finally organized every room in our new house and it is starting to feel more and more like home.

We were beat after a weekend with the grandparents!
Julia at the Mall of America (the amusement park part)

Playing with my gymni mat with Grandpa

I've never got to taste this part yet...I am always laying on the mat!

This bib is so true; I was grouchy because there are no more grandparents here!

I still need my bottle; grandma was nice enough to oblige.

My first solids...rice cereal!

Mmmmmm! Yummy!

My small tufts of hair on my head (hard to see), but look closely-there is hair there!