A very late update

Sorry it has taken me so long to report on Adele's appointment-filled day the other day. It was quite a busy day, but it was good to be able to just wipe out a ton of errands on one day.

Stats:
15 pounds, 7 ounces (one week later she was back up to 16 pounds even)
26.5 inches long

Both pediatric appointments were pretty much the same. Overall Adele is doing fine, but both docs are hoping to see Adele start gaining significantly again. Nothing that's of major concern now, but both docs plan to watch her closely to see how she's going to trend. We decided to put her back on Prevacid, since the times she was on it were the times she ate and gained the most. We were okay with that since we thought the same thing. We'll start with that change for now, and if we don't see improvement after a month or so, we'll try a different route. I'm not terribly concerned since she has done a LOT better in the week since she's been back on it. (And then of course I feel a little terrible about taking her off in the first place--I guess she really did need it!) Developmentally she's absolutely great and is right on track. As usual, the eating issue is our only concern, and even it's minimal.

She also had a cardiology appointment to check her PFO murmur, and she was given a clean bill of health and was completely released from any other follow up care there!

Next month we'll head back up to CMH for three appointments, two on 2/11 (another special care clinic appt to see if she's gaining weight again and one in their developmental clinic) and on 2/14 (a short eye exam). We weren't able to get all three on one day, unfortunately. Then we'll have to go back up in March, most likely, for her swallow study to see if she can finally get off thickener.

Fun milestones and other tidbits:

• Babbling, babbling, babbling: Da-da-da, ma-ma-ma, ba-ba-ba, and sometimes, I swear, "blah, blah, blah." Ah, the attitude, it begins so young these days.
• Solids are going better. Peas are still a favorite, but this morning we mixed cereal (oatmeal) and pears together and she tolerated both much better than when they're separate. We'll try that with other fruits later, if the first go doesn't work out. We also have a better plan of attack as to how and when she gets them. Mornings will be cereal and/or fruit and evenings will be a veggie before bed. Ultimately she'll drop her two bottle feedings at those times, but for now we're keeping them in, just feeding her less if she's had a good amount of solids to eat. Since all her nutrients and calories come from her formula, we want that to be the majority of her food.
• Her "going" problem seems to have resolved itself. Prunes really seemed to help. I also noticed that the problem went away when we started Prevacid again. Coincidence?
  
• She's had a few bottles of breastmilk and so far so good! No adverse side effects that I can see. There's hope yet!
• We're working on sitting up. She's very good on laps or with minimal support, but she just doesn't want to stay upright on her own. That's okay--she's doing fine for her adjusted age.
• Lots of laughs, giggles, big smiles--those are the best!
• We're trying to get a more established, consistent routine in place as far as naps and feedings go. Feedings usually aren't a problem, since we never usually let her go more then 4 hours without eating (except at night), but naptimes have always been helter skelter. I think we'll all do better with a bit of routine, especially now that we have to fit in another task (solids). Also, she still needs rocking or holding to get her to sleep for naps, and something tells me that won't always fly at daycare. I'm hoping a consistent nap routine will help her learn what naptime means and then maybe she'll eventually be able to get herself to sleep without as much soothing on anyone's part. Night bedtimes will always be a special time for cuddling, though. :)
• Still no teeth, although I expect them any day based on the amount of slobbering and chewing she does.
• We're both enjoying our weekly water class, even if the drying off and redressing does take longer than the class itself. Still it's a great workout for me and Adele really enjoys the splashing! I also enjoy the interaction with the fellow moms, especially since I don't know a lot of moms here who have kids Adele's age.
  
• We found a great daycare, and she starts tomorrow (Jan 28). She'll go full time, which will give Steve a day off at home to run errands and clean house (YES!) and I'll be back in the office on Fridays. Every other Monday she'll go in late so we can have Tiny-K at home. We're very happy with our new provider, and are confident that it will be a good, stable environment for Adele. Thanks to Grandma Pontow who watched Adele all last week to cover the gap between sitters. We were grateful for the help, and I think Adele enjoyed having all the attention for a few days.
  

Well, that's it from here, I guess. She's doing well, just the usual things to keep an eye on. But if this past week is any indication, I'd say we're on the right track again. I have some new photos to share, but it's feeding time at the zoo and someone is ready for her peas! I'll try to post those within the next day or so.