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Jul. 6th, 2004 06:27 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
the_rckIt's been a while since I've written, and not for lack of things to write about. I'm not even sure it's been lack of time quite so much as lack of focus. I've been tired, and when I'm not tired, I'm depressed/anxious or simply spaced out. Additionally, the longer I go without writing a journal entry, the harder I seem to find settling down to put one together. There are so many things I want to be sure I include, to be sure I remember or discuss... I can't possibly recall all of them. I've now written 9 pages in Word. Some of it will get posted here, and some of it won't. It'll probably depend on my time.
Delia started walking around her birthday. At first, it was just a single step, one foot moved a little forward. Then she managed two or even three steps, kind of staggering forward. Now, nothing can stop her. She hardly does any scooting or crawling anymore.
We're finding that she can reach things that used to be beyond her. We can't keep the phone or the TV remote on the arm of the couch any longer, and I have to make sure any papers or books I've got on the loveseat are pushed back well past the halfway point on the cushion.
She's now got 10 teeth, including two molars. I'm sure there are more coming in, but she's not very cooperative about letting us look at her gums. We're working on making tooth brushing a formal part of the bedtime ritual. It's not easy for me because we've been using a brush that goes on a finger. It's a light, rubbery plastic that offers no protection against her tendency to chomp down hard. Scott doesn't seem to mind much, but for me-- Ow!
Delia's been sick twice. We were lucky to get through her first year without illness, I know, but she got sick twice in the four weeks following her birthday. The first time, it was a fever. She was miserable, poor baby, and wouldn't eat any solids. Still, it never got all that bad. We gave her ibuprofen to keep the fever in check, and she cooperated when I stuck the thermometer under her arm (we have an ear thermometer, but it doesn't seem to be all that accurate). The second illness was a cold. Her nose ran, and she had an awful time breathing, particularly while nursing or trying to drink from a bottle. We have no idea where she caught either bug.
Delia's one year well baby visit went fairly well except that she's dropped off the bottom of the charts in terms of her weight. She'd been going along steadily at 3% since her three month appointment, but now... Some of the problem may be due to the fact that her appointment was the week after she'd had the fever. We'll be going back in a couple of weeks to see how her weight gain has been going. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. My mother has pointed out that my sister and I were both about the size Delia is when we were one, and Delia doesn't seem unhealthy or out of proportion or listless or anything like that. We did do a quick check for anemia, but she's doing well on that count.
The pediatrician did give us a referral to an allergist. I was glad of that because I'd planned to demand one if it wasn't offered. I'm just as happy I didn't have to fight for it. We'll be doing that in early August. We decided to delay her MMR shot for a little longer until we know whether or not she has an egg allergy. Because I have trouble with eggs, the recommended approach is to delay eggs till she's two. She's had tiny traces of eggs in crackers and that sort of thing, I know, because Scott doesn't think to look for eggs when he's reading ingredients.
I'm still finding the food restrictions frustrating. Soy is in *everything*. Eating out is nearly impossible, especially given my other restrictions. Try it some time-- Walk into a restaurant and say, "What have you got with no soy, no dairy, no tomatoes, no peppers, no beef and no eggs?" (The last two are in there so that I can share my meal with Delia. I can have small amounts of egg cooked in other things. We're delaying beef due to Scott's severe beef allergy.) Spaghetti with olive oil seems to be the most common offering. Pity I don't really like it much. Not that I hate it, just... It's not something I'd choose given much in the way of other options.
Delia's got a few words now. She'll sometimes say, "Hi!" especially when prompted. She say "apples" when she's hungry for solid food. We don't think she's realized that it indicates a very specific type of solid food. She seems to use it for chicken, pears, bread, everything. She also says something approximating "baby" when she hears us say it. (I'm trying to get out of the habit of calling her "baby" since she's technically not any more, but... I think she'll have to live with that even after she moves out.) I'm not sure she knows what it means, though. Today, she said, "Na-na-na-na," when I asked her if she wanted to share a banana with me. Only time will tell if she was imitating me or had actually made the word connection. I'll try tomorrow and see what I get.
Delia has also, in the last couple of weeks, finally decided to like baths again. First, I put water in a small tub and let her splash in it while sitting on the floor (It made a dreadful mess, especially after I made the mistake of moving a few steps away. That was naturally the point at which she decided to try upending the tub). She thought that was great fun. Second, we took time to slowly ease her into the water a few times (adding about 20-30 minutes to the length of her bath) which seemed to decrease her general angry reaction. She does not like to be rushed and particularly doesn't like environmental changes that are rapid. Last time we bathed her, though, she actually cried because we took too long getting her into the water. I consider that a triumph. Of course, now she doesn't want to come out.... She's started to realize that she can play in the water. Now I have to keep her from diving forward and banging her head on the side of the tub or flopping face first into the water.
Delia started walking around her birthday. At first, it was just a single step, one foot moved a little forward. Then she managed two or even three steps, kind of staggering forward. Now, nothing can stop her. She hardly does any scooting or crawling anymore.
We're finding that she can reach things that used to be beyond her. We can't keep the phone or the TV remote on the arm of the couch any longer, and I have to make sure any papers or books I've got on the loveseat are pushed back well past the halfway point on the cushion.
She's now got 10 teeth, including two molars. I'm sure there are more coming in, but she's not very cooperative about letting us look at her gums. We're working on making tooth brushing a formal part of the bedtime ritual. It's not easy for me because we've been using a brush that goes on a finger. It's a light, rubbery plastic that offers no protection against her tendency to chomp down hard. Scott doesn't seem to mind much, but for me-- Ow!
Delia's been sick twice. We were lucky to get through her first year without illness, I know, but she got sick twice in the four weeks following her birthday. The first time, it was a fever. She was miserable, poor baby, and wouldn't eat any solids. Still, it never got all that bad. We gave her ibuprofen to keep the fever in check, and she cooperated when I stuck the thermometer under her arm (we have an ear thermometer, but it doesn't seem to be all that accurate). The second illness was a cold. Her nose ran, and she had an awful time breathing, particularly while nursing or trying to drink from a bottle. We have no idea where she caught either bug.
Delia's one year well baby visit went fairly well except that she's dropped off the bottom of the charts in terms of her weight. She'd been going along steadily at 3% since her three month appointment, but now... Some of the problem may be due to the fact that her appointment was the week after she'd had the fever. We'll be going back in a couple of weeks to see how her weight gain has been going. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. My mother has pointed out that my sister and I were both about the size Delia is when we were one, and Delia doesn't seem unhealthy or out of proportion or listless or anything like that. We did do a quick check for anemia, but she's doing well on that count.
The pediatrician did give us a referral to an allergist. I was glad of that because I'd planned to demand one if it wasn't offered. I'm just as happy I didn't have to fight for it. We'll be doing that in early August. We decided to delay her MMR shot for a little longer until we know whether or not she has an egg allergy. Because I have trouble with eggs, the recommended approach is to delay eggs till she's two. She's had tiny traces of eggs in crackers and that sort of thing, I know, because Scott doesn't think to look for eggs when he's reading ingredients.
I'm still finding the food restrictions frustrating. Soy is in *everything*. Eating out is nearly impossible, especially given my other restrictions. Try it some time-- Walk into a restaurant and say, "What have you got with no soy, no dairy, no tomatoes, no peppers, no beef and no eggs?" (The last two are in there so that I can share my meal with Delia. I can have small amounts of egg cooked in other things. We're delaying beef due to Scott's severe beef allergy.) Spaghetti with olive oil seems to be the most common offering. Pity I don't really like it much. Not that I hate it, just... It's not something I'd choose given much in the way of other options.
Delia's got a few words now. She'll sometimes say, "Hi!" especially when prompted. She say "apples" when she's hungry for solid food. We don't think she's realized that it indicates a very specific type of solid food. She seems to use it for chicken, pears, bread, everything. She also says something approximating "baby" when she hears us say it. (I'm trying to get out of the habit of calling her "baby" since she's technically not any more, but... I think she'll have to live with that even after she moves out.) I'm not sure she knows what it means, though. Today, she said, "Na-na-na-na," when I asked her if she wanted to share a banana with me. Only time will tell if she was imitating me or had actually made the word connection. I'll try tomorrow and see what I get.
Delia has also, in the last couple of weeks, finally decided to like baths again. First, I put water in a small tub and let her splash in it while sitting on the floor (It made a dreadful mess, especially after I made the mistake of moving a few steps away. That was naturally the point at which she decided to try upending the tub). She thought that was great fun. Second, we took time to slowly ease her into the water a few times (adding about 20-30 minutes to the length of her bath) which seemed to decrease her general angry reaction. She does not like to be rushed and particularly doesn't like environmental changes that are rapid. Last time we bathed her, though, she actually cried because we took too long getting her into the water. I consider that a triumph. Of course, now she doesn't want to come out.... She's started to realize that she can play in the water. Now I have to keep her from diving forward and banging her head on the side of the tub or flopping face first into the water.
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no subject
Date: 2004-07-06 03:41 pm (UTC)Beef allergy? I don't mean to sound insensitive, but is there really such a thing? This is the first time I've heard of it.
no subject
Date: 2004-07-06 05:53 pm (UTC)In Scott's case, he's been having steadily worse reactions to beef over the last seven or eight years, to the point that the allergist he saw recommended that he carry an epipen in case of accidental contamination. Scott described the effect once as "like sandpaper in my veins."
no subject
Date: 2004-07-06 06:03 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-07-07 12:21 pm (UTC)My mother developed allergies to nuts and to some antibiotics when she was in her 40s. I'm not allergic to zithromax even though I took it several times without problems before the occasion when I broke out in hives.
Of course, this leaves me confused as to how allergy shots which are supposed to desensitize the system can possibly work.
no subject
Date: 2004-07-06 03:59 pm (UTC)You poor guys have terrible allergies! Hope that they skip Delia!
no subject
Date: 2004-07-10 10:19 am (UTC)And you're right, she really is amazing. I see her every day, and I'm still astonished.
no subject
Date: 2004-07-06 04:36 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-07-07 12:24 pm (UTC)I am reading here, even if I'm not posting or commenting often.