ENT appointment

After Olivia's pediatrician got her hearing test results (low normal to mild hearing loss), he thought it would be a good idea for her to see an ENT. We had an appointment set for over a month ago but we had to reschedule it three times due to her being sick. They want to see her when she isn't sick because otherwise they wouldn't know if the fluid in her ear is from a cold or if it's always there. We got to her appointment early and there was a little boy running around the waiting room, he kept Olivia entertained for a while. As soon as we got into the exam room, she was not happy. The doctor was trying to talk to me and Olivia kept yelling, I was getting a little frustrated because he could barely hear me. The doctor was very nice though, he was more patient with her than I was. They didn't do much besides check her ear pressure and look inside. Her left ear was fine but they said the right ear had some fluid, it may be because of her recent ear infection though. The doctor also said that some kids have fluid in their ear for the entire winter and then it goes away in the summer. She is having a repeat hearing test at the end of the month and they will compare the results to her last one. I was a little upset that they couldn't tell us much more information, I was hoping to know that day if she would need tubes or not. I don't want to rush her getting tubes but I am really hoping it will help with her speech delay. I just feel like this has been a long process, I'm ready for some answers and solutions.

Liv's hearing test

Olivia had her hearing test yesterday and it didn't go very well. She doesn't like doctors and I knew it was going to be a tough visit. She was sick last week and I didn't know if that would affect the results, the doctor said she had some congestion in her ear but it shouldn't make too much of a difference. Then she wanted to put something that looked kind of like an earbud (that's the best way I can describe it) in Liv's ear for the first test but Olivia was crying and screaming so that didn't work. After we gave up on that, we went into the sound booth to start a different test. They played sounds and it seemed to be going well, Olivia was looking towards the sounds and the doctors voice whenever she talked on the microphone. We tried the other test again and we were able to get it done. Olivia cried most of the time so the doctor didn't get everything she needed but she said it was enough. During the test, Olivia kept doing the sign for "all done" and she had the saddest look on her face, it broke my heart. Her test results showed that she's in the low normal to mild hearing loss range. I was actually surprised to hear that, I guess I was just hoping that her hearing was fine. I even made the doctor repeat what she said because I was caught off guard a bit. She told me that we need to come back for another test in three months to compare the results. She also said that a hearing aid would be the solution for mild hearing loss. At first, the thought of a hearing aid made me a little upset but it's really not the worst thing in the world. We have been through much tougher times. I obviously don't want Liv to have any hearing loss but at least it would explain why she isn't talking much. I would be happy to know the issue just because that means we could fix it. The doctor said I shouldn't worry just yet, so I'm not going to.

Livy's two year checkup

Today was a very busy day and I'm so glad it's over. This morning I took Olivia to playgroup, it was in a different room today and of course the room had stairs. All she wanted to do was climb up and down them, it was exhausting chasing after her. We were all sitting on the floor and she must have got confused because she ran up behind some lady and threw her arms around her neck and hugged her. The lady started laughing and said she was really cute but I was slightly embarrassed. I don't know if Liv thought it was me or if she just wanted to hug a random lady. After playgroup I had to get a bunch of errands done and I had to bring Olivia of course. I don't know if she is getting heavier or if I'm getting weaker but lugging her around is no joke. By the time we were done with errands, it was time for her appointment. That means that she skipped her nap, never a good idea. She weighs 21lbs and she is 32 inches long, that means she only gained 2lbs in six months. That bummed me out a bit but her doctor said she's still on her curve. She's between the 5th and 10th percentile for weight and height, so she is pretty proportionate. Since she is behind with speech, I asked about getting her hearing tested. He said it would be a good idea to get it checked so he referred her to a specialist. I have to call and make an appointment tomorrow. After a few more questions, it was time for her shot. I always dread when she has to get shots. She was so mad at the doctor, she swatted at his hand when he tried to put the band aid on her. It took me a while to calm her down and then she had to get her finger pricked for blood work. Good thing the nurse did it because the doctor was already on her bad side. After all the crying, she slept like a champ in the car and then for another two hours once we got home. She didn't have much of an appetite when she woke up and she was pretty cranky for the rest of the night. I put her to bed hours ago and she is still awake in her crib right now. She isn't crying but she just doesn't want to sleep. It was a long day, I can't wait to crawl into bed and get a good night's sleep (hopefully).

RSV update

Olivia is doing better, we got to leave the hospital on Friday evening. We didn't know if we would be staying another night so Paul went home to grab some stuff we needed but while he was gone they said we could go home. I had to pack up everything by myself and she was sleeping so I had to wake her up (always a bad decision). Carrying her plus all of our bags was a struggle, I seriously felt like my arms were going to fall off. Olivia got to pick a toy from the toy closet before we left, the nurse showed her a doll and asked her if she wanted it and of course she shook her head no. She ended up getting a little wooden peek-a-boo toy. The doctor wanted me to bring her in on Saturday morning to see how she was doing but she didn't make much improvement overnight. Her breathing is a little better now but she still has an awful cough. Her mood is much better though and her appetite is almost completely back to normal, it seems like she is on the road to recovery. It was a crazy weekend but we are slowly getting back into our routine, which is how I like it.

 She wouldn't touch the hospital food, she only ate snacks while we were there.

Cranky toddler

Olivia is still sick. Actually, she threw up (a lot) on Sunday and then again yesterday. I brought her back to the doctor because she was just being super lethargic and she had me worried. She didn't have a fever, her lungs sounded fine but she did have some fluid in her right ear. The doctor said it wasn't red so there was no infection but I am going to keep a close eye on her. Today started off great, she was in a good mood and ate a ton for breakfast. I put her down for a nap at her usual nap time and she just did not want to sleep. After over an hour, I got her out and tried to give her something to eat but she just didn't want anything. She drank a ton of water and then she layed on my lap and started to fall asleep. I put her back in her crib and she finally fell asleep. After her nap, she woke up more cranky than ever and she stayed that way for most of the night. I gave her some Tylenol and it helped a little but she just didn't want to be bothered. She refused to eat and didn't drink much either, she didn't want any milk but at least I got her to drink some water. It was a long stressful day and I'm really hoping tomorrow she will feel a little better. We have both been sick for far too long and I'm just over it.

Loving her doughnut.

See ya later 2014

On Monday I took Olivia to the aquarium, we met up with my sister and nephews. She loved it at first (especially the sharks and seals). After about an hour, she started to get antsy. It's an hour away and I think she was getting tired, she skipped her nap which is always a bad idea. It was still fun though, next time we will take a nap before we go.

 

Yesterday I took her to the doctor, she's had a cough for almost two weeks now and it just wont go away. She hasn't had a fever and she's been eating/acting okay so I wasn't too concerned but I figured I should get her checked out just to be on the safe side. There were so many kids in the waiting room, it was packed. I've never seen that many kids there, I know it's cold season but I was still surprised. The doctor said her chest sounded fine and her ears/throat looked good. Apparently there is a nasty cold/cough going around that is lasting around three weeks. I was told to give her another week to show some improvement and if she's still sick then I have to bring her back. I'm pretty sure she will get over it soon or at least I'm hoping she will. She also gave me her cough which I've had for about a week now. I'm really surprised that I've been catching everything she has, I never got sick before so I thought my immune system was strong but that's obviously not true.

Left: Happy to be wearing Mommy's Uggs.

Right: Not happy while waiting for the doctor.

 

Well, it's the last day of 2014 and like I always say, this year once again flew by. I thought time went by fast before, it's gone by even faster after having Olivia. It was a great year and I hope that 2015 is even better. Maybe Olivia will become a big sister, I guess we'll see! ;) I hope you all have a very Happy New Year! (I'll be working through it.)

Weight check

Yesterday I took Olivia to the pediatrician for a weight check, since there is six months between her 18 month and 24 month visit, we thought it would be a good idea. She didn't gain that much but I'm not surprised because while she was sick, she barely ate. She's been eating much better the past five days though so hopefully she will make up for it. She is now 20lbs 2oz, at her 18 month visit she was 19lbs 11oz, I'm just glad she gained and didn't lose. The doctor isn't concerned since she is still on her curve so I'm not going to stress about it. Her speech therapist came today, well actually.. I thought she was a speech therapist but apparently she is a teacher who helps with language development. She mentioned today that a speech therapist will start coming for Liv in January. I feel like it's been kind of pointless, I thought we were working on speech this whole time. I know language development is a stepping stone to speech though so it hasn't been a complete waste but I was a bit confused at first. When she left, I put Livy down for a nap and ended up taking one with her. After our long (lovely) nap, I decided to stop at a few stores and get a jump start on my Christmas shopping. I have a whole list of presents I need to buy but it wasn't a very successful trip. I only found a few things I needed. I also wanted new curtains for our bedroom, last week I got a new bedspread and it bothers me when they don't match. I found a similar color for only $10 but when I got home, I realized it was only one curtain, I need two obviously. My mom checked the store for me but there weren't any left so now I have to go to a different store tomorrow morning which is a pain. The rest of the week we are going to be really busy and I don't want to wait all the way until next week. Not the end of the world but just an annoyance, I felt stupid for not actually reading that there was only one in the package. Speaking of annoyance, my phone has absolutely zero space left. It wont even let me take a picture, which is what I use my phone for the most (after texting). I guess I need to start carrying my actual camera around everywhere now because I can't afford a new phone or more space. I deleted pretty much every single app, picture and video too but it has been pointless. It's supposed to snow tomorrow but I've been hearing all different amounts, anywhere from 1-12 inches. As usual, I'm hoping for zero!

The inevitable

Yup, it happened. I passed along my germs to poor little Olivia and now she's sick. She has been having a really rough time since Wednesday. I brought her to the doctor and he said it's just a cold, luckily her lungs sound clear so that's always a relief. She has been coughing so much that she starts to gag and she threw up a few times because of it, it makes me feel so terrible for her. She has no appetite, all she has been eating is tiny bites of food here and there. I'm glad she's getting plenty of fluids though because I feel like it's helping, she had a low grade fever for one day but it didn't last too long. She hasn't been sleeping well either, which is understandable. Obviously since she hasn't been sleeping, I haven't been either. On Thursday night I only got two hours of sleep, that's a new record for me. We've just been relaxing for the most part, I was sad that we missed our last playgroup class but I couldn't bring her there sick, all the other moms might want to kill me. Plus, I don't think she would have been in very good mood anyway. I hope this cold doesn't last much longer because I miss my happy baby and I just want her to feel better.

Another GI update

Olivia had a follow up GI appointment this morning (technically yesterday morning). It went pretty well, she had fun in the waiting room playing with the toys. They have a wall with a projection of pictures on it and when you wave your hand in front of it, the pictures move. All of the big kids were playing with it, Olivia ran over to them and started copying what they were doing. She kept looking up at them for approval and it was just so adorable. She looked so tiny next to all of them but she wasn't shy at all. She also shocked me and didn't cry when the doctor came in but she definitely didn't want him too close. I talked to the doctor about weaning her off the acid reflux medication (Prevacid). We are going to do it slowly, making a small change every two weeks. As long as she doesn't start vomiting or lose her appetite then we will stick to that plan. The way we are going to do it will take about two months, I'm in no rush though. She is still between her 10-15% curve for weight so it definitely scares me when we make a change. Our feeding routine has been working well, I don't want her to start losing weight because then I'll feel like we're going backwards and it took so long to get her to this point. I also don't want her to be in any pain but I do think that it's time to start attempting a wean so we'll see how it goes. We also talked about giving her less puree during the day and more table food. The only reason that I still give her puree is because I put her Duocal (powder that adds extra calories) in it but that may also be the reason why she gets full so quickly when I give her table food. It's all trial and error, the doctor said there isn't just one way to do it but we will figure it out eventually. I hope I am making sense because it's pretty late and I'm tired. Anyway, the appointment went well and the doctor said Olivia looks great so hopefully the little changes we make will be good changes.

Playing in the waiting room.

I forgot to mention how Liv pulled everything out of her diaper bag while we were waiting for the doctor. I let her do that instead of what she really wanted to do (play with the computer keyboard).



Quick doctor visit

Today was a long day. Olivia was fine all morning but when she woke up from her nap, she had a coughing fit. After that, she was breathing kind of fast. I brought her to the doctor and everything looked okay, no ear infection and her lungs sounded clear. I may just be paranoid but even the doctor told me that it's always better to check. He also said it's just rhinovirus (a cold) and since I was sick, she most likely caught it from me (sorry Liv). I didn't want to work tonight because I wanted to be home to take care of Livy but she was fine. It was super busy at work and I was going a little crazy for a while but I was able to leave fairly early. Tomorrow we are going to the Big E (if Liv seems better) so I'm excited for that, I can't wait to eat some terrible delicious food! The last few days I've only gotten around 3 hours of sleep per night so I'm off to bed now.

Livy's 18 month checkup

Olivia turned 18 months old on Saturday and her checkup was today (well.. technically yesterday), I can't believe she's one and a half already! While we were in the waiting room, she was playing with all the toys and running around (per usual). They have a fun house mirror on the wall and it made her head look really long and big so she kept touching her head while she was looking at herself, she seemed so confused. It was so funny, I couldn't stop laughing and everyone probably thought I was crazy. She was such a good girl at the appointment, she cried for her shot but once I showed her the Sesame Street app on my phone, she was fine. She was mad at the doctor though, she wouldn't say bye to her. The doctor said she looks great, she went up a bit in height (15%) and stayed on her curve for weight (10%). I know those are low percentages but I always keep in mind that she was below the charts at one point so for her that is pretty awesome! The doctor suggested weaning Olivia off the bottle but she will not drink milk cold or from a sippy cup (she will only drink water from her sippy cup) so this will be a challenge. Any tips or suggestions on that, feel free to comment! Her next check up wont be until she is two, which seems so far away but I'm sure it will come a lot quicker than I want. I had to work tonight but Paul and Livy came to visit me and have some dinner, it was fun seeing them for a little bit but I wish I could have left with them. Work was pretty busy and now I'm exhausted. Once I got home, I sat on the couch and watched my shows while eating a nice big bowl of chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream, it was pretty amazing. Now it's time for bed, (way past what a normal bedtime should be) hopefully I can get some sleep tonight!

 The waiting room is her favorite part!

This is what she was doing when we got home, my goodness.

GI update

Liv's GI appointment went well today, she had fun playing with the toys in the waiting room and then she didn't want to leave. She really hated the bracelet they made her wear though, she kept trying to take it off but her attempts were unsuccessful. In the exam room she was being her mischievous self and opening all the drawers, trying to open the garbage can and messing with the computer keyboard. Then she was being a goofball and putting her burp cloth over her face and running around, she thought it was hilarious until the doctor came in. She is really starting to hate doctors, whenever they go anywhere near her she starts screaming. The doctor was happy with her weight gain but I'm kind of bummed that she hasn't outgrown her reflux yet. He said we could start trying to wean her off the Prevacid again in a few months. We don't have to go back until mid October so hopefully the next Prevacid wean will work. Appointments are so much easier now, I barely have questions anymore. I remember her first few appointments, I was super paranoid (justified) and probably asked 15-20 questions every time. I'm happy that things have settled down a lot, the visit was pretty uneventful but that's a good thing!

  My goofy little trouble maker, she keeps things interesting.

*This is totally unrelated to everything I was just talking about but I joined this great website for children with heart defects and I shared Olivia's story, here is the link if you want to check it out, join or share your heart warriors story!  Little Hearts - Olivia

Heart update!

I didn't sleep much last night because I was worried about Liv's cardiology appointment today. She hasn't been to the cardiologist since November. Everything looked good back then but every time we go, I cross my fingers hoping for good news. It's really scary not knowing if things will be better or worse. Paul came with us today, I was glad because I really hate going alone. First she had her EKG, she cried a little bit but she was pretty good for most of it. The nurse was trying to play with her and distract her. She gave her some Dora stickers and Liv was happy, for about a minute. Then she had her echo, that took longer but luckily they had a Dora DVD so she watched that while they checked her. It only worked for about half the time, she would cry for a few minutes and then watch Dora for a few minutes and then cry again. So it went okay but she got pretty mad about halfway through and tried jumping off my lap. When we saw the cardiologist he said he was really happy with her weight gain. She jumped from 5% last visit to 10% this visit, he said that's really great. I asked a bunch of questions (of course) and he put my mind at ease a bit. Her coarc repair still looks good, it's growing with her and it's wide open like it should be. Her asd and vsd (holes in her heart) closed a little more but not completely. They are going to keep monitoring them and if she ends up needing surgery it won't be until she's around four or five. I'm really hoping that she doesn't need another surgery, the doctor seemed optimistic that she wouldn't. He also said that sometimes they can do a cath procedure instead of open heart surgery. I rather do that, well.. I rather it not be an issue at all but I'm really hoping we are done with heart surgery, I don't know if I can get through it again. I'm glad the doctors are happy with her progress and I hope she continues to do well. We don't have to go back for another six months, her next appointment is the first week in December so I'm going to try to put all my worries aside until then!

 

These pictures pretty much describe the whole visit. Distracted, crying, distracted.

Livy's 15 month checkup

Olivia had her 15 month checkup today! She is still little miss tiny, she weighs 18lbs 3oz and is 28.5" tall (which is pretty dang short). So the pediatrician said she's 10% for weight and 5% for height but she's gone up on her curve so that's good. I told him about her picky eating habits and he said it's normal for her age, he suggested a vitamin and I think it's a good idea. I'm always worried about her not getting enough vegetables or meat so that should help a little. I had to wake her up from her nap to bring her to the appointment so she was extra cranky. He was mentioning how around this age kids start getting scared of strangers. She seemed fine but when he started checking her ears and eyes, she freaked out and started crying. I kept thinking "just wait for the needles". She screamed at the top of her lungs during and after her shots. I felt bad for her but jeez she has a high pitched scream, I can still hear a ringing in my ears. Luckily she took another nap when we got home. After that we played outside for a while, it was so nice out! I didn't get any sleep last night so I felt kinda blah all day, glad it's over and I'm hoping I can get some sleep tonight.