Isabella Is 17 Months

Isabella never had a 15 month appointment because she was sick and on antibiotics for most of March which pushed her 15 month appointment to yesterday, the day before she turned 17 months old. The appointment went well despite having to wait forever because there was only one doctor and one RN working! Isabella is 30.5 inches tall (I don't think she was standing up straight, but who knows?) 25th percentile, they said she is falling to the short side which is weird because she has always been kind of tall. No worries though, because I'm short and Jonathan is no giant. She weighs 21 lbs, between 10th - 25th percentile, which is where she has always been. And her head is 18 1/4" which is the 50th percentile, again, kind of where it has always been. If you are wondering, she gets that melon from her Daddy.

The nurse was wowed by how good a patient Isabella was, and the doctor too. When they stuck her finger she didn't even flinch. She was amazed by the blood and loved watching it flow from her finger. She even smiled as she watched it travel up the little tube that they use to test for lead. She was so well behaved while she was being examined. The doctor was impressed and said we have a very laid back little girl. She was in and out in a flash, she said it usually takes her twice as long because the kids fight and won't be still. That's our good girl! Everything was fine with Isabella, she is perfectly health! The only concern was that Isabella hasn't been on vitamins and she should have been for the past 5 months. We didn't know this, of course, and the doctor who saw her at her 12 month appointment didn't mention it at all. So glad we decided to switch doctors. She had to get 2 shots, and although she did cry a little, it didn't last long, not even a minute. Because she was such a good patient the nurse gave her two "treasures" which pleased Isabella so much she blew the nurse a kiss.

I meant to talk to the doctor about potty training but forgot. Isabella is showing a lot of signs that she is ready to start, so we are going to take a very laid back approach and see what happens. I would love to have her potty trained before the next baby arrives (no, I'm not pregnant, yet!), but we aren't pushing it. She is a smart girl, she will let me know when its REALLY time. I cant remember if I posted it here or not, but one time last week Isabella asked to sit on the potty and she actually used it as soon as she was on it! I'm so proud of my big girl!

This picture has nothing to do with the appointment, it's just here for your viewing pleasure!

Isa's One Year Check Up

Isabella had her appointment today, she is 100% healthy! My big girl (baby) is 18 lbs 8 oz, 29" long, and her head is 18". The doctor said she is long and thin just like her Daddy. He even commented on her long arms and legs. Her hemangioma is almost completely gone and he didn't even notice it without us bringing it to his attention.

One year update coming soon!

Isabella's Half Birthday

Isabella is 6 months old today. She had her appointment this morning for her well baby check up. She weights 14 lbs 7 oz, she is 25 inches long, and her noggin is 16.5 inches around. I promise to update more tomorrow when I'm not so tired.

4 Month Appointment

In all the chaos of the past few weeks I forgot to mention Isabella's well baby check up. On April 6, 2009 Isabella was 12lbs 2 oz and 24 1/4" long. Everything was perfect, and she is still being hailed as "The strongest baby he (her doctor) has ever seen". Here are some pictures of Isa right at 4 months and us when we had our famildayin Bury.

Nickie's Surgery

Monday afternoon Jonathan came home and told me about our assignment to Minot. I was devistated. I spent most of the afternoon/evening on the phone with my Nana crying and complaining. When it was time for dinner I didnt really want to eat and didnt eat much. Soon after dinner I began to feel very ill, it was horrible. Jonathan and I both agreeded that it was probably just my stomach upset from all the stress. I have had several bout of this kind of pain since Isabella has been born, but it has been a very stressful time. In the past I have always taken something for upset stomach and felt better in a few hours. Well I took some medicine and almost immediately began throwing up. When I was doing a little better Jonathan put me to bed. I couldnt sleep, I was dying from the pain. At 3:30 I got up to feed Isabella and I couldnt stand it anymore. I knew something was WRONG. I was puking again, my abdomen was swollen and tender, I felt confused and dizzy. Jonathan rushed me to the ER and MAGICALLY I was the only one there. I got in immediately, Thank God. I was there about 30 minutes and they had me hooked up to IV pain medication. That was the beggining of my first day of sedation. I found out later that I was going to be admitted to the hospital with severe acute pancreatitis. I had an ultrasound and they found a huge gallstone blocking my duct and gallbladder full of stones. When my labs came back my enzyme numbers were off the chart, so high in fact they sent my blood off to another facility because they thought there machine was broken. They even called a tech in to work on the machine and have it recalibrated. Turns out the machine wasnt broken, I was just that sick! My lipase reading was 79,000! (We later learned that this is a number commonly found when people are already dead or beyond repair). Later Tuesday afternoon jujst for fun I started my period, thanks for that cruel joke. Wednesday came and I was sedated again most of the day, again my Lipase was so high (21,000) that my blood had to be sent to another facility to be tested. Wednesday was when they made the decision for sure to take my gallbladder when I was well enough. Wednesday came and went, I dont remember much. Thursday morning my bloodwork was much better, my lipase was down to 500! But I didnt get surgery because I was on "supportive care" and a bunch of emergency surgeries kicked me off the schedule. Friday I FINALLY got my surgery and 1 pm. The surgery went well but they had a hard time getting me to wake up. I dont remember much from Friday night except Jonathan holding Isabella close to me so I could kiss be before he left to take her home, it was well past her bedtime. Friday night my oxygen sat was low so I had to be put back on oxygen all night which worried the nurses. Saturday morning I was working three different kind of pain meds and walking the halls because I wanted to come home. They had me doing breathing treatments and exercises before the doctor got there in hopes that I would be able to go home. The doctor came and I got the all clear and I couldnt get out of there fast enough! Being so sick sucked for a number of reasons, but the thing that was the hardest was being away from Isabella. I know that Jonathan is a wonderful competent father, but I hated not being there for her! I cried every day because I missed her so much. Nights were especially hard. It really had got me thinking about how important life is. I was really sick, way sicker than we originally thought, and it has scared the hell out of me. I'm not going to take another second for granted! This has had a lot to do with my big shift in attitude about our assignment to Minot. Im so glad to be home now and on the road to recovery. I can't wait until I can hold Isabella again and love her to death! YAY Hug your kids, you never know what tomorrow is going to bring.

Its been almost a week since my surgery and I am doing really well. I thought I would feel better than this by now, but Im not complaining. The doctor said they were inside of me twice as long as it should have taken so some lingering pain was to be expected. Im just happy to be alive and healthy. Some wonderful friends have been making us dinner every night and that was such a blessing. Tonight we're on our own and I think we are going to be just fine. =)

Our First ER Visit

Sunday we had our very first visit to the ER for baby Isabella.

Friday afternoon Isa started being really irritable, we had a bad night Friday. Saturday we had to take out Jeep to get the estimate done for the insurance company so we were out of the house, she didn't do well at all. She basically screamed until she passed out. After this the diarrhea started, it wasn't too bad, just a few diapers. The rest of the day she was off and on sleeping and crying. She was hardly eating anything, this is what worried me the most.

Saturday night was a DISASTER! She was inconsolable, she suctioned her nose at least 20 times, we held her, we changed her clothes, changed her swaddle, anything we could think of. She was only eating like an ounce every 3 hours which totally freaked me out. We ended up giving her a dose of Tylenol and she went to sleep about 30 minutes later. Perhaps she had alittle baby headache from all the congestion, that was my theory. I think she slept all of 4 hours Saturday night.

Sunday morning we got up and she seemed a lot happier. I still wasn't happy with her eating so I called the Nurse Advice Line. They said it would be a good idea to take her into the ER just in case, so we did. We were there from 10am - 6pm. It was the most horrible day EVER! When we FINALLY saw the doctor she said that Isa likely has a virus and it should pass soon.

She is eating much better now and she still hasn't had a fever. We are still suctioning a lot but we'll do whatever it takes to make her feel better.

Oh yeah, she weighs 10 lbs 14 oz now! Grow baby grow!