Together Again in Heaven: Parlor Tricks and Prevacid at 8 Months

Emma experienced many developmental milestones as well as some health issues this past month. This little girl has kept us busy and the lack of pictures to choose for this post proves it. Emma’s biggest accomplishments this month are her first two bottom teeth and crawling. Last month she was scooting around on her tummy and able to go wherever she wanted as long as there was nothing blocking her path. This month, she can crawl and climb over just about anything short of our safety gates. We've even had to lower her crib mattress because she pulls herself to a stand and tries to climb out of her bed. We are currently child-proofing our house too. You would think our home’s safety should be top-notch since Lucy has made it to two and half years old safe and sound, but this time around is a lot more nerve wracking. Our adorable two and a half year old just refuses to be child-proofed! Play money, stickers, costume jewelry and food are just a few of the objects that bring great curiosity to Emma and severe anxiety to her parents.

Emma has become quite the novice at parlor tricks this month as well. She will kiss me on the mouth with her mouth wide open when we say "Kiss" and will clap our open palm when we sing "Patty Cake". If you ask her a question like, "Are you hungry?" or "Do you want to play?" she will nod her head repeatedly while bouncing and smiling. And just this past week she has started waving her hand when we say "hi" or "bye."

Emma loves to hold onto our fingers as she walks around the room and isn't content to be held without trying to climb up our shoulder or arm. It is a great workout for us - Emma the climbing medicine ball. Fortunately, Emma still loves being in the baby carrier all snuggled up to me which has been great for playing outside with Lucy or while shopping with the two of them.

Our little Emma gave us quite a scare a couple of weeks ago. About ten minutes after I had laid her down in her crib sound asleep I heard choking and gagging on the monitor. I ran upstairs and grabbed her out of her bed and started thumping her on the back. It took almost two hours for the coughing and gagging to stop. When I finally got her back to sleep and laid her down the choking started all over again. I spent the night sitting upright with her in the rocking chair and in the morning I called and made an appointment to see our pediatrician, thinking that Emma had caught the croup Lucy had the week prior. Emma's sinuses and lungs checked out completely clear at the doctor the following day and we began to suspect that perhaps Emma was suffering from acid reflux like Lucy. Little details started adding up - since about four months old, Emma has been steadily falling off of her growth chart curve. When she was born she was in the 50% for weight and length. Now she is under 5% on the growth chart, meaning she is smaller than more than 95% of babies her age. Our second clue is that she has been refusing to eat solids. She makes a "lemon" face every time we present food to her. According to the pediatric gastrologist this is common among babies with severe inflammation in their esophagus from months of acid reflux eroding it away. Our third and most trying clue is the fact that we can no longer lay her flat for anything - diaper changes, putting her coat on or sleep without her arching her back and screaming. That part is like déjà vu from Lucy who went undiagnosed with acid reflux until she was ironically the same age Emma is now. After a trip to the emergency room due to more severe choking and finally an appointment with the pediatric gastrologist this past Wednesday, Emma is now on Prevacid and slowly, slowly, ever so slowly doing a little bit better. To say that we are frustrated is an understatement. I can hardly believe that we have another child with sleep issues of this magnitude. I feel like I am missing the best parts of Emma’s babyhood because I am constantly trying to get Emma to sleep or eat. She is at the point now where she is sleeping so little and eating so frequently (for weight gain purposes) that I feel like we are back in the newborn stage again. The only difference is a newborn doesn’t get into everything and sleeps most of the day! We have another appointment this coming week with the gastrologist, and we are hoping that she starts to show some more improvement so we can avoid extensive testing and the anxiety that something more serious is wrong.

Our little bean continues to be good natured through all of this. As long as we aren’t laying her down, she is nothing but smiles and cuddles. She continues to be a mama's girl, but she definitely loves her sister and her daddy, in that order.