News in the New Year

I know it's several days into 2010, but I went back to work on January 4, and it's been an adjustment, to say the least. On the plus side, it's been wonderful to see all my Demarest friends. The entire district was so supportive since day one; I was happy to get back to school and thank everyone personally. Also on the plus side, Mom and Dad are watching Andrea while I work, so she's spared having to be in a day care setting. The biggest problem with day care is that kids are exposed to so many germs. This way, we're minimizing the exposure for Andrea until she's bigger and stronger. On the down side, I need to be up at 5 every morning so I can get Kenny off to the bus on time, drop Andrea off at my parents' and still get to work without being horribly late. Needless to say, I'm feeling a bit tired now!

In addition to my return to work, it's been a busier than usual week. On Tuesday, Andrea saw the dermatologist for a follow up to her December appointment. Her skin continues to be a challenge. She is rashy over most of her body, and as a result, is very itchy. We had been using a prescribed cortisone ointment, but were limited in how long we could keep her on it. The doctor gave us a milder cream that we can use for longer periods of time, and also prescribed Singulair, which Kenny takes for his asthma. Interestingly enough, the Singulair will not cure the rash, but it will make her less itchy. We started it on Wednesday, and she seems more comfortable already. It's very fine powder, which we mix in her food. And speaking of her food, we have begun to branch out from cereals. So far, she had been through rice, oatmeal and barley cereal (the last was not a huge favorite) and we started her on sweet potatoes this week. She LOVES sweet potatoes! It is the only thing she's eaten so far that she never spits out. Because of her skin issues, the dermatologist recommends a full week on each food before trying a new one, so she's been having sweet potatoes twice a day since Wednesday. Next week, we're trying peas, which should be good for a photo op!

Tuesday night, Andrea and I were overnight in the hospital for a repeat of her sleep study. The pulmonologist is highly motivated to get her off the oxygen over night (as are we!) so we tried again to see if Andrea's O2 saturation levels stayed good all night. It was an interesting experience, especially compared to the last time. When we went in the fall, Andrea couldn't roll over yet, so once she was connected to the machines and swaddled, she had no choice but to go to sleep. NOW, she can roll from back to front and front to back, so THIS time was another type of experience completely. Once she was on the leads, Andrea proceeded to work very hard to pull anything and everything off. The technician made several trips in over the course of the night. We get the results when we see the pulmonologist on January 22. We HOPE that all went well, since we are very tired of oxygen and monitors.

On Thursday, we were back at the pediatrician for this month's RSV vaccine and the last of Andrea's 9 month shots. She's done now until February, when she gets yet another RSV vaccine. She doesn't need any other vaccines until she's one. Between RSV, regularly scheduled shots and flu vaccines, it's been a rough few months.

Exciting news from Thursday's doctor's appointment - Andrea now weighs 14 pounds, 15 ounces (a gain of 14 pounds since birth!) and measures 24.4 inches. She actually gained 14 ounces in a bit more than 2 weeks, so apparently solid food agrees with her.

The response to this blog has been overwhelmingly positive, and many people have suggested that we have it published. Well, I'm in the process now of trying to find a way to do just that. Of course, it's always possible to print copies as they are, but we'd love to have a real book of all this. Should that project ever get off the ground, I'll share the word.

“Because a thing seems difficult for you, do not think it impossible for anyone to accomplish.”
Marcus Aurelius