Author: heather

After never having been to the doctor for anything more serious than grabbing her ear or falling over from a sitting position (neither of which came to anything), Maddi ended up spending two days of the last seven in the ER.

After her MMR shot, which was administered a month late because of scheduling (or rather lack thereof) issues, our wee one seemed “off” but otherwise fine. A week and a half later, I took her to one of our local portrait studios to have her 1-year-old picture taken (again, scheduling issues!). Normally, Maddi loves to have her picture taken and is delighted to bestow smiles and coquettish looks upon perfect strangers. We have ample photographic evidence that this baby is not camera shy.

So it should have clued me in to the fact that something was wrong when we could not get a single, solitary shot of Maddi doing anything other than crying and trying to crawl back to Mommy. But I just chalked it up to her needing a nap. I’d noticed she was hot, but chalked that up to her right top molar, which was roughly plowing through her angry red gum tissue.

But over the next 24 hours, it became apparent that it wasn’t an issue of teething at all. The standard dose of Tylenol failed to soothe our suddenly fussy little girl, and not only was she avoiding chewy food, but just about all food and drink save applesauce.

Her temperature gradually got higher and higher, until it hit 104 on Monday. Chris and I raced to the emergency room, where Maddi was quickly given a bed and some blood tests to rule out infection. Ultimately, she turned out to be OK. Her fever came down after a larger dose of Tylenol than we’d been giving her (the dosage instructions on the box are needlessly conservative) and her bloodwork and urinalysis came back fine. The conclusion was that she had either a virus or a bad reaction to the MMR shot. Either way, we were to bring the fever down with Tylenol and lukewarm baths.

Her fever broke after the ER visit and all seemed fine, but then on Thursday, we were in the ER again. Maddi had continued to eat perhaps 300 grams of applesauce a day and push her sippy cup away no matter what drink was offered. The result was three pee diapers in a 24-hour period. I could have waited for it to get more serious before taking her in, I suppose, but then again we’re talking about a person who took a baby in because said baby fell backward from sitting and hit her head hard on the floor.

Again we went to emergency and again, Maddi was swiftly admitted. Unlike her previous visit, she had nothing to offer for the urine collection bag, so blood tests were required. She had gobs of the dermal analgesic EMLA applied to the insides of her elbows for blood draws and the tops of her hands for IV insertion, if needed. Stick-on patches of clear plastic were appied over the EMLA, which kept the wee one occupied during the long hours as she tried every which way to remove them.

Finally, the results of the blood test came back — she was slightly dehydrated, but not enough to require intravenous fluids. The ER doc gave me a pair of syringes with which to force water down Maddi’s reluctant throat, and we were discharged. Having eaten nothing all day and operating on three hours’ sleep (and similar amounts for the last several nights), I drove home and plopped Maddi in her high chair for some applesauce, only to notice that the adhesive patches over the EMLA on her hands were still on.

And then, as I removed them, I realized with horror that during the 20-minute car ride, she had chewed entirely through one of the patches and apparently slurped up every last bit of the analgesic. I called the hospital, got the name of the analgesic, and was connected to emergency where their ever-so-bright operator told me that because EMLA is topical and absorbs from the skin into the bloodstream, it should be as harmless inside as out. Which would be true … if the GI tract were covered in skin and not the gastric mucosa, which is far more efficient at absorbing medications than is the dermis. Just to be sure, I checked online, where nearly every source I read said that EMLA, and I quote, “can be toxic if ingested.” Gee, thanks, ER lady. Guesses based on faulty science are the perfect way to deal with babies swallowing controlled medications.

So I called poison control, as any thinking person might do if their baby had swallowed a fair amount of lidocaine, and what do you know? Even based on her small dose, which the operator thought was probably not enough to harm her (but only after asking me how much was applied and how long it had been on her skin), Maddi had to be watched from 4:30 until 6 p.m. to make sure she didn’t exhibit any symptoms like twitching or turning blue around the mouth. I was also told, ironically, not to give her anything to eat or drink that evening except for water, because her stomach was likely numb.

And that’s how I got 10 years taken off my lifespan in the course of a few days.

Other than that, Maddi’s doing fine. She’s almost back to normal now, except for needing an extra nap and a watchful eye on her fluids. She’s walking a little more every day, although she still exhibits no desire to give up crawling until she can run. And she’s got even more words under her belt.

Recent words include “get,” “bread” (a very frequently used word now!), “car,” “bear” (said in an ever-so-cute growling voice!), and “bubbles.” She also finally says “baseball” independently when she sees a game on the TV in Chris’ office. If she doesn’t know the name of what she wants, she points and says “dat.” All told, she speaks 50 words now — not counting the ones I seem to invariably forget. About two weeks ago, she put together her first absolutely undisputable three-word sentence: “Bye-bye, Nana car.” Up until now, I’ve thought I’ve heard things such as “I’m gonna read” and “Go see Daddy” but questioned my sanity; however, this sentence was so clear there was no mistaking my ears.

In a followup to last post, Maddi is still on soy milk. Since she doesn’t like it as much as cow’s milk and thus doesn’t drink much of it, it’s not clear whether she was vomiting because of an allergy or because of overindulgence, but what is clear is that she hasn’t been barfing up soy milk. We’ll retry milk in a few months, but in the meanwhile, the only dairy she’s getting is cheese and yogurt, which have never bothered her.

And here is Maddi earlier this week, enjoying her first trip to the lakeshore with Mommy and big sister Kaija.

For months, we’ve been saying Maddi is “just about” to walk. And for months, we’ve been eating our words as she continued to walk — and later, run — holding onto furniture or fingers or tall toys, but never independently. Just when we were beginning to suspect our little daughter might be the first bride to crawl down the aisle at her wedding, Maddi finally decided yesterday that she’d be OK with walking.

She’s been thinking about it for ages. Over the past few weeks, she’s hesitated longer and longer when we’ve held our arms out and said “Come to Mommy” or “Go get Daddy” before dropping to her knees and crawling that ever-so-long foot and a half to her parents’ embrace. She’s even taken a step or two on her own when she’s not thinking about it too hard. But it wasn’t until yesterday that she finally made that big step forward.

Really, if we’re going to be technical, it was five big steps forward. And the only reason it wasn’t more was because the thunderous round of applause made our wee one a bit nervous and she reverted to her transportation method of choice.

Maddi chose to make her walking debut at Nana’s house after Sunday brunch, and she had quite the big audience. Not only did both parents witness her first steps, but so did Nana, Auntie Kathy and cousin Becca (and sundry animal friends).

She was in the area just between the dining room table and kitchen entry, and in all the excitement, I forget who pointed out, “Look, she’s walking!” but there she was, taking step after tottering step toward the kitchen table where the grown-ups were playing euchre. She looked quite nervous and surprised, but kept walking until all the attention became a little too intimidating.

However, now that she’s done it once, Maddi has no problem doing it when the fancy strikes her. The daycare operator at the gym informed me today that our little Boo toddled halfway across the playroom with no warning whatsoever. (I had failed to inform her of the new skill because knowing Maddi as I do, I figured it would be another five months before she busted out the walking stuff again.) And later today, she stood up in the middle of the living room, walked over to her ball popper and nonchalantly inserted a ball as if she’d been doing it for weeks.

Chris delayed a much-needed nap to enjoy the toddling cuteness, and he was not disappointed. Although she’s a tricky one and often drops down to crawl for things that are too far away, she took quite a few baby steps — between Mommy and Daddy, toward toys, you name it.

If she keeps up at this rate, I give her no more than two weeks before she’s running wild through the house.

On the verbal front, Maddi continues to add new words to her vocabulary on quite a regular basis. Recent words include “babana” (banana), “good” (often used when asking for bananas), “play,” and “cup.” And tonight, she said “potty” very clearly for the first time. Usually it’s just “pah.” She’s also started working on “bread,” her new favorite finger food. Not counting “bread,” that brings her to 43 words at just a week past 13 months.

In some sad news, while she did great with yogurt and cheese, we’re not so sure about whole milk. She did fine for awhile, but she’s been throwing up for about a week, so today we took her off milk and started soy to see if she does any better. So far, she’s still barfing, so maybe (just maybe!) it has more to do with the fact that our wee one is a complete glutton and fills her belly to bursting before getting down to play. But we’ll keep her on soy for 10 days and see.

And here, for your viewing pleasure, is a video of Maddi taking some of her first steps.

They say a picture’s worth a thousand words, but I think a new word out of Maddi is worth a lot more than pictures. I hope everyone else thinks that way too, because we forgot to take pictures this week. It’s hard to hold a camera when you’re chasing down an ever-faster baby.

This past week, Maddi debuted several new words, much to Chris’ and my delight. Although she uses them judiciously and the people in her playgroup have never heard her say anything but “Mama,” it’s becoming hard to count the words in our daughter’s vocabulary.

Last week, she added “Becca,” “Poppa,” and “Kaija,” and other additions since her birthday were “purple” and “ball popper.” This week, after hundreds of word-less bedtimes, she repeated “Night-night” back to Chris and me as we tucked her in. And today, when I opened the cabinet where we keep Maddi’s food (including her beloved applesauce packs), she got very frustrated when I didn’t fetch any consumables for her and pleaded, “Appow-pah?”

She’s been saying “baby” for awhile, but only at our prompting; however, this week Maddi began saying it independently so we’re counting it as a word. That makes 38 so far. We may have 39 soon, as she’s been trying really hard to say “potty” lately.

Having a baby who can express so many things verbally makes life a lot easier — and a lot more amusing. Yesterday, we had the option of bringing Maddi to her weekly playgroup or picking up Nana at the airport. As Maddi enjoyed her breakfast, I asked her if she wanted to go to playgroup and see the babies. She nodded her head up and down excitedly. Then I asked her if she wanted to see Nana. Again, she nodded excitedly. So I asked her, as I often do when we’re choosing a bedtime story, an outfit or a toy, “Do you want to see the babies? Or do you want to see Nana?”

“Nan!!” Maddi squeaked emphatically, flapping her little arms. So that was that.

In addition to actual words, Maddi now makes a new non-word sound. Her fascination with cars and trucks has led her to begin saying “vrrummm” when she rides on her little car or sees a big truck passing us on the street. It really is the cutest thing ever.

In other news, Maddi may be about to wean herself. She is down to nursing only at night (for 5 minutes, at that). But tonight, she kept making the “more” sign even though she clearly had no interest in milk. So I asked her, “Would you like some cow’s milk in your sippy cup?” and got an unequivocal “yes” in the form of furious nodding and smiling. Thus, our little girl grows ever bigger.

In the three weeks since she turned one, Maddi has grown — right in front of our eyes — from a baby into a little girl. She plays games, performs and has strung together yet more short sentences. She’s found new ways to get into mischief and knows the names of more of her relatives. She knows what is and isn’t allowed (whether she chooses to ignore the rules or not). Sometimes I can’t help but look at this toddler and wonder “What did she do with my baby girl?”

Maddi’s been quite a big girl in many ways for awhile, but never quite enough to distract you from the fact that she was just a wee, roly-poly baby thing. She’s always had a big vocabulary, but more often than not, she’s remained content to whine, cry or point rather than verbalize her desires. Iinstead she chose mostly to speak when she thought no one could hear, when she was excited, or when she was desperate to convey a point. She was steady on her feet, but only stood erect with the assurance of something solid to hold onto. She enjoyed games, songs and books, but was mostly content to watch rather than participate.

Since about her first birthday, Maddi has begun humming along with songs, clapping her hands during pat-a-cake, flinging her legs apart when the “doors on the bus go open and shut,” and insisting on lifting the flaps herself when we read “Where is Baby’s Belly Button?” She’s also moved from playing peek-a-boo with blankets, dust ruffles and tea towels to using her hands in big, dramatic gestures during her favorite game. And last week when I sang “Roly Poly” to her in the car, she moved her hands “up, up, up” and “down, down, down” even though she hadn’t heard the song in a month and hadn’t done the arm motions by herself ever. It almost brings tears to my eyes when I realize what a big girl we have on our hands.

Two of her favorite birthday presents were a little car babies can either ride or push, and a Hasbro Busy Ball Popper. Her walking skills have increased tremendously since she spends hours a day pushing that little car all over the upstairs, and we suspect she will work up the courage to walk unassisted just about any day now. The ball popper, on the other hand, has turned her into an even bigger girl — one with a favorite (and appropriately girlie) color. For some reason, although there are five different-colored balls in the ball popper, our wee angel has taken a particular liking to the purple ball. She rescues it from the popper as soon as she can get her little mitts on it, and then proceeds to gaze at it, slobber on it, and crawl all around the house, adjusting her gait to account for the fact that she has that beloved ball in one hand. And if Daddy doesn’t come running when she calls from the top of the stairs, she drops her prized toy down from between the banister rails as a sort of ultimate sacrifice. When Chris isn’t home to retrieve it, she looks at me with big blue eyes, plaintively asking, “Mama, ball?”

Her purple ball is so beloved that she routinely whispers a happy greeting of “puh-pull ball” as she grabs it each time I plop her down to play. She has also begun saying “ball pa-puh” while she stands transfixed in front of the ball popper. She is quite the little scientist, trying to stuff into the popper everything from her Little People baby (it fit) to her Roll-Arounds (they didn’t quite) to her big, plastic toy cars (they don’t even come close). And it’s not just the ball popper. A few weeks ago, she was standing at the central vacuum outlet (which Chris had to tape over after repeat offenses) trying to pry the circular outlet open, purple ball in one hand, and asked me, “Ball?”

I wasn’t sure that she knew what she was saying when she said “purple ball,” but recently when Maddi grabs her beloved nasal aspirator — which (coincidentally or not?) happens to be a bright shade of grape — she has whispered “puh-pull” to herself. Still not much concept of yellow, green, red or blue, but she’s got purple down!

In addition to her love of the purple ball, balls in general, the color purple, and things into which balls can be dropped, Maddi also loves people. And after a long spell of only knowing the names of three people (Mama, Dada and Nana), she finally knows the names of six people. This past week, she started saying “Poppa” very quietly and “Becca” in a regular voice (but pronounced “Bebba”). And the week before, she began working on “Kaija,” which so far most resembles “Tie.” Not one to forget her oldest friends, in addition to making enticing kissy noises very proficiently, she also now says “Hee, kikky” (“here, kitty”). And in true big-girl form, she has become so gentle recently that Deva now snuggles her head up under Maddi’s chubby little hand for more of that good petting!

While Maddi doesn’t walk on her own — not even a bit — she does run when you let her hold your fingers and when she’s pushing her little car around. She can crouch from standing and then stand up again, toy in hand, without holding onto a thing. She just refuses to walk, that’s all. However, she will stand in the middle of the room and drink milk from her sippy cup, tipping the last drops from her mouth with head craned, so we know she doesn’t have a problem with balance. Our little baby, who as you may recall did quite the elaborate and lengthy dance routines in utero, will even “dance” in place now when asked. She can also play “Ring Around the Rosie” if you slow the pace up just a tad.

She’s also expressing interest in the potty. Since she’s scaled back to 0-1 naps daily, I’ve given up on trying to pee during her naptimes, so I just tell her Mommy’s going peepee in the potty. She races into the bathroom at full speed, giggling maniacally, and stands with her hands on the edge of her bath seat, which sits on the floor in front of the toilet. She is very interested in the whole process and helps me applaud myself afterward, although so far she’s shown no interest in ever using the potty herself and merely looks at me as if I’m crazy when I tell her she will use the potty when she’s 2. But soon … soon!

And finally, in the weeks since Maddi turned one, we have introduced all kinds of yummy things — fruit sorbet, tomato sauce, and whole milk — all with no consequences. The only thing that has broken the baby out is, yet again, rice. Both on her birthday (from the cake) and this past Tuesday (from stealing a cracker in playgroup) poor little Maddi has gotten a rash from this seemingly innocuous grain, which continues to be her one and only food sensitivity.

Coming soon: Pics of our 1-year-old girl enjoying her toddlerhood!