11 Months ~Amelia~

Holy Smokes!  Is our little girl really 11 months old?  I seriously can’t believe how time flies!  I have been trying so hard lately to slow down (in spite of the chaos around us) and enjoy these moments.  It seems they are slipping away faster and faster and our last little baby is turning into a little girl entirely too fast!!

Growth:

Weight:  20.5 lbs according to the doctor’s scale

Height: No official measurement this month but I would guess roughly 29”

Amelia is wearing 12 month clothing although I have had to start packing some away and have pulled out the 12-18 month and 18 month items we have on hand.  Diapers are size 3 and shoes are size 4 but she refuses to ever leave them on. 

Mobility/Coordination:  Here we go!  2 days after Amelia turned 10 months she took her first 2 steps.  Over the next couple weeks it was sporadic and she got up to about 3-4 balanced steps and then she would plop on her butt.  On March 14^th she walked across the living room and paused a couple times along the way like she has been doing this whole walking thing her entire life.  Since then she has done nothing but get better at walking and more daring.  If she is standing and playing and wants to go somewhere else, she almost always tries to walk there first and can usually get there using walking as her mode of transportation. 

 

 When we pray at supper she folds her hands.  She also loves passing objects as small as cheerios from one hand to the other.  

Language/Communication:  Biggest milestone of the month for talking was the day when Matt walked in the door and I said “Amelia, who is that?”  She pointed right at him and said “Da-da.”  It was so adorable and Matt’s face lit up.  Neither of us were expecting it but she knew exactly what she was talking about.  We’ve heard it a couple times since then but nothing consistent yet. 

She is still stringing other jibberish together and it sure seems like she knows exactly what she is saying and we should all understand as well. 

Personality/Amelia-isms:  Overall, Amelia has been pretty happy for the most part this month.  She still has her independent, sassy moments of course but she does a pretty good job entertaining herself when needed and loves following Grant around and playing with him.

Amelia is absolutely fearless to the point of it often being scary!  (See below in firsts)  As I mentioned, she takes off walking like she is a pro, explores everything, and keeps us (and her daycare teachers) on our toes.  Matt and I have said that she will likely be the first with stitches or a broken bone between the two kids. 

Amelia has adopted the biggest, cheesiest grin that is so adorable (especially with her monster sized teeth now).  I finally caught a picture of it on my phone!  It has been elusive to date but I got it.      

Sleep:  No news here… 2 naps a day (mid-morning and early afternoon) along with bed time around 6:30 or 7:00.  If she doesn’t get her naps or bed at the right time, we still see the “bear” make an appearance. 

Feeding:  Amelia eats when she feels like eating.  Period.  If she is hungry and in the mood she will shovel everything you put in front of her into her mouth.  If she isn’t, she will let you know she isn’t happy and doesn’t want to be in her highchair.

She is still drinking three bottles a day… early morning, mid-morning, and afternoon.  At night, we have made the switch to a sippee with formula before bed which she normally drinks 2-4 oz from. 

Teeth:  We’ve seen no teeth this month (almost two months since her last tooth) but we are seeing signs of more around the corner… drooling, fussiness (which maybe is because of increased desire of independence?), chewing on fingers, etc.    

Illnesses:  She’s had some loose, really funky and rancid smelling poops lately which leads to this unfortunate post.  Amelia does indeed have C Diff.  I’ll leave it at that here but the corresponding post goes into more detail if any readers want to follow the news there. 

Brother/Sister Moment(s):  We are seeing Grant and Amelia interact more and more each day.  Normally, Grant does well sharing with her and engaging her to play and she loves it.  He also loves bossing her.  

Firsts:  Bleeding wound(s) (Amelia slammed her thumb sucking thumb in a drawer and took a head first face plant into the coffee table – I thought for sure it would be our first ER visit but it was just a bloody lip) ~ peanut butter (naughty us for doing it early but Amelia got a big glob of peanut butter, didn’t blow up like a balloon and she LOVES it) ~ blew mommy a kiss ~ Bit me for the first time… hard!  (Hopefully we aren’t headed down the same road as Grant)

Likes:  sitting up and falling backwards intentionally (even on hard floors… not a cool trick!) ~ rolling toys and balls ~ toy telephones (someone says hello and she picks it up and holds it to her ear) ~ rubbing her head and mussing her hair ~ climbing in your lap and all over you to give a hug or snuggle ~ adores the dogs and pestering them ~ loves carbs (bread, bagels, biscuits)

Dislikes:  sitting in the highchair when she isn’t hungry ~ being told no (see the pictures below) 

Our Battle with C Diff... Take 2

Part of me sits in disbelief as I write this post.  I never anticipated writing another post that would need the tag “C Diff.”  C diff has been a huge part of our lives for most of Grant's life (Check out his old posts here if you haven’t seen/read his story:  Our Battle with C Diff, C Diff Update, C Diff Update University of Chicago, and Chicago Take 2) but never did we anticipate having to deal with it with Amelia at almost the exact age that Grant's 1st case occurred.  That's correct... We found out yesterday that Amelia has a c diff infection.
 
Let me begin by how this all came about.  First and importantly, she has not been on an antibiotic for nearly 6 months (See more below on my theory of how she got it).  That's why when her normal 2-4 stools per day changed consistency to mushy sometimes runny or very liquid over a period of a week to week and a half we didn't think much of it.  As it persisted (not an increase in the number but again a difference in color, consistency and rancid, sour smell) we figured it was time to make a call to the doctor. 

After discussions with the nurse of the doctor on call, we begrudgingly made an appointment to actually go and be seen.  It seemed very pointless to me.  We unfortunately have seen our fair share of funky poops and know all too well how to collect stool specimens.  At the appointment, the doctor indicated that the main reason she wanted to see us was because I had indicated that several of Amelia’s poops had been grey in coloration and I guess that can mean liver and bilirubin issues.  She did an exam to ensure there was no inflammation or hardness to the liver or yellowing of the eyes (there wasn’t).  We talked about various viruses it could be (and yes even C Diff) and we were sent home with the coveted stool collection kit.     

The next morning (3/26) Amelia obliged and provided a sample for us before daycare.  I dropped the kids off, dropped the poop off and headed to work.  From our time with Grant we know that the lab has a relatively quick turn around time for C Diff and a couple other results while others can take several days.  However, when my phone rang that morning I still never expected the nurse to say the words “Amelia is positive for C Diff.”  I also never expected to have to convince both the nurse and the doctor that contrary to the doctor’s initial recommendations of, “We aren’t going to treat Amelia with antibiotics for a C Diff infection (CDI) at this time because babies under the age of 1 can naturally colonize C Diff and not have an infection.” 

Yes, this is true!  Many babies are born naturally with C Diff in their guts.  That means if you test a baby under one, many will come back positive for C Diff.  When C Diff is not wreaking havoc or causing symptoms this is simply referred to as C Diff Colonization.  However, I had to point out to the nurse who then had to go back to the doctor that obviously Amelia was indeed symptomatic otherwise we would have NEVER requested a stool check in the first place!  Well, after the nurse plays middle man and relays the message, the doctor “agreed to treat Amelia with flagyl 4 times a day for 10 days but will not re-test when she is done with the meds to confirm a negative result (again because of the colonization).  But if Amelia does become symptomatic again after the meds are complete she will refer us directly to a gastrointestinal specialist.” 

At this point, I was satisfied with this plan because Lord knows we went round and round with Grant too many times before our old pediatrician finally referred us to a specialist.  In the meantime, we are giving Amelia her medication and alternating the meds with probiotics (always good to do because the antibiotics can actually kill the good bacteria in the probiotics which defeats the purpose).  I pray that we have learned something from our ordeal with Grant and we can kick this the first time.  In all reality, his recurrences were not the norm.         
Amelia’s case does not seem nearly as severe as Grant’s 1^st case was.  His was antibiotic induced and it took us much longer to catch it because we didn’t know what we were looking for or warning signs.  For Grant, the doctor kept telling us it was a virus and would run its course.  However, when the fever popped up, he was pooping 8-12 times per day, vomiting, and lost 2 lbs we yet again had to insist on a stool culture. 

My theory on how Amelia may have gotten C Diff:  So here goes… C Diff is caused by an imbalance in the natural flora of the gut (normally caused by antibiotics) or via the fecal oral route often after a stay in a hospital, nursing home or other communal settings.  As I mentioned, Amelia hasn’t been on an antibiotic for over 6 months.  My next investigative move led me to research how long C Diff bacteria and spores can live on surfaces.  It seemed possible although unlikely that now that Amelia is playing with all the toys Grant played with at the age he had C Diff that maybe somehow she got it fecal/oral that way.  Well, that theory was shot down after finding that C Diff can live up to 5 months on hard surfaces (Grant hasn’t has C Diff in a year and half).  So with that in mind and no active or recent infections at daycare, it leads back to an imbalance in her gut flora.  Something recently caused a shift in her flora and allowed that nasty, naturally occurring C Diff bacteria to overtake her system and cause the symptoms that under normal conditions aren’t present.   

I am happy to say that at 24 hours on the meds Amelia's poops have already returned to normal consistency and smell.  We pray it continues this way and most importantly it continues even after the meds are discontinued in 9 days.  

Moral of the story moms and dads… follow your mommy and daddy intuition!  We know our children, we know when something seems off, and be persistent in what we want for the care of our children.

Thank you everyone for the thoughts and prayers already and please continue to keep us there and we will keep you posted!!!

Love,

The Fishers 

2 years

Crazy bath hair!

Well, Grant’s second birthday has come and gone.  I still can’t believe that he is two.  It was a special day filled with family and friends.  If you didn’t have the chance you can read all about it here.  After this month, I have decided I am going to update Grant’s blog every 2-3 months.  He is still changing quickly and learning new things daily but bi-monthly should be sufficient to keep track of it all and keep everyone updated.  

Growth:   I was waiting to update this post until after Grant’s 2 year check up today.  He weighed in at 27 lbs 2 oz (40th %).  His height was 34.75" (60th %).  They did not measure his head circumference.  Overall, he seems to just be a lean little boy and built very much like Matt and myself.  He is still in a select few 18-24 month clothes but mainly 24 month and 2T clothes.  I have even found some 3T shirts that we need to get some use out of now because there is no way they will fit him at or around 3 years old (I think this is just a sizing fluke based on brand).  Shoes are 6-7 and he is still comfortable in size 4 diapers. 

Teeth:  Grant’s 2 year old molars still haven’t popped yet.  I am telling you… this boy has been gnawing hard core on those gums for over 3 months and they still haven’t come in.  Grant also had a dentist appointment last week.  He did great.  He let the dentist look in his mouth with the mirror and the hygienist put the chocolate toothpaste (aka chocolate flavored tooth polish) in his mouth on her instrument.  They said each time we will try to do more and more without making it a traumatic experience.    

At the dentist!

Language/Comprehension:  We have been working on shapes, colors, letters, and numbers and we see progress daily.  He mixes pentagon and octagon up in his shapes puzzle but knows circle, triangle, square, rectangle, and diamond.  He is getting more and more consistent with colors and very often gets red, white, orange, and yellow correct.  He can count 1-13 rather consistently and recognizes numbers 1-5 when asked to pick them out.  If you sing “one, two” Grant answers “buckle my shoe.”  Then we can reverse it and he does the counting part and we answer with the other all the way to 10. 

We have been working more and more on letter recognition but there isn’t much progress there.   

He more often than not uses your, my, me, and I in the correct context and is using them more and more.  We have also noticed a change in Grant’s memory.  He will refer to something that happened several days ago and it takes Matt and I a little while to catch on.  We are so used to his little brain always being in the present.  For instance, he has still been referring to his trip to the dentist, what they did and the fact that he got to pick out a car from the “treasure chest.”  He has also been talking about the "birthday snowman" he and my mom built.

Grant can say the “Come Lord Jesus” blessing in its entirety but towards the end he does have a tendency to mumble and follow up with a loud, proud “Amen!”  

He still won't push the pedal to make it move

Mobility/Coordination:  Grant can unzip and take his coat off and put his hat on (usually facing the right direction).  We work on dressing/undressing and there are certain pairs of pants Grant can pull down along with being able to pull down his underwear and loves trying to put on his socks.  He is a pro at taking his socks and shoes off.  At his birthday party, he successfully blew out his candles.  Occasionally, he will use the proper grip on crayons/pencils.  He still primarily eats with his left hand, throws with his right and colors with his right.  I will say that he does most things interchangeably with both hands so we will see how that continues.  He can give a real thumbs up now and knows he is two but can’t show that on his fingers yet (he holds up all 5).  Grant can also roll his tongue and loves doing so and will occasionally catch a ball. 

Potty Training:  I had good intentions of working with Grant for the days we were off between Christmas and New Years.  Well, then we both got sick, ran fevers and Grant had some looser stools… none of which make for good training or practicing conditions.  He still has potty successes here and there but nothing consistent.  Sometimes he will ask to sit on the potty and others he will absolutely refuse.     

Grant-isms:  Grant likes to pretend fall and say “help me please” because he needs help up ~ He has discovered picking his nose but luckily those fingers haven’t found their way into his mouth ~ When he gets a time out, he cries and says “I’ll be nice” over and over ~ Answers a yes question with “Mmm Hmm” ~ He doesn’t like to be ignored and if we have our phones out looking at something he will say “put it away mama/daddy” ~ He is bossy, bossy, bossy right now!

Things he likes:  Still loves baseball and his tee ~ singing Christmas songs (yes, still!), music, and dancing ~ playing the guitar  

Funniest moment(s) this month:  If we are playing basketball in the basement Grant will yell “miss!” when you shoot the ball ~ If he sees a commercial with Christmas décor but no Santa he will ask “Where’s Santa?” 

Biggest change(s) this month:  Unfortunately, we had some regression this month and since being back at daycare in the New Year Grant has occasionally been biting or attempting to bite… usually unprovoked.  Not cool!

Firsts:  Sledding!  With some really good snow earlier this year (which has all melted now!) we have been able to get out a couple of times to enjoy.

Grant and his "birthday snowman"

My mom took Grant to a local nursing home by the name of Villa Loretta.  My aunt takes care of the many animals they have so it was almost like a petting zoo for Grant complete with goats, rabbits, horses, donkeys, chickens, monkeys, llamas, and others I probably forgot. 

Illnesses:  Grant and I were both sick this month.  Grant had a pretty bad cold and ran a fever of 103-105 for 4 days.  He was fever free for over 24 hours then the day before he was supposed to go back to daycare and me back to work his fever came back and spiked at 105 again.  It was just a virus so there wasn’t much we could do other than keep him comfortable with Tylenol and cuddling.   

C Diff update:  I am happy to say that Grant has still showed no signs of C Diff.  It has been a busy month with outreach though. 

Grant was featured in a Fond du Lac Reporter article and Chicago PBS story on the human microbiome. 

Here are some of the links if you haven’t had the chance to read or watch them.  The PBS story is very interesting.  They are hoping to find other applications for stool transplants and have some promising research on the horizon.    

Click here to read the Fond du Lac Reporter article.

Click here to read the American Journal of Gastroenterology submission on Grant.

Click here to view the Chicago Tonight PBS story that Grant was featured in.