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 

Craft with the Kids: Truck Feet

I am always looking for fun crafts to do with Grant that are geared more towards little boys.  His attention span for coloring and painting is minimal especially when I have a specific crafty keepsake type project in mind that I want to do.  That's why when this picture popped up on the news feed of a friend I knew it would be perfect and he would love it.  He is all boy and into everything trucks, tractors, construction, etc.

 

We started with 4-8X8 canvases (on sale at JoAnn's for 50% off) and doing his footprints in the various colors needed for what would eventually be a firetruck, race car, tractor, and dump truck.  

 

 

I painted in some of the details and cut out the shapes needed for the wheels (there was no way I was going to try to freehand some of that).  And here are the end results!   

 

He LOVES them and points them out on his wall each night when he goes to bed.   

 

Distressing Our "New" China Hutch

I have been checking Craigslist periodically for a China hutch for our dining room but just couldn't bring myself to pull the trigger on any of them mainly because of cost.  Well did I luck out one day when this one popped up.  I immediately contacted the guy and he said he had someone trying to find a truck to get it but would keep me posted.  The other deal fell through and it was ours!  He had it listed for $75 OBO.  I offered $60 and walked away with one heck of a deal!!! 

I knew I wanted to paint it but wasn't sure on color or technique.  We bought it right about the time we were choosing our cabinet color so I decided there would be no better color than to match our new cabinets.  I took our cabinet sample to our paint guy, he lasered the color to match, and we now have what will be a perfect match to our new kitchen cabinets. 

Please ignore the current dining room color (that doesn't match the new hutch).  It will also be changing along with the kitchen reno!

I love the distressed look and after seeing my friend's awesome dining room table that she did I wanted to try my hand at the look but I was nervous about doing it to such a big piece for my first try. 

I started by removing the glass, doors, and hardware.  Then, I lightly sanded the hutch and doors with an electric sander (probably not necessary especially if you use a primer but I think it helps the paint grip the surface better), wiped it all down very well to clean it and then began with a layer a paint.  (Some distressing techniques recommend applying wax (candle) or Vaseline to the edges before painting to make distressing easier.  I opted not to do the wax and for me it work out just fine not waxing before painting). 

Ok so reality check here... this was NOT a fun piece to paint!  There were a lot of corners, edges, and weird angles that required me to literally stick my head and half my body inside of the cabinet.  Not even halfway through I was kicking myself but kept telling myself the end result would be worth it!  I took it all in steps and worked on it each night after the kids went to sleep.  

Halfway done!

After the painting was finished before I was set to distress the piece, I'll be honest... it was a bit tough to bring myself to take the sander to it.  I had worked so hard already and liked the clean look but I went for it anyway.  I started out a bit timid, sanding by hand but soon pulled out the electric sander and started slowly.  After I got the hang of how much pressure I needed and the rotary speed needed, it went quickly.  And here is the end result with a couple close up pictures!

The final touch was new hardware (not pictured) to match our new kitchen hardware

A closer look at some of the distressed edges

A closer look at some of the distressed edges

I am so happy with the end result and still stop to look at it and do a double take.  It absolutely does not look like the same piece and I am looking forward to the when the renovation is over and I can finally put some of the China I have on display!

25 Crockpot and Oven Freezer Meals for $230... In 4 Hours!!!

Going into the kitchen renovation I knew I was going to have to do some planning ahead for easy meals options so we didn't end up eating out of a box or the drive-thru for the duration of the process.  We will pretty much be confined to using a crock pot or a small portable convection oven so the meal plan had to align with those options.  Then it dawned on me that a friend of mine (Thank you Mrs. Warnell) posted some links to some various crock pot and make ahead of time oven freezer meals which seemed like they would be perfect.

Another perfect use that I wish I would've done... make them for a new baby's arrival!  I made some freezer meals but nothing anywhere close to this.  It would be perfect for new moms with little ones!

I pulled my recipes from three sources (10 Easy Crockpot Freezer Meals, A Month of Freezer Meals in One Afternoon, and 40 Meals in 4 Hours Crockpot Slow Cooker Freezer Cooking) and basically picked out meals that seemed appealing to us and our tastes. 

The meals I chose from these sites (you will find the recipes and shopping list for these attached) include:

Update:  We have had to opportunity to try several of these meals now and most of them have been good.  I wouldn't say they are excellent though.  We much prefer a fresh, home cooked meal.  What I have found with the crockpot meals is they tend to get very watery after cooking (maybe from the moisture cooking out of the meat and veggies) so any of the recipes that originally called for a can of cream or mushroom or chicken I have been adding another can of soup when I get home.  

Oven Freezer Meals
Easy Cheeseburger Casserole (Good)
Broccoli Cheddar Pasta Bake (Good)
Basic Chicken Casserole (Good)

Crock Pot Freezer Meals
Potato Soup (So-So)
Fajitas (Good)
Enchilada Pasta  (Good)
Buffalo Chicken  (Good)
Chicken Tacos (Good)
Applesauce BBQ Chicken
Teriyaki Chicken (Yuck)
Balsamic Glazed Drumsticks  (So-So) 
Honey Garlic Chicken  (So-So)
Maple Dijon Chicken Thighs  (So-So)
Orange Chicken  (So-So)
Beef Tips and Gravy
Teriyaki Pork Chops
Pork Chops and Rice
Pork Carnitas

You can find all of the recipes here:  Recipes

And the grocery list can be found here:  Grocery List

As mentioned in the title I was able to get all of these ingredients for under $230.  There were only a very few items that I had on hand already.  To really save money plan a trip around when chicken breasts are on sale because you need alot of them or stock up ahead of time.  Meat is always the most costly item.  I have complete confidence with many of the thrifty grocery shoppers out there that they could probably do this for closer to $200.  I will be the first to admit I am not normally a grocery sale shopper but I did luck out that chicken breasts were on sale which probably saved.

Following some of the various tips from the websites I pulled from I did everything in steps that would hopefully make assembling the meals easier.  I decided to do all the oven freezer meals one day and the crock pot freezer meals the next day.

The first day I began by labeling all of the freezer bags and aluminum pan lids with the meal names, cooking instructions, and ingredients that needed to be added after cooking (cheeses, noodles, rice, fixings, etc.). 

Then it was time to dive in with the first batch: the 10 oven freezer meals.  I began by cooking my meat (browning the hamburger and boiling the chicken) and cooking the noodles.  Next, I assembled the three oven recipes and less than 2 hours later I had 10 meals to show for my work!

On day #2 I tackled all the crock pot meals that didn't require any pre-cooked items.  I used the food processor to chop all my onion (you need quite a few) and any extra onion I had left when I was done I froze for later use.  I chopped all the other veggies that were going to be needed (some diced and some needed to be larger chunks) and then tackled cutting the meat.  There really wasn't much  meat that need to be cut up first because most of the recipes called for placing whole chicken breasts in the bags.  If desired ,you could probably leave all the chicken breasts in tact and cut them up/shred them after cooking.

After the potato soup recipe I tackled all the chicken breast recipes and worked in batches down the recipe list depending on what kind of meat was needed.  I began each recipe by 1st placing the meat in the pre-labeled bags, any veggies the recipe called for, and then poured the remaining ingredients that I pre-mixed (things like broth, soups, seasonings) over the top.  Squeeze out the air and freeze the bag flat to save room.  Yet again, 2 hours later I had 15 more meals to add to the freezer!

All in all I spent right around 4 hours over 2 days and had 25 meals for us.  I plan on buying/making side dishes for them as needed.  We'll probably do a lot of steamed veggies and rice.

Other tips that will be helpful

• Make sure you have enough room in your freezer and it is organized
• Prep the meals in batches or groups with similar ingredients
• I will be the first to admit I am terrible about measuring stuff when I cook (baking is a different story and almost always a must that you measure) so I will say there was alot of eyeballing that went on when adding in seasonings, sauces, and other ingredients. It also goes much faster that way if you are comfortable cooking like that. 
• Don't be afraid to use a food processor if you have one like I mentioned for the chopping. I also opt to buy pre-minced garlic in a jar which saves time as well.
• If you realize during assembly that you forgot an ingredient during your shopping trip, write it on the freezer bag and add it later!

My cooking plan is to take each meal out of the freezer to thaw in the fridge about 24 hours prior to starting it.  I will update and adjust the cooking times if I find this doesn't work because I am sure many of the meals will still be partially frozen.  I will also update as we go as to whether or not our family enjoyed the meals and if I would cook them again.  

I am so anxious to try these but I am resisting the urge until we actually start tearing the kitchen apart.  I will absolutely be doing something similar again!  It was so easy and I am so excited about the prospect of not having to meal plan and grocery shop every 2 weeks like I do now.