Happy Halloween from a feverish little ghoul

Lucy had her first fever this weekend...after acting fussy and just not herself on Saturday, we realized she had one. We gave her baby Advil every six hours, as per the doctor's suggestion, and on Sunday morning the fever was gone...
But it came back.
She still had a fever this morning so we went to the doctor...Lucy was actually in a pretty good mood and had lots of fun crinkling the paper on the exam table!
The doctor told us she has a viral infection and many times a fever is the only symptom...but then she found a little sore on her throat - kind of like a kanker sore, she told us. Lucy has a strain of hand-foot-and-mouth disease.
There is no treatment other than giving her the baby Advil to keep her comfortable but it's spread via saliva...we called Aunt Jessi but she said she and Uncle Craig and Alli still wanted to come trick or treating with us...yay! Just no wet kisses or sharing cups, etc!
Lucy hopes everyone has a very happy Halloween!

First fever...and some snacking

On weekdays, we have to wake Lucy up to get ready to go to the babysitters house...she wakes up, eats some oatmeal, drinks some milk and is on her way. Lately it has been increasingly difficult to wake her up in the morning, with Mondays being the worst (who doesn't hate a Monday?!)...so yesterday morning I promised her she could sleep in today...we even discussed sleeping until 9 or 9:30!

Instead, though, she woke up multiple times throughout the night, and many of those times she needed to be held and rocked back to sleep. This should have been our first clue that something wasn't right because she's been sleeping much better lately...She woke up for good at around 8am, which is a fairly typical weekend wake-up time.

She did some playing and ate her oatmeal and milk but was pretty fussy throughout...we figured she was just tired due to her restless night (who wasn't)?! and she took a good morning nap. She was doing well for awhile after awakening from her nap but got grouchy again quickly...I was about to run some errands and decided to take her with me...she was fine at Target and Kohls and slept much of the time. When we got home, though, daddy took her temperature.

102! My baby's first fever (NOT a milestone I was anxiously awaiting)!

I gave her a dose of infant's Advil and called the doctor who told us fevers are caused by infections - usually viral - and need to run their course. She told me what to watch for and to call back if the fever isn't gone by Monday, though she suspected it would be.

Lucy's a trooper and is doing well...despite being a bit fussy, she hasn't been too affected by it (and as my mom put it, "102 is a high fever to a mom, but really - it isn't that bad")...but we're both super bummed that we had to cancel our play date with Miss Reese!



At her six month appointment, Dr. D. said she could start trying snacks like Puffs at 7 months old...we tried them last night for the first time. I broke them up into pieces and sat them on her high chair tray. Dave said, "The next time she's bored, we should just put her in here and let her push this food around!" She kept herself entertained for quite awhile! I stuck a few in her mouth and she seemed to enjoy them...she did push them around a bit and managed to pick a piece up every now and again but never brought one to her mouth - this really surprised me because my girl always puts everything in her mouth!!

This afternoon, though, I broke up some Puffs and some yogurt melts and put them on her tray. Again, she pushed them all around her tray, but today, instead of me putting them in her mouth for her, I put a piece in her hand...and she put it in her mouth!! It made me realize, once again...I have the smartest baby in the world!

The daddy won

Dave and I carved pumpkins last night while Lucy napped...as usual, we carved "in secret" - not letting one another see until we were finished.

I decided to make Jack from "Nightmare Before Christmas" and was feeling pretty confident that I would "win" for the second year in a row...

But then I saw Dave's pumpkin!

I couldn't believe it but was the first to admit...he kicked my butt!

I told him how amazing it was and he humbly acted as if it were no big deal...but he did this with no stencil! What an artist!

Lucy was confused about what she was doing outside when it was cold and dark...but we could not resist sticking her in her giraffe Halloween costume and getting some snapshots of her with our handiwork.

Lucy has mastered sitting and it is what she prefers...she's still not much for tummy time and will lay on her back or roll around a bit but enjoys sitting up.

She's not quite ready for crawling yet, or even pulling herself to a standing position, but she's getting pretty good at standing (while holding onto something)...here she is standing against the couch modeling her Halloween gift from her GranJan...a giraffe backpack! As Jan put it, "Now she can go on a trip!"

Lucy suited up and stopped by Auntie Em and Uncle Jeff's party with us before leaving us to party with her Grandma Terry.

Lucy's had a lot of play dates lately and has another one scheduled this weekend with her friend Reese (mommy's friend Jill's daughter) but recently she hung out with cousin Alex (at great-Granny's house) and with friends Lauren and Elijah (mommy's friend Tiffany's kids)...she and EJ really bonded and she can't wait to see him again at Claire's (mommy's friend Christa's daughter) house on November 6th!

Lucy has already been a ladybug (at Hallzooween with the twins) and a pink giraffe (with mom and dad at a party and on the porch last night) but she has one more costume up her sleeve...and she can't wait to show cousin Alli on Monday when they trick or treat together!

Snug as a bug in a rug...or not?

Lucy's pediatrician recommended we stop swaddling her at night...he also recommended that we try to put her down at night and for naps while she's still awake. The idea behind the second one is that if she wakes in the night, as she's bound to do, she'll remember where she is and how/when she got there and be able to soothe herself back to sleep. The idea behind the first one...torture? For us and for Lucy!

She had her 6 month shots on a Friday and he suggested not starting these new rituals until the following week to allow her to get over the shots...Dave didn't want to start on Monday so I went for it on Tuesday night. I always feed her and "bundle" her half way through and she falls asleep eating. On Tuesday night, I did not bundle her and I fed her a little earlier than usual. I took her upstairs while she was still awake and put her in her wearable blanket (kinda like the swaddler but the arms aren't confined and the legs are much freer, as the wearable blanket is quite loose). She was drowsy and I put her in bed. I walked away...and she started to cry...I tried it several times but gave in relatively quickly and nursed her to sleep. I finally went down to bed about 30-40 minutes after putting her down the first time. Dave got up with her quite a few times before losing his cool so I headed upstairs...she would not stay asleep for more than 10-15 minutes at a time. I'd surrounded her with bubbies but she wasn't reaching out for any of them...around 4am, I was losing it, too, and bundled her. She slept through until we woke her in the morning...

Wednesday night: I took her up to bed drowsy and put her in the wearable blanket, this time with her arms inside it. Again, it's much looser than a swaddling blanket so while she was technically confined, she still had a little freedom. I put her in bed still awake and she was okay with it...she slept for nearly and hour then woke up crying (so much for soothing herself back to sleep!) I tended to her several times before caving and bundling her by 2am.

At this point, I consider what the doctor told us mere suggestions...and I choose not to follow the no swaddling suggestion! Haha...Lucy just does not seem ready to do without. I have, however, continued to put her down for naps and at bedtime while she's still awake (her sitters have also agreed to work on this at nap times at their houses). Last night, though, she was very tired (so was I!!!) and cried every time I put her down...I ended up nursing her to sleep again...but overall, we're focusing on putting her down awake and once we have that mastered, maybe we will revisit the no-swaddling plan...

Silly Lucy

A visit to the pumpin patch

Lucy with her GranJan

We went to Neltner Farm on Sunday, October 9...photos courtesy of Donna Hicks Photography

Doctor visit stats...and suggestions

Lucy's 6 month appointment went well...until she got her shots!

She's quite the healthy girl!
At her appointment (at just over 6 months):
She weighed 16.78 pounds (59th percentile)
She was 26.25 inches tall (60th percentile)
Her head was 17.5 inches around (90th percentile...dang! No wonder they had to vacuum her out!)

I admitted to the doctor that we always put Lucy to sleep before we lay her down...he suggested we try to put her down when she's still awake or even almost asleep in order to teach her to self-soothe. This one may be difficult just because she's used to things a certain way...and so am I! Luckily, her Monday/Tuesday sitter already does this at nap times so I will start giving it a try, too. When we mentioned the fact that Lucy wakes several times some nights needing her bubby (and, on rare occasions, to be rocked or held), he said that if she were to fall asleep in her bed on her own, it may help at those times when she wakes up - she'll know where she is and will be able to realize it's still night time and go back to sleep...
I also talked about how we still swaddle Lucy...and again, her doctor recommended putting an end to that. He suggested we go "cold turkey" when I asked him what method (one arm out for a week, then both arms out, then no swaddle at all, for example)...I gave it a try last night and it was a bit of a fail...

Milestones

As we prepare our list of questions for the doctor at her 6 month appointment, we look back at what we've achieved...

Cord stump fell off...16 days old

First smile...6 weeks old

Baptism...2 months old

First time in the Bumbo...2 and a half months old

First time in the exersaucer...3 months old

Rolled from belly to back...4 months old

First time sleeping in her own room / crib...4 and a half months old

Rolled from back to belly...5 months old

First baby food (sweet potatoes)...4 and a half months old

First time in high chair...5 months old

First cereal...5 months old

Sat up...5 and a half months old

Drank from a sippy cup (one with a straw and one without)...6 months old

Oh how we love to watch you grow and learn!!

Weee!

Lucy had a friend over yesterday...

Ashley came over after school to play with us, help Lucy pick out clothes to pack for the babysitter's house today, go fetch dinner with us and play at the park! We're loving this weather!

We went to the park across the street and played on the swings (Lucy on my lap) and on the slide...weee!