The Littlest One

There is just something about Madeline Grace that melts my heart. Ella is my smart, outgoing, feisty first child. She has laughing and pulling our hair all day long but little Maddie Grace is different. From the first day she was born, she was different than her sister. So laid back, the happiest baby. Yes, it took her longer to sleep through the night than it did Ella but she was so happy during the day and even during the "witching hour" that it didn't bother me as much. Maybe its because she had to be but she is much more go with the flow child than Ella is. She smiles, she laughs, she lets her sister steals her toys and she cuddles. She is my sweetheart in every sense of the word and my heart just smiles when I see her each morning.

 Don't get me wrong, she certainly has her moments and some of her toddler behavior is starting to show a little more but overall, she is just as cute as can be.

 That is why these past several months have been tough ones on her and on all of us as well. It started in December with her first ear infection. I felt almost proud that we made it 9 months before her first one, I should have known it couldn't be that easy. It started the same, a fever that kept rising, some irritability and fusiness, not eating and a trip to the doctor to find out she had an ear infection. She would go on the antibiotics for 10 days and be ok for about a week or two and then it would start over again. 

 During this time and all our frequent trips to the doctor, we started noticing something else, she wasn't gaining enough weight. At her 9 month appt in late November, she weighed just 17lbs, about 25% percentile. She has always been on the lower end of the spectrum and will probably stay there but at 12 months, she weighed only 17lbs, 11ozs so only gained about 1/2 lb. Fast forward to 13 and 14 month appts (for ears) and she was still the exact same, 17lbs, 11oz. At this point, the pediatrician and myself started getting worried about her. One main issue is that she stopped drinking formula at 12 months and doesn't love the taste of regular milk so was missing those calories and another was she always had ear infections and wasn't eating much when she was sick. So, we went into "operation feed mode." Basically anything she wanted whenever to try and get her back up because by 14 months, she had literally fallen off the charts and was below 0% percentile for all 14 month olds, a statistic you don't want. So, we tried to sneak in as much dairy as we could and buttered all foods and fed her lots of avocados and other foods that have that healthy fat. Sometimes I wish someone would put me on this diet:) So, we went back for a weight check at 15 months and she was up to 18lbs, 15oz, hooray! One hurdle crossed.

This pic was several weeks ago, she is now fully walking, hooray!

 But the ears were still a major issue. In late May, we went back to Dr Ankrah for our 6th ear infection in 6 months. Enough was enough and Dr Ankrah said that at her age, listening and making sounds is so crucial and if your ear canal is always filled with fluid, you can't hear as well. So, we were referred to an ENT who looked in her ears and said without a question, she would need tubes. We saw him about 2 weeks after her infection so the infection was gone but the fluid remained so he said it would be a reoccurring problem. 

At the ENT office waiting to see Dr Blumer, she had no idea what was to come

 As much as we didn't want to see her get tubes, we knew that we needed to stop the infections. I mean, how uncomfortable to get sick every single month. So, we scheduled the surgery for last Monday morning. We were there bright and early waiting for the doctor and nurses.

 Even though we know it is a pretty simple procedure, still seeing your baby in a hospital gown and knowing they are going under anesthesia is scary.

 She was actually in great spirits that morning but trying to keep a 15 month old who is now fully walking occupied in a surgery center is difficult.

She LOVES sucking her thumb and I have always heard that thumb suckers make great babies. Not sure if it is true for all babies, but it is working for her!

 The procedure itself went well and liked they warned us before, the rest of Monday and Monday night were a little tough due to her coming out of the anesthesia but apparently some kids get very violent and she was just uncomfortable for most of that day. However, now she is great and seems to be doing very well. And as side note, on the day of her surgery, she weighed almost 20lbs, major victory for that as well! We are really hoping that she will continue thriving and these pesky ear infections will stop because to see her smile and laugh is really the only thing you need in your day, it just makes us smile.

Ella posing, complete with hand on her hip. When I said she has us laughing all day, I meant it!