6 Months

Of course Sophia made month six of her life just as interesting as she did all the others before. We ended month five and welcomed month six in with an ear infection. Of course it wasn’t the typical “run-of-the mill” infection where the ear gets infected with fluid, but the fluid got infected too. So, after 2 trips to the pediatrician, 2 different antibiotics that failed to make any progress… off to Mass Eye and Ear Infirmary we went to meet with a specialist. He felt we NEEDED to try penicillin since that is the best antibiotic to treat ear infections. The pediatrician was trying avoiding the “cillin” family since both Mike and I are allergic to it. Well, we gave it a try and 6 hours later the pediatrician confirmed the rash on her body was indeed an allergic reaction to the medication. The doctor from Mass Eye and Ear put her back on the 2nd medication. We met with the doctor a week and a half later and her infection had pretty much drained. Due to Mike’s history of ear infections and the severity of the one she had, if she gets another one in the next 6 months then she will need to have tubes put in. To keep my sane, I can’t even worry about it or think about it until…if, the next one occurs.

Luckily, her ear infections don’t bother her at all. You would never know she had one until you put her down to sleep. So, for Thanksgiving she was in a great mood. We spent Thanksgiving with my family at my mom’s house.

When we got home we started putting up the Christmas tree. She actually loved the feeling of the branches of our tree. Her favorite parts of the decorations have been the lights followed by the wrapping paper and shopping bags.

Our electric bill is going to be pretty high this month since we always have our Christmas tree on and Mike has decorated our house with tons of lights. Sophia loves when the lights go on. I make sure to be by the window in our house at 4:30 when they turn on. Also, Mike makes it a point to take her out to the front of the house so she can look at all the lights when he gets home from work.

Sophia enjoyed her first snow day from school. A friend gave us a baby sled and we played with it in the snow. She had a blast. When Mike got home he took her out to play for a little while and she loved it. Thanks Jen!

Developmentally, Sophia is doing great. She has her two bottom teeth. They are up enough now that it hurts when she bites you. She is VERY close to crawling. She can push herself up on her arms and get one leg under her, but hasn’t figured out exactly how to make everything work together. For now she slides backwards or rolls to get something out of reach. She is able to stand when holding on to something.

She loves to call “Da-Da” when I am doing something she doesn’t like and when she sees him she will put her arms up for him to “save” her. She has stranger anxiety now. She screams and cries if someone she doesn’t know touches her or comes to close. But, if they keep their distance and talk to her, she will eventually stop staring them down and put on a show. She now understands the word, “No” and listens most of the time. She learned that quickly once the tree and decorations went up. Mike and I have begun to introduce sign language to her. Of course we taught her, “No.” She isn’t able to sign yet, but is showing a great interest in it so I have begun signing songs when we sing. Hopefully, we will be joining a music and movement class the January.

A friend came over the other day with her 2 month old son and we got talking about how fast life goes by. It got me thinking that it feels like yesterday that I was sitting in high school wondering what was going to happen in my life. Wishing that one day we would get married, have children, and be happy. Now to both of our amazements we sat and talked about the new questions in our lives. The “mommy questions” of what do you think our children will look like at 15? Do we think they will date someday or be close friends? Who will be the troublemaker? We agreed that the wishes we have in life now are more meaningful. We both had really only had one wish. That we will be able to enjoy our children and will be there to see them grow up. Something they are too quickly doing.

Since our next entry will be after Christmas. I want to wish you all a Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and have a wonderful start to the New Year.

5 Months

This has been an exciting month. Sophia is continuing to blow us away with how fast she is growing up. Mike and I find ourselves constantly finding time to just sit and watch her. She has become a little show off! Once she learns to do something there is no stopping her. She is now able to sit unassisted with the occasional tip to one side.

At the beginning of the month we were excited because Sophia began using her walker to make a couple steps around the house. Now, every morning she chases Mike and me around the house as we get ready for work. When she finds us she just glows with pride. She also uses her new freedom to get into everything that is at an arm’s length…our wine rack, grass in our decorative plants, anything left on a nightstand, and her favorite her basket of socks. Mike has begun baby-proofing the house which is an ordeal in itself. Once you think we are all set, she proves you wrong by finding something else to get into. Along with her sitting and walking Sophia continues to talk and talk. Her favorite sound this month is da-da, especially when Mike responds when she says it. She still loves to be out and about, but now cries when people she doesn’t know hold her. BUT, will flash a stranger a smile as long as they are not touching her.

Sophia had a lot of first this month. Her first tooth has begun to hurt her and she had her first ear infection. She is a trooper though! We went pumpkin picking at the beginning of the month. She seemed to enjoy it, but not as much as apple picking. We brought home 3 pumpkins to decorate.




Sophia also experienced her first Halloween. That was a great day! She got picked up early from school and we went to Daddy’s work so that he could show her off to everyone there. We also made a few more stops to people who wanted to see her in her costume.




Once we got home Sophia ate dinner and then we sat outside with Daddy and handed out candy. Sophia loved that part of the day. She played in her excersaucer and flashed that smile to all the trick-or-treaters.



Also this month Sophia went to Auntie Tera’s for a football party. She had a great time because she was, of course, center of attention.



I guess the last bit of news to share is about her doctor’s appointment we had today with the biomedical doctor. It was fantastic! Mike and I went in with an open mind, Sophia’s medical information, and my theory on what is going on. We left there with my theory validated. After reviewing Sophia’s medical records focusing a great deal on her birth. For starters, a healthy babies white cell blood count is around 10,000 at birth. Sophia’s was 37,000. This is why they were so alarmed when she was born and started her on two different forms of antibiotics. As a result, it severely compromised her immune system. Then on top of the antibiotics, Sophia threw up my colostrum when it was given to her. So leaving the hospital she was leaving with a very damaged system. She also developed thrush due to the antibiotics she was put on. Thrush is an over growth of yeast in the mouth, but it can also develop in the large intestines causing digestive issues and excessive gas. So, in short, Sophia’s immune system is compromised so she has had trouble building immunities to the vaccines causing her to have stronger symptoms after the shots and the imbalance of yeast in her intestines are causing her the discomfort, gassiness, and inability to have bowl movements.


The plan of action is to have a stool sample sent to a lab in NC to be tested to see how much yeast is in her system. Since she is tolerating the foods she is on we will introduce no more new foods to her until 8 months so that her gut can recover. She will begin a medication that will get rid of the yeast in her intestines. She will be on this for about a month. To rebuild her immune system she has begun a colostrum supplement that works the same way breast milk does. It will give her all the immunities she needs just like a breast feed baby. She will be on this for 6 months. Also, she is on a small amount of cod liver oil to help build up her immune system and to help clear up the rash on her face (the rash is an allergy to something environmental) and make her skin a little less sensitive. As for her vaccines, she will be getting one at a time from here on in since her system cannot tolerate to much at one time. So by age 1 she should be fully recovered from all the issues she has had over the last 6 months of her life.

4 Month Update

We had a great month with Sophia, minus the ear piercing fiasco. At the beginning of the month we took her apple picking. SHE LOVED IT!

She was at the perfect age to pick apples. Mike and I would hold her up to a tree and she would reach right out for the apples.

We also took a trip over to the pumpkin patches and snuck a couple photos.

She loved the pumpkins too. She kept trying to get them in her mouth but couldn’t bend far enough down to make it happen. We can’t wait to bring her in a few weeks to pick a pumpkin for Halloween.

Sophia got to see her Great- Great Uncle and Aunt after her GI appointment. This was her Great- Great Uncle’s first time meeting her. Sophia’s Great Nana came up from Brockton to see her too! She loved all the attention and had a great time visiting with everyone.

Sophia started solid food yesterday! Her very first food was pears. She started with pears because they are easy to digest and they rarely cause an allergic reaction. When we first gave them to her she was more fascinated with the bowl and texture than on the food itself. We gave her more this morning, warmed this time, and she ate the entire tablespoon. She loved every bite!

The rest of the month we spent at school, work, or relaxing at home and playing with all the toys that Daddy put together. She began using her walker and loves to race around the house. She also enjoys her jumper. It took her a little getting used to it because she wanted it to move forward but once she realized she went up and down in it she was all set.

But her favorite toy is her exersaucer.

She loves playing with daddy and his remote control cars. She is determined to move across the floor and catch them. It is great fun to watch!

Developmentally she is doing great! She can roll over both ways now. If I am feeding her on the bed she will roll off my lap to let me know she is done eating. She can hold her own bottles (thanks to Daddy’s hard work at helping her achieve this goal). She has begun to push herself up on her arms when on her belly and laugh out-loud when tickled. She has learned to use her voice to get her message across. When she wants your attention she will scream, when she is mad she will cry, and when she is happy she will shriek. It makes for a very noisy house.

Her biggest challenge has been to grab her Nana Deb’s glasses off her face and this month she did it. Her personality is shining through. Mike loves taking her food shopping and to Home Depot because Sophia will scream her loudest just to hear it echo. Then she starts kicking her feet and laughing. She is a very happy baby.

As for her GI appointment and 4 month check-up… the appointments went well except she didn’t tolerate her vaccines very well. Before her shots, she was on an every other day schedule for pooping. Since the shots she has had a cough, stuffy nose and we are lucky if she poops every 4-7 days. I did bring her back to the pediatrician when the cough got pretty bad and we agreed that she can’t handle all her vaccines at once. So, we will spread them out over the course of a few months. But, after the whole ear piercing thing I have learned to follow my gut instinct. My gut has been telling me (since she was 3 months) to investigate further and to continue asking questions. So, Mike and I will be bringing Sophia to a biomedical doctor to see what she has to say. For those who don’t know a biomedical doctor tend to focus more on basic science and research over treatment techniques and day-to-day medicine. I specifically want her to look at her immune system and yeast count in her gut and intestines. I have my theory on what is going on and I am eager to know what she thinks. That appointment is in November. I will keep you all posted.

I can’t believe how big she is getting. Mike brought home a re-fill air freshener for the kitchen and it happened to be the one that we had the day we brought her home. All the memories came rushing back. It was a perfect time for those memories because I am filled with different emotions about her starting to become more independent. I am happy to see her grow and learn, but I am also sad to know that the cuddles after mid-night feeding and the days of her laying in my arms looking at me as I am the only thing she knows are being replaced by a solid night’s sleep and a baby that wants nothing more than to escape from my arms to eat her feet.

Sophia's Earrings

OK….I am almost over the traumatic experience that I encountered Friday during Sophia’ s ear piercing. I feel that the final step to overcoming this experience is to share it. First off, Sophia is great! I, on the other hand, will be scarred for life.

So I woke up Friday morning around 2:00am with a strange feeling in my chest. I woke Mike and told him that I didn’t think we should get Sophia’s ears done. Well, actually I sobbed that we should not get her ears done. Half asleep and annoyed that I am crying in the middle of the night, he said, “Fine” and went back to sleep. I took that answer as the Gospel and went back to sleep too! Our morning was great Sophia was happy and all I could think about was putting these holes in my child’s head. All day Sophia’s ears and the idea ear piercing overtook my every thought. Finally 2:40pm I picked her up at school and brought her home to where Mike was waiting for us to go get her ears done. At that point I was ready to do it. I got her dressed in a button down shirt, took a before picture of her, packed her bag and camera and we were out the door.

At the doctor’s office I was excited but that feeling from 2:00am started to overtake me again, but I push it aside since we were already there. We got into the room and Wendy, the Nurse Practitioner, that was piercing Sophia’s ears, came right in. She went through the procedure, stressed how much better it is to get them done early, and went through how to care for them after they are done. She tells us about these new infant earrings they just got. They are smaller gold balls that will fit Sophia’s ear better and a post that is no thicker than what we wear on an everyday basis. Now I am happy because I remember the starter studs and how thick the posts were. It said right on the package for infants ears. NOTE: SOPHIA IS THE FIRST INFANT TO BE PIERCED IN THEM!

Now it is time for the “procedure”. I am calm and smiling. We lay Sophia down and I mark her ears with the purple marker as to where I want them put in. Mike is ready with the camera to capture this moment. The Nurse does the first ear. Sophia has these bugged out eyes and begins to cry. As the nurse is loading the second earring into the gun, I look at the earring in her ear and it looks like it isn’t in all the way. I tell the nurse and she reassures me that sometimes the back isn’t on tight and we will pierce the other ear and then go back and tighten the back to the first one. She does the second one. This one also looks like it is not fully in. I pick Sophia up and she automatically stops crying. We give her a bottle and as we are doing this the nurse checks the earrings. The first earring is on tight. She checks the second…same thing. We realize that the new earrings have longer posts. Why they would do this for an infant’s earring is beyond me. Well, they are hanging out of her ear so we know that we can’t keep them in.

The nurse goes and consults the doctor and nurses to see how we are going to fix this problem. In the meantime, I am doing all I can do to stay calm so I don’t get Sophia upset. About 3 min. later she walks in with another nurse and a new set of studs. The old thick post ones! I have 2 options. 1. Take them out or 2. Take them out and push the thicker post through the thinner hole already made and hope it works. Already feeling like the worst mother in the world I opt for option one… take them out and forget about it. This was the worst part. Sophia was screaming, I was crying, the nurses were swelling with tears, and Mike was quiet (which means he was upset too!). They get them out and put numbing stuff on them. They tell me to leave them alone and wash the purple ink off tomorrow. We leave the office as I am clutching Sophia for dear life, crying and apologizing to her. She is looking at me like I am crazy. We get home and she goes to bed.

The next morning I think that this nightmare is over. So I go to wash the purple off her ear and realize that some of it is trapped under her skin. She now has bright purple dots where the earring should be. I freak! I have not only scared my child I have tattooed her. Since it is only 5:00am I can’t call the doctor’s office so I feel totally out of control. So poor Mike had to listen to me about how I do everything wrong with her….I didn’t bake her right, deliver her right, didn’t feed her right, and now I let them drill holes in her head. By 7:00am I was ready to drop her off at a baby drop station since she deserves to be with a mom that does things right. Sophia woke up and thank god she did because I was OK once I was feeding her. It was during that feeding that I realize she has Mike’s look (except he doesn’t have tattoos), my personality and my luck.

For those who don’t know my luck. I went for a cavity to be filled 4 months before the wedding and ended up with a root canal and cap on a tooth that had nothing to do with the cavity. 3 months before the wedding and 2 days before my bridal shower I got appendicitis and needed emergency surgery. And the best….the morning before the wedding I woke up with conjunctivitis and was in the emergency room waiting for treatment 2 hours before my nail appointment. With that in mind I started to dread her first haircut, starting foods, getting teeth, and her walking.

Well the story ends happily. I finally spoke to the doctor who said my daughter tattoos will disappear because the marker is a surgical marker. But it could take up to 3 months. So, until it disappears I am thankful her tattoos are purple since it matched most of her clothes. I am able to smile about it now because the dots have begun to fade. I am sure that I will be laughing about it someday when I look back at her pictures and see the purple dots on her ears.Well, there was one good thing that came from this experience. I have learned what that feeling in my chest was. I believe it was my “mother’s intuition.” I know that once you are a mother you get it but I never knew what it felt like. Now I know I have it and it works, so I am going to use it and when I feel it again…no matter what I am going to follow it. Oh, and as for the ear piercing. ..When she makes the decision to have them done, I will be happy to take her.

4 Month Appointment

Sophia had her 4 month check-up on the 11th. We were lucky because Daddy came with us to the appointment. While we were waiting Daddy thought it would be a good for Sophia to have some tummy time, so he laid her on the table...belly down. Sophia realized she was making the crinkle sounds when she moved and loved it. She managed to crinkle and eat the paper so forcefully she ripped the paper apart. Daddy was so embarrassed that he put new paper on the table before the doctor came in.

Her appointment went very well. Her weight is in the 55 percentile, height is in the 77 percentile, and head circumference is in the 70 percentile. The doctor spoke with us about starting her on food. He said developmentally she is ready. She can sit for short period with no support, hold her head up, and shows interest in foods people eat in front of her. BUT… we can't start her until we get clearance from the GI doctor. The GI doctor already told us that she can’t start food until she is at least 5 months….at the earliest.

She also got her 4 month shots and did really well. She only cried from the initial shock and then was fine. No temperature all night. Then around 4:00am she had a low grade fever but happy and eating, so I sent her to school. Well around 11:30am I got a call from my mom that she had a temp. of 102 (which is common after shots) and she needed her mommy. So I left work and brought her home. We had a few hours of cuddle time and by bedtime she was fine. The final part of the visit we spoke to him about ear piercing. We have been playing with the thought for awhile and Daddy is all for it. He wants her ears to be healed before she starts walking or teething. While I was pregnant I wanted her ears done and now that she is here I am torn.

As a mom I don’t want the experience to be scary or one that she remembers as painful. As a woman I feel that it is her body and she should make the decision if she wants them. Since I remember the sting that came with getting my ears done at the age of 5 and I don't want her to be able to remember, I will probably get them done and hope the she is happy with my decision. So, we made the appointment for Friday. I figure get all the painful stuff done in one week. I still have time to change my mind. I know she will only look more beautiful after she gets them done.I will let you know how the ear piercing went. Mike is coming so we should get lots of great pictures for her site and scrapbook.

Sophia 3 Months

Well, were do I begin. I have so much to share. To start off, Sophia is off all her gastric medications, thanks to the excessive drool from her teeth coming in. What is the correlation you ask…well, it was explained to me that the extra water (drool) that she digests helps to bring the moisture levels in her intestine up resulting in easier time having a movement. She is still on her reflux medication, but we have reduced the amount we give her each day and it seems to be working great.

Since she has been off all the medication she is like a new baby. All smiles and wonder. So, Mike and I took a lot of time this month exposing Sophia to new things. The beginning of her 3rd month started off with an even bigger playdate then the one she had a 2 months. She got to spend time with my friends I teach with and their children. Sophia had a blast and loved all the attention she received from the older children.

Every weekend we take her to the local pet store to watch fishes and birds. She LOVES this! Mike thought it would be great to introduce her to more animals. So, at the beginning of the month we took her to Stone Zoo. She was in awe the whole time we were there. She loved to watch the animals move around, especially the big cats that would pace by her at the window. She also loved looking at the black and white monkeys.

Towards the middle of the month, Sophia went to her first birthday party to celebrate our neighbor Connor’s birthday. It was great! They had a reptile woman come with a lot of great animals. Of course, Sophia had to get in on the action. She loved the feel of the alligator and the snake. She loved the snake so much she tried to “gum” it.

The last week of August Sophia started school. She has made a lot of new friends and gets excited every morning that she gets dropped off. It makes it so much easier to go to work when she flashed me that big gummy grin on my way out. This weekend, the last true weekend of summer, we took her to the Feast of the Three Saints in Lawrence. She had a great time. The little old ladies loved her because when they would talk to her she would smile at them. She knows how to work a crowd! She loved the marching band and all the paper fireworks that were going off. She had so much fun she was asleep before we made it out of the feast.

Sophia is amazing! She has begun to laugh out loud and has become very particular on who hold her. She talks A LOT. When she is alone in her crib or in her swing is when she seems to talk the most. Mike and I love to sit and listen to her over the monitor in our room. Sometimes she gets so animated we can’t stop laughing. I find the conversations between Mike and Sophia to be the funniest. Whenever he talks to her she always responds back to him in the same tone. She sleeps through the night except for her occasional conversation with the frogs on her mobile. She has begun drooling and chewing on our fingers every chance she gets. She can roll over from back to front and front to back, although she doesn’t like to do it that much. She loves to play in her exersaucer and is even able to walk small distances when she is in her walker. She is so full of energy.

As for Mike and I, we are finally adjusted to our new schedule. Going back to work was easier than I expected. I would be lying if I told you that there were not a lot of tears leading up to the first day of school. As for Mike, he is an awesome dad. He is very involved and it shows. Sophia adores him as much as he adores her. All Mike has to do is walk into a room and she flashed the biggest gummy grin, kicks her legs, and waits for him to hold her. She is daddy’s little girl.
Well, I hope to be in touch more this month, but it is hard now that I am back to work. We have so much planned this month and I can’t wait to share our memories with everyone. Until then.