Surgery was a Success

We’re home and everything went well. I had a couple of minutes and wanted to write and let you all know how it went. Sophia was a trooper. Mike accompanied her down to the Operating Room and stayed with her until she was asleep and then met me back in the waiting room.

The procedure itself took about 25 min. Since only one parent could go into the recovery room I went. She was crying but still pretty out of it when I got there. They immediately put her in my arms and she fell back to sleep. We met Mike about 30 min. later and after a short stay in Pediatrics we were on our way home. We will know in the next 3-5 days what kind of bacteria this infection is and how to treat it.

Sophia is feeling ok now. She is having mood swings but that can be expected with what she has been through. One minute she is running around chasing Mike and the next she is crying cuddled in my arms. Hopefully a good nap this afternoon will do her as much good as it’s going to do me.

I want to thank you all for caring so much about Sophia...and us. It is so nice to know that we have such a wonderful family and friends to see us through times like this. So thank you so much!

Mass Eye and Ear Appointment

I wanted to write to let you know how Sophia’s appointment as Mass Eye and Ear went. The examine showed that her left ear is a mess. Since Halloween, her left ear looks to have ruptured twice and is healed enough now to be buldging again with infected fluid. Her right ear, which has been bothering her since last Friday, has recently ruptured and the rupture is still open. The doctor explained that given that the infection is not responding to medication, is continuous and severe she is at a high risk for developing Mastoiditis. From what I can gather that is when the infection leaves the inner ear and infects a bone behind the ear. Luckily, her hearing test showed that she can hear in low normal range. They contribute that to the ruptured right eardrum. Once the fluid has drained she can hear out of that ear again.

With all that said she will need tubes as soon as possible. She is scheduled for Wednesday. If time opens up in the OR on Monday then he will get her in then. While they are putting the tubes in they are going to culture the fluid to see what kind(s) of infections she has. The procedure itself will take about 15. Mike or I will get to go in the OR and hold her while they give her the anesthesia. Then we will be brought into recovery to be there when she wakes up.
We spoke a lot about her allergies and immune system and the risks she faces with this procedure. As we all know is if something says “It only shows an adverse reaction in 1-2% of people”….that’s my kid! Mike, the doctor and I agree that at this point the risks of not doing the tubes far out way anything that could go wrong with the surgery. My biggest fear is not the procedure itself, it is that someone will give her something to eat after the surgery and it sets off her Allergy and GI issues. My first thought was to write on her forehead “only feed her what I have sent in her lunch box.” Mike thinks that talking to a recovery room nurse should be our first step. He said I can bring the marker with me just in case! All kidding aside Mike and I are feeling OK with our decision to go ahead with the surgery. Having spent the year leading up to our wedding alternating surgeries we are comfortable with waiting rooms in the OR.

I will update her page as soon as I can after the surgery to let you all know how it went. Wish us luck on Wednesday!

16 & 17Months

Sorry I haven’t updated in awhile but things have been crazy around here. Now with Mike recovering from the election and Sophia recovering from her ear infection I have some time to catch you up on what is going on here. All I can say is, “Sophia, Sophia, Sophia!” I guess I should backtrack to September and fill you in on EVERYTHING that has been going on with her. Back at 12 months when Sophia had the reactions to her vaccines her pediatrician did some blood work to see if there is something going on with her immune system. At her 15 month appointment, after Sophia was checked out the doctor was supposed to look at her results. Well 15 min went by the nurse came in and said she spoke with the doctor. When I was leaving and asked for a copy of the results the doctor went to review, they couldn’t produce them. Well, Sophia was already given the polio and DTAP shot. Two days later she developed a fever, a bad cough, and diarrhea. We visited the GI doctor the week before her vaccines and Sophia was doing awesome so they wanted Mike and I to come in and meet with the team to lay out a game plan for introducing proteins into her diet. Well, when we showed up 1 week after her shots and 2 weeks after the last time they saw her Sophia had lost more than 2 pounds was still coughing and looked awful. The GI doctor reviewed the blood work, I finally got my hands on, and recommended that we see immunologist. We met with her allergist, who is also an immunologist a few days later. He confirmed that Sophia immune system has some flaws. Sophia has a low IgA level. At this point it is not alarming, but it is something we need to watch carefully as she gets older. If your immune system makes low levels of IgA antibodies, you may have a higher chance of developing repeated infections in the areas of the nose, breathing passages, digestive tract, ears and eyes. Sound like Sophia? He said NO MMR vaccine is to be given until at least 24 months. I felt wonderful after that appointment because my suspicions about her immune system were finally confirmed.

Jump ahead 1 ½ weeks. Friday October 17th, Sophia hadn’t pooped in 4 days (this is not uncommon for Sophia). Diarrhea went straight to severe constipation. Thursday (all) night was a flashback of the first time we brought Sophia home…the rocking, holding, uncontrollable movements, her sleeping in a warm bath, laxatives, EVERYTHING was the same. Needless to say, I took her to her GI doctor at Mass General early Friday morning. She did some x-rays and it showed that the situation was extremely dangerous. Sophia was so backed up that she was in risk for a ruptured colon and/or becoming septic. I brought her home with strict instructions on how to take care of the situation and if she hadn’t gone to the bathroom by dinnertime we were going to have to take her to the hospital to be admitted. Luckily she went and by Sunday was on the road to recovery…until Halloween. Mike took her to the doctors on Halloween because she was pulling on her left ear. Well she had a severe ear infection in her left ear, perforated left ear drum and an ear infection in her right ear. We ended up back at the doctor’s Monday with a new infection in the left ear and still one in her right. So, they doubled up on a new antibiotic and kept her on ear drops. We thought everything was fine until….yesterday when she started pulling again. I called the doctor and they said to keep giving the meds and hopefully all will be OK until we meet with the doctors at Mass Eye and Ear on Friday of this week. I will write soon after the appointment to let you know how it went.

After all that you would never have know that Sophia went through all that over the last 2 months. I am so happy that she inherited my high tolerance to pain. She is such a strong little girl. Having said that, Mike, Sophia, and I enjoyed being outside and enjoying the fall weather. We spent a lot of time outside gardening and cleaning the yard for the winter. We went apple picking but Sophia was still not feeling her best so it was a short quick pick.

Sophia and Daddy spent a lot of time riding bikes outside the house and we went for a lot of family walks before we changed the clock ahead.

We didn’t make it pumpkin picking this year due to everything going on so my students donated the class carved pumpkin to Sophia so that she could put a light in it on Halloween. She LOVES lights! Halloween was awesome (even with a ruptured eardrum.) Sophia was Raggedy Ann.

Seeing her with hair was hysterical. Trick-or-treating was 5-7 in our neighborhood and with it being so nice out Sophia stayed outside the entire time dancing to her Wiggles songs, passing out candy, coloring and hiding candy in a red cup. She had a blast.

Developmentally she is still doing amazing. I was afraid with the fluid in her ears that she would have trouble learning new words but it hasn’t stopped her. She has begun to address people and objects by their names and put 2 or 3 words together. She can even answer the phone! Her favorite songs now are “Bringing Home a Baby Bumblebee,” “Ring Around the Rosie,” and “The Wheels on the Bus.” She knows all the actions that go along with each song.

She also LOVES the wiggles. It is so funny watching her dance to them. She loves dancing. Every time a song comes on she dances and twirls. Her imaginary play is amazing. I watch her play with her dolls and it makes me laugh every time I see her do to her dolls what I do to her. For example, she will pretend to cry as if it was the doll then tell the doll, “Its otay(okay), its otay, mama dea(here)” then put the doll over her shoulder and rub her back and pat the dolls bum. She also will hold it in front of her face real close and rub her nose to the dolls nose and say, “hi my baby.” Mike bought Sophia a doctor doll when she was sick and now she will use all the pieces on Mike. She makes him lay down (she pushes him and says “down dada”) and then takes his temp, listens to his heart with a stethoscope and rubs his back to make him sleep while saying “shhhhh dada.” It’s so funny to watch. I will try to get a video of it to post. She mimics Mike all the time. If he fixes something she is right behind him with a tool.

Same with doing the dishes, sweeping, and riding bikes. As he says it, “She is my little buddy!” When he comes home she can’t wait for him to chase her around the house, play with flashlights in a dark room or play rough with her. They are crazy together. I sometimes have a 5 year old and 18 month old!

Though she is tons of fun she is also tons of work. She has learned how to undress herself…including her pamper. Once you think she is ready for bed she walks in naked. She is a good girl though because once she takes her clothes off she puts them in the hamper and her diaper in the pail. Potty training anyone?! We have to get her a booster seat for the table. She has learned how to stand in the highchair. I was in the closet the other night getting the broom to sweep the kitchen and she was saying “o oh, o oh mama…no no me” I knew she did something wrong and turned around to her standing on the chair holding on to the back looking at me. She did it to Mike the other night too! “Oh Sophia!” Along with those issues she also can get out of her car seat, take off her shoes and socks and throw them into the way back of my car and scream until I put her music on. Temper tantrums started but they have gotten better now that she understands temper tantrum mean time alone in her crib until she stops crying. That has been working so we will keep with it. I dread when she can get out of her crib!

Like always I could go on and on about her. She makes us so happy. Mike and I are so excited about this Christmas. I think that when you’re a child Christmas is wonderful, but as a parent it is so much more exciting and fun. Santa is getting her a kitchen set for her big gift. She loves playing with the one at school. When I pick her up she will always bring me a cup of something to drink. Mike can’t wait to have it set up for her next to the tree for when she wakes up. He also can’t wait to be something other than her doll or horse when they play. With the holidays coming up and her appointment as Mass General I will make sure to update more.

14 and 15 months

Sophia never stops! She is ready to take on the world and has a plan on how to do it. No matter where we take her she makes friends with the children and adults. Once she is comfortable in an environment she will not walk past a person without giving them a smile, wave, and a nice loud “hi.” If they are lucky they even get a hug and a “bye- bye” when she leaves. I am so afraid she is going to be that four year old at the deli counter that talks to everyone while waiting for their deli meat. Daddy and I have our handful with her.

We had a wonderful 4th of July.

A little rain didn’t stop us from having a great family day. We took Sophia to Piers Park in East Boston to watch the Constitution Sail. She loved watching all the boats, having Daddy chase her around the park, and showing off for all the people that were there waiting to see the ship. Once the ship turned around we went over to the playground. Daddy and Sophia played for a long time in the tunnels and on the swings. I was in charge of pictures and wiping the equipment dry before they tried to play on it.

That night we went to Wakefield for the fireworks. We sat in the parking lot of Jordan’s furniture and enjoyed the show without all the noise. Sophia loved it!

We didn’t get to go on a lot of adventures during the week like we planned because I was sick for the month of August, but we did fit them in on the weekends when Daddy was home to help.

In July, we took our first family trip overnight to New Hampshire.

We went to Nana and Don’s camp.It was tons of fun. Sophia’s aunties and their families came up along with Don’s kids which made it even more fun.

It rained some of the time, but we had fun anyway.

Sophia fished for the first time. She had a blast! Daddy had been teacher her how to reel in the line in our backyard, so he was excited to finally let her try her skills in the water.

We didn’t catch anything, but had a fun time trying.

This summer we spent a lot of time in the garden.

Sophia loves to pick weeds, water flowers, and plant. She has a true green thumb!

In August, the big event was her Auntie Adrienne married her Uncle Keir. Now she is the luckiest girl in the world with not only great aunties but also a great Uncle Adam and Uncle Keir too. Now all she needs is some cousins! We didn’t go to the wedding since it was in Jamaica, but Sophia and I were in charge of the school while Nana and Auntie were away. When they got home we hosted a luncheon Sophia loved seeing everyone.

On top of our schedule appearances we made trips to the zoo,

parks,

and had lots of playdates with our friends.

Every afternoon while waiting for Daddy to come home, Sophia would do some messy art projects in the driveway.

If we were lucky, Logan from next door would come and play too. We spent the summer finger and feet painting, painting with dobbers and using chalk on the driveway (Daddy needed to get used to the chalk on the driveway activity).

Developmentally, Sophia continues to make leaps and gains. She is still our little helper. Her newest helping skill is putting stuff away for us. Actually, she has begun to put things away without us knowing. I will go to find a pair of shoes I left by the door and they are gone. Naturally, at first, I thought I was losing my mind. But when I kept finding them in my closet I realized it was Sophia. She does so well with putting things away that when I do the laundry she puts her own clothes and towels away. I have a cleaning genius! Another thing Sophia is great at is hide items in the house. Luckily the “cleaning genius” is also a great locator of lost…strike that…hidden items. The other morning when we were heading off to work Daddy loaded the bags and Sophia into the Explorer as I searched for my phone. After 10 minutes of Daddy and I taking turns going into the house looking for my phone (which was still turned off from the night before) we figured Sophia hid it. So out of the car and into the house she went and found the phone in less than 30 seconds. She had hid it in the bathroom behind the door. It is funny today, but wasn’t that morning.

On top of cleaning and hiding, Sophia has been talking up a storm. Some of her new words are silly, sit, easy, wow, oh-oh, and woa. She knows all her colors, 10 animals sounds, and what a rabbit does with its nose. She can identify shapes with some help but can identify all the animals she knows the sounds for. She now strings words together to make simple phrases. The phrase of the month is, “No, No Da-Da.” Poor Daddy is always getting in trouble. When Daddy is downstairs or outside and she can’t find him she will call for him once or twice as “Daddy” and then she will call out “Mike.” She shouts it at the top of her lungs. Daddy and I laugh every time she does it. She also has begun to talk in gibberish. Luckily, she pairs it with her signs so we mostly know what she is saying. Her signs have become more complex. She no longer just uses them for her wants and needs but now tells us that she loves us. It melts my heart every time she does it!

Physically, she has been mastering her walking backwards and on her tip toes. She can walk up and down stairs, catch a ball, and can throw really well. She can throw so well that it actually hurts if she throws a ball at you when you are not looking. She is able to hold on to Mike’s back when he gives her horse rides around the house and can FINALLY put the hats on her dolly’s. Her favorite activity this month has been coloring with her fat crayons and painting.
Medically, nothing new. We meet with her GI specialist and we have her 15 month check-up at the within the next two weeks. I will keep you up to date.

Well, I have enjoyed sharing some funny stories and can’t wait to share more. I look forward to sharing so many more stories with you in the future. Have a great September!

13 Months

We have been having a great summer! The school year ended with a bang. Sophia was in her first recital. Every year at the daycare the Pre-Kindergarteners graduate from the school. This is a big event. They wear caps, gowns and hoods representing how many programs they went through at the school. After the graduation portion of the event each of the classrooms performs some type of entertainment. This year Sophia performed a dance with the toddlers to the song, “Jack-in-the-Box.”

Sophia was the youngest in the group and she did amazing. She was center of attention. It is very funny.

During the finale when they bring the whole school out to perform. Sophia moved right out in front of all the kids and performed the parts SHE wanted to do. The crowds of people didn’t bother her at the least. The more they clapped and laughed the more she performed. Daddy and I were so proud of her.

Once the school year was over Sophia and I had two weeks to play and have a great time before they summer session started. We were out of the house everyday by 8:30 on a new adventure.

Some of them were just us and others were with our friends.

Sophia’s favorite place so far this summer is Hampton Beach. She loves playing in the sand but wants nothing to do with the cold water.

She loves going to different parks too. Daddy, Sophia, and I try to find a new park every weekend. This past weekend Sophia and Daddy went to a park that Daddy built. I think Daddy was as excited as Sophia to go there.

I was excited because I had some much needed “Mommy Alone Time.”

Developmentally, Sophia has taken off with talking and understanding. She is very animated!

She can identify the parts of her face, the sounds certain animals make, and has learned how to get her point across with one little word, “No.” She is so funny! Sophia can tell you what a sheep, dog, cow, and bird says. Then if you ask her what mommy says she will stick her finger up, wave it and say, “No, No.” Mike is so proud that he taught her that. When she can’t find something or someone leaves a room she will sign where and say, “Where?” If she doesn’t know what something is she will put her hands in front of her open her eyes real big and say, “What’s that?” When she wants someone or something she will sign want and point to the person or object. Everything is “this,” that,” or “puppy.” When she drops something she will say “Oh No” or “O Oh.” When she does something she knows is wrong she will tattle on herself by saying, “No No” or “O Oh.” She blows kisses and says “hi” and “bye” to everyone she meets. When you ask her a question she will either grunt for “yes” or say “no” and shake her head. Her favorite word this month is, “Hot.” EVERYTHING is hot. She blows on all her food before she eats it while saying, “hot.” She has her own language she uses too.

When she wants to sing her favorite song “The Itsy Bitsy Spider” she will put her finger together like they are the spider and say, “This.” If she wants to sing, “If All the Rain Drops” she sticker her tongue out and hums “ahh ahh.” For “Happy and You Know It” she claps her hands. She is doing great with sign language too. She has about 10 signs she uses frequently.

Along with her language development Sophia has learned how to walk backwards, climb downstairs on her bottom, and how to run. This child never walks. The best part I find of her development is the mimicking that she has begun to do. She is my little helper. Everywhere that I go she is right behind me trying to do the same thing. When I sweep she has the dust pan and little broom right next to me. It is the same when I brush my teeth, pick up toys, fold clothes, unload the dishwasher and plant in the garden. She loves to mimic. Mike loves this too! The best is when she is getting up off the floor and she does the “I’m getting old” groan like Mike does when he is getting off the floor. She does it too when she is picking something up that is heavy. She does the “I’m getting old” groan like I do when I am picking up something awkward or heavy. It makes us laugh every time she does it.

Medically, she is doing OK now. At 12 months she did have another round of vaccines and ended up catching both them. She got the shot on a Wednesday the following Monday she had a skin infection which is a rare side effect of the shot. About 10 days later she had a temp that hovered between 103 and 104 degrees for about 3-4 days. They said it was a virus. Well that virus ended on a Sunday and that Monday she woke with the Chicken Pox. Both those viruses caused a severe single ear infection. Two days after ending the antibiotic for the ear infection Mike brought her to the doctor’s for what we thought to only be conjunctivitis and it turned out to be a double ear infection, sinus infection, and conjunctivitis. Besides the 4 days with a temp, none of this bothered her. Me on the other hand… I was not happy. I took Sophia for her follow-up this past Monday with the head pediatrician and we had a good conversation about the last 14 months and her vaccines. I expressed my concerns and he FINALLY agreed that there may be something going on. So at this point we have stopped vaccinating her. Mike is taking Sophia on Monday to have some blood work done to see if she has built up any antibodies to the vaccines has been given. Once we get the results back we will put together a game plan.

Allergy wise, she is doing AWSOME! We have introduced a few more foods like avocados and eggs. Eggs are HUGE! They are one of the highest allergy foods and she is doing great with them. We are going to tackle white fish next week. My gut feeling is that she has outgrown her food allergies. We meet in September with the GI doctor to review my blood work for Celiac Disease. If there are no indications that I have even a slight case then there is a good chance we will slowly introduce wheat to her. As for milk, that is a battle we face at 24 months.
We have so much still to do this summer. Mike and I are having so much fun watching her grow into a little person. We can’t even call her a baby anymore. As Mike says, “She is one who toddles.” We hope that you all have a great month and look forward to sharing more stories with you in the future.

Happy Summer!