7 months old!

Audrey Grace turned 7 months old on Christmas Eve. She is growing so fast. I feel like the last 2 months we have really seen major changes. You know she has been changing and growing from day 1 but the last 2 months have been different. She has really gotten her personality. She really knows us when we walk in the room. Her little face just lights up and we get the biggest heart melting smile from her. She is sitting up, going to her belly and scooting all over the place. She is getting up on all fours and rocking but not going forward yet. She can go backwards and roll everywhere though. She talks all the time! She loves to hear her voice I think. She babbles ba ba ba ba most of the time. Sometimes she will say ma ma ma ma and just today she started da da da da. She is really enjoying her baby food now. She loves carrots, squash, sweet potatoes and mixed veggies. She will tolerate mixed garden veggies and does not like green beans or peas. She loves all fruit. We are pretty much back on a good schedule. She wakes up anytime between 7-8 am. She has a bottle first thing. She has a fruit between 9-9:30 and then takes about an hour nap. We play, read books and talk until about 12:30, then she has a bottle and takes a nap until around 4. Then she gets a veggie. Then we play some more and have a bath at 6:30 and bed by 7.

Of course, now that we are back in a routine, it is all about to change. I got a job! I am so excited. I have loved being at home with Audrey Grace but I am ready to go back to work. I think it will be good for me and her both. Audrey Grace will start day care on Monday. I am really not too nervous about it. I am excited for her to get around other babies and learn how to interact. I worry about her adjusting to napping and around people she doesn't know. I know she will be fine but after being with me for 7 months...it is going to take some adjusting I am afraid. The daycare said she will probably not nap for a week or so but then she will adjust. As long as she will sleep at night, I'll be ok. I might start my job next week but probably the next, so I plan to ease her in. I will probably only leave her half a day for the first day or two then a little longer and so on. I am going to be working 4 days a week so I will still get a long weekend, which I am very excited about. I will be working for Camellia Home Health and Hospice doing Home Health.

Also, during this 7th month of her life she was diagnosed with mild right lower lobe pneumonia. My biggest fear! She had a cold over Thanksgiving and seemed to get better but my guess is it never cleared in her chest. She woke up with a runny nose and then a cough a few days later. I started her on the meds prescribed by the doctor and waited 2 weeks as advised. She never seemed worse but not really better either. I did some breathing treatments and I think this is what prevented it from being worse. When I ran out of xopenex and albuterol I waited a few days (well nye weekend) and then made her a doctors appt. By Monday her cough was worse, nose was yuck and you could definitely hear a rattle in her chest. I feel like an awful mom as I type this especially since I am a nurse! Well, we saw the doctor and had a chest xray and RSV test. I wish I had a picture of the chest xray. I don't know how many of you have ever seen an infant have a chest xray. They put them in a trap! Really they strap them in this oval clear upright contraption and I had to hold her hands straight above her head. Needless to say this did not make her happy. She really did good though. I started talking to her and singing to her and she stopped crying and just looked at me. Her look was like" what is going on and why are you not getting me out of this thing". Thank goodness RSV was negative but the xray did show some a mild area of congestion. She got a shot of Rocephin and is on Cefzil twice a day for a week. She is already better...thank you God.