Ankle Recovery

Original update after surgery on February 24th, 2014:

9 screws and 1 plate later, they say the ankle's fixed. They were able to do the surgery with just an epidural, which was safest for the baby. And they really closely monitored the baby during the surgery and throughout my hospital stay. So thankful for that. I really was in the best hands. We were discharged Tuesday around 12noon, the day after surgery.  Pain management has been the toughest part of this. Tylenol just wasn't cutting it. They put me on a good schedule of Norco and that did the trick. I sleep really well and it really relaxes me and takes away the pain. Once I got ahead of the pain, I was able to drop down to just 1/2 dosage so that's encouraging for me. Anyway, the pain just means it's healing, right?  No driving or putting any weight on my ankle for 6 weeks. Then, hopefully I'm in a boot and I start walking on it. Probably will be delivering new baby in a boot. Should be interesting.

Update as of May 27th, 2014, a full 3 months after surgery:

Well, it's been a full 3 months after surgery.  I am miles ahead of where I was since my last update after the surgery.  But still not 100%.  To catch up...

I was in a soft cast for 2 weeks.  For those 2 weeks, I spent my days and nights on a hospital bed setup in our family room downstairs.  "Aunt" Shirley had a hospital bed that she allowed us to use.  Cannot thank her enough for that!  Chief went to stay with my parents and everyone just waited on me hand and foot.  I couldn't be luckier and more thankful for the support that I had.  Carl took on everything around the house, including taking care of Audrey and getting her to and from daycare.  Carl's parents picked Audrey up from daycare everyday and even cooked us dinner to send home with Carl every night.  (Joyce continued cooking us dinner up until the baby was born.  She insisted, even though I was more capable and self-sufficient at the end of April.)  They even had our cleaning lady come and really deep clean our house, which it needed badly.  I really don't know what we would have done without our parents taking care of us during that time!

Then on March 11th, after those first 2 weeks, they removed my staples and stitches and gave me a hot pink fiberglass cast.  Another 4 weeks non-weight bearing.  But I was able to convince the doc to let me return to work (from home of course).

Clockwise from top right:  My first look at my leg and ankle; Smaller incision with stitches;
Larger incision with staples; Another look at the staples

I promised Audrey a hot pink cast,
so a hot pink cast is what I got

They got me a "knee walker", which is basically a scooter with handlebars, wheels, and a basket on front.  I just put my leg up and wheel around.  I wasn't able to use it right after surgery, as soon as it was delivered.  Because of the pain and the swelling, I wasn't able to bend my knee to put my leg in the correct position to use the walker.  Took me almost a week and then I was able to use it and there was no turning back. Lifesaver.

Source

It was another 4 weeks of no walking or driving.  Carl would work from home and from the airport on Tuesdays so that he could be available to take me to doctor appointments (OB appointments and Orthopedic appointments).

Next appointment was April 8th when they took off my pink cast and gave me a walking boot.  Very nice.  However, I was a little naive about what I would be able to do with that walking boot.  I wasn't able to fully walk on the boot without a walker until after a week and a half.  I felt like I was learning to walk again during that time.

Just a couple days after I felt comfortable walking in the boot, I went back in for another checkup (on April 22nd).  And would you believe that the doc said no more walking boot, gave me a brace, and told me to wear supportive shoes (gym shoes), and sent me on my way.  He wants to see how much range of motion and strength I can build up just by walking in the brace.

And that brings us to today, May 27th.  I'm wearing the brace and gym shoes, but I am able to walk around without the brace (at least around the house).  My range of motion is much better and my strength is better.  It also helps that I instantly lost about 20-25 pounds when Clara was born.  So much easier to walk after that.  I'm able to go on walks, though they are very short walks.  Yesterday, Memorial Day, I walked farther than I have in a long time.  We went around the block and then walked to the park so Audrey could play at the neighborhood splash pad.  We love summer around here!  So thankful that it's summer and there is no more ice and snow!  I iced my ankle last night, but I feel like it's more sore today.  I go back to the doctor next week, on June 3rd.  I will have been in the brace for 6 weeks.  We'll have x-rays I'm sure to make sure everything still looks okay.  And I am going to ask for physical therapy.  I want to recover as soon as possible.  I don't want this summer to pass me by without being able to go for walks and enjoy the park with the girls on my own.

So that's where we're at.  As I said, light years ahead of where I was, but I've still got a ways to go.

Broken ankle at 30 weeks pregnant

Original update from Saturday, 2/22/14:

Last Wednesday (2/19/14), I arrived at work just like any other normal day.  But that day was different.  I got out of my car, stepped onto the sidewalk leading to the door, and a few steps later slipped on some ice and severely dislocated and broke my ankle.  I don't remember anything about how I fell, how I did not land on my belly or my wrists, how I even landed.  I was carrying some bags (my laptop, a bag with a change of shoes to wear inside the office, my purse, etc.), so I might have landed on one of them?  And I now believe that I fell the way that I did because I was instinctively protecting my baby.  I didn't have any pain in my belly or anything indicating that I had fallen on my belly... so much that I didn't even think about that possibility until the EMT asked me about that and if I had felt the baby move since I had fallen.  I just remember lying on the ground and looking up at my ankle that was now deformed.  My foot was almost perpendicular to my leg bones.  It just wasn't right.

There was a guy that was walking up to the door that I flagged down and told to run inside and get help.  I was able to reach my purse, so I called 911 right away and asked that they send an ambulance.  It was right at 8am and there were a number of people arriving at that time, so over the next couple minutes a number of people had gathered around.  There were some nice people who put my bags back in my car.  There were also a number of close work friends who were around offering to go to the hospital with me or call anyone I needed.  My main thought... Carl was on an airplane on his way to Denver for a conference, and I knew immediately that I would call my in-laws and see if they could come meet me at the hospital.  In this day and age of cell phones, I don't know anyone's phone numbers!  So it was just easier that I call the people I needed to once they got me into the ambulance.  When the ambulance arrived, the EMT said "this is going to suck for you because we have to move you and I can't give you anything for pain since you're pregnant".  Yeah, I figured that.  I was prepared for that.  And at that point, I can honestly say that I was in shock or denial or something.  I could feel my ankle and feel some pain and that it just didn't feel right, but it wasn't throbbing/piercing pain, so I could really think clearly and keep it together.  Once inside the ambulance, the EMT took off my shoe and sock and wrapped my ankle in a pillow.  I looked away while they did that.  I knew what it looked like with my sock and shoe on, and I certainly didn't want to see it without my shoe and sock on.  So, I distracted myself and made some phone calls.  Big Carl left work immediately and met me at the ER.  I also called my Mom right away, mostly just to inform her.  But she cancelled any plans she had, packed a bag, and got in the car to drive up to the hospital to be with me.  I don't know what I would have done without them at the hospital with me.  So thankful for them.

They took me to St. James Hospital in Chicago Heights because they have an OB there and they'd be able to check and monitor the baby appropriately.  I waited just a little bit in the ER before the doc came in to talk with me.  He explained that they were going to take x-rays and that they had called ortho because they would be the ones to reset my ankle.  He didn't elaborate much on too many details.  I think he didn't want me to know how bad it all was.  Which is a good thing.  In fact, when my mom came, she took a look at my ankle and I told her that it was just dislocated.  We laugh about it now, but she said that she knew there was no way it was only dislocated.  There was a cut on the top of my foot where the bone started to come through the skin.  Bad news.  Pretty funny now when we look back on it.  Again, I continued to be in denial.  I was concerned, though, about the baby and how we would be able to manage my pain and not affect the baby.  The doc said they could give me morphine.  By this time, Carl had landed in Denver.  I had no cell phone service in the ER but Big Carl did, so I asked that Carl call my doctor to inform her of what had happened and ask about the safety of morphine.  She said morphine, in small amounts, was fine and harmless to the baby.  And then she was insistent that we get an ultrasound ASAP.  She wanted to know how the baby was doing after the fall.  I kept feeling the baby move so that was good news to me, but I was in agreement with my OB doc... I wanted an ultrasound to be sure.  We expressed these concerns to the ER doc and he said he would work on it.

Not long after, they took me in for an x-ray.  And of course, since I'm pregnant, I had to sign a scary waiver explaining the health risks and impact on the baby.  Very scary.  But they needed x-rays so they could see how bad it was.  The x-ray techs were so nice and they quadruple shielded my abdomen.  They had 2 aprons that they folded in half and placed over me.  They got quite a few shots and I had my eyes closed the entire time so I didn't have to see my ankle.  They were being as quick as possible, but it still took a little bit of time and by that time the pain was setting in.

Here is one of the first x-rays they took that shows just how badly dislocated/broken my ankle was:

Once they got me back in my waiting "room" in the ER, the nurse came and was able to give me 4mg of morphine.  That relaxed me for a little bit but wore off quickly.  The ortho doc still hadn't come, and I was concerned about the pain associated with him resetting my ankle.  I thought we had missed our window.  The ortho doc finally came between 12:30-1pm I think (after we had been there for 4ish hours!).  They were able to give me more morphine, but I was in a lot of pain and it just didn't help that much.  Thankfully, he was able to give me a local anesthetic to numb the pain while he reset it.  I could still feel pressure, but no stabbing/throbbing pain.  They had me move to the edge of the bed with my legs dangling off.  And the doc was talking to me asking me about Audrey and about the new baby... basically distracting me.  But nothing can distract  you enough when someone pulls on your broken ankle to put it back in place.  Holy cow.  Again, so thankful that my mom and big Carl were there with me to encourage me.  Once the ankle was reset, the doc put a [really heavy!] plaster cast around it.  It was soft around the outside top layer, but hard on the underneath.  Then, I had to get more x-rays.  There was a possibility that he would have to redo the reset if the x-ray didn't show what he wanted, but thankfully he didn't have to do that.  He said that I needed surgery within the next week, as long as my OB doc approves that and they can come up with a plan to keep the baby safe.  We were hoping for that because the other alternative would be to wait until after the baby is born (10 more weeks).  And at that point, they'd have to "be creative".

Now that we have a plan for the ankle... how about the baby?  The ER nurse had come in at one point to hear the baby's heartbeat, which we heard very faintly.  But still no ultrasound or true monitoring yet.  They didn't get me up to OB until 3pm-ish.  They hooked me up to 2 monitors, 1 to monitor the baby's heartbeat and 1 to monitor contractions.  Heartbeat was strong, clear, very good... in the 150s, which is what it has been throughout my pregnancy so far.  But... I was having regular contractions.  I had 3 contractions within the first 5 minutes she had me hooked up to the monitor.  Not good.  They gave me ice chips, a huge cup of water, hooked me up to an IV, and then ordered me dinner hoping it was just because I hadn't eaten or drank anything since 7am that morning.  (I was so thirsty, but they wouldn't let me drink down in the ER for fear I think that I would get sick.)  After about 4.5 hours of monitoring, thankfully the contractions stopped.  It ended up that I really was contracting only because of a lack of food and water.  Thank God.

While I was waiting there being monitored, I talked to Carl and he said that he was able to get on a flight that night so he could come home.  I assured him that all was ok, but he said that he really needed to be here.  And my mom and big Carl agreed.

We got home from the hospital about 8:30-9pm, and Audrey was already in bed.  Joyce had picked her up from daycare and took care of her thankfully. She was surprised when she woke up in the morning and saw Grammy there.  And then when she came downstairs and saw me with a "boo boo", she was kind of alarmed and scared I think.  Very hesitant around me.  She's warmed up a little, but still a little hesitant.  Look at the card she made me at daycare.  So cute and thoughtful of her teachers to help her make that for me!

I met with an orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Baylis, yesterday to discuss the plan for my ankle, and we have surgery scheduled for 7:30am Monday morning at Chris in Oak Lawn.  He came up with a plan with my OB doc and the doc on call to have an OB nurse with me for the entire surgery, monitoring the baby on a fetal monitor.  So that's really good.  They'll probably keep me overnight on Monday night so they can closely monitor me and the baby as I recover.  I feel really comfortable with the surgeon and the plan that he and my OB have in place.  I know I'll be in good hands and at a great hospital with the greatest care.

It will be quite a long road from here.  6 weeks in a cast after surgery with no weight on my ankle, and then a boot after that.  Maybe I'll be out of the boot by the time I have the baby.  We will see!

I have great support here in Carl, my parents, and my in-laws.  We're doing pretty well!  Considering...

Audrey is 1 year old!

They took her official weight and length at her 12-month wellness check (no shots!):
Weight:  22.6 lbs (~70th percentile)
Length:  31.5 in (~95th percentile!)

Clothes:  18 months
Diaper:  Size 4

Food:  We can officially start transitioning Audrey from formula over to whole (Vitamin D) milk.  We're transitioning gradually, starting off with 1 or 2 bottles per day of milk instead of formula.  Each week, we are going to switch out 1 more bottle a day until she is completely off the formula.  Can't wait until then!  Dr. Tess said that obviously Audrey is a good eater so he was pretty laid-back about her eating schedule/routine.  He told me that we could continue with our current routine, 3 solid food meals a day with 5 milk/formula bottles (or sippy cups) throughout the day, and test out new things to get her to eat more table and solid food than milk/formula so she gets the majority of her nutrients from solids.  We'll work up to that. Sometimes at dinner we feed her the solid food first and then follow with milk/formula.  We'll start doing that more regularly in the near future.

Sleep:  Audrey sure sleeps well at night.  It's all that moving around all day... that girl is on the go constantly!  She sleeps straight through from 8pm-6am (or later sometimes on the weekend).  She also has been consistently taking a 2 hour nap from 11am-1pm and snoozing for about 15 minutes on our way home from daycare.  Well, maybe I should clarify... she takes a good, consistent 2 hour nap at home on the weekends, and at daycare it's more like 90 minutes.

Teeth:  Audrey still has about the same # of teeth - 2 on top, 4 on bottom - and they are growing in a lot more.

It was an exciting month for Audrey!  She officially took her first steps on September 17th, 2012.  And now... watch out!  That girl can walk.  And quickly.  For about 1 week now, she's been walking the full length from the loft into our (Carl and my) bedroom.  She loves climbing into and on top of anything she can... diaper box, laundry basket, toy stroller, her toy box... anything.  She also loves pushing things... again, diaper box, laundry basket, toy stroller, and also a cool toy that Grandma & Gramps Patton got Audrey as an early birthday present.

Playing in the diaper box

Climbing in the laundry basket

Here is a video Gramps took of Audrey pushing that toy on 9/29/12 while we were visiting their house:

Audrey taking a couple steps, 9/23/12:

Doing "The Frankenstein", 10/4/12:

10/14/12:

This past month, we also did a lot to prepare for and celebrate Audrey's 1st birthday.  We took pictures with a professional photographer, Carl and I took her pictures at home with a "smash cake", and we also had a big party with friends and family!  I will post separate posts with her 1-year pictures and of the birthday party.

I cannot even believe it has been 1 year since Audrey was born.

I was looking at the clock on the morning of her 1st birthday at 5:56am on 10/15/12, and I got a little emotional thinking back.  Exactly 1 year ago at that exact time, Audrey was born.  That was such a special day... really, truly the happiest day of my life.  This first year has been a journey, and I would go back and do it all over again with our little Audrey Bear.  She is a joy and so laid-back and such a wonderful little girl.  What a blessing to Carl and me!  I love her to pieces!  And I know Carl feels the same way.

The birthday girl!
10/15/12

10/15/12

Our Birthday Girl!

Audrey opens her birthday presents from Mom & Dad:

Eating a Birthday Cupcake:

It was an exciting month, and our Audrey Bear is proving that she steals our heart more and more each day... if that's even possible.  There is so much laughter and joy in our house, and that little girl is usually the center of it.

Happy 1st Birthday, Audrey!

Audrey is 9 months old!

Weight:  20 lbs.
Length:   28.25 in long
She’s in the 50-75th percentile for height and weight!  Dr. Tess kept saying, “She looks awesome!”

Clothes:  Size 12 months (9-12 months).  She can still wear 2-piece outfits that are 9 months, but almost all 9 month onesies are too small for her

Diaper: size 3

Food:  Audrey still gets around 28 oz of formula each day (in 5 bottles) along with 2 feedings of vegetables and 2 feedings of cereal & fruit (between 3 feedings of solid “meals”).  Right after she has her 9am bottle, she gets cereal mixed with a 3.5 oz fruit pack; after her 1pm bottle, she gets a 3.5 oz vegetable pack; and for dinner she gets a 7 oz formula bottle, as many vegetables as she will eat (usually around 3-3.5oz), and then as much fruit and cereal she will eat (usually about 1-1.5 oz).  Dr. Tess is pleased with her weight and said to keep up the current routine where primary nutrition comes from formula and solid food supplements.  We will just let her eat as much solid food as she wants.  This won’t change until 12 months; at that time, we will feed more solid food and supplement with whole cow’s milk.  She’s very interested in table food these days!  Over this past month, she’s had some bread, tortilla, chocolate chip cookies, twizzlers, chips, cheese, cheeseburger, chicken, pasta and a lot more.  Really healthy food, huh?  :-\  She will try anything that I’m eating!  But what’s really funny is she’ll eat any table food we give her, but if we give her any baby food with “textures” like chunks of carrots or chunks of pasta she makes the funniest faces and flares her nostrils and sometimes spits it out.  She is unphased by the “real” solid food, but spits out the solid baby food.  She still loves (like can’t get enough of) her puffs and biscuits.  Just think, in 3 short months she will get birthday cake!

Sleep:  Almost all last month, Audrey was up during the night.  Most of the time, it was a quick fix like a pacifier just to fall back asleep.  But there were a couple times that Carl had to really work to console her to get her back to sleep.  After Audrey’s bath each night, we start our bedtime routine.  Typically Carl gets to spend this time with Audrey, but this past month we switched a couple nights.  See, Mommy-phase.  We’ll read her a couple books and maybe sing a song and say a prayer.  We end up rocking with her until she falls asleep (usually we fall asleep too).  It could be a lengthy process to get her to bed because a lot of times she will pop up wide awake as soon as we lay her down in her crib.  I talked to Dr. Tess yesterday at her appointment and he said there is no time better than the present to let her go to sleep on her own.  Dr. Tess’ advice was to be consistent with naps and with bedtime.  We decided not to wait, so last night was our first night with this routine.  Carl read her 2 bedtime stories, said a prayer, then laid her down to bed fully awake.  She was not a happy camper for about 20 minutes, then she quieted down a bit and was sound asleep after 30 minutes.  She’s such a flexible and easy-going baby and I’m hoping she adapts to this new routine soon.  It’s so hard to hear her upset!  She did sleep ALL night last night, so that’s great.  A little part of me is sad that we won’t rock her to sleep anymore.  But we’ll share other special times with her.  Our baby girl is growing up!

Look at my 2 bottom teeth

Audrey has several new “tricks” from this past month:
• She can give "high-fives"
• We say, "Audrey is *so big*!" and she raises her arms above her head to show how big she is
• She puckers and smacks her lips; I think this started when she ate a tart cherry fruit and she's been doing it ever since
• She makes this new face where she crunches her nose and laughs and blows in and out of her nose real fast
• She claps her hands
• She plays peek-a-boo by covering her face with a blanket or towel and then uncovering her face and surprising us.

She is getting stronger everyday.  She loves her walker and has been sprinting around in the bottom floor.  She puts her hands up and just runs.  It makes us laugh so hard.  Gramps Patton said she looks like ET, and Carl calls it “The Frankenstein”.  I guess I could sum it up by saying she’s doing everything fast these days… jumping, crawling, walking, pulling up.  She has become the “greeter” in the Infant Room at the Daycare.  Whenever the door opens, she crawls so fast to greet the people at the door.

Audrey’s getting really brave lately, too.  She will pull herself up on everything and she can stand up with the support of only 1 hand.  Then she’ll bend down to pick things up, sit down from a supported stand, and even let go completely while she’s standing up.  She falls right away when she lets go, but her balance and strength is really progressing.  I have a feeling she will be walking in the near future.  Watch out!

She’s in a phase right now where she’s a total Mommy’s girl.  I love it!  I can’t get enough of it, and have decided I’m going to live it up.  Hopefully it lasts through her teenage years.  I can only hope…

She sure is a “people-watcher”.  I keep telling Carl that she gets this from him, which we all know is not true at all…that’s totally me.  Whenever we take her out to a restaurant or to a ballgame, she stays entertained just watching everyone else.  Even in her stroller, she sits all the way up instead of sitting back and is so alert looking all around.  She is so curious and intrigued by other people.  Doesn’t want to miss a thing!

Happy 9 months, Audrey bear!  You make us so happy!  We love you!!

Giving high-five's

I want to go to AMI!

Audrey got to see a Bandits win against the USSSA Pride.
Auntie Amber hit the game-winning RBI double.

I love my Auntie Amber!

"It is way past my bedtime"

Out to dinner before a Bandits game

Father's Day 2012

I love my Daddy!

Grandma Patton's birthday, 7/7/12

Audrey is 6 months old!

Our Audrey Elizabeth is already 6 months old!  I cannot even believe it.  In another 6 months, we are going to be celebrating Audrey's 1st birthday.  Wow, the time is really flying by!

Weight:  16 lbs 4 oz (50th percentile)
Length:  26.5 in (75th percentile)
Clothes:  Size 9 months (6-9 months).  She's really in between sizes right now, but just this week, I feel like she's outgrown most of her 3-6 months outfits and pajamas.  She is so long that she is outgrowing her clothes lengthwise!
Diaper:  Size 2
Food:  Audrey started eating vegetables (peas and green beans) this week!  Carl and I were looking forward to introducing her to the green vegetables because we thought she'd make some funny faces.  But her first taste of peas was uneventful.  She acted like it tasted just like her cereal.  Again, her easy-going nature carries over to eating, too.  She's such a happy and flexible baby!  Here is her current schedule, as of this week after her 6th month birthday (times are approximate):
6:00am - I nurse Audrey
9:00am - 5oz bottle at daycare
10:20am - Cereal at daycare (mixed with formula)
1:00pm - 5oz bottle at daycare
2:00pm - Vegetable pack at daycare (peas/greenbeans)
4:00pm - 5oz bottle at daycare
6:30pm - I nurse Audrey, then we feed her vegetables and 1tbsp of cereal mixed with formula (oatmeal, rice, or mixed grain)
8:00pm - I nurse Audrey just before bedtime, then we top her off with about 2 oz of formula
I am still pumping at work, so she usually gets about 6-8oz of breastmilk and 7-9oz of formula in her 3 bottles at daycare.  One of the teachers at daycare just suggested that we start mixing fruit with her cereal, instead of mixing it with formula.  They have been impressed with how well she is doing with her solid foods!  We'll start the fruit with the cereal at the end of this week.
Sleep:  As long as Audrey gets the extra 2oz of formula right before bed, she sleeps like a log until about 6am.  Most mornings, she wakes up between 4:30-5am wanting her pacifier, but she falls right back asleep.  In fact, I have to wake her up at 6am to feed her and get ready for daycare.  Over the past week and a half, she has been sleeping mostly on her side and stomach, as opposed to on her back.  We always put her to bed on her back, but she rolls over almost immediately.  Over the past few weeks, she hasn't napped hardly at all at daycare.  Some days, she'll have a couple decent naps, but other days she doesn't sleep at all.

Audrey is now getting her knees under her when she's on her stomach and starting to lift her belly up off the mat.  She is rolling all over the place and moving herself 360degrees using her upper body.  If we put toys in front of her or to the side, she will do everything in her power to reach out and get them.  She's really close to being mobile.  Watch out!  I think she would just jump up and start running if she could.

She is sitting up really well now.  I can sit her up between my legs on the ground and she will hold herself upright.  She's still a little unsteady and tips over to the side if she doesn't have anything supporting her, but she's getting stronger everyday.  She really likes to bend forward and hold her toes and even tries to put them in her mouth.  And if she's on her back, she reaches for her feet and holds them.  Happy baby yoga pose!

Audrey is now reaching for and grabbing everything!  She likes to play with rattles in the car.  She'll hold them and keep herself entertained for a considerable amount of time.  Just 2 weeks ago, we noticed a big change with her reaching for everything.  We were at dinner with Aunt Ashley, Grandma & Gramps Patton, Uncle Scott, and Grandpa Hahn.  Ashley was holding her on her lap before our food came.  Everytime Ashley would pick up her glass to take a drink, Audrey would reach for it like her life depended on it.  And now Audrey is so focused on and will reach for everything, all kinds of different objects.  She has even started reaching out for people.  Several times, if someone is holding Audrey and someone else walks up (me, Carl, Grandma/Grandpa Larson, Grandma/Gramps Patton, one of her aunts), Audrey will reach out to the other person for them to hold her. 

There have been a few times over the past month that I've had to go grocery shopping on Monday night.  So I go to Jewel right after I pick up Audrey from daycare.  Audrey is so happy and fun on our grocery-shopping trips.  And she's such a hit with all the ladies that work at Jewel!  At the fish counter, at the checkout... everyone wants to see our pretty little girl.  And she just smiles at everyone.  I'm a proud Momma!

Audrey has been laughing for all of this month, but it's more and more regular now.  Carl and are I pretty silly... we will do anything to hear that girl laugh.  It's the best sound in the whole entire world!  And over the past couple weeks, she has really started giggling and belly laughing.  Love it!  She laughs watching Chief and Bixby wrestle around, at Carl hopping or dancing, when going up and down the stairs, when we tickle her, when we make funny noises... She is the best baby!

Happy 6 months, Audrey Bear!  We love you!!!

Here are some pictures from this past month:

Audrey got to meet her Great-Grandmother Patton
at the end of March. 

Audrey just loved her!

Colby Marr and Audrey.  True love!

With Grandma Larson at the Dancing With the Teachers
competition.  Grandma Larson won 2nd place!

Look at those baby blue eyes!

I love this picture!  It's such a happy picture.  Audrey LOVES her Daddy!
She looks a lot like him, don't you think?

Grandpa Larson's birthday 4/14/12

Gramps Patton's birthday 4/17/12

Visiting Gramps & Grandma Patton

Audrey is 3 months old!

Wow!  Audrey is already 3 months old today, January 15th, 2012.  I took a number of pictures in her 3 month outfit(s).  What a beautiful girl!

Audrey doesn't like the bows so much, but she does LOVE her pacifier.  This isn't her favorite, but it does the trick most days.  Audrey prefers the NUK pacifiers.  The clear one is her favorite.

 And here's the tutu for the 3rd month in a row.  Do you think it will still fit next month?  I hope so...it's so cute!

 

 Audrey is so much fun.  A highlight for me each day is going in to wake up Audrey in the morning.  Once she opens her eyes, she just gives me the biggest smile and kinda laughs.  Is there anything greater in the world?  Look at those bright blue eyes!

Audrey weights 12.2 pounds and is approximately 24.5 inches long.  We took our own measurements here at home since we don't go in for a checkup this month, but I think they're pretty accurate.  She sure is getting big!  I think that puts her in the 50th percentile for weight and close to the 90th percentile for length.  The lines on this growth chart make me cross-eyed... CDC.gov WHO growth standards.  

Audrey is right in between clothes sizes.  It seems she can wear both 0-3 months (depending on what it is) and 3-6 months.  She's wearing all 3-6 months sleep 'n plays and onesies.  Although, some 0-3 month onesies still fit her and most of her 0-3 months pants still fit.  We'll try and get the most that we can out of the clothes that still fit before we fully transition over to 3-6 months clothes.  I have a feeling that will happen really soon, though.

Audrey is still in size 1 diapers.  I think we only have about 2 weeks (max) of size 1 diapers left, and after they're gone we'll start using the size 1-2  and 2.


Audrey rolled over for the first time at 12 weeks old.  See the video and blog post here.  She is so happy on her activity mat.  She holds her head up for several minutes at a time.  She's getting so strong!  And we put her in her Bumbo seat this month.  She's not completely self-supporting in that seat, but she's close.  The Asst. Director at the daycare suggested putting a blanket behind her in the seat, and that worked!  We put her in the seat and she just smiles.

Audrey found her hands this month.  I'll catch her just studying her hands.  Then she brings them together and then apart.  It's cute.  She's so focused and just amazed by them.  She looks like she's trying to figure them out... "what can these things do for me?"  And we've noticed a big difference just in the past week/week-and-a-half in how she plays with her toys and the objects on her activity mat.  She can now grasp onto them.  She's been pulling my hair and grabbing at objects for several weeks now, but now it seems like she's very purposeful with her movements.  With every movement.  And sometimes she gets those hands in her mouth and starts sucking.  There are times when she prefers to suck on her thumb and her hand over her pacifier.  Here is a pic of her from today munching on those hands...

She loves her activity mat!

 

Right before Christmas, I noticed that Audrey's arms were rough and a little bumpy.  I thought it might be dry skin, but then I saw it spread to her chest and from her knees to the rest of her legs.  I called our doctor, Dr. Tess, and he referred us to a Dermatology practice.  We went to see Dr. Fox who is in one of the doctor's office buildings at the new Silver Cross Hospital (opening February 26th).  He said Audrey has a mild case of Dermatitis, which he explained is a very general term.  She also has a case of cradle cap that causes her to have a really dry scalp and lose her hair.  Basically, Audrey just has sensitive skin.  It doesn't necessarily mean that she'll always have sensitive skin or develop eczema, just that she has sensitive skin now.  He gave me a prescription for a medicated ointment that he said will clear up her bumps and dry skin in just a few days.  He made me feel comfortable about using the medicine if we want to do that.  He also gave me an option to treat the cradle cap with mineral oil and Q-tips.  But he suggested just not doing anything and letting it get better on its own.  That's what we're going to do.  And we decided to try the non-medicated route first for the Dermatitis, which Dr. Fox supported:  Audrey gets a bath every night.  He stressed that the bath should be no longer than 5-7 minutes and in lukewarm water.  We only wash the body parts that are sweaty or dirty (i.e. armpits, hands, neck, etc.) with Dove Unscented bar soap.  And for the cradle cap, we shampoo with Johnson & Johnson baby shampoo.  Then, twice a day, we apply Cetaphil cream... immediately after her bath and while I'm dressing her in the morning.  It's been about a week and a half and her skin is so much better!  Just over the last couple days, we turned a corner and her skin is so soft again.  She's still a little dry and bumpy in some areas, but nowhere near what it was.  It's winter and so dry.  If it gets worse, we will use the medicine.  But for now things are looking good!

Audrey still loves her bathtime. And now she gets a bath every night.  It's a good routine for us... I feed her for the last time, Audrey gets a bath, and then Carl puts her in her sleep sack and puts on her mittens, reads her a story, then she goes to bed.  This past month, she has really started kicking and splashing around.  She's so funny.  We took a video tonight of Audrey in the bathtub and it is hilarious.  I hesitate to put a video of my naked child on youtube, so we're going to try and figure out how to edit it so we can post it.  You know, black bars across her chest and private parts.  Haha.  I do want everyone to see how funny she is.  Stay tuned.


Audrey is sleeping through the night!  We're not consistent with every night yet, but I'd imagine we'll have consistency pretty soon.  I feed her for the last time around 9pm most nights, and then she has proven this last week that she can sleep until 6am.  This morning, she slept until 7am!  And when she sleeps, she sleeps on her back with her arms straight out to her sides.  She starts off with her pacifier, but loses it at some point after she falls asleep.  Some nights, if she wakes up, she just needs her pacifier then goes right back to sleep.  I feel so spoiled with Audrey and how good and easy-going she is.

Audrey loves listening to her Daddy playing the guitar.  Even if it's a night where she's been a little fussy, Carl can soothe her by playing for her.  He puts her on the couch in the Boppy and plays and sings for her.  She looks at him... his face and his hand strumming.  She is so content and so happy watching her Daddy.  Some of her favorite songs include those by Barenaked Ladies (If I Had a Million Dollars, Brian Wilson), Sister Hazel (All for You), Pearl Jam (Elderly Woman, Better Man), Foo Fighters (Everlong), Led Zepplin (Over the Hills and Far Away), and much more.

Audrey's making a lot more noise... both talking and crying.  It's like she's really found her voice over this past month.  When she's excited (like when she's playing on her activity mat), she'll shout out.  And sometimes she talks to us.  She does a lot of "goo's" and "aah's" and sometimes full-out shouts.  She also has found her really loud cry this month.  If something's wrong or not feeling right, she sure wants us to know about it!  She's been crying a lot more at night before we put her to bed or if she needs a nap.  There are some nights when it takes awhile to console her, but Daddy has the touch and can always make her feel better.  


It's been another fun and exciting month with our Audrey-girl.  She's our little angel, and we love her so much!