Chloe, 10 months

I couldn't upload pictures for about a week, but the problem seems to have magically corrected itself. Isn't that nice? I think I'll start with Chloe's 10 month update, and what a month it has been! 

She is just an eating machine these days. Sometimes she'll let us feed her, but mostly she wants to do it herself. It's nice because I can put her in her high chair and throw food at her while I clean up the kitchen or make dinner. That way I know she's safe and not choking on something on the floor, plus it frees up my hands.

Christmas was lovely. Chloe was easy and content. She loved her gifts as well as the wrapping and boxes. She never did try to pull lights or ornaments off the tree. What a good baby!

She especially likes this giraffe ball popper toy.

Christmas really is a baby's dream - all those wrappings on the floor to play with!

She got her first tooth in December and her second tooth in January, so that's exciting. Now whenever she cries, we say, "Maybe she's teething." 

I love watching her play with toys. She concentrates so hard to figure it all out. She still doesn't try to crawl, but she'll sit on her bum and just rotate around and around. 

Things got ugly three days after Christmas. Her eyes had been a little goopy earlier in the week, but otherwise she was totally fine. Then all of a sudden she was sad. I took the boys to the riverbed for Spencer to get a water sample to look at with his new microscope. Chloe just wasn't very happy, and when we got home she sounded a little tight in her chest. I gave her a breathing treatment (which she hadn't needed since her last hospitalization), and it seemed to help. But when Dave came home from work she was worse - sad, clingy, coughing, fever. We were up all night with her, and by the next morning we knew this was more than a little cold. She was working really hard to breath. We prayed about it and knew we had to take her to the hospital right away. 

We took her to the E.R., and they admitted her with RSV. Again. My heart sank. I didn't want to be there again! I wanted to be home with my kids, enjoying their Christmas break. I didn't know how long we would be there, but the doctor assured me it wouldn't be nearly as long as when she was 2 weeks old. She was bigger and stronger, but she would need oxygen for a least a couple of days. They were able to take her off the oxygen by Sunday night, and we left Monday morning. But she was still really sick. 

We wondered several times that week if she would need to go back to the hospital. She needed breathing treatments every 4 hours without fail, and her fever wouldn't go away. We took her to the doctor for a follow-up, and her oxygen was so low they almost sent us right back to the peds unit. But after a treatment it went up enough that we were able to go home. However, both her ears were infected. This explained the persistent fever and crankiness. They started her on antibiotics and told us to follow up in 2 days. 

Then she completely stopped peeing, and we spent all of our time trying to get her to drink something. Dave patiently gave her water and gatorade drop by drop, which she fought and often threw up. The doctor said that if she didn't have a wet diaper by the next day then she would have to go to the hospital for I.V. fluids. She also gave her a strong antibiotic shot for the ear infections. Our whole family and many friends prayed for her. She woke up with a slightly wet diaper, and I was ecstatic. She really turned the corner that weekend, and she was practically back to normal a few days after that.

We didn't do anything big or exciting for Christmas. We never went to the beach or on a hike or a family bike ride - all the things we normally like to do over the holidays. I felt bad about that, but the boys didn't complain. The world revolved around this little girl, and we experienced a growing experience instead. We are all thankful for prayer and priesthood blessings, and we are especially grateful to have our baby back. 

We appreciate everything so much more now - every wet diaper, every smile and coo, and every toy she plays with.

Unfortunately, her illness has really messed up her sleep. She's been waking up at night again, which she hadn't done in months. She also hates to take medicine, which she used to love.

Chloe is now almost 11 months, so it's a good thing I got this update done. She has her moments (she's got quite a temper!), but she is also sweet and lovable. She makes my heart go crinkle, crinkle!