dearest elizabeth,
what a month this has been! you continue to delight us with your calm, cheerful little self. you recently learned how to blow raspberries and happily perform this trick to the uproarious laughter of your older sisters. meanwhile, your new developmental milestone of transferring a toy from one hand to the other may not get as much immediate positive feedback, but your mama notices and is proud of you each time you do it! you also love to play with your fingers as you fall asleep, gently curling and uncurling them in front of your face -- sweet, silly girl.
we've been getting some more belly laughs out of you this month, usually if Daddy is tossing you in the air or if your older sisters are talking to you. you still love to play pat-a-cake and you are becoming more interested in books. the girls call you Ellie and Lizzie and marvel over your chubby cheeks and "fluffy" arms and legs (their word!). you are well into 6 month clothes. at your 4 month checkup, you weighed 14 lbs 7 oz (66th percentile) and were 26 inches long (95th percentile); when we brought you back in three weeks later for a sick visit (more on that later), you had gained almost a pound and a half, weighing in at 15 lbs 13 oz! we love your roly-poly, cuddly self!
this month you celebrated your first Easter! you were very interested in the egg dyeing process. next year i'm sure you're going to want to help decorate your own! Easter Sunday itself was a full and beautiful day. Daddy played for an early morning mass and then came back to the house, where you and your sisters opened your Easter baskets. your favourite thing in the basket is the Chews Life decade, but you also scored some new books, a bathing suit, a swim coverup, and your first containers of baby food! you were spoiled with gifts from Grammie and Nana as well. then we attended High Mass at our church, an especially memorable celebration featuring Schubert's orchestral setting of the mass (Daddy played the organ). here's just a snippet of the beautiful music. apologies for the amateur recording quality using my voice recorder app -- the reality was even more gorgeous.
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| new clothes from Grammie! you also love the lift-the-flap books she gave you. |
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| Easter smiles with our dear friend John, the music director of our parish who brings these beautiful liturgies to fruition |
after mass, we drove out to Nana and Pappy's house for a delicious dinner. you had some sweet snuggle time with both your grandparents and your great-grandparents!
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| "for me?!" |
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| naptime with Gram |
you finally got your first taste of solids -- baby cereal (a definite no-go so far) and green beans (you were initially skeptical, but they seem to be growing on you). i'm sure you'll be a big fan of fruits!
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| sitting up like a big girl while the rest of the family eats dinner |
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| definitely not a fan of baby cereal |
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| first taste of green beans. you'd think i was poisoning the child |
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| "actually, these aren't too bad!" |
unfortunately, this month you did have your first sick visit to the pediatrician. out of nowhere, you spiked a 104.4 temperature, but you were acting fine and since the temperature responded to Tylenol, the pediatrician said just to watch at home. i kept checking in with their office every few days, and you seemed to be in the clear on the fourth day. through all of this you were acting happy, drinking your bottles (in fact, drinking extra to make up for fluid losses!) and having plenty of diapers. but then in the afternoon of the fifth day, you went back up to 104 and so i brought you in the next morning. you tested negative for flu and Covid, and there was no discernible source for the fever on exam. the amazing nurse was able to catheterize you in the office for a sterile urine sample (saving us a trip to the ER for further fever workup), and lo and behold, you tested positive for an E Coli UTI. poor baby! as i write this, you are on your last day of antibiotics, and even after the first dose you had noticeably improved. unfortunately, because you are so young, we are taking you for further testing next week (renal ultrasound and voiding cystourethrogram, where they instill contrast into the bladder under fluoroscopy to check for ureteral reflux and other structural problems that could increase the risk for future UTIs). i'm so grateful we were able to diagnose the problem and hope it won't be a recurrent issue for you!
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| all smiles even with a fever! |
we love you to the moon and back, sweet E!
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