We had a wonderful first Christmas with Alexandra - very low key, just the way we wanted it! We knew that she could probably get overwhelmed by all the activity very easily, so we arranged it where it would just be our immediate little family Christmas morning. My parents came by that afternoon to eat lunch with us and open some more gifts. We also got a chance to see my grandmother and uncle the following day.
The sad thing in all of this is that a couple of days before Christmas, Alexandra came down with a very stuffy nose and hacking cough. I knew we were in for it when I was greeted to a chorus of sniffles and coughs when I dropped Alexandra off at daycare at the beginning of the week. By Christmas day, the poor little dear looked as bad as she sounded - her little eyes were red and glassy and her little cute as a button nose was red from constant wiping as it had become an endless fountain of snot. (Sorry for the gross description, but it accurately describes it!). At first I was just going to write it off as a pretty bad cold, but my gut kept telling me it was something more. Just in case, I made an appointment with the pediatrician for the day after Christmas. There is something to be said for a mother's instinct - I found out, unfortunately, that my gut was right because we learned that Alexandra had both her first ear infection and RSV (respiratory synctial virus, a highly contagious virus in the winter months that strikes a lot of children under the age of 2). The doctor prescribed us antibiotics for the ear infection but told us there was not much we could do for the RSV other than use a cool mist humidifier and saline drops in Alexandra's nose - we were just going to have to wait it out, and much to our chagrin, were told that the symptoms could last a minimum two weeks. Ugh....Needless to say, it was a very rough two weeks. As a parent (particularly a first time parent), there is nothing that makes you feel as helpless as when your baby is sick and cannot communicate to you what hurts or how you can make it better.
Despite the fact that Alexandra was sick, she was a trooper on Christmas day. Here are some photos of our sweet girl opening presents for the first time, playing with some of her new toys, and hanging out with my parents:
We also had an opportunity to visit Ryan's family in western Kentucky for the holidays, spending the weekend after New Year's in Paducah. Alexandra was feeling much better by that point, and did much better than I had hoped for with the long trip. You can see from the pictures how much fun she had opening more presents (check out the gorgeous toy box, a gift from her Nana and Papa that is already stuffed to the brim) and spending time with her paternal grandparents, great-grandmother and her cousins, Olivia & John Michael.
The good news is that Alexandra seems to be back to her normal happy self, and hopefully she won't get another cold for at least a week or two! I know it sounds crazy, but that's what it is like during cold and flu season in a daycare setting!
I can't believe that Alexandra turned 8 months old a week and a half ago - it's such a cliche, but time really does fly. Next thing we know, we will be planning her first birthday party!! She's such a sweetheart - everyone we encounter tells us what a happy little girl she is, and we couldn't agree more. Sure, her napping is still across the board (she has been sleeping through the night for awhile now, thank goodness!) and we're still riding some of the highs and lows of the exciting roller coaster that is first time parenthood. However, I think that it is safe to say that Ryan and I are head over heels in love with our little girl - it is so rewarding to see such a lovely little personality developing everyday! She is getting better at sitting and rolling all over the place - I imagine crawling will be coming up any day now. She is a great eater and has loved almost everything she has eaten, except pears and avocado. I am making her baby food, and that has allowed us a little more room to experiment - for instance, she loves mango! She is fascinated by her little hands and has been using them to make noises with her mouth. Speaking of her mouth, Alexandra is developing into quite the little chatterbox (no comment on where she gets that from!). She loves to make noises and is saying "ma" and "da", though she doesn't seem to associate either sound with mommy or daddy just yet.
Our little family is truly blessed - we hope that all of you had a wonderful holiday season as well and we wish you a happy 2009!
1 comment:
thanks for all the new pics and updates! i remember hitting that 7/8 month mark with sophie and feeling like we "kinda, maybe" were starting to figure out what we were doing as parents. she was starting to be somewhat predictable then and we had a nice little routine going. and yes, sleeping was finally more frequent and longer too. each day is still exciting and an adventure though!
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