Ears and Daycare

So.  Addi was diagnosed with her 4th ear infection in 2 1/2 months over the weekend.  But let's back up a bit.  She had just finished a course of antibiotics on Tuesday (the 22nd) for the last ear infection.  Then come Thursday, I could tell she was kind of "off" when she came home from daycare...really whiny, laying her head down, etc.  Something just wasn't right.  In hopes that she was just overly tired from not sleeping well at daycare, we just let her be.

She went down easily that night.  But by 10:00pm, she was waking every 10 minutes crying.  When we asked her what was wrong, she would point at her right ear and say "right there."  So I took her in to the ER late, late Thursday night (like after 11:00pm) just for a quick peak in her ears.  That's one of the perks of working there!  The docs will often take a look at simple things like that with no charge (shhh, don't tell anyone!).  The doc said that her ear was definitely red but that it could be the previous ear infection still resolving or there could be a new one coming.  He suggested a wait and see approach.  So we kept her on some tylenol to keep her comfortable.

Fast forward to Saturday morning and she was tugging on her ear even more.  Yay for no vomiting though!!  So off to urgent care we went.  The doctor looked in her right ear and said "oh wow, so that's awful."  Her left ear is infected as well, just not quite as badly.  The doctor put a stat referral in to see Dr K and gave us an even stronger antibiotic.  So I called the office this morning and Addi now has an appt on Wednesday to discuss possible tubes. 

On the brighter side, daycare is going extremely well!!  Elli has gone for two weeks now.  From what they tell me, she's doing great.  Eating well, playing well, sleeping/napping as per her usual (3-4 little catnaps).  And the big girls are finally turning a corner as well.  Addi has been good for a little while now but I was still dealing with Livi getting a bit teary during drop off.  However, the last two days, she hasn't shed a tear!  In fact, the last day, I took her to her room, took her coat off and she turned around, waved at me, and said "bye-bye mama." 

When I thought about the future and the girls NOT being sad when I dropped them off, it kind of made *me* a little sad...the fact that they wouldn't miss me.  But now that the day has actually arrived, I was sooooo elated!!  It was great dropping her off and having her be excited that she got to play with her friends.  I'm happy to know that she's content.  So no sadness for me at all!

And I guess the big girls get to go visit Elli on a semi-regular basis.  I think that's wonderful.  Elli is obviously in the infant room while the big girls are in the 2-3 year old room.  But a couple times a day, they'll pull the girls out to go visit with Elli for 30 minutes or so.  I love that the daycare is letting the big girls know that their baby sister is there too and keeping the "family" somewhat connected throughout the day.

When markers attack

I think the girls are somewhat embarrassed that they lost their battles with the markers....they wouldn't even look at the camera.  Livi is showing you her colorful palms and I think Addi is trying to gouge out her eyeballs!!

Say Cheese!!

They grow so fast

I think every parent has heard it before.  "Enjoy it, because they grow so fast."  It's so very true.  Today the big girls are 28 months old.  They're closer to two and a half than they are to two!  And today Elli is 5 months.  I could swear we just brought her home from the hospital.  I still remember the day so well!!  Yes, they're growing fast.

I've included some size comparisons just to drive my point home.  Look how much Elli is catching up!

Elli was just 2 weeks old here (the girls were just shy of 2 years)

Elli at 5 months.

And at 2 days old, leaving the hospital.

To further drive home my point, Elli is officially a sitter!!  What?!?  How in the world?  When in the world?  Craziness I tell ya.  She's not the most proficient sitter just yet, but she's a sitter nevertheless.

Meanwhile, the big girls are trying to teach Elli everything they know.  I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing!!  I captured one of those moments a few days ago.  I had Elli laying on the floor watching and listening to her music box.  So Addi and Livi plopped right down next to her and started pointing out all the animals!!

And did I mention that we have our third bilateral ear infection in three months?  Oh, I didn't?  Well, that's another post for another day.

Big changes

Sooooooo.....

A week from today, Elli will be starting daycare.  I'm not completely sure how I feel about that.  On one hand, I'm excited because I can stop worrying about lining up sitters or worrying about the weather that would prohibit my mom from getting here to watch her.  On the other hand, she's my baby!!  Of course I worry about whether she'll get the attention she needs and deserves. 

The big girls didn't start daycare until they were two years old because daycares don't tend to take kids less than two on a part time basis.  In fact, the daycare the girls are going to doesn't take infants less than 4 days per week.  Imagine our surprise when we asked them one day if they would take Elli just 2 days a week...and they agreed!!!  I had actually made Nate make the phone call because I "already knew" the answer!  So yeah, we were a little shocked.

In the long run, daycare will be good for her.  Hopefully we'll be able to avoid the problems the big girls had when they started daycare because she'll be acclimated to it really young.  It will just be another part of her routine, so she won't have the same level of separation anxiety that the girls did (they're getting much, much better though!).

I'm reeeaaallly nervous about how I'm going to get 3 kids up, dressed, fed, out the door and in the car by myself.  I know that eventually I'll develop a system, but those first few times are going to be rough.  I've already prepared my coworker for my late arrival!!  Haha.  She's well aware of the fact that I will more than likely not be on time!! 

Random picture day

The girls' 1st time at a waterpark over New Year's weekend.  Addi loved it so much she asked to go back again in the afternoon (which just the two of us did since it's almost in our backyard!)

Elli is working sooo hard at rolling over!

This look just makes me giggle.

A special treat...M&M's and juice!

Awww.  But don't let this fool you.  They can now fight with the best of them!

She's so focused!!