Fifteen Months

It's that time again already...another month come and gone...

We took Punky back to the doctor on Thursday for her follow-up visit.  Good thing we kept that appointment...in only two days her viral no-antibiotics-required illness morphed into an ear infection.  Needless to say, she had her first taste of amoxicillin this week and she doesn't like it one bit.  It's a struggle to get it in her mouth.  We ruined several pairs of jammies with medicine stains.  Seriously, that shit is bright neon pink.  I bet it would glow in the dark.  This morning I passed on the struggle and mixed it in her cereal.  Pink bubblegum flavored apple-cinnamon oatmeal didn't look too appetizing, but she ate it.  Six doses down, only fourteen more to go.  Ugh.  

So, on top of my already consuming "first time with a really sick baby" worries, I also had the fear of an allergic reaction to the medicine.  Her dad and I both have penicillin allergies and my nephew had a nasty reaction to amoxicillin.  I braced myself for the worst.  I'm happy to say so far, so good.  After four days with no problems, I'm hoping we're in the clear.

The fever seems to have disappeared this weekend and she's acting more like herself again.  She's playing with her toys and running around like a nut.  The awful, congested cough is still lingering though, along with a snotty, runny nose.  If she sees anyone even heading for the tissue box, she bursts into tears and runs away screaming.  Her poor little nose is probably so sore.  I hope she is all better before our upcoming trip home for Easter.  We don't go back to the doc for a follow-up until April 9th.

As expected, they postponed her vaccinations until her eighteen month check-up, but they did all the other evaluations required for fifteen months.  Her weight, without a diaper, was 18 lbs., 7 oz.  She is now 30-1/4 inches tall.  She grew over two inches since January.  They were happy with all her milestones and she got another new book at the visit.  And for the record, I was honest about the bedtime bottle she still takes.  As bad as it sounds, I planned on lying to avoid the condescending look from the doc, but when the time came I told the truth and not a word was said about it.  We really need to work on that though; I think the time to try is right around the corner.

I am a bit disappointed we had to miss the Easter egg hunt today that my company was hosting.  It's barely forty degrees outside and the wind is whipping.  I just couldn't see taking Punky out in this weather when she is still coughing like that.  Oh well, we still have one planned for the kids at my mom's on Easter.  Even though she can't eat the candy inside them, she'll probably enjoy playing with them.

This month brought a few more words to Punky's vocabulary.  She has the family down pat now.  Mama, dada, ga (grammy), pap, unca (for one uncle), unca ga ga (for the other), anp (aunt P), and she calls my nephew something...but we can't get a handle on exactly what she's saying.  She also learned the word keys and always wants to play with mine.  When I ask her where they go, she tells me "car."  She says soap...well, oap...  I know there are a few more new ones but they escape me right now.

She finally did what I'd been expecting her to do for months now.  I was filling her tub the other night and she went over the side and into it head first.  Thankfully I never leave her alone in there for a second and she was smart enough to put her hands down to prevent her head from going under water.  The top of her hair was wet though.  It scared her for a second, but no sooner did I put her down and she was right back at the side of the tub trying to pull herself over again.  It wouldn't surprise me one bit if she grows up to be a blockbuster film stunt double.

I had to re-arrange her bedroom furniture this weekend because she discovered she could stand on the cot and flick the lights off and on.  Now that she knows what light switches do and how to work them, she wants to be the one to flip the switch whenever we go into or out of any room.  

One more top tooth recently broke through the gum line.  The total count is now at seven.  She had many opportunities to eat what we were having for dinner this month now that she can actually chew stuff.  And she loved it all.  She is starting to feed herself with a spoon as well.  She needs help scooping, but she makes it in her mouth without spilling much...usually.  The thicker the food, the better.  Apples top the list as her favorite food this month.  She hates when I cut it up; she wants to bite it right from the source.  She does well with it but sometimes she gets too big a chunk at once and sends mama into panic mode.

Her latest antic is walking like a duck.  She waddles around the house to the amusement of her silly parents.  Her dad keeps trying to catch it on video but every time the camera is on, she refuses to do it.  Of course.

I'm excited to see what this next month brings in Punky's development.  She is slowly transitioning from a baby to a little girl.  It breaks my heart but it's thrilling nonetheless.  I think she'll be a total chatterbox by eighteen months.  It's going to be a great summer!