5 Months Old-Baby Bites

Yummy food!

Wouldn't you want to eat this?!

Open wide!

Miss Independent

Kathryn is ready to Rock and Roll

Today Kathryn got her first taste of REAL FOOD and man oh man did she love it. When we got up this morning, Paul and I were eating breakfast and Kathryn was sitting in between us and seemed VERY intrigued with what we were eating. I decided to take a little piece of my banana and mush it up and give it to her. She devoured it and smacked her lips for more. That was the final decision maker, Kathryn would begin solids today.

I mixed up the concoction of breast milk with a HINT of rice cereal and we began the fun journey of feeding Miss K. The biggest trick of the whole event was figuring out how to feed her and take pictures AND video at the same time. Good thing for two sets of hands. Kathryn took to the food immediately and even enjoyed holding the spoon and feeding herself.

We can't believe how big she is getting and all of the fun things she is doing. We now have to put a full size bed blanket on the floor for her to roll around on as she easily rolls in every direction, but she gets going too much and then she needs to spit up. We are also realizing that we need to begin the task of baby proofing the house, as Kathryn has taken to scooting on her belly a bit, although she doesn't go anywhere, YET! She is a bundle of energy and has a hard time settling down for her morning nap, she would much prefer to be part of everything that is going on around her. We love her to pieces and it is amazing to think how fast time flies.

Sick Little Girl, but Happy all the While!

So Kathryn has had a little cough since last Friday. No fever was accompanying it so Paul and I decided to monitor it and see where things went. Tuesday night Kathryn didn't sleep well so I began rethinking whether to teach in Maine on Wednesday. However she wasn't running a fever so Betsy, Paul's mom, and I decided I would go ahead and work and she would watch Kathryn as she usually does, and Paul would call the doc to set up an appointment for her to see the doctor today, Thursday.

Well Miss Kathryn had other ideas in mind. She woke up from her morning nap with a 101 degree fever. I drove back down to NH, picked her up and we headed down to see the pediatrician in Wellesley. They took her temperature, which was now 102, gave her some Tylenol, did a battery of base line tests which didn't reveal anything, and then decided to do some other testing. She ended up having blood work, a chest x-ray, and a urine sample taken. I tried to be the brave mom, but when she was getting blood drawn I couldn't look, I just wanted to cry!

Well Miss Kathryn was a real trooper, in fact the doctor said, "I haven't seen a baby in a while who was this smiley, with such a high fever!". When all was said and done the chest x-ray revealed that she has a slight case of pneumonia on one of her lungs. This may sound horrible, but apparently it is pretty normal. Who would have "thunk"? The doc put her on a round of antibiotics and as of this morning she is on the mend, no fever and she was actively playing with her toys this morning. Thank God for answered prayers and for wonderful physicians!!!

From this experience I have a few thoughts to ponder-

*I am thankful that we have an extra bed in the nursery. This way Paul or myself can sleep in her room when she is sick. It made such a difference to be able to respond to her quickly last night before her fever broke.

*I am soooooooooo thankful for an incredibly supportive husband, family and friends. Without them the last 36 hours would have looked much different. This parenting thing really is a group experience and experiment!

*We are so blessed to have such a healthy child. From this experience I have gained more sympathy for parents who have REALLY SICK kids. You parents out there are truly amazing!!!

*To watch your child in pain gives me just a little glimpse into what God must go through when any of His children are sick or struggling with something.