Oh, what a night!

So here's how my evening has gone so far:

• Picked up Mia from daycare and arrived home. Waved to our neighbors.
• Went in and let the dogs out. Played with Mia for 10 minutes or so. 
• Fed Mia some pears and sweet potatoes. She hated the pears! 
• Videotaped Mia eating the pears. Downloaded the video to the blog.
• Put Mia in her bouncy. Saw Kyle, the boy that lives behind us, walk up to my BACK door. 
• Opened the door, and he proceeded to tell me that my dogs are running around the neighborhood.
• Looked up and saw Grace running around the court behind us. Screamed her name.
• Grace came galloping over, right into the yard. I had Kyle shut the gate.
• Panic washed over me as I pictured Reese darting across Lagrange Road.
• I grabbed Mia and ran to the neighbors' house. Kyle said he would go look for Reese.
• Banged on the neighbors' door. When they answered I hurriedly told them my dog was out and asked if they could watch Mia while I looked for her. I had spoken to the man once before and had never met the woman, but they looked like nice people!
• I ran to get my car and the neighbor man, Brian, took off looking for Reese also. 
• I drove up and down Lagrange Road screaming for Reese, imagining how I would tell Mike our dog was dead.
• I didn't find her.
• I headed back to the neighborhood and - to my enormous relief - saw Brian carrying Reese toward the house. He found her close to Lagrange Road, but all out of breath. Thank god she's gotten fat! He put her down and she ran to the house, eager for water.
• I thanked Brian and got Mia from his wife. We finally made small talk!
• I came in and realized it was time for Mia's bottle. I fed her and she started to fall asleep while eating, something she rarely does.
• I burped her and she started arching her back, a sign of a tummy ache.
• I headed to the kitchen and opened a new bottle of gas drops.
• I gave her the drops and she started to gag.
• Projectile vomit went flying across the kitchen, all across the counters, onto me, my clothes, my shoes, my hair, out Mia's nose, and all over her. 
• Because it was coming out her nose, she was scared.  I instinctively pulled her to me to let her know she was alright, not really caring about the puke. Of course the aftermath was pretty gross!
• Once she stopped, I carried her to her room, stripped down both of us and headed to the bathroom. We took a nice warm bath, and I cuddled and comforted her.
• Mike came home and got her ready for bed while I showered. When I got out, Mia was in bed, the puke was cleaned up and it turns out he had stopped for one of my favorites - Panera - on the way home. He's now at the store getting a gift card for the neighbors for helping us. What a wonderful man!

You don't like pears?

Bouncy Baby

Stomach bug?

Mia got sick again Friday evening - all over herself, me, the chair, the ottoman and the carpet. I just climbed into the tub with her and we played for awhile. She didn't have much of an appetite that evening, but the doctor's office said that as long as we were getting wet diapers and she had no fever, she would be fine. They said if she got sick again to take her in Saturday morning, but she was okay the rest of the day. 

On Saturday we got new carpet. Mike, Mia and I were confined to our bedroom while it was installed, and we played with Mia for hours. She was in great spirits. We decided to go ahead with our planned "date night" and took Mia to Mamaw's for the night. Carol ended up calling us later saying that Mia had vomited again, but that she had no fever or anything. Luckily that was the final incident of the weekend. 

Yesterday Mike had to work so Mia and I went to Dad's to swim and hang out. We had a nice day. Last night my stomach began hurting and it continues even now. Makes me wonder if Mia had a bug and now it's been passed to me.

This $hit is bananas, B-A-N-A-N-A-S

Well, bananas weren't such a big hit. They were Mia's first fruit, and she loved the taste, but clearly the bananas didn't love her back. We went to Aunt Pat's last night and Mia started spitting up, mostly on Cheri. She probably spit up 4 or 5 times while we were there. She didn't take all her 10:00 bottle and I couldn't burp her, usually a sign that her stomach is upset. She went to bed and woke us up around 1:30. Mike went in to get her and she was covered in vomit. We had to remove everything from her bed and completely wash her down. That started a night of puking, removing whatever clothes she had on, whatever we had on, and any blankets, burp cloths, sheets, etc. that happened to be near her at the time of eruption. After a few times we could hear it coming and I'd run her to the sink, sit her on the edge and let her vomit between her legs. As soon as she was finished, she'd look into the mirror in front of her and smile. She had no fever and was fine in between bouts, so our primary concern was dehydration. As the day has progressed the vomiting has passed and I'm now dealing with her upset stomach in the form of pooping. But that's more manageable. I stayed home with her today to keep an eye on her and she seems to be feeling okay for the most part.

Sitting Pretty

Mia Marie sat all by herself tonight!!! We are so excited! She's been doing a great job of sitting while we support her, and she's sat for a few seconds at a time before falling over, but tonight she sat for minutes and minutes all by herself. There were a few times when she started to fall backwards and I caught her (that happened when she tried to get her feet into her mouth as she sat), but when she started to fall forward or to the sides she caught or balanced herself. It was so fun to watch!! What a big girl she's getting to be!

In other news, I had my annual exam yesterday and the doctor commented that it appears I have an allergy to the suture material they used for my c-section. My lower abdomen is still swollen and it itches on occasion. But she acted like it was no big deal and will clear up on its own. We also discussed the timing of our next child. She said that if we're planning on having another, it's not too soon to start thinking about it. With my age, my PCOS, and the fact that it took us 9 months the first time, she's going to be proactive and test my progesterone levels after my next period. If they're okay, we won't do anything, but if they're low she'll give me a prescription for Clomid to use when we're ready. 

Family Fun

I took Ms. Mia to the doctor last week. She needed a check-up on her ear, since she still had fluid on her ear at her 4 month check-up. It was still there last week, but was not infected. They will check it again at her 6 month visit, and we will continue to keep our eyes open in case another ear infection presents itself. Otherwise, Mia has gotten even bigger, weighing in at 16 lbs, 7 oz. I asked the doctor again about the quantity of food we're feeding her, and she said we're right on track. She assured me Mia is not a fat baby because she's in the 90th percentile for height and only the 75th for weight. She's right on track, just a big baby!

In other news, the teething is getting pretty serious. She wants to gnaw on something almost all the time. I've caught her putting her paci in her mouth, chomping down on it really hard, and yanking it out of her mouth over and over. It must work her gums really well. She has several teething rings, keys, stuffed animals, etc. that she loves to chew on as well. I've had to remind myself that some of her stuffed animals have small eyes or ribbons on them that could choke her. I've had to go back and put away some things I thought would be okay for her.

Mike went to New York City for a trade show last week and Mia's grandparents took the opportunity to give me some time to relax by myself. Mia spent last Sunday with Granny and Grampy Hollkamp, last Tuesday and Wednesday with Nana and Pawpaw Wilson, and Friday with Mamaw and Papaw Robbins. The grandparents love to play dress-up with Mia, and she always comes home with new outfits and toys. Nana and Pawpaw were in rare form last week and decided to dress her up like a Bratz doll. Fortunately they took pictures, posted above. 

We got together for Sam's birthday over the weekend. Cousin Cara was in town so Mia got to hang out in the pool with her. That was pretty cute! Mia misses Cara and wishes they could play together more often. Mia loves spending time with cousins Sam and Emie also. They take such good care of her, feeding and holding her and especially making her laugh.