Moo Cow

Moo Cow
Originally uploaded by vczdavis

Day 31 Sunday 8/17

Holly has been quite amusing today. Mom went out this morning for a massage and she played with daddy. They watched baby Einstein, read books, played ocean time, and balanced on Holly's Ball. Joel said she was fussy, and grumpy but not hysterical. When I walked through the door, they came into the living room and when she saw me she made the biggest smile I had ever seen and started to laugh she was so happy, I have never had such a reception, she was so happy to see me.

We played in the afternoon, had some tummy time. Holly has a bouncy Ball, and it is about the height of her shoulders, she can stand and lean against it, or when I roll it she is balancing on her belly, if I put her on it backwards, then she can stretch her head and shoulders back. We played with this some also. I read her a few books, more of the touchy feely ones which she liked. She seems to have 3 teeth coming in now, a second bottom one and maybe a top one, so her teething was pretty bad today.

In the late afternoon we had to go run errands, and when I put Holly in her car seat, she had just eaten, and been changed and was about ready for a nap, she was again being a jokester. I would lean my head in towards her and she would start to laugh and laugh, she is just learning how to laugh, so sometimes the line between a laugh and a cry is close, both are a release of emotion, but she was happy. no matter what I did everything I did seemed to crack her up. It was adorable, and we took a short video of it. She fell asleep on the drive to best buy, and while we were in the store woke up. She was happy and played quietly. We walked over to babies are us, and she just looked around. Once back in the car she was fussy, and hungry, but was ok once we got home and fed her.

She has been getting more grumpy the later it gets, and fell asleep pretty early tonight. She last ate around 7:30 and I gave her a 25 dose of Minocycline at around 11:00 in 4 ml of apple juice and 3 pinches of sugar. She woke up again around 12:45 and had a 4 ounce bottle and is now fast asleep.

I was talking to my mom about Holly's "Panic Attack" and my mom does not think it is panic or anxiety attacks but "hysteria" uncontrollable emotions. she said that when she was little, and even a teenager, and her mother as well, both had fits of hysteria. When something did not go there way, my mom would cry so hard she would be shaking and make herself sick, and wrapped up in a ball shacking. My grandmother was more violet with her outbursts and would throw things. So my mom thinks her fits sound more like uncontrollable release of her emotions and not anxiety or panic. Its so funny that the Fragile X doesn't come from my mother, as there are so many signs that would point to her side of the family, but it doesn't.

Rhino

Rhino
Originally uploaded by vczdavis

Day 30 Saturday 8/16

This morning, mommy slept in. Holly was again pretty fussy, but had her moments, more whining and whimpering, not real tears. She watched Baby Einstein, First Moves, which she liked and played in Ocean Time. Later she had some tummy time, watched Baby Einstein Language Nursery, which mildly distracted her from her fussyness. Joel and I kept passing her back and forth all day, she would cry when he held her, and stop as soon as I took her. She was over tired and I rocked her to sleep for several short naps. I read her 5 books, which she paid attention to. One was a texture book which she reached out and felt while I was reading it. Later Joel read her 4 books, and she was actually happy at that point.

She was again teething all day, happy most of the time when she had her frozen teether. Surprisingly the cold doesn't hurt her hand while she held it into her mouth. She wasn't very playful, and was peeing a lot. However I did see a glimmer of her normal self in the afternoon, after one of the diaper changes I was putting a new outfit on her and blowing on her chest and belly and she was laughing hard and touching my face, getting my nose and mouth and cheek and she was in a good mood, but it was short lived. We had the Olympics on in the back ground, but she didn't even watch that,

She basically watched mommy the entire day. She was happier if I held her, and whimpering with daddy, and watching me, her eyes said, why aren't you holding me mommy so I took her back much of the time. Last night was heart breaking, and I don't know how I will go back to work if this is what happens when I leave her in day care. We received the Hanen infant communication book, and will start working on it. I have flipped through it, and already do many of the activities listed, but will try to be more methodical about it moving forward.

Holly slept from about 6-10 she woke up in a much better mood, she was smiley and seemed rested. She was hungry and played quietly after eating and fell asleep in about 15 minutes. I gave her a 25 dose of Minocycline at 1:15 in 4ml of Apple Juice with 3 pinches of Sugar. She has been moving around a lot in her sleep lately, last night we had to move the monitor camera in her crib because she was reaching for it and trying to chew on it. I have not really been swaddling her in her sleep for the past few weeks either. She seems to be sleeping ok with out it. I do have a large size swaddler that I may pull out if the teething gets too bad, as the swaddling seems to help. She does whimper in her sleep and chew on her lips.

Smart Cookie

Smart Cookie
Originally uploaded by vczdavis

Day 29 Friday 8/15

This morning Holly had her session with Katie, and she was teething, so she was very oral, and would not do any of her stretches, or work without being able to chew on something and have something in her mouth. She did a lot of reaching, passing from left to right hand, and when eating her shoulders were back and relaxed so she was in a good position. She also did quite a bit of altered tummy time, with great back strengthening positions holding herself up and not getting too aggravated. She was rather sleepy today. We went to swim class which she enjoyed but she was not as animated as she usually is.

When we got home from swimming Holly had a wonderful turn taking session with mommy, where she would chatter I would respond and then she would continue, presumably telling me all about what she thought of swim class. She has done this in a limited bases before, but this particular time we went back and forth about 15 times over twenty minutes, it was the longest conversation she has had yet.

In the evening we had some stories and then she got very upset. Mommy was taking a break from watching Holly trying to catch up on her notations, emails, journal, and also talking with Josephine. Holly spent almost all her time with mommy over the last two weeks and weekend, and she was missing mommy because I took a break, she would cry when Daddy held her, and was not really cheering up. I think it was because she was teething, but she was working herself up, into what may have been something of a panic attack. Joel had not seen this before and he was very distressed, wondering if the medicine had caused it, and if she has ever done thing before the medicine. She did it the time I was stuck in San Francisco which was a few days after she started the medication, but I also think she has done it before. She starts to get frantic and she freaks out crying so much she starts to choke on her breaths and she basically threw up her entire meal. I was on the phone ordering Chinese food when it was happening, not realizing she was in a frenzy yet, and thought it was regular crying, which I was trying to ignore, and allow Joel to sooth, since I am trying to get her used to me not being there since we are starting daycare in 2 weeks. But her entire outfit was soaked in food, as well as it was on her hair face neck hands. I grabbed her from Joel when I realized how back she was, she almost started to calm right away, I then stripped her and myself down and went into the shower. The warm water holding her tight and cleaning her off, shampooing her hair, and then wrapping her into a blanket.

This happened around 7:00, she had eaten around 6:30 She fell asleep in the towels, and I put her into the swing. She stayed asleep until I moved her into bed at 3:00 AM, at which time she drank 130 cc of breast milk. I gave her the 25 dose of Minocycline at around 11:30 with 4ml of Apple Juice and a pinch of Sugar. We think she was fussy not only because she was teething, but she had been trying to poopie all day, and had not gone for 2 days, and wasn't going. She ended up with a poopie at 8am Saturday Morning. I have talked about this behavior in my mother's group, and they have told me I should let Joel sooth and calm her, but also that there babies do have these frantic crying spells that make them spit up there food, but it is hard for me to believe, and perhaps I do not describe it as drastic as it is. I can;t tell however if it is a panic attack.

My sister has had panic/anxiety attacks, and they are similar, I chatted with her about this episode. My Sister indicated that breathing, rocking, and swaddling helps her overcome them and the attacks are far worse then whatever may have set them off. I am not sure if this is normal baby behavior, or a female fragile X "tantrum" anxiety attack. Holly seems to have a very High tolerance and rarely gets overstimulated anymore, this was not the same, it was more like she was uncomfortable, and mommy wasn't fixing it (I obviously can't if its teething) and she just gets more and more fussy, until something just pushes her over the edge and she explodes. I am going to ask the pediatrician next week if I should have given her Tylenol, in case it was teething, its hard for me to tell if that is indeed whats wrong, or some type of numbing gel, but she didn't seem very bitey, so I don't know.

Its a Crab!

Its a Crab!
Originally uploaded by vczdavis

Day 28 Thursday 8/14

This morning we went for another swim, we had a lot of fun. More kids at the pool to play with, and she was talkative, and actually kicked a few times. We also went to the expo again, same as above. In the late afternoon we were hanging out in the Art Studio, and met Theo a 9 month old. He was so happy to meet Holly, and crawled up to her, they both reached out towards the other's face and touched cheeks. They then locked hands and were petting each other. Holly was so excited to be able to touch him without me pulling her hand away. She watched him crawl, and they were both standing up and looking at everything together. Also at the Disney booth a woman gave holly a 3 eyed alien from Toy Story "al" he vibrates and talks when you pinch his hand. Holly didn't know what to make of him. Once she was surprised once she laughed, and another time it made her cry, based on her mood and how tired she was. We left to drive home at 6:30, Holly was pretty fussy, and I finally sang her to sleep. We didn't get home until 1:00 at which time she ate, as she was hungry from the drive. So I gave her the Minocycline at 3:00 with 4 ml of Apple Juice and 3 pinches of sugar.

Today would be the end of her 4 week Trial, if it were not for the extension.

Holly and Mickey

Holly and Mickey
Originally uploaded by vczdavis

Day 27 Wednesday 8/13

Today I decided to give her a baby massage with sunscreen and she really liked this. It also made me happy. When we went to the pool, there was a 14 month old, a 2, 4, and 6 year old and she would reach out to the other kids and try and play with them. She was very social, I let the 3 year old hang onto her crab toy and we pushed her around together and she liked holding her hand.,

Later we went to the expo there were hundreds of people everywhere, and they all smiled waved and looked at her. She was very social, and did not get overwhelmed with all the interaction. In the expo, it was like the art museum, there was noise, color, moving objects, people, and things to look at in every direction. She did eventually get a bit overwhelmed, but not upset at all, she simply took a nap in her stroller and then when she woke was ready for more. She didn't like to stay in her stroller, so much of the time I was carrying her so she could really look around. There was an art exhibit, and we went and looked at the pieces and she had a favorite that made her laugh and smile whenever we went by.

After the expo we went to Lucian's hotel, there were more fountains in the lobby for her to look at and play with. Since we went home late, Holly woke up at 1:00 so we fed her, and gave her the minocycline at 2:30 with 4ml of apple juice, and 2 pinches of sugar.

I've Got you!

I've Got you!
Originally uploaded by vczdavis

Day 26 Tuesday 8/12

Holly was very playful this morning, we did our stretches, and she was standing and bouncing on her legs. We played music and danced. She was very cranky after her afternoon nap, but then later cheered up when we went swimming. There were other kids in the pool that she was very entertained by, she would watch them jump in and out of the pool. We had a floating crab that she liked to sit in and I pulled her around and this was also fun. She did not like getting sun screen put on. At the poolside she tried to play with Lucian, she would reach out to him and try and touch his cheek and hand, but he is still so little, I was holding her back. They did lock eyes, and she really liked looking at him. Later we walked around the hotel and there were lots of fountains, and holly tried to reach out and touch the water. They would jump like the fountains at the Bellagio and she would be surprised and then look and anticipate the next set of water. Holly ate at 8:15 and I gave her the minocycline at 11:30 with 4 ml of apple juice and 3 pinches of sugar.

Pillow Party

Pillow Party
Originally uploaded by vczdavis

Day 25 Monday 8/11

Holly is officially 5 months old today. We slept as much as we could this morning, and it was a low key day. Then headed to the convention center. Where we registered and went to a talk. Holly was a bit fussy but when I walked her around. We played and she was very social, smiling at all the other attendees who would stop by and say hello. We gave her the Minocycline at 11:40 with 4ml of Apple Juice and 2 pinches of Sugar. Her previous meal was at 9:30.

Dancing!

Dancing!
Originally uploaded by vczdavis

Day 24 Sunday 8/10

This Morning Holly played with daddy. She was very smiley and energetic. In the afternoon, we read books and did lots of stretches and tummy time. She played in ocean time, and watched the Olympics. I had to pack for LA so she spent a lot of time playing on her own, she sat in daddy;s chair with her toys and watched me pack, and later played in her crib while I packed stuff from her room, and watched her mobile.

This evening she was very fussy, and I think she has a second tooth about to break skin. She had lots of fun bouncing, and we invented a new game, where I would bounce her on my knee and then make a face and she would giggle and laugh. She was very climby, and did tummy time and sitting time and rolling time on me all afternoon. She is also much more expressive these days, she is making all kinds of new sounds and cooing. She is making a haaaa haaa like sound and a ahh goo and a purring type noise. Its hard to describe them all.

We played with several of her soft blocks, and rattles and she would hold them, look at them and bring them to her mouth. Ohhh, and our new pacifier game. I hold the pacifier in my mouth by the handle, and she is standing on my lap, then she comes in and grabs it with two hands and puts it into her mouth. She is then so please with herself she laughs and it falls and we do it again.

She last ate at 9:30 and I gave her 25 dose of Minocycline at 12:30 in 4 ml of Apple Juice and 3 pinches of Sugar. She ate again around 2:00 as we are getting ready to leave for LA.

Tonight at 3:00 am we are leaving to drive to LA after Holly's Night feeding. Since she often gets very fussy after long sessions in her car seat, we thought it best to try and drive while she is asleep. She will not be getting her regular sessions next week, She has a make Up on Friday, and Saturday when we return, with her PT/OT Also, Since I can not bring all of her toys, music, and books, she will have a very different week. I think she will get a lot of different kinds of stimulus, and lots of time in the pool. I think this upset of her schedule is also good, as she will be starting Daycare in about 3 weeks, and life will be different then, so she has to learn to be adaptable. I have my fingers crossed that things will go well.

King of the Jungle

King of the Jungle
Originally uploaded by vczdavis

Day 23 Saturday 8/9

Holly was great today. We ran errands all afternoon and she was happy and playful in her car seat. She played in the chair for a long time on her own, and in ocean time. At the baby store we read several stories and she was very social and smiling. We played upside down baby and stretched. We played bouncy games, and reaching games. We watched Swimming and Gymnastics, and had a quiet day.

She ate at 9:00 and at 1:00 I gave her a 25 dose of minocycline with 4 ml apple juice and 2 pinches of sugar. She has been sleeping well tonight, and I think her tooth is hurting her less, and she is learning not to bite her own fingers. Today she was reaching for her pacifier which was out of reach, and it is attached to a pink string. She pulled the string which brought it closer and then picked up the pacifier by its red rim. She has been putting it into her mouth often, although she doesn't always get good aim, sometimes she chews on the side, but sometimes she is focused, uses two hands and puts it directly into her mouth.

Now What do I do with Them?

Now What do I do with Them?
Originally uploaded by vczdavis

Day 22 Friday 8/8

This morning Holly had a session with Katie her OT/IDS. She did tummy time balance on her Ball, did an exercise where she squeezes her arms then stretches, which makes her looser, and practiced reaching. Katie and I agree that Holly's tone is not much better.

Today holly read stories, sang songs, and played. We went to swim class in the afternoon. She has been fussy and very chewy, and we noticed that she has her first tooth breaking through the skin, it is pretty sharp and I think she has bitten herself a few times using her fingers as a teething ring.

She had been very concentration full, in her play and has reached to get toys. In the evening we watched the Olympic Opening Ceremony and she really enjoyed all the colors. In the late afternoon we were driving and she was very frantic and grumpy and she cried so much she made herself throw-up It is so hard to take when she does that and I can;t calm her because I am driving. once I was able to pull over and take her out of her car seat she calmed down right away, but she was frantic in the seat.

She also actually had 2 poopie diapers tonight, which could have contributed to her fussyness.

She had her last meal at 8:30 and I gave her a dose of 25 Minocycline with 4ml Apple Juice and 3 pinches of Sugar at 11:30. She drank it down. She wasn't sleeping well, she kept waking up whimpering but immediately fell asleep once I gave her the dropped pacifier.