8 months of fun

Alivia had a great checkup today with her pediatrician. The biggest news is that she gained a whole pound since visiting her cardiologist two weeks ago! I'm SO thrilled with her gain and somewhat surprised. She's been doing great eating solids in addition to her regular intake of milk, but I expected maybe a half-pound gain. I'll gladly take a full pound! Yay!

Here are her 8-month stats...

Weight: 14.1 lbs (still 1st percentile, but she'll likely be low on the spectrum for quite some time)
Height: 26 1/4 inches (26th percentile)

Milestones: About to cut her first two teeth, and she's pretty much mobile. She gets as close to crawling stance as she can before eventually scooting/rolling to her desired destination. It seems every day or so she gets herself higher and higher onto all fours. The sight nearly makes me cry; I'm so happy she has the strength to work toward all her milestones after being so weak two months ago.

Likes: Sitting up and rolling, sweet potatoes, ice cream, bananas and yogurt, chewing on everything

Big brother wanted to jump into our quick photo session.

As for the rest of us, we are trying to settle into our new routine, but wow is it exhausting! I work 2.5-3 days a week in the office and then *try* to work from home for a few hours while taking care of the kiddos. Alivia is awake from 6:45 a.m. to 10 p.m. with a couple naps inbetween. It's hard to muster up the energy to do household things like cook and clean, let alone unpack from our move. Plus, we've been enjoying time with friends and family on weekends - lots of parties in the fall to attend! I imagine we'll figure out how to balance everything sooner or later.

Our plan for Alivia is for her to see a doctor (either her ped or her cardiologist) every two weeks to check her weight gain and such. We're hoping she stays as healthy as possible through the flu season. It will be harder for her to fight off infections if she catches something, so we are avoiding daycare, even the church nursery, and being diligent about washing hands.

We still see daily reminders of her heart condition, but they are subtle things. Some days, life almost feels normal, and we are grateful for those moments.