16 months!

Standing up like a pro!

April is usually one of my favorite months of the year, and it was still pretty great, but I'm glad it's over. Due to Elsie and Evje catching a series of colds/infections, April was full of boogers, sneezing "snot rockets" (you know what I mean: when sneezing causes boogers to shoot out of the nose all the way down to the chin), sleepless nights, and puke. Lots and lots of puke.

Elsie's gag reflex is so very sensitive that when she has "mucus" drainage, aka boogers going down her throat, it makes her gag and then vomit All The Time. Also, when she gets phlegm into her throat/chest, making her cough, it makes her gag and then vomit All The Time. I had a random moment of contemplation, when I was trying to put myself in her situation. I thought of when I was pregnant and as most pregnant ladies have experienced, your gag reflex at this time is usually pretty sensitive. I know there were several times during my pregnancies that I coughed or even sneezed hard enough to make myself gag. Elsie's gag reflex is on super high alert All The Time, so when she has a respiratory infection, aka cold, she gags even more than normal. This means that if she is gagging, coughing, or sneezing right after or during a meal, she'll throw up. It's inevitable. And during her continuous night-time feedings, when her throat gets dry and she starts coughing, you know what that means ... more puke.

When I'm getting pressure on every side for Elsie to gain weight, throwing up is not what we want. It has been very stressful and frustrating, to say the least. At times I've felt like giving up, or at least like throwing the feeding syringe across the room. I've been trying my hardest to feed her high-calorie, nutritious food, but I can't stop the vomiting. At the same time, I feel so bad for poor Elsie, puking all the time. I know that's not fun or comfortable for her. She has understandably had a decreased interest in oral eating, and I can't say that I blame her.

Anyway, enough complaining. Just know that it sucked. And that most of mine and Elsie's clothes and her sheets now have vomit stains. She is getting better, so we're back to normal amounts of vomit. Ha ha.

In between the puking sessions, April was pretty great! Even though it was a bit early, we declared ourselves free of RSV isolation, and brought Elsie with us wherever we went. We went on a trip to the zoo, to the local indoor swimming pool, and had a picnic in the canyon. We celebrated Easter, and enjoyed playing at the park and outside in the yard. Elsie was also able to come to church with us for the first time since October, which was pretty darn exciting. It's so nice for all of us to be together as a family wherever we go. We are complete.

Developmentally, Elsie is still moving right along and is where she should be. She's still cruising on the furniture and pulling herself up to stand. No independent steps yet, but she'll get there. Elsie is very cautious by nature and is taking her time with this skill until she knows she can do it right. She loves playing with her sister, and snuggling with mom and dad. AND she finally got her first tooth! One cute little toothie, right in the middle of her mouth.

Can't wait to see what this next month will bring!

Here's a peek at that little toothie

Always has something in her mouth, except food ...

We just love this happy little face!