Addison - the 8mos. old!

So wow! Addison's 8th month was quite the adventurous one. After 7 months of great health, no scares and no worries - we were dealt with a full deck of issues.

ER Visits
On Tuesday, January 5th, Addison had a small seizure. She was in her Bumpo chair while I was getting ready for work. All of a sudden, I looked at her and her head had dropped down to the side and she had a funny look on her face. I crouched down to look at her and her eyes were glazed over, then they started to flutter and roll back in her head and she started to tremble. I rushed and got her out of the chair and ran to call 911.
By the time I was done with the 911 call, the shaking had stopped and she was just out of it. I was instructed to lay her on her side, so I sat with her across my lap on the floor of her nursery. Moments later, the EMT's werethere. They didn't see anything wrong with her, by then she was her usual self. They checked her temperature and her vitals. She was taken to the ER for further tests.
In the ER, they took blood work (from her heel) and checked her temperature and vitals again. Everything came back clear.
That afternoon we took her in to see her Pediatrician who scheduled an EEG for the following Monday. The EEG results came back clean, so still no answers. We hoped this meant the seizure was a fluke and we wouldn't have to worry about it again.
However, only three weeks later, while at Auntie Lorie's she had another seizure in the afternoon. This time, it lasted longer than a minute - long enough for the paramedics to witness the final moments of the seizure. So again, she was taken to the ER. They took more blood work, this time from her arm which was terribly painful for us to watch Addison have to go through. They also gave her a CAT scan. Again, both test came back clear. We went to see the Pediatrician again and he gave us a referral to see a Neurologist. The earliest appointment we could get in Mid-March. After the initial appointment, Addison will most likely be scheduled for an extended EEG - which is a 48hr. EEG. I am not sure how that would work - but we are patiently awaiting the appointment.
In the meantime, Addison was prescribed medicine that we give her rectally in the event of another seizure lasting longer than a minute. We hope we never have to use this, but it is good to know it is there.

The First Cold
In between the two seizures, Addison got her first cold that lasted a little over a week. We wondered if perhaps the onslaught of the cold could have caused the first seizure, since that is somewhat common even though she didn't have a fever at the time of the seizure. She came down with the cold 3 days after the seizure and it was a lot of chest congestion and from what we could tell - a very sore throat. So that meant many sleepless nights for us all, with her coughing and screaming in pain. One day, her fever was 103 while she was at Auntie Lorie's so she ended up taking her to the doctor that instructed us to give her Motrin and Tylenol on a rotating basis for her fever. Tim stayed at home with her the next few days and her fever came and went. Then, her first day back at Auntie Lorie's - she spiked another high fever in the late afternoon, so I took off work early to take her into the doctor again who told us to just keep going with the Motrin/Tylenol and that this was most likely a virus so there was nothing else we could do - it just had to run it's course. Which it did in a matter of a few more days.

IN HAPPIER NEWS....let's review Addison's developments!

Talking
Addison consistently says "mamamamama", "bababababababa" and "dadaddadadadda" and some combinations of those. This does not mean she says "mama" or "dada", although sometimes we like to pretend ;) She does, however, understand when we say "where's mama" or "where's dada" she will look at the appropriate person.

Eating
She is eating more and more. She now eats the following fruits and veggies: sweet potatoes, corn, green beans, peas, squash, carrots, pears, apples, bananas, strawberries and peaches. We've also been giving her Gerber sweet potato puffs that she can feed herself and water in a sippy cup, although she doesn't drink too much of that.
I still nurse her in the morning and at bedtime, as well as through the night when she awakes. But many times we need to supplement a bottle, as I don't think nursing is quick enough for her and she gets frustrated - although she still finds it soothing.

Sitting, Rolling, Crawling
Addison constistently sits up unassisted for long periods of time. She only tips over when she is trying to get something out of reach or wants to roll over. She rolls everywhere now and quickly so the baby proofing has begun. She has some noise-making toys we have set up on the ground for her that keeps her well entertained.
When on her belly, she will push herself up to a crawling position and rocks back and forth, although no progression forward yet.
She still enjoys time in the jumperoo, although more of her time is spent rolling around on the living room floor.
She will be on the move before we know it!