We thought we had it all figured out

And then we decided to go and have another baby.  They say you should never compare siblings; As different as snowflakes, no two kids are the same.  Boy isn’t that the truth.  I had Mallory to learn from for 3.5 years.  Though, I wasn’t cocky, I sure thought I had most of it figured out on life’s first 3 years.  There is no doubt that I will continue to learn as Mallory goes from age to stage and gets more wise and sassy beyond her years.  But I thought we would breeze through Mikayla’s first year without so much as looking back.  We were seasoned.  We were all stars when it came to keeping a baby alive for its first 3 years, we could do it. 

Ha.

Mikayla makes my head spin in circles.  First there was the colic phase.  YIKES.  This is an innocent baby curse I wish upon not even my worst enemy.  Once that was done and over we continued to battle reflux trying desperately to keep her comfortable with chiropractic care.  For whatever reason this didn't relieve her discomfort so we resorted to medicating her with baby Zantac.  A decision that came with much consideration to the pros and cons, and in the end, it came down to her needing to be comfortable and content. Now that seems to be taken care of, ahhh, I sigh out of relief hoping that the rest of her first year will be a ride on easy street…

She started solids recently.  First taking cereal in her bottle to help with the reflux and now we are attempting to add in some veggies during the day.   Due to allergies to soy and lactose this little baby is forced to drink the most foul smelling formula EVER.  Seriously, it smells like raw potatoes.  You’d think introducing something as tasty as fresh squash would come as a blessing to her tiny taste buds.  Nope.  Mikayla winces, shivers and spits out every. single. bite.  Are you as dizzy as I am yet?  A week shy of 6 months and this little girl purses her lips shut at the sight of something orange coming remotely close to her little lips. 

Mikayla had a cold this past week.  She had a runny nose and a slight cough. We’ve done baby colds before, it should have been no big deal.  Until Thursday evening came.  All she wanted to do was sleep, but she couldn’t sleep because she was coughing so hard she couldn’t catch her breath.  Her cough would make her throw up phlegm which then would get caught in her throat and cause to her cough some more having trouble breathing.  Scary.  Of course it was beyond office hours at our clinic.  A quick call for Brent to come home from work early and then Mikayla and I were off.  A few too many hours in the ER we got home at 1:00 AM with the advice to watch her and if she spikes a fever to bring her back.  Friday morning brought a high fever and a baby who wasn’t doing any better.  We headed to her pediatrician who told us she had RSV and an ear infection as well.  We nursed her back to health all weekend long and she is getting back to her calm and content self as each day passes.  But really…couldn’t she have just gotten a cold? 

And so it goes.  She continues to teach us new things about parenting with each and every new experience we go through.  I know this learning experiences will seem minute in a few months time; you know, when she’s figured out how to climb out of her crib and scale the deck railing this summer.  Yeah, that’s when the little things about her first 6 months won’t even make us bat an eye…