Showing all posts by Sherry

My sweet Josephine Ruth Carpenter is already 11 months old.  It feels like time has moved even more swiftly with her, than with Faith.  She keeps me busy… both of them do!  And before I knew it… almost a whole year has passed.

 

 

She has developed such a unique personality.  She is very empathetic.  The moment she hears Faith cry, she stops whatever she is doing and goes to comfort her.  However, Jo is extremely feisty, too!  She has a temper, and she likes to rough-house.  She smacks me in the face often, and finds it funny.  I can tell her “No.” til the cows come home, and she will keep on doing it.  BUT the moment I pretend to cry… she stops immediately and hugs me.  She looks up at me with big eyes and still holds me close until she sees me smile.  Oh goodness, that girl.

Her ultimate favorite song and video on Youtube is “Girls just wanna have fun” by Cyndi Lauper.  She has listened to that song thousands of times, and it NEVER gets old for her. 

Her favorite toys are her little plastic donkey, and baby dolls.  She hugs her baby dolls and pats their backs while she holds them.  It’s so adorable.  God has truly given her the gift of comfort and compassion toward others.  It’s amazing to watch such a little baby behave this way.  

She has learned to pull herself up all on her own now, but she is still not quite ready to take those first steps all on her own.  She only takes a step or two with help from Aaron or myself.

Last week I took Jo to her pediatrician.  She was having some orange stains in her diapers that I have never seen before.  

 

They needed a urine sample from her, and unfortunately they had to use a catheter to get it.  It tested positive for a urinary tract infection.  She is now on antibiotics.  Tomorrow I will find out the additional tests they’ve done on her urine.  They wanted to further check for any other bacterial growth that might be there.  

Children under 6 years of age (and especially babies) having a UTI is uncommon.  The pediatrician said that if a child has 2 UTI’s under 6 years of age, they have to see a urologist because it might be something more serious.  For example, something wrong with her kidneys.  Please pray that tomorrow’s test results show nothing of major concern, and that Josephine will heal completely from her infection.

 

Next month will be Jo’s very first birthday!  I am so excited to start preparations for her party!  My sweet Josephine :)

Gave Jo some eggs. She started getting red blotches and bumps around her mouth. Is this a sign she’s allergic to eggs? She ate some eggs before but very little and I didn’t notice anything before. However, this time she ate more and was feeding herself.

 

The big 10 month old! :)

 

A lot has happened this month!  Jo now has 6 teeth! Four on top and two on bottom.  She is beginning to take her first steps already, but only with help.  She tries to climb up to a standing position on her own, but is still not ready to take steps alone.  Only with mommy and daddy right by her side to encourage her!  She crawls all the time now, but it’s not a regular crawl. She likes scooting along mostly on her butt with one leg bent under her.  

She is learning what yes and no means and she shakes her head no often, and sometimes nods for yes.  She is eating more finger foods, but still seems to have an overly sensitive gag reflex.  She is still primarily on breast milk.  

She is still in the 5th percentile for her weight but she is growing and thriving according to her pediatrician.  She is just a petite thing but healthy!  

She is LOUD.  When she gets excited about something she yells, “AAAHH!!!!”  And waves her arms.  She loves hearing the bath water run. She loves hearing my Kitchen-aid mixer turn on.  She loves hearing the vacuum, too, but sometimes she’s afraid of it.  She says “Mama” all the time.  A couple times she has tried to say “Dada” but it came out “yaya.”

Josephine is SO loving towards Faith when her big sister gets hurt or is upset.  She crawls to her and hugs her.  Kisses her and pats her head or her back.  She tries to make Faith smile.  She absolutely hates it when Fait is hurt or upset.

And Faith did get her just recently!  We were all at Kohls the other day.  Faith was dancing around and slipped.  Her chin hit the tile floor.  We had to go to the emergency room and she got 3 stitches!  Getting stitched up was more traumatizing for Faith than the actual fall she had.  

A male nurse wrapped her up like a burrito in a sheet to keep her arms down, and he held her head tight while a female nurse numbed her chin.  It was very painful for her because she screamed a scream I had never heard from her before.  She was writhing in pain.  I felt so helpless and all I could tell her is to, “Hold still! You’re so tough! You’re doing great! Almost over!”  Aaron was holding Jo.  He turned her away so she couldn’t see.  Jo was very confused about what was going on, and wasn’t happy at all.

I hated seeing Faith go through this.  After she was numbed, she still remained wrapped tightly while 3 stitches were placed in her chin.  

Thank you Jesus … once it was over… Faith settled down AND smiled.  Jo was happy, too, to see Faith at ease.

 

What a month it has been!  I only hope and pray that Jo doesn’t get stitches next!  She is learning to walk already!  Lord help us! :)

 

Oh!… one last thing.  Jo kept trying so hard to distract Faith in the emergency room, and make her laugh.  Aaron took a video of Jo sounding off with her signature yell.  I can only imagine what the nurses in the hallway were thinking!