Archer is 3 Months and Ava Has a Seizure

Well, we had a very interesting-and scary-morning around here! So I wanted to write a moment about that before I did Mr. Archer's 3 month post.  Ava wasn't feeling well this morning, so we kept her home from school and planned a 10:00 doctor's appointment. But at about 9 this morning, as I was about to give her a bath, she had her first clonic-tonic seizure, previously known as grand mal seizures. I had just put her into the water, and she was standing, holding onto the handle. I noticed she was VERY rigid, so I thought maybe the water was hotter or colder than she expected. But when she looked at me, I knew immediately something was wrong. She looked panic stricken, and her pupils were so dilated, you could barely see any blue at all.  I immediately followed the seizure protocol- I picked her up, laid her on her side on the bathmat, and tried to stay as calm as I could, while reassuring her it was going to be okay. Cole was in the shower and couldn't hear my yelling for him, so I eventually gave up on that, figuring that my screaming wasn't doing anything to help her stay calm. It lasted about two minutes- I didn't have my phone or a watch, but the radio was on and it lasted through a song (I honestly can't remember which one) and a few commercials. When she came out of it, she was very upset at first, then very lethargic for several minutes. After that, she was just tired and very agitated.

We immediately loaded up and took her to the ER at ACH. They gave her a "loading dose" of Keppra, then gave us a prescription for it, along with dystatin (a seizure rescue medication) and an antibiotic for an ear infection that she has. We are not sure if the ear infection/sickness was a contributing factor to the seizure or not, but we are now adding Keppra to our daily medications. That brings our daily meds up to four- two seizure meds, a reflux medication, and an anti-drool medication. She also takes melatonin at night, although I don't consider that a "medicine" per se.

We got home about 1:00, and we were all so exhausted! We all took a nap- even Archer! Ava is still asleep- she hasn't even had lunch! It was a LONG morning for us all. Especially our sweet girl. Poor baby.

Speaking of babies...ARCHER turned 3 months yesterday! I can't believe it! He is getting so big!

Weight

You are about 1 oz shy of weighing 15 lbs now!

Length

You are still very long, and are in the higher percentiles for sure! You measured 25" at our nutrition appointment yesterday, but we had a hard time getting you to stretch out. You were 25" at your last check up, so I know you are longer than that now. But even at 25", that puts you in the 75-90%!

Clothes

You now wear all 3-6 and 6-9 month clothes, more and more 6-9 month. I went in the attic yesterday and found your sister's old clothes that are more unisex. Lucky you, mommy loved buying Ava jeans! You now have LOTS of blue jeans to wear, which is fun, because they are so cute on you! You wear size 3 diapers now.

Nicknames

Arch, Bub, Bubs, Bubba, Brother, Chubs, Chunky Monkey, BuddaBall

Food

You are exclusively breastfed, and will take a bottle if you have to (of breast milk). But you won't take it from me at all! You love to eat and are eating every 3-4 hours usually. Although sometimes you still want to eat every 1-2 (I think that is when you are going through a growth spurt). You nurse for about 10-20 minutes on one side at a feeding, and it seems to work pretty well for us! I can now pretty much eat anything I want, and you handle it well thanks to your reflux medicine! You have started going about 5 or 6 hours each night, which has been nice! You eat around 10-11, then not again until 3 or 4.

                                                                              Sleep

You are sleeping more and more at night these days, and I LOVE IT! Still not through the night, but I am hopeful!

Fun Stuff- some are the same from months 1 and 2!

* You smile and laugh a lot!

* You love your owl mobile that is on your pack & play. That is about the only way I am able to get a shower these days!

* You love to bat at things and love to stare at yourself in the mirror and look at lights and fans!

* You have started tolerating your carseat better, which has been nice!

* You surprisingly enjoy bathtime and it seems to calm you down.

* You have stopped screaming during clothes changes, and you still love to be naked! You just smile and smile when you are stripped down!

* You are more content to just be held without having to be moving. I think now that you are seeing more and noticing more, the movement isn't as important for your sensory input. (listen to me, all OTish! HAHA!)

* You are only fussy in the evenings now, and those times seem to be getting shorter and shorter!

* You love to sit up in my lap, look around, and especially look at our faces and the cross wall!

* You hold your head up so well and are very strong. You are really starting to enjoy tummy time as long as you have a mirror or book to look at!

* You are ALMOST rolling over! Won't be long at all!

* You have started taking a paci on a regular basis. It still isn't "needed" for you, but you will take it and enjoy it some, too.

 

* You are super gassy and have really stinky toots! But most of the time it doesn't bother you!

Archer- happy 3 month birthday!!! We love you so much and you have brought so much joy and happiness to our lives! We love you!

~Mommy, Daddy, and Sister (Ava)