Zoe's Personality Shines at 8 Months

Zoe Lucia at eight months

April was a busy month in the Miller house. Zoe's seventh month started with a trip to Boone, NC to join mommy (and daddy, Rose and Darwin) for work. We extended the trip an extra day to see the mountains and check out things to do and places to eat in/around the NC mountains. Unfortunately, the trip corresponded with a cold spell, and record low overnight temperatures, so we took our time getting out there and limited the activities we had planned outdoors. Both girls did great (better than Darwin), though they had a very late bedtime the first night. Thankfully, they proved themselves capable of sleeping through the night with lights on and through each other's sleep noises. They did most of their napping in the car, but that was to be expected. Since I had to work one day, Colin was able to manage both girls and Darwin while I was busy.

Except for that one cold weekend in April, most of the month has been very comfortable temperature-wise. There have been several weekends that have called for high chances of rain, but few have been wash outs. We mostly stayed in and around the Triangle, getting to: check out some local farms one weekend with the Piedmont Farm Tour; going strawberry picking another weekend at a Cary, NC farm that also had some kid-friendly activities; visiting the Durham Museum of Life and Sciences (where we have an annual pass); going on train and carousel rides at Pullen Park in Raleigh; listening to music and bouncing in the bounce house at Park West Village in Morrisville; and having picnic dinners with some events at Waverly Place in Cary.

The Miller ladies on the train at the Durham Museum of Life and Sciences

I have lots of pictures to share from many of our adventures and will try to post some over the coming days and weeks. Most of the pictures and videos are of Rose because Zoe often falls asleep while being worn in the baby carrier. She's on a schedule of napping about 3 times a day and could take or leave a pacifier. Sometimes it is used to calm her, but she has no problems falling asleep without it. Her first nap is usually 9 or 10am for an hour or so. The second one is mid-day (1ish) for about 2 hours, and the third is usually around 4 or 5pm. This final one is difficult on school days because I am often picking her up just after she has fallen asleep, or she falls asleep on the 5 minute ride home. Thankfully, she continues to sleep through the night, from about 8pm to 6am (give or take 30 minutes). She wants to eat at 6am, and sometimes goes back to sleep with me (if I nurse her in the bed), or gets up and hangs out with daddy. They sometimes take Darwin for a walk together, and Zoe usually watches daddy make breakfast in the kitchen while I get Rose ready for school. At night, Zoe sleeps all night on her back, but it seems she sleeps on her belly at school and at home during naps. As she becomes more mobile, she has started pulling herself up in her crib. It's almost time to drop the mattress a little farther down.

Getting ready to have breakfast

On the topic of being mobile, Zoe is getting very close to crawling, and is fairly sturdy at pulling herself up to standing. Sometimes she forgets that she can't stand on her own and she'll grab a ball or toy with both hands while standing (and let go of whatever is holding her up). Sometimes she cries at the fall and other times it doesn't bother her. She is able to crawl "backwards" where she gets on all fours and can go in reverse, but hasn't figured out how to coordinate hands and knees to move forward. A few times she has tried crawling forwards with one knee down and pushing herself with her other foot. She often gets from point A to point B through a series of maneuvers, but it is not yet efficient.

A few days after our trip to Boone, Zoe developed a spotty rash all over her belly that did not look like her typical ezcema. When it didn't go away after 3 days, we took her to the doctor, who was baffled by her lack of itching. Since the rash did not spread beyond her belly, she didn't have a fever, and she didn't scratch at it, the doctor assumed it was viral. But, there was a possibility of it being chicken pox, and all we could do was watch it to see what it did at day 5 (when it was suppose to blister, or "pox"). On day 5 Zoe did develop a fever and her appetite was pitiful, but the spots never changed or spread. When they didn't go away after 10 days, we were back at the doctor. He had to bring in a colleague for a second opinion and both doctors thought an antibiotic cream was the best course of action. They believed it still was viral, but it is uncommon for a viral rash to last more than a week. Thankfully, after just a day or two of the antibiotic cream, Zoe's skin cleared up. At the same time Zoe had the rash, Rose was also battling a rash on her bottom. My suspicion is that one of them picked up something on our trip and passed it to the other. We had to keep Zoe out of school for a week (on what would have been her second week of school) but thankfully she has been back since it cleared and hasn't had further problems.

Once we got her past the belly rash, her entire skin has looked much better. It seems the weather is the #1 factor. When the weather turned warmer and more humid (which it has been for most of the second half of April and early May), we noticed the eczema improved. I've even brought dairy and food baked with eggs back into my diet (yay for cheese!!), and she has remained mostly clear. She's even been more smiley (even for the camera).

She's so happy her skin is less dry

For most of her seventh month, Zoe was pooping once a day, except for the week she had her rash. During that week, we went 5 days without a poop, which has been the longest she's ever gone. With her eating a combination of solid foods and breast milk, her poops are smelly, soft and sticky (sorry for the description for those who'd rather not know). We continue to cloth diaper, and this is the phase when a diaper liner works well to provide a barrier between the diaper and the poop. Some people like the diaper sprayer, but we've pretty much given up on that. Zoe wears a disposable diaper at night, and cloth diapers the rest of the time.

The solid foods Zoe now consumes include soups (with onions, carrots, celery, beans and a meat like chicken or sausage), chicken, beef, hummus, carrots, cauliflower, lentils, oatmeal (plain or with fruit like bananas, raisins, or strawberries), sweet potatoes, and avocado. She loves bananas, and does pretty good on her oatmeal, carrots, cauliflower, and beef.  We basically blend what we are eating and try to introduce a new food item every few days. At school she broke out in a rash after eating hummus on two separate occasions, but we did not notice it happen at home. Both times, the rash cleared as quickly as it came. In addition to foods, Zoe can also drink from the straw on our camelbak water bottles, drink from a sippy cup, and she can drink from a regular cup (with one of us holding it). A lot of the water lands on her shirt, but it's good for her to learn.

During my work days, Zoe continues to drink more milk than I pump, so I am going through my freezer stash of pumped milk, but not yet stressing on it getting too low. She takes about 3 bottles of 5-7oz each, and sometimes a 4th bottle with 3-4 ounces. I'm hoping we can introduce more solid foods this month and get her to eating fairly well by 10 months so I won't stress when I get close to the end of the frozen milk. Occasionally, I will have an opportunity to pump an extra bottle of milk on the weekends to store for future use, but it isn't enough to make up for the extra bottles she takes during the week. In addition, she still has not cut her first tooth. She rubs her gums all the time, salivates often, and acts like she is teething, but I don't feel any teeth coming through her gums, nor do I see any starting to show.

As Zoe grows and phases out of a the infant stage, her personality continues to present itself. She is a very shy girl and often hides her face in my shoulder when new people greet her. I've started seeing a few glimpses of separation anxiety at school, especially at the start of a new week. She is startled by loud noises and I can tell when she's unsure/afraid of something because she will cling to me. She is extremely tolerant to her sister's roughness, and will protest when someone tries taking away something she wants. Just about every evening at dinner, she tells us she is ready to be done and to get in her pajamas. Once she is changed and ready for bed, she's a happy girl again.

I love this age. Zoe is the chubby baby that can sit up and stand holding on to things. When I nurse her, she fits so perfectly in my arms and feels solid, but squishy. She reacts to us, and knows who we are. She loves laughing with her sister and giving mommy and daddy big smiles. One of her latest favorite things to do is to make bubbles and lip-flapping noises with her mouth. She gets very excited and squeals with delight when she is successful. She likes flipping through books, figuring out how to make noises come from the various toys in the house, banging utensils on the table, and putting everything in her mouth (including sticks and sand). The silicone water bottle mouthpiece is one of her favorite things to chew on. She also loves petting Darwin and grabbing at his paws.

Rose pushing Zoe in a cardboard box

Rose loves taking her picture with Zoe

Rose and Zoe seem to love each other, though I often have to teach Rose to be more gentle. Rose also likes to be the mommy and be the teacher. Sometimes it is helpful, like when she comforts Zoe and plays with her. Many other times, however, she tries to discipline Zoe or take toys away. We try to encourage and praise the positive behaviors. It is really hard to discipline and/or correct the negative behaviors. Rose sometimes gets very jealous of Zoe, especially when I need to care for/nurse for Zoe (which happens often in the evening). We strive to model good behaviors and actions, hoping they are picked up by the girls.

We don't have any new stats for Zoe's growth from the doctor. They didn't do height and weight measurements for her visits this month. Her next checkup will be in June.

Stay tuned for pictures and short recaps of our spring fun adventures and an update on Miss Rose!

Zoe at 4 Months

Beautiful girl Zoe

We have entered into the phase of significant developmental changes with Miss Zoe. During the month of December, she turned into quite the chatterbox. She loves talking to her family and her toys. When Rose is in the room, Zoe's eyes follow her wherever she goes, and she loves watching Darwin. She has become increasingly more attentive and reacts to our animated faces with great joy. I'm grateful that she has proven herself to be very tolerant of her sister's less-than-gentle ways, and that she continues to be very healthy and strong.

During her fourth month, we continued dealing with Zoe's skin rash and sensitivity on and off. We were in the northeast during early December and had to apply lotion and vaseline to her face daily, and sometimes several times per day because the air was so cold and dry. I stopped eating dairy after reading about the various causes of eczema in infants, which can include the mother's diet in breastfed babies. We did notice some improvement, but it was really difficult to maintain that diet while traveling, and especially hard over the holidays. The dairy seemed be be a major trigger, but there also seemed to be something else that caused the rash that I couldn't figure out. In addition to the dairy, I eliminated breads (because of yeast) and eggs. When I was off all three ingredients she did seem to do a lot better, but it is so hard to stay away from all of these when eating out. So many restaurants cook with butter!

We noticed the greatest improvement in Zoe's skin during the few days that we went to Hilton Head over Christmas. I think Zoe is trying to tell us we need to live at the beach! Her daddy is in complete agreement. During those few days at the beach, we cooked most of our meals at home since restaurants were closed. I was able to keep to a strict yeast, dairy, and egg-free diet.  Unfortunately, when we arrived back home, she had a few more flare ups, making me question whether it was diet or environmental. It was so frustrating to not be able to control the rash, and to not be able to completely be in control of my food intake because of eating out on the last day of our trip. I also hated lathering her face with over the counter hydrocortisone cream, which seemed to be the only thing that would help clear her face when it was rashy. The worst though, was seeing her uncomfortable and itchy. We had to cover her hands with mittens because I just couldn't keep her nails trimmed enough or prevent her from scratching her head and face. Leading up to her 4 month doctor's appointment, her face was not only rashy, but raw from her rubbing, scratched up from her nails, and a little dry from the cold weather and forced hot central air.

Zoe at 4 months

At that 4-month doctor's appointment we arrived without treating her face with any hydrocortisone so the doctor could see how bad it was. Thankfully, Zoe was given a clean bill of health otherwise, giving the doctor her full attention and showing off all her skills during the visit. We spent most of the time discussing what to do about the rash. The doctor swabbed the areas that were raw to test for bacteria, and gave us two cream-based prescriptions, a 2% hydrocortisone and an antibiotic, after we voiced our objections to an oral antibiotic. He said the skin was likely infected (needing an antibiotic and confirmed to be a staph, not MRSA, infection), and that we really needed to treat it with the hydrocortisone to keep Zoe from being so uncomfortable. In his opinion, it would be too difficult to figure out the cause of the rash. I had hoped we could identify the cause, but really didn't expect the doctor to have an answer. One of the most helpful suggestions we received at the doctor's office came from the front desk staff who suggested filing nails instead of using the scissors.

Within 24 hours of treating the rash with the antibiotic, it was significantly better. Instead of using the 2% hydrocortisone cream, I found a 0.5% over the counter (marketed "for sensitive skin") that seemed to work really well in combination with the antibiotic cream. I decided not to use the 2% after reading the medication information inside of the package that said no research had been done on children under 2. While I don't like that the 0.5% hydrocortisone also says not for children under 2, I feel a little better that it is not as potent. The doctor told us there would be no problems using the over-the-counter (1%) hydrocortisone long-term, but I will continue to use the minimum amount necessary to keep the rash at bay. We only needed the antibiotic a few days to clear up the rash, and used the hydrocortisone daily for a few weeks. Now, at 3 weeks since starting the medication regularly (and me continuing to avoid dairy and eggs, and sometimes bread), we only spot treat with hydrocortisone as needed.

Sweet Zoe enjoying a rest in the co-sleeper

As Zoe approached 4 months, and I started working in the office again, we transitioned Zoe from the co-sleeper in our bedroom to her crib in her own room. The transition was fairly easy, starting with a few naps in her crib to putting her down in her crib at night. We still swaddle her at night only and try to put her down sleepy, but awake. Sometimes she falls asleep while nursing and I am unable to arouse her before putting her to bed. We've also continued using the incline wedge since she seems to sleep better on the incline than flat on her back.

Her overnight schedule continues to be a challenge, and was especially difficult at the notorious "4 month sleep regression." I had read about it and thankfully only experienced one night where she woke to nurse every two hours on the dot (11:30p, 1:30a, 3:30a and 5:30a). At least it was over the weekend, when I could sleep in the next day! For the most part, Zoe goes to sleep around 7:30-8pm when Rose does, and sleeps until 6:30-8am with only a few wake ups. I always check in on her before I go to bed (10:30-11:30p), and will feed her if she stirs when I walk in. If she is sleeping deeply, I don't wake her, and sometimes get woken up shortly after going to bed. She has been waking up around 2am and/or 5am to nurse. The 5am is the tough one for me, and it is really hard when she wakes at both times.

Zoe gets serious in front of the camera

Zoe's eyes remain very blue and she continues to have a fair amount of hair in the back (with serious male-pattern baldness). She smiles so much, but gets very serious while I pull out the camera! She is a very sweet child, and still gets a little tired/cranky in the evenings around dinner time.

We continue to cloth diaper both Rose and Zoe, with both only using disposables at night. The disposables are great at keeping all the pee in the diaper all night (8p-8a) so I don't have to change Zoe when I wake up to feed her. Unfortunately, they are not as good as the cloth diapers at keeping poop explosions in. There have been a few nights where Zoe has pooped during one of her nighttime feeds and I've had to change her whole outfit when I just wanted to finish nursing and get back to bed.

At 4 months, Zoe is outgrowing her 6 month clothes. The doctor weighed her at the 65th percentile (14.2 lbs) and measured her at 23.5 inches, or 33rd percentile. I don't think her height is accurate, but I will confirm that her 6 month clothes are more tight than too short. :)  She is such a cute chunky baby!

Having gone back to work in early January, Zoe now stays with my mom at home while Colin and I are at work and Rose is at school. I try to pump a bottle (or two) before I leave for work and about 3 bottles (all about 4oz each) during the work day. I have a freezer full of stored milk, but much of it was pumped before I went dairy, yeast, or egg-free. I think the first day I went back to the office, when Zoe took a full day's worth of previously pumped milk, was what triggered her really bad rash that became infected. I'm nervous about being able to meet her demand by pumping, and try to pump 3-4 times in the office. So far, no one has commented on my door being closed so often, and I've been able to pump a little extra on a few occasions. I continue to be grateful for a job where I have a private office where I can work as I pump.

Sisterly love for the camera

A couple of friends of mine on Facebook posted a beautiful piece about appreciating each moment in time as it comes. I knew the first three months would be difficult and will admit I looked forward to their passing. But now that Zoe is sleeping a little longer, engaging with us, and sitting up more independently, I want time to slow down. I know life doesn't work like that. Days, weeks, months, and years pass quickly. I want these milestones and these memories to be recorded, which is why I write the blog. But I need to remember to balance documenting the milestones with enjoying them as they happen.