March 5

Eli and I took Lily to the ENT today. 

Before we went, I made myself a little cheat sheet. Here's a quick recap: the whole saga began on December 12 when Lily's eardrum ruptured and we learned that she had ear infections. We went back for a recheck on December 26, only to find that the other eardrum had ruptured, and she still had an ear infection. We went back for her 18-month checkup on January 19, to find that her ears were no longer infected, but that her right eardrum was still perforated and showing no signs of healing. Our doctor referred us to an ENT then, but due to Eli's unexpected arrival, that didn't happen. At Eli's one-month checkup on February 27, Lily's ears weren't infected, but the right eardrum was still looking abnormal. So, off to the ENT we went.

After a quick look, he agreed that the right ear looked abnormal. The audiologist did a tympanogram, which indicated that Lily's left ear was great, and that the right eardrum, while no longer perforated, was filled with fluid and not functioning normally. The ENT gave us a prescription for nasal steroids, in the hope that they would help the fluid drain and prevent any further ear infections. I asked about chiropractic treatment to help the ear drain, and he discarded the idea immediately. Still, I think we are going to try get Lily adjusted by a chiropractor a few times before we begin the steroids.

Lily was so cooperative during the visit that the doctor let her pick a treat from his treasure drawer. Her choice?

These awesome zebra-striped sunglasses.

They don't quite fit, but the girl knows she looks awesome in them.

Thankfully, the ENT was really close to my mom's house, so after our appointment we made a quick visit for diaper changes and to feed Eli. Then we picked Daisy up from preschool and headed home for lunch and naps. 

Eli and I even got to take a nap while the girls slept!

Hello, sweet sleeping baby! Also, can you see his eyelashes? You can? Isn't it amazing? Three weeks ago, the child's eyelashes were barely visible. Now that he's past his due date, he has eyelashes. It's funny what three weeks can do.

For reference, here are Eli's eyelashes at two weeks, with a really nice camera with a magnifying lens:

Now, they are dark and visible to the naked eye.

More sleeping baby. Then I came to my senses and put my cell phone down and napped right next to that child.

As I got dinner together tonight, Eli began fussing. Chris picked him up to soothe him, and went into the other room. A few minutes later, he returned like this: 

He had wrapped Eli up in the stretchy wrap, all by himself!

This is a big deal because I've been forcing Chris, often against his will, to practice wrapping the baby. I've refused to do it for him, in the hope that he would learn to do it himself. It all came to a head a few nights ago, when Chris frustratedly informed me that he didn't want to learn how to do it - he just wanted me to do it for him. But Chris is a hands-on daddy who loves wearing his baby, and he knows that it's a sure-fire way to make a fussy baby happy. I wanted him to have this tool in his toolbox, so that if ever I was away, he could still handle Eli. So he stuck with it, and tonight he did it all by himself for the first time!

We were all pretty happy. It takes a manly man to be able to wrap his babies without help!

Eli got hungry and fussy right about bedtime, but Daisy really wanted to hold her brother. Chris placed a screaming Eli in Daisy's lap, and she said, "Mommy! I am holding Eli and you can take my picture!"

I didn't dare turn her down. I took the picture, then took Eli and spent the next hour and a half feeding the hungry boy.

And then there's this big girl. There's nothing like a premature newborn to make her seem like a big kid all of a sudden! But she's handled the whole situation remarkably well. We are blessed to have this girl!