The Feet Thing

Annie went to the caridiologist this week to get the whole "cold feet thing" checked out. In a nutshell, it's very common for babies to have cold feet and hands because their circulation systems are still maturing. It's even common for them to turn all sorts of colors, like hers were doing. Before he told me this I told him how her feet were bright purple while we were in our pediatrician's office, and he smiled at me expectedly and said, "and what did she say?" I said, "she was concerned, and that's why we're here." He looked baffled and said, "well, she should have told you that it's absolutely normal." Sooo, basically we paid for an ultrasound and all sorts of cardio testing to be informed that it was something that is very common and will go away.

I don't know, I still think it's good that she's so thorough and makes sure we look into things, just in case. It could have been a much different story, and I'm so glad it wasn't! And it is nice to have a doctor who hears things and does her best to prove that it's nothing, rather than blow it off. Because I've heard horror stories. So I'm still glad we went.

It also was kind of fun, to be honest with you! It was a pediatric cardiologist, so there were toys everywhere and the nurses and doctor were so good with kids. They loved Annie, she charmed everyone. She has this thing where when we introduce her to someone, she smiles really big and holds her arms out to people to be held by them, and my lord, people LOVE. IT. I mean, who wouldn't love a baby who is so friendly? The nurse who prepped her and ran the tests was awesome. She sang to her and played with her through the whole thing, Annie didn't even mind having 20 stickers with clamps hanging off them pasted all over her chest or blood pressure cuffs on her arms and thighs (little baby cuffs, so cute! Oh, and the nurse theorized that she might not even feel the leg squeezing since her thighs are so chunky. He.) Then we went to see the doctor, who was equally awesome. Very reassuring, knows his stuff, great with kids, genuinely seems to love what he does. Can't do better than that.

He said it was still good to have her in so she could get a full heart workup. The only issue he found was a murmur. He said it has a very "musical tone to it," which Paul found hilarious. He said he's not concerned about it and we shouldn't be either, that it shouldn't cause her any problems, and that he just wants to see us next year to check it to make sure it's still nice and musical. (He didn't actually say that last part, I just imagine it's something he would say.) So we go back next year almost to the day. I've got to be honest, I'm looking forward to seeing these people again, that's how great they were!

Funny story, I told my mom that the doctor said it was so common it has a name, but he didn't write down the name, so I couldn't remember what it was. So Paul acts like he's thinking about it for a minute, and says, "Hmmm...I'm pretty sure he called it 'Pediatrician Paranosis.'" He. Poor Dr. M. Seriously, we're glad she's thorough!

This week Annie is saying "Ba ba ba ba" over and over again, and if you say it to her, she'll repeat it back. Yesterday she threw in a couple of "Pa pa"s and "Ma ma"s. Thursday Wendy said that she was crawling towards a big book on the floor and when Wendy said "Annie no!" and she stopped crawling and headed back to Wendy. Wendy was amazed. I was surprised too. I've been working on it since she started crawling, and usually when I say "Annie....no...." in a firm tone, she stops what she's doing and looks at me, but she'll go back to it. I'm very excited that she's starting to get what it means! Especially since she's so active--she crawls from the living room to the kitchen now, and there are a lot of no no's out there. And I'm afraid walking is going to be here before we know it: when she's standing she takes steps. Paul said she went from one end of her crawl and cruise to the other the other day. Lord help us. I'm still hoping for a couple more months.

So this whole "understanding words" thing means that I really, really need to focus on cleaning up my, ahem, language. I will be on the lookout for some good, catchy alternatives to the usual swear words I throw around. Which have not been good lately. Oh no, they have not been good. Hopefully something will stick soon!