Happy Valentines Day!

We're all happy that Ava has recovered from her cold! She is feeling much better. Luckily, it was just the standard winter cold and not the nasty RSV or flu that we fear.

Ava went in for her 4 month "well baby" checkup at the doctor. He was very impressed with Ava's progress and joked that we had traded babies since the little preemie is now gone. He didn't see anything to be concerned about. Unfortunately, since she looked so good, she also got her vaccinations. She had four shots in a row since the RSV antibodies shot was included (they couldn't tag team her like they did so well in the NICU to make it go quicker). As soon as the alcohol swab got near her leg, she started screaming, already prepared for the pain. She's had a lot of shots in her legs since she was born. We asked for (and got) some sugar water for her to take right before the shots. This is supposed to help slightly with the pain - we put it in her mouth with the pacifier. At the pediatrician they usually just use it for circumcisions or other minor procedures and not for shots, but they had no problem with us being slightly high-maintenance. We had learned about it while at the NICU when Ava got it for her eye exams. A positive side of being in the NICU is all the training and education we received, from so many experienced people! Ava was very cranky for about 12 hours afterward but now seems to have recovered nicely and is feeling fine.

Linda's chemo went well on Thursday. They do have her on a slightly reduced dose now, but her numbers were good and she got the infusion! Four weeks down, and eight to go if all goes as planned. She is feeling pretty good. We have an appointment with her oncologist on Monday to check in on how things are going.

Rob.