Leah at 10 months old

Leah eats ravioli

8/11/02 - Leah is 10 months old now! Where did the time go? She is becoming more like a little person every day. She vacillates between two naps a day and one. She has three top teeth coming in, which along with her two bottom teeth would make a total of five so far. Leah's quite aware of the tapes and television shows she likes, watching with concentration, smiles and laughter. She loves to play with all kinds of toys. Her favorites are musically responsive (drums, keyboards, bells and maracas) and shape sorting (puzzles, chutes, and containers). Leah is becoming more confident in her steps. She "cruises" well around coffee tables, chairs and other low objects, and enjoys wheeling her highchair like a walker. While she often stretches from one object to another, she hasn't let go long enough to be called first steps yet.

8/24/02 - Leah's First Fever-- Leah is 10 and 1/2 months old now. Last night, she awoke every 30 minutes or so crying hard. It was difficult to comfort her, so by 1:30 am, we brought her to bed with us. The crying went on all night as we both took turns staying up with her. By morning, we were all very tired, so after a quick breakfast, we all went back to bed. We assumed Leah was troubled by her two front teeth which are coming in; however, by early afternoon, Leah felt warm. We took her temperature and found it to be 101.5 F. We called the pediatrician immediately and described her symptoms (fever, crying all night, and runny nose). The nurse advised us to wait 24 hours. In the meantime, she suggested two lukewarm baths, Tylenol or Motrin every four hours, and plenty of fluids. Leah became playful in the late afternoon (see picture on the right) and her temperature dropped to 100.5 F, but after her evening nap, we found her hotter than before-- 102 F. She was whining and crying, too. I called back the pediatrician's office. The nurse said not to worry, but to make sure we check her in the middle of the night. If her fever exceeds 103 F, we are to act immediately. If she still has a fever in the morning, we plan to take her in. It's a good thing we found a pediatrician open Saturday and Sunday! I just knew that if our baby ever got sick, it would be on the weekend. Hopefully Leah will be feeling better soon. We'll keep you posted.

8/25/02 - Leah is much better today! Her fever broke by morning and she's in a happier mood. Just to be safe, we're taking it easy today and keeping an eye on her.