"Boy was I shocked!"

Wed., Sept. 11, 1991

     He said to mix it half & half. We didn't try it for awhile cause we forgot to get any at the store. But we did start doing it in her bedtime bottle. I didn't put quite as much as he said cause it seemed too thick. She didn't seem to notice the difference and we didn't notice any difference until a few days later, a week ago Sun. (9/1) she didn't have a messy diaper all day. When she tried to go Mon. you could see it trying to come out and she was really straining and crying. Guy had duty even though it was Labor Day but he got to come home at lunch and he was watching her while I was out back staining a piece of lattice for her room. When I found out what was happening I wanted to call the doctor but he wouldn't let me. He just rubbed her tummy a lot & pushed down on it a little and pushed & pulled her buns to try & help her. It took a few tries to get it all out but she finally did. Then it seemed like she had diarrhea. I did call the dr's office the next morning but only got to talk to a nurse. She was more concerned about the diarrhea than the constipation but she said if it wasn't pure liquid it wasn't diarrhea. So she didn't have it cause it wasn't pure liquid, it did have some substance to it even though it was really loose. She said the cereal could've cause the constipation. We cut it out for awhile & just started it again last night. But I just barely put 1/2 oz. in 6 oz. of formula instead of 3 oz. When I empty the next can of formula I'll save the scoop & use it to measure the cereal. I'm wondering though because she only had one messy diaper today and it wasn't til after supper & it was kind of on the thick side.

     I was very surprised Mon. night to find that Elizabeth's first tooth had come in! I didn't ask any questions about teething at the last dr. visit because I didn't think babies started til 6-7 months. About a week ago I decided I'd better start feeling of her gums so I'd know how they normally felt & could tell there was a little bump on one side of the front but figured that was normal. I didn't even think to check again til after we came back from our walk Mon. night. Boy was I shocked! I was so excited. I wanted to call Carole and tell her but was afraid she'd think I was rubbing it in. I read up in my book & she didn't have many of the symptoms. She has been drooling some but not a whole lot. It has increased since it's come in though. She may have been doing it more at night. She was (& is) getting a little bit of a rash on her chin. I didn't know coughing was a sign. The book says they cough & sometimes gag because of the excessive saliva. She's not into biting yet; she still likes to lick everything. I called the dr.s office & talked to a nurse. She said I should thank my lucky stars that it didn't bother her but that doesn't necessarily mean the next ones won't bother her. I'm checking her every night now. I think I can feel a bump on the other front side. It's hard to look cause she won't let you open her mouth without trying to stick her tongue out & lick you. Hopefully the rest of them will be this easy.