A Unique Blessing

Isabel Mary Lewis - January 8, 2008 - 12:39 am

Isabel is a serious night-sleeper. She's not much of a daytime napper, but she really loves her nighttime sleep (all 12-13 hours of it!) So I knew something was up when I heard her crying in her crib last night. I hopped out of bed to go see what was wrong with her, and on the way out of our bedroom, I glanced at the clock...it was 12:39.

As I walked into her room, I saw by the dim light of the nightlight that she was sitting up in bed with her little arms reached out waiting on me to pick her up. I scooped her up and sat in the rocker to settle her down. What would normally be a quick "soothe and back to bed" plan ended up being the sweetest (much more drawn out) time for us. We cuddled, we cooed back and forth, and we giggled together as I tickled her under the chin. And then I snuggled her up in her blanket and sang to her.

Happy Birthday to You.
Happy Birthday to You.
Happy Birthday, Sweet Isabel.
Happy Birthday to You.

It wasn't the loud, celebratory rendition that we always sing at birthdays but a quiet, gentle lullaby that I sang over my precious baby. It's not what I had planned for her first birthday, but it was such a special time for the two of us!! What a joy to hold my daughter and pray for her just as I did exactly one year after God first entrusted her to our care.

Now for the sadder part, Izzy was already scheduled for a well-baby checkup today, so her pediatrician checked her out and told me that she appears to have a sinus infection. She began running a fever last night, and she seems to feel pretty yucky today. What a way to spend your first birthday! But on a lighter note (this won't seem very "light" at first, but stay with me), her doctor also referred her for a physical therapy evaluation with Early Intervention. As I was filling out her developmental checklist, I found myself checking quite a few more "No's" than I did "Yes's" on the physical milestones. When I began to talk to the doctor about it, he said there are several factors that make him very unconcerned about her seemily slower physical development. He said he assumed that being the third child in a family with two other young children means that she probably gets held and carried around a lot. (He was in big-time "doctor" mode, so he wasn't paying too much attention to what was going on around him.) Within seconds, we were both cracking up as he looked down and saw that I was holding Izzy in the Ergo (baby carrier) so that my hands could be free to help with Abby and Jack. Carried a lot? Whatever could he mean?!? :-) Anyway, he said he doesn't want PT to see her as a means to diagnose a potential problem...he just wants them to give us some exercises to work on with her to help strengthen her hips (remember all the pediatric orthopaedist trips?). She'll be up and going in no time!!

Last but not least, here are her 12-month stats:
Isabel weighs 21 pounds, 5 ounces (60th %ile)
She's 29 1/2 inches long (70th %ile) I don't think you can be 29 1/2 inches "TALL" until you're standing!
And her head is almost back on the chart! HOORAY! (If you haven't followed us for a while, check out this post and the updates on it here and here.)

Happy Birthday, Isabel! We love you so much.