13 Weeks

13 Weeks Old

Finally! We saw the sun this week! It was nice to enjoy the beautiful fall weather. We have some great walking trails in our neighborhood, many I haven't explored yet. I try to stay pretty close to home. But this week was the best. Our favorite trail is just off the main street, but winds through the woods that line the street. The leaves were falling and had covered the sidewalk, so it was like we were really out in nature. Mary Ella stayed awake during a whole walk for the first time. There was so much to keep her entertained. The trees, the leaves, and the scrunching sound the leaves made under my feet and the stroller.

On Wednesday we went to Children's Hospital for ME's kidney appointment. I thought the schedule was a little backward. We saw the nephrologist before we had the ultrasound, so the doctor didn't have much to tell us before he read the ultrasound. He did seem to think that a single cyst was not a normal thing to see on a kidney (usually there's a cluster and that's not good). So he thought that the ultrasounds before might have been misread. He took a look at ME, mentioned some possible scenarios that it could be, did some blood work, and sent us to radiology. So, I wasn't really feeling great about the appointment. He had me a little worried that it might be more serious than we had thought, so after the ultrasound we go home and wait for the doctor to call. We didn't hear anything Wednesday or Thursday, so maybe no news is good news? I finally called Friday morning, and it turns out that it does appear to be a single, simple cyst. Her blood work was normal, so her kidneys are functioning beautifully (just as I had thought). So, we will just continue to monitor it and hope it never turns out to be anything that will affect her. I am still praying for it to just go away, but we are scheduled to go back in 3-4 months to take another look at it.

Mary Ella is really getting good with her hands. She is getting better and better and reaching out to touch and grab things, including herself. She likes to touch and pinch her belly, and explore her "button." Right here you can see her hand to tummy.

She was exhausted after her doctor's appointment. She took a 4 hour nap when we got home. And yes, her paci is in her mouth in this picture!


Hand to knee

Both hands to knees, sitting like an old man. Ha!

The slobber and bubbles have begun to flow!

This is the face she makes during her entire bath. She doesn't mind her bath and never cries, but she has absolutely no expression. She knows the routine, but it's almost like she just tolerates it.

She might suck on her hands (so I have to get the soap off quickly)!

And as soon as it's over and I wrap her up, she makes this face. No expression to big smile. Everytime!