Slowly but Surely

Jiana had her four month appointment on March 8 with Dr. Kallah. She has seen Jiana since the beginnning and is incredily caring and detail oriented in dealing with her. Something I appreciate more since Jiana had spent a week in the NICU when she was born and taking that into consideration is important. Since she was born we have to give her these multivitamins with iron in liquid form and they taste HORRIBLE. Not just horrible but really really disgusting!! Avikar tasted it and ran to the bathroom because he thought he was going to throw up.  In the beginning we mixed it with breast milk and gave it to her, she fought it but drank it. After about 2 months, we decided to give it to her through a syringe, without diluting it since drinking 2 ounces of breast milk with the medicine was more painful than 1ml of the medicine alone. Needless to say over time it has become more and more difficult to have her swallow it. Her taste buds are more mature so she knows it tastes gross and she is developing a gag reflex, so she pushes the medicine out of her mouth. But my angel is so good, that even when I am giving this to her she has a smile on her face.
At each of her appointments, she has had blood drawn to check her iron levels and this time Dr. Kallah wanted to run a few more tests to see if we really needed to keep giving her this medicine. So, I took her to the lab to get her blood drawn and they needed more than the normal amount for the multiple tests. Usually they prick her heel and squeeze out the blood. This time they tell me they will draw blood on her arm with a needle, and I have to hold her. Oh My God! Can I just say, that it was one of the most painful things to watch your child get poked with a needle and then hold them as they are screaming!!!! The poor thing was so scared and crying so much, and to top it off, they couldn't get enough blood out of her right arm, so they poked her heel hoping that would be enough. But no! They then proceeded to put a needle in her left arm and get the remaining amount of blood. During this horrible experience I am bawling, she is bawling and we are both wet with tears. I felt so bad and there was nothing I could do. Mind you, I take both kids to their doctors appointment, am with them for all their shots but this was a whole other level. I just couldn't deal with her being pricked so many times. It was so sad!! I still ger goosebumps thinking about it.
Good news is that all her tests came back fine and she doesn't need this gross medicine anymore!!!! Yay!

On another note, Jiana weighed in at 11lbs and 11 oz and was 23.75 inches long. She is in the 5th percentile, a small one for sure. Doctor says nothing to worry about, just may take after her mama.. I am a little on the short and petite side. ;) But she has doubled her birth weight and thats saying a lot for such a little person. Suhana at four months was about 15.5lbs! But she is growing just fine! My little angel.

My girls and me.

Jia holding my finger while sleeping..this is what it's all about.