I wish I could report that I've been busy with fun and wonderful things, but alas, I've been busy with stressful and miserable things. Miss Luna has gotten sicker and sicker as the winter wears on, and has had approximately 462 ear infections (give or take), 378 bouts of bronchitis (give or take), two bouts of croup, and one bout of pneumonia that landed her in the hospital for five days just after Thanksgiving. To add a little spice to the mix, she's also had two eye infections, several cases of stomach flu, and a couple of rashes. She spent a grand total of TWO days in daycare during the month of November. And I believe she managed exactly one day in December. Every time she goes back for even ONE day, she is sick the day after with something severe enough that she has to be kept home for a week or three. While at home she gets healthy again, and we send her back in good health, only to have her get sick again the second she returns. Its utter madness. For the first couple of months everyone was telling me, "Oh, my kids went through that too, it sucks but she'll get better fast." Now everyone is saying, "Is there something wrong with that daycare? Could she have an immune disorder? What does the doctor say???" I liked it better when everyone was assuring me it was normal!
For the record, her doctor says she is having a normal, albeit dramatic, adjustment to the world of germs. She said, "Some kids get exposed to everything and just get the sniffles. Other kids get exposed to everything and get the worst possible case of it. Luna, unfortunately, falls into the latter category!" While she was hospitalized, the pediatrician took some blood, and she assures us that she could see antibodies forming just as they should when she examined it under the microscope. She's altered her initial pronouncement, which was that Luna would be over this by spring, and is now saying she'll probably have it rough both this winter and next. She's started Luna on a twice daily corticosteroid steroid inhaler. Its a very low dosage, and it is intended to serve as a preventative measure. She told us it would take about a month before it helps at all, but the hope is that it will eventually keep every cold from turning into croup or bronchitis or pneumonia. Wouldn't that be nice?? Luna tolerates it well, she has a fancy little gadget with a mask that goes over her nose and mouth, and the whole process takes about 30 seconds. The nebulizer treatments she gets for bronchitis take 15 minutes, so the inhaler is nothing!
I don't want you all to worry though, truly. She is sick OFTEN, and in typical child fashion, she has adjusted. She's a pro at medicines, she plays with her nebulizer mask on! She is a happy happy girl who dances when her fever is 103. We're just grateful she doesn't have anything truly awful. It could be so much worse!
Luna is weighing in between 12 and 12.5 kg (26.5 to 27.5 lb.) these days, and is about 86 cm (almost 34 inches) tall. I think she has most of her teeth at this point. She's talking in sentences more and more often, and her Dutch vocabulary is expanding quickly. She just graduated from her high chair to a booster seat, she drinks out of a regular cup and eats the same thing as us for dinner. She loves to sing and dance, and her favorite things to do right now are color and "cook." She's very friendly, and especially loves other babies!
I finished my integration class in mid-November, and I am just about done with level 1.1 of Dutch, as well. I took my exams before the Christmas break, and will get my results on the 13th of January at our last class. I've done very well so far, and I am anticipating good results. I still have a lot to learn, and that is why I will start level 1.2 on January 17th. However, I've learned enough to make my day to day life a lot easier. I can carry on simple conversations and order things at the market. I can read a lot of the signs I see and interpret most of the food labels at the grocery store. Although I'd love to get top results on my exams because I am a crazy perfectionist, in reality, the real reward is the lifting of the isolation imposed by not speaking the language. I feel like I can see for the first time in two years, which is amazing. As for how I am doing in general, well, I'll just leave you with this Dutch phrase I learned recently: Ik heb heimwee.
Happy Holidays to all of you from our family, and best wishes in 2012!
