Not long after she turned 6 months old she had a stuffy nose, and we just wrote it off as a normal “first cold”. She had never been “sick” at all and so this was all new to us.  It seemed to be a normal, annoying cold that wouldn’t go away on its’ own.

Well, fast forward a few days and she developed a fever… then she got a rash in her armpits and diaper area. By the time we got her to the pediatricians office it had spread across her stomach. By the end of the next day it was creeping up the sides of her face, leaving swollen patches of red, puffy skin in its’ tracks. It was AWFUL. She didn’t itch at all from the rash and that was a blessing… But on our 3rd trip to the pediatrician’s office in 3 days, the doctor looked at her and said “She needs to be admitted”… and I said “What do you mean?” and she said “She needs to go to the hospital”.

Ohhhhhh, I was a mess. I bawled. I could tell Michael was upset, but he didn’t show it because I was already upset, and Evy needed somebody who would pay attention to the doctor’s instructions! We got to the hospital and I remember feeling so annoyed at how long everything was taking. Holding Evy in the waiting room was like holding a little furnace. Her temperature teetered around 102 -103 and the rash was worse. They botched her IV on both hands (made me so mad!), gave her fluids, and then tested her for every virus that’s most common for children in her age range to catch and nothing matched.

She was still in her awful Pavlik Harness during all of this, and we COULD NOT remove it… even during the midst of her rash and fever. I’ll be honest, I was about to take that thing off! Our poor baby! She was covered in that awful rash, had a high fever, and she was still stuck in that awful contraption that didn’t let her straighten her legs!!! Luckily, she made it through her unknown virus well, and soon after that long week, we had an appointment to take her back to Dr. Hale to see if it was time to take her out of that harness!

We needed some good news!!!! Her ultrasound showed that her hip was staying in the socket, and so she was switched to the Rhino Brace, which is removable!!! We were able to go home that day and give her a BATH!!! For the first time in 7 weeks! She’s now in the Rhino brace 23 hours of the day and we’re hoping this does the trick!!

So here are some things I want to make sure that I remember about her 7th month of life!:

– This is the month of the “cups”! She got a stack of colored cups from her Aunt Emy and she absolutely LOVES them! She plays with them every time she is in her high chair or on the floor!

– This is the month of the RHINO BRACE and we LOVE this brace (as much as you can love a restrictive body brace!) because we can take it OFF!!! PRAISE!!!

– This month she has started doing an EXTREME nose scrunch when she smiles and it is literally the BEST thing ever!!!

– She’s eating so many types of baby food and nursing less. It’s so much fun for us to introduce her to new things!!! So far she’s a fan of everything… except cinnamon! ha!

– She has started making a “motor” noise before she gets really upset, and I’m not going to lie, we kinda love it!

– Her hair is longer, her smile is wider, and her hugs are even tighter!!! Like REALLY tight! She’s a little aggressive with her hugs and squeezes!

– This month she went through so much medically, but she was a champ through it all!

– This was her first month getting ANY type of medicine!

– She LOVES the highchair and does not like to lay on her back as much. I think she’s over that phase… especially after ONLY being on her back with the Pavlik Harness!

– She’s quite spunky!

– She will not see me for a chunk of the day and then when she realizes I’m back, she smiles… and then breaks down in tears. The attachment phase has begun and while it’s going to make things tricky, I kinda love it that she loves me so much. :)

– She still stops nursing to look up and smile at me… almost like she’s saying “This is one of my favorite places on earth!”… and it must be because nursing can fix almost anything for her. She can be OUT OF CONTROL and so upset… and nursing is all she needs to reset. It doesn’t happen often, but when she has those melt downs I love being able to comfort her. I’m so thankful she’s still able to nurse at 7 months!

– She loves naps on daddy… more than on me!

– She loves music and SPOONS!

– She still loves water bottles!

– She started sleeping in her own room about one week after getting into the RHINO BRACE! That first week or two was rough for the sleep schedule, but literally on the day she turned 7 months, she slept through the night again! PTL!

Like I said… the month of the “cups”! Thanks Aunt Emy!  She loves Uncle Joe!  And a monthly post wouldn’t be complete without a Micah update too! He’s standing up and crawling! ah!  “Look at her funny socks!” “You have to wear this ALL of the time?!?!” I feel like this is their first “playing together” picture!!! awww!!! And this is their first fighting picture!! ha!  Revenge on the toes!  First sharing picture :) I love them so much! Cousins 8 weeks apart!  He LOVES his momma! Open mouth kisses! He also LOVES the fly zapper! haha Those rolls though! Ok back to Miss Evy!  Crazy hair don’t care!  Can’t forget Evy’s BF Knox!!! They went to the apple orchard together!  Her last day in her HARNESS!!!  First day in her RHINO BRACE!!!  We can take it off for diaper changes and bath time… and some play sessions… in moderation! :)
I just love holding her squishy little body!! I missed it!  First bath in the SINK without her baby tub!!!  Sneezes! Beach trip!  I am well aware that these are pretty much all the same… I don’t care. I love them all.  Is this a POSE?! Omgossshhh.
So thankful for these sweet friends hosting us at Holden Beach for the weekend!! She wasn’t a fan of portrait time… until the pomegranates!  Oh my goodness. Is it just me or does this make your heart ache with happiness?!?!  I’m biased, but you are one beautiful girl Everly James.  Hanging out with Aunt Sarah!  My human baby doll….

And just so we don’t forget what it’s like to have to put this thing on a million times a day… here’s documentation of a “happy” time! :)