No longer able to string emojis together as a sole response in iOS 17.7

Hello Apple Community—

Prior to iOS 17.7, I could string emojis together as a response to a text message in Messages (e.g., 😂🤣🤣). After updating to 17.7, Messages will only allow me to input one; if I choose another, to input as a second character, it wipes out the first. The emoji input looks similar to when I’m uploading an attachment. Is Messages treating emojis—without text—as an attachment now? Any ideas on how to resolve this?

iPad Pro 11” M4 2024 running iOS 17.7