Appointments Galore, week of March 30

Monday, March 30 - Eye Doctor (Peters)
We went to the eye doctor for Makenzie last Monday, March 30. Her sight is equivalent to a 1-2 month old, so good and bad there. She's improving, just at a very slow pace. She is seeing more than just red, and B&W. She was only seeing these two combinations for a while, but she's seeing most dark/primary colors now. She does recognize when people come into the room and turns her head in that direction (same with sounds). They predict she will have functional eye sight, which includes seeing objects. They are making a hypothesis at this point since she's so young, we will know more when she's between 2-3 years of age. We will continue to see the eye doctor every few months.

Tuesday, March 31 - Pediatrician
Makenzie is 16lb 1oz (50%), 26.5 in (75%) and 10% for head circumference. She is doing better, but growing at an ok rate for now. She got 3 out of 4 of her 6 mo shots and has slept alot and when awake been fussy since then. Hopefully it will wear off soon.
Kaitlyn was in the greatest mood when we went to the dr. She had her annual checkup, but no shots since she chose to have them at 4.5 yrs. She was laughing 90% of the time she was being examined. I think we will request this new pediatrician when we got back for the girls. Kaitlyn is average for height and 75% for her weight. She is growing a great rate for her age.
Sydney was at preschool when we went to the doctor. She's not due for another check up until she's 4 (Oct).

Wed, April 1 - Neurologist (VanDyke)
The neurologist was happy to see her eye sight improving. That was encouraging. He is expecting her arms to gain strength. Her arms right now are still acting as if she is a newborn. She doesn't bring them into her midline very often, but we work on it every day. We play games and sing songs, so we're hoping someday soon. I put her hand up to her mouth yesterday and she was excited to discover her fingers. We tried it a few times and she was chomping on her hand everytime. Maybe this will help in bringing her arms up to her face and to her midline. Her arms are still stiff, so I'm trying everything. The main thing coming out of this appt was his comment about her being disabled. We know that she will have multiple disabilities, we just won't know how severe until 2-3 years of age. As they say... only time will tell.

Thurs, April 2 - weekly physical (PT) and feeding therapist (OT)
PT - Beth commented on how Makenzie has done well the last two weeks. You can tell she's fussing because she's tired, not just to fuss. She tried baby push ups with her this time. Very interesting, but I think it will help with her head control, arm strength and keeping in mid-line. She practiced her rolling on a decline. Makenzie was very fussy, but she worked hard. Her eye sight is helping with her physical therapy.
OT - Sarah also commented on how Makenzie is doing well this time and last time. We tried a different flavor with her this week. She didn't seem here or there about it, but she did take the 'thickened cranberry juice' a few times. I have tried the same flavor everyday since last Thursday and she's doing good. Sarah said we can try formula too, so we'll try that sometime too.

Long update, but thought I'd fill you in. Let me know if you have any suggestions on what you have experienced in therapy or heard from someone that has. Sometimes simple suggestions make a world of difference.

Next Monday, April 13 - developmental specialist (Burdo-Hartman)

Have a great Easter everyone!

Kaitlyn turns 6!

Kaitlyn turned 6 on March 6! The pictures are from a party we had for her where we invited the kindergartners from the neighborhood along with their siblings. We had a blowup playground, pinata and cake! What a great time! (I need some advice on posting pictures...)

For those of you that have been following the blog...
We made the trip to SE MI for the funeral. It was quite a trip, but we made it with some help from the family. I couldn't have done it without help that's for sure. It was a tough trip both physically and emotionally, but much needed. Makenzie was blessed along with her cousin Becky (while we were there) from the pastor after the luncheon. Thank you, Aunt Barb.

News on Makenzie...
Makenzie had an EEG a few weeks ago and is NOT having seizures! One less thing to worry about. We also had a vision consultant come in last week and had alot of good things to say about Makenzie's eyes. She is doing MUCH better than last Dec when the eye doctor saw her. She is focusing better and tracking other colors than red. Red and contrast colors (ie black and white) are the first colors you see, so she's at least progressing. She is tracking side to side AND up and down. She was not doing this a few months ago. The vision consultant gave us alot of tips on how to work with her, so we will be trying all kinds of things with her. The things they come up with amazes me. I was just happy to get some good news about Makenzie. It felt so good to hear she could tell I was working with her, it reconfirmed I made the right choice about deciding to stay home with her full time.

Tastes are yummy!

Makenzie is learning to take a little something from the spoon! It's a drop at a time, but it's a step in the right direction. We had a good session yesterday sitting up in an upright position (which doesn't happen too often). Her vision is getting better everyday and tummy time is getting better too. These are all the successes in the last few weeks. She is becoming less irritable and more calm everyday, but it takes alot of therapy (hence the stay at home mommy career change). We are hoping everyday the next few doctors appointments are more positive, so we'll see.

Kaitlyn turns 6 tomorrow (Fri)! She's going to 6 on March 6! She's pretty excited!

We're going to try and take a trip down to SE Michigan tonight, just me and the 3 girls. My uncle passed away and the funeral is tomorrow. If Makenzie doesn't get better this afternoon, we won't be going, so we'll see. Wish me luck if we do venture out.

Thanks for checking in. I'll try to have a new pic next time. See you next week!