It has been a while since I have posted, so I thought I would write a quick update. Things have been going extremely well for all of us. Brooklynn started sitting up on her own right about a week before she turned 8 months. It was crazy because the day she did it, I almost called her doctor, but decided to wait a day.
Parents as Teachers came last week to assess Brooklynn and see how she is doing. The lady thought she was doing pretty good. Said to still watch out for milestones because she did sit on the later end of normal. But she was happy that she brings her hands together, she passes toys between hands, and brings toys together to make noise. She has a good pincher grasp. She also started scooting towards objects by going from one side to the next. She moved across half of our living room.
Brooklynn has been eating everything we put into her mouth! It is so different having a child who eats what I give her. Izzy always was a struggle (and still is) to get any type of solid into her body.
Izzy is doing really good! She has been really expanding her vocabulary and sentence structure. I can hold conversations with her while on the phone. Sam and I went to Fort Worth TX for 4 days and I was grateful I could talk to Izzy and find out about her day. It was hard because my mom came to pick her up before we left, and as they were driving to her house Izzy called me and said "I want you!! I miss you!" It was good to see her when we came back (and of course Brooklynn too).
Not too much new on our homefront! Gearing up for the holiday season!
Monday, November 22, 2010
Friday, October 15, 2010
Brooklynn's Neurosurgery Appointment
Brooklynn had her Neurosurgery appointment on Wednesday. After Dr. H. looked at her MRI, he said that there was no hydrocephalus!! He said her head is well off the charts (51cm or 20.1 inches) which we knew. He also said there was mild ventriculomegaly which could just be a normal variant for her brain size. He said she acts too normal for there to be any hydrocephalus (which is really good). He does want us to come back for a CT scan which we will have done in January just to make sure there is no change. As of right now that is the only plan of things to do. So hopefully we can now relax and not have to worry about any more tests results until that January appointment.
She weighed in at 19 pounds 5 ounces (I couldn't believe it - she is getting to be such a big girl!). I am so happy that we are done with that step! Now we just have to work on that sitting up on her own thing :).
She weighed in at 19 pounds 5 ounces (I couldn't believe it - she is getting to be such a big girl!). I am so happy that we are done with that step! Now we just have to work on that sitting up on her own thing :).
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Brooklynn's MRI
Today was Brooklynn's MRI. After a month of anticipation the date finally came and I am SOO grateful for it to be done. We arrived at 1230 in morning at CMH. First I took my mom to see the unit in which I work which she has not yet had the opportunity to see since she babysits my daughters. People at work were able to see my little B - Sister was at school today (it was her first full day and she seemed to really love it! I am thinking that we might have to rethink her only being there for 1/2 days...)
Anyway, we arrived at 1230 and were pulled back into the sedation room about 1pm. They started her IV which she cried but was really a great champ and calmed really fast. She kept wanting to pull at the IV. Around 1:20pm it was time for them to take Brooklynn back into the MRI...they asked if she would cry if they took her and I said it was a high possibility....especially since she was tired and hungry (she was not able to have formula after 6:30 am and only clears until 10:30am and after that nothing). So they gave her a dose of versed and let me tell you it was the funniest reaction to the medication! She went from crying, to dazed, to a little sleepy, to completely hysterical - and by hysterical I mean laughing the biggest belly laugh I had ever heard!!! She was laughing all the way down the hallway. I wish I would have known that cause I would have had my mom record it! (my mom went with me because Sam could not get off work).
I had to go sit in the waiting room. They told me it would take about 45 minutes for the MRI, and than radiologist would look at it, and if needed they would use contrast. They took her back at 1:30pm and my eyes watched that clock! When it 3pm I was SOO scared! Finally they took me back to see my baby girl and she was sleeping. They had to use contrast...which makes me a little nervous wondering if they saw something or what. Luckily no doctor came in to talk to me so that means if they found something, it could not have been that bad!! We should find out results in a couple of days. So it will be a waiting game yet again.
They ended up giving her 2 doses of versed, 2 of fentanyl and one of some other sedative due to the length of the test. She tolerated it well, and never dropped her oxygen. I guess it is protocol to put nasal cannula on them any way so she had that on during the test (or at least that is what I was told!!) She did wake up and start coughing a little which did not surprise me - she gets congested when she lays down on her back every once in a while. When I was able to see her it took her about 15 minutes to wake up and than she started to drink. Now she is rolling around playing like always! I am glad this test is over and just can't wait to hear from her pediatrician to hear the results. Either way it will be relief to have it done!
Anyway, we arrived at 1230 and were pulled back into the sedation room about 1pm. They started her IV which she cried but was really a great champ and calmed really fast. She kept wanting to pull at the IV. Around 1:20pm it was time for them to take Brooklynn back into the MRI...they asked if she would cry if they took her and I said it was a high possibility....especially since she was tired and hungry (she was not able to have formula after 6:30 am and only clears until 10:30am and after that nothing). So they gave her a dose of versed and let me tell you it was the funniest reaction to the medication! She went from crying, to dazed, to a little sleepy, to completely hysterical - and by hysterical I mean laughing the biggest belly laugh I had ever heard!!! She was laughing all the way down the hallway. I wish I would have known that cause I would have had my mom record it! (my mom went with me because Sam could not get off work).
I had to go sit in the waiting room. They told me it would take about 45 minutes for the MRI, and than radiologist would look at it, and if needed they would use contrast. They took her back at 1:30pm and my eyes watched that clock! When it 3pm I was SOO scared! Finally they took me back to see my baby girl and she was sleeping. They had to use contrast...which makes me a little nervous wondering if they saw something or what. Luckily no doctor came in to talk to me so that means if they found something, it could not have been that bad!! We should find out results in a couple of days. So it will be a waiting game yet again.
They ended up giving her 2 doses of versed, 2 of fentanyl and one of some other sedative due to the length of the test. She tolerated it well, and never dropped her oxygen. I guess it is protocol to put nasal cannula on them any way so she had that on during the test (or at least that is what I was told!!) She did wake up and start coughing a little which did not surprise me - she gets congested when she lays down on her back every once in a while. When I was able to see her it took her about 15 minutes to wake up and than she started to drink. Now she is rolling around playing like always! I am glad this test is over and just can't wait to hear from her pediatrician to hear the results. Either way it will be relief to have it done!
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Parents As Teachers - Izzy's check up
Izzy had Parents as Teachers come by last week and we had a great time! She started off reading Very Hungry Caterpillar which Izzy really liked. I don't think I had ever read her that story (I can't believe it but I don't own that book). The teacher pulled out a stir stick with colors on it and matching clothes line clips and asked Izzy to clip the matching clips onto it. The teacher was impressed that she was able to say the colors and match them. (We have been working on her colors!). She just needs to work a little on the fine motor skills of pinching the clips to put them on the stick.
They also made a "map" that included our house, Target (her favorite store), and the park. She played "pretend" with cars and little people. The teacher said it was good that she is creative and she plays pretend! She took the little people and pretended they were swinging. I guess it is good that she can take a 2D object and turn it into something she can "play" with in "3D". She had a good time with that. I was super excited that the teacher said she could understand a majority of what Izzy says. I was a little worried about it. I knew I understood her but was not sure how people who did not know her could understand. She stated the obvious though "Izzy talks a lot!" Yep she is nonstop chatter!!
We have her coming back to assess Brooklynn in 8 weeks. They said that even with budget cuts, if it comes back that Brooklynn has developmental delays because of her head size or if anything comes back with her head that they will be able to visit her more frequently to help keep on top of her developmentally which is nice! I am kind of excited to see how she fits in developmentally with other kids. I know she is a little behind on the gross motor (still not sitting up on her own...but I am giving her until 8 months before I get worried).
They also made a "map" that included our house, Target (her favorite store), and the park. She played "pretend" with cars and little people. The teacher said it was good that she is creative and she plays pretend! She took the little people and pretended they were swinging. I guess it is good that she can take a 2D object and turn it into something she can "play" with in "3D". She had a good time with that. I was super excited that the teacher said she could understand a majority of what Izzy says. I was a little worried about it. I knew I understood her but was not sure how people who did not know her could understand. She stated the obvious though "Izzy talks a lot!" Yep she is nonstop chatter!!
We have her coming back to assess Brooklynn in 8 weeks. They said that even with budget cuts, if it comes back that Brooklynn has developmental delays because of her head size or if anything comes back with her head that they will be able to visit her more frequently to help keep on top of her developmentally which is nice! I am kind of excited to see how she fits in developmentally with other kids. I know she is a little behind on the gross motor (still not sitting up on her own...but I am giving her until 8 months before I get worried).
Monday, October 4, 2010
Anticipation week!
I finally did it - I turned my blog to private! Thanks to all who sent me their e-mails...I guess I did not realize there were so many people who read our blog!
So this week is the big week! We have our brain MRI on Thursday for Brooklynn!! I am so anxious it is crazy! I am having such conflict with this! I know that I will be relieved when it is done but I am nervous because they have to sedate her. I know that a majority of sedations go beautifully but sometimes there are bad reactions to the drugs! And what if she has a reaction to the drug and everything comes back perfectly normal and I put her through that for nothing? But than what if I did not have it done and something is wrong and we find out down the road because she starts having issues? I feel in such limbo right now!
I trust my pediatrician's recommendations, but I am just so scared either way! Everyone tells me she is so normal and there is no way anything can be wrong and in my head I think the same thing. But working where I work I have the issue of babies look normal all the time and there is something that ends up being wrong with them, so in the back of my mind I have been wondering! There are so many people who have kids who say "their head size was off the charts". What exactly do they mean by that? Do they mean one or two boxes above the 97th%ile or do they mean 23 (little) boxes above the 97th%ile like my child?
This mother thing is really exhausting! The constant worry and than the conflict of am I worrying over nothing and am just a freak?? Don't get me wrong - I would not change it for the world! I love my little girls no matter what and they have made my life SOOO much better! I just understand now when my mom used to always say that being a mother means being worried nonstop!
So this week is the big week! We have our brain MRI on Thursday for Brooklynn!! I am so anxious it is crazy! I am having such conflict with this! I know that I will be relieved when it is done but I am nervous because they have to sedate her. I know that a majority of sedations go beautifully but sometimes there are bad reactions to the drugs! And what if she has a reaction to the drug and everything comes back perfectly normal and I put her through that for nothing? But than what if I did not have it done and something is wrong and we find out down the road because she starts having issues? I feel in such limbo right now!
I trust my pediatrician's recommendations, but I am just so scared either way! Everyone tells me she is so normal and there is no way anything can be wrong and in my head I think the same thing. But working where I work I have the issue of babies look normal all the time and there is something that ends up being wrong with them, so in the back of my mind I have been wondering! There are so many people who have kids who say "their head size was off the charts". What exactly do they mean by that? Do they mean one or two boxes above the 97th%ile or do they mean 23 (little) boxes above the 97th%ile like my child?
This mother thing is really exhausting! The constant worry and than the conflict of am I worrying over nothing and am just a freak?? Don't get me wrong - I would not change it for the world! I love my little girls no matter what and they have made my life SOOO much better! I just understand now when my mom used to always say that being a mother means being worried nonstop!
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Turning to Private...
Taking a page from my friend Jennifer, I have decided to put my blog to private! If you read my blog please send me your e-mail at kityhawk13@aol.com and I will add you to the list of people who can view it. I just figured I have too many pictures of the girls and too much personal stuff on the blog that I wanted to still keep it up, but not allow anybody and their mom to read it! Hope you will send me your address so you can keep following!
Our month of September
I took Brooklynn in to her 6 month appointment towards the beginning of September. She is getting to be SO big!! She is now 27 1/2 inches (which is 90th percentile, weighs in at 17 pounds and 12 ounces (75th%ile). Her head is still concerning, which is one of the reasons I have not posted recently! Her head grew another inch and a half and is measuring in at 19 1/2 inches!! The is up another 3 small squares on the growth chart from the previous time (which means she is well above 97%ile).
Her pediatrician is still concerned about the growth. He did some lab work to test for a syndrome that has macrocephaly and frontal bossing (which basically means big head measurement and large forehead, which is what Brooklynn has - Sorry baby girl when all tests come back negative - I know you will be self-consious about this when you are older but it is the truth) and it came back negative (we just found out on Thursday that this lab came back negative - THANK GOODNESS!!!!). What he was testing for was NOT a good condition at all and therefore I am very grateful to God that it came back ok. Crazy enough, the night we found out the labs were okay, I was in my hotel room in St. Louis and watching the news and there was a girl on there who had the same condition we were testing Brooklynn for and this girl died at age three. That made me SOO incredibly grateful for those labs being negative!
He also decided instead of doing a Head ultrasound again (which was the original plan when we go back to see the neurosurgeon in October) he wants to go ahead and do an MRI, which will be done sometime in October. Other than that he says she looks good. She is still such a happy baby! I just can't wait until we are done with all the tests - I know it is just going to be that she has a large head due to familial inheritance (thanks Daddy haha). But I would rather make sure that she is fine than to just assume and something be wrong.
Some of Brooklynn's milestones: she is rolling all over the place and using this mode to go wherever she wants. She is starting to eat solids - she loves her rice cereal, bananas, pears, and sweet peas...and hates sweet potatoes (we will keep working on that one). She is saying "mamama" and blowing raspberries, starting saying "baba", and when we say "horsey horsey" or "giddy up" she will bounce up and down on our knees. She is so interested in all sorts of textures and is always grabbing for things! She is so interested in everything that is going on. She is learning cause and effect and has learned how to bang objects together and learning how some of her toys work. She also has learned that she has her daddy, me, sister, nanas and papas, and aunts and uncles wrapped around her finger...just like big sister Izzy.
Izzy has been growing more and more everyday. She is able to tell stories now - even though half the time she makes up words as "fillers" but I still understand what she is trying to say. She is putting together long sentences, and it is funny to hear her stumble over words, but still do pretty well in forming the sentences. She is working on the order of how words flow in sentences too which is really neat. She is a running fool now and is a quick little thing. She might take after her daddy and I and become a cross country runner with how much she likes to run. She has a pretty girlie trot though, but I love it! She is also singing and dancing all the time!! I think every phase in her life gets better and better!
This last week I went on a girls' trip with my mom, sister Kristen, and my two girls to St. Louis and had the time of my life!! We drove up on Wednesday and were able to see one of my sister's old college roommates who lived with my parents for a year. It was great to see her and her little girl! We arrived at our hotel that night and it was a HUGE hotel! We had two bedrooms (one with two double beds and one with a king size bed), two bathrooms, a living area, and a kitchen!! It was such a nice little place to stay! On Thursday we went to the Zoo and had a WONDERFUL time! Izzy loved seeing all the animals! We went and ate at the Hard Rock Cafe that night. On Friday, we went to Union Station (which really was not what it used to be), and than went to the Magic House! That place was absolutely amazing for Izzy! She had the best time! When I ask her where we went she calls it the "maggot house" - pretty funny! We also ate dinner with my Half Brother Eric. It was really good to see him- it has been forever! We left on Saturday morning and came home. Sam was in Vegas with his dad while we were on the trip, so last night we went and picked him up at the airport! Izzy loved to see him - and Brooklynn could not take her eyes off him!
I will be posting pictures of the trip soon.
Her pediatrician is still concerned about the growth. He did some lab work to test for a syndrome that has macrocephaly and frontal bossing (which basically means big head measurement and large forehead, which is what Brooklynn has - Sorry baby girl when all tests come back negative - I know you will be self-consious about this when you are older but it is the truth) and it came back negative (we just found out on Thursday that this lab came back negative - THANK GOODNESS!!!!). What he was testing for was NOT a good condition at all and therefore I am very grateful to God that it came back ok. Crazy enough, the night we found out the labs were okay, I was in my hotel room in St. Louis and watching the news and there was a girl on there who had the same condition we were testing Brooklynn for and this girl died at age three. That made me SOO incredibly grateful for those labs being negative!
He also decided instead of doing a Head ultrasound again (which was the original plan when we go back to see the neurosurgeon in October) he wants to go ahead and do an MRI, which will be done sometime in October. Other than that he says she looks good. She is still such a happy baby! I just can't wait until we are done with all the tests - I know it is just going to be that she has a large head due to familial inheritance (thanks Daddy haha). But I would rather make sure that she is fine than to just assume and something be wrong.
Some of Brooklynn's milestones: she is rolling all over the place and using this mode to go wherever she wants. She is starting to eat solids - she loves her rice cereal, bananas, pears, and sweet peas...and hates sweet potatoes (we will keep working on that one). She is saying "mamama" and blowing raspberries, starting saying "baba", and when we say "horsey horsey" or "giddy up" she will bounce up and down on our knees. She is so interested in all sorts of textures and is always grabbing for things! She is so interested in everything that is going on. She is learning cause and effect and has learned how to bang objects together and learning how some of her toys work. She also has learned that she has her daddy, me, sister, nanas and papas, and aunts and uncles wrapped around her finger...just like big sister Izzy.
Izzy has been growing more and more everyday. She is able to tell stories now - even though half the time she makes up words as "fillers" but I still understand what she is trying to say. She is putting together long sentences, and it is funny to hear her stumble over words, but still do pretty well in forming the sentences. She is working on the order of how words flow in sentences too which is really neat. She is a running fool now and is a quick little thing. She might take after her daddy and I and become a cross country runner with how much she likes to run. She has a pretty girlie trot though, but I love it! She is also singing and dancing all the time!! I think every phase in her life gets better and better!
This last week I went on a girls' trip with my mom, sister Kristen, and my two girls to St. Louis and had the time of my life!! We drove up on Wednesday and were able to see one of my sister's old college roommates who lived with my parents for a year. It was great to see her and her little girl! We arrived at our hotel that night and it was a HUGE hotel! We had two bedrooms (one with two double beds and one with a king size bed), two bathrooms, a living area, and a kitchen!! It was such a nice little place to stay! On Thursday we went to the Zoo and had a WONDERFUL time! Izzy loved seeing all the animals! We went and ate at the Hard Rock Cafe that night. On Friday, we went to Union Station (which really was not what it used to be), and than went to the Magic House! That place was absolutely amazing for Izzy! She had the best time! When I ask her where we went she calls it the "maggot house" - pretty funny! We also ate dinner with my Half Brother Eric. It was really good to see him- it has been forever! We left on Saturday morning and came home. Sam was in Vegas with his dad while we were on the trip, so last night we went and picked him up at the airport! Izzy loved to see him - and Brooklynn could not take her eyes off him!
I will be posting pictures of the trip soon.
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