"I Think She's Teething!"

Emma maybe chewing on her brush in this picture, but only because she'd already chewed on the doll and the remote.

My mom and I now have a little joke about Emma and teething. Anytime Emma seems particularly drooly, cranky or to have an increased penchant for chewing on anything she can fit in her mouth, I utter the phrase, "I think she's teething!" If my memory serves me right, it started when she was about 3 months old. She began drooling and chewing madly. I knew it was a little on the early side for getting teeth, but my mom had just at that time run into a girl at Babies R Us with a baby about Emma's age who had two teeth. I figured maybe Emma was going to be on the early side too. I could also swear that I could see her two bottom middle teeth sitting under her gums just a bit higher than the ones on either side of them.

The drooling and chewing got worse. Bibs became a staple of her wardrobe. She'd had a fit or two that could only be stopped by taking off her drool soaked clothing. Anyone holding her had to beware that if they weren't careful, their fingers would end up in Emma's mouth.

Isn't Graco smart!? They filled the toy tray on her exersaucer with toys that Emma could

stick in her mouth!

Around Thanksgiving, she began to bat at her ear. At first I feared an ear infection, but after taking a quiz on a baby website titled "Is Your Baby Teething?"that yielded a result of 'Most likely teething!', I felt sure it was just jaw discomfort caused by the teeth that would soon erupt.

A few weeks ago, she had a few evening meltdowns that were hard to calm and seemed to be relieved by rubbing her gums. Her gums looked a bit swollen to me despite the fact that Emma's pediatrician saw no signs of teeth. My friend Alysha's son Silas, who is just a bit older than Emma was cutting his first few teeth, so I felt sure that Emma was following close behind.

Loving the brush!

Emma is 7 1/2 months now. 4 1/2 months older than she was when the drooling began. I can't even begin to count how many times I've proclaimed, "I think she's teething!" I've lost count of all the 'signs and symptoms' I've blamed on teething. And still .... NO TEETH! I realize that they will appear someday, but I think this must be the longest teething process in history!

Even the lids from her bottles aren't safe from her gums!

She's been cranky all week. Not too terrible. Just a little restless, not napping well, whining a bit. I think it has more to do with the rashes she seems to have in a few spots. Some of it is eczema I think, but she still has a bad diaper rash. On the other hand, her gums look a little more swollen this week and she's been pulling off her bottle more frequently as if it hurts to suck, so I'm going to go ahead and throw it out there. I think she's teething!

Emma's MRI

I know I should have posted earlier this week, but I was hoping we'd get results back before I posted. It seems they aren't in a rush to call us though so I guess I will call tomorrow.

The MRI went well for the most part. The test itself was fine. The awful part was trying to give her an IV so that she could be sedated. Poor little thing has her mother's veins which are impossible to find. Two nurses tried to give her the IV with no luck. They even had a little light that they put under her hand so that they could see the veins better. It didn't help though. If she's like me, her veins are deeper than they seem so they are hard to get to. They tried for a few minutes in both hands which, of course, had her screaming to the point of gagging. Jeremy and I tried to hold her and calm her, but she is getting to the age where the has fear so that added to pain of the needle and the feeling of being restrianed makes everything worse. I think she even remembers the experience of getting an IV since she's had so many IV sticks in the past. All the nurse did was bend her hand downward to try to find the vein and she started screaming. I think she realized what was coming.

Finally, the said they wanted to give her a break. I'm pretty sure they also needed a break. She has the ability to make anyone's blood pressure rise. I was wondering how many more times we were going to do this. I felt bad for Emma, as well as the nurses. They said they had a three stick rule for babies which seems to mean trying to find a vein in 3 places because I swear they stuck her more than three times in each hand. After trying her hands, they told us to pick her up and take her for a walk in the hall.

As I carried Emma in her 'Johnny' (little baby hospital gown) up and down the hallway in the MRI department, she slowly started to calm down. It took awhile though. I was dreading trying again, feeling sure that she would eventually throw up or choke from the screaming, and wondered if they would send us home only to have to do this all again another day if they couldn't get it on the third try. Finally, one of the nurses said she had a back up plan. They were ready to call an IV specialist, but if we wanted to, we could try an oral sedative. ARE YOU KIDDING ME!!!??? We could've given a little squirt in the mouth and we'd be done with this? Why the hell didn't they tell us this sooner?? Well, the nurse practioner then explained that although this was the way they used to do it all the time, the IV is more effective. If the child has trouble going to sleep with the IV sedative, they can give them another dose. Not so with the oral. Sometimes kids can wake up in the middle of the scan and then they have to try again another day. Some kids also need a contrast solution during the MRI that would need to go through the IV, but Emma didn't need it, so there was no need for anymore sticking. They asked if I wanted to consider it. Jeremy and I agreed without a doubt that we wanted to do it orally! I'd happily come back another day if it meant she didn't have to get anymore needles that day. So we gave her a little squit which she still didn't like since the taste was awful, but after a little cradling, rocking, bouncing and singing, she quickly drifted off into a nice quite sleep. It was amazing!

Jeremy went into the room with her since he wanted to watch. I decided to take a break in the waiting room. Exactly 45 minutes later, Jeremy came to get me and took me to the recovery room. I sort of felt like she had just had surgery, but knew we'd at least be coming home right after. She continued to sleep for about 45 minutes at which point we finally woke her up to give her a little sugar water. She had to start out slowly as sedatives sometimes cause queasy bellies. She didn't have a problem though and was able to drink her formula when we got home without any problems. A neurosurgeon was called down to reset her valve and he even made us verify the setting on the device to show that he had set it to the proper setting. I was relieved. When we first came into the room, the nurse wrote STRATA VALVE right on Emma's bed sheet in huge letters to be sure it didn't get missed. Boy, was I relieved. She said they have sent people home without resetting the valve though so my fear wasn't unfounded!

I must admit that if you've never seen a 'drunk' baby, you're missing something funny! She was floppy and a little out of it for the rest of the day. She didn't realize it though. She kind of tried to behave normally, but couldn't quite hold her head up all the way or keep her eyes fully open. She was very happy though. It really was amusing. She also slept much of the day which was a nice break for me. By early evening, she was pretty much back to her old self. We look forward to getting the results, but feel pretty confident that it will be a good report. I really hope she doesn't need another MRI anytime soon!

What an Angel ... Most of the Time

It's been a crazy week for us, which is part of the reason I haven't posted since last Sunday. (I'm sorry also that I don't have any new pictures, my camera's battery is dead and I keep forgetting to charge it.) Despite the hectic happenings of the past week, my darling Emma has been an angel ... with a few exceptions.

Last Saturday, we went house hunting. We drove to Dover, NH to meet our realtor at 11. It's an hour drive which Emma slept through. We knew it would be a big day because, with the distance and Jeremy's limited schedule thanks to being knee deep in his thesis, we can't get up there frequently. Our realtor had several houses to show us which was exciting, but I was a little nervous about how Emma would handle the long day. Our sweet girl was perfect! She ate well, slept here and there and was an absolute delight! I think going into so many different houses kept her interested enough that she didn't get bored and antsy.

The trip went so well that we decided to go back on Tuesday to have a meeting with the builder of a new subdivision. Emma again went with us. We first saw a finished house belonging to someone our realtor knew as the houses we'd seen on Saturday were only studs and beams. We wondered if it was too much to expect another good day especially since we'd have to sit in a meeting, but again she was perfect!

We're still not exactly sure what direction we'll end up heading. We don't think we will build and are most likely putting an offer in on a house tomorrow, but things have changed MANY times in the last week, so I really don't know where we will end up in 3 months.

In addition to the trips to New Hampshire, Emma is even an angel at home. She has been such a joy the last few days. She just keeps getting more interested in everything around her. Watching her play and discover is so exciting. Tummy time is getting better and she is on the brink of rolling in all directions. She's just a bit timid. She is constantly amusing us with funny faces and noises. She makes us laugh all the time. She continues, however, to be a bit ... well, QUITE A BIT ... of a drama queen. On Wednesday night, she for no apparent reason, had an intense meltdown. She hadn't napped more than a half hour between about 12:30 and 7 which I think was the source of the tantrum, although, I haven't ruled out severe gas. She screamed for about 45 minutes causing her to gag on her saliva and throw up 3 times. It was one of the scariest and exhausting things Jeremy and I have been through with her. At the time, we had no idea what the problem was and when she didn't quite after 10 minutes, we began to think something was really wrong and that she would never stop. I finally propped her up on my bed in order to give her some space and her binkie without having her choke on all the junk in her throat. She soon calmed down and after I laid her flat on her back and took her wet shirt off, she started kicking and then, laughing ... yes ... laughing! She was fine the rest of the night and went to bed as easily as usual. She's quite exhausting in that state, but it doesn't happen often thankfully!

Tomorrow, Emma has an MRI. They will be looking to see how her ventricles have changed since her last surgery, as well as looking to see that everything still looks good and there isn't any damage. We have to be at the hospital an 6 am and the scan will start at 7:30. She will have to be sedated which makes me nervous. I don't know why as she's been sedated before and did just fine. I guess I've just never seen her sedated and worry that it will be hard for me. I'm also worried that they will forget to reset her shunt properly. Because it has a magnet that allows the rate of flow to be adjusted if needed, it will have to be checked and most likley reset because an MRI is a giant magnet. I will be there to remind them, but it's just one more thing to make me worry. I feel pretty confident that we will get a good report, but I'm pretty sure we will have to wait a few days before we get any official result.

I will report tomorrow about the MRI and possibly a development with the housing situation. Please pray that Emma's MRI and sedation goes well and results in good news!

Dear Emma...

Big girl! Emma sitting in her glider without Mommy for the first time.

Dear Emma,

My sweet girl, today you are 7 months old. I don't know where the time went. Sometimes it seems like just yesterday that Daddy and I spent our days sitting by your bassinet in the NICU and our nights sitting at home missing you unable to believe that our beautiful baby was asleep in a hospital almost 5 miles away. Other times, those memories seem so distant that they hardly seem real. In just 5 short months, you will turn 1 year old - an absolutely unimaginable milestone. Yet I know it will be here in the blink of an eye.

Our monthly picture with Pooh Bear - a smile for the first time!


Tonight, after dinner, I said to daddy that I sometimes miss when you were so tiny, that you just snuggled up in the crook of our arms sleeping the days and nights away. Then you hug me or giggle and I know I wouldn't want it any other way than the way it is right now. Everyday you change a little. Everyday you seem to learn something you didn't know the day before. You seem to become a little more aware of what's going on. You seem a little more aware of your wants and needs. You seem a little more able to display your emotions. Each and everyday you turn more into Emma Jane Leghorn instead of just this little baby that mommy and daddy named Emma Jane. You become your own person with your own personality. Daddy and I are so honored to be able to watch you turn into this amazing little girl. We wish more of the people who love you could witness this change.

In the last month, you've discovered a lot of new things. You can now pick up anything you reach for.

Trying to choose just the right toy

You are holding things between your thumb and your forefinger, not just clumsily grabbing things with your whole hand. You have started to try to feed yourself your bottle although you are still having a hard time tipping it high enough to get the milk to your mouth. You've started using a sippy cup, although just for practice.

Mommy just puts a little water in there so when you suck on the spout, you'll know you've done it right. You are eating baby food now. I've been making it for you and although you still have a hard time eating a lot, you seem to like your fruits and vegetables. You've had peas, apples and butternut squash so far. We think you might be allergic to butternut squash which is a bummer because you seem to like it. Tonight, you had food again after skipping a few days. You ate a lot! Peas, apples and rice cereal! You seemed to really love every bite because you were reaching for the bowl, grabbing the spoon, and even ended up with peas and cereal in your hair for the first time!

Sheer joy!

The other day, I heard the sweetest sound ... your laugh. I've heard you laugh before, but only when you were being tickled. It's still a sweet sound, of course, but this time you laughed at me, at something I was doing. I was clapping my hands and tapping my legs. You thought it was very funny and started giggling. Your laugh made me laugh and cry at the same time. Tears of joy. I was filled with emotion over my little peanut showing such joy and amusement over something as simple as me clapping my hands. My favorite sound is the sound of your voice. I can only imagine how I'll feel when I hear you say 'Mommy' for the first time.

You are getting bigger and stronger day by day. Today, you sat by yourself much longer than you ever have. I know you can do it, but I think you get scared when you realize you are doing it all by yourself. Don't be scared. I won't let you fall. I may let you topple a little, but only to help you learn to hold yourself up. I'll never let go though and let you truly fall or get hurt. Even if I'm not holding on, I'm there ready to catch you. You are pushing yourself up higher and higher on your arms these days while you are on your tummy. You even almost rolled over yesterday, but your arm got in the way. I imagine that any day now, you will just start sitting all by yourself with no problem and will roll over in every direction to help you get to the things you want. Daddy and I better start babyproofing the house. You are a curious little one and as soon as you can get yourself around, you'll be into everything.

Emma has now learned to use all the toys on her exersaucer and no longer needs the pillow under her feet.

Daddy and I are so pround to be your parents. We couldn't have been blessed with anything more wonderful than you. You bring joy, love and laughter to us everyday. You have changed us, made us better people and made us love each other in a way that we couldn't have before you were born. You are the first thing we think of when we wake up and the last thing on our minds when we got to sleep. We miss you when you go to bed or are taking a nap, when we have to go somewhere and when we have to do work around the house while the other one of us gets to watch you.

Jeremy trying yet again to get Emma to write his thesis for him. She keeps telling him that he won't learn anything if she does it for him.

We can't wait to see what the next few months hold before you turn one. We will be living in a new house by then so as we prepare for the move, I know the time will slip by. I pray that we don't get caught up in moving and miss all the wonderful changes you go through. I hate to miss even one minute of your precious life.

Happy little lovebug sitting in her Boppy pillow

You are my sweet pea, my lovebug, my Emma Bean. I love you more than I ever imagined I could love anyone or anything. I love you more today than I did yesterday and will love you even more tomorrow. Thank you for making the last 7 months so incredible! I love you will all my heart!

Love,

Mommy

If It's Not One Thing ...

Nothing to do with anything. Just a cute picture of my sweet, happy girl!

... It's the next. I finally got over worrying about when, what and how much I would feed Emma. I was feeding her fruits and veggies with a little cereal thrown in here and there when it seemed like she was still hungry and had taken enough from her bottles for the day. We were doing well with applesauce, which I made this time, and sweet peas. We'd given her some butternut squash, but noticed a little red rash on her torso so we held off on it for awhile. The peas are not her favorite, but when eaten with cereal she seemed to like them and we didn't see any reactions to them. We'd even gotten her back to taking enough from her bottles. Things were going well!

Then I decided to try the squash again. The first time, it had taken 2 days for the rash to appear so I had planned to check her belly before and after each time she'd eaten to see if anything changed. I couldn't imagine that she actually could be allergic to butternut squash. Who's allergic to butternut squash? But, I wanted to be safe and not assume. There is, after all, a reason that parents are told to introduce one food a time and do so for at least 3 to 5 days before starting a new one. So yesterday morning, I went against my rule of not feeding solids in the morning. Okay, maybe it's not so much a rule as just something I hope will work from day to day! Anyway, I gave her butternut squash in the morning so that if she had a reaction I'd be sure to see it.

A few hours later, I still hadn't seen the rash that I saw before. I was happy because Emma really seemed to enjoy the squash. She took every bite eagerly. I knew we weren't out of the woods since the rash didn't show up until day two, but we were on the right track.

In the meantime, I noticed another rash under her diaper. It was one that I'd noticed a few days ago, but that had gotten a little better over the previous few days. It had me confused becasue it's not on her tushy, rather in the front under the top of the diaper where the sticky tabs cross. I decided finally to call the nurse line at the pediatrician's office. She suggested Triple Paste, but said that if it didn't get better in a few days that I could bring her in. A few minutes later she called back and suggested that I might try Lotramin as it might be a yeast rash. So I was off to the drug store to get Lotramin and Triple Paste. I didn't know where to look for the Lotramin but when I found it, it said it was for ... (GASP) ... jock itch and athlete's foot! I couldn't imagine this was what I was supposed to put on my sweet baby's rash! On the other hand, I had heard a nurse in the NICU say that it was a good remedy for yeasty diaper rashes. I called Stacey for her expert opinion since I was sure that I would take this home, put it in Emma's diaper and then have the nurses tell me what an idiot I was for putting athelet's foot cream on it. She assured me it was the right stuff. In the end, I remembered having a powder that we'd used before on her bum when she had a similar rash. Today it looks better, so it must be doing the trick.

When I got home from the drug store, I changed Emma's diaper, applied the powder, put vaseline on her chin, which is raw and chapped from rubbing against her drool soaked bibs and shirts, and was ready to put her pj's on when I noticed the little red rash on her belly. It was the same speckly red spots in the same area as before. Now it's hard to tell what red marks on Emma's skin are rashes, what are birth marks and what are there simply because I touched her with anything more than a feather's touch. I've never met a girl with more sensitive skin! So I have to conclude, at least for now, that Emma is allergic to butternut squash. The rash along with extra fussiness, lower fluid intake and extreme gassiness the entire day following the consumption of the yummy orange squash leads me to believe that she at least has a sensitivity. I guess it is possible after all. Looking back at the calendar, and what I'd written for the last time she tried the squash, I noticed she hadn't eaten much those days and seemed very gassy. I'd been blaming in on the cereal, but maybe it was the squash! Thank goodness I've been taking notes! Today, I didn't give her the squash - no rash, no fussiness, a full belly and much less gas! I guess I'll be looking for a recipe that calls for butternut squash puree since I have about 10 more servings in the freezer!

For now, we're taking a break from solids so we can get her appetite back on track and all the rashes cleared up. Too many things happening all at once for me to keep track of! I really thought that after worrying about and overcoming so many BIG things with Emma that we wouldn't sweat the small stuff! HA! I think I sweat them even more! I guess because I never know what really is small and what is something big disguised as something small. I have to be thankful, though, that when I called the doctor's office the nurse told me to try one thing and if it doesn't work try something else. Trial and error is not usually prescribed for the big stuff! I'll happily sweat the small stuff and thank the Lord for it!

PS I promise I won't always be writing about Emma's eating habits or rashes. It just seems to consume me these days. Sunday she will turn 7 months and I have lots of things to report and lots of pictures to share! Until then ... Happy Valentine's Day!

Whose Kid is She??

Emma and a little homemade butternut squash

It's been about 4 weeks since we introduced Emma to the wonderful (and colorful) world of food. It has been one of the most confusing and complex things I've been through with Emma. Well, besides the obvious. I couldn't imagine how many questions and uncertainties on my part would surrond the issue of feeding Emma solids. When do I start? What should be first? How much? How often? Should I give her extra fluid? What if she doesn't drink enough formula? It's endless! I've tried to find everything I can about introducing solids, but everything says something different! Who knew food could be so complicated??

Apparently she prefers eating food off of her bib over a spoon

Instead of trusting my gut instinct, I've somehow gotten it in my head that I will somehow to irrepairable damage if I don't do things perfectly. The problem is, I don't know what perfect is. Everyone has different advice. I've looked to Dr. Sullivan for guidance which has helped, but even that has lead to confusion. What a surprise that I would overthink a subject and worry about something that really doesn't warrant any worry.

Adding to the confusion is Emma's tiny appetite. Whose kid is she?? Neither Jeremy or I have a problem with clearing our plates (or gaining weight for that matter), but our little munchkin is quite the opposite. She's never been a big eater. She maxed out at 30 ounces of formula a day a few months ago while other babies her age were taking several ounces more some as many as 40+. She would eat 5 ounces at a time, but would only drink half right away and the other half 40 minutes later or so. After I switched to a faster flow for her bottle, she began taking 5 ounces at once and even taking another 2 or 3 later. We got to the point where she was taking 4 8 oz bottles a day. The novelty of a faster flow has worn off though and we're back to smaller more frequent bottles. She must have an itty bitty belly! (Boy do I wish she'd inherited that from me!) No wonder her weight is only 30th percentile which suprisingly has nothing to do with the fact that she was born early.

When we introduced solids, and she started sleeping so long at night, her daily intake started to dwindle. She only eats between about 6:30 am and 7 pm. It's hard to get a lot of food in during such a short span of time! Cereal seems to fill her stomach and keep it filled the rest of the day. I'm left wondering what to do. Do I continue feeding her solids and introducing new foods? Or do I hold off until her appetite increase - something I don't forsee happening anytime soon - putting her willingness to try new foods in jeopardy?

I know she needs mostly formula, but if I give her cereal and fruits or veggies, will she eat enough? If I don't give her the cereal, is she getting enough iron? If I don't give her the fruits or vegetables will she be less receptive to liking them later or worse, have a higher chance of developing an allergy? So many questions with SO many different answers.

Mmmm! Sweet peas! Emma chose to eagerly take these into her mouth, but then slowly blow raspberries, not causing them to spray everywhere - thank goodness - but rather slide down her chin. I made them from frozen peas so they are VERY bright. Almost the color of the Wicked Witch of the West or The Incredible Hulk!

There are so many 'rules' to starting foods. Don't start before 6 months ... unless your baby seems ready at 4 months. Don't put cereal in the bottle ... unless your doctor tells you that you should (ours didn't). Dont' give them any extra fluid ... although some babies need more water when they start solids. Introduce one food at time for 2 -3 days so you can identify an allergy ... although some think you should wait 5 - 7 days between foods. Start veggies before fruits or they'll only want the sweet stuff ... but there's no scientific evidence that says fruits first will create a sweet tooth. Good Lord, it's just food!

Not only is she learning to eat solids, but she's trying to learn to drink from her bottle alone. We've also tried a little water in sippy cup, but she can't manage to tip either one high enough so that she can actually draw fluid from them. She sure does look cute trying though!

So I've made a decision, based on research and ... shockingly ... my own instincts and opinions! I don't find cereal all that important at the moment especially if it prevents her from drinking her formula which is what she really needs. Some will tell me that she needs the iron from the cereal, but if she isn't taking enough formula, she'll still be missing out on iron. I will start offering solids in the afternoon or evening once she has shown me that she will consume an adequate amount of milk for the day. Small amounts of veggies and fruits will be on the menu so that she is introduced to a wide variety of foods and we can test for reactions. (We actually already are wondering if she's allergic to butternut squash. I noticed a rash on her belly and up towards her underarm shortly after her second day of butternut squash. Of course, the child has the most sensitive skin I've ever seen. Touching her leaves a red mark. So who knows what it was. I gave her a bath after noticing it, although my mom reminded me that I couldn't wash off a rash. It has gone away though either supporting my fear or having absolutely no correlation. I still don't know. It would figure that she would react to a food that I made and now have 11 more servings of stashed in my freezer rather than one that I bought one or two packs of at the store.) ANYWAY, if she starts wanting more, I'll be happy to give it to her, but for now, she's going to get her fruits and veggies! She'll be on day two of sweet peas tomorrow. If those go well for a few days, we'll try the squash again to see if she gets the same little rash.

Why oh why is this so confusing??? I know in my head I'm making it a bigger deal than it should be, but I can't seem to stop worrying about it. The more questions I ask, the more confused I get. So it's time to listen to my gut and realize that if they are so many answers to the questions then there must not be one right answer. I'm sure as long as I use my head and don't offer her sushi or a Twix bar, she'll be okay. I feel good about my decision! I feel good that I'm trusting myself! I'll feel good until a find some other food issue to worry about or I have to report to Dr. Sullivan about her diet. Then I'll second guess myself. I can't wait until she just eats regular food and can drink her milk out of a sippy cup. Until then, I'm thankful that Emma is at least willing to try the foods I've given her so far even the bright green, sweet peas.

A Double Dose of Good News

Yesterday brought good news and a little extra peace of mind. Emma had appointments with both her neurosurgeon and her neurologist. Emma has been doing so well since her last surgery that Jeremy and I weren't too concerned about what they would tell us, but you just never know, as a parent, if what you are seeing is what doctors will see.

Emma and I headed to Children's Hospital early yesterday morning. Our first appointment was with Emma's neurosurgeon. We arrived early and had a bit of a wait. Normally, I would've been a little annoyed, but I actually talked to a few other moms while I was there. There were two mom's with 6 month old boys. We chatted about when they were born, why they were there, what our kids were doing, ... normal mom stuff. Well except for the fact that we were sitting in a neurosurgeons office. I don't get to do that often, so it was a bit of a treat. I will admit, I was hoping at least one of them would tell me that her child had a shunt thinking maybe we'd be able to swap stories. They were both there for more minor things like a flat spot on the baby's head.

Another woman walked in with 3 children and her husband. She immediately came over to look at Emma. She talked to her and told me how cute she was. A bit later, she came over and sat down. She again talked to Emma and made faces at her. She quietly asked me what was 'wrong with her'. I don't really like the phrase because I don't think there is anything 'wrong' with her, but I don't get too worked up over it and I understand what she meant. I told her she had a shunt because she had hydrocephalus. The woman gasped a bit and asked when and how she ended up with a shunt. I could tell there was a reason she was asking. We were afterall sitting in the waiting room of the Department of Neurosurgery. I thought maybe she was going to tell me one of her kids had a shunt. I told her my story and asked if one of her children had a shunt. She said that her son had an achranoid cyst that took up a good portion of his brain. He had had a craniotomy which left a scar across his forehead. Apparently, they were trying to drain the cyst and had just had an MRI to see if it was successful. If it was not they would have to shunt. I tried to put her mind at ease about what a shunt involves. She seemed worried, but said "what can you do? You just have to deal with it, right?" Exactly! Her family was called into their appointment. I felt as if I might have helped a little. Luckily, she came out and gave me a big thumbs up. The draining worked and they didn't need to shunt at this point. I could tell she was relieved. She wished us luck as they left.

When we were finally called in to our appointment, the doctor was very pleased with Emma's head and her belly. She felt she was healing very well. I was surprised when she talked to Emma a bit in a sing songy voice; not something I ever expected to hear from her. I guess she feels better about what she's done for us now and is starting to get to know us better. She asked me about Emma's development, noticing that she sat well, with little support, on my lap. She wondered if she cooed and babbled. 'All the time,' I responded. She didn't seemed terribly surprised that Emma had abandoned the rolling since her surgery. 'Is she a happy baby?' she asked. 'Very! And so much happier since the revision,' I said. I told her I felt so much better about her shunt since the last sugery. She confessed that she did too and that she felt bad that it took so long to figure out exactly what was going on. She did explain that with so many components and different things going on, it can be hard to pinpoint the problem. All is well now and she said that Emma looked 'marvelous'! We'll follow-up in November assuming the MRI we have scheduled later in the month goes well.

After a brief - well, not brief, an hour and a half - wait in the lobby of Children's, during which Emma slept peacefully in her stroller and I enjoyed my coffee and people watched, we headed to the Department of Neurology for our second appointment. The appointments were originally scheduled back to back, but, of course, a scheduling conflict with the neurologist derailed that plan. We waited a bit again until we heard the lovely British accent of our neurologist call Emma's name. I updated him on December's revision and what led up to it. He too asked about her development thus far and wondered what services she received. After I told him about Emma and Early Intervention, he brought out a few little objects to entice Emma with. She grabbed at each toy, passed them between her hands and, of course, tried to put them in her mouth. He took her to the exam table and put her in tummy time followed by a few other exercises. Unlike our last visit with him, she smiled and was happy the whole time!

His assessment? 'She looks fantastic! She looks like a 'normal' baby!' Always nice to hear it from a professional! He said that her gross motor skill was that of a 5 1/2 month old which matches her 'corrected age'. Her fine motor skills are that of a 6 - 6 1/2 month old which is an improvement over her early intervention evaluation a few months ago! He even said that she has an emerging pincer (index finger and thumb) grasp. Finally, her congnitive and language development are more line with a 7 month old! I was thrilled to hear the good news. He also said that her muscle tone is very good and that he didn't see any signs of spacticity. Both are things that have been mentioned before as potential concerns. We will see him in August, again assuming that the MRI goes well.

I guess it's been a big week for doctor's appointments. Hard to believe every week was like this a few months ago. We will still have an appointment to get her RSV vaccine and an MRI this month, but then we'll only be seeing Dr. Sullivan every once in awhile. We've always felt Emma was amazing and had sort of defied the odds, but having such glowing reviews from medical professionals who are so well respected in their fields, just makes us realize how amazing she really is!

Milestones

Emma and Mommy modeling our new 'dos'. I know Emma's is more of a don't (hopefully mine isn't!) . We were being silly after a bath and, of course, saw a photo opportunity.

The question of meeting milestones has been on our minds since Emma was born. I'm sure it's on the minds of most, if not all, parents. Having a daughter 5 weeks premature is cause enough to wonder if her ability to reach milestones will be hindered. Add a lengthy hospital stay, a diagnosis of hydrocephalus and multiple surgeries and it becomes an even bigger 'if and when'. Jeremy and I were given all sorts of scenarios for Emma's development ranging from having no effect from the meningitis and hydrocephalus to having minor learning disabilities to severe mental handicaps. If nothing else, the NICU staff often spoke of her 'corrected age' and told us that she would have a little extra time - 5 weeks - to reach milestones because of her prematurity. Although she seemed to be developing well in the two months she spent in the NICU, what the future would hold was, and still is to some degree, a bit of a mystery.

In an attempt to give Emma a leg up on meeting her milestones and preventing any delays, we agreed to Early Intervention. An evaluation of her development was performed identifying strengths and weaknesses. Depending on the category, her development fell anywhere between her 'corrected age' and a month ahead of her 'chronological age'. Her physical therapist works with her every week to help her turn her weaknesses into strengths. Despite her efforts, there are things Emma has not seemed to want to do. Sitting and rolling over are the two that come to mind. Yes, she did roll tummy to back a few months ago, but has abandoned the skill since her last surgery. It's been a bit of a concern.

After a trip to see Dr. Sullivan today, my concerns have been put to rest ... for now anyway. After answering a million of my questions and examining Emma, Dr. Sullivan said that she was growing and developing well with or without the extra 5 week allowance.

In the area of growth, she continues to stay on her growth curves. She weighed 15 lbs 5 oz (30th percentile - pretty surprising for a baby who weighed 7 lbs 7 oz at 35 weeks!), 27 inches (between 75th and 90th percentile) and her head circumference was 44.5 centemeters (90th percentile) - all of which are based on her age from birth, not her corrected age. The head measurement was especially exciting. Her head is no longer growing at a rate above her curve! It matches a normal growth curve - a higher than average curve, but still normal!

Dr. Sullivan saw no reason to be concerned about the sitting and the rolling. She said some kids don't do any of the major things i.e. rolling, sitting, crawling, etc. until they can do all of them. She thought maybe Emma would be one of those kids. She also said that even if she does do them one at a time, it's not time to worry yet that she isn't doing them. Emma demonstrated her strength while sitting and standing on my lap. Dr. Sullivan went so far as to say that Emma's ability to sit up on her own on my lap shows how strong she really is explaining that it's even harder to sit on soft surfaces because they move and change based on shifts in weight so she has to use her core muscles to keep herself upright. I think she doesn't sit or roll because she doesn't want to, not because she can't. Anyway, she said she was doing remarkably well and said everything looks beautiful!

I decided to put my concerns on the back burner. If I've learned anything in the past 6 1/2 months, it's that babies are unique. They will do things in their own time in their own way. What is true for one baby is not true for other. What is nothing more than a basic UTI for one child becomes meningitis for another. There is no rhyme or reason most of the time. Emma can't be put in a box. She's never done anything according to 'the rules' so why should sitting and rolling be any different?

Emma has always been one to prove her mother, and other care givers, wrong. When we came home from the doctor today, we did some tummy time and practiced her sitting. Wouldn't you know ... this is what she did!

No, she isn't leaning against the back of the couch!

It wasn't for very long. She toppled over a few seconds after the picture was taken, but it's more than she's ever done.

Maybe by the end of the week, she'll be fully sitting on her own like a big girl! If not, that's okay. She'll do it ... when she feels like it. In the meantime, we'll keep trying tummy time and working with Early Intervention. We may not know what lies ahead, but we are feeling confident that Emma will continue to develope normally not allowing the meningitis or the hydrocephalus to leave any lingering effects. Here's another picture to demonstrate how smart she already is:

Emma during the Super Bowl - demonstrating her feelings for the Steelers' opponent. We're proud of our little Steeler fan! Eat the 'cardinal', Emma!