Look at Me!!!

Emily's recent update...
Last Thursday was a busy day for Little Emily. We started the morning off with our second to the last round of synagis injections. I've said before that the dosage for these injections is based on weight. Once you hit 15 lbs. you have to get double injections, one in each leg. Since November our nurse, Kris (who is FABULOUS), has been telling Emily this would be her last single injection, anticipating each time that Em would be 15 lbs. the next month. Well... let this be a testament to Emily's hearing and cognitive ability because she has heard Ms. Kris loud and clear and managed to stay well under that 15 lb. mark ensuring just one painful injection for the past two months! She weighed in last Thursday at 14.3lbs. Most people gain weight over the holidays but Emily lost half a pound! These injections are pretty awful even with lidocaine to numb her leg before the shot and an ice pack afterwards. Her poor little leg always swells up and bothers her for the rest of the day, especially now that she is more active! Lila, Baby Bop, BJ, and Barney went along for moral support and just for the record... Barney weighs an ounce and Baby Bop and BJ each weigh two ounces. They did very well with their shots although Lila told me they cried... Did I already mention how fabulous Nurse Kris is?? I wish I had my camera with me that day. Lila was a good "Doctor" and even took her cookie monster stethoscope along... pretty sad when your two year old with limited vocabulary knows all the doctor words... It's been a crazy year!

Barney and Friends... notice the band-aids on their left legs?

That afternoon we went to Emily's 9 1/2 month check up (I was a little late in scheduling and they had to squeeze us in). There Emily weighed 13.11 but I'm taking the bigger of the two... 14.3 sounds better to me, especially after all the hard work we've been doing lately to add calories and eat baby food. She got more shots, always fun, and was put on Miralax and a probiotic for her intestinal issues. Nice. We have a definite diagnosis for spina bifida but have been told it is a mild case, something to watch and pray about, but nothing that will leave her paralyzed. She may have difficulty with crawling and walking but that is something we can definitely live with! God is so good! I wish I had a running count of all the prayers He has answered for us this past year. Hundreds if not thousands for sure!

I think by far the best part of our shuffling from one doctor's office to another is the lovely bug we caught while there! That's been fun the past few days! I NEVER let Lila (or Emily) touch a single toy, book, etc. while at the docs and we still caught whatever has been going around... Next time I'm breaking out my big ol' can of Lysol and disinfecting the place myself! You can never have it too clean!

In therapy Emily has really been focusing on tripod sitting and catching, or bracing, herself for a fall. In December we were told she was lagging behind where she should be and there was discussion as to our what our game plan should be to help catch her back up. We decided to re-evaluate after Christmas. I am so proud to announce that after a lot of diligent work with a daddy that was off for ten days over the holidays, Miss Emily is not only tripod sitting but... SITTING ON HER OWN!!! She is so proud of herself and loves her new view of life from an independent upright position! I love this little girl so much and am overjoyed at each new milestone! Keep them coming Emily!!

It's so fun to play with toys this way!

Wow! The flash on your camera is bright!

So bright it knocked me over.. but what's this?

I can't get back up on my own but I'll still find a way to play!

Our nutritionist has added 75 calories a day to her diet and MORE pear juice!! We are still on added calorie (22 cal.) formula and might add goat's milk next month... yuck!! Speech therapy for eating issues has been interesting. We have not made any progress in this area but how many adults do you see drinking a bottle for breakfast, lunch and dinner? I mean, seriously. It might take some time to get over her texture aversion, and learn to use those muscles appropriately but she'll get it. No worries here on that one!

We have follow ups with our ENT for hearing and the opthamologist for her ROP coming up in the next few months so we will let you know how that all goes later. In the next few months we are supposed to start weaning her from sleeping swaddled in a blanket (no more baby burritos) and in March when RSV season is coming to a close we
can pack up the apnea monitor! Yay!!! I can't believe Emily has been with us almost a year! I told Wayne last night that I need to start planning her birthday party because we have A LOT to celebrate and what better way than a big blow out party?!?!?