Car Seat

Look.....I'm forward facing in my carseat now! Shhhh, don't tell anyone because I was suppose to wait until my first birthday.

We had a follow up visit with the Arthrogryposis doctor at UofM today. The visit went much better this time. The doc thinks that Addy is too heavy. Once again, we are back to this issue. She eats what a normal toddler of her age would eat, but because she's not walking or crawling, she's not burning it off at a decent rate. The doc is worried that due to her overall weakness, the weight will only add to her developmental delays. So, now we have to watch what she eats and try hard to make it as low cal as possible.

We also discussed bracing Addy's ankles for more support. She is doing much better with weight bearing, but still has a long way to go. She seems to do much better if we have a pair of supportive tennies on her. Decided to wait on the braces, since it could be one month before she's on her feet more or it could be six months. We will revisit this issue in a couple of months. The doc also noticed that Addy hyperextends one knee when she weight bears. Hopefully just due to muscle weakness at this point, but something to watch.

Lastly, I talked with the doctor about Addy's neck. Her current PT has recently suggested that she be seen by a plastic surgeon at Children's hospital who runs a torticollis clinic. Addy has not made a lot of gains with her ability to turn her neck to the left. I wanted this doctor's opinion. She too felt that Addy should be seen by a plastic surgeon. Most kids should show improvement or recovery by a year old and when they don't it might be time to talk about surgery. So, we will be seeing a plastic surgeon later in May and then may go for a second opinion at another one at UofM after we see the one at Children's Hospital.

That's all for now. Only 2 more days until my 1st birthday!

Addy Dances

Addy's 1st Haircut

Addy had her first haircut today at just over 11 months old. The front of her hair was getting long enough where it was beginning to hang in her eyes so we thought it was time. She got the front and back cut. She did exceptionally well. She had her own comb to play with, but more than anything she just wanted to watch what was going on. Less than a month until Addy turns 1! We can't believe how fast this first year has gone.

Before

DuringAfter

Addy and Patti

Outside Fun

We took Addy to a Tigers Game on Saturday. Packed her up in the snugli and away we went. She loved it! She was very well behaved throughout the whole game and even skipped her 2 hour nap. Addy loves being outside and always seems to be in good spirits when we are. Too bad they lost.

We also have a "pull behind" for our bicycle. So on Sunday we took Addy for her first bike ride. She especially enjoyed that. There will be many more to come this summer.

Just this weekend, Addy is starting to get herself up onto all fours. She's not quite sure what to do when she gets there. Sometimes rocks a little and sometimes falls forward onto her face. We have strategically been placing her toys farther away from her and making her work to get to them. One of Addy's physical therapists suggested that possibly Addy's vestibular system is underdeveloped. Most kids vestibular system develops as they begin to move about their environment, however because Addy is still stationary her system needs a little help. When this system is not developed, babies tend to be less mobile and be content to stay in one spot. She suggested that we start spinning Addy everyday for a short period of time. Ever since we have been doing this Addy has been all over the place. She is rolling all around and seems to have much more motivation to move about her environment and go after toys.

Tigers Game

Addy's 1st bike ride

Trying to help dad fold laundry

Looking cute

Happy Easter!

Addy Update

Addy saw the pediatrician at 10 months. She weighed 22 pounds, 6 ounces, so we definitely have the weight under control.

She is continuing with the OT and PT every week and seems to be getting much stronger. One of her PT's is hopeful that she will be crawling by her 1st birthday. We shall see. Mom and dad are hoping.

I was beginning to get frustrated with eating, because we were feeding Addy everything with very little attempt on her part to help out. Because she is delayed with her hand development, I was beginning to worry that she was going to get too used to mom and dad feeding her and she would not want to feed herself. Well, she proved me wrong. We had quesadilla's one night last week and Aaron made Addy her own cheese quesadilla. We cut it up into pieces small enough to eat, but large enough to pick up. She tried a couple. Then later in the week I picked Addy up from daycare and both caregivers were hooting and hollering that Addy had fed herself all day- pancakes, corn and strawberries. They could not believe it! Must have been that quesadilla! Anyway, she is now attempting to feed herself most anything we put on her tray. She still doesn't have a pincher grasp so much of it doesn't end up in her mouth. We don't mind the mess as long as we see her trying. She's definitely a good eater. She is now eating almost anything we eat as a family.

Enjoy the pics.

Silly hat day!

What mom, can't I look at the Sunday ads too?

Looking pretty

Being silly

Found a friend

Happy St.Patrick's Day!