Alright, it's getting close to Paisley's first birthday. Eleven days to be exact, and I never thought it would bother me this bad. Of course right now we're overwhelmed with our illnesses. Brandon is still struggling with his diabetes and insulin pump, and now I'm having to go to the GI doctor this week as a last resort to figure out what's going on with me. I do, however, have to be thankful there is nothing new as far as Paisley is concerned. No seizures, no feeding problems, and she is so happy.
I think this birthday is bothering me so bad because day to day she just seems like an infant (mentally and developmentally a 3-4 month old) and I forget about her developmental delay so often and just treat her like a never-aging little baby. When I say she is "X months old" people usually don't think twice about it, but now when people will ask me how old she is I will say "One", and it'll be very obvious that she is not "normal". People just relate better to milestones and since she is not reaching any developmental milestones this is the big one for us. It makes me so much more aware that she is aging, this is going to get harder and harder as more time goes by.
Anyways, Paisley is smiling all day, rolling side to side frequently, making different sounds (still no "babbling"), and she is starting to reach out and grab things. I still wouldn't call it intentional, but I believe she is noticing there is actually a world around her and she keeps those little arms extended to grab anything she feels. She rips out my hair and scratches my face, but she is exploring and I am so happy about it.
We started doing stage 3 baby foods (mashing up the chunks now, after having to dig a noodle out of her throat) and we'll give her a bite of frozen yogurt, mashed biscuit, etc. Her speech pathologist has mentioned starting actual SPEECH therapy, since she is eating fine right now.
At her WIC check-up she is in the 23rd percentile for her weight (under-weight), 10th percentile for head circumference (tiny-head, but growing consistently since it's always tiny), and in the 98th percentile for her height... That's right, they're telling me that my baby is going to be close to six-foot tall. I'm 5'2, so she better be walking by the time she is towering over me. While the nurse at WIC was measuring and weighing her, she asked, surprised, if Paisley wasn't sitting up yet. I just told her that she has a brain problem and she stated, "Oh, I was wondering if there was something wrong with her". Got to get used to remarks like that, I guess. I don't know, I might compare this to her stats we get from the pediatrician because it's hard to imagine someone in my family being that tall.
Also at WIC, they told me (even after I brought a doctor's note) they have to take away her baby foods at age one. Since she is still on a pureed diet we might have to invest in a food processor soon to make food for her. I guess I knew this was coming since she is getting so scrawny and needs more "grown-up" nutrients since she is a big girl now. She will probably be moved up to whole milk (age 1 to 2 needs the fats for brain development) with Carnation mix for weight gain, or maybe even toddler formula. I can't wait until we see her pediatrician on the 18th to figure out her new diet.
On Tuesday we go to see her neurologist which always makes me nervous. Last time was the only time we got good news and I hope it continues. I just personally think she is doing so well. Everyday.
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