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How many more?

How many more doctors can Lindsey see? I have lost track. Dr. Quinn was the lucky one yesterday. I have the insurance company's phone number memorized and I know the woman in charge of referrals at the doctor's office by name.

Lindsey had a slow day at physical therapy. Her therapist was out sick so she has another girl filling in for her who was also good. Lindsey just wasn't up for it. She kept cuddling her head into anything she could and closing her eyes every chance she had. Jodi called me today to schedule the appointment for next week and I think we are going to try for an afternoon appointment. She is much more alert in the afternoon and would probably get the most benefit at that time. We shall see if that is the case next week. Lindsey is kicking her feet more and bringing her hands in midline for toys and especially the bottle. Her head control is improving but she still acts as though there is a bowling ball attached to her neck at times.

Straight from therapy we headed over to see Dr. Quinn. She is a wonderful pediatric developmental and behavioral doctor. She is also blessed to have a 9 year old daughter with Down syndrome. Dr. Quinn not only knows the medical side of Down syndrome but also can share her own personal experiences with her daughter. From start to finish we were there for about 2 1/2 hours. She just adored Lindsey and I think the feeling was mutual. She recommend a pediatric eye specialist to take a look at her. Lindsey always seems to have goopy and teary eyes. As soon as I wipe them out they are goopy 5 minutes later. Like I said the poor girl has probably seen more doctors than a 90 year old man with heart problems. That will be next week. Dr. Quin also thinks that she probably has a little bit of a floppy airway. All those little grunts and squeaks are most likely from that. She said not to be concerned that Lindsey will grow out of it. Man, do I miss those days of worrying about how Brooke will react to a vaccine or just a simple well visit with the pediatrician. Goopy eyes, floopy airway, low muscle tone, cardia issuse, and the list goes on. Lindsey has grown though, weighing in at 8lbs 12 oz. Whohoo!! I realize the whole different scale thing but last week she was 8lbs 1 oz and 2 weeks ago 7lbs 14 oz. Anyway you look at it she has gained quite a bit of weight. Check out our big girl in her Bumbo.

Record Snowfall

More snow pictures? Yep, we are setting records this January for snowfall. Toledo has had 30.7 inches of snowfall in January alone. We may even end up beating out the #1 spot from the blizzard of 1978 with 30.8 inches of the white stuff.
I decided it was time to let Lindsey check it out. I always takes longer to get them dressed compared to how long they stay outside.

Brooke and Lindsey went for a sled ride together. Notice Maize supervising in the background.

Brooke getting ready to throw a snowball at Tim.

Lindsey seriously chillin'.

No more Newborn!

I am also happy to say that my 3 month old Lindsey has grown out of her newborn outfits. I packed them up and they are ready to go in the attic!

Watch out Papa...

Brooke is practicing on the Wii so she can beat you when you are home.

I promise...

No one was in danger here. I know my mother's mouth is probably wide open and she is just contemplating her comment. Tim originally put Lindsey in and Brooke wanted to play along. We were right there making sure Brooke didn't try and sprint off after Nala.

Big Girl Panties

I would like to announce that Brooke is what I consider Potty Trained! Whoohooo!!!! She has been wearing big girl panties and using the potty everytime. Bedtime and naptime is the only time she is in a diaper. I am in shock as to how well she took to the idea. Now to start weaning her off M&M's. She loves that she gets to get herself dressed and protests when we try to help. She really is a little girl!

My time is up...

My time has come to get back to work. I can't believe it has been almost 13 weeks since I had Lindsey.

I really can't complain about my schedule but I don't think there are many people jumping to go back to work after being off for 3 months.

Red bull, give me wings! I am going to need them to get through the night shift all over again.

Hmmm, now where did I stash all my scrubs?

More appointments

Lindsey had her second physical therapy appointment on Thursday and it was decided that she will continue to go every Thursday. Jodi is wonderful with Lindsey and gives us tons of ideas of ways to help her at home. She worked with her for about an hour and Lindsey worked hard. She is such a trooper and hardly fussed. Determined for sure!
Stephanie was out from Help Me Grow to go over some things for the early intervention program Lindsey is involved in. Lindsey was pretty pooped from her therapy session so she wasn't up for too much showing off. Stephanie brought along tons of good information on milestones for kiddos with Down syndrome, growth, development, and gross motor skills. She is also going to set up a date when we are at PT to meet with us there to see how everything is going. She has been such a great help!

It's Potty Time

Brooke has decided to use the potty. Today was day #2 and there wasn't a single accident. Not only no accidents but she went "poo poo". Yahoo!

This is all so funny to me because we have had 2 potty chairs sitting around and occasionally she would sit on one and go but never seemed to care much about it and we weren't pushing the idea. Honestly, some days it seemed like too much work on top of still trying to get used to everything with Lindsey. I knew she wasn't going to kindergarten in a diaper. Wednesday night I went to a TPG Surviving Motherhood event that we talked about potty training and shared advise.

Thursday when Brooke woke up from her nap she told me "pee pee". I asked her if she wanted to sit on the potty and she gave me that big smile and said, "uh huh". Pee pee she did. She was clapping, so happy of what she had done and just kept telling me to get her a M&M. Problem is? I had no M&M's left. Since we weren't really trying to get her potty trained Tim I had slowing, well maybe not slowly, but we did finish off the bag a while ago. I imporoviused with a Rolo that she now calls her "chocolate". Tim went out for M&Ms when he was off work, still thinking this was a fluke.

Anyway....I decided to take the no diaper, run around naked from the waist down approach and apparently it really does work. We had tried training pants and she would just tell us she was wet after the fact. She had one accident the first night and thank goodness it was on the kitchen floor which meant easy clean up.

Today was a repeat of last night with no accidents and a poop on the potty. I don't know who was more excited, Tim and I or Brooke. I realize this is just the start and it does seem too good to be true but what a great start it is. Brooke enjoys the extra praise, all the juice she wants, and chocolate everytime she goes. Now she can wear her cute little Elmo panties.

Miniature Rockette

Brooke went to her first UT Rockets basketball game. She LOVED it! She yelled, "shoot, shoot" everytime they were close to the basket, danced with the band and the rockettes, ran up and down the stairs, and even made it up on the big board. Looks like we may have a future rockette.

A good ticker

Lindsey had her 2nd appointment today with the cardiologist. Wierd to think that she is 3 months old today and she has already had 3 ECHOs, 3 EKGs, 3 hearing tests, multiple vital sign checks, and whatever slew of testing that was completed while in the NICU.

She is steadily gaining weight. She was 7lbs even at the last visit and was 8lbs 1oz and 21 1/4 inches long. The ECHO today was more fabulous news. The hole between the ventricles (VSD) continues to get smaller. It was about 4mm when she was a day old and now it is just over 2mm.

The 2 holes remain stable between the atrium (ASD)

and he seems to think she will not require surgery at the rate she is going. The pressure in the lungs also continues to improve. We have noticed that the color changes in her hands continues on occasion and the therapist also made a comment last week about it. Her pulse ox was 99-100% and The Dr. wasn't concerned at this time.

Brooke tagged along for the appointment. I was a little nervous how a 2 year old would handle such a lengthy appointment but she was an angel. She was almost intriqued by what they were doing with her sister. After the appointment we had lunch and Brooke even indulged in a piece of chocolate pudding cheesecake. Way to go girls!

3 Months

The last month has been so busy but you have done so well. You experienced your first Christmas and New Year's celebration. There have been so many Dr. appointments and all with great news. You continue to be our little peanut weighing in today at 8lbs 1 oz and 21 1/4 inches. Every ounce and every 1/4 inch is a big achievement for you. You are a great eater and sleep through the night with the occasional urge for a midnight snack. Who doesn't like that once in awhile?

You are trying to overcome low muscle tone and wiggle your way to show it. Everything you do shows how determined you are. Things may take a little longer for you but that just shows that not everything comes easy and by the book. Some of us really have to work harder but everything shall come. Your hands are fascinating to you. I'll catch you moving them around and just staring in awe that something so entertaining just may be attached and that you have control over it. We now know that you are trying to get that teenie tiny thumb in your mouth and that is what is so fascinating to you.

You have taught us to enjoy all the little things and never take anything for granted. We love you dearly and look forward to the many more achievements and life lessons you bring to us, your sister, and the world around you.

Another Box

More videos. No matter how old Brooke gets she still enjoys playing with boxes.

Just a little camera fun

Creativity of a 2 year old

Now that I have the video camera figured out I will be posting more videos. We need to keep Grandma and Papa in the loop as to what the girls are up to all the way in Florida.

Lindsey likes to spit up every time I lay her on the play mat. It was in the washer and Brooke decided to use the pieces to build a bridge for her car.

From pacifier to thumb

Lindsey's 1st Physical Therapy Visit

Lindsey had her first physical therapy visit. Jodi will be her physical therapist each time we go. She was really knowledgeable and enjoyed Lindsey. She gave us many techniques and handouts of exercises that we can do at home with her. Playing with her on the floor as much as possible, tummy time, getting her to reach at objects towards the center of her body, and introducing her to her feet starting with her knees so that she will grab at them.

Lindsey showed her how she likes to wiggle all over the place and get her bottom off the floor. Right now we will be going every other week and that will increase as she gets older.

99 Balloons

Oprah had this story on a couple months ago right after I had Lindsey. It is about a boy named Eliot that was born with Trisomy 18. I have had a couple people talk about Trisomy 18 and I just remembered the name of this video and promised to find it. Make sure the tissues are handy.

Diaper deals

One of the girls in the TPG posted this on the message board and I thought I would pass it along to the rest of you.

http://www.diapers.com/ has some great deals.

I just bought a XL case of Luvs diapers-204 ct and a box of Pampers Swaddlers Newborn-92 ct for $30 including shipping. If you spend over $49 on stuff then you get free shipping. My coupon code is RNKE2503 that saves you $10 off the total and then there is a mail in rebate for $14.97 or you can get a year subscription to Parenting magazine. I am going for the rebate.

They have quite a few on sale and they also will keep track of your manufacturers coupons and rebate checks.

Here is how to get the rebate from your shopping cart (not checkout, the shopping cart), in the left hand side there's the space to put the $10 off code.Then, a little lower there's a box that says: "Parenting subscription included with your first order of $15 or more! Learn more" If you click that you can see the instructions and the page to print and send for the rebate.

Lindsey's funny hat

Since I posted a picture of Brooke and her funny hat thought I would show you Lindsey's funny hat. I still haven't quite figured out why they put hoods on baby clothes. I don't know what baby's head would ever fit in them and they jut get in the way. Cute outfit though.

Brooke's favorite activity. Decorating cookies or eating the frosting?

And another...

Recall that is...
This recall involves Stork Craft Baby cribs. All cribs with manufacturing and distribution dates between May 2000 and November 2008 are included in this recall. The cribs were sold in various styles and finishes. The manufacture date, model number, crib name, country of origin, and the firm’s name, address, and contact information are located on the assembly instruction sheet attached to the mattress support board. The firm’s insignia “storkcraft baby” is inscribed on the drop side teething rail of some cribs.
http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml09/09093.html

Lovely seeing as how Brooke jumped on that thing for months

Sticker Sister

Sticker book, who needs a sticker book when you can just put them all over your sister.

Oh, but she will wear this hat...

Brooke is not a fan of hats or gloves. Kelly managed to get Brooke to at least wear this hat home. I was just happy she had a hat on.

Trying this out

As much as I complain about Shutterfly I still go back every time to order my prints. They really do make it easy. They offer a share site now. It makes it easy to share all of our pictures in one place so anyone can look at them at any time and order their favorites. Bonus, they are offering up to 90 free prints for setting it up and adding to the site. Thought I would give it a try. I have a link for our site in my favorite sites on the side bar. The actual address is:
http://brookelindsey.shutterfly.com/
Want to create your own?
Shutterfly share

Because they won't always like each other

Eventually Lindsey will look at Brooke and shout, "hey that's mine".

Dancing Fun with Elmo

Postcard from Toledo

Our version of the sunny beach postcards you see while on vacation.....

Brooke didn't realize that the deck ended and was a drop off in the snow. Not so happy.

If I don't have a sled I'll just get on my bike.

Another Elmo Fanatic?

This is an older picture I found and thought it was cute. Both girls sitting in their own chairs. Looks like Brooke is introducing Lindsey to her pal Elmo.

Walking?

I also found this old post. I saved them and never went back to post them.

Tim and I were getting Lindsey ready for her bath. He was getting her undressed while I was getting the bath water ready. When I turned around this is what I saw coming at me with Tim's little girl voice saying, "Mommy, I'm ready for my bath". She looked so tiny and I couldn't help but laugh.

Dr. Appointment

Lindsey had her well visit today.

Stats:

Weight-7 lbs 14 oz

Lenght-20 3/4 inches

Head Circumference-36.5

Not as big as we would have liked. Lindsey hasn't even made it to Brooke's birth weight :) She is in the 10th percentile for length and weight so at least they do match up. Head circumference was in the 25-30th percentile. She is eating every 3-4 hours during the day and sleeping longer at night. Lindsey seems to be taking enough in to be satisfied therefore the Dr. didn't seem too concerned.

You can really start to see the low muscle tone. Her arms are usually out to the side and her legs tend to fall in a frog like position. Lindsey's neck is short and she doesn't have much head control. She is trying to move with all the wiggling and squirming she does. The Dr. said she was quite impressed on how much she was trying to move and thought she was going to roll over again at one point. She just couldn't get that big head over with her body. I can remember Brooke being really active on the Dr.'s exam tables. They just love to hear that paper crinkle underneath their little bodies. Lindsey will have her first physical therapy session January 16.

She took the vaccines like a champ. First was the RotaTeq which prevents severe cases of rotavirus gastroenteritis caused by different serotypes of rotavirus. The RotaTeq was oral and she sucked that right up. She also received the pediarix vaccine. Pediarix is a combination vaccine that combines the immunizations for Diphtheria, Tetanus and acellular Pertussis (DTaP), Hepatitis B and inactivated Polio (IPV). A few big wails, a suck on pacifier and she was once again happy. Maybe even trying to flash the nurse a smile to go along with her big blue eyes.

Speaking of her eyes, they are always what I call "goopy" and tearing. The Dr said that it is all related to the structure of her eyes or what is called epicanthal folds.

She will return in one month.

Copy Cat

Copy cats we are. Why not when you have a husband and his family that likes to build things. After all of the presents the girls received for Christmas we didn't know where it was all going to go. I really liked this activity table from Pottery Barn but for $299? Come on! Tim measured it out to be the dimensions that would work best for the space. It is great because Brooke can put all of her little people sets on top and sit at the table and play with them. We will have the storage bins underneath to hide other toys. We originally were going to put it in her room but since she plays with her Little People sets often we put in place of the toy box.

Pottery Barn

Brooke's

Next was a table and chairs for Brooke and eventually Lindsey to sit at for tea time or coloring. We already had the chairs so they made a table.

Thanks guys!

Worn out

Tummy time is just so exhausting!

Lindsey must have been so tired that she fell asleep during tummy time.

Big news, she rolled over Saturday from stomach to back. So true, Tim's mom is a witness. I am sure a fluke but exciting nonetheless.

Backpack Baby

Now her babies can go anywhere she goes.

Best part? I don't have to carry them or try and stuff one in the diaper bag.