Brooke hasn't quite mastered the word grandma yet and it comes out as "DA" so for now Brooke and Lindsey are singing, "Happy Birthday DA". Hope you had a great day back in this cold Ohio weather while all your presents sat in the warm Florida sunshine. See you soon!
Carrie is showing signs that labor may be coming soon. My parents packed up and are on their way back to the cold, gloomy, wet Ohio weather for a little while. My mom wouldn't miss a grandchild being born and could use a Brooke and Lindsey fix. We can't wait to see you and hope we get to meet the newest little Sharp soon. Pack up some of that warm dry weather for us. Sending smooth labor vibes your way Carrie.
Got any more in the bowl for me?
Can you believe it, rice cereal all ready?
Just to clarify. I knew when I posted this my mom would be the first to notice Brooke's ensemble. Yes, her shoes are on the wrong feet, she is wearing a winter coat, and doesn't have any pants on. A quick synopsis of this morning. I am up getting things together for day while Tim is in the shower and I hear 2 loud crashes pretty close together. The frog pod fell spilling the contents. Needless to say both girls were up a little earlier than usual. Tim walked out the door for work and Brooke put her coat and shoes on begging to go after him. "Your shoes are on the wrong feet Brooke," I told her. "NO", she screams back. Ok, it is super early in the morning and this is one battle I just don't care to fight. Off we go upstairs to get Lindsey dressed and clothes for Brooke. I always lay Lindsey on the floor while I try and help Brooke get dressed in the morning. As Brooke would call it, "helps, mommy, helps". I noticed Lindsey was all over the place and thought maybe, just maybe I could finally get her rolling caught on camera. I promise you Brooke is no longer in the same outfit and has pigtails.
Lindsey did wonderful at PT today! Jodi couldn't believe the difference. She had great head control and even showed her how she can roll. Brooke even showed off her skills putting a Barney puzzle together while Lindsey worked out.
Big news!!! Lindsey rolled from stomach to back 3 consecutive times this morning before library time. Now that we are back home and I have the video camera out she is making a liar out of me. Hopefully I will get the shot soon. Yeah, Lindsey!
I cleared off the video camera again.
Lindsey is not a fan....
Brooke thought it was fun...
Lindsey had her well visit/weight check today. Ready? 9 lbs 8 oz Whohoooo! The Dr. kept looking back and forth and asked, "is that right?". Remember, last month she was only 7 lbs 14 ounces. She has moved on up to the 50th percentile for weight. 22 1/4 inches long which is 25th percentile. Lets face it though, she certainly isn't getting help with tall genes from either one of us. Head circumference was 36 1/4 cm. Dr. also thinks she will most likely need to have surgery to open up those tear ducts but they still might open up on their own. The antibiotics and massages aren't cutting it. Sounds like it usually isn't done until 6-9 months of age with a baby that doesn't have heart concerns so we will see what happens. The best success rate seems to also be if it is done prior to a year old. Muscle tone is improving and she screamed her head off during the entire exam and the pneumococcal vaccine. It was a cry like we have never heard before. So heartbreaking. They were all out of the Hib vaccine so the nurse is going to call when it is in so we can take her back in for another shot. We got the go ahead for rice cereal at 4 months.
This is what Brooke's bed head hair looked like the other morning. We took her pigtails out before bed and this is what she woke up with.
Lover of pickles, salt and vinegar chips, and anything that involves chocolate or ice cream.
Christa was in town with the boys today. When I say boys I also mean the newest boy, Max. That would be the dog on Brooke's lap. Such a cutie and boy are my dogs tired from trying to keep up with his puppy energy. It was Christa's birthday and she brought presents for the girls. Brooke wanted to take her My Little Pony to bed with her. She is covered in her Elmo blanket and danced to the Madagascar 2 movie. Lindsey's tummy time mat, well not much can make tummy time exciting but it did help. She did get to see Lindsey show off at PT today and witnessed what happens when Brooke doesn't nap along with split screen Mario Kart (they also brought their controllers and wheels so we could have 4 people playing), Gyro King, and completed the birthday off with Dairy Queen ice cream cake. Delish!
Lindsey's getting better with head control.
Brooke's M & M chocolate face.
With all this cold weather everyone is looking for things to do. I have been taking Brooke, Lindsey in tow, to the library every Wednesday for toddler story time. She loves it! Today I was reminded of one of my favorites from preschool, kindergarten, who knows. I just love watching how excited she gets and thinking about those being the same things that I used to love as a child. Brooke does so good watching the librarian and copying all the moves. Bring back memories for anyone else?
Bear Hunt "repeat after me" song (children repeat each line)
REPEAT EACH PHRASE... slap thighs throughout.
Goin on a bear hunt (repeat)
I'm not afraid (repeat)
Got a real good friend (children hug each other during this part...repeat)
By my side (repeat)
Oh, Oh (repeat)
What do I see? (repeat)
Oh look! It's some tall grass! (repeat)
Can't go over it (repeat)
Can't go under it (repeat)
Can't go around it (repeat)
Got to go through it (repeat... Make motions with arms like you are clearing a way thru grass)
Goin on a bear hunt (repeat)
I'm not afraid ( repeat)
Got a real good friend (repeat with hugs)
By my side.(repeat)
Oh, Oh! (repeat)
What do I see? (repeat)
Oh look! It's a tall tree.(repeat)
Can't go over it (repeat)
Can't go under it (repeat)
Can't go through it (repeat)
Got to climb up it (Repeat and pretend to climb up the tree)
Goin on a bear hunt (repeat)
I'm not afraid ( repeat)
Got a real good friend (repeat with hugs)
By my side.(repeat)
Oh, Oh! (repeat)
What do I see? (repeat)
Oh look! It's a wide river. (repeat)
Can't go over it (repeat)
Can't go under it (repeat)
Can't go through it (repeat)
Got to swim across it. (Repeat and pretend to swim.)
Goin on a bear hunt (repeat)
I'm not afraid ( repeat)
Got a real good friend (repeat with hugs)
By my side.(repeat)
Oh, Oh! (repeat)
What do I see? (repeat)
Oh look! A deep, dark cave. (repeat)
Can't go over it (repeat)
Can't go under it (repeat)
Can't go through it (repeat)
Got to go in it. (repeat, close eyes as you pretend to enter the cave)
Oh,oh! It's dark in here. (repeat)
I feel something (repeat)
It has lots of hair! (repeat)
It has sharp teeth! (repeat)
It's a bear!! (children love to scream this part)
(At this point, increase the speed of your thigh slapping and swim back through the river, back up and down the tree,
back through the tall grass, till you get safely home and lock the door.)
I'm not afraid! (Repeat)
Tim is back in his Nintendo glory days. He is addicted to Mario Kart. I am told it is easily done but I haven't succumbed to the video game addiction.
Brooke is one independent little girl. From the beginning she has always wanted to figure everything out herself and rarely lets you help. Her latest is getting dressed. She is actually very good at it. Th eonly problem is she doesn't want any help and that can make a quick trip in the early morning hectik. Brooke sometimes completes the entire outfit from her shirt to her shoes. Other times things end up on backwards. She is proud of herself no matter what and all I can do is laugh.
Brooke's Aunt Kelly won her tickets to see Dora the Explorer live on stage. I spent all day really talking it up and she was so excited to go see Dora. What is her favorite part of Dora? Swiper no swiping! Oh man!
Maybe someday the doctor appointments won't be an every week occurrence. I just want to enjoy my baby and not have another doctor point out her weaknesses or tell me what problems most babies with Down syndrome have. I find myself deleting the babycenter emails, "what to expect at 3 months". I already know Lindsey is going at her own pace, I don't want the detailed areas in my face.
I am sure most of you have noticed that Lindsey's eyes are usually crusted over and tearing quite a bit. I let our PCP know at the last visit and she equated it to the way her eyes are (epicanthal folds to be exact). When we were in with Dr. Quinn last week I also asked her about it. She recommended that we take her to a pediatric opthamologist to get a better look. She generally recommends that babies with Down syndrome be seen at 6 months anyway so she thought we should just start a little early. Almost 3 hours later, 5 potty trips for Brooke, tears, dilated pupils, lights, crayons, books, screaming, and much much more we have yet another issue. Nasolacrimal duct obstruction (clogged tear duct) is the most likely culprit. She is shy to go right for surgery with Lindsey's heart problems and it requires anesthesia. For now we are beginning with the use of antibiotic eye drops twice a day for a week. If there is no improvement she wants to see her back. She also recommended gently applying a clean, warm washcloth to the affected eye and massaging it several times a day. In theory, this downward pressure on the duct will increase the pressure on the blockage and force it open.
The optic nerve and retina looked good. Lindsey wasn't tracking well, something that also she may fall behind with so we have to watch for that. She is farsighted. +2.75 to be exact and they usually don't require glasses until +5. Something else to watch for.
The doctor plans to see her back in 3 months if all goes well with the tear ducts.
Tomorrow is physical therapy. Yet another place for someone to point out weaknesses. I feel like I have been doing pretty good up until recently things have been a little rough so excuse my little pity party post. I almost deleted this post but I know everyone wants to know how Lindsey is doing. I keep trying to remind myself that we do sometimes get good news. The VSD is getting smaller and she is gaining weight. It is just all a "different" kind of good news.
I don't know how everyone else feels but we are all tired of being cooped up inside looking at snow. I want some warm weather already!
Ugh, and it is only February.
