4/28/06 - MRI
Quick little update. ME had her MRI yesterday. I posted a few pics so go check em out. We haven't seen any docs yet so anyone with knowledge on reading MRIs feel fee to chime in :).
We see her Regular ENT on May 9th and Dr. Waner on June 5th. I hate waiting but thats where God wants us right now so we will be content where he has us.
4/19/06 - WOW
WOW twice in 10 days, that's a record lately. We had a bunch of pictures to put up, so we sort of had to! Check out Easter and the 10 month section again! J
As for Mary Elizabeth, even though she's been walking on her own taking more and more steps for about 3+ weeks, she's beginning to really take off, walking across rooms, letting go on her own and everything!
Unfortunately recently she cought a cold, it wasn't much fun but she toughed it out and only had a fever for one day. She had a pediatrician appointment today and she seemed to grow a bit, as noted on her growth chart. And she's nice and healthy. They just had to give her clearance for her MRI that is scheduled next week.
Well, there's not too much more to say, to know Mary Elizabeth is to love her- you could only really experience the glow and happiness in her sparkling personality by being around her. She wins the hearts of many that she comes across- whether it's at the doctor's office, the mall, the grocery store… etc.
4/9/06 - Busy Little Bee!
Mary Elizabeth is clapping away as she gets excited and beams of happiness over life's many joys! She is on the move and very active. Crawling, Cruising, Climbing, and yes walking. She's walking everywhere holding onto things as usual, but she's been taking 2, 4, 6, 8 steps at a time over the past week! Don't turn your head for a second, because then she'll be using the phone, pulling cds out of a rack, or even climbing- yes climbing! The little monkey! She loves to play with the Dora the Explorer ball she has, she's banging on lots of things, as I mentioned before- clapping is a newer thing for her, and stuff like that. She's eating great- gerber stage 3 foods with pieces in it and loves biter biscuits for babies. She drinks a little from her sippy cup but hasn't mastered that fully yet. Overall she's a very happy baby and seldom cries at all, with the exception of a little teething pain or something like that. She sleeps awesome at night as always, but her naps are getting shorter- yet she still takes them! She's friendly, yet cautious and loves attention. She gives you kisses by pulling your face in and mushing hers on yours! And she loves to pull on your nose and wait for you to say “HONK!”. This is a fun age, yet very tiring as she's very active. But no matter what she wins your heart!
As for things on the medical end, not too much going on. Just an upcoming MRI on April 27 th to see exactly where the cysts are and that shall determine the next step we gather.
Enjoy her photos, as we uploaded a bunch. A few more on 9 months, a few on Mary & Family and Mary & Friends. Also a bunch under 10 months and some great photos under Easter!
3/19/06 - Been a while
Soooo it happened rather quickly, but on March 9th Mary Elizabeth had another surgery. They lasered the back of her tongue/airway. With a little persuasion we were out by the end of the night. YAY no sleeping in the hospital for us. Mary Elizabeth did excellent and is of course back to her little self for the most part. Walking around so fast and standing on her own. She has even taken one step on her own... she's pretty cautious. Her only issues are the stomach problems that the steroids (she is now on again) give her. She started her first mommy/me class recently. It's a music class, lots of shakers and sticks to bang, singing songs and the whole nine yards. She loves it. Our prayers and hopes are that the trach will come out soon. The dr said her airway looks excellent. They are going to do an MRI, another surgery in the mouth probably and then maybe start injections on the cyst. We'll know more after the MRI results come back of course. We should be scheduling that shortly. But the dr thinks that it's good to have the trach in as a precaution for these procedures but after that she appears to not need it at all. So we see a light at the end of the tunnel and that's a great feeling. Lately, Mary Elizabeth has been sleeping a lot less. Even skipping naps at times. But she is still a great sleeper at night. And if all goes well she still takes at least one nap. She's getting older, that's for sure. She puts her hands up for "SO BIG" and is starting to get the hang of waving 'bye bye'. She gives you kisses - well pulls you in and mushes her mouth on your face! Anyway, check out some new pictures under Mary Elizabeth & Friends and of course 9 months
2/20/06 - Nine Months and counting
So our little pip-squeak is 9 months now. WOW we are currently planning to do something for her 1st birthday. Nothing too big so don't feel slighted if you don't hear about any big plans. After her huge Christening Shin-dig we decided to buckle down and budget things better! But nonetheless she will probably get spoiled! She is becoming quite the active little peanut and getting into everything. She wants what you have in your hands and even has that fake cry thing going on at times when she wants her way. But all in all she remains a great baby with a good sleep schedule and a great temperment. She cries for valid reasons (tummy issues from the medicines she takes after surgery, teething, being tired etc). Pictures will speak 1000 words on how happy she is. Always smiling and having fun! She is still walking along couches and standing on her own a bit more. She takes leaps across the floor, holding your hand as she 'walks'. I say leaps because she takes these huge steps, not baby tiny steps, but huge big ones. And we are going to be looking at walking shoes soon. I hope they make her size, her feet are tiny. Hey she's just all-around tiny! We fixed her growth chart as the old pediatrician (we are going to a new one now) measured her wrong. They measured her to her toes and height is only to your heal!!! So she's petite and not chubby or anything. But they said she looks healthy and not to worry about percentiles (she's in the 5th, if that!). Her tongue is looking good and she has more room in her mouth. She's eating a lot and enjoying her food a lot more, opening way wide when we feed her. Anyway, we go in the beginning of March to Dr. Waner to see what's next for her. We'll be sure to keep updating you! For now, enjoy the pictures in the 8 month section and some on the family section too!
1/27/06 - Getting Older & Toughter
Mary Elizabeth is over 8 months already! Yikes only 4 months until her 1st birthday! We're going to have to start planning her birthday bash! Mary Elizabeth has a big family, so a bash it will be! She's so active these days. Bouncing, standing, walking along couches and even letting go at times. Very independent and determined- nothing is going to stop her. If she only wants to hold onto your hand with one hand, that's how it will be so don't try to offer her the 2nd!!! She loves when you give her kisses and she loves clapping and saying YAY! Peek A Boo is fun, although she tries to be smart about it as if she knows you really didn't go anywhere. She shakes her head "no" a lot, sucks her thumb when she's tired and rubs her eyes, and she loves to scratch her hands on different textures. Absolutely loves to take whatever you have in your hands, and even tries to use the computer. When she doesn't want to be changed she'll kick both of her feet in the air and stomp them both down at the same time. Crawling is still not her thing, she'd rather walk but she can get around by rolling and pulling herself with that inchworm crawl thing still. She'll try to find a place where she can pull herself to a stand. Like her crib! We lowered the mattress due to that! Recently she had another surgery for under her tongue since there was some mass underneath that was pushing it up. The next morning she was sitting on Mommy's lap playing and the Dr. came to see her asking "Where's the baby that had surgery?" because Mary Elizabeth was tougher than most patients! Tougher than mommy and daddy who didn't have surgery but were in pretty bad shape that morning. Daddy wasn't feeling good and both of us were uncomfortable and exhausted. The hospital was renovating the pediatric icu, so we stayed overnight in the recovery area. It was very cold in there because it was right next to the OR, a baby was crying next to her a lot in the middle of the night (the 'rooms' were only divided by curtains), we were out in the open right near the nursing station and it was bright as can be, Daddy had a stuffy nose and he snored really loud if he slept a little, and of course it wasn't very comfortable on the chairs there. Her tongue is still very swollen. And we will see how it comes along around 6-8 weeks and go from there. We're pretty sure they will do more work in her mouth and airway. Well that's about all for now, take a look at the pictures that we added in the 7 month section, 8 month section and the family one has a couple more too.
1/6/06- Ringing in the new year
Mary Elizabeth stayed up late to ring in the New Year with us. Yep she watched the ball drop and all. (with her little party hat and noise maker!) Yep, she was smiling away and acting as if she wasn't a baby or that she didn't need sleep. That's what happens when you have company. She was up all through Christmas Day too! She got so many neat toys and lots of new clothing. We both just don't know where to put it all. W e're now taking donations on the 'finish the basement' fund. haha. She's doing well holding the side of couches and standing even making some steps, and she's rolling around and moving everywhere. She's not really fond of trying to crawl, when she's on all 4's she pushes her legs up because she wants to stand... perhaps an early walker?!? We'll see! It now takes 2 people to change her diaper... one to hold her down! Yikes! She's a lot of fun though. She's eating lots of fruits and cereal by mouth and we're moving onto veggies. Carrots are ok with her so far. Wait til she gets the green stuff! She copies faces you make and shakes her head 'no'. It does appear she's mouthing the word mama often... but of course due to the trach we can't be sure. Well soon she'll be going for her next surgery, under a week away. Keep it in prayer that all goes well. We'll be sure to update all of you. Yesterday she had a check up with the dr and all was well. She's now 14 lbs, 12 oz. So we'll see what she ends up being at her 8 month mark for our growth chart. She got 4 shots and the poor lil girl then had to get blood taken for pre-op purposes. She wasn't very happy and neither was Mommy! Don't forget to drop us a note to tell us you were here on the message board (link to the right). And Check out the 7 month pictures as well as the Christmas pictures, I think there is one new one under Mary Elizabeth & Family and one more of her & Connor under Friends too, We uploaded a lot!
