First Solids Success

22 Weeks, 1 Day

I totally forgot to post these pictures! On Sunday we had our first solids success! We tried a couple of other times with avocado, but she didn't seem to care for it. This time we tried some prunes, she wasn't sure what to do with it at first, but after the first few bites she got the hang of it and ate half of a tub of them. She probably would have had more, but I thought that it was probably enough for a first feeding!

Why so serious?

 She was such a mess I put her straight in the tub!

She must have really like them because I caught her trying to steal some salad at dinner the next night..

First Private PT Session

22 Weeks

So, since the free PT and OT doesn't run in the summer (and no one told me until it was too late to schedule other PT at the favored place), we had an evaluation for the hospitals PT. I was told that I probably wouldn't like it because it is very medical. It is also on the other side of town and I have to go to them, so I was not excited about going.
Also, they charge $100 per 15 minutes of therapy and the best answer I could get on if insurance will cover it or not was "probably", so it makes me a bit nervous.

I REALLY liked it though. The therapist who has the same name as I do, did a really good job of explaining things to me. I finally have an idea of where Adaline is compared to "typically" developing children. She said that Adaline is not what she would expect from a child with down syndrome. Her tone is good. She said that we could be a bit more aggressive with her therapy in the next few weeks to try and get her ahead, but that she really didn't see anything alarming. She said there are some things she would like to see her doing at this age that she is not (reaching for toys) but she isn't that far behind a "typically" developing child.

When I told her about our feeding routine (about 1 hour before eating time, I get her to play so she is tired, then put her in her bouncer to fall asleep, then feed her for an hour), she was a bit alarmed. She had an OT (who also has the same name) come in and she said that they want to do a full evaluation for OT because there are things they can do to help her eat better...... YAYAYAYAYAAAAA..... I have been asking about this for 5 months now and I have been told they didn't have any other ideas....... I am SO happy someone thinks they can help with this!

Not Mother of the Year

21 Weeks, 3 Days

So, I failed big time as a mom last week. Adaline, my son and I ran some errands and then went to the park. While at the park, I made sure Adaline was in the shade while her brother played. This required multiple moves of our stuff as the sun changed locations. However, between the (short) walks into the stores and to the shade at the park, I was not so careful. Adaline got a HORRIBLE sunburn. I have since applied snaps to her car seat and snaps to a blanket so that I can snap a sunshade on her carseat without worrying about it falling off, but needless to say, the damage is done... :(

In other news:

We got out the excersaucer. I put it together without the springs to make it a bit lower since her legs are pretty short and she can still only touch on her tippy toes. She seems to really enjoy being able to be upright and look around. She does get tired out after awhile, but I think it is a good work out for her and it helps her fall asleep easier when it is time to eat. For those of you that don't know, she rarely eats when she is awake... weird I know.

The excitement ended shortly after this picture was taken though. Brother pulled one of the toys back and catapulted it into her face by accident. 

In other news, my daughter is a ham. She recently discovered that when she is in her vibrating seat that her voice will vibrate when she talks.... 

Facebook Page

I have created a facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/AdalinesHeart where I will post heart related updates. Please "Like" our page and pass it along to your friends. I would love it if as many people as possible would pray for her!

Please put your prayers for healing in overdrive!

20 Weeks, 3 Days

Adaline had her cardiologist appointment today.

We met a nice Amish family in the waiting room. I have always been fascinated by the Amish, so I tried my best to not come across too creepy.  She had her daughter at a birth center and a few days after she got home her daughter turned blue. They took her to Bronson and next day they found that she had a heart defect and she went straight to Ann Arbor for surgery.

They did not take any ultrasounds of Adaline's heart this time, but said she is doing well. They are happy with her weight as well.

Here is where I am desperately seeking prayer for healing. If Adaline's VSD and PDA are not healed at the next appointment, we will schedule surgery for around November. However, if they ARE healed, she might be able to go off of her meds and wait YEARS for her surgery....please ask your friends and family to pray for my princess! 

Haunted

A child lies on orphanage floor next to a drawing he made of his mother in an attempt to console himself.

This doesn't really have anything to do with Adaline or Down Syndrome, but saw this picture a few hours ago from the convicting piece that Minivans and Mom Jeans posted and I just have to repost it. It is haunting me.

I think about that little boy being Adaline's brother who took an hour to fall asleep tonight and screamed for me to come rock him while I was out feeding Adaline. I am right here, 10 feet away from him and his heart is breaking for me. I cannot imagine the pain the little boy in this picture is feeling.

Supported Sitter

19 Weeks, 6 Days

Adaline has been on a hunger strike again. Her immunizations really did a number on her. She had fevers of 102 after taking Tylenol and her tummy just has not seemed right since then. She is not eating much and when she does eat she will only eat a bit at a time.

She has had a lot of firsts this week. Today I gave her some apple juice to try and move things along and she loved it.

Grandma and Grandpa brought ice cream cones over tonight and Adaline sat in her brothers swing while we ate.

 She has been sitting up very well, so tonight I tried her on her own with the boppy to catch her. She did well. She just needs a finger to hang on to to keep her balance and she can sit for a few seconds.

 She can sit by her self with her arms supporting her, but her arms are shorter than average and her torso is longer than average so it almost looks like she is on her tummy. (look at those BLUE eyes!)

  

She is such a lucky girl to have such a good big brother! He is encouraging her during tummy time in this picture. 

 

4 Month Check up

19 Weeks, 2 Days

Adaline had her 4 month check-up today. She got good reports all around!
She is actually in the 25th percentile for height on the typically developing child chart without adjusting for being premature. The doctor is also happy with her weight. She was 9lb 9oz.

Adaline was a huge show off too. The whole time the doctor was asking questions about how she has been doing, Adaline was sitting up straight and supporting her head and trunk very well. While the doctor was checking to see how she did on her tummy, she rolled over twice. I am so proud of my little girl.

She does however need some prayer. As with the last time she had immunizations, she has a pretty high fever and is pretty fussy. She has also not been very hungry the last couple of days.