Adenoidectomy & Partial Tonsillectomy

Well yesterday May 9th was the big day. We got up at 5:30am and got together a few toys, got dressed and grabbed a couple bottles of water. Woke Kaitlyn up at 6am (not on purpose) and got her changed and ready to go. We left at 6:30am and headed to the hospital... though not without stopping at Dunkin Donuts for some coffee first!

We got to North Shore Hospital in Syosset at 7am and got Kaitlyn all registered. I do have to say that the registration process was amazingly fast and NOTHING like it used to be when going to the hospital. It took all of about 10 minutes at most to get all the paperwork signed and information verified. After registration we were escorted up to the Surgical suite and we got settled in Pre-Op with our Nurse Bridget. This is where they got all of Kaitlyn's vitals and told us what all would be happening and got K into her hospital gown and mommy into her protective wear, since I was the one going into the OR with her. I gotta say she was so adorable with that hat on!! Kaitlyn's surgery was scheduled at 8am and we ended up being in Pre-Op until a little after 8 and then Kaitlyn and I were taken into the OR where they put the mask on her and I had to watch and try to calm her as she was put to sleep. I have to say, as a mother, this was absolutely the hardest thing I have ever seen or had to endure. I held K as long as possible but I had to eventually put her down on the operating table and she started to scream and kick and cry. I mean, I know it was so scary and overwhelming for her to have 5 people there holding her down and shoving a big plastic mask in her face. It was horrible watching her fighting and screaming as they tried to get her to sleep but finally she went off. It's not like when you are an adult and you close your eyes and go to sleep. She looked so weird and her eyes were still open but she was sedated. The even harder part was turning around and walking away so that they could do the surgery. Leaving her there laying limp on the table hurt me so much inside. I trusted them and her Dr. He is so wonderful and told us everything that would happen and was very helpful in keeping us calm. Not that Jon and I aren't calm about all this stuff but it was nice for him to be so reassuring!

So after I left the room and Kaitlyn was sedated that is when they put in her IV and all of that so she never knew that was happening. I'm so glad they did it that way because the time we had her in the hospital for the dehydration and holding her down to get the IV in was hard too! I'm glad we didnt have to go through that!

The surgery really didnt take that long and the Dr came to get us at about 9:10 or so and she went in and they started the surgery at about 8:25am. So rather quick if you ask me! I'm glad we didnt have to sit there for hours waiting and waiting to hear how things were going. Her Dr said everything went very well and this surgery will definitely help her breathe better and everything. He said, "her adenoids were very enlarged." In the office he said they were enlarged but he said after taking them out they were very big and it was no wonder she seemingly had a chronic stuffy nose.

Here is another hard part! When they came to get us after surgery and they were waking Kaitlyn up from the anesthetic she was screaming and twisting and turning and just very out of it. It was hard seeing her that way and her not really being awake or understanding what was going on. She was so hoarse and her little cry sounded so weak. Thats just Kaitlyn though, she doesnt cry very loud and scream like some kids. We also had to keep this "wet air" blowing in her face so she didnt get dried out and start hurting in her nose and throat more and she kept batting at it because she didnt want it in her face. After about 5 or 10 minutes she started to wake up a bit more though and wanted me to pick her up so I did and she calmed down a bit and went in and out of sleep while laying on me as I sat in the rocking chair.
After a good hour and a half she came out of the anesthetic more and was still crabby, whiney and you could tell she was hurting but she got more alert and we turned on the tv and some cartoons for her. We kept trying to get her to drink some water, juice or anything and she only wanted to hold her cup and not drink. Eventually I got her to eat some ice chips though so that was good. She didnt even want to eat any of the Cherry Italian Ice they gave her! Though, I dont blame her one bit! So she watched about a show and a half on tv (Dragon Tails & Bob the Builder) and then wanted me to hold her again and she fell asleep on my lap in the rocking chair again. It was about Noon then and we still had another hour to go until we could be discharged. So we hung out there with her sleeping and boy, did I want to go to sleep too! Then at 1pm they took out her IV and the annoying Pulse Ox monitor off her toe (she kept begging for it to come off the whole 4 hours in recovery!) and we got her dressed and headed to pick up her prescriptions and come home. The Dr has her on Amoxicillin for 10 days to prevent any infections and he gave her Tyelnol with Codeine for pain. She has a post op follow up appointment on May 21st to see how she is doing and I know she is going to be just fine and dandy.

When we got home yesterday she slept off and on and she was very whiney and crabby and just wanted to cuddle with mommy a lot but she was doing very well.

She is doing very well today too... a little crabby and whiney still but drinking good (even asked for a drink) and had a few bites of fruit this morning too. She's walking around and playing but she gets frustrated easily but I know that just because she doesnt feel completely well.

Grandma Debbie in Michigan sent Kaitlyn a beautiful Get Well gift also so when we got home K had a delivery! She got a great little Bear and a Get Well Balloon and she also got a vase with three very pretty white roses in it. She really liked getting her present and even took a nap with her new bear!All in all the day was great and the hospital was great too. We had a very pleasant experience through it all and I'm happy about that. Now we just wait out the healing period and watch for Bright red blood or anything. I'm sure everything will be just fine since she is already doing so well today!!

Surgery in a Week

Well Kaitlyn is having her surgery one week from today. She is getting her Adenoids out and her Tonsils "shaved" in hopes that she will be able to breathe much better and keep her mouth closed. I really hope it works because two years of having plugged up ears and a stuffy nose has got to be annoying! Things are going to be so different for her in a few weeks when the swelling and everything goes down.

We went to get Kaitlyn's blood work done for her pre-op stuff, 2 year CBC & Lead and also got her allergies tested. Everything came out great and no allergies! So we have NO idea why she is reacting to things the way she is. Tomato is a huge one that gives her hives and stuff and we cant figure it out. Maybe she is just sensitive to it and then it wouldnt come up on an allergy test? I have no idea. I'm glad everything came back ok but I think I might take her to the allergist anyway to see what else might be causing it. Jon is going to run a few more tests on her blood today since there are some tubes left at his work and he is running the allergies today!

I have been very upset lately regarding Kaitlyn's second birthday. I wanted to have a small party here in NY with some of the family and a couple of my mom friends, however we really have no day to do it since there is so much going on in June now with Donna doing James' baptism and us going to Michigan. So I'm thinking about combining Jon and Kaitlyn's birthday's and doing a day at the park or something. I figure the boys can play basketball and the kids can play in the sand and on the playground. I guess we can just do cake at the park or something too. I havent decided if I want to do that or just have a small party at McDonalds and then I dont have to worry about the weather. I'm leaning more towards the McDonalds venue. It's only about $8 per child so that might be what we do and then we will just bring our own cakes and I think the kids get food too. I figure if the adults that come want something, they can just order their own.

Not to mention that the party we were thinking of having in Michigan is looking like a wash too it's just all stressing me out and really getting to me. I have decided that we are not going to cater to everyone else anymore when we go home to visit. This year we are going home to visit my dad for a few days and then to see my mom and not going to worry about making our plans around visiting everyone else. I was trying to do it so that everyone could see Kaitlyn but I think it's best just to let her spend some time with Grandpa and Grandma and get as much time in with them as possible and maybe we can make it to the Zoo this year like we were going to try to do as a yearly event. We'll see how this whole visit works out and then maybe re-think how we work the vacations/visits for next year.

Anyway, this year I'm just going to make the most of what we have and even though it's not much, hopefully K will still enjoy her birthday. She really wanted a Blue's Clues Party but it looks like all she will get is a Blue's Clues cake since Jon and I will be making that.

Got My Eater Back!

Well K is doing MUCH better!! She has been eating very well since yesterday and she's got firm poop again! What a great thing to be excited about but after pure water coming from both ends the past week, this is great news!

Anyway, just wanted to update since she is doing so well. Also, a couple nights ago I started putting Kaitlyn down to bed and leaving the room. So far she has been doing excellent at going to sleep on her own. Once in awhile she will cry a little bit but she is doing a great job. I can't believe what a big girl she is now. Tonight was wonderful too, I simply put her in bed and told her that it was her turn to go "Night night" and that mommy would come down later when it was her turn. I gave her a kiss and told her Good night and didnt hear a peep out of her and she went right to sleep. She is still falling asleep in our bed but still she is doing it on her own and I no longer have to lay down with her to get her to sleep! Soon she will be going to sleep in her OWN bed... then... in her OWN room!!

Not sure if I'm ready for all this growing up, to be quite honest. I'm beginning to miss those times with her. I love cuddling with her while she goes to sleep but there are times when I dont want to. I just know that she is getting to be a big girl and soon she wont need mommy for any of that anymore. Soon we will probably be fighting and at each others throats like all mothers and daughters are. I have to admit that I actually like when she comes over to me in the middle of the night saying "mama" and wanting to come up in bed with us. I think her being in her own bed all the time might be harder on ME than it is her. Oh well... she does have to grow up but I feel like I miss her sometimes even though I'm with her all day.

Anyway, I cant remember if I mentioned this before but we signed Kaitlyn up for a class at Orly's Treehouse and it starts this week on Friday... though I dont think she is going to like the class much. I'm going to be switching her over to the class her little 2yr old twin cousins are in on Mondays so the girls can all play together and then their mom and I can chat too!! It should be a great class since it's in the Olympic gym and they get to play with balls and things. I think it will work out much better than the class I originally signed her up for... it wasnt all that fun when we went in for the trial class.

Ok it's time for mommy's to get some sleep, especially emotional ones! I'm so happy my little monkey is feeling better, man I love her so much!!

The "Good Boo Boo"

Well we had Kaitlyn in the hospital for the last 8 hours and just got home. She has been sick with "Acute Gastroenteritis" (or the stomach flu) since Tuesday and she finally got so dehydrated the Dr said it was time to take her in for IV fluids. She hadn't had a wet diaper since Tuesday and couldnt eat or drink anything without puking or pooping it out so it was time.

When we got up this morning K was so lethargic and wasnt talking or walking around or anything. She just laid and cried and could hardly stay awake. I finally called the Dr and walked over there (in the snow!) and he checked her out and noticed she was dehydrated. He said we had a good chance of bringing her back if I could get her to drink some fluids but when we got home and I did manage to get some juice in her she barfed it all back up within a few minutes after drinking it. I called the Dr back and he sent us immediately to the hospital.

It took about 8 hours of IV fluids (two of them bolouses(sp?)) to get her hydrated again and to the point where she was able to go pee. According to her blood work she was just one number away from being admitted so we were lucky! She did great in the hospital though... it was rough for her to get the IV but the PA who put the line in was great. She was quick and did a great job and K cried but only for a little bit. K handled it so well! We were both so proud of her!! The whole time she was there with the IV in she kept pointing to her arm and saying "oohhh bo bo" (translated that is Ow, boo boo) and Jon just kept explaining to her that it was a "Good Boo boo" and that it was going to make her feel better and she wouldnt be sick anymore. She seemed very happy with that explaination and went about her business of sitting there staring at Dora (which the Child Life Specialists had put on for her).

I'm just very proud of her... it was a long day and we are ALL crabby and tired and it's time for bed! She is such a big girl!!!

Explosion!!!

Yesterday Kaitlyn had a speech therapy session, they are usually every Monday and Thursday. Well I was sitting there with Ms. Lori after K's session and she was filling out the necessary paperwork and we were chatting about stuff. K was sitting on the couch between us minding her own business reading a new book Ms. Lori brought over. It was a "Little People" Lift-the-Flap book and K loves the Fisher Price Little People. So what I'm getting at is that Kaitlyn has never seen the book before. Anyway, she is flipping the little flaps and out of her mouth clear as day and perfect as ever comes "Dina." Ms. Lori and I looked at each other, both shocked and then we looked at what Kaitlyn was looking at... sure enough, Kaitlyn had found a picture of a DINOSAUR!!! It was SOOOOOOO awesome! So I asked Kaitlyn just then, "Is that a dinosaur?" and she, matter of factly, says "yea!" The only time we really talked about dinosaurs recently was Monday when we were at the ENT appointment. While we were there I took out a Happy Meal toy she got that happened to be some weird lizard dinosaur thing. Anyway, it was so incredible to hear her say that on her own and so super clear!! It was perfect!

So she is basically exploding with words and her comprehension is incredible. She is so quick now to respond to what I ask her or things we would like her to do. Well most of the time anyway, sometimes she KNOWS she should be doing something and deliberately doesn't! She's got some heck of a sense of humor already too. She will do things that are funny or that she thinks are funny and she will come out with this big huge HA HA HA laugh. She cracks herself up... and us!! I just love it, I love how pretty much everyday she is changing. I could not have asked for a better daughter she makes me melt inside.

Ohhhh yeah, so we're in the middle of a LOT of fun right now... K is getting a couple top Eye teeth and everyone knows, I HATE teething. So my poor baby has had diarrhea and her but is rashy now and I'm sure it's on fire and she cant stop chewing on her hand. I have to keep giving her the chew necklace thing we got her and reminding her to bite on that. I can't believe how hard she bites her little hand, she leaves teeth marks! I so hate that she has to go through teething - I so hate that I have to go through it with her! I know we will make it through all of the teeth but I just dont like feeling helpless against nature. Ah well... nothing I can do about it!

So I thought of more words Kaitlyn has so here they are (some are not used often or are only said if we make her say them): "Mooh" (moon), "Op" (up), "Nih Nih" (night, night), "Ih" (in), "Dee" (drink), "Tee" (tree)... Ok it's early and this is all I can think of for now...

We're off to Orly's Treehouse again today, she didn't do too bad on Wednesday when we were there. She didnt scream and cry and I got in 22 minutes on the treadmill. Hopefully today will go just the same!

Surgery on the Forefront

Well we took Kaitlyn to her follow up with the ENT and we decided to go ahead with the surgery to help Kaitlyn feel a little better. First of all, he said that her ears had finally drained the fluid and they looked very good so there is no need for tubes at this time. However, he did take the time to stick a camera up her tiny nose to have a look at her Adenoids and they are enlarged. So he said they should be removed and that he would also shave down her tonsils a bit too since they were a little big but not in need of removal.

This surgery will hopefully help Kaitlyn's snoring, night wakenings, chronic mouth-breathing and should help some with her speech. The Dr said that since the Adenoids are at the ends of the Eustachian tubes (where the ear drains) and they are enlarged they are not letting her ears "pop" well or drain well. So this should really help with that and she should seem to be hearing muffled anymore.

Kaitlyn has been doing AMAZING with her speech!! She says so much now and is really watching me talk and tries to say things I say now!! I love it!!! She knows who Mama and Dada are now and once in awhile will even call us by name. It's so great, she's so smart and I'm so happy she is able to express herself better now and we are all working really hard to get her to talk as much as possible.

Let's see... Kaitlyn now says (regularly and consistantly) Mama, Dada, Nana (banana), Uh uh, Yea, Moh (more), Bubo (bubble), Behbo (Elmo), Doda (Dora), Boo (boots), Bahh (ball), Rohh (roll), Teekie (stickie/er), Dih (drink), Deeeeeee (please), Ewww (just said this for the first time today!!!), Diity (dirty), iity (empty), Deedee (baby), vrumvrumvrum (any vehicle driving), Nnnn (nose), Boo (blue), Yaya (yellow), Dahpeh (diaper)...

Gosh there might be more, but this is all of the ones I can think of right now... I will add more if I think of them! Anyway... she was saying NOTHING at 18 months and here we are 3 months later and she is saying over 20 words. It's great... speech therapy has been a huge help... not only for her but for me, because I am learning what to do to continue her "therapy" 24 hours a day. I think because I work so hard with her that that is why this is coming along so quickly. That along with the fact that K is VERY determined to speak!

I'm also excited because Friday the 13th of April K and I start her class at Orly's Treehouse! I signed her up to take "Big Champions" it's a little class where they sing songs and get to play in a gym that is all soft climbing things. I'm hoping I picked the right class for her because we did a trial of it and she didnt seem to want to sit down and sing the songs or anything... she wanted to roam around the room and play with the balls... so now I'm wondering if maybe the Sport Tots would have been more for her since it is in the bigger gym and they get to run around and play with balls and work on catching and throwing things. I might see if I can switch classes... who knows, I'll see on Friday when we go there again!

Well I guess that about catches us up, for now.

Sass-A-Frass

This is Kaitlyn giving us the sassy eye when she doesnt like something we tell her... it's just great! She's so freakin cute and sometimes we cant help but laugh at her!

We went for Kaitlyn's 21 Month appointment yesterday and she is 23lbs (after eating a banana, cereal bar and a 9oz of milk), 32 3/4" tall and her head measures 47cm. She's getting so big!!! She got her Chicken Pox vaccine yesterday too and did so well... she didnt even cry. She got a little mad and was going to but I told her it was ok and it was all over and she handled it great! I bet she is going to be like Mommy and actually LIKE shots!! Ha ha ha!

Ah well... she really is doing well. She usually only eats one meal a day and will pick at her meals the rest of the day so a couple times a week she drinks a Pediasure and we give her little drinkable yogurts as well to get in her protein and nutrients. We started vitamins as well and she likes eating them! Since the water here in Levittown does not have any Floride I decided to buy her her own water that has it in it. That way she can get in her floride without having to take nasty liquid vitamins! I hate giving them to her and she hates taking them. The kids vitamins are so much better and she likes being "in charge" of them!

I can't believe she is going to be 2 soon! It's amazing! I'm having some trouble, actually, deciding what to do about her birthday party. She really has no kid friends here so it makes it hard to plan anything at a play place. Most of them are parties only for the kids and they are $300-$400 for 12-16 kids... all we have is maybe 5 kids at most and 16 adults! It's hard at this age. I'm thinking about just having a family dinner out somewhere with Mommy, Daddy and Kaitlyn and then just paying to have a real party in Michigan when we go home to see my side of the family. Kaitlyn has more cousins and I have friends with kids there which make it more worth it and more exciting for an actual birthday party. I'll see though... it's really a hard thing to try and plan for a 2 year old. Might be easier if our families weren't spread out across the world... that and if my friends who have kids were closer too!!

I guess it will get easier when she is older and she has some little friends from school! I guess I should go because she is standing here jumping up and down screaming at me because I wont give her MORE vitamins! Now I have to go explain that she only gets one a day!!

My Baby No More

Well Kaitlyn is certainly not a baby anymore!! She is so big now... 20 Months old... almost 2! In some ways I cant believe it's been so long but in others it's such a short time. Being a mother and watching Kaitlyn grow and mature into a beautiful little girl has made me see a lot of things in life and really notice what we take for granted.

Yesterday we took her out in the snow to play a bit since it was kinda warm and she just loved walking back and forth on the snow hearing it crunch beneath her shoes. She was so intrigued by a puddle she found, too. She must have stood there banging her stick into the puddle for ten minutes over and over watching as the water would move and splash each time. It's amazing to me that something so small could entertain her mind so much. It seems in life, as we get older, we take these small things for granted. I guess, until you have kids and watch them grow, you never really realize how it takes ALL of the little things along the way in life to make us who we are as we get older...

The last couple days Kaitlyn has gotten soooo much better at hopping! She actually gets a little air now... it's so cool to see something so amazing! You wouldnt think it was so much work just to learn to hop an inch or so off the ground!

Ohhhhh and she is breathing much better since the course of antibiotics for her sinus infection. She is not snoring really but does breathe heavy once in a while. She still has some mucos in her nose but that is something I will talk to the ENT about when we see him again in March. We could definitely tell that the meds cleared up her head even after one days worth of doses. She was up talking back to Dora on tv and repeating/imitating her the next morning and that was something she never did, not even when we tried to get her to. So it has been a big help already just in getting her to communicate more.

Speech therapy is really helping as well, she is really learning to form her mouth to words and her "Ut Oh" is perfect... and she uses it ALL the time. Especially if mommy forgets to close the baby gate at the top of the stairs!! Ha ha ha ha She's got a good 10 words now and she said her first unprompted sentence on Monday night! She and Daddy were reading some books together on the floor and since she has gotten sooooooo good at saying "Moh" (or more in Kaitlynese) she told daddy, "Moh Boh" which meant "More Book" so we were ecstatic to say the least! She has now said, "Moh Dee" or "More Please" but it takes some prompting to get her to say that... though she is coming along! It's really great to see the progress and all of her chatting (or babbling/repeating/imitating) has really come since being on the meds and I LOVE it!! Right now she is TRYING so hard to say "Belly Button" but she is still having trouble forming her mouth to make the right sounds. It's still adorable to watch her try and we LOVE praising her with every attempt!

Well besides that and completely coving the living room in toys everyday she is really growing up. I think we're going to work on "clean up" in the coming weeks because the mess around here is just not working. We live in such a small place as it is that we just cant have toys all over taking up what little room we do have! So we will have to have clean up time a few times a day. I think it will work out, she usually likes to help out. Well when she isn't telling me "Uh, uhh" (or No actually)... since that is the most common "word" used these days with her. Most of the day is filled with "Uh uhhh's" and "Ut oh's." It's all cute and I love it anyway but it cant get frustrating at times!

So to end this, I say, what in life are some of the things we take for granted...

Getting it All Done

Today was Kaitlyn's first Speech Therapy session and it went so well! Lori came over to the house and Kaitlyn was instantly interested in her and what toys she brought. They talked and played and Kaitlyn showed off her "Ut, oh" and by the end of the session she managed to get out "All done." I was so shocked and smiled so hard my cheeks were hurting!! It was amazing... she also tried very hard at one point to say "more" but her lips just didnt make the right shape. Lori really wants to work on Kaitlyn's lower jaw and tongue since they are both hanging and she says that Kaitlyn is not using the muscles which in turn is causing the little bit of a delay in speech.

Anyway, overall it was a great session and we look forward to more and hearing more words come out of her!!

Playing in the Snow

Well Kaitlyn finally got to play in the snow this year. Last year she was too small so she really couldnt play in the snow unless she just laid in it! We went upstate to Warrensburg, NY to stay at the Cornerstone Victorian B&B (where we go every year for our anniversary) and there was actually snow up there so we got to go out and run around and play in the snow! It was fun so see the delight on her face and the aww when she actually touched the snow.

The wonder and amazement on a childs face when they experience something new gives you such a great feeling inside.

While we were upstate we had to get Kaitlyn some new sneakers and snow boots... she wears a size 6 now!!! She's getting so big! It's amazing to think she was so tiny 19 months ago!!

Jon and I are deciding if we will be ready in June to try for another, I really think it would be great for Kaitlyn to have a brother or sister so we'll see how that goes. It all depends on how I feel about it all and being pregnant again when the time comes I guess!

So speech therapy starts on Monday and I truly believe K is going to do amazing at it! She already is starting to make more sounds and tries so hard to say things. I know this is going to be a huge help for her! I cant wait to hear her say something for real!!

Lately, Kaitlyns favorite thing is to totally destroy the house... she can not decide what one thing to play with and the house just gets trashed over and over even if I clean it! The tantrums have not stopped either, they are sometimes very bad and last for a long time. When she has a breakdown, she really has one and there is no comforting her until she is ready - which can take an hour sometimes!!!

I just hope that once we get her talking it will help with the tantrums. They really are draining and I would like to get one on video so that when Kaitlyn is older she can watch it to see what exactly I mean by her having tantrums.

Well I'm going to clean up the living room yet again and see if I cant get her to help me this time! When are kids old enough to do dishes?? hehehehe

100 Years of Magic

Wow!! We went to see the Disney on Ice 100 Years of Magic show tonight at the Nassau Coliseum and it was wonderful!! We all had such a good time! Kaitlyn was dancing on daddy's lap and she was dancing and singing with me and it was so beautiful and just amazing. She really enjoyed it so much and so did we!!

Kaitlyn ended up falling asleep soon after the second act started but I know she really liked the show because she was smiling and singing and dancing and talking to the characters out on the ice. It was so great to see the wonder on her face and the excitement when Mickey came out to say Hi. She just really enjoyed the entire thing.

I was very happy with the way the show was put on, there was not loud obnoxious music or anything like that. The show was done very well and I was so happy to have gone.

Our next little adventure will be the Circus in March! I cant wait for that either!!

"Chsheh Chsheh"

What is that title about, right? Well that, right there, is my 19 month old daughter's 2nd word!!! She says CHICKEN!!! or well "csheh chseh", her version of it. She isnt totally consistant but now we at least get unprompted "ut, oh"ish things and prompted "chicken" ones! FINALLY!!! She still wont tell me what a piece of chicken is but she repeats it when we say it some of the time! I was so excited tonight when I was eating my chicken salad and out of no where she repeated me when I gave her a bite and said "yummy, chicken?"

The day this kid says anything remotely close to "I love you, Mama" I'll cry, I swear!!! I'd even settle for her saying "Mama" TO ME and have it MEAN mama!!! hahahahaha She still says "Da da" when I ask her to repeat "ma ma" lol Ah well, it's a work in progress and she says CHICKEN!!! lol :)

So anyway, Kaitlyn qualified for Speech Therapy through EIP and we had our meeting with the Nassau County Coordinator and the Speech Therapist. We officially set up the schedule with her and she will now be coming twice a week (Mon & Thurs mornings) to help move K along in talking. She is going to be getting a lot of oral motor skill work through the PROMPT technique as the therapist is leaning towards K having a bit of Apraxia which is when a child has difficulty with volitional movement for the production of speech. This can be at the level of sounds, syllables, words, or even phrases (connected speech). The motor struggle is most typically seen with sounds sequencing.

I know that the speech therapy is really going to push K into talking up a storm. She really wants to and tries soooo hard to form words and make sounds so I know the PROMPT is going to be a huge success! I hope this also helps to cut down the tantrums because today made me want to tear my hair out, run away and hide. I was a mess today because she was having horrible "throw herself on the floor screaming" fits because I was trying to cook dinner and wasnt picking her up. Its getting really ridiculous as she screams harder during those times if Jon even attempts to pick her up or talk to her or console her. I'm not sure what to do as we have tried ignoring her (literally for almost an hour sometimes) and she screams and screams and screams and gets herself so worked up and even cries so hard she does her passing out thing or will cry so hard she starts doing this almost seizure type shaking thing... it's weird. At that point, I can not leave her like that... so there has to be something we can do... but I guess we'll mention it to the Dr and I also hope the speech thing helps to alleviate some of that too!!! UGH!!

Another thing I want to work on is getting her to fall asleep on her own but I dunno if we should do that before or AFTER we work on getting her to self soothe at night. I just can't do this crap anymore... and people talk about having another kid??? HA are you kidding me??? It's times like these where I lay in bed crying and saying no way in hell am I having another... ya know??? I love my daughter with all of my heart and soul but being a parent is by no means and easy job and sometimes it is so stressful and unrewarding!

Then there are times when you hear "chsheh chsheh" and you just get so excited! :) It just seems the tantrums are outweighing the "chicken's" right now, if you know what I mean!

Such a Lazy Mom

Yes I know, I rarely get here to update about Kaitlyn anymore. It's just so hard to sit and think and type with a toddler running around! I can barely get my dishes done because she stands at my legs screaming because she just wants mommy's attention!!

So here is a quick update and I will throw a newer pic in too!

Kaitlyn had her evaluations and Family Aides, Inc is sending in all the info to the county and we have our group meeting on Jan 12, 2007. We will know for sure then if she qualifies for Speech Therapy and we will set up a schedule of once a week or twice a week or whatever they think she needs.

I did have to go to Family Aides today to sign a paper and I asked if she qualified and, of course they cant tell me FOR SURE if she did but, she did! So hopefully soon K will be talking up a storm! I cant wait to hear her say something... other than "dah" and now the "ut oh" type thing she says! It will be so neat to hear her voice, I just know it is going to be adorable and it's going to make me melt just like I do when she looks into my eyes!!

The only other thing to update on is that she is yet again sick. This is about the 6th week we have been dealing with her having a cold. I'm actually getting very sick of her being sick and I cant wait til she is feeling better. I decided we are not going to be visiting any of the play places with the Mom's group where there are toys to chew on. Since we started going to them, she has been sick! So I think thats why... there are plenty of climbing gym type ones to take her to and I think they will be better for now until the weather turns into actual winter. Speaking of that it was 60 here today and it's JAN 4TH!!! Oy!! Something wrong with this planet!! We didnt even get a white Christmas and that was very disappointing for me. I know K doesnt know the difference but I have always had a white Christmas... with the exception of the year I spent living in Southern California!

Ok so here is a pic of Kaitlyn and Daddy just before Christmas. Daddy likes to play the Elf after Santa comes and he sorts the presents for everyone on Christmas morning and Kaitlyn and I got some Reindeer antlers to wear (though mommy forgot this year!) and I just had to get a picture of how cute these two are!

I really would like to get here to update a lot more often so I'm going to do my best to try. It's important for Kaitlyn to have this to read later on in life!

Lately, K has been going through some Mommy seperation anxiety and she will scream and scream even if I'm not in the room so we are working on that. She is still very motor and she climbs and crawls under things and over things and in things. She loves playing in and on boxes and wearing bags on her head while she walks around bumping into things. She has the BEST little sense of humor and knows it!! She will do things she finds funny and cracks up so hard at herself! She's really becoming such a great little person. She is still very polite and says (signs) please, thank you and you're welcome. I dont even think I could sit here and list all the things she "says" (signs) because she has SOOOO many. She's just a smart little cookie!

Since I had my surgery (and am unable to get pregnant until K is about two), Jon and I decided not to make any decisions about having another child until after Kaitlyn's second birthday. I'm still unsure if I want to be pregnant again... as much as I look at K playing by herself and wish she had a brother or sister, I just dont know if I can handle it again. Plus with Aunt Donna and Uncle Charlie expecting her little cousin coming next month that might be good for her and she will be content. I dont know... it's a lot to think about and I guess we will decide soon enough!

Well, I'll do my best to update again soon but definitely after the meeting on Jan 12th with the EIP people!

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree

how you hurt when you fall on me!!! ha ha ha ha

Kaitlyn got attacked by our Christmas tree last night and it's only a 3ft tree!!! Our kitty Totoro was trying to climb up in the tree thinking we might have to call the fire department to get him out or something... and Kaitlyn was standing there in front of the tree watching him and playing with ornaments. I, of course, yelled at the cat to get out of the tree because he might knock it down... I then walked into the kitchen to finish what I was doing and not 2 seconds later I hear Jon yell from the other room, "There it goes!" It took me a few seconds to realize what he was talking about and then Kaitlyn started screaming. I'm not sure whose fault it was, the cats or Kaitlyns (she yanks the ornaments off the tree) but I do know it must have scared the crap out of both of them! Kaitlyn was ok after a minute but she got scratches all over her face and hands (Thank God she didn't get poked in the eye!).

Anyway, this was one of those times you wish you had a video camera going constantly to catch funny things that happen... we might have just gotten into the finals of America's Funniest Home Videos with that one! The tree is fine and only 1 ornament got broken. It was one of mine and Jon's (our first married Christmas) but it's not bad and I can glue it back together, no problem. So, we got the tree back up and straightened back out and told them BOTH to leave the tree alone! I'm sure Kaitlyn will be right back at it the next time we are downstairs at Grandma Lois'. We put the tree down there again this year so there is plenty of room for it and presents.

Man... I wish we would've gotten that on video...

Well, the EIP Speech Therapist was only here for the evaluation for an hour and since then we have been working with K just to try to get her to form her mouth to make the "O" shape/sound. Well she has been great and is REALLY REALLY trying so hard to form her mouth to make sounds and words... most of the time nothing comes out but it's a work in progress and hopefully we get approved for the Speech Therapy because she would benefit so much from it. This proves it!

Last night K was in the bath and she was splashing around as usual drowning the bathroom and playing with her toys. She took two of her little ducks and flipped them over the side of the tub on to the rug and I said "Ut oh, did you lose your duckies?" and she looked at me and made the "O" shape with her mouth and said "oh-ohh," kinda... she actually made the "oh" sound and almost got out the "Ut-oh." I screamed and praised her so much and kept getting her to try it over and over... it was adorable!!! I cant wait to hear her talk!!!

Certainly NOT a Baby Anymore

Kaitlyn is now a toddler which leaves me little time to be on the computer or to be updating my blog! Needless to say this will be a short and to the point update!

Kaitlyn is now 18 months old and she is 32" tall, weighs 21lbs 3oz and her head circumference is 46cm. She should definitely weigh more but she has actually been sick with a mean nasty cold for over a month now and she stopped eating for about 3 weeks totally. We've been slowly relearning how to eat here and chew. She started swallowing any food she managed to put in her mouth whole instead of chewing it. Thats a whole other post though and if I get a chance to get into it, I will.

Since just before turning 18 months Kaitlyn has begun having real melt-downs and full blown throwing herself on the floor screaming tantrums. We totally ignore her and act like she isnt there when she does this because most of the time it is for no reason. If there is a reason, I try to kneel down and look her in the eye and talk to her and tell her why she can't have/do something. I know she doesnt understand most of what I am telling her but I want us both to get in the habit of talking things out. So if she throws herself on the floor screaming like she did last night for a half an hour just because I will not pick her up, then she will be ignored!

Kaitlyn is still not talking and so we have begun the Early Intervention Program (EIP) evaluations to see if she qualifies to receive some Speech Therapy. The Speech Therapist came this morning to meet with us and to evalute Kaitlyn and it went fairly well. The problem with this whole process is that Kaitlyn is very smart and has above average comprehension skills that overall when you add the two scores together having a high comprehension score can disqualify a child who may actually need some help in communication. Jon says it's kinda like a baby SAT where you can stink at the reading part but still score a 1200 because you are a genius in math. However, in order to get Kaitlyn the help she needs (and that the therapist said she would truely benefit from) she needs to score on a lower threshhold. So now Kaitlyn has to be evaluated by the Special Education teacher and then both of the evaluators will send their reports into the County Coordinator and we will see if she will qualify.

Other than all that Kaitlyn is becoming quite the comedian. She has one heck of a sense of humor! For example, last night she had something she shouldnt have and I asked her to give it to mommy, please. She held it out and walked closer to me as if she was going to just hand it right over... well just as I reached for it she pulled it back real fast and busted out laughing! She really was cracking herself up, the little jokester! She has a wonderful laugh and finds herself and many other things very funny.

Ok I will try to update more often if I can but we have a lot going on. I will definitely get here to update after Christmas!! That should be fun and I will update with some pictures too!!

Quick Update

Ok I know it has been FOREVER since I have written in Kaitlyn's journal. I hope to get back to it and keep up on it. I'd like to at least post here once a month on how things are going.

Since I last wrote Kaitlyn has been off her Zantac and doing very well. For about a month after she was puking a little bit up here and there but otherwise doing great. Her reflux seems to be under control but I do not dare say she has grown out of it yet, simply because when she gets sick she still gets reflux flares.

We also went to the Infant Reflux Disease convention in Cleveland, OH and had a wonderful time. It was amazing to meet all of the families I have been talking to for over a year. The kids were great too! It was so nice to be around a bunch of people who totally understood what we have been through on this roller coaster ride. While we were there, Kaitlyn ended up picking up a bug and was sick for about two and a half weeks after.

After the convention Jon, Kaitlyn and I went to a Cleveland Indians game at Jacob's Field and it was a wonderful experience and a great game!!! We left from there and headed up to Michigan to see my family. We had a great time in Michigan and Kaitlyn loved spending time with "Papa Paul in Michigan" and Grandma Debbie & Papa Reese. She was VERY afraid of my mom's two big labs but, of course, the day before we left she got more comfortable with them.

Since coming back from Michigan, we were dealing with Kaitlyn and I both being sick (I ended up sick too!) and trying to get our house fully unpacked and cleaned and organized. We rearranged our room and decided to get Kaitlyn a Toddler bed for our room to see if we can work on getting her into sleeping in her own room at night. It would be nice to have our bed back after a year! She is sleeping so much better and is really good about soothing herself in her sleep so I think it's time. Even if she sleeps in our room, as long as she learns to sleep in her own bed, that would be fine with me for now. The bed we got her is so cute, it's cherry colored and a sleigh bed and it matches our bed and bedroom set so it should be very cute!

Kaitlyn decided to taste dirt for the first time the other day (8/30/06). Her and I were outside playing and she went digging in the planters Grandma Lois has on the back porch and she ate some dirt! She was such a mess after playing in there. It must have been so much fun for her!

Also last night was the first time ever Kaitlyn has attempted to take off her diaper. She didnt undo the tape at all she pulled the diaper down as if it was a pair of panties! It was so adorable though when she tried pulling it back up it got stuck under her butt and she couldnt get it back up! Ha ha ha it was cute! I was so proud! I asked her then if she wanted to try going potty like a big girl and she looked at me and shook her head yes! Hopefully she can wait until Christmas, I plan on getting her a potty chair then and letting her slowly work on her own towards going potty. I dont plan on bugging her about potty training until she is about two... unless she really wants to start trying when she gets her potty chair. She's getting so big!

So she is 14 1/2 months old right now and she is still not talking. She signs SOOOOO much and totally understands and communicates very well but still no real english words. I dont know if thats a bad thing but at least we totally understand her and she listens and understands what we say to her. Thats all I care about. She does "talk" a lot in baby talk though so I know she can express herself.

We have an appointment with the Pediatrician in a couple weeks for her 15 month check up. So we shall see how things go then and how much she has grown.

Until then...

Monkey See, Monkey Do

Every day it's more and more incredible to watch my little miracle develope. Kaitlyn is becoming such a wonderful little lady. She's very into imitating now which is good and bad. We have to watch what we do because she does it too, but it's fun to see her doing all these things. She is such a great little helper already too! She and Daddy cleaned up her toys last night and he asked her to put a few in the toy box but after that she went around the room picking them all up and putting them "away." Some of them ended up in very strange places but hey... she was helping and cleaning up her toys! It was great!!

She did the most amazing thing last night too!! You dont realize a kid so young would have such an imagination OR that she would know to do this... but... Kaitlyn was FEEDING her baby doll!! She has never seen anyone feed a baby in front of her so she must just know that she was fed. I have no idea how she knew but she was pretending to eat out of this little bowl she had and was then giving the baby some from the bowl and back and forth she went like that for about 10 mins. It was so adorable to watch! She's already going to be a good mommy!! Ha ha ha

Other than that we are working on talking which she still isnt doing really. She understands and will answer "yes" and "no" by shaking her head, but she still does not really talk. I have begun asking her lots of one sided questions, waiting for the day she answers me! She points at a lot of things too and I have started telling her that "I do not speak Point" and she will have to tell me what she is pointing at or at least go show me. Most of the time it is pointing for a book to read, but still. I want her to either sign what she wants or say it. We're getting there she is "talking" a lot more, especially while looking at books, but no real words yet other than Mama's and Dada's sometimes.

She's really working on feeding herself with a fork and spoon too and I gotta say she is getting really good. When she eats, even if I'm feeding her, I give her a fork or spoon (appropriate for the meal) and let her feed herself some too. I gotta say... even though there are times when K will drop food on the floor (when she is done eating) or her fork or spoon, she has yet to throw a plate or bowl - empty or full. When I give her a plate of food she sits there and holds it with one hand and very gently gets food off of it and eats. She's such a big girl!

I'm just more and more in love with this child every day! I couldnt be any happier with the way she is turning out. Now, if we could just get her to sleep in her own bed!

More Little Milestones

Lately Kaitlyn's favorite thing to do is to bend over and stand with her head on the ground. I have no idea where she got it from because I certainly am not doing that. I think it's genetic, when Jon was little he used to sit upside down next to the couch and watch tv. I'm sure she gets this stuff from her dad!! ha ha ha

She's walking so much better and faster too... almost running! Daddy and her play a "gonna getcha" game and he chases her through the room and catches her in the hall way. She's getting so fast now. She also doesnt give me things like she used to. Before, I could ask her what she had or what she was eating and she would bring it to me. I guess she learned that when she does that I take things away from her. Now, she will show it to me from a few feet away and when I try to get it, she turns and runs! She's adorable too so I can't be mad about it, and hey, it gives me some exercise too having to chase her!

I just love how sturdy she is getting on her feet now, her dancing is getting so good. She's got rythm! She bends her knees and bounces now and she pushes up on to her toes and back down. She's not falling nearly as much when she does it, either. Oh and she is so cute too when she does those things and puts her hands up in the air, kinda like a "raise the roof" type thing but her palms are facing forward!

We're having so much fun now, SHE is so much fun now! Kaitlyn and I go for walks almost everyday and she just loves seeing the trees and all the new things around. I try to take a different route every day. Sometimes we even walk to the library. It's about a mile and a half so that gets my 3 miles in for the day.

So far K has been doing well on milk. We spent about a week switching her over and adding it to her formula and after a week we said forget it and gave her full milk. She did fine and she likes it. She's drinking 12-15 ounces if it a day, which the Dr said was fine. She also drinks TONS of water everyday and sometimes some juice. Needless to say, this kid pees a lot!!!!

We had to switch Kaitlyn over to the next size diaper too. The size 3's still fit her and had plenty of room but they were not long enough and were cutting into her hips and thighs. So now the 4's are big around the waist but good for length. Plus the bigger ones hold more fluid!!! ha ha ha

Anyway, she's such a big girl now and so independant! I'm so glad we are incorporating some attachment parenting into how we raise Kaitlyn because she is becoming such a wonderful little lady. She is so polite, sharing, empathetic and considerate. It's amazing that a one year old can be so intelligent! She knocks on every door before she enters, she offers you the food right out of her mouth, she gets upset when I'm sick... she is just so wonderful. I love her so much!

One other thing Kaitlyn has gotten good at is signing "phone." Whenever Grandma Lois' phone rings she puts her fist to her ear. Yesterday she was eating lunch and the phone rang and she did that and said "Dada." She wouldnt even finish her lunch because she kept signing phone, saying Dada and pointing at my cell phone. I guess she just knows that Daddy is the one who calls on the phone to talk to her. It's not like we get many other calls!

Ok I think I've written enough here for now... there is just a lot going on and I'm so glad I'm home to see it all and to raise my beautiful, amazing little girl.

Build A.... What?

When Kaitlyn was only a couple months old (if you have followed our journey you may remember) we went to the Albany IVF Baby Harvest. Kaitlyn won a couple prizes for her costume and one of them was a Build-A-Bear Workshop gift card. We decided a long time ago that when Kaitlyn turned one we would take her to make something, so today we went and built Kaitlyn a Hello Kitty!

We had her choose between Hello Kitty since she was pointing at her as we walked in the store and a Giraffe. We got her out of the stroller and I held them on either side of me... she had a hard time choosing because to her I think a toy is a toy, but finally she picked the Hello Kitty. We got her a little pink Mets outfit (they didnt have any Detroit Tigers stuff!) and even a little mitt, bat and ball! It was really cute watching Kaitlyn while we were making her kitty. She just kept grabbing for it... she wanted it so bad! After we got her made up and dressed we got to name her and make her a birth certificate. We decided that since most kids end up saying "Ditty" before they can say "Kitty" that we would name her that.

And, "Ditty" was born June 20th 2006. I guess I'll have to get a picture soon and add it!

OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH yeah!!!!!!!!!!! Tonight I was changing Kaitlyn's diaper in her room and Jon walked in so I asked Kaitlyn "Who's that?" and pointed at Jon. Kaitlyn clearly said "Dada" after about 1 minute or so. That just means that "Dada" is her first word! I wanted it to be Mama so bad but I guess I talk about Dada so much that that would be the first word she says! Oh well... I'm just happy she said SOMETHING and said it about something, or someone as it was.

Like a Duck to Water

Well today I'm in the bathroom and of course Kaitlyn has to follow me in there as always. She was hanging out and playing with her bath toys while we were in there. I stood up to flush the toilet and before I even had a chance to close the lid she tossed in one of her bath ducks! It was so funny! I called Jon in to get it out, too! Ha ha ha