Baby E is Doing Great

It has been over a month since my last post because my hard drive crashed. Now that it is back up and running, I can finally give everyone an update on sweet Baby E. She is continuing to do great! In early December she had her four month well visit check-up with the pediatrician, and weighed 10.5 pounds - yahoo! Although she's only in the fifth percentile, she continues to stay there so that's good that she's maintaining her size. She also got cleared to sleep through the night - thank God!!! She is such a great sleeper now. She usually has her last meal at 9:00 or 9:30 p.m., and I don't hear from her again until 7:00 a.m. Lastly, she is doing great developmentally. Our pediatrician sends out ASQ questionnaires that measure whether a child is reaching her developmental milestones, such as gross motor skills, fine motor skills and problem solving abilities. When I received the questionnaire in the mail, I have to be honest that I was dreading completing it because I feared that E would not do well. Instead she blew me away! She didn't fall into any of the "bad" categories and was even in some of the "good" categories. Yea, Baby E!

E also continues to see her physical therapist once a week, and it is amazing how much it is helping. I can see such a difference from when she started. Initially, our goals were for her to keep her head in mid-line (she tended to favor the side where the shunt isn't), lift her head while on her tummy, reach for toys and move her head from side to side. I am proud to say that E can do all of these things!!! The therapist said since she's doing so well, we will be creating new goals at the beginning of next year. Within the last two weeks we have been focusing on straightening E's right leg out really well. It tends to stay bent, and we don't want any contractures. The therapist recommended we stretch it three times a day, but I'm so overly zealous that we've been doing it five times a day. Please pray that it straightens out and for continued leg movement and strength.

E has her appointment at the Spina Bifida clinic early tomorrow morning. Y'all know how apprehensive I am before her major appointments, so please say lots of prayers for good results and for Mommy's nerves! She also sees the urologist in February for a renal ultrasound, so please pray for no urinary/continence problems.

When we first visited the neurosurgeon, he told us that the risk of infection due to placement of the shunt ends at six months. We are only one month away from this six month mark, so please pray for E's continued health and no infections. E doesn't have to return to see the neurosurgeon until May, so in the back of your mind, we would appreciate all prayers for continued cognitive abilities as well.

Thank y'all so much for your continued prayers for Baby E. She is such a miracle, and we feel so blessed to have y'all praying for her!!! I will try to update later this week to let you know how the appointment goes tomorrow. Have a very Merry Christmas!!!