18 months old!

Can you believe it. Madelyn is now 18 months old. I can hardly believe how much she has grown in the past six months.

Madelyn had a pediatrician appointment the day after she officially turned 18 months old. Dr. Carson is the best. Madelyn of course is afraid of all strangers now and cried bloody murder. But Dr. C. has almost 35 years of peds experience and this did not phase him any.

Mady is now 32" long, and weighs 23 pounds. She is slowing down in the hieght range at the 50th percentile, but she is very strong in the weight curve and steady at the 25th percentile. Praise the Lord! We have worked so hard at feedings, and encouraged fun eating. She still favors breads, pastas, and fruit. But I am just so happy when she gives me the "sign" for eat, and when she says yum after every bite.

As I mentioned before, Madelyn is doing baby signing. It took a while for her to catch on. I thought that it would never happen. I felt a little silly make crazy actions for objects and actions, but my efforts have paid off. The first sign she figured out was diaper. Which is really nice because she sometimes tells me when she wants her diaper changed. Now she is signing everything, from different food, to toys, objects we see when we are out. She is catching on to words with the signs too and I am thinking that she will be stringing words together soon.

I am so pleased, I feel that Madelyn is almost just like any other toddler around. I love getting to see more of Madelyn's personality. She is so funny, strong willed, and very determined. That I guess is what makes her a survivor of CDH. God is good!