2 year check-up

This is Dr. C, Madelyn's padiatrician. I have depended on him greatly in the last two years and as he is retiring, I will miss him so much. Madelyn was in great spirits at her two year check up. No tears, only giggles and a little shyness. Madelyn is now 36 inches tall and weighs 26 lbs. She is really doing well on her curve. Dr. C and I reminisced for a few minutes at how difficult she was to feed and how she just missed getting the feeding tube. That all feels like such a long time ago yet when I think about it I can still feel the stress.

All in all, Madelyn is developing normally and is a typical two year-old. Prais the Lord!

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!

Quick Update

We have had the most crazy few weeks. August is always nuts at our house now this year we get to celebrate Madelyn's first birthday. So since Carl and I come from very small immediate families I thought that I would open up Madelyn's first birthday to a bigger crowd. There are many people out there that have been praying for Madelyn and she has done so well, I am still in awe when I think back a year ago.

I started by planning a BBQ supper and making a list of people that might like to come to a little girls birthday party on the last friday in August. I was so pleasently surprise on how many people wanted to come, they even postponed camping trips.

We have been very busy getting the yard in better shape to show off to the crowd. Thanks Dad!

Carl I celebrated our 9th wedding anniversary! I can't believe it's been that long. We have had an amazing time. We even got to go on a two dates. One was out for supper a great local resturant. The other we went in to Winnipeg for some home decor shopping and fast food. It's amazing how quickly you can spend money in just a few hours, but our home is more homey because of it. Thanks to Ang, and grandma and grandpa for looking after Madelyn.

We also took in the local festivals that always makes a weekend fly by and you wonder where your lazy Sunday afternoon went.

This last week we went to see Dr. C for Madelyn's one year check up and then on the same day I booked an appointment with Dr. W, Madelyn's surgeon, just because I have many questions about Madelyn's Pectus and development of it.

The appointment with Dr. C went great. Madelyn is now 19pds and 8oz. That puts her into the 25th percentile. Woot, woot! We have been hoping for getting back into the 20th percentile since birth. I am so pumped, but she is still on formula at 1.0 cal/ml. That is down from 1.1 ca/ml. I had high hopes of moving to whole milk.

I did find out that Madelyn will have to see an opthomologist, because her daddy had a lazy eye, or inturning eye. I don't know the medical term for it. This can be a genetic problem and if caught early is easy to treat. I'm not at all worried.

After a little bit of Costco's great buys, and an hour lunch at a playland McDonald's it was time to see Dr. W. Now I made this appointment on my own because I have noticed that Madelyn is developing a pectus. I know that nothing will be done until she is a teenager but I wanted some real answers to the questions that I had.

Dr. W was gracious with me and answered every question over Madelyn's crying and fussing. Yes, she has a pectus. On a scale of 1 to 10, its about a 1. Yes is can get worse, but there is nothing to do right now. What can be done in the future we that all depends on medicine in the next ten years. Bracing the torso does work, but can be long and uncomfortable. If it is very severe Dr. W. right now fixes the problem, but there is a verticale scar on the chest. He does not do the "Nuss" procedure yet. Manitoba does not offer it as of yet, since it is still now widely practised. Can that change in 10 years when Madelyn might (and I say might, because we don't know yet.) need to have this done. Well yes, because we always know alot more in ten years. Just look at her and the results of CDH. Ten years ago, I would have delivered her in a rural hospital and she probably would not have survived. Praise God for technology!

So that pretty much sums up the month of August for us. I'm sorry for the ramblings. I promise to get more organized and have better more frequent posts.

What is up for September? Mommy is going back to work, so it time to figure out how to fit that in.

On another note, I had the privilage of meeting an expectant mom with a baby of CDH and an ompheocele. Here is her blog: http://crystalandnathanrachul.blogspot.com/ As Madelyn is doing so well, I was forgetting all the worries and heartache we had only a year ago. As Crystal was talking, I was just finding myself fighting back tears. My heart goes out to this couple. Please pray for them as they will need all the prayers and support in the next few months.

Slow And Steady....

I took Madelyn to the Public Health office today since I no longer have a baby scale at home. She has gained nine ounces in two weeks! Woot, woot! High fives all around. Madelyn had not been eating for almost a month. So two weeks ago, I took her in to get a weight she was 16pds and 1oz. I noticed yesturday that she seemed heavy as I was putting her to bed. Today her weight is 16pds 10oz. I don't really know how she is gaining the weight. She refusses to eat anything off of a spoon. Oral Aversion has reared it's ugly head yet again. Just when you think it's gone, or that Madelyn has gotten over it, it's there again.

So this is a typical meal time for her. I give her anything soft and bite sized, bread, cheese, cut up fruit, veggies, etc. She is really good at picking it up, just not getting it in her mouth. When she is done most of the food is in the pocket of her bib or on the chair. But it's important to make mealtime fun, so I don't force anything. Her caloric intake is still mostly super high concentrated formula, 1.1 cal/cc. And tonight her last feeding she took 6oz. Not bad since she has never taken more than 5 oz. before.

Most average babies take an 8oz bottle at about six to eight weeks. Madelyn is not eight months old. Hmmmm, slow and steady wins the race!?