Seems like ages since I've talked about Ella's progress. So here goes.
My girl is sitting up for several minutes at a time now. It was like she developed this skill overnight. When she had her re-evaluation with Charity her new physical therapist less than a month ago, she could only sit for a few seconds at a time. One morning, a week or so later, I was on the floor with her, and I realized that a long time had passed while she sat unsupported. I hadn't been watching the clock, but did I dare think that she had stayed up for more that a minute or two? Last Thursday, with new script in hand, we finally resumed therapy (it's been a long, frustrating process). I told Charity that she was going to be impressed with E's progress, and she was; she could hardly believe it and confirmed my observation of several minutes of unsupported sitting. So now, we'll forge ahead with working on side sitting and bearing weight through her knees and rocking on all fours because next comes crawling. I am incredibly encouraged with Ella's physical development, even if it takes pauses and then comes in spurts. And even when she is around other babies her age, and I see the gaps. Because I have the utmost hope for her that she will meet her milestones, no matter how long it takes her. And in comparing her progress to herself, which is the only measure that should matter, she's come a long way.
She can get around on the floor pretty well now, using a combination of rolls and methodical belly crawling, especially if she is enticed by a toy or some otherwise-forbidden thing-that-shouldn't-be-on-the-floor-when-a-baby-is-in-the-house-but-with-two-older-brothers-somehow-always-ends-up-there.
Ella continues to be pretty happy-go-lucky and smiley. She is incredibly social. She's taking even more notice of us. She can tell when I enter a room, and she lights up immediately. Very gratifying. She can play "Where's the baby?" and thinks it's hilarious. She loves being close to her brothers. They are very good with her most of the time, especially Jackson--he's so tender and doting, he celebrates her every move. Cooper is quite affectionate toward her, but he also views her as a little bit of a threat, especially when she gets close to items he believes are his. We have to remind him that "she's just a baby" often.
She vocalizes and babbles, but still without consonants most of the time. And I think she is more quiet than not. Still. But I think that's okay for now. I'm choosing not to be too terribly concerned with her verbal development at this time. We have a time frame to work with; if she's not further along by the time she is twelve months old, I'm supposed to ask that her speech be evaluated. Until then, we'll just press on.
Food is our battleground right now. I don't pump enough breastmilk to be away from her for very long (which makes work difficult), and formula makes her throw up (not spit up, actually throw up & she then continues to dry heave for hours afterward). I've just implemented a pump-on-one-side-while-feeding-her-on-the-other-side system that I think will help keep my supply up, but what a hassle. I've thought about trying soy-based formulas, but I'm not convinced that will make a difference and don't want to waste money on more formula if it doesn't stay down. She's close to the age where I might consider whole milk, but I worry we'd have similar results as milk-based formula. Baby food is hit or miss. When she was not willing to take any bottle (breastmilk or otherwise) a few months ago, baby food was our saving grace. But now, she will hardly touch it and must essentially be force-fed to get any down. After two other babies, one might assume that I have this baby food stuff down, but it is my absolute weakness. I can't stand this phase because it just doesn't make sense to me, and I feel like I'm just winging it. How many fruits in the morning? When do I do veggies? Breastfeeding before or after the food? Arrrrrrgggghh!! Fortunately in the past, I've grinned and beared it, and it's over soon enough. With Ellie, though, I'm afraid we're in for more than the average length of time with battling baby food. I'm thankful that despite all these challenges, she continues to gain weight. And it could be a lot worse: there is a treatment called the ketogenic diet that some children have to go on if no meds control their seizures, and from what I've read, it takes several hours to prepare each meal and breastfeeding is a big no-no. So, I definitely know how blessed we are, I just wish we could get a better system going.
Once Thursday evening and three times Friday morning, Ella forcefully dropped her head forward (not in clusters or anything thankfully). It was the first time since gaining seizure freedom almost five months ago that she did something that legitimately scared me, and got me wondering if the spasms were returning. If so, they were different than before, and I seem to recall that they usually do not change in nature, but what do I know. So far, she has not done any more of them, so I'm chalking it up to losing control of her head because the sitting position is still so new and tires her out quickly. At least that's what I'm trying to convince myself to do. It's hard not to "go there."
♦
