Spring is here

Howdy to All - So lots to report - Mallie is learning new words every day!! I need to start writing them all down and will work on that for the next post! I don't know where to begin....we saw the Pedes neuro doc again and she was pleased with Mallie's progress in all aspects...well almost all. Not that we are doing bad but the eating dept is having a hard time with Mallie. She is gaining length which is great but her weight is not increasing along with it. She pretty much still eats like a bird, a very tiny baby bird! She EATs - what she wants and when she wants. Lately she won't even try new things unless its her terms. HUGE crying meltdowns if I even put something on her tray she does not want. We need to get more fat and protein in her diet along with calories. Its so the opposite of my current diet - but thats another story :) So I have been trying to sneak in little extra things with her food. Like flax or safflower oil into her yogurt. Butter or oil into her ketchup she dips EVERYTHING in :) She does like sunflower seeds and started to eat granola bars. So we are taking baby steps in the right direction but at the end of the day (most days) I don't know if its enough. we are still on the feeding schedule of every 3 hours. usually 3 of the feeds is offering her hi cal formula. I hate that she still has to have that but it does pack alot in. Also been trying to get her off the BOTTLE - (I know she is almost 3) but damn it she just won't drink the full amount of milk from her sippee cup. I think she associates the sippee with SIPS! Weird huh? Not really - so really only because she throws a fit in the morning she gets a bottle then. At 3 she gets milk in sippee and before bed I offer it to her too. I know most parents read this and say well then she can go without - the problem is we can't afford for her to go without and with her eating all the time - I also fear Mallie does not know what "hungry" is. It is such a fine line with her and she has that 2 yr old attitude when she wants it to show too! She will eat chix nuggets and hot dogs but not everyday. Like anyone else we need variety but she is not a fan of trying new things either :( We have tried fish stix and other forms of protein and not a big fan yet. I know we need to keep trying because part of the food thing is her age. they say kids need to try foods several times before they actually Like them. So we plug on and I hope its just a phase. If we let her she would live off of puffs and yogurt :) On to her hearing and speech! We had a one year evaluation with spectrum health speech pathologist and they were very pleased with Mallie's progress! According to the assessment they did - here are the following results: Gestures - 24-27 months Play skills - 24-27 months Language understanding - 21-24 months Language Expression (Talking) 15-18 almost 18-21 Months Mallie's hearing age at this test is just shy of 13 months. So she is doing pretty damn good since being introduced to the world of sound last April. We were very happy with the results and reassured that everyone's hard work is paying off. With a big thanks to Mallie's hearing and speech therapist CATHY GREGORSKI. She has helped us get to where we are today! Looking forward to seeing what the next few months bring!! We also had a audiologist follow up and they hooked up her processors again to double check everything. Looks like a couple of the electrodes on the right ear are not working for some reason. There are 22 all together so if a couple are not working - it is really not a huge deal. In my mind I don't like the fact that this happened and I wonder why. I also hope it does not keep happening. She just turned them off so they would not cause any issues. Which a month or so ago - there were a couple times Mallie cried and took her processor off. It was short lived both times and within a couple days of each other. The audiologist says that its possible thats when it occurred because they can make weird or unpleasant sounds should they not work correctly or be interrupted. I will try not to focus on this but still it bothers me a bit. She said that is why there are 22 electrodes, and they will just keep an eye to make sure everything stays the same. I forgot to ask if its possible they can start working again... we go back in Sept for a follow up - will make note to ask them. In the mean time I pray the rest keep on working good :) We just got done with a round of antibiotics for an ear infection - her second one ever. Thank goodness the warm weather is upon us - I hate cold and flu season. We have had a very quiet winter as far as sickness - just the way I like it. Mallie is really into Minnie Mouse - its so cute she calls her Mimi. Next to Macie or Mae Mae as she calls her - I think its her favorite. Also she loves loves loves books. We read something everyday - she usually picks. Or she loves to look at pictures and immitate the animals sounds or movements. Its a fun game! Still scooting all over the place. we are trying to get her to stand up - but some days she does not want to. Other days she does great and wanting to stand. I am ready for Mallie to make that next step in her development but I am afraid her weight is playing a big role in it as well. Gotta get her stronger and keep working with her. We keep saying it has to be on her terms and that is the plain truth. Not sure where the stubbornness comes from? Will get that list of words together and post soon - Happy Spring!!