Mallie's....a new way to say things. Everything is hers!

Last week Mallie started saying Mallie's before almost every word she said. You know because everything is hers, haha. It is so cute how she says it. Mallie's momma or Mallie's daddy. Mallie's baby, Mallie's milk. Mallie's chair...the list goes on and on..... Everything!!! I LOVE IT! So we are at 3 weeks on the old dose of GH and she has been GREAT! No tantrums - just normal 2 year old whining (we are working on that). Part of the whining comes when she knows what she wants but can't say it yet. She tries really hard to repeat everything...still missing the D, P, B vowel sounds. She really tries tho and I know its coming! Today is a huge milestone as she finally drinks from a straw! I bought the little Elmo juice boxes (they are Mallie sized)with a short straw. She loved it and I am sooooooo proud of her. This achievement should bring on some more muscle for that little mouth of hers. Which will help her with Speech! Can't wait to send her PT and OT an email in the morning to let them know :) The last 3 weeks we have been beachin it with our friends the Waggener's and the Maiden's. The first week Mallie did pretty good but her floatie was not the greatest at holding her secure. I ordered her a new fish -and the second week she did awesome in it. This week however the waves were decent sized and she did not fancy that. She was content to sit in her beach chair and eat Cheetos with Livy. While we sat and watched the "bathing beauties" hang out in the water. That is what Andrea nicknamed the boys. I think it fits perfectly - they literally take their beers and go stand in the water the whole time, haha! Afterwards we cooked out and I have to say watch out when Mallie starts to walk. She is starting to defend herself a bit...as I watched her in her "occupier" (that's what Steve calls it.) Its basically a excersaucer but the seat is on the outside of the activities. She can stand and push herself around the toy. She does really good in there now - I brought it out for her to stand in and the kids all played around it. She was pushing the other kids out of the way (well trying to). I was actually impressed that she wanted to move them out of the way to keep going. She was not being mean or anything but it was a proud momma moment because normally she would just sit there and let the kids push her around. Aunt Misty was here for the weekend - got some sister time in and it was great! I sure miss all my sisters and think they should all move closer, wink wink! She comes back in a couple weeks and can't wait to hit the beach with the kids and hopefully have a little vacation. Then my other Sis Lisa is having her baby shower at the end of Aug - can't wait to see that Lil first time momma. Aunt Dawnie - Mallie is in need of some Auntie time :) The summer is flying by....and for all those who read the paper a week ago, lets give a hand to Garrett, the daily news intern, for writing such a great story. Steve and I could not be happier with how it was written. That boy is going to go places! I hope everyone who did read it enjoyed it and learned a little more about Mallie's implants. They have been one of the best things we could have done for her! Ok well it is way passed my bed time again...I keep saying I am going to go to bed early....we are taking Mallie to the fair this week! Will have some pics and updates soon on her second fair experience - Night all

Summer 2012

Hey All - I know I think I say this every time - it has been awhile. Life sure is busy. Let's see where to start...hmmmm? Since my last post we had a follow up with the CI surgeon and the Endocrinology Dr. Mallie was 17.4lbs and 29.5 inches long on June 13Th. All very good - the dr upped her dosage of GH (growth hormone) from .3 to .4. She was very happy with her growth and even commented on how much taller she looks! All was good there....second appt of the day was the ENT doc and he was pleased with Mallie's speech and her development in the hearing world. She had an ear infection a couple weeks before the appt so he decided to give her a good cleaning and see if there was still fluid in there. There of course was still fluid in there so another round of stronger antibiotics was given to us and we were to follow up in a few weeks. So we started a bigger dose of GH and an antibiotic on the same day. We had been noticing some behavior changes in Mallie and could not really tell if the antibiotic was giving her an upset tummy or she was just getting started in her terrible twos. She started getting whiny all the time and has even had a few MAJOR meltdowns. I mean major and over what? I have no idea - the first time she threw a tantrum I chalked it up to being really over tired. Well it happened again out of nowhere after she woke up one morning. I called and spoke with the Endo doc to see if the Hormones could possibly cause something to make her so irritable and we both agreed the antibiotic could be causing some discomfort and the change in mood. We voted to wait and see once she finished that up so we can rule it out. Well we finished the meds and low and behold she has still been super crabby and whiny with 2 more tantrums over nothing. I don't even recognize her when she acts that way - it is so weird and WAY out of character. I know that all kids throw tantrums and whine but it was just hard to believe that overnight she could be that way. I decided to contact some other RSS kiddos moms on my Facebook group and see if they had any insight. What I learned is a few had issues with behavior while on GH. Now Mallie has been on it since last October with no changes in behavior that drastic. My gut told me the increased dosage was causing her to act this way. I have now for a week straight given her the old dose amount and she has been alot better. Still some whining but mostly our happy little Mallie. Steve and I agreed to try it for two weeks so one more to go for an official verdict. I know I should call the doc too and let her know what I did - it may be the other dose is just too much for her. I think too there is no reason to up the dose if she is doing good on the other. From what I have read the dosages range from .3 to .6 - so an increase to .4 is quite a bit. I will call them next week and let them know after I have made sure this is the problem. Even beyond the behavior issues she is still excelling in both her physical strength and her vocabulary. She literally tries to repeat everything - which is awesome!! She now pushes up from her feet and lifts her tiny bum up in the air. Its her version of standing up! The fact that she wants to do it is great because we have struggled with her wanting to put weight on those little feet and legs. Its a huge step for her. Our PT also let us borrow the gait trainer for Mallie to walk around in over the summer in between visits. Had the follow up yesterday with the ENT doc and of course she still has fluid in her ears - which means gotta get tubes in those ears. The outpatient surgery is set for Aug 6th - and should be no big deal at all. Kind of expected with Mallie I guess - better to get it done now before cold and flu season tho. Well that is all for now - but my goal is to update once a week from here forward. I know that by slacking I miss out on lots of fun things to report too! Hope everyone is having a great summer!