My 6 Month Old

Naturopathic Doctor

Cayman saw her Naturopathic Doctor yesterday. Her numbers keep looking better and better. Any numbers over 5,000 are of a concern and showing deficiencies in the body. At Cayman's first appointment her numbers were 16,000. The 2nd appointment they were just under 12,000. Yesterday they were 9,000.

We are definitely seeing her improvements through her development. Her Naturopathic Doctor could see a difference in her. He commented on how alert and observant she is.

Fox in Socks

Have you read this book?

The first page reads:

Take it slowly. This book is dangerous!"

"What? How can a book be dangerous?" I said to Cayman when I read this book to her a few weeks ago.

I found out, it's true...a book can be dangerous.

By the end of the book I could barely talk anymore. I was no longer comprehending what I was reading. I had to put my full concentration in just reading each word and pronounce it correctly.

You have to read this book...and you have to read it aloud...you'll see exactly what I'm talking about.

Yesterday, during story time, I pulled Daddy over and had him read this book to Cayman.

I was cracking up so hard listening to him read this book.

Zoo

Grandma Cindy is soon starting a new job. She has some time off during the transition from her old job to her new one, so her and Madison planned a trip to the zoo. Mike and I had the day free, as well as free passes to the zoo so Daddy, Cayman, and I joined Grandma Cindy and Aunt Madison to the zoo yesterday. Our hot hot summer days are less and less now. It was very comfortable and all the kids are back in school so it was not crowded. We had a lot of fun. I did not think taking a 6 month old to the zoo would be all that exciting. I was particularly gitty. I love the zoo!! But Cayman was a lot of fun...especially in the aquarium. She loved the glow from all the tanks and stared in amazement.

Arriving at the zoo.

Aunt Madison immediately grabbed a mapped and said, "Let's see where we should go first." She's 3 1/2 years old. She cracked us up!Look close...do you see Cayman's reflection?

Riding the Carousel...

While Daddy and Cayman watched.Riding the train.In the bird house a few of the birds were flying around free. Grandma Cindy did not like being in the building among the flying birds. She was more comfortable just peaking in and Madison mimicked her...or perhaps was mocking her.This is Cayman's look of wonder as she watched the fish swim in the aquariums.

6 Months Old

Cayman's Discoveries & Development at 6 months

1. You are obsessed with your hands and fingers. You constantly have them in your mouth. When I take your picture lately that seems to be the only pose I can get.
2. You love to watch football with Daddy. The Buckeye's first game you must have watched for nearly and hour. We were so surprised it held your attention for so long.
3. You have completely fallen in love with Uncle Mark and Aunt Cara's ceiling fan. You can't take your eyes off of it. Once Daddy saw how much you loved it I think he wanted to run home and put one in just for you.
4. A couple times you have eaten rice cereal from a spoon. You're still unsure about it. At first you clamp those little gums shut tightly, but once we get going with it you open your mouth for each bite. However, as real serious hunger sets in you demand for your bottle only.
5. You are sleeping 6-9 hours at night.
6. You reach and grab for things and try to stick them in your mouth.
7. You have discovered hair and that includes Daddy's goatee.
8. You roll from your back to your sides. You have a favorite side though. You mostly roll to the right.
9. You just started wearing size 2 diapers. Size 1 could still fit but we had to up the size for those explosive moments when you fill your pants. We've had a lot less "oosing from the sides" moments with the bigger size diapers.
10. You smile...a lot. You just started to giggle more too. In fact you seemed to think the football game Daddy had on yesterday was pretty funny. We have to work harder to get you to giggle though. You will smile at almost anything, but you're much more picky at what you find funny.
11. Your hair in front has grown in nicely since your last shunt revision when they had to shave it. Your hair in back that you've had since birth continues to keep growing. So right now your hairstyle is a mullet.
12. You love to touch faces and grab noses
13. You recognize your bottle and sometimes help direct it into your mouth with your hands.
14. You have discovered your feet. Sometimes you will grab them but most of the time you just lift them up to stare at them.
15. When you are tired you prefer to be cuddled and rocked to sleep.
16. You outgrew the bassinet and are enjoying your roomy crib.
17. Most outfits that fit you perfectly are "3 month" clothes. Mommy can't figure out how her little girl that seems so big is yet so little.
    
18. You are now 26 inches and 12 pounds 14 ounces

***Today Cayman went to the zoo. Stay tuned for pictures and more about that soon.***

More News

I have had to learn to share my toys...err I mean computer...with Mike as he has needed it for resume and job hunting purposes. :o) In the small window of opportunities that I have access to it I have tried to keep up with my other blog buddies and keep our blog updated as well. I have not been very successful. I have left out some very HUGE news that we received from the Cardiologist on Friday. I feel so silly for forgetting to share something that was completely breath-taking awesome news to hear!!

The Cardiologist said that True Vascular Ring (that's what Cayman has) is a condition that he does see occur regularly but rarely by itself. He said normally there will be other heart defects along with it. In a perinatal ultrasound at 28 weeks, Cayman had an enlarged heart ventricle. The doctor said, "The MRI after she was born showed the ventricle was no longer enlarged and somehow seemed to clear up on its own."

All those times when I was pregnant and kept praying, "Please help my baby, God." He did...

has...

and is!

Thank You God!!

There's another piece of BIG news that we were excited about that I forgot to add in about her Vision Screening report. Here's what the report said:

Cayman was seen for vision screening...There were concerns about how Cayman is using her eyes and how well she is seeing. Cayman has irregular pupil/iris effecting both eyes...however is unaware the extent of effects on the retina and other eye structures...Cayman was alert and active for the vision screening with Teller Acuity Cards. She scored below age level however it was noted she began to anticipate the presentation of the cards. She tracked each card vertically & horizontally when presented slowly. She has voluntary side-to-side eye movements. The rate of movement was faster with left eye versus right eye...Due to results of Teller Acuity Cards, it is advised to contact the Ophthalmologist office for an earlier appointment to evaluate her current visual status. This information will be helpful with her development and expectations. A consultation with a teacher for students with visual impairments...is advised to assist with providing family with appropriate visual skills development.

From this vision test we learned that Cayman has healthy cognitive thinking. We saw this in the report 'it was noted she began to anticipate the presentation of the cards'.

Those Teller Acuity Cards are fun! They are a large rectangular board/card. The background is a light gray with a black and white stripped box. With each card the black and white stripes get thinner making it tougher for the eyes to track. The Vision Therapist held up each card, then put it down, turned the card around, and held it up again so that the black and white stripped box was now on the opposite side. After about the 3rd card Cayman started to look at the opposite side anticipating the box's change of location. The Vision Therapist had to start alternating where she moved the box around to "trick" her.

Cognitive thinking...

Thank You God!!

When Cayman was just a few days old her Neurosurgeon came by my hospital room and had a meeting with Mike and I. He very tenderly but honestly gave us the report from her brain MRI. It was officially documented that her Corpus Callosum and Septum Pellucidum were absent from her brain, which they were suspicious of during the fetal ultrasounds. Then we learned the news did not stop there. The two halves of Cayman's brain were completely split apart, possibly separated from the extreme amount of fluid accumulated. This diagnosis is called Schizencephaly.

These MRI scans were done at birth. The darkened areas is all the fluid, and the lighter gray is the brain matter.

I remembered the word "Schizencephaly" from my internet research on Hydrocephalus when I was still pregnant with Cayman. It is a very rare condition with a horrible report. I skipped over it and thought "I'm not even going to bother reading that because that's not what my baby has."

Mike asked the Neurosurgeon that day, "What does this mean for Cayman...where will we see this affect her?" Dr. Maher continued to remain very gentle in his tone and expressions as he answered our questions. He told us, "The part of her brain that is injured controls a lot...personality, cognitive thinking, language skills...all very huge things." I remember when he had said that I wanted them to take Cayman and stuff her back inside of me because somehow she felt safer there than on the other side of the hospital in the NICU so far away.

Over the last 6 months Cayman has definitely shown a strong personality and normal baby babbling language skills, and from this current vision screening she showed cognitive thinking.

It's been humbling looking back and recalling the details from those weeks in the NICU. Mike and I don't look back very often. Those are some painful scary memories, especially looking at those first brain scans. All these memories though are tucked away in a very dear place for they are still Cayman's first days of life...the days when Mike and I first became parents...that was exciting! Those long 3 weeks of continuous reports and tests have brought Mike and I to a blessed place...a place where we do not take any of Cayman's progress for granted...each accomplishment...each milestone is a miracle and a gift...and while we can remember every sad tear during those NICU weeks we are reminded at how far Cayman has come and how faithful God has been.

Sadako Japanese Restuarant

Cayman saw her Cardiologist today. It was a good report. The doctor expected that Cayman's heart condition would be causing a problem by now and he would be scheduling her for surgery but she's doing great! Here's a quick recap on what her heart condition is:

The arteries that come out of the top of Cayman's heart wrap around her windpipe and esophagus. This is called True Vascular Ring.

As she gets bigger this "ring" will likely squeeze her windpipe and esophagus causing her to to have trouble breathing and swallowing. The good news is it's an easy, one time fix surgery. It's never easy seeing Cayman go into surgery but it's somewhat comforting to know that it's not considered major. But so far it's not causing a problem. :o)

After her appointment we ate lunch at a Japanese Restaurant near the hospital. We were given a gift card to this restaurant. It was a blast to eat fun ethnic food and it did not cost us anything. Our sushi did not contain any raw fish so that I could eat it too since I'm nursing...or ahh, breastfeeding... err I mean pumping...or whatever you call what I'm doing.

It was good!!Have you ever had Wasabi? Here's Mike giving a demonstration on how to eat it.

Pictures

Cayman and her cousins. The girls LOVE to hold Cayman!!
This is Cayman's typical pose...hands together and close to her face.
On a hot day I took our socks off and tossed them on the floor. I happened to look down and saw they landed next to each other. The socks looked so cute together I had to take a picture.
Playing in her corner chair. She now can sit up to 15 minutes at a time.
Crocheted hats for CaymanThis is Cayman's attempt to roll on her belly from her back. She's getting close.

We Do Still Exist

I haven't dropped off the face of the earth. I realized it's been several many days since my last post. I haven't had a lot of words lately. We're trying to do our best at being proactive with everything that's going on. I won't lie...we're exhausted. I have struggled to find ambition each day to keep positive thoughts rolling through my mind. There's just so much going on. The "To Do" list keeps growing.

Cayman is doing well though. Her smile has brought so much delight to Mike and I. She has kept our household from crashing under the stresses of life. Mike and I were trying to process everything that has taken place for us in just one year...it's a lot!

Pregnant...Extremely sick, unable to work...hospitalized for dehydration...Cayman's Hydrocephalus diagnosised at 20 weeks gestation...putting our house up for sale...moving to another state...a new job for Mike...more birth defects found at 28 weeks gestation ...Cayman's birth...given general anesthesia and missing Cayman's birth...stomach surgery...shunt surgery...3 weeks in the NICU...4 shunt revisions...selling our house...moving out of Mike's parents' and into our apartment...Mike losing his job.

All that in just a year!

We've had a lot of busy days lately...suddenly our free calendar has been filled up.

I have no direction in this post. Even now words are just not coming to me. I am doing my best to keep my head above the tide that has come in. I wanted to post though to let everyone know we're doing alright and hanging in there. Mike's been busy getting his resume around and sending it out.

I promise I'll do a better job blogging. I have a lot of cute pictures of Cayman that I'll post real soon. I'll save that for later and use it as my momentum to get back on and post real soon.

I am grateful to all of you, our faithful readers. Your love and prayers are getting us through these times. Lots of love to you all!!