Pulmonary Appointment

Tuesday, September 16, 2008 11:46 PM, CDT Taken From Sonya's Caring Bridge Site And Re-posted Here.

Hi everyone! We had Sonya's pulmonary appointment just this past Monday and Dr. Myer her pulmonologist wants to perform an infant lung function test on her. This test will measure the size of her lungs, how much air she can inhale, how much she is exhaling, and how easily air can flow into and out of her lungs as well as a few other measurements. She will have to be sedated for the test which is about a 1-2 hour procedure. This test will provide us with a baseline to refer to if we shall suspect any breathing issues later on down the road. I'm waiting to hear back from the doctors nurse to schedule an appointment for the test, hopefully it will be in the near future and we won't have to stress out about it too much. We discussed Sonya's new talent of holding her breath for a few seconds and then exhaling through the nose with some force while making a "ugh" sound (through the nose), otherwise known as let's scare mommy! She performs this "new talent" very frequently throughout the day but never while she is sleeping. Dr. Myer says he is not too concerned about this because she is quiet while asleep, but he wants to continue to monitor her every three months. I will update again soon about the test. As for now, Zoe is enjoying 1st grade and had a blast at her Hawaiian luau 7th birthday party! She has her 7 year well checkup at the doctors on the 22nd. Akela is still working hard on potty training and she has her cardiologist appointment coming up on Oct. 24th. I really hope that things are healing up with her calcified mitral valve leakage of the left ventricle. It's been two years since her last check and they are hoping that this problem will resolve itself by the time she is five (she'll be four in January!). Sonya's nine month well checkup with her pediatrician is on Halloween and speaking of..... I need to figure out those costumes! Well, thank you all for checking in! Thank you all for your continued support! We love you all!

Hugs - Melissa

Ortho Appointment And Sonya Says Mama!

Wednesday, September 10, 2008 10:06 PM, CDT Taken From Sonya's Caring Bridge Site And Re-posted Here.

Hi everybody!

We just got back from seeing Sonya's orthopedic surgeon at CHOP today. He checked out her club foot and gave us the go ahead on nap and bedtime brace wear for Sonya! So she is now only needing to wear it for 16 hours vs. the 22 hour previous wear. Yea! Dr. Davidson said that it looks as though I have been doing all of her flex and stretch exercises with her very well and that she has excellent rotation and flexibility in both of her feet! He said they look just as good as they did immediately following her surgery (nice and loose) which is perfect! So, this is very good news and Sonya is thoroughly enjoying her freedom from the brace!

Sonya has said her first word just last week! "Mama!" I was in heaven! My squealing and laughing in utter delight prompted many more "Mama's" the whole day long and I never tired of it!

Little miss Sonya has also popped her first two bottom front teeth just recently and has been using these sharp tools to nibble on her Mommy during nursing! Ouch! Her top front teeth are starting to work their way through too. She is starting to take a bottle now and at first she wasn't too happy about the taste of the formula, but she grew hungry enough! One thing I forgot about bottle fed babes.... SPIT-UP! Well, at least she isn't as pukey as her older sister Zoe was. Sonya is still enjoying the comfort of nursing at night before bedtime. I'm going to miss the close bonding that nursing brings. I nursed Sonya longer than my other two girls. We'll see how the bottle goes, I'm a little worried about some possible constipation with this. She also has started to enjoy some jarred baby foods too. She loves applesauce, pears, bananas, peaches and rice cereals mixed with these fruits. You can tell when she has had enough though! Sonya thinks blowing raspberries with a mouthful of mushy food is hilarious and my does it make a huge mess! Finding out 5 hours later while brushing my hair that I had crusted up gunk up there was not too fabulous!

Sonya is still rolling around everywhere and I have had to tell the older girls that they have to keep all the tiny pieces of their toys picked up off the floor and out of Sonya's reach. Try as she might, she still can not get her little chubby legs up underneath of herself to crawl. She is determined and gets frustrated and cries as she tries over and over to do so. Then she cries "mama!" and my heart just melts!

We are getting ready for Zoe's 7th birthday party this Sunday! She is having a luau and is very excited about her Hawaiian theme party! I wonder what Sonya will make of it, all the commotion!

Sonya's next doctor appointment is coming up this Monday. She will be having her checkup with the pulmonary specialist to check her breathing. Hopefully all will be well again.

Thank you all for checking in! I'll be posting an update after pulmonary! We love you all!

Hugs - Melissa