4 Month Check-up

Lilah had her four month check-up last week. She is up to 9 pounds 14 ounces and she is 21 and 3/4 inches long. Her doc says she is growing as she should be. I brought up all the issues that Susan (OT) and I were worried about. Unfortunately she didn't get to see her shaky eyes for herself because she was screaming so much she didn't have her eyes open. I asked her if she thought I should bring her to see the optometrist that Susan knows, and she told me she would rather Lilah see Dr. Burman, the opthamologist that examined her at the hospital. She said she would call him, then call me with an appointment. Along with the weight and height measurements, they also do head circumferences to make sure that it is following a nice even curve on the chart, just like the height and weight. She informed me that Lilah's head is actually smaller than it should be. She also said she had a hard time finding her soft spot, and was worried that maybe her skull was overlapping and fusing which wouldn't be a good thing. She asked me when Lilah's next follow up with the neurosurgeon was and I said sometime in October, she told me she would call Dr. Wilson and explain what was going on and see if he thought she should go in earlier for a cat scan. He did want to see her in a couple weeks to see what was going on. I guess they are afraid her shunt may be over draining. She has her hip ultrasound in a couple weeks to see how her hips are doing so this month is a busy month for Lilah as far as doctor appointments go. She had her four month shots and was miserable for a couple days. I gave her some Tylenol for the pain, but she was still pretty sore. She also mentioned that normally she would suggest trying solids namely cereal, but thought we should hold off a couple months because of her prematurity.

Therapy has been coming along, both Susan and her new PT Karen definately see improvement in her. She seems stronger, and is starting to explore her hands and some toys. She loves sucking on her fists and thumb (just like Chevelle did). She reaches for faces, but hasn't shown much interest in toys. Karen says this is probably because she just discovered her hands so it's gonna take awhile before she realizes she controls them and can touch them and feel them. Her focus seems to be much better, she will keep her gaze on you much longer, and is always smiling and cooing. She is definately the most happy first thing in the morning when she wakes up. This is also my favorite time with her because the kids are usually still sleeping and we get some quiet alone time. She is going to bed every night really well, and sleeps right through the night without a peep.

I had to go down to Mass to pick up my mom, and while I was down there visited some of my family members that I haven't seen in awhile. I was able to see my great aunt Bev, who I hadnt seen in 3 years, since my grams funeral. She has a ton of old photos around her house of relatives, and I noticed a beautiful black and white photograph of a baby in a long white gown, with a fairly large head. I immediately guessed that it was her brother who I knew died of hydrocephalus when he was 12. I had never seen a photo of him, and felt sadness because he had to suffer through it because they obviously didn't have shunts back then. He basically lived with it until the pressure in his head was too much on his brain. I also felt very grateful that we
live in this modern age and Lilah is able to have a chance at life because of all the advancements in medical technology. It is sad knowing if she had been born back then, her fate would have been death. I also think it is neat that she has this common bond with a past relative, that had two totally different outcomes, and is a prime example of how far the medical world has come. We should all be grateful for this. It gives me hope for the future too, that something may be done for these kids possibly in utero before the fluid has a chance to do so much brain damage, or even having the ability to reverse brain damage. You never know, if we have come this far in 50 years, imagine another 50. I will probably update in a couple weeks after all these appointments, unless something significant happens between now and then. I am also hoping to post some new pictures of LLAH.