A Great Day

Usually I dread Thursdays.  Our sainted babysitter has a busy class schedule on Tuesdays and Thursdays, so she can't come to help out, and Sophie doesn't have school.  The day stretches out quite long, especially when Annabelle doesn't nap well and Sophie has trouble entertaining herself while I keep Annabelle happy (i.e. in my arms).  Today, however, was a pleasant surprise.

In the morning, the girls and I went to a play date with other moms and kids from Sophie's class.  There were six little girls and six moms (and one grandma!) at the group today.  I was a little nervous because although I had talked to a couple of the moms and to Sophie's teacher about Annabelle's condition, I hadn't told everyone.  I was very conscious of Annabelle's small size and funny stare - surely everyone could tell that she was not an average five-month-old.  So I did my best to be honest and matter-of-fact about everything.  And it wasn't so scary.  Everyone was so kind and supportive that I was afraid I would start tearing up.  And other moms shared stories about difficult pregnancies and breastfeeding troubles and the strain of caring for a newborn, and I felt so relieved to have everything out in the open.  And, aside from all that, I really had a great time talking to everyone.  Sophie seemed a bit shy and had a hard time mixing with the larger group of kids, but slowly came out of her shell as the group dwindled.  She didn't want to leave in the end.  Annabelle drank her bottle, slept briefly, and enjoyed the beautiful weather while we played in the backyard.

In the afternoon, we had a visit from our early intervention case manager and physical therapist, Stephanie.  Annabelle slept for the first half of the visit, so we had a chance to talk about her development.  Stephanie brought an assessment tool to look at what skills Annabelle has, and to my surprise, she has quite a few three and four month skills.  We just need to work with her to get her on her tummy more and to start standing her up more to see whether she'll push back with her legs.  I got Annabelle up (it is so unfair to have to wake a sleeping baby!), and we weighed her.  She has gained another three ounces this week - not quite as much as we'd like her to gain, but a gain nonetheless.  We are going to add a bit more rice cereal to her bottles and hope that those extra calories will do the trick.  But the best part of the afternoon was the brief playtime we had with Stephanie after the weight check.  I watched Annabelle follow a toy with her eyes, and even reach out with her hand to touch the toy.  I was amazed!  I think because I don't have a lot of time for playtime and because I am not an early development specialist I have not been able to see Annabelle demonstrate those skills so clearly.  I was so proud of her!  I feel so much more hopeful about her vision.

All in all, not a bad Thursday!  And tomorrow is Friday, a school day and a date night.  And this weekend we'll visit Nana and Granddude and take Sophie and Annabelle to the apple orchard for the first time!  Nice to have a series of good days planned.