What's New with the Kids?

As I said last time, this week was a quiet one for Annabelle.  At Monday's speech therapy visit, she ate very poorly, as she has been doing all week.  Not sure why her feeding skills are so darn inconsistent.  Next Tuesday we'll have a visit with the G.I. clinic, so maybe they'll have some suggestions for the next step.  It may be time to get the feeding tube back.  I really don't want to do that, but it is really difficult to feed Annabelle her bottles these days, and her weight gain has really slowed.  She is now 10 pounds, 11 ounces, which is very small for her age.  She is still gaining, but at a slower and slower rate.  I am hopeful that if we could get her caloric intake consistent and give her a little break, perhaps she could regain some of the feeding skills she seems to have lost and we could get her weight gain and maybe even her development to accelerate a bit.  I also had this brainstorm and thought that probiotics might help with whatever is going on in Annabelle's gut.  She seems to get so uncomfortable every time she has a few days of drinking a higher volume.  It still seems like things aren't quite moving through right.  So I'll have a lot to discuss at the appointment next week.

Thursday's physical therapy visit was mostly me griping to our therapist about Annabelle's poor eating and Sophie playing super-cool games on the therapist's iPad.  Annabelle slept blissfully through the whole thing.

Annabelle has been more smiley.  She really enjoys having us put our faces close to hers, and being kissed and stroked on her cheeks and nose.  In fact, we found a new trick to get her to laugh:

She is also grabbing like crazy, especially my hair, her clothes, and my clothes.  Because her visual skills are so delayed, we are still working on reaching for and grasping toys.  But I think it is coming.  Tummy time remains a struggle, but with the right toys, her two-minute sessions are less fussy.

Next week we see the cranial clinic about her flat head, the G.I. doctor and dietician, the cardiologist, and the surgery team.  Hopefully we will be able to schedule the surgery to correct Annabelle's imperforate anus.  I am hoping that the surgery may help with her feeding and digestive issues as well.

Lest you think that I have nothing to report about Sophie, here are a few things that she's done to make me laugh and to swell with pride this week:

• She very excitedly told me that she was putting her crayons away in a special way and that I couldn't look until the next day.  When I saw them, I was impressed to see that she had put them in three right-side-up, three upside-down, three right-side-up, etc.  She said "I wanted to make a pattern, Mama!"  
• A current favorite pastime is collecting small objects from nature and making beds for them. So far we have had several pine fronds, a bean, and a leaf named Jennifer who was tragically lost at the post office before her bed could even be made.
• Another favorite is "Safety Belt," which involves Sophie putting a belt around her waist, me putting one on my head, and both of us holding a third belt while spinning at top speed around Sophie's room.  It's actually kind of fun.
• Either Keegan or I used the word insane in conversation.  Sophie's take was "Sane is a place where no one wants to go.  What do people do in Sane?"  
• This week Sophie danced to her first oompah band and learned how to do the funky chicken!  

Next week Grandma and Papa will be here, and I get to volunteer in Sophie's classroom again.  It's spider week!  I am so excited!  Here's hoping that the weather will be nicer, we'll get good news from all the doctors, and we'll all be over our dreadful colds.