26
October
2009
On an unrelated note, I have made a discovery: Dorrie really likes my singing. I sang to her some when we were still in the hospital, but I have rarely sung to her at home, because there have rarely been situations where (a) she is awake, (b) I want her to sleep, and (c) I do not have an audience besides her. (Because I am kind of shy about singing in public.) But a few weeks ago, I finally gave in and decided to try singing to Dorrie at bedtime, and darned if it didn’t quiet her down like magic. I even glanced at her sat monitor while she listened, and her heart rate had dropped down to the levels we normally only see when she is sleeping soundly, even though she was still awake — a sure sign that she was very, very relaxed.
And I was amazed by this, because frankly, I have a terrible time trying to get her to respond when I talk to her. I’ll try calling her name, clapping my hands, making that popping noise with my lips that she seems to like, and usually she totally ignores me, but when I start singing to her, her reaction is almost instantaneous. And I know she is really listening, because when I sing what seems to be her favorite song from my repertoire (“Z Y X”, from Here Come the ABC’s), not only does she become very relaxed, she almost always breaks into a smile when I hit this particularly high note near the end. And of course, this also makes me feel much better about her hearing in general — her refusal to respond when I talk to her sometimes makes me worry, but if she is hearing me clearly enough to recognize a tune, she must be hearing a lot more than I have been giving her credit for.
Posted: our little witch
26
October
2009
No, none of us are sick — thankfully. However, both of our nurses are sick all of a sudden, which means that our normally well-organized weekly schedule is going to be thrown for a loop. The night nurse is only scheduled for Monday and Tuesday, so we are not really expecting to see her at all until next week. The day nurse is scheduled for Monday and Wednesday, as well as Thursday night, but we have had no word yet on what she thinks she has or when to expect her back. She was out today, and suffice it to say, if she has anything that might be contagious, we probably will not see her Wednesday either — and even if she thought she were healthy enough to come in, we would probably prefer she take an extra day anyway, just to be sure. So, the overall list of activities that this development will disrupt:
- Shopping Monday night
- Mom’s schoolwork Monday and Tuesday nights
- Our ability to get more than five hours of sleep Monday, Tuesday and Thursday nights
The only silver lining is that I have a major project I am trying to finish for work, and Dorrie usually behaves well enough for me during the night that I’ll be able to work on it while she sleeps. (Mom is the opposite way — she would prefer it if Dorrie were awake, since once it is late enough, Dorrie can usually entertain herself and let Mom do her work, whereas once Dorrie decides to go to sleep, she usually requires Mom’s constant attention.)
Posted: nurse or no nurse, our little witch
17
October
2009
Time for me to post something, because Mom has ABANDONED US! ABANDONED I SAY!
Actually, she just had to go to Pittsburgh for classes again, which means that Grammy came over to help with Dorrie, and it’s just the three of us for the weekend. Which isn’t too bad from my perspective — I already pretty much watch her all day Saturday on my own because Mom has to go to work, but this way I have some help, which means I can take a break and write a post. (That, and Mom insisted I upload some pictures from the weekend so she can see how we’re doing while she’s away.)
Grammy sitting with Dorrie in her new bumbo-esque chair, playing with the little activity center Grammy got for Dorrie.
Mom called while Dorrie was in her stander last night. Here is Dorrie with my cell phone on speaker while Mom is talking to her.
Keeping Dorrie entertained while she is in her stander.
Usually when we put Dorrie to bed, we change her clothes into whatever she is going to wear the next day, since it saves time. Last night however, she got to sleep in an actual night shirt — and here it is. The only problem with trying to get a picture of her was that she discovered that if she lifted her legs, the shirt would slide up to her waist, which she found highly entertaining, but which looked rather undignified.
She’s just a happy little girl.
Her latest new toy is an Elmo doll that can stand, sit, talk, sing, and gracefully accept its fate when it gets knocked over. (“Elmo got so excited he fell over! Hmm… maybe Elmo will take a nap right here.”) Her initial reaction was utter delight, although she soon started showing signs of… concern. But I have a feeling she’ll warm up to him more when she is more used to him.
Posted: our little witch
12
October
2009
They are often making us look bad, with their many weeks of vacation and low-cost health care.
This story from a UK source is really interesting. I saw a blurb about it on Slate and was skeptical (sceptical?), but if the reporting is accurate, Europe once again makes us look bad. We get Jenny McCarthy and the anti-vaccine hysterics, and they get this guy.
Posted: tales of interest, we interrupt this blog
6
October
2009
MICE (developmental services for visually and/or hearing impaired children) came for their monthly visit on Friday. OT and PT managed to come then too and we discussed how difficult it is to sign to Dorrie while we’re using our hands for other things (supporting her arms, holding her up, etc.) While everyone agreed on the necessity of being consistent in presenting visual language to her, I don’t think any real ideas were proposed to make it easier to do.
She continues to make small improvements in her hand control, her ability to scoot around on her back, and the effort she expends to hold her head up with proper support elsewhere. But she’s still not anywhere near being able to provide the head control she needs to even safely prop sit or be carried with one arm. It’s very discouraging. It’s easy to see how much easier life would be if she could just capture this one skill. I’m left wondering where we would be if we hadn’t had the major crisis that we did back in Feb-April 08. Was she really making progress on head control before that? She was still so young then, it hadn’t entered our heads to worry about it, and we had no reason to believe it would be a problem. Looking at pictures, she appears better off than she is now, but pictures lie so easily. I had her wrapped in a towel the other night and by arranging it just so I could hide all the tubes and wires. Caught at the right moment, the right angle, everything looks normal.
I like the way they’re both looking to the same side in this picture, and the fact that you can see Dorrie’s neck. It’s an illusion — she’s leaning back over daddy’s arm — but it’s what she probably would look like most of the time if things had worked out differently.
Here’s one of the out-takes from her visit with great-grandma. SMACK.
We got her the slide and swing for her birthday, and yet after her traumatic introduction to the slide, we hadn’t really used it at all. Trying the swing out went a little better. She fit well, but the pictures are a bit deceptive: we had to push it forward a smidge, giving it just enough tilt to have gravity assist her in keeping her head up.
What’s daddy doing back there?
Something is very wrong with you people.
Dorrie’s newest favorite hobby is to watch her sat monitor. She’s especially amused when it alarms or stops reading. I’m not entirely sure she’s connected the fact that this often happens when she bangs her foot on the floor, but she does it enough regardless.
She’s also interested in all the tubes and wires that constantly surround her. This day was unusual, because she didn’t get upset when she moved off of her mat and the carpet and onto the tiles. Most of the time she finds them too cold to stay on them for an extended period.
She’s been working on a new face.
Sadly, she’s pretty much outgrown her SnugRide 32, forcing us to move to the next level of car-seat and abandon the infant carriers we’ve been using for the past two years. Her new MyRide looks incredibly comfortable; everyone who’s seen it has wanted to sit in it. She approves.
Beautiful.
Posted: little fat fairy, moving forward... or not, our little witch
5
October
2009
So, week or so ago, we suddenly noticed that Dorrie had a little bruise on her chin. It was quite a dark one and looked painful, but we couldn’t think when it had happened.
It was starting to fade when the following conversation occurred.
Nurse: I’ve figured out how she got that bruise on her chin!
Me: Oh, really?
Nurse: I was looking at it and it just came to me.
Me: Oh?
Nurse: I had been trying to figure it out for a while, I know the two of you have been watching it, too.
Me: We have. It seems a little lighter today.
Nurse: I think it does look like it’s getting better. It’s nice to know how she did it, though.
Me: Yes, how?
Nurse: When she was lifting her head up and putting it down, she must have banged her chin on something!
Me: *stares*
Posted: medical morons, nurse or no nurse, our little witch, tales of interest