Update on Monday's Doctor Appointments!

Dressed up in my Halloween dress...going to church!

Having my bedtime snack!

Daddy feeding his little peanut.

I want to update everyone on how Monday's appointments went in both Peoria and here back home. Dr. Elwood, a pediatric plastic surgeon in Peoria, evaluated Alayna and looked at her head closely. It was a good report! She has no abnormalities or misalignment in her ears, jaw, face, etc. and her suture lines feel normal and are still open. She has a pretty large fontanel spot on the top of her head still, so it will probably take longer than normal for it to close. This was good news because a helmet or "star band" is an option for her.

It is entirely up to us what we want to do. She doesn't absolutely need a helmet because she has no major problems other than a flat head up the entire back side. It is called plagiocephaly and it improves spontaneously over time. The only flaw to that is Alayna is not ready to sit up and time is an issue with her. Dr. Elwood supports our decision to go ahead and get a helmet fitted for Alayna. He will make the referral to American Prosthetics & Orthotics in Davenport and they should be in touch with us soon. This will be nice to have locally since repeat visits are essential to keeping it at its "best fit." Adjustments will have to be made at least once a month if not more.

Alayna will have to wear it 23 hours a day for a minimum of 4 months. Ugh, that sounds like the bad part huh? The good thing is that the weather is getting cold and her head won't be too hot! The length of time she wears it all depends on how things are changing. With kids with flat heads up the entire back side, results are more difficult to see as quick as other "shaped" heads. The helmet is kind of like a bike helmet except it goes down the back and it is very light weight. It shouldn't delay her efforts in sitting up. We are remaining positive, realizing she won't ever remember this, and knowing she'll have a nice shaped head in the end! So, soon to come....Alayna showing off her new helmet.

We then stopped by to say "hi" to all of our nurse friends and Dr. Neptune at the Pediatric Group. We just don't see them enough!!!Ha, ha. Alayna's right ear infection is cleared up, however, her left ear is still just chuck full of "gunk." We think it is a combination of wax and ear drop residue. It is nearly clogging her entire canal. I got to see it myself through Dr.Neptune's little "ear looker thing." I don't know how drops could even get through. It is frustrating because he couldn't tell if it was infected or not. He decided to refer us to an Ear, Nose, Throat Doctor in Iowa City (aka ENT). Let's add another specialist to the list. I have been very organized though in this journey and once we see a doctor, I make sure to get their business card and I tape them in Alayna's red medical folder. It's been a life saver. Back to the ears....they will decide if tubes would be a good thing for Alayna and if so, which kind. There are lots of sizes and shapes and Dr.Neptune is not an expert in this area. They usually use a standard tube for most kids, but Alayna is special! The question is will they stay in, will they end up clogged, and are her ear canals too tiny? We are waiting on the referral and phone call for this too. I'll keep you posted.

Just a quick note to end the post tonight. I have to go because I've got quizzes to grade and that is never ending. You can see in the above photos that Alayna's bottle has a residue that tends to stick to the sides. That is the rice we mix in to make it thicker. I just wanted to let everyone know how proud I am of her. She is making the transition to thinner liquids very easy. Keep in mind that in the beginning we put 5 tablespoons of rice in a 5 oz bottle. The sides of the bottle would be completely covered with left over formula in the consistency of thick honey. We now put a bit less than 2 tablespoons in a 5 oz bottle. She takes it no problem and doesn't choke. She can control her swallowing so much better. Now if I could just get her to gain some strength in her arms so she'd hold her own bottle or even a sippy cup! Just something else to work on. Never a dull moment, never a dull moment.

Oh, she did great at PT today. They sent a "peanut" home with Alayna to do exercises on. It's pretty neat little inflatable thing. I'll try and post a picture of it soon.